Care to Join Us in Some Dining Room Progress?

Tell me... is a room ever completely finished?

This is something I battle with and you know this if you follow my blog.

We've made some progress in our dining room and I'm over the moon thrilled.

We do, however, have some work ahead of us as far as final touches go.

We're getting there.

We still need...

window treatments

to complete the table scape

add some dishes on on the wall beside the mirror?

hang the mirror (jeesh!)

Those things that make a room feel complete and homey. 

Here's a reminder of how the room looked prior to us moving in.

Some progress...

I'm not quite sure why everything looks miniature in size. 

Could it be that I'm just not a professional photographer?

I'd like to think that I'm capable, but boy o' golly...those angles get tricky!

Lighting in another story.

More work ahead this weekend!

Sunday is my husband's birthday!

My love for design and decorating

wouldn't be a reality without this man.

I can't wait to continue on this adventure together.

It's so much fun!

Wishing you another year full of love and happiness.

*photos courtesy of roost-home.blogspot.com and mochatini.org

Fairs Aren't Always Fair...

Fairs aren't always fair

and sometimes they don't end like a FAIRytale.

Blogs are meant to share beautiful photos of rooms

and often times bloggers post those diamond in the rough finds.

I'm going to go out in a limb and presume that we've all been on blogs
 in our blog-life and asked ourselves
"How do they get so lucky?"
Without a doubt, I've been on the jealous end of the computer screen!
I do believe that luck plays a role in finding those coveted treasures.
However, I firmly believe that knowing the "where" and the "when" can
come in handy during your searches {antiques or not!}

For example, we know which Home Goods we can hit the jackpot at.
Am I right?

After attending last weeks Country Living Fair, I was on cloud 9.
This weekend a nearby town was hosting an antique market.
Many friends and family members encouraged that I drop by.
I was unpleasantly surprised.
High prices and nothing that caught my eye.
How could that be?
I paid my 6 dollar admittance fee! 
There needs to be something that would make my time worthwhile!
Huf, nothing.

Nonetheless, I shared my afternoon with my hunky husband and
my lovely in-laws.  Not to mention I was able to gaze at all the lovely
scenery on the drive down and snap some pictures on our way back into our town.

Camera - check

Cell - check

Coat - check

Scarf- check

Boots - check

I'm ready for the fair!

Let's drive back home.

love, love, love this brick road near our home.

And then my husband and father-in-law installed these...

Eek, jumping up and down!

Later that afternoon we added...

Looking at the chain on this fixture had been bothering me.

Now I can happily move on.

My weekend was delightful despite the not so fair, fair.

How was yours, friends?

Keep Calm and Sew On!

Our panels for our laundry room are FINITO!

We wanted to cover up the space above our machines with some fabric.

Do you recall what we were working with?

 We used an old toile shower curtain and added some pom pom trim.

Easy peasy!

{a view from our side entrance}

More to come!

I'm loving fall around the cottage.

I'm hoping to fit in some pumpkin picking this weekend!

...and we have another big fair to attend...

I hope you get to do whatever it is you

l.o.v.e

*photo courtesy of marhandmade.blogspot.com

Chair Mystery Solved!

We recently added these lovely ladies to our dining room!

Rob and I originally planned on using them in our family room, but

my talented mama and I put our heads together and came up

with something that I feel worked out even better.

If you remember, I found a pair of these chairs on the curb over the summer.

Trash?  C'mon people!

Until then, I'd never seen chairs that looked quite like this.

I've searched the web and blog land high and low.

I was able to locate a picture of the chairs but

was unable to find a name for them.

Today, the chair mystery has been solved!

According to Houzz and chinoiseriechic, it's a

Fretwork Chinese Chippendale Chair.

It looks like you can purchase your very own on

horchow.com for $999 a pair.

On horchow.com, they can be found by searching

"Italia" Chairs.

I can now mentally move on.

I do, however, have a confession to make.

I need some sort of antique furniture intervention.

I'm finding too many amazing pieces {deals} to pass up!

Why does this happen all in the same month?

I found a unique coffee table and dresser.

Convince me to move on?

Or do I go for it?

*photo courtesy of caitlin creer interiors

If I Could Have One Dish...

Tomorrow and we're half way there folks!

F-R-I-D-A-Y.

The word that's music to my ears!

I'm heading to another fair this weekend.

I've been so spoiled.

There's something about fall weather and antique fairs

that I can't seem to get enough of.

After purchasing the creamy white buffet last week,

we went into full force dining room decorating mode.

What's a dining room without showcasing your favorite 

pottery and dishes?

A stop to Anthropologie helped solve that problem.

Anthropologie = the death of me.

The charger is from Pottery Barn and the dishes and 

 tea cup/saucer are from Anthropologie.

Both the minty colored dish and the

flower petals dinner plate can be found online.

{piecrust dinner plate/ $12-20}

They are even more beautiful in person! Trust me!

{watercolor petals dinner plate/ $14-24}

These plates are o.n.e of a kind.

Words cannot express how lovely this dinnerware is.

Shelley Hesse is the artist and I love how she incorporated

little critters to plate.  Yummy, right?

I'm working on the table scape this weekend.

I'm in desperate need of a table runner and some objects

to dress the table up.  

I'm also working on adding draperies to the room and

adding the recently purchased corbels to the corners of the room.

There's always a project at Hickory.

You know this when...

A tape measure is a staple on your coffee table...

Sad...I admit that.

But it's that one thing that makes me come alive.

A few more peeks at the room...

be our guest?

These photos have inspired me to get busy outside.

What a great way to welcome your guests!

I'm in the spirit.

Invite your family and friends to join you in welcoming fall!

*photos courtesy of anthropologie.com (1, 2); pottery barn; bhg.com

Country Living Fair Findings

Whew, what a weekend!

A great weekend!

As I mentioned, Rob and I took a mini trip to Columbus.

The primary reason for our trip...the Country Living Fair!

We also managed to fit in a trip to the Pottery Barn outlet

and to the Easton shops!

Capital F-U-N.

Truly, a dream weekend with the companion of my dreams.

Are you ready for some pictures?

We arrived an hour early.

Next year (if we can go!), I'd consider purchasing the early bird pass.

Standing in line, in the cold, watching others shop was not entertaining.

It's called ants in the pants.

{lemonade...please!}

{the youngest guy at the fair}

thanks a billion.

{it truly hurt to say goodbye to this light}

{square dancing of course!}

{homemade apple fritters}

{country living kitchen demonstration}

It was hard to leave.

But we had these.

So, I managed to pep up.

So long, Columbus.

Thought I'd leave yall' hanging?

Here are some of the goodies we managed to bring home.

{antique compote and calligraphy pens}

{our last name initial}

I apologize for the sideways shot!

We saved our favorite find for last...

{antique corbels}

We'd like to add these beauties to the entry way of our dining room!

We're praying these hefty boys will work!

A farmhouse sink, a buffet, and a fair full of antiques.

I better chill out. Right, honey?

I almost forgot to show you.

We found and purchased this puppy this week.

My heart is singing!

Enjoy football Sunday!