White Kitchen Obsession

Just a short post today.  I have family coming in on the tour boat from Crisfield to spend today and tomorrow with us!

The other day when I posted about my favorite reality TV personalities, I posted a picture of a kitchen Nicole Curtis had done on Rehab Addict on HGTV.  Under the picture I commented on how much I love white kitchens.  Especially all white kitchens.  It's true, after years of disliking white cabinets and countertops and turning up my nose, I have in the past year developed...

WHITE KITCHEN OBSESSION!

The perfect Kitchen by Stonecroft Homes via Pinterest
all white - check
rustic wood floor - not white but that's OK
old fashioned bin pulls on cabinets - check
giant clock - check
humongous in size - check

And the bigger and whiter the kitchen the better, like the one above.  Seriously, that kitchen is the bomb.  I always look on Pinterest and Houzz at white kitchen pictures - and am immediately drawn to them when I see a picture of one on facebook or on TV.  Now do I think an all white kitchen is all that practical?  Probably not.  Would an all white kitchen suit our family? Ummm, we're sort of dirty, sooooo.  Can I afford to rip out my kitchen and turn it all white?  Sadly no. But I can dream.....

Let's all sing together now....I'm Dreaming of a White Kit - chen.

from HGTV

from Google Image Search

from the Centsational Girl blog
A slightly more do-able version.  I would like a white marble counter top, but still the bomb!
Love that island end - and of course the bin pulls on the drawers.

Google Image from Decorating Files

from Kitchen Design Ideas
different kind of layout but I like it!

May your days be merry and bright, 
And may someday Hope's kit - chen be white.

A Tangier Island Super Supper

A Back To School / Goodbye Summer Feast

Here's what was for dinner at my house.  And yeah, we are eating off mis-matched plates tonight because I've been putting in long hours down to school and short hours doing house work.  But it's the food that counts - and both the hubby and I put a lot of work into this end of summer celebration tonight.  Ha ha, I see some of my spray paints made it into the picture too.  You know there is never not enough time for a paint project.  LOL

So, what are we having?  Let's go clockwise starting from the corn...Char grilled corn on the cob, fried potatoes and onions, fried soft shell crabs, batter fried shrimp, grilled stuffed portobello mushrooms, and grilled peaches for desert.  Yum Yum.  This is a Tangier feast!  Don't you wish you were here?

Walk It Off Sister

After that meal I decided to take a photo walk over to our beach.  Tangier has a long sand beach on the western end. Here are some pics I took when I wasn't moaning about how full I was while I walked:

On The Path To The Beach

A look back at the main section of the island from the beach path.
You can see the water tower, a tiny bit of the school, and the Methodist church on the far left. 
Main ridge is at the center and right.

Crossing the plank bridge, getting closer.  At the top you see a couple of watermen's crab shanties in the marsh.

Almost there now...

Artsy shot

It's going to be a pretty evening!

The Beach!

View to the left from path's end

While I was taking pictures a new beach buddy appeared

Everybody loves the beach...

Sun's going down

Walking to the right toward the jetty

Last light...time to stroll on (or in my case waddle) back home

Reality TV Comes To Tangier Island

And Now For A Dose Of Reality...

A while ago we heard a rumor ( a couple of different ones in fact ) about some reality TV shows that were interested in coming to Tangier to film.  One was to be a new show about watermen by the people who produce Deadliest Catch, one was Dirty Jobs, and the other was the show Diggers.

If you have never seen Diggers here is a screen shot of the blurb provided by National Geographic on their home page. They hunt for historical artifacts, mainly by digging with the help of metal detectors, and give little history lessons about the areas where they are digging and the things they find.

Now, here is an admission from me.  N. and I like to watch the show because they have very "unique" terms for the things they find like "nectar in the poc" when they pick up something good and put it in their pocket.  They also tend to make up outrageous stories about the items they dig up. For example, if they were digging out west and found a horse shoe, that would say something like I bet it came off of Custer's horse when he was trying to escape from the Indians at Little Big Horn, etc.  In short, we make fun of it. And Noah does impressions of the men and their sayings, and it makes me laugh.

Well, yesterday they actually came.  Poor N. was off the island practicing driving and finishing up some things before school starts on Tuesday.  His friend messaged N. with a picture of himself with the Diggers guys.  N. was most upset. When he got home he set out on a search of the island for the Diggers in case they had not already left on the afternoon boat ( But not before I told him, "Please, don't tell them how bad we make fun of them!". ) And....he found them.   Happy son = happy mom.

I was not as excited as N. to see the Diggers guys (though I was happy to hear how nice they were and that they were not nearly as silly acting as they are on TV).  Just not feeling it.  There are, however, a couple of people I would love to see come to Tangier - and that I would hunt down until I found them.  

#1  Jo Jo  (Joanna Gaines) from "Fixer Upper" on HGTV and the MagnoliaMom blog:

Oh man, not only would I hunt down poor Jo Jo, I may never let her leave.  At least not until she has decorated every possible inch of my house and redone the outside and the yard.  She can bring cute little Chip, too if she wants. If you have never seen their show Fixer Upper, you don't know what you are missing.  I love everything she remodels and decorates. She is amazing!  Check out her pages at  http://magnoliahomes.net/blog/.

Now let's see ... what's in this photo that we know Hope likes?
antique buffet - check    
repurposed metal used as wall hanging - check    
lamps with birds on the shades- check,
huge clock - check

um, YES,  please...

#2 Nicole Curtis of Rehab Addict on HGTV:

Poor Nicole, she's been recently been bumped down a space on my Favorite People on Earth list.  LOL.  I really like Nicole's style too, and she is very much into saving and fixing old things and repurposing as she remodels.  I have seen her make several old dressers into bathroom sink vanities, which is a project I have always wanted to try.  I love how excited she gets "dumpster diving" and in thrift stores and watching what she can do with the things she finds there.  She has impressive knowledge and usage of power tools, and never met a piece of furniture she couldn't refinish.  Yeah, still love you Nicole.

One of Nicole's old house kitchens.  And you know how I love white kitchens!

Who else would I like to see?  Well, I secretly would really like to be on The Amazing Race (except for those gross eating and bungee jumping challenges).  That's my all time favorite reality show.  So, I'd like to see Phil, but I'd want him to take me with him - especially to Germany (where I have always wanted to go) or somewhere exotic like Bali or Fiji.

  

And speaking of things I've always wanted to do, let's go back to the idea of turning an old dresser into a sink vanity. I have been in love with this idea for a while, but for R. it's a no go.  Look at these great examples I found on Google Image search.  Don't you love them?  Or maybe it's just me.

I don't even like yellow and I love this!

                   

Scott's Run Nature Preserve - One of My Favorite Places

Beautiful Scott's Run in McLean, Virginia

I love taking pictures!  Photography has long been an interest of mine.  I also like to travel, though usually we do weekend trips close to home.  The great thing about living in Virginia is that there are so many wonderful things to see within a half a day's drive.  So, I thought I would share a few vacation ideas from time to time.  Here is one you might not be familiar with, but is one of my favorites.  This is Scott's Run.

Scott's Run is a path along the Potomac River in McLean, Virginia just outside Washington, DC.  It is found within the Scott's Run Nature Preserve, a small park just off Interstate 495.  It is also very close to Tyson's Corner, which if you haven't heard of it, is a HUGE shopping complex.  (The perfect day trip  - hike a little in nature in the morning - feel good about self - reward self with massive shopping trip in the afternoon) The Manassas / Bull Run battlefields are also nearby, and I will post about them on another day.  It takes about 4 hours for us, once we land in Crisfield, to get to Northern Virginia. Northern Virginia has so much to offer in terms of things to do!  I try to go a couple of times a year.

There are different trails to hike at Scott's Run Nature Preserve.  We always do the River Run Trail, because it has such an nice bonus at the end...a waterfall!  This may not be exciting to you - but we don't exactly have a lot of waterfalls on the coastal plain Eastern Shore of Virginia.  Waterfalls are also a photographer's dream!

Here are some pictures from our hike during Spring Break two years ago.  N. has grown so much since then! Here he is being a good sport and carrying my camera equipment over the "jumping stones" that help you cross shallow parts of the water on the trail.  I had two cameras that day. He's carrying my big camera, while I have the little point and shoot - because of the two of us, I am the one much more likely to end up in the river.  Those stones are very photogenic, but not exactly an easy crossing for the non athletic / non teenager types (like me).

In this picture we've struggled made it up a killer large hill and back down the other side to the Potomac. At this point I know I am in trouble because the down side of the hill was an even steeper angle than the up side, and that's the only way back to the parking lot.  N. scouted around and found a downed tree limb that was just right for a walking stick and gave it to me for the climb back up the hill later. That was so sweet.  I still have the stick.  I keep it in the trunk of my car for further hiking trips (and the memories of this one).  You can not go into the Potomac here even though it looks tempting.  The current is very swift!

Turn left at the bottom of the hill and walk along the river and around a bend and this is what you find!  Scott's Run Falls.  Oh so pretty, and on the day we were there, deserted!  Seriously, there was only another couple there when we approached.  We let them take pictures for a few minutes while we sat and rested, then they moved on with their hike and we had it all to ourselves.  Except for the eagle!

We saw, what I am pretty sure, was a bald eagle.  He made several close passes over us, but I wasn't able to get a good picture.  That little black dot in the picture above is him, use your imagination.  LOL   

Here is my best shot from that day, using the artsy "slow shutter" effect that is a must for waterfall shots to get that misty water look.  I was pretty impressed with myself on this one.  Thank you N. for toting my big camera and tripod and making this shot possible, and for being such a good travel buddy.  My husband works on a tugboat and has a two weeks home, two weeks away rotation, so pretty often it is just N and I on our little getaways since school vacations never seem to coincide with R's schedule. It's the life of a tugboat wife, I'm used to it.  And we do usually try to go somewhere as the whole family at least once every summer.

And here's a shot N. took of yours truly, resting and contemplating how in the heck am I going to get back up that hill.  I really want to go back to Scott's Run this fall.  I can only imagine how beautiful it would look decked out in fall colors.  But that hill is already on my mind...

New Ideas For Old Denim

Some Cute Ideas For Repurposing Denim

While searching for a sea glass project yesterday, I happened to come across a great idea for a flower vase using old jeans.  It's very cute for Fall.

from cfabbridesigns.com

Isn't that sweet?  It was made from the leg of an old pair of jeans and a tall metal coffee can, and looks pretty simple to do. You can find the instructions at crabbridesigns.   I had never thought much about repurposing old jeans.  That's one of the reasons I love DIY blogs and sites like pinterest so much.  They spark creative ideas about things you've never considered.  A few years ago I did have a "booty bag" purse.  These were purses made to look like the top part of a pair of jeans.  I loved that purse.  

Here are some other denim ideas that I love:

from debbie-debbiedoos.com

Not made from actual denim but painted up to look like it. Love those old ceramic chickens.  I have a couple that belonged to my Nanny and always sat on the windowsill in her kitchen.  I haven't displayed them in a couple of years but it may be time to get them out again...

from denimdoover.com

Love this denim scrap rag wreath.  The yellow ticking mixed in gives it just the right touch of color.  I think red bandanas cut into rags would be cute as an accent too.

from somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Oh look the inital H.  Perfect.  And a cute memo book too.

from threadingmyway.com

Here is an idea for denim storage baskets.  This person made them for their sewing room.  I think they could also really be sweet in a nursery or little boy's room.


Just a short post today, I am getting into the swing of things down at the school.  Less than a week now til classes officially begin!  

More Sea Glass Craft Ideas

Some Non Jewelry Sea Glass Ideas

Don't you love the look of sea glass?  You don't have to live near the sea to appreciate its delicate colorful beauty.  Plus, coastal style decorating is really "in" right now.

I make several different kinds of necklaces, scarf charms, and other jewelry type items with sea glass, but I am always on the lookout for a new thing to try.  Here are some different and unique ideas I have found.  I have credited the source where I found it under each picture.  These are not my original ideas, but I sure do hope to try them!

Google Image from completely-coastal.com

This one is a must have for me!  How cute is that???  You can't live on Tangier Island and not have a few crab decorations!  They have a glued on sand background - but I think to make it easier Krylon has one of those stone spray paints that is a light sand mix color.  Good color, right texture, and no glue and real sand mess.  Yeah, I thinks that's my plan.  Now finding just the right pieces of glass to arrange like that will be the problem.  You see I can be am a perfectionist.  I might not will not be happy unless mine looks JUST like that.  And that's the thing with sea glass.  No pieces are ever the same.  But it's too cute not to try.  Let the sea glass hunting begin!

google image via followpics.co

Also high on my list is this gorgeous sea horse done with sea glass, shells, and a few beach rocks.  I wish I could buy this exact one because it is perfect for my utility room with that background and those colors.  I am usually pretty confident in my "crafty" abilities, but this one I am not so sure of.  I REALLY love it though!

Google Image from totallygreencrafts.com

Here's another great idea.  A sea glass monogram.  You can get the letter blanks at Hobby Lobby and other craft stores.  Glue on sea glass, and place in a shadow box style frame.  Looks pretty simple.  I wonder what kind of glue these people are using.  If you have experience using glue on sea glass.  Please message me or post in the comments below.  Thanks!

from lifestyle.allwomenstalk.com

These are cute too!  Birdhouses decorated with sea glass. Great idea!

from pluckingdaisies.com

I also found these on a blog post from someone who used them as wedding favors.  There is a souvenir wedding scroll inside, along with some sand, sea glass, and shells.  Great wedding idea, but I think they'd be cute as decorations, too!