Off And Running-Family Trip

I hope that all of my American friends enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend~perhaps an extra day off from work and time with your families:-). Speaking of...........another week of probably not much in the way of blogging or Shabbyfufu Website work, although I did just go shopping and found all sorts of fabulous things to add to the various boutiques.

The Fufu family is going to be off on a trip to Europe on Friday, and I have lots to do to get ready. This will be mostly a family trip (maybe SOME antiquing mixed in, all depending)....we are doing a Mediterranean cruise. I promise to share some photos when I get back if you would like to see them.


Remember the post about the Romantic Country Magazine photo shoot at my home? I got the word from "the boss" (aka Fifi:-) that it will be in this upcoming issue, which may hit the newstands while I am away. Although I can't show any photos of the shoot itself, here are a couple that I took with my camera~and I think that these are "safe"!

Fifi and her equally sweet and beautiful sister Sylvie in the kitchen cutting flowers for the shoot. We used pale pink roses and soft blue hydrangeas mixed together. Here is a tip for keeping your arrangements fresh that Fifi suggested; take off all of the leaves, yes...ALL of them. This will keep any from clouding the water, and it DOES work!


The family room wasn't used in the shoot, but was used for Dan Mayer's camera equipment and suitcases filled with Fifi's props. A great learning experience to see how these pros work so well together.


A close up of the beautiful pink roses. They came from Whole Foods, where you can find some of the BEST florals!

Fifi's sister Sylvie made this journal for me with hand embroidery on French linen. Isn't it Gorgeous?!

Well that's about it for now.......laundry and packing are calling my name. Will talk to you soon!

Oh......before I forget, thank you to my sweet friend Siobahn from the beautiful Vintage Mosaic Boutique for this award:-). I am not the best at passing the awards along, but would have to say that it should go right back to Siobahn and so many of my dear blogging friends as well! Alrighty then.........talk soon~XOXOXO~ Janet

Mid Week Musings~Rose Painter Raves

Is it really the middle of the week already? For me this week will be extra short, as Mr. Fufu and I are going to take Friday off and head up to our beach place for the holiday weekend. It seems to always rain here in Florida on Memorial Day, but if it does.....there won't be any complaining on my part. You may have read or seen on the news how Florida is on fire...literally! We have had no measurable rain around here for a good couple of months, and it's been very windy out of the west....bringing the smoke right into Miami from the 10,000 acres of the Everglades that is burning. We need the rainy season to kick in and put the fires out....it's stinky outside, not to mention our poor lawns!

I was so thrilled to learn last night that my dear friend Farnaz Farzad is on the cover of the new issue of The China Decorator magazine! Many of you are familiar with her amazing work that she creates for the Shabbyfufu ladies....she is really the best (not to mention the sweetest:-). I am so happy to see her recognized, congrats Farnaz!


I just had to share this photo that I took today of my sweet Murphy. Totally NOT posed, he was half on the sofa and half on the ottoman with his "hand" (paw!) on the remote! He wasn't feeling well today with an upset tummy, poor guy....feeling his usual sweet self though this morning.



One of my many collections that I have had for years are albums full of vintage postcards. I don't usually do too much with them, but every now and then I like to sit and read the backs and get a glimpse of what life was like for some in the early 1900's. Simpler times for sure! Here are a couple of patriotic cards that I scanned in honor of Memorial Day. Feel free to use them as you please:-).


So that's about it for the time being......
I probably won't post again until next week when we are back, so have a great weekend and stay safe!

XOXOXO~
Janet

Old Enough?

Are you old enough to remember library card catalogs? I sure am....my first job in high school was at the local public library! Love these.....a weekend find while out and about. Not sure if they will be keepers or go on the website at Shabbyfufu, and my daughter has her eye on them as well. Great for the crafter for storage.....and vintage is always better than new~don't you think?

Lots of pretty pieces were posted (finally) on the website today, so come on over for a visit!

Talk soon~
XOXO

Janet

All About Aqua

Before I begin talking about one of my favorite colors....I apologize to the Shabbyfufu Website customers who have emailed asking when we would be listing new things. The artists on the website have all been doing lots of custom orders recently, myself included~so that's where our time has been spent this week. More to come soon, some this weekend HOPEFULLY.....and exciting things going on behind the scenes that I can't leak just yet~it's all good:-)


I adore the color AQUA and have been using it in my decorating schemes and styling for a number of years. It's refreshing as the Caribbean sea and relaxing as a day at the beach. AQUA mixes in so well with whites and pale pinks and is harmonious with those found in nature's hues. I am spotting this color everywhere and in every style these days from the vintage modern Anthropolgie
to the trendy Pottery Barn Teen



A few ways that AQUA is incorporated into our beach home decor

A couple of recent finds........a pair of amazing AQUA corbels. These are going into our beach home....I can't part with them (just yet:-).

Any suggestions here??? This is a beautiful Indian silk sari that I picked up at a yard sale a couple of weeks ago, simply because of the color. The $10 price made it too good to pass up on!

A shameless plug......you can always find AQUA on the website at Shabbyfufu


Silly Me*-*

Talk soon ~Have a GREAT weekend!

~XOXO~
Janet

Mid Week Musings ~ Simply Chic

My usual Mid Week Musings column, a day ahead of schedule!! I have been neglecting the website and my projects this week, as we are off on a family vacay in a couple of weeks and I have been out shopping for some necessities. Tomorrow will bring more shopping, and then hopefully I will be able to settle down for the projects that have been burning in my brain and need to escape! More about the travel plans later........

I thought that my blog readers might like to grab some inspiration from one of the Shabbyfufu website customers who has fabulous taste in decor selections, Anita. She lives out in Spokane, Washington and although I have never been to that particular city, I am sure it's as lovely as Anita herself:-). She has been a loyal Shabbyfufu customer for many years now, since wayyyy back in the day when I used to sell on Ebay. Every now and then Anita sends me photos of how she displays the many treasures that she has collected....and she has a wonderful eye for putting them all together in an eclectic, romantic style. Anita works full time, and yet follows her true bliss by selling in an antique shop in town, so I will be sharing some photos of that as well. She will be doing the Fleur De Lis show in Spokane this coming weekend, so if you are out that way, be sure to stop by and say hello to Anita...simply CHIC!









I hope that you enjoyed seeing Anita's home and shop..... If you have some time, enlarge the photos for better detail.


Talk soon~
XOXO~ Janet~

Coco Loco In Miami

I hope that you had a nice relaxing Mother's Day weekend ladies~all of us Mom's definitely deserve that!!

We celebrated our anniversary on Friday night by going out for a nice dinner to one of our favorite seafood restaurants with our older daughter and her long time boyfriend. They are so cute together~it's nice to spend time with them as friends. I hope that they don't mind my sharing this photo that I took before we headed out to the Captain's Tavern.


One of the things that I love most about life in Miami is the tropical flora and fauna that is in abundance year round. We really are in the tropics way down here, and unfortunately along with the beauty comes the dreaded hurricane season....that is almost here~eeeks!!! We have lots of coconut palms on our property....you could easily survive off the land here for at least a week. The trees are now loaded with mature coconuts, and my coco loco cuban guys stopped by the other day to help themselves with the Fufu family's blessings. They supplement their incomes selling these, and with over 5,000 removed last year from our yard.........they have their work cut out (literally) for them!! They cracked open a couple for me.....the milk is thin and sweet, and the flesh is juicy and tender....nothing at all like store bought. Wish that I could send some your way........

Timberrrr! You definitely don't want one of these falling and bopping you over the head.

They hauled away lots, but there are tons more to spare. They filled their truck until the back tires were almost flat.

Yummo.....sweet nature's candy. I peeled the tender stuff out with a dull knife and just ate it fresh. The milk tasted great in a seafood dish that I prepared on Saturday night, which I forgot to take a picture of. I made some pasta, sauteed some scallops and a bit of broccoli and then created a sauce with the coconut milk. Leftovers will be delish for today's lunch!

Have a great week......
Talk soon~ Janet~

Sweet Love

I thought that I would share this lovely sentiment that I woke up to today. My older daughter (24) who is home for a couple of weeks left this little hand written card in front of my computer this morning. Isn't it lovely?


Mr. Shabbyfufu and I will be celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary on Friday. I am so blessed to have him as my husband, life partner, best friend and the father of my children. He is just the sweetest and most supportive man and I adore him even more now as the years have gone by. Twenty seven years ago.................our wedding kiss on the beaches of Sanibel Island, Florida at his parent's home.


Spreading some love to you today..........
~XOXOXO~
Janet

Happy Mother's Day and BIZ

Not sure how much blogging I will do the rest of the week with some other commitments lined up....SO......A BIG SHOUT OUT for a Happy Mother's Day to all who are reading this quickie post!

If you are a Shabbyfufu customer, we like to do little promos for special occasions, and in honor of the Moms out there......................

Now Thru Mother's Day ~ Free Shipping Is Available On Selected Items. Look For The Free Shipping Logo!

Free Shipping On Items With This Logo ONLY. Offer Applies Within The Continental U.S. & Will Be Credited Back To Your Charge Card After Purchase.

Monday Inspiration-Get Out

I hope that you had a lovely weekend! It's Monday.....time to get back on the week day routine, which for me starts off most mornings by taking my four mile walk to this place.


It's one of the southern part of Miami's greatest secrets as far as I am concerned. The grounds are lushly landscaped and it's very quiet and private, yet located right off Old Cutler Road~a busy street that is designated a historical road. It's gated and belongs to the county as a museum of sorts, and beyond the gates you need to pay to get in.


The main house, early 1900's Spanish style

The visitor center is just a few years old. Why they built it to look like a log cabin in North Carolina is beyond me?!? The style doesn't fit in at all with the surroundings, but it is nice and they have a loo for those early morning pee breaks

Thankfully I have never come across any of these at Deering, but I am sure that they are there.....hanging out in the mangroves.

To walk the grounds is free, and it leads down to the ocean via Biscayne Bay. I love to go down and have a look at the water, always different, depending on the weather of course.

Miami skyline, not exactly close by....taken with my telephoto lens.

How clever of Starbucks to build a cafe right next door. Often my treat for burning off all of those calories!


I came across this and wanted to share it with you. For those of you lucky enough to live in So. Cal....did anyone make it to this FABU estate sale on Saturday? It seems that Pamela Anderson had a complete sell out of her home furnishings that are absolutely 2live4!!! She is friends with Rachel Ashwell and has purchased many of her pieces from her, as well as the outrageously gorgeous store Bountiful in Venice, with prices only suitable for stars like her. Oh I would have LOVED to have that antique French bed, the antique cast iron urns....and just about anything in this lot!!!!

Here is a link to Pam's Photo Gallery:

http://web.mac.com/hhestatesales/HHESS/Pams_Phots.html#0

SHOPPE TALK:

I was fortunate to purchase some sumptuous items from a Miami Estate last week and will be posting them TODAY on Shabbyfufu.
If you love antique statuary, there are some lovely pieces and the prices WILL NOT be like Pamela Anderson's~lol!

Have a fabulous week~
Talk soon,
xoxoxo ~Janet~