Weeknight Dinner in the Kitchen

Recently David and I have started to eat our weeknight dinners at

the breakfast bar in the kitchen.  I am not sure what prompted this but

we are enjoying it.  We sit face to face and discuss our day.

We have a breakfast room, but hardly ever eat there anymore if it is

just the two of us.  Now Bentley is a bit confused by this because before

we started eating dinner at the breakfast bar it is where David would

sit and have a drink before dinner while I was cooking.  Bentley 

would sit by David's stool and David would toss Bentley a peanut

or an almond or two.  I know ~ sounds strange, but Bentley loves

to eat nuts!  They both would watch me cook and then we would

move to the table or maybe to TV trays in the family room.

Then one evening I served dinner right here and we have been doing it

ever since.  Now that the weather is consistently warm and not yet too

hot we will start eating out on the patio.  But for  last night, it was right here.

Of course Bentley will have to move his nightly dinner show performance

from the kitchen to the patio.  It's the cutest thing.  Every night

at dinner Bentley grabs a toy and tosses it over and over into the air and

entertains us.  Of course we repeatedly applaud and tell him how cute 

he is and he is so happy and pleased with himself.

Last night I served BBQ chicken breasts, and southern style  green beans 

and potatoes.  I used Emeril's recipe which you can read here.  I 

substituted Yukon Gold potatoes for the new ones, but otherwise it

is the same recipe.  

And I served corn muffins and sweet tea too.  I must tell you that my

eating habits have changed a bit since I moved back to Texas.   I 

have even started drinking diet Dr Pepper! 

What's It Wednesday

Cottage Style Party

Tablescape Thursday

Home and Garden Thursday

Open House Thursday

Share Your Cup Thursday

Let's Dish

Well Bentley ~ I think we are going to have to place a special

basket of "outdoor toys" for you on the patio so that you

will have equipment for your nightly "dinner show".

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

An Almost Complete Tweak

I have been really unfocused lately.  I start something and then get 

distracted by something else.  I am blaming it on a prolonged spring

fever.   But I wanted to show you that I finally chose some fabric to

make a skirt for my studio workspace.  

If you look closely you will see that it  is the same fabric I used for the

foot stool.  I like the fabric so much and I had plenty left to make the

skirt so I thought I would go ahead with it.

When I say it is not complete it really isn't.  I just have it pinned on right now.

You see this is a big trestle table.  It used to belong to my husband.  I love the

size of it, but the wood has a medium stain and there are flying ducks 

decoupaged on the top.  I know ~ way too masculine hunting lodge for me.

David used it for an office desk.  The good thing is that he had a glass top

made to protect the surface.  So I took an old linen table cloth and stretched

it out over the top.  Then we put the glass back on.  I still had the ugly wires

and stuff exposed from beneath.  Now the new cloth is pinned to the old

linen table cloth.  I will stitch the new one in place and cover the edges

with some grosgrain ribbon to give it a more finished look.

I kept a slit in the middle so I can still get to all of the wires and the cable

box and all of that necessary but unsightly stuff.  

So that's all for today.  Never fear though.  My project list is a long

one and I will keep showing you bits and pieces as I go along.

Have a fun day!

Metamorphosis Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Tweak It Tuesday

Inspire Me

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Would You Like To Be My Neighbor?

My neighbor Richard is selling his house.  He is just a block away from us.

So ~ if any of you are looking for a house in Victoria, Texas, check out this

listing.  It's a lovely house and the backyard is just perfect for entertaining

friends.  Sorry for the blurry pic.  I grabbed this off the web.  Here is the
listing link.  If you are like me and just love to look at houses even if you
are not in the market to buy, check it out.  It is charming!

2408 North Wheeler, Victoria, Texas


I am super busy today.  See y'all tomorrow with some
project reveals.


Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

New Pottery Barn Drapes

The two drape panels I ordered from Pottery Barn arrived yesterday.

I am so anxious to hang them and hope that I can find the rods I want

this weekend.  See this chair that the drape is draped over?  Hey that's 

a redundant sentence, but I am going with it.  I want to paint this chair.

It was one of my Mom's favorites but I am not too crazy about the 

pickled finish.  I am thinking of white for the frame and caning and

reupholstering the seat and arm in a red buffalo check.  What do you

think of that idea?

After I hang the drapes I will post the result.  Have a great Friday.

Bentley and I are busy fluffing the cottage before the weekend

begins.  Don't you just love Friday?  I do and always have.  Ah the

anticipation of fun and relaxation.  Always so promising.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Bentley the Decorator

I was working in Mom's old room, bringing in some accessories, deciding on 

art work for the walls when Bentley (who follows me everywhere) suddenly 

left and ran down the hall.  I thought maybe he heard a cat outside and

would want to go out.  Instead, he came running back in the room with one

of his favorite dollar store balls.  He jumped up on the love seat and 

deposited it near the throw and the pillow.  

As you can see it's a bit flat on one side.  That is because he punctures the

balls with his teeth.  He likes them better that way so that he can easily grab

them and toss them in the air.  You can also see he is bringing in a touch of

pink to the decor.  And who said dogs are color blind!  I wonder if I am 

going to have to start paying him a design consult fee???

Bentley ~ do you need a treatie for you effort?

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Searching for Clues

On a desk we lovingly call "Daddy's Desk" is an antique box that was

presented to Daddy from a family in Jerusalem.  I cannot recall exactly

why this was gifted to him.  What I recall is that he did something nice

for someone in the Dobkin family.  Now that my Mom has passed, I can't 

ask her to elaborate.  So I Googled the name Dobkin in Jerusalem and

came up with a couple of clues.  I sent an email to someone who may

possibly be a member of this family and am hoping he does read my

email and not treat it as spam. 

What I do recall is that this antique box containing blown glass vessels

from the first century CE (Common Era or Christian Era) was hand 

carried to my Daddy's office in Chicago by either a member or a friend

of this family from Jerusalem.  Daddy was a great student of ancient history

and he spent a good bit of his free time visiting all of the historic sights of

Israel and the middle east while he was there on business.  He was very

proud of this gift.  

I hope I can learn more about this family and their association with my

Daddy.  If in fact he did help a foreign student go to college in the states,

I hope that person grew in knowledge and went on to accomplish

good things for his or her community.   I'll let you know if any of my

questions are answered.

Vintage Thingie Thursday

We are battling fleas around here.  The bug man is coming

tomorrow.  We didn't have fleas in Idaho.  I love Texas

but am not crazy about the insects here.  

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

New Additions

I have some new additions to our cottage.  In an effort to make this formal living

room a little less stiff and a lot more cozy, I searched for and found a couple of

new toile pillows for the antique camelback sofa.  

I wanted to repeat a form of toile in the room to accent the toile Chippendale

chairs on either side of the sofa.  I found these equestrian theme pillows.

You know me ~ any time there is a horse involved, there I am!  Trust me,

if I could find a tack room scented air freshener I would be all over it!

Oh and here is a new Roo for the breakfast room table.  Roos are running

wild in my breakfast room and kitchen.  Good thing they are not real

because you know who would be busy chasing them.

Do you remember when I said I was thinking of having some Audobon prints

framed for either side of the mirror over the sideboard in the dining room?

Well that was before I found these equestrian prints on ebay.   I have not hung

them yet because I want to change out the glass to an non-reflective one.

Can you see the script on the matting?  Love it and the crest down 

at the bottom too.

I was so thrilled to find these and knew they had to find there way

down here to Texas.  

David, Bentley and I spent the weekend in San Antonio.  We left on 

Thursday.   We stayed at the Hotel Contessa right on the river walk.

Our suite had a river view and was pet friendly.  Bentley got a little

bag full of treats and a ball from the management when he arrived.

Needless to say that was a big hit with the pup!  We did lots of 

walking along the miles of pathway along the river.  We ate way too

much delicious food, had lots of fun and returned home refreshed and

renewed.  It was just what we all needed!  I hope y'all had a

wonderful Easter weekend too.  

Metamorphosis Monday
Masterpiece Monday
Make It Pretty Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Tweak It Tuesday
Inspire Me
Wow Us Wednesday
What's It Wednesday

When we arrived back home, I let Bentley out in the backyard so
he could explore a bit while we unloaded our luggage.  He
got quite a workout because he found a CAT!!! in the yard.
There was a lot of racing through the tropicals and barking
going on.  But he was successful and came back in with
a big huge smile on his face!  Then he plopped down on the
floor and let out a big sigh.  Mission accomplished!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Taking a Little Break

Bentley and I are taking a little break.  It's the first holiday we will be celebrating

since my Mom's passing and we will be finding a new way to celebrate Easter.

We wish you all a Blessed Easter and we will be back again next week.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Forever Tweaking

I have finished a few more tweaks in Mom's old room.  I must admit, I 

have been being really lazy lately and have not done too much more

tweaking, but I managed to finish some minor tweaks.  I added a plaid

pillow to the chair.  The bedskirt is in this same plaid.  I will show you

that as soon as I finish tweaking the bed.

I painted the old foot stool white and recovered it with the ticking fabric

I found at the Texas Antique Week.  I have always been a huge fan of

ticking.  It is hard to tell from this photo, but the ticking perfectly matches

the other blues in the room.

I like the way the little chest turned out after I painted it with Annie Sloan

Provence Blue and waxed it with her soft wax.  I decided not to distress it.

Now this is a cozy little spot for reading a book or leafing through 

magazines on a rainy and cloudy afternoon like the one we are having

today.

I hung this portrait over the bed.  I am not sure if it will stay there or not.

I'll keep it there for a day or two and see if I change my mind.  I painted

the headboard in Provence and just accented the trim with Old White.

I think that I already showed you the headboard once before.

My next big project in this room is to paint the dresser.  It's a big one.

I have to get mentally prepared to tackle the job.  Do you ever feel

that way about a big project?  At the moment I am getting motivated

to get the job done soon.

Metamorphosis Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Masterpiece Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Tweak It Tuesday

Inspire Me

Bentley is so cute, he always watches me paint and tweak.

He's my decorating assistant!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

A Little Over the Top But ...

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A little over the top I know, but I am so drawn to this room and 

wish I could crawl into the photo and curl up in that cozy
looking chair by the fire with a good book.  Y'all know I have
a crush on Mario Buatta!

Okay girls ~ I have to get back to work.  I am working on my
new herb garden.  I took a short sweet tea break, hopped on my
Mac and started looking at decorating pics.  I think I may be
suffering from ADD!  I know ~ shocking revelation.

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Cabin Is Turning Into Beach Cottage

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Remember the cabin we planned to build up in the mountains of 

Idaho?  Well although we still own the lot up there and have no 

intention of selling it, now that we are in Texas near the gulf coast

I am itching for a beach house.  I have fallen in love with the 

small coastal community of Rockport, Texas.  Now I just have to

figure out a way that I can have both ;-)

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Ah ~ sea breezes, seafood, beach combing, sand between your
toes ~ sheer bliss don't you agree?  So let's pretend that I can
find some cute little beach cottage and decorate it with salvaged
finds and treasures.

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Something modest and sweet that's my dream.  Every time I
mention beach house my husband David starts looking at beach
mini mansions.  For one thing we can't afford it and for another
even if we could, it's not what I want.  I want a little place that
is cute, fun, carefree and charming.

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Something like this.  Bright colors and lots of simple charm.
This is a cottage on Tybee Island.  That place has the corner on
charm.  Let's look at some more ...

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This just screams HAPPY!  I love it.  Okay, so now we have some
examples of the exterior we could create ~ now let's go inside our
pretend beach cottage and roll up our sleeves and get decorating!

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From the first time I saw pictures of Mary Kay Andrews'
beach cottage I knew I was in love.  It's warm and friendly and
has the kind of laid back lived in look I love.  Don't you just
love these colors???

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I love these lamps and shades.  Such fun.  It's hard to be
serious or sad in a place like this.  I could very easily
stretch out on this sofa with one of Mary Kay's books.

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A cute spot to hang your straw beach hat and a basket
of towels.  Imagine the possibilities for decorating.

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Of course now it's just a dream.  But we all have to start
somewhere don't we?  I hope y'all have sweet dreams tonight.
Dreams of places you long to be.  Happy dreams!

Nighty Night

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Dining Room Plans

Y'all have probably seen my dining room before.  I have not changed

much since I changed the color of the walls from mustard to a deep red.

But I am feeling that it needs some tweaking to make it feel more

complete.

The area on either side of the mirror over the sideboard looks a bit

lonely to me.  I am thinking about adding some framed prints to 

either side.  I remembered that I have this ...

it's a book of large Audobon prints that are suitable for framing.

I like this idea especially since we have so many birds in this area.

Do you think this would be a good idea or do you think I should 

carry on the equestrian theme that is in other areas of the house.

Fox hunting prints perhaps?

I also have these niches that are full of blue and white china.  I want

to find a way to introduce some more blue into the room so I was thinking

about adding a drapery panel on either side of the plantation shutters on

the window.  Something like a Jacobean print.

This is a terrible pic, I know, however you can get a sense of the 

space next to the window.  It just seems so blank and cold to me now.

I don't want to cover up the window at all because this is room is

north facing and tends to be dark.  The windows are are about nine

feet across and almost touch the floor.   I don't want to remove the

plantation shutters either because this room is on the side of the house

and since we are on a corner, it faces the street.  We want a bit of 

privacy.  So I thought a single panel drape on either side might 

soften it up a bit.  I saw some drapery panels in the current Pottery

Barn catalog that are in the Jacobean pattern.  

I think I will replace this rug too, perhaps with a seagrass one.  This

current one so dark and it's down on top of dark stained hardwoods.

Oh well, little by little I will get there.  

That's it for today.  Bentley and I are headed back out to work in 

the garden.  It is beautiful outside today!  I hope you are having

lovely weather too.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

I Have Cake

I am completely speechless.  Very unusual, just ask my hubby.

But I have cake!

Don't know what's wrong with me.  Can't focus on any one thing at

the moment.  Maybe it's spring fever.  I'll try to get my act 

together and finish something.  But right now all I want to do is

goof off.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Brenda Needs Our Help!

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Here's our girl friend Brenda with her pups Abi and Charlie.  Y'all know

her from her wildly popular blog Cozy LIttle House.  Brenda is in a pickle

and needs some assistance with her big move starting on Friday April 11th.

She has been such a good friend to so many of us and now is the chance

for her readers in and around Tulsa to give her a hand because she ...

Is Moving!

Having survived my own cross country move last August, I can tell you

that moving is an arduous task even in the best of circumstances.  Brenda is 

having a hard time accomplishing this task and as I learned early in life,

many hands lighten the load.  So I am appealing to any of you in the Tulsa

area who can give Brenda a hand, we will both be eternally grateful.  Now 

she does not know that I am asking you for help.  This is my own idea.  One 

thing I know for sure is that when we girl friends put our minds to it we

can move mountains!  So all you gals in Oklahoma, go show your

spirit of friendship and help out one of our own.  

You can read more about this move here.

Galations 6:2
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ

Seasonal Sundays

Thank You!
Susan and Bentley

Decorating For Easter

Easter is just seventeen days away and I have not put

out any decorations yet.   I often have to go through old

photos to see what I have done in years past.

I am not sure what we will do for dinner or brunch this year.

In the past we always went to Mom's house.  But this year

it will be just the two of us and Bentley of course.

We will go to church of course, but then what?  Should we have

dinner at home?  Or should be go out for brunch?  We like to go to

our club for Sunday brunch but since we did not live here last

year I don't even know if they will be serving on Easter Sunday.

Or maybe if we should pack up a picnic and drive down to the beach.

It will be different this year.

We will just have to start a new tradition.  Maybe we should hide dog

treats around the yard for Bentley.  What are your traditions?

Show and Tell Friday

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley