Religious Print Redo

I had an empty wall above my piano that I recently filled and have enjoyed the result...

Last year we had the privilage of viewing many of Carl Heinrich Bloch's religious works at a local university.

The paintings were all stunning, and  I have had this framed print for some years.

My dad found it at a yard sale and bought it, and I was able to buy it off of him.

( he tends to get a little overstocked from yard sales and second hand stores)

It came in a gold frame, which has never done much for me.

I covered the glass (it looked complicated to pull it all apart, so I took the lazy way out)

and then I just used acrylic paint on the frame.

I really liked the sort of scratchy look that I got with one coat, so I left it at that.

It did take some dabbing and work to get the paint into the etched designs on the frame's edge,

 but it was easy and the paint dried quick.

The frame was dry and ready to hang in about 30 minutes.

After passing an empty wall for months in our new house I am actually pretty happy to have a little

new spot that feels like home.

And the vinyl wall phrase as a constant reminder isn't bad either.....

may you be inspired to

create a space today

Antiquing for our anniversary

After a summer of busy travels and lots of football madness we decided to stay close for our anniversary. I introduced my hubby to the idea of a stay-cation, and we decided to hit a great historic shopping district not too far from here. 

If you ever get a chance to visit Gardner's Historic Village give yourself a few hours and explore freely.

In the old mill at Archibald's Restaurant original gears and products are on display and woven into the shopping experience. 

I adored the different sections of decor and ideas

Love the signs and colors

The painted wood walls and cottage looks were lovely

The shops range from decor to Victorian clothing to toys and whimsy.  

We ended up with a few exciting things.

This super cool repurposed shelving was a MUST in my husband's eyes

I fell for this romantic mini dress (okay, think sweater tights and high boots????)

but that's not all..

the dress form was also on sale, because the store was closing to become a restaurant.

I can't wait to shabby that baby up and use it around the place!

We added a few necessary accessories to the hutch and we're ready to go

On the way home we stopped at another great consignment store called Home Again.

It was beautiful also, with a lot of great priced items.

We ended up grabbing a few more little things from there,

but we were pretty worn out at this point.

On the home front we have a new little friend to keep the kids busy...

so all was well for our day of celebration.

I kind of liked having a day to shop and enjoy each other's company some place far enough

to be 'away', but close enough to not cost much to get there.

I highly recommend the stay-cation shopping day.

Marriage has it's rewards, right???