Sunday, January 23, 2011

Overdue Thank you's ...

I love blogging. Really! I've met so many wonderful people, heard amazing stories, watched unbelievable progress and transformations, and made some of the best "bloggy friends" you'd ever hope to have. It's a medium unlike any other, almost always positive - without fear, guilt, or rejection. And even when I get tired, or life picks up around me and it keeps me away from my computer and camera - I know, you're all going to be here when I pop back in!

So, though long overdue, Thank You! (and you, and you, and you, and you, you and you ....)

You all humble me everyday, and keep me focused on finding, creating, and sharing inspiring interiors, thoughts and tips on design and decor, and the sometimes off-colored stories of my hectic life. I still shake y head every month and say: "That many people care about what I have to say!?"

I was looking over comments on my last post about the new colors of the house, and found that a lot of people had been directed over from my new friend, Mr. Goodwill Hunting. I bounced over to find that he had nominated me for the STYLISH BLOGGER AWARD! (I don't think any of you would find me very stylish if you saw me this morning, er - afternoon. Still in bed with a headache after Scott's Birthday party last night!) Of course, awards like this always come with rules ... this particular one is to write 7-things about yourself, and then pass the award on to 10 other blogs I find to be stylish.

Now, thinking of sofas, paintings, art, rooms, rugs (you get the idea), THAT is easy. Thinking of 7-things about myself ... that you'd even care to hear ... not so much. So this took some time ... and without further ado:

1. I'm a singer. Baritone and Tenor, and I can't hear a song that I know without singing along.
2. I'm a pretty picky eater. Well, very picky. I don't eat mustard, mayo, olives, peppers, lamb, duck (this list goes on and on) ... It's something that I've done since I was a child, and I suppose it was my mother's fault for always letting me have my way, huh? {thanks mom}
3. I sleep with a pillow over my head. In fact, can't go to sleep without 2-pillows. I know - weird. But there is a story! My grandmother grew up in the middle of the depression, and wouldn't waste electricity on nightlights or hallways light. We would visit my grandparents every summer for 2-weeks. They lived in the woods of Mansfield, Louisiana, where creepy shadows, sounds, and creatures crawled around. So, when it came time to sleep - the moon shining through the trees through the window, along with the noises, and darkness left me no choice but to cover my head with a pillow and pray for morning. It stuck.
4. Sometimes I pick a floor plan from a house plan website and then decorate it from the ground up ... paint, furniture, rugs ... I guess that started at about 13 when my mother gave into my odd request for a Better Home and Gardens Floor Plan magazine while my 8-year old brother asked for toy dinosaurs and matchbox cars. (I'm sure grocery shopping with us was a real treat!)
5. I'm addicted to the series': CASTLE (OMG! I can't go a week without watching it, and am itching for a boxed set of all seasons.) GLEE (I told you I was a singer! I'm a total GLEEK!), I SURVIVED (This one creeps Scott out ... and I agree, the stories can be odd when you walk in during the middle of the show - but if you can watch it from beginning to end ... it's very inspiring. These people battled amazing trials and struggles and won!) DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (In Love!!) and finally BROTHERS AND SISTERS (Don't you LOVE that house Nora Walker lives in?!)
6. My favorite ice cream is Death by Chocolate.
7. My dream is to have a small-ish, 2-bedroom house on the lake. We've found a great lot, (which we haven't purchased) on Lake Erie with a brilliant view of the Toronto skyline. One day ...

Now, I love so many blogs! So many more than 10. So - if yours isn't on this list, please don't think I don't love your blog or what you do. Picking and choosing is a difficult task! I decided to make it easier, I'd pick blogs that I recently found and connected with ... many of them are new bloggers, and I urge you to visit them and see what they've got going on! (Click on the photo of their header to visit!)




14 comments:

  1. you are invited to follow my blog

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  2. Hey Artie, where's vignette design on your list!? Just kidding! Seriously kidding! I agree with your list, including Tartanscot (love) and of course The Polished Pebble and Miss Mustard Seed. I'll check out the others. BTW, Dianna is my daughter's best friend from high school! She is way too busy to hang out with us common folk these days, but I do hang out with her mom and I just had dinner with her. Didn't Dianna look incredible at the Golden Globes!? Her new movie, "I am #4 comes out next month. She is now a legitimate movie star.
    Your blog always inspires me Artie! xo Delores

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  3. Also, I too looked at floor plans when I was a kid. My grandma had a book of them and I would study them for hours. Still do!

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  4. Lovely to get to know you a little more with this blog award. Off to check out some of your nominations....xK

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  5. Where to begin?! Well, first of all "Congratulations"!! I was just going to ask how Scott's bd party went, but 'nuff said;)!!! I bet it was a hoot!

    I LOVED your list! So fun to learn all these new things about my new friend! My thoughts regarding your list (you 'were' wondering weren't you?!):
    1. love that you sing! what I wouldn't give to be able to sing like Rachel on Glee;)
    2. sometimes your taste buds change as an adult, do try again, cuz you're really missing out on some good eats. and you being Southern?? a little shame on you, oh and your mom too;)!!!
    3. I do the pillow thing at dawn only, so I get it!
    4. LOVE that story! too too too cute! I used to do the ones in Southern Living magazine each month! I would pull them out and save them, not sure for what!
    5. fun list! I adore Glee and Bros and Sisters too! Gleeks unite!!
    6. yum... sounds delish, never had it though!
    7. It will happen! I can see you and Scott on the lake already! Fabulous!

    Thank you for this award Artie! I am very honored. I am familiar with some of these blogs (Martha and I go back years and years on a cooking board!) and look forward to visiting the others. Thank you!

    And, you silly young'n... of course people care what you have to say!!! Seriously- all that talent at such a young age... priceless!

    xo
    joan

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  6. Hi !! Just stopping in to say hello and that I hope all is well in your world.
    xo bj

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  7. Congrats on the award.
    Sounds like you had some fun at one birthday party! :)

    Melinda

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  8. Hey, buy the lot! Can't wait to see the home you build on it! Appreciate your wit & humor. This post made me think of something I haven't thought about for many, many years. Starting at about age 6 or 8 years old I would take adult size shoeboxes and totally decorate them as houses. I even made some two-story houses. (My parents were not able to buy me a doll house. You know, the ones with the three walls & no fourth wall so the child could play with it arranging the furniture, placing the dolls in it, etc.). I would spend hours "designing" & "decorating". Those were the days!

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  9. Hi Artie, well gosh! I guess I will now have to fess up to some painful facts about myself....thank you for including me

    xo kelley

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  10. Congratulations! It always amazes me how many blogs are actually out there and you have mention a few that I haven't seen so I'm excited to check them out. I also wanted to say that I too am a house plan dreamer. I have been for years. I can look at a plan and visualize the whole thing built and decorated. I thought I was the only one... ha ha. Have to say I really like the new direction you are going with in your home. I'm anxious to see everything completed.

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  11. Oh my goodness Artie...thank you so much!! I am so honored!

    I was just scrolling through my Google Reader and all the sudden I was like 'Hey, that's my header!' What a nice surprise.

    I enjoyed reading your list of 7! I love that you decorate house plans! I probably shouldn't admit this because no one will ever invite me to their house again, LOL, but I decorate every house I walk into in my mind. I can't help it.

    Anywho, I can't wait to check out the other blogs!! And thank you again! :)

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  12. Wow...Thanks for the kudos...I certainly don't feel that I compare to any of those other blogs!! I will "fess up" some of my "secrets" so that you can all know me a little more! You are just a sweetie!!

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  13. Hey A! I've been a crazy person this week planning for a wedding reception. So, excuse my tardiness in my gratitude! You are SO sweet to include me in this list.

    Miss you.

    And, I OF COURSE, adore you and your blog!

    xo

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  14. WOW ARTIE!! You've been busy!! You're refreshed blog layout looks terrific and I'm loving the browns and greys you're doing in your home. And even with all that, you still managed to find time to give other bloggers a shout out with the Stylish Blogger Award.

    THANK YOU for graciously including me in your list!! I've been so consumed with working again (finally) and haven't really had the energy to blog (after sitting in hours of Miami's traffic!!)

    I'll be sure to return the shout out this week. THANK YOU again ~ You're the best! xo

    :D Lynda
    (oh!! and BTW: Isn't Mr. GWH awesome??!! Luv him!!)

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