Where I Grew Up and Some New Farmhouse Art for the Living Room

It's no secret that I love farmhouse decor.

My childhood home

I came by my love for all things farmhouse while growing up on a little farm in the hills of Saratoga, a small town in Northern California near San Francisco. My family lived in a big three story country house with a wrap-around veranda overlooking Saratoga, the Santa Cruz Mountains, and the Santa Clara Valley all the way to the bay. 

My horse, Joey

We had a big barn and meadow where we kept horses, a cow, and a lamb, all looked after by our sheepdog, Lady. Rain or shine and dawn to dusk, when I wasn't in school, I was riding my horse, Joey, all over the Santa Cruz Mountains.

I can't even imagine a better way to grow up.

When I was ten, my stepfather took us to the dairy farm auction where we sat on bleachers and listened wide-eyed to the auctioneer calling out the sale of calves in the pens below us. We didn't know we'd be driving home with a little black and white not-quite-weaned calf in the back of our pickup. 

We called him Mr. McDougall and taught him how to drink milk from a bucket. He missed his mother and followed us all around the farm like a puppy, so I spent much of that summer sitting on the front lawn under a tree with his head in my lap.

These are my new cows. I haven't named them yet, but I will!

Let's go to a party!

Between Naps On The Porch
Cozy Little House
The Scoop
  A Stroll Thru Life
Elizabeth & Co.
Savvy Southern Style

Top Ten Posts Of 2014

It's time for a recap of last year's top ten posts at The North End Loft! Last year saw some big changes for our cottage as we remodeled our master suite, painted our living and dining rooms, and introduced some fun and trendy farmhouse decor. It was a really fun year, and I feel so fortunate to have been able to share it all with you.

Here's what you liked best!

1. DIY Photo Clipboards

2. Living Room Updates and Fall Decor

3. Valentine's Day Rag Wreath

4. Summer Barn Dance Chalkboard Art

5. New Kitchen Bar Stools

6. Spray Painting a 1990's Brass Chandelier

7. Taking The Plunge - Refinishing Dining Room Furniture

8. A Sweet Suggestion of Spring for the Guest Room

9. Where Blogger's Create 2014 - My Craft Room

10. My Spring Curtains and DIY Curtain Rod

It's always fun and interesting to take a look back at the top ten posts here at The North End Loft. It really energizes and excites me for the next year! I can't thank you all enough for following along with me as I create fun and easy DIY projects in my craft room and make simple and affordable changes that keep our home decor fresh and exciting. 

I'm looking forward to another great year!

{To see my top ten posts from 2013, click here.} 

I'm sharing this week at these wonderful parties:

Rooted In Thyme

From My Front Porch To Yours

The Charm Of Home

French Country Cottage

Priorities and a New Chandelier

Hello! I hope you all are having a good start to the new year.

 I've downloaded a  journal app called Day One, and I'm kind of loving it. I tried keeping hand written diaries in the past, but never kept them up. My problem was that I never say what I mean the first time. After I'd written something down, I'd think, no, that's not what I mean. But there it would be in pencil that I'd have to erase, or ink that couldn't be erased. So I'd quit, unhappy that I wasn't saying what I wanted to say.

But keeping a journal on my laptop is awesome because I can backspace at lightening speed and have countless chances to get my words just right. It's so satisfying to look at each perfect entry that says exactly what I mean. (I guess that tells you something about me being a perfectionist and compulsive.) 

So, anyway, on my new journal I spent the morning setting my priorities for this year (or at least for this month). They are simple: my health, as in eating well and moving my body more, and nurturing my family through personal support and unconditional love. 

My blog didn't make the list, and yet here I am writing a blog post before making my healthy grocery list and doing my stretches. So, big lightbulb moment, I will go back to my journal and add personal creativity to my priorities because obviously being creative isn't a choice for me. It's not a lack of discipline, it's something that just is. 

I can't continue to blog the way I have been and also fit in my other priorities, though, so my blog may look a little different while I work that out. I'm not sure how, but I think it might have to do with that perfectionist compulsive thing I have going on. 

So instead of spending hours behind my camera and in Lightroom today or looking for pretty photos to sandwich in between all these words, I'll share a quick phone photo with you to say howdy and this is what's up at my house today. Then I'll go grocery shopping, make a delicious and nutritious dinner, take Tucker for a long walk, and do a yoga workout. 

I hope that's okay!

So what's up at our house isn't quite "up" yet, but it will be soon. Right now, it's sitting on our dining room table. Last weekend, my husband and I went shopping for a new chandelier for the dining room and couldn't find anything we liked anywhere near our price range. The ones we loved were in the $500 to $700 price range. Uh, sorry, but no way! 

Then my husband remembered we'd noticed a chandelier we liked for sale in a consignment store where we bought our pine armoire last summer. Could it possibly still be there? We called the store from the car, and not only was it still there, it had just been marked down! 

So we got a farmhouse style chandelier we love for only $99!

As you can see, it's very simple and graceful. It looks like it's made of pewter, which we have nothing else of in our home, but I'll be keeping it as is, not painting it. I've never been afraid of mixing metals in our home, and we have a little of everything: stainless steel, polished chrome, oil rubbed bronze, and even some old brass (gasp!). This will just add to the happy mix.

I'm thinking about adding those cool beeswax dripping candle covers and different lightbulbs, but first we need to get it hung and make sure it works. I can't wait to see it above the table!

So there you have it. Lots of words today, and not a lot of pictures. Later this week, along with my other personal priorities, I'm hoping to share a top 10 posts of 2014 and also share some new farmhouse art I found for the living room. They might not be as full of photos or perfectly edited, but I think I can still do it all. Just a bit differently.

Priorities. Gotta love 'em!

  

Christmas Ornament Storage

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Today will be a lazy new year's day at our house watching the parade and lots of football on television, while a gentle snow falls outside our windows.  

I'll be taking down our Christmas decorations tomorrow, so I thought this would be a great time to re-share my system for storing all our delicate glass Christmas ornaments. 

I used to have those slotted cardboard honeycomb inserts that came with this box, but every time I went to pick up a layer to get to the one beneath it, the cardboard would fall apart and collapse, and I'd have to put all the slots together again. Frustrating! Plus, if it was full of ornaments and I picked up a layer, the ornaments on the edge spaces would fall out. Even more frustrating!

Last year, I finally decided to create something better.

 I bought a few packages of the shorter and wider clear plastic cups at the grocery store and took the time to hot glue them to the cardboard dividers in my ornament storage boxes. It made storing our ornaments and decorating the tree so much easier. I can just pick up the flat cardboard with the cups securely attached and hold it in one hand, while either putting ornaments directly from the cups onto the tree or taking them off the tree and putting them back into the cups. This system really cuts down on the time it takes to both decorate and un-decorate the tree.

You could create this system for any big cardboard or plastic box you have. Just cut some flat pieces of cardboard, mat board, or display board to fit your box size and then hot glue the cups on securely. Layer as many as will fit in your box.

Once you take the time to create this system, you'll have a sturdy and easy ornament storage system for years to come.

I hope you have a wonderful day today, and best wishes for a new year that's full of happiness, good health, and prosperity for you and your loved ones!

PS: A big Congratulations to our Boise State Broncos for winning their third 

Fiesta Bowl yesterday! 

GO BRONCOS!