Perfect lamp

I have been looking for a new lamp for my living room for quite some time.  Nothing seems right.  Everything is either too formal, too casual or too glitzy for my lifestyle.  Today, while browsing thru the One Kings Lane website I found the perfect lamp!  Of course it's sold out.  That's me.  A day late and a dollar short.  No worries.  I'm going to recreate it.

This is the One Kings Lane Lamp.

Tune in later for my interpretation of this georgeous lamp!

New baby!

I am so excited!  We have a new baby in our family.  My nephew and his fiance just welcomed a little girl-Madison.  This is my brother's first grandchild.  I can't wait to meet her!

Here's my grandbabies on vacation!

It's been a while since I had the opportunity to sit down and write about my adventures.  Unfortunately, my life is not that exciting so it won't take long to get you all caught up. 

My trip to Rome was spectacular.  The history and architecture of this city is awesome.  It felt surreal to surrounded by such rich and colorful history. 

Rome, the Eternal City, it is also a city with no end of ruins. It's impossible to see all of the temples and monuments from previous empires,  so I began my journey with the Pantheon, the Colosseum and St. Peter's Basilica. But the true flavor of Rome, was a glass of Chianti wine and visiting its many fountains in the moonlight.  My hotel was located directly across the street from Castle St. Angelo.  A perfect location, walking distance to the Vatican and many other attractions.   And the shopping...the shopping is beyond belief...Prada, Gucci, Luis Vuitton, Furla and on an on!

This was an unforgetable experience.  Walking on uneven cobblestones definetely left an impression on my feet.  It took a month for all the blisters to heal!  But what an adventure! I will allways be grateful to my daughter for choosing Rome as one of her study abroad destinations.  Had it not been for her, I would have missed out on the best vacation of my life!

Since coming home I've had the pleasure of working on many projects.  One of my favorites is a vacation cottage in Truckee that my friend Susan, Paisley Powell Designs, designed.  She is so creative and it is always a pleasure to work with her.  You can view pictures of this wonderful cottage on www.Ballardcottage.shutterfly.com.  Mind you, this only the guest cottage.  The main house is still under construction.  Check back at the end of September to see more pictures of the guest cottage and the main house as well.

On the front, it's almost time for the fall quarter to start at SCU!  I am looking forward to decorating my daughter's new appartment.  It is still on campus housing so we are limited by housing rules and regulations but I'm sure we'll come up with some fun ideas.  I know that she is looking forwad to being back on campus and on her own again.  I'll miss having her at home but it's time for her to move on and be on her own. 

So...once the child is back on campus, I will finally be able to concentrate on my sewing room.  My haven.

My palace of solitude.  My very own creative space...with the same three samples of paint on the wall and my husband's stuff.  Oh Goodwill, you will be happy with me this fall.  I plan on leaving you many packages!

Speaking of creative, my daugther Liz owner of Lizzysbusybaby.com made these wonderful teepees for the kids to play in.  I love them!  I'm so proud of her.  She takes after me!

Until next time...Ciao!