A bit of a break

One last post before I go on my merry way to visit my lovely mum in the U.K.  A much overdue visit I must admit but at least I will make it home before the year is out and before Christmas.  Naturally, I have nothing ready!  No packing even thought about let alone started, still need to get some gifts, do my laundry, feed the cat, milk the goats (oh, I don’t have any!), and all in the next 24 hours!  A challenge, I know, but it will all get done.

I have been so fortunate in the last month or so to have worked with some wonderful new clients.  They have all been so welcoming and generous – it makes such a difference to my job.  I have frescoed a two story home for Karen and Alex (let me tell ya, that 28 foot ladder was rather daunting!), faux marbled a kitchen for Gordon and Ann, faux plastered a powder room for Michelle and faux gold leafed a hallway for Gloria.  A lot of strenuous work for these ol’ bones but so worthwhile.  I love leaving a clients house with a smile on my face knowing that they loved what I did.  It’s amazing what a bit of paint can do!  Below are a few pics of the finishes but as usual the quality is pretty bad.  If anyone has tips of how to take a good photo of a paint finish – please let me know!

 

        

I will be away for two very short weeks (which is definitely not long enough) and will not be able to comment on any of your blogs but will catch up on all the happenings on my return in December.  Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, stay safe and keep warm!

For You

Peaking

Just a quick post for today.  I just wanted to share some of my photos of the fall foliage here in northern Virginia.  I took these a week or so ago just as the colors had reached their peak – breathtaking.  Alas, most of the leaves have blown away now and many of the trees are bare but what a feast for the eyes while it lasted.

 

The sunsets this time of year simply take my breathe away.

I just love taking pictures at the ‘golden hour’.  Everything glows – even these  horses!

Does anyone know what species of bird this is?  I’m thinking it is a kestrel but I really have no idea I’m just happy that I was able to get a photo of it.

   

Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!

XXXX   Anji   XXXX

Rejuvenated!

Don’t you just love it when you find a bargain?!  I managed to get my hands on this lovely buffet/sideboard thingy in Salvation Army on 25% off day.  It is solid wood which is unusual to find nowadays and even though it was in need of a bit of cosmetic surgery it was in good shape.  Not one to be deterred by that lovely thick, molasses type varnish, I took it home, sanded, primed, sanded, filled, sanded, painted and distressed it – and all in one day!  It now sits proudly in my work/family/basement room crammed full of my ‘stuff’.  I love my stuff!  My only problem now is that it is in the room where I attempted to lay laminate floor (with my impatient husband) which never really got finished!  And…now I don’t like the color I painted the room so I might have to change that.  Oh the perils of working in Benjamin Moore where you are constantly surrounded by hues of blue and grey and robins egg!  Giving color advise to others is easy but choosing for yourself, well, you know how that goes.

Before

After

 

I have also been doing my usual workaholic routine and have had no time for anything arty.  But I did take some time off this weekend to enjoy having my son home from college for a few days.  It’s never long enough though but what’s a mum to do.

Below are some pictures of a platinum distressed ceiling I did last week and a silver/gold antiqued glazed chair.  I am pretty chuffed with the results.  The pictures don’t really do them justice but I think you get the idea.

Well that’s enough of tooting my own horn – just wanted to share.  I have been really bad at not leaving comments on my fave blogs and I apologize.  Time constraints and all that.  I will make up for it soon though, promise!

I hope you had a wonderful last few weeks?  The weather here in Virginia this weekend was un-be-liev-able!  Perfect temps, sun, and that wonderful autumnal feel in the air.  The leaves are finally changing to those beautiful hues of reds and gold's and I can’t wait to get out and take some pictures before it’s too late!  Of course I will be posting them as soon as I do.

Have a wonderful peaceful week ahead – XxX Anji

Finding time…

Well, it is yet again the end of another week.  A week that just flew by in a whirl with work, work, and work.  Absolutely NO time to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the simple things.  You know, when I get time to read some of the wonderful blogs out there, I am so very envious.  How I wish I had time to go off and see all the ‘junque’ shows, all the creativity and camaraderie that so many people have through blogging.  I wonder to myself  ‘will I still be working when I am 70 years old just trying to make ends meet?’  I like to think that I am a humble type, not really wanting material things from life, not fame or fortune, just a tiny slice of that pie.  That big, fat, juicy pie that some people get to eat everyday.  I feel like I am always stuck on the ‘soup and salad’ course and occasionally get to the entree - but never to dessert!  It’s time to put things into perspective I guess – time to choose exactly what it is I want from life, time for some reflection.  But maybe all I am really looking for is ‘time’.  If I ever get enough of it, I will try and figure out a way of bottling it, and I will adhere a beautiful hand written label that says ‘use wisely’.

So until I figure that out I will wish you all a happy and healthy week.

Until next time…

Catch Of The Day

Just a little image to show you what my husband is up to when I am at work all day.  And he didn’t even bring it home for dinner!

Looking Back

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last post.  I really do appreciate any feedback and if I only knew how to respond – I would!  Another blogger thingy I have to learn….

I also want to add a HUGE thanks to  Gale over at http://myrepurposedlife.blogspot.com/ for such helpful advise on blogging.  I am, for the first time, using Windows Live Writer to write this post and let me tell ya – easy – you have no idea! (unless you use it of course!)  Even though it took me a while to figure out how to actually get Writer in the first place it was well worth the time.  Some of the editing functions are fantastic – uploading images for one.  Pop on over to Gale’s blog for some really great tips.  Thank you so much Gale!!

Another very busy weekend, too much work and not enough rest.  But I did want to upload a few more pics of my trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as I am still on a bit of a high from it!  Did you know that there is a town named Intercourse?  On the other side of Intercourse is a town called Paradise and sandwiched in between the two – a town called Blue Balls!  I know, I know, I sound like a little kid still in school but I still get a laugh from it.  I’m sure it has nothing to do with what first comes to mind but you have to wonder….

Please double click on the images if you want to enlarge (the quality is so much better).

 

 

As always – hoping you have a wonderful week ahead!

Anji X x X

The Simple Life

I have got to stop popping off for the weekend - I mean it. I seem to spend so much time going on 'quick trips' and never get anything accomplished OR any work done. But, with the weather this past weekend in the mid eighties, clear blue skies and a September breeze, how could I pass up a trip to Amish country in Pennsylvania? Not the tourist kind of trip where you are obliged to take buggy rides and dress up in a bonnet but the kind where you get to drive around the farmland seeing acres and acres of corn, wheat and tobacco. Where Monday is wash day and the clothes drying on the line are fresh and crisp and sway gently in the breeze. Time has stood still in Lancaster, a better simpler time where children run around in bare feet, laughing and playing with their siblings. Where the only cars you see are from the tourists, where horse drawn carriages are the only means of transport and ~ where life is pure.









I felt so unbelievably humbled and privileged to be able to get these photos. It's very rare that the Amish allow this at all but I guess it was my lucky day and I was able to chat and laugh with this beautiful family, always being mindful not to outstay my welcome.

Onto a farm machinery auction! My poor husband drove me around for hours looking for real life events and boy did he hit the jackpot! Never did I realize that there would be so much choice! Not just farm equipment but hand cranked washing machines, buggy parts and office desks. I had a field day taking pictures there and no one minded - in fact they were trying to get in on the act!

We decided to stay over night in a charming little motel and then headed out Monday morning to see more of the breathtaking countryside. We were not disappointed - the weather was better than the day before and the cloud formations were unbelievable.








So now, of course, I want to be a photographer and travel the length and breadth of the states, snapping away at all of this beauty. Throw on my jeans and cowboy boots (I bought me some when I was in Nashville!), toss my equipment into the back of my truck (I actually own a chevy Aveo!) and take flight! I will have nothing to think about except my next destination and my long, blond hair (I have shoulder length brown hair) will flow like a river in the wind.
But for now I will just have to dream. Tomorrow I have the delight of sanding furniture all day, grocery shopping and laundry...but I always have my memories!

Wishing you a wonderful week everyone
XXXXXX ANJI XXXXXX