Blue and White in the Hutch

This was our every day wedding china.

It is Denmark by Franciscan. 

Johnson Brothers makes it now. 

In 31 years of marriage we have broken all of the salad plates and all of the cereal bowls.

I broke the last cereal bowl not that long ago.

I pulled it out a few weeks ago when we got the Paong Chair from IKEA and put it in the sunroom.

Since the chair is Swedish I thought this china should be the focal point of the dish dresser. Not the same country but the same region of the world. 

The older or antique pieces came from my grandmother.

Similar patterns to this one have been made in Copenhagen, Denmark since the late 1700s.
 Europeans were smitten with the blue and white china created in China. 
Many of us are still smitten with blue and white.
Are you?
I fall in and out of love with it.
My grandmother had Blue Willow.

My mother had Blue Onion.

The Denmark pattern is my favorite.  

I tucked two pieces into my little brass bird cage.

It feels so fresh and pretty.

I have one more change to show you in here. 

Enjoy the Super Bowl.  
Are you going to watch or will you be reading blogs?
I will probably catch up on my crime shows.
When we had Dallas Cowboy day at school a few weeks ago, I wore blue but didn't have a jersey. 
We happen to be reviewing the star shape at the same time. I mentioned that I didn't have a star on my shirt like everyone else. 
One of my little darlings said, "Cause your not a football fan."
I said, "You've got that right."
How did he know?
Have fun and don't eat too much. 
;)
Katie 
Linking with,
Between Naps on the Porch 
A Stroll Thru Life 
Savvy Southern Style

Bye Bye Popcorn - Hello Warm White

It's crazy to me that a ceiling full of popcorn can be reduced to a small garbage sack. 

 "Bye bye popcorn. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

This one was a doozy! 
I got a wild hair the first day of Christmas break.
I wanted to take a nap in my room over the break and not have to see our horrible ceiling.
I didn't want to have to imagine what pictures could be made out of the random popcorn shapes. 

Yes. I used to do that. It was like looking at clouds or something. 
I'm pretty sure I saw a lamb up there. Oh and an angel.

I asked Bill to get the ginormous ladder out for me and told him what I was going to do. 
He said, "What? Because we need that added stress right now?"
I said, "Oh, because you could feel the added stress last Monday when I painted the garden room?"
Bill said, "You painted the garden room?"
Me, "Yes. Could you feel the stress all the way over in Dallas?"
No - he could not and he won't for the popcorn either.
:)
All this while we were sitting in the newly painted garden room. 

There was a day - bless his heart - that my projects did add stress to his life. 
But that isn't the case anymore thanks to this blog.

Change is a weekly thing and he doesn't even really notice it anymore. 

I have been rejuvenated in my popcorn removal because I'm not painting the ceiling at the same time.

This saves time and stress. 
You know what?
The ceiling looks fine after a few touch ups.

It turns out that the original ceiling color is the same color as the outside trim paint. 
There were a few places where the mud fell off with the popcorn and nail heads were exposed. 
I had to putz a little paint on those but it looks fantastic.

I couldn't wait to see my free chandelier without the popcorn ceiling. It will be wonderful being able to get photos of the room and not have to avoid the popcorn.

The laundry room is done too since there was no school for two weeks.

 I'm glad I put off the master until I had more practice.  

It wasn't nearly as hard to do as I thought it would be.

Look one more time at the difference between what it looks like with popcorn and with it removed. It looks so dirty.

Thanks for stopping by. You know how much I appreciate your visits.

Katie

Linking with,

Between Naps on the Porch  

A Stroll Thru Life 

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  

The Scoop # 154 

Savvy Southern Style   

Share Your Cup   

French Country Cottage

Random Christmas Post

I had a few more posts in my plans but time has just flown by. 
I thought I'd share a few of the vignettes that didn't get their own post.
I told you that I went with black and white this Christmas.
I found so many cute ribbons that I left them out in a basket next to the tree.

The opposite corner got the shutter with a wreath. 

It adds some texture to this lighter room.

The Ikea terrarium got a Christmas touch.

The little reindeer came from Crate and Barrel in New York. 
Isn't he cute?

Did I show you the little box that I built out of Bill's old wood pile?

It is ridiculously wonky but I love it anyway. 
Maybe a tutorial will be forthcoming...
'How Not to Build a Box". 

Now for the sunroom.The sunroom tree stayed the same but the shelves got switched up a bit. 
Welcome to the Cardinal Room. 

Guess what? These gold walls are gone!!
I painted in here last Monday. Come back in a few weeks for the reveal. 

 This birdie came from New York. 
He's just too cute.

I've got to have some plaid too.

Hopefully you were able to stick with this long post.
I hope to get one more in before Thursday.
Have a wonderful week. 
Katie    
Linking with,
A Stroll Thru Life 
Savvy Southern Style