New Ta Da! feature now in Romantic Homes

Remember a while back I gave you a sneak peek of the photo shoot of the room that was to be featured in Romantic Home's June issue? Well, the issue is now out and I would like to share some photos that you won't find in the issue - so in other words - you will have to buy the issue to see the rest of the photos and to read the story behind this iron French bed! :-)

Below is just a little eye candy just for you that really needs no explaination. This room belongs to my wonderful friends, Joni and Kendall who allowed me to basically do whatever I wanted to their bedroom. I aged the walls and ceiling, designed and painted the vintage chair, designed the bedding, the tin valence and radiator cover as well. They were a treasure to work for.

Enjoy!

Okay, just to get you curious, the little porcelain dolls

hanging from the chandelier (below photo) have an interesting story - which is told in the June issue of Romantic Homes magazine!

Thank you for stopping by again. Oh! One last note about June's issue....make sure you read the letters in the front of the magazine. The editor included an email I sent to her because I received a lovely and very touching letter from a reader who commented on the Feb issue which featured my Valentine "Tree of Love."


And as a favor to me, should you enjoy my article about this bedroom, please feel free to write or email the editor and let her know how much you enjoyed it. I would love to do even more writing/designing/photography/styling assignments...sooo maybe...if she got a few emails from happy readers requesting more of my work....I promise you will always get a sneak peek of all my work that is to be published! :-)


Oh! One more thing, and then I promise to shut up....I was out all day today and the entire evening as well, and I didn't even get home until midnight. I went into my store to check on things and I found the current issue of Romantic Homes! I was so excited for Joni and Kendall (owners of the bedroom) that I drove over to their home tonight, after midnight, put sticky notes on the pages in the magazine, wrote them a note, and placed the magazine under the windshield wiper, face down, on Joni's car. I got a feeling she may be a little late to work in the morning because I am sure she will sit in her car and read every word I wrote.

I wanted to start her morning with a big smile.


I hope you smile a lot today as well!



From my house to your house,
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhouse.us

Cruis'n for a snooz'n

All Work and No Play makes not only Jack a dull boy, but also makes Elizabeth exhausted, stressed, and very little time to relax. Like most business owners, I work very, very long hours. The best laid plans rarely go as planned, schedules and projects change mid-course, thus changing timetables and completion dates.

With vendors who send the wrong order, or give the wrong delievery date, payroll to pay, landlords to work with, an average 30-40 phone messages to return in less than a week, mail to sort through, email to read, and furniture to paint, cabinets to sand, there is just no time to do daily stuff such as: get groceries, dry cleaning, go to the bank, change the oil in the car, get the annual eye check-up, and dental cleaning. No time lately to even get my hair cut - so yes, I resorted to "trimming" it myself - luckily with my crazy hair style you can't tell when it is screwed up. :-)

I just refuse to accept that I get only 24 hours a day like the rest of the world.

But as much as so many of you believe that I am an inspiration and so full of energy, and how I appreciate those comments very much - there really comes a time that even this "energizer bunny" just wants to stop hopping and get away. And so getting away I am.

My very good friend, Christie, talked me into going on a cruise with her to the Honduras, Belize and Cozumel. I have never been on a cruise, and to be perfectly honest, I have never wanted to. I am not sure I like the idea of being told when to eat (I hear it is all day long), where and what to visit and do...and all that with a boat full of strangers that I have no desire to chat with because that is how my entire life is spent - chatting. Chatting with customers, clients, vendors, employees, neighbors, seamstress, upholster, carpenter, friends, family,....and while I enjoy it, I really don't want to do it in the very little down time I have.

However, going with my good friend, who loves me and takes good care of me, will make the trip a trip to cherish. She is treating her parents to a cruise for their 40Th wedding anniversary, and I love her parents as well. And while I am too tired to really be excited at this moment, I am grateful that she didn't give up on me and talked me into going.

So, here it is midnight, I have some more work to do yet, and still pack. I think I will just toss a bunch of clothes into my suitcases (wherever they are) and pretend it is Christmas when I get on the ship and unpack and actually look at what I brought with me because it will all be a surprise since I am just tossing a handful of stuff into the suitcase.

So, my dear, dear friends, I will be gone and out of touch for about 9 days. I will sun myself, listen to my ipod, read, snorkel, eat, visit, sleep, sleep, sleep, and do my best not to worry about the emails I didn't get to, or the phone calls I didn't have time to return, and how all of my projects will be on hold for a bit.

I told a friend of mine that I may be tempted to jump ship and stay on a remote island for a year or so. She just laughed and said that it wouldn't be long that I would be designing custom bedding out of palm leaves and sea grass, chairs out of palm trees and accessorize it all with sea shells - then advertise it all by spelling out "Elizabeth House" on the beach instead of the usual "S.O.S." Okay, she may have a point.

I would be lying if I told you that I won't be thinking about work or you all. But I will do my best to remember that the work and all of you will be just fine without me. Hmmmmm....that isn't as great sounding as I thought it would be when I just typed it out. But that is okay - I have 9 days to ponder and to sound it out in my head. But most likely, I will just head for a sound nap.

I will miss you!

Love,

Elizabeth

A Real Page Turner in the Making...

The last three weeks have been especially challenging and stressful. No matter how hard I work, I never seem to get caught up. And no matter how long I work, the day is too short. Well, this evening my appointment called and rescheduled. My evening was happily free! I had so, so , so much work to do, but instead, I decided to head to the gym to run off my stress. Gotta take care of myself.

As I was getting ready to head out to the gym I visited my "library", as I always do before a run, and during my visit I pick up my Runners World Magazine that has been sitting next to my throne for a week now. (I know, this falls under TMI - too much information.)

I read an interesting article on Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to compete and complete the Boston Marathon. This historical event took place on April 19, 1967. A mere 40 years ago, women were not allowed to run marathons - amazing.

Switzer was a college student, trained, and had her coach/friend run with her. Her boyfriend ran with her as well. She paid her entry fee and filled out her application, signing it "K. Switzer." Once the race began, the officals and press became aware that a woman was competing in the race - the horrors! Switzer was attacked, jeered, and rentlessly questioned by the press as she ran. "When are you going to quit?" was the question of the day for Switzer as she ran the race. It was never ending.

Switzer recalls the pain - the bloody blisters, sore muscles and relates her thoughts from some 40 years ago:

"My mind was whirling, but that couldn't distract me from feeling the very big blisters in my arches that soon would burst. I could handle that; pain was nothing. It was part of what made you a hero, doing this, overcoming it, relegating pain to the incidental for a higher purpose."

What a powerful statement - read it again - slowly. She made history for herself and changed the course of sports for all women with the pain she endured. Inspiring to say the least. But as I continued to read the article as I made my way to my front door - I stopped in my tracks!

Kathrine Switzer's bib number, in that historic race was: number 261...look at the above photo....261!! That photo is my bib from my very first marathon - number 261! And how ironic that my first marathon - the More Magazine marathon, was a women-only marathon! I couldn't believe my eyes. I actually teared up as I read this.

I went to the gym and as I worked out, I kept thinking about my first marathon, the bib number and how Switzer made history while enduring her pain, but never losing sight of her goal - to finish. She just wanted to finish it. How many times have you put a goal in front of you, but even with odds against you, even with others around you telling you to just quit already - you endured - and you completed it. That is your personal history. It may not make headlines or be recorded in history books - but it is your history. You know the saying: "I'm closing that chapter of my life." Or "This will be a new chapter in my life." Well...where do those "chapters" go? Your personal history book, of course.

I thought about this as I ran this evening and I realized that all my stress, worries, and hard work these last several weeks meant I was simply "relegating pain to the incidental for a higher purpose." That lifted a lot of weight off my shoulders - it gave me more focus. It made sense.

In the running world we have a term "PR" which means "personal record." While racing, most runners have a goal of breaking their personal record. To do better than the last race. To be stronger, faster, and yes, just to finish - and to accomplish this means to endure even more pain than the last race. With each new goal or ambition requires more strength and endurance than the prior goal - in other words - we are creating our personal history. Another chapter. Our own book. (Sometimes I think I am creating a novel!)

Number 261 will always have special meaning to me. And what an unexpected honor to have ran my first race with the same number as Kathrine Switzer. I am glad I didn't know at the time, the significance of the number - it would have been intimating. But knowing its significance right at this moment is just the inspiration I need and the assurance that I am simply making my own personal history - and that it all has a higher good and purpose.

Whether your goal is to go back to school, start a business or maybe own a home - know that while your endurance and pain probably won't make it in the news papers, you are making history - your personal history. May your personal history book be filled with inspirational and accomplished stories to someday share with those who have yet to begin to write their own book.

Thank you for allowing me to share a page or two of my personal book with you. My hope for us all is that when all is said and done our personal history books will be a real page turner!

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

http://www.elizabethhouse.us/

"Priceless" Before Photos....

As I sit here in my favorite coffee shop, Kayak's Coffee, near Forest Park, and review these photos, I find it hard to believe that so much work is finally behind me! I have been working 18 hour days the last few days to bring to fruition a project in the making for months now. Although the project is not completed, a large portion is!




The above photos are the "before" picture of this one room that I, in conjunction with the architect, my carpenter, seamstress and upholster have been working on for months now. What an honor to be selected by the architect to help bring his vision to fruition and for allowing my input to take part in this fabulous home. I may not be able to afford a home like this, but it is a treasure to be a part of its completion. This room is for a teenage girl - a very lucky one! And she is such a sweet and very talented young woman, this room can't begin to demonstrate her sweet spirit, but it is a start.



Before photos of a tiny antique side table I am going to paint and a chair that I am redesigning and painting as well - all for this one room.
My, my, my, what could my seamstress, Maureen and I be up to in my workshop? We are creating a custom something for the room - you will have to wait and see what it is in the next posting! ;-)
Did I say "custom"? Yes, everything in this room is custom designed and built. Below is an example of how meticulous and detailed this room will be. What are they you may ask? You will have to wait and see.


Below are part of a wardrobe - I didn't get a photo of the true "before" of it. This is only a base coat. You will see the final piece in the next posting. Again, all of this is customized!

I cherish the opportunity I am given to create. But even better? The fact that my creations will be enjoyed by others, possibly handed down for generations, and that there is just a little piece of me sprinkled here and there in people's homes. While working on someone's piece, I often think of the recipient and how this piece will make them happy and the fact that there is not a single piece out in the world that is just like this.
My clients are truly getting a one-of-a-kind piece...and why shouldn't they? They, as people, are a one of a kind in their own right. And so are you. Never forget that. There is not a single person out there that is just like you - isn't that fantastic when you think of that? In a world of mass production, international trade, and "how to books" filling the bookstores' shelves, how comforting to know, that some things are not replicated and are truly unique - such as our spirit.
And sharing your spirit with others is like giving a very customized gift to them. The lucky recipients of your gift (your spirit) are truly getting a one-of-a-kind gift. And while most customized items are so expensive that most of us could never afford them - your one-of-a-kind gift is priceless. And what a joy to give and to receive a priceless gift! You are a very special treasure to me - and I mean that.
from my house to your house,
Elizabeth
http://www.elizabethhouse.us/