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Saturday, December 31, 2011

Beautiful Views

What a great day!

Laying out by the pool. 
Dinner at Sharkey's (coconut shrimp, lobster artichoke dip and a frozen mango drink - yum!) .
Followed by a beautiful sunset.

Nope. 
Definitely not tired of Sarasota just yet.






Spending the day at the beach tomorrow.


:)


*~ Ina

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Fun in Flo-Rida

The day after Christmas we boarded a plane and were Sarasota-bound.


Zach and I are here with his family for the week and LOVING it! Yesterday the biggest decision I had to make was which swimsuit to wear: the red one or the black one? 
This is the life. :)


Here are just a few snapshots of what we've been up to here:



1. My awesome husband let me have the window seat. 
2. Views of Florida from above. 
3. & 4. On our way to the house from the airport. Sunshine and 79 degrees!




1. Parrot I spotted in an antique store.
2. Beautiful decorative pillow we debated on taking home with us. Might still go back for it...
3. & 4. Displays of jewelry and other trinkets at a local shop in Sarasota. 
Safe to say, I love everything in there!



We were lucky enough to get a private tour of the Ca' d'Zan Mansion - a 56 room mansion built by John and Mable Ringling (of the Ringling Brothers Circus).




1. Zach and I on top of the tower of the Ringling mansion. 
2. & 3. The patio circles the back of the mansion and looks out into Sarasota Bay. 
Parts of the 1998 movie Great Expectations were filmed here. Just a little FYI. :)




The Rose Garden on the Ringling Estate - 
over 27,000 sq. feet of beautiful landscapes and the most fragrant roses! 


All for now. More adventure coming soon!



*~ Ina

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Decorating with Twinkle Lights

So, maybe I got a little carried away ...



Poor Skya.

*~ Ina

Monday, November 28, 2011

Hello Monday

hello christmas tree.


 hello hot chocolate.


hello christmas decorations.


hello yummy candles.


hello movies and popcorn.


hello "new" computer.



goodbye thanksgiving.
it was fun.

hello winter.



 *~ Ina

Saturday, November 26, 2011

A Few New Things

A couple of posts ago I hinted about about a little something we picked on our way back from Minneapolis. Quite a few people asked me about it at work and I was so ECSTATIC to find out I had a few readers/followers, I decided to torture them just a little bit longer. (In actuality, it took me a while to figure out exactly how and where these were going to be hung).


Zach spotted these old (and heavy!) wood doors tucked away in the corner of Painted Porch antique store and after walking through the place a couple of times to make sure we hadn't missed anything, he decided to "pop on it."

That's American Pickers talk for "buy it." :)
After a trip to Lowe's, a few hours of measuring, two trips to Home Depot, and remeasuring again just to be sure, we hung them on a large empty wall in our living room. They're painted black, and even though I wish they weren't painted, they still look pretty cool. Our plan is to put some pictures behind the glass to bring the doors to life.



So there you have it.

Oh, we have a few other additions too. For the longest time we could not figure out how to make our house a home. Slowly we've been finding things here and there and it feels great to make our own mark.



This wood trunk came from Found Things in the East Village. We mosied in there one Sunday afternoon and noticed this right away. Ginn & Co Publishers shipped school books in this box to Lowell Elementary School in Boone (there are markings on the sides and the lid).

That pretty much sealed the deal for me, since when I used to write for the Boone News years ago, I was on the Eduction beat, and visited Lowell Elementary almost weekly. I've been wanting a trunk like this for a long time and for now it houses blankets and pillows in our living room, but we also like the option of maybe even using it at the foot of the bed in our bedroom.

almost took out a window while we were in Found Things with this old amplifier. I was trying to turn it around when it knocked over a lamp, which in turn knocked over a coat rack, which then banged against the store window. 



Very loudly.
Embarrassingly loud.
Zach turned around and walked away.
I wished I was invisible.

The amplifier itself is original from the 1930s I think, but the base was made recently so it has something to stand on.

And while we're on the subject of new goodies, I've got one more thing.
We found these candle sticks at Goodwill this summer for $2 for the pair. 


They were black when I got them, but a can of red spray paint made them perfectly compliment the Keep Calm and Carry On framed piece we have hanging in the hallway.


I just thought I'd share the little touches that are slowly helping us make the house "our house."

All for now.


*~ Ina