Copy Cat

Photo from Mecox Gardens

I am sure some of you remember the lovely planter that I blogged about awhile ago. You can buy it here for $1950. Isn't it absolutely fabulous? The last time I checked though, I haven't one the lottery or put on a winter coat and found $4000 in the pocket ( I wanted 2!) So, I am hopeful that since I went and stole the photo and the idea that someone will buy them from Mecox Gardens. Everyone else can make the vintage junky version for about $40 each:

Do you like it? I can't really take credit for this at all, except for the painting. Mr. Hughes built them. I wish I could give you dimensions and a schematic, but he built one to the size we needed and then copied it. What I can tell you is that we used leftover wood from the deck, lion's head door knockers (about $7 each), and feet from antique bathtubs ($32 for 2 sets of 4.) Mr. Hughes built the planter and placed the feet at a 45 degree angle so that it would set level. He then used a cobalt drill bit to drill holes in the feet at an angle. He said that it was important that you drill the screws into the wood, but miss the prong that was originally used to attach them to the tub. Sounds confusing, huh? If you want to know more about this process, email me and I will have Mr. Hughes explain it better. He then screwed on the door knockers (we purchased these off ebay, but I have seen them at flea markets before.) I then painted everything a creamy white with the hopes that it will weather and the rust will come thorough and make the paint flaky. They are already rusting a little I may add a grey glaze to age it a little more. I will probably put a fern or a boxwood in them next year, but this is what we found that was big enough at Home Depot. So, I know this wasn't the best tutorial, I apologize. I will promise to try to take during photos next time!

Have a lovely weekend!

Beach Party

There's a Beach Party at The Shabby Chic Cottage! This is the 1st party that I have ever been to, so don't make me stand in the corner while you guys all whisper about me!! Seriously, I hope I set this up correctly! I at first thought... I don't have anything particularly beachy, not like some of the other lovely blogs out there. But, I came home and started looking around the house and I do have some beachy fun here and there.

I found something beachy on top of my cabinet in my dining room. There are seashells and driftwood that we found on the beaches of St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Tybee Island. The coral is from a Beach Shack store on Tybee. And, I got the pretty blue shell from one of my favorite stores in Franklin, Scarlett Scales Antiques.

More beachiness... starfish in front of my vintage mirror...

I have some sea urchins too ( I think that is what they are anyhow!) in a big mercury glass bowl. I bought them in Savannah GA and they always remind me of our great anniversary vacation.

And, here is where I am trying to add more beachy goodness. This is Baby Hughes' bathroom. This picture is a watercolor that we bought from a gallery in St. Maarten on our honeymoon. The beach there was so beautiful... the prettiest I have ever seen, I think. And, more starfish!

This is what we have so far... still looking for the perfect shower curtain and paint color.

Well, this was so much fun. I can't wait to go to everyone's beach party. Thanks Gina for putting this together. I can't wait to go to another party!

Flea Market Weekend

Can you imagine having all these ceramic fittings in your bathroom? This was one of my favorite tables at the flea market this weekend. We had wonderful weather. We are normally fair weather flea market goers, which means August is out...too hot! We found alot of treasures. Here is a shot of a vendor that had some lovely chandeliers.
Mr. Hughes helped me to put together this little video of some of the incredible (look for the large brown pleated ottoman...would look great in white linen) and interesting things(the viking helmet that I wouldn't let Mr. Hughes get to mow the lawn in.) Please excuse the roughness...Mr. Hughes had some trouble with the editing software.

After we left the flea market, I needed to go to the bathroom BAD!! I don't do the rest rooms there! So, I told Mr. Hughes to stop at the nearest, cleanest bathroom that just happened to be at Gas Lamp Antique Mall. I'm pretty wiley, huh? Well, what do you know? We found some treasures there too. Here are a few of the things that I thought were particularly wonderful.

I have a thing lately for naked lamps... love what this retro booth did with the tags!

These posters were from a salesman's catalog. They had spaces for fabric swatches on the back. I may go back and get these for Mr. Hughes' office/library.

This isn't my style, but I love the orange, retro thing this booth has going on.

This booth was great! I wanted to take this home even though I have no place for it.

Now, are you ready to see what I brought home with me?

I bought this vintage cart.... AFTER we went to the flea market. How crazy is that? We were talking about buying a new one there, but luckily, Baby Hughes wanted out of his stroller and graciously let us use it to haul our stuff! I think I am either going to put my oval German license plate on it or make a vintage junky sign.

And, this vintage fireplace insert. I saw one a few months back that was a little larger and looked like zinc and was much more than I would pay. So, I was thrilled when I found this one at the flea market. I will probably put 3 plants on it in front of our fireplace. It won't come into the house until Baby Hughes gets a little more steady on his feet. I can just see him falling and hitting his head on it.

And, all of these goodies! This is a mixture from the antique store and the flea market. That number 7 milk cooler came from fellow blogger Theresa from time-worn interiors. She was so sweet to talk to and her booth was beautiful!! I wish she would come every month, Mr. Hughes is secretly glad that she doesn't! I got the wonderful shield frame and the naked lampshade... I think the dealer thought I was nuts when I asked him if I could buy just the wire frame and not the gorgeous lamp it was attached to. I found a couple of ironstone pieces... a $1 plate and a toothbrush holder. I have never even seen one before. I got the 2 grey soda crates to store canned food in when we redo our pantry. And a giant flower frog... pretty neat huh?

We finished off our Saturday by eating at Mellow Mushroom (yum!) and going to a few shops in Downtown Franklin. Only bought a small plant there that is destined to die, but it looks cute under my cloche for now. So, I hope you enjoyed my little tour of the flea market and my blatant bragging of my wonderful finds!

Small Update to Dining Room

Well, I haven't been getting as much accomplished as I would have liked on my week off. Mr. Hughes is busy with work (thank goodness!) so we haven't gone anywhere. And, Baby Hughes is teething and has an ear infection on top of the lingering cold from last week. But, let me tell you... I would choose my fussy baby over work any day... and I mean that!! So, I have been keeping him entertained as much as possible and doing small projects. Did I mention that it has been raining? Thank goodness for that too, but I haven't been able to paint my new treasure that lovely shade of grey yet. Oh well, I did finally manage to slipcover my dining chairs. I blogged about it many months ago in this post. Here is the after with the slipcovers I bought from Pottery Barn on sale.

My chairs were okay, I just felt that the dining room needed a little pop. The window to the dining room faces our covered front porch, so the light is very filtered. And, the chairs can be a little uncomfortable during long dinners.
Here is a close up of the chairs (did I mention we got them for $35 a piece? can you see why I can't replace them?)
They didn't quite fit the seat of my chair, they looked a little saggy. They needed a boost! So, I had my lovely mother buy me some 2" foam (she works at Hancock Fabrics and let me know that it was 40% off!) I simply traced the seat outline on the foam with chalk and cut it. Now, I didn't do it as she suggested... have I ever told you I am impatient? She told me to use a serrated knife to get a smooth cut. Nope, I used scissors. Sliced my finger open too! And, you don't want to see the jagged edge that the scissors made (shhh! don't tell my mother!) But, it looks fine with the slipcover over it.

And, now they are cushy on my...well, you know what I am getting at. Now, I realized they need something else. The back seems like it would be a little more comfortable with a lumbar pillow. Then I remembered these pillows that I banished from the living room. I really still like them and they haven't found a forever home. So, I will ask my mother ever so sweetly to cut down these pillows to make a small lumbar cushion. I have 4 pillows and I think if I cut them down and back them with another fabric I can easily convince my mother to make 6.

I am sure she will. She makes Baby Hughes stuff all the time. Actually, if she would take a break from her projects for him, she would have time to get all the sewing stuff that I need finished. I mean I am her baby. Why does he get all the good stuff? Maybe I should tell her they are for him. Hmmmm.
Well, I have to actually work for a little while tomorrow. But then the plan for this weekend is treasure hunting at the Nashville Flea Market! I am hoping to find some goodies! By for now!

What I Did This Summer

Image from stolaf.edu

Well, the proper title would be "What Mr. Hughes with Some Help from the Mrs. Did This Summer." School starts back at some area schools this week and even though I don't have a back-to-schooler, it has me thinking of school supplies and beginning of term essays. How many times did you write this one? Well, I thought I'd show you what has been going on in the backyard of the Hughes' Casa for most of this summer.

The massive undertaking of the deck and pergola. We had someone come in and frame the deck and he ended up coming back to build the pergola (thank goodness!) Mr. Hughes laid all the deck boards on the diagonal, built all the railings and the steps. Mr. Hughes originally planned on notching all the boards and building the pergola, but it isn't a one man job!! We aren't planning to keep the sheets up all the time, I just want them up for shade while I attack a painting project this week.

One of our great finds! The bottom half is a chippy birdbath base. It was missing the top, but we found a big enamel bowl that fit perfectly. You can see in this photo the deck skirting is missing. Mr. Hughes refuses to do anymore labor until it cools off a little!

Our deck is messy, but I snapped this photo anyhow to show the table and benches that Mr. Hughes built. Here is where I chipped in, I painted all of it! It is gigantic and sturdy. 3 grown men actually used this as a boost to put up the pergola beams! The top is a dark brown stain and the bottom is a creamy white. We found the legs on ebay from a company that makes butcher block islands. These were considered seconds only because they were not stain grade. Mr. Hughes then just built a frame around it. We decided benches were more practical than several chairs. I gave my input on the bench design... they are quite long and they needed center supports. I really like the rusticness of them. I also like to use words that don't exist in blogger spellcheck!

One of the many trees we planted this summer. We planted 7 crepe myrtles, 2 river birches, 2 magnolias, along with 10 azaleas, countless monkey grass and a hydrangea and some other smaller plants. We plan on adding more plants over the next few years. I want the garden to have a layered look, but not too messy.

Here is what I am really excited about! My very own potting bench! Mr. Hughes created this masterpiece using an old mantle for the back, 2 posts from an old porch, and a marble top. He built the frame out of leftover lumber from the deck project. He plans to put it on top of a bricked base this fall. I can't wait to use this this fall to pot some pansies.

Here is our sad hydrangea. She just doesn't like this heat. And, behind her you can see a vintage headboard that we picked up from Scarlett's a few weeks ago...it may move to another location in the garden.

This a brick border that we dug around the two mulched areas that surround the deck. These bricks have some history: they came from an old street in Nashville after they paved it with asphalt. We have a stack still, but not nearly enough to use for border around the whole yard. And you can also see our sad, sad grass (weeds.) What are we going to do with that?

We plan on putting out some veggies next year. Right now we have some pumpkins and lavender (weird combo, huh?) I am going to paint the base of this bed and try painting a verse or something along the length.

Here is a work in progress. It is the brick landing coming off the deck steps. Mr. Hughes is currently working on this project. I love that the bricks already have that mossy look to them.

And, another work in progress. This is to become a water feature or a planter depending on how difficult it is to put all the pieces together. Mr. Hughes bought me a vintage French faucet one year for my birthday. We plan to attach that to the wall sink and mount the wall sink and the zinc shield to an old door. We haven't found the door yet.

Well, he has been a busy, busy man. So, this week, since I am off, I plan on baking him at least one goodie, maybe more. He has a bit of a sweet tooth you see. And, I hope to get a few of my projects completed as Baby Hughes allows!

Lazy Saturday and opinions needed

It is a very lazy Saturday here at the Hughes home. We have all been sick at some point this week. That's right! Someone brought germies to Baby Hughes' birthday! How thoughtful! Thanks for the lovely gift AND the cold! Oh well, he has been handling it very well considering it caused his very first ear infection. It did get him out of his shots for the time being, so I think he must be pretty pleased. I just got the fabulous symptoms yesterday. So, I am too sick to complete major projects, but not sick enough to stay out of Mr. Hughes' hair about doing some rearranging. We decided that the new vintage chest will be of more use upstairs in our bedroom. So, it left me with a few options downstairs. I could move it back the way it was:

This is how it has looked for a couple of years. This is a vintage stereo cabinet that we gutted the speakers and replaced with the bins that hold scarfs and umbrellas. It also holds our junk box. We don't have a junk drawer, but we do have a box filled with pens, tape, and just junk. I am a little tired of the green, it has always been a little bright. And, it doesn't flow into the dining room. But it is really useful in the entry. Painting it is always an option.
Or should I go with this look:

I like this even if it is a little atypical of me...I am not usually a red person. The table ties in with the color in the dining room. I added the basket for shoes. Mr. Hughes made this his only request: it has to be useful. And, a space to take off your shoes and store them is useful. If this look stays, then I will likely cover the chair with a grain sack. Regardless of what I choose, the painting stays. It is a Mr. Hughes original and it won't look great anywhere else because of the red. Besides, I love it. It is a friendly way to enter our home.

So, dear readers, which do you like better? And why? I really appreciate your opinions.

So, I will wait patiently (yeah right) for your opinion. I guess while I am waiting I will unload the dishwasher. If I am well enough to scoot furniture and blog about it, then I am well enough to do some chores!

Latest acquisitions

As promised, I am showing my latest vintage finds! This license plate is German... isn't it wonderful? It is almost my favorite number, 789. I am either going to post it on the potting bench Mr. Hughes just finished or weave a ribbon through those slots and hang it on the wall.

A large stack of vintage flour/grain sacks... I have a few plans for these.

A set of 9 scalloped napkins with embroidery on the corner.

I won these on ebay! Finally, something I haven't been outbid on! And they came from England by Royal Mail... maybe from the Queen! I love the look of them, but I never want to eat bloater paste! Can you believe that they put potted meat in these? Sure beats the cans vienna sausage comes in here.

And, something I have been, according to Mr. Hughes, obsessing over. White vintage luggage. I am jumping on the bandwagon and stacking them and using them as a nightstand in our bedroom. And, I am going to put them to use. I have a large plastic tote full of "memories" from my past. I am going to organize all of that stuff in these 2 cases. (please ignore the nasty dry leaves!)

Okay, these aren't vintage, but I love these pillows that I bought at Target last week.

Look! They are box cut with a flange and it is contrasting!! I love the detail!

And, the best buy of all.......

This beautiful chest! Isn't wonderful? It is missing a knob (which we have) and a strip of veneer (which we don't.)

Look at the key holes... fabulous!

I have wanted a chest like this for awhile. I found one for a good price right before I had Baby Hughes. It was my big girl piece of furniture, you know, one of those pieces you buy when you are a mature adult (snicker!) It had a much darker finish then this one. Well, instead of a piece of furniture for my mommy gift, Mr. Hughes bought me a beautiful pear shaped peridot ring in a vintage style setting. It was much easier to carry into the hospital. And, then I put that piece to the back of my mind. Then, when walking into a Junktique that we visit often, I saw this beauty. I nearly screamed! And, it was a quarter of the price. AND, (it gets better!) she was having 20% off. Oh my! So, I asked sweet Miss Linda to hold it while I went home to measure my spots that it might fit. And it fit in multiple spots. SOLD! Mr. Hughes even said that the construction is better than the other one even though the finish is not.

So, now my dilemma is this...does it stay in the entry? If so, it will be painted black or stained darker brown. The finish on the top is pretty bad, so it needs to have something down to it. OR, do I put it in my bedroom and paint it a beautiful French grey and hang lovely mirrors above it? Such important decisions! I guess I will help Mr. Hughes truck this upstairs this weekend and see how it looks up there. I will let you know where it stays and show you the makeover.

Toot, toot!

That's the sound of me tooting my own horn, well, actually, our collective family horn. Our little party for Baby Hughes was featured at cookiemag.com. It is a wonderful magazine...it's like Lucky for parenting! They found my blog through a tweet from shoestringhome. That is where I purchased those fabulous pleated napkins and she has the cutest bedding that I would totally get if Mr. Hughes didn't think it was too girly. Colleen from Cookie did a short interview through email and then put our party up on the site! I am pretty excited about it, can you tell?
Here is the link if you would like to read the short interview. Stay and look around the Nesting blog... there are great ideas for decorating kid spaces and party ideas too!

Okay, I am finished tooting! I will show you my latest vintage finds next post... they are good!!

Aarghh! We had a great time!

Thanks everyone for your sweet comments about Baby Hughes' 1st Birthday. I thought I would share some photos with you. Unfortunately, both Mr. Hughes and I were running around trying to get everything finished and trying to capture the most important moments that we didn't get a lot of good photos of the decor. The above photo is a chalk drawing that Mr. Hughes did on our big chalkboard. He always does a different sketch for special occasions.

Yes, yes I made my son wear this ridiculous hat. And, one day he will probably find out that I posted it on here. And he will be mad. Oh well, I am sure I will manage worse through the years. This was actually on his birthday. I sugared him up 2 days in a row.

He started by picking the dots off individually. Then he realized that he had never had this delicious sugar concoction before...then he went to town!

So yummy! He stayed up until 1:30 playing with his toys and sweating off all that sugar. The next day we had his Pirate Party. We had set up most of it the night before, but we still ran around trying to get all of it finished before the early guests came.

Baby Hughes' pirate cake. It tasted better than the one the night before. We had the lady that made our wedding cake and groom's cake make it. The treasure chest was his personal cake to smash/eat. We also had mini key lime pies and goldfish chex mix.

The outside table centerpiece with a burlap runner, starfish, wooden swords and (empty!) bottles of rum.

The birthday banner that I blogged about earlier.

We put up sheets under the pergola that we bought from Goodwill for $1 each. It was very hot and sunny, so this was the only way to make it bearable. And, they kind of looked like sails. Mr. Hughes worried that he was going to catch the sails on fire while grilling the Salty Dogs, but thank goodness he didn't!
Our pirate flag!
The treat buckets I got from the Dollar Aisle at Target. I filled them with pirate bubbles, a pirate magnet, a pirate rubber ducky and temporary tattoos. I had wanted to have a temporary tattoo table where the guests all could get one, but we ran out of time.
The only shot I have of his Treasure Chest where the guests put their gifts for Baby Hughes.
The Pirate Punch Bar.
A really neat barrel cooler that we got at a local auction. It is so cool and keeps the ice frozen for a long time. I want to paint it white(but leave the metal dark) now that the party is over, but Mr.Hughes isn't thrilled about that.

The book we gave him the night before. We had all the guests sign it and we will read it to him every year.
I think this was the only time that he wasn't moving or being held by someone. And he doesn't look happy. But, I wanted to show you this cute shirt that I bought on etsy from happyfamily.
And here is the Hughes family blowing out our baby's candle. He wanted to grab it. He hasn't quite grasped blowing yet!
And here is my boy with cake on his forehead. He picked at this one too, but threatened any one who tried to take it away!

After all the presents were opened, he burned off his 2nd sugar rush in 24 hours by playing. He had such a good time and we enjoyed seeing our friends and family. So I guess I have a 1 year old now. It is so hard to believe! I will be back to posting about projects and vintage loveliness this week.