So Shabby Pink - How to Make a Bookshelf Disappear

I sure do miss Christopher Lowell. I know many of you remember him. I was a loyal fan when his show was on. I learned so much from him and it was his teaching shows that convinced me I could "do it too." He would always end his show with "You can do it." I would love to see him on TV again.

Maybe because of what I learned from Christopher, our home is always changing. My husband never knows what he is going to find. He went to North Dakota on a business trip long ago and came home to white kitchen cabinets. This is a man who is ultra traditional and does not like change. Bless his heart. He is stuck with little 'ol meeeee....

Since my husband is so traditional, I don't go nearly as far with the pinks, shabby chic and cottage looks as I would like. I am, however, learning to mix the two so that we are both happy. He has had to learn to live with some pink though.

When we ( I ) decided to brighten and lighten up our living room, I had a big challenge. We have two large focal point elements on the same wall in our living room - the fireplace and a large bookshelf that is directly beside the fireplace.

Whenever I walked in the room, all I saw was this big colorful wall of books. It just made my head spin to look at it. Because of being positioned where it is, it took all the focus off the fireplace. Most importantly, is was not a pretty focal point.


My challenge was to take the focus off the bookshelf and put it back on the fireplace. We painted the bookshelf and the walls the same color white which made the bookshelf blend into the wall more. Placement of white and neutral colored accessories on the shelves, didn't draw as much attention as the bright books.

Here is the after:


This was a good change.


I found this nice nautical picture at a yard sale for $2.00. The frame was gray so I simply painted it the same color as the cream colored trim in the room.


I think the key to making any decorative display special is to actually populate it with treasures that are important to you. I love the beach, pink and white, so whenever we travel, I try to bring home a little something to add to the shelf.

It is important to note, however, that there is a point where you stop adding. That is really hard sometimes. I have had to take a few things off this shelf as it started to look like storage instead of display.

This is one of my treasures from a gift shop in Destin, Florida.


This redo of this shelf did satisfy the traditional in my husband in that it's neatly arranged and not cluttered. I love it because it's all neutral. Lots of white!

Thanks for reading today. Hope you visit again soon.

Warm regards to all,

Peggy

So Shabby Pink - The Softer Side Lampshade Covers

Good morning, everyone! I have not blogged in awhile. Hope all are doing well!

We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus this weekend and had a really nice time with family. We hope you also had a happy Easter celebration.

I have recentlyy added a new category "The Softer Side" to our website. These are some really cute lampshade covers made from vintage inspired hankies (these are newly manufactured).







You can find them on our website www.soshabbypink.com

I have received permission to blog on two people:

Pear Street Studios
The Little Rose Cottage

I'll be back this week with interesting entries on these two businesses. Please join me.

Peggy
So Shabby Pink

So Shabby Pink -

We have some new pictures in stock. We aready carry a nice selection of Paul De Longpre and Catherine Klein yard long prints but found these really pretty Catherine Klein rose prints. The backgrounds are printed like "crazing" you see in old dishes to give them more of a vintage look.

You can see them on our website by clicking here.

Hope all are having a nice week.

Peggy
So Shabby Pink

So Shabby Pink - Panaramic View of Sandbridge, VA

Click on picture to enlarge

Well, this was fun! I took a series of pictures on our Virginia Beach trip to try and create a panaramic view from the condo balcony where our family was staying. This is about the best I could do quickly this morning.

My husband and I stayed there a week with my sister and her husband from outside of Atlanta, GA and my 92 year old (and wonderful) Father and his wife.

Make sure you CLICK on the PICTURE to see it enlarged.

Good morning on this fine Saturday in February. It's 58 degrees and humid outside. So, what are your plans for the weekend?

So Shabby Pink - Valentine's Day Came Early!

Wow. I didn't expect this one.......... My husband managed to surprise me for Valentine's Day! On Valentine's Day, I usually expect him to come through the back door a little later than usual after work with roses in one hand and candy or a cake in the other. He will have this big wide smile and pretend that he is surprising me! We laugh about it and I also pretend I had no idea!! Then we laugh some more. :-)

Well, tonight the doorbell rang around 6:30 pm and the UPS man delivered some packages I had been expecting. That's curious.....one says "Pro Flowers." Huuh? So, I proceeded to cut the box open. My gosh! There were a dozen roses, a pretty clear glass square vase and a box of fine chocolates in there!

I RAN into the back room and he is on the phone! Ah! He is REALLY trying to act like he doesn't know where they came from! What a funny goof ball! HE SURPRISED ME!!! ROSES by UPS!! They are a little early but I am grateful for this man! He never ceases to amaze me. Thank you God, for this man.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Peggy
So Shabby Pink

So Shabby Pink - Good Exercise

We all know that exercise is important but my husband takes it very seriously! After a few heart procedures, he makes sure he gets the exercise that is fitting for his body.

On October 5, 2007, at 1:30 pm, he accomplished a personal goal he had set back when he started measuring and recording his mileage per day. He wears his little wrist GPS and measures the distance, pace and time of his walk. He is one of the most disciplined persons I have ever known.

This is the pretty little park close to our home where he walks many days each week.

This is Bob. He works for the city and chases my husband around the park. He is so funny...

Bob: "Richard....where are you? I am for you looking!"

Where is he? Can you see him?

Hey! Here he comes! I see him!

Almost there! Go! Go! Go!

He did it! 10,000 miles!!!!!!

So, in honor of his huge accomplishment, we decided to have a little party!

Congratulations, my dear husband. I am proud of you!

Peggy
So Shabby Pink

So Shabby Pink - Invited to a Valentine's Day Give Away - Oh, boy!

Aren't these pretty? GardenGoose is having a Valentine's Day give away and she sent me an invitation. How nice!!





Head on over there and enter. She has some rules that must be followed so make sure you read them carefully.

Thank you, GardenGoose! I bet I win :-) !!!

Hope your weekend was a relaxing one.

Peggy
So Shabby Pink

So Shabby Pink - Has it been a MONTH?

Hello!

I just got a comment from GardenGoose a little while ago. It seems I have not blogged for a month now and she was checking on me. That was nice of her! So, here I be! Her and her husband just put the new issue of "Small Town Living" e-zine up on the website over at www.stliving.net They create a e-zine every other month geared towards Small Town Living, but there's lots of info that even those in the city would enjoy. Go take a peek!

We had that nice long drive to Virgina before Christmas and here are some of the sights along the way. I had forgotten how pretty the trees can be out that way. In south Texas, where we are now, most of the trees are much shorter.








BUGS!


This might not seem important to you, but click on this to see what this is. WAFFLE HOUSE! We don't have them in south Texas! I love Waffle House!

My immediate family ranges in ages from over 50 to almost 91 so when we all get together, we are a wild bunch!

Our First Puzzle

Our Second Puzzle.

Seems someone always hides a piece or two so they can be the one to finish the puzzle. We are a wild group, I say! :-)

Hope the new year is going well for everyone!

Peggy

So Shabby Pink

So Shabby Pink - Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!


My granddaughter made the candle.

So Shabby Pink - Christmas at the Beach - Part 2

I think it was the last day that we were in Va. Beach that my Father noticed a woman in a white strapless dress, a Marine dressed in his dress blues and two other people walking down to the edge of the water. We were staying on the 4th floor so we had an excellent view.

Now, four of us were in the middle of a hot Scrabble tournament (we are a wild group) so I only got up briefly to see what was going on. I am so sorry I missed it. I am SO sorry I didn't take any pictures!!

My Father stood at the door and gave us a blow by blow of this event occurring on the beach. I bet you guessed that this cute couple was getting married!! It was probably 45 degrees outside and the bride was BAREFOOT. She was the one that had on that white strapless dress. By the time I got up and looked out the door, they had gotten back in their car and were driving away. I opened my arms and laid my body against the window hoping they would see me as I banged on the glass. I wanted to congratulate them! They just drove away and never knew we were watching.

Later, we put on our coats, scarves and gloves for a brisk walk on the beach. I just love that. Well, looky here! Barefoot prints in the sand! Now, maybe the groom was barefoot too but if he wasn't, the bride had REALLY BIG FEET!

We followed the barefoot prints and they led us to the very spot they said their I do's.


Off to the side was this heart in the sand with the word "Love" inside. Oh, that's so sweet!


I really regret not getting pictures! Maybe one of these days one of them will read my blog! Oh, and if they do, sorry about the bride's big feet comment.

I am wishing everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

So Shabby Pink - Christmas at the Beach

My husband and I recently met up with my family in beautiful Virginia Beach, VA. I grew up there and my 90 year old Father lives closeby. So, we headed out at midnight with over 1,500 miles ahead of us to travel - by car.

This was our destination:





More to come........hope you will check back soon or subscribe so you don't miss anything!

So Shabby Pink - It's almost Christmas

It is just so hard to believe that Christmas is almost here. The older I get, the quicker it appears each year! I can't be alone in this. Has time actually speeded up and we just don't know it??

So Shabby Pink - Merchant Moms is Seriously Cool

I have met quite a variety of people online since I first opened So Shabby Pink. It has been really different for this 50ish retired RN as I have worked directly with people my whole life. I mean, nurses reeeeally work directly with people....if you know what I mean. So, forming some type of rapport with people online was a new challenge.

Joining groups like Make Mine Pink and Beautiful Shops helped open the door to associating with other website retailers. Both online shopping sites have areas for members to chat and I have gotten to know some of the girls pretty well! Great folks out there!

Another association that I have learned is very important when you are operating a website is with the company that hosts your site - the web host - the folks that keep it running! That's where Merchant Moms (MM) comes in.

Meet John \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

I posted on John, at Merchant Moms, back on September 5 if you would like to know more about his company. My stepdaughter, Kimberly of My Pink Boutique, talked me into moving my site with him and I am so glad I did. Everything he says in his ad is 100% true. You purchase a great product and great service. He is a real person and you don't have to wait 2 days to get an answer to a problem. His help desk is not outsourced. It is "Made in the USA."

John has shared some of his personal life with his clients (we're kind of nosey too) and we have discovered he is a seriously cool fellow! Now, in case you didn't notice, he is leaning against his Honda Goldwing! This must be the real John!

When I showed my husband this picture for the first time, I heard this gasp of air and a long and low "oooohhhhhhhh." He loves motorcycles too --- although I do not foresee one sitting in our garage any time soon ;-) !

Earlier this year, John and his wife took a motorcycle trip to the Tennessee/North Carolina state line and drove the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap. The picture below is small portion of that stretch of highway and is posted from the Tail of the Dragon website (picture posted with permission). You have to go look at some of the pictures from their site. Go to Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap and check out the photos. Wow look at this one......This is evidently a rather dangerous road. John and his wife drove it on a motorcycle! Can you believe it?!

If I understand this correctly, there are groups of people that take your picture as you are traveling on this road and you can purchase those photos. John's journey with his wife was captured in the photo below. That is just so cool! That is really them!

The picture below is The Cherohala Skyway . I just thought it was really something beautiful to look at (www.tailofthedragon.com with permission). Oh, my! Check out the history of the area !

John's latest escapade was up to Woodstock, GA for a gathering of around 150 Goldwing owners. Here are a few of them (far left is John). How fun!

I tell you, younger kids and even young adults think we don't know what fun is once we are over 30, 40 or 50 years old. Not so!! Life is just getting better and better. I hope John's is too. It sure looks that way, doesn't it?!!

Keep having fun!

So Shabby Pink - I have to try it too!!

My step daughter, Kimberly - Miss My Pink Boutique girl, has been couragous enough to do something that most of us are hesitant to do --SHE USED HER SELF CLEANING OVEN FEATURE!! Ahhhhh!!! I have that feature on my oven too but have been chicken to use it for many years!!

I think the MOST courageous thing she did was post her dirty oven BEFORE picture! She was so brave to show the WHOLE WORLD her dirty oven! Her courage has inspired me though and I am going to take that step and push the clean button:

I might even let you see MY dirty oven!

So Shabby Pink - Meet Arlene

You know, this year has really been a difficult year for many. When we do not live in the areas that we read about or live in those places we see pictures of on the news, we tend to forget that hardships are coming on people that are just like you and me.

One very strong lady that has overcome quite an ordeal this year is Arlene. I met Arlene on Make Mine Pink. She is an avid collector of beautiful vintage goodies and a retailer of collectibles through her website, Lil Cottage Shoppe.

Now, I know what it is like to want to live on the water and be willing to take the risk of flooding and storms. I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA and there is just nothing like it! You just accept the risk and keep on going - and are so grateful for the opportunity to be where you love! When I later lived in northeastern North Carolina, my view from our backyard deck was very much like Arlene's. This is her backyard view. Gorgeous!

Living on Fox Lake, Illinois, however, she was a part of the flooded areas from this summer's rains.

This was the after......

When I first learned that she had been affected, I kept looking for posts from her on the Make Mine Pink Forum to see how she was doing. We were all much relieved to know she and her family (her dogs are family too) were safe but disappointed that much of her inventory for Lil Cottage Shoppe had been damaged or rendered useless. You can read about her experience on her blog.

In spite of all this hardship, she has now created two new businesses in addition to her current website:

Retro Boutiques

• Retro, Vintage and Antique Inspired Web Templates. Our GREAT web host, Merchant Moms, has accepted her as a template designer. Way to go, Arlene!!

Cottage Shop Estate Sales

• Estate Sale and Ebay Consignment Services. (I love estate sales).

I call that creative and resilient! This is a quality I love about some people. That "stick to it-ness" -- that, "I am strong and will find a way to be even better-ness." There are no limits for a person like that......

Arlene, YOU ROCK!!

Here are the places you can find Arlene:

RetroBoutiques
The Lil Cottage Shoppe
Cottage Shop Estate Sales
My Little Pink Boutique
Women Take Wing