Alternative Christmas Tree?

I am a lover of a traditional tree, but recently my business partner and I decided to create a manzanita chandelier for an event our company was designing. It sounded like a brilliant idea when Roxanne and I were tossing ideas around. Little did we know what an epic struggle we would have with this 12' piece of nature.

 

Just after we cut it down I was plucking leaves and still had a glow of expectation on my face.

 

We shortly realized stringing lights would be no small feat. Luckily, we are friends with men who know how to operate heavy equipment and have a huge warehouse. Good thing, because we had to have a hanging apparatus welded to the base.

 

Late into the second night, we were still stringing over 1,000 lights. We had to wire them to the backsides of the branches so the cord would be barely visible. Two days on a ladder is exhausting.

Here I am early in the event set up just realizing how high twenty feet actually is and giving my daughter a tutorial on holding a ladder securely.

 The rope hanging down acted as a pulley to get it up to the rafters. 

 

 

The finished product looked beautiful and festive between the two long tables. It was an absolute headache pulling it off, but it was well worth it for the reaction it received. If I had the right kind of house I may have considered hanging it in my home for the holidays. I just went with a traditional noble fir and was happy I could string the lights while standing on a chair.

 

 

Sharing at:Inspiration Friday , Feathered Nest Friday

 

Little Blue Bathroom

I don't use much blue in my house. Not that I don't love blue, it just doesn't seem to fit. However, when it came time to redo my daughters' bathroom, my youngest daughter begged me to paint the room blue. I was leaning towards something bold, like kelly green or phone booth red, but I was overruled. We agreed on a Laura Ashley shade (Powder Blue I believe). I am pleased with the result and love the soft blue with black & white.

 

I plan on making a ceiling height shower curtain in the future. For now this monogrammed curtain works just fine.

 

 

The inspiration for the diamond pattern woodwork came from the fabulous 1983 adaptation of

The Wind in the Willows

via

 

 

I am obsessed with patterned floors, especially in black & white.

 

I bought the vintage medicine cabinet at a flea market when I was eighteen. It has been in this bathroom for nearly 20 years and been painted numerous colors.  

 

I finally found a home for my six black & white Spode Zoological plates.

                         The ceiling and skylight are covered in the same diamond pattern.

 

Although blue is not my first choice, it's a choice I am happy with for this little bathroom.

I still have to change the switchplates and replace the light, but I am not in a rush. My youngest moves out in two years and I will probably want to redo it anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

Joining: "Feathered Nest Friday" at French Country Cottage

"Inspiration Friday" at The Picket Fence