Saturday, October 22, 2011

Random Saturday musings, an award and a FABULOUS giveaway!!

Good morning. We are supposed to have a beautiful fall day today,  I am going up to CT. for the day but was really hoping to go upstate to enjoy the fall foliage which is just about to peak but hopefully next weekend. Today's post is a lot of random thoughts, an exciting giveaway and an award I received!!  So excuse any real lack of organization or sole purpose. First to answer questions that have been asked of me since I posted my Thurs. house update (click here to visit) I find its easier for me to answer questions as they come, then onto the giveaway and the award. Lets get started......


1.Many people asked about the names of the wallpapers featured in Thurs. post so here they are....(pardon the pictures, took with my phone)

This one is from  Schumacher #529252


This is by Sanderson (at Zoffany Showroom design is Palampore, pattern #DCAVPA105


And finally this one is also Sanderson at Zoffany Design is Roslyn pattern #DVIWRO101






2. What color is your island and butlers pantry? The island is painted black whereas the pantry is stained a very dark java stain, the darkest that exists yet in the sun you can see the graining come through.

3. Is my marble in the kitchen and butlers honed or polished? Honed, only because its a personal preference, and the key is or so I have been told, to be sure to use a heavy duty sealer for it once or twice a year.

4. What colors are we using throughout the house? I can't totally and accurately answer this as we are only really working on a few rooms right now, but there will be lots of blue, varying shades of tans and gold, and grays. My bedroom is going to be cream and a very pale gray/blue. Family room as I have spoken about is going to be golds, blues and browns. I will surely share with you all what I am doing but thus far this is about it.

5. When am I moving? Ahh, the million dollar question! We are aiming and that is the key word, to move mid November. However to do so the front entrance has to be in, they just installed the front door and I am giving you a sneak peak of it in the process of being installed, now that its installed they are able to work on the surround so if weather cooperates and all goes well they should have it done within a week or two. We are taking it one day at a time at this point, and fingers crossed I will be in by Thanksgiving. There are no words to describe how much I need to be "home".
Sneak peek at door...






6. I got the question of my topiaries, a future business and whether I will be selling these or not a lot. So first thank you so much for your many kind remarks and inquiries, yes I will at some point start selling them along with some wonderful items. I do see a market for certain things just based on my own personal experience in looking for certain things. I feel the market is saturated with a capital S with things that are more transitional, but for really classic old world traditional items I find them less available. So, while I recognize that moving is the most important thing at this minute,  I am anxious and ready to start pursuing other dreams I have had for quite a while. I don't want to be 80 and have regrets or wonder why I didn't at least try something I thought so long about doing! Anyone else feel that way?

I think that answers most of the questions that I got that haven't yet been answered! Thank you for your interest and feel free to ask away.


Now onto a fabulous giveaway, Safavieh has once again generously donated this amazingly elegant "telephone" or end table... talk about versatile! This could go anywhere, and is such a great looking little piece. It is very simple to be eligible to win. (You get your choice in color)








TO ENTER:
1. Visit Safavieh at www.safaviehhome.com
2. Choose a favorite item, then go to their Facebook page and tell them what you love and be sure you mention you are from The Enchanted Home.
3. Click here to go to Facebook or while on their website,on the home page there is an "F" (Facebook symbol)  to take you there.
4. You will not be eligible unless you have left a message on Facebook.
5. I will announce the lucky winner on Friday!

And last, I just got informed that lovely Wendi from Classic Chic Home has awarded me the Versatile Blogger award!!







Thank you so very much Wendi! In case you are not already familiar with Wendi's wonderful site all about chic decorating and living, you must visit, click here to visit.

In accepting this award, you are asked to award this to 15 other bloggers and share 7 things about yourself.  So, first my 7 things.

1. I LOVE Swedish fish, hot tamales and red vines licorice. Have since I was like I think 10 years old and discovered the wonders of using  red vines as a straw in a slurpee :)


3. I dream often about buying a little charming farmhouse in Vermont, and growing a huge garden, opening up a super intimate farm to table restaurant serving things straight from the "farm" in other words leaving all the chaos behind and escaping to a simple quite life in the country. Its a fantasy but it helps me relax just thinking about it!

4. I have a bucket list that is ridiculously long. I have many many many things I would like to accomplish. I am determined to start checking things off that list when I move.

5. I really think I could have been a great actress, I am not being conceited, i just feel like I do have an ability to act. Didn't spend a day in theater or drama class, but somehow I do think I am  capable of acting "on cue". The few people who know this about me, agree but I just don't talk about it or reveal it to many people, it might seem silly. But now you know!

6. I like to pretend I am in my own cooking show, when I am cooking (well, only when I am really in the mood that is) I talk to myself, pour my wine, really get into it....makes it a lot more fun! 

7. I love to read, and I read about everything including some very random subjects. I feel that reading really does broaden your horizons and opens your mind to knowing so much more about the world. Two of the more recent random books I read were the biography of Albert Einstein (sooo fascinating) called Albert Einstein by Albrecht Folsing and then I read "The Quaints" by Scott Patterson, which is basically about the mathematical wunderkinds on wall street coming straight out of the best  colleges and how their mathematical applications to running and controlling the stock market made them billions all the way to the meltdown in 2007. I LOVED this book, it is mind blowing and captivating but you have to be kind of interested in this to enjoy it. I was just captivated. Random books? Yes, but I enjoy them.

Anywhooo, that's my seven things. Onto 15 deserving bloggers, this is hard very hard because I could easily list 30 but I am trying here to think of someone I haven't awarded something to in the past but someone who is doing a heck of a job and deserves some love. I hope you will make a quick visit to each, and say hello. We ALL know that warm and fuzzy feeling we get when someone comments that they just found us, love our blog and are a new follower!
 So here we go....say hello and congrats to

Donna from D Reyne
Jordand from White Cabana
Debra from Acquired Objects
Emily from The French Hutch
I dream of
Pam from Red Ticking
The Buzz blog
Sarah from Belle on Heels
Jennifer from Belclaire House
Dawn from The Alternative bride
Melinda from Georgica Pond
Melissah from Scrapbook
Lisa from A room with a view
TP from The preppy princess
Rachel from All things architecture
Monika from Splendid Willow


So there is all my randomness, I could actually go on and on, and could tell you how about this amazing recipe I got for oatmeal cookies and on a whim ran to the market, and decided to whip up a batch and I could tell you how good they came out and could also tell you how I have over the last two days proceeded to eat almost the entire batch myself. I could but I won't!
Enjoy your day and weekend!


PS Well, maybe on second thought I will spill the beans on the cookie binge but will share it along with the recipe on Thursday :)
 Photobucket

63 comments:

  1. You're more than welcome for the award, Tina. No one deserves it more! I loved learning a little more about you, although I still have no idea what you look like! :)
    Your front door is beyond gorgeous!
    Have a lovely day!
    ~ Wendi ~

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  2. I love these random posts!! Thanks for the paper names, there are two that I think could work so well for my own bathroom. Beautiful choices.
    Loved knowing more about you too, you sound awesome and like someone who really enjoys life and isnt' afraid to try new things. Go for it..something tells me you will succeed in all you try.
    And what a great givewaway, hope to win, could use that table in my kitchen/breakfast area, Will go now.
    Lisa
    PS LOVE your front door

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  3. Congrats on the award, you so deserve it. Your blog is wonderful and love, love your dream home! Thanks for the 15 blog recommends, always glad to find new bloggers.

    And now all of a sudden I feel like making a batch of cookies! Diane

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  4. Congrats on you well deserved award! That first wall paper is beyond beautiful!! Hope you have a fabulous weekend. xo

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  5. Hehe! This was fun I can read about you all day! You really are too funny! Congrats on the award and I am so looking forward to hearing about your future adventures with a business! Have a great weekend Tina!

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  6. Tina if there is any blogger who deserves this award it is you. You consistently bring one home run post after another to all of us who love you. Seeing you have a new post makes my heart sing, I kid you not. My magazines pale in comparison to your blog, and yours is a daily gift!

    So congratulations to you on that, enjoyed hearing all about your seven things! You are so interesting and obviously have many talents.

    Your wallpapers and door like the rest of the house is total perfection. Keep it up!

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  7. Oh Tina thank you so much for the award! And congrats on receiving it. It's so well deserved. I loved getting to learn more about you. Oh and I do the same thing while cooking :)

    And what a fabulous giveaway you're hosting. I went to their facebook page and told them that I love the Directoire Ottoman and that I was visiting from you :)

    Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

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  8. Well, you've been busy writing this morning! You so deserve the award and thank you for even considering me as a worthy recipient. I hope I can do it justice. I'm off to say hello to our friends at Safavieh on facebook. Have a great day in CT!
    xxoo

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  9. Hi Tina.......I'm answering your question..........."does anyone else feel this way" Heck Yes!! As the years go by and I realize that I have less and less time, I feel more and more inspired to create.........even on my small scale I create every day.
    Best to you!
    Kathi

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  10. Tina, I just love your randomness, it is so fun to go along this journey with you! Have a wonderful Fall weekend In Conneticut, I love it there. I had the pleasure of visiting there a long time ago and would love to go back!! We are still having Spring like weather here in Calif. I am ready for some Fall!! happy weekend, Kathysue

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  11. Those wallpapers are stunning. The first is my favorite! And your front door is INSANELY gorgeous!! Fingers crossed for you getting in my Thanksgiving

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  12. Ya know, I think you would be a great actress to. You go girl! Any ways, love the wall paper, love the colors you will be working with. congrats on the award. Wendy, was so kind in giving us one to..Have a wonderful weekend.

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  13. Tina,

    Great Q & A on house and really live your choice for the front door and wallpapers too.
    Congrats on the award and all those bloggers who will be sharing themselves with us here in blog land. My bucket list is overflowing with all those great things waiting in the wings of time too.

    I feel so sure that as we grow more comfortable in our skin we take more chances with revealing what we're about

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  14. Congrats on the award Tina! Very well-deserved! And extra thanks for thinking of me. You've just made my day!
    Jordana

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  15. OK TOOTS: Spill the beans on that Oatmeal Cookie recipe and nobody gets hurt!!!! LOL! My favorite guilty pleasure and am always interested in a good recipe from someone who can vouch for tastiness!

    Great post! Safavieh is so awesome!! Did you SEE that incredible Bamboo Server on their site? I DIED and just could not "LIKE" them fast enough on FB!

    You should get involved in community theater...they always need good people and you can hone your acting chops....you are bound to be great!

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  16. Congratulations on you award! Well deserved that is for sure. I love coming here to read about everything from your beautiful home to cookies to candy sushi to wallpaper and the list goes on.

    I too love sweetish fish hot tamales and red vines in that order, throw in some milk duds and it would be perfect. The random reading applies to me also, I read everything from the history of coffee, to Egyptian digs, to art history, etc. I simply cannot get enough time to read.

    I am so excited for the approaching move, I along with many others will pray for everything to go well so that you are happily enconsed in your new home.

    Follow your dreams my dear, there is nothing worse than regret. Looking forward to all of your adventures.

    Have a wonderful weekend.

    Elizabeth

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  17. Thank you for the wallpaper names! I just visited Safavieh and got a little carried away picking my "loved" item. Narrowing things down was difficult, but I managed.

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  18. Congratulations on the award Tina! You are definitely versatile in your blog posts so it's well deserved. :) I am also a lover of red vines AND your soon to be front door - great choice! Have a great weekend...Barbara

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  19. You have created such a wonderful blog, I just love reading every time you post...I never seem to think, oh this just doesn't connect for me. So congrats Tina! I told you that you are destined for the big time in blogland. And so happy to see Donna from D. Reyne up on your list~I adore her style and sensibilties!

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  20. Congratulations Tina on being awarded the Versatile Blogger Award. Just for you to think of me and include me in this talented group of bloggers is an honor.
    Great front door! Your such a tease, I can't wait to see more. Hope the weather cooperates so your installation can be completed.
    I know the completion of your home and the move is top priority but I know you will have to follow your dreams once you have the family settled. Your talent should not be wasted, and we all know your a creative talented decorator or you would not be building this amazing house. I'll expect to see your name out there!
    OK, bad girl.......no recipe to share after you didn't tell us you ate the entire batch! Come clean and share a recipe so delish......
    Enjoy your trip to CT for the fall foliage color. I know it will be gorgeous.
    I'm off to a colorful day too, football. Big game with colors of Crimson vs Big Orange.......
    Have a great weekend, you sure made my Saturday morning......

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  21. Your door is absolutely stunning. It stole my heart away and I think I would live a cloistered life here.
    Congratulations on your award.

    I love your desire to do something new and not have regrets when you are 80, this is very important in my view. I have made several career changes and loved and learned from all and I feel there will be more. I tell myself I must constantly learn.

    Helen x

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  22. 'Liked' Safavieh and posted on their Facebook. Fingers crossed!

    Thanks for the opportunity!

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  23. Tina,
    It's always a pleasure to get a peek inside your world!! Love many of the bloggers you mentioned and can't wait to visit the ones I don't.

    Wishing you a restful weekend in CT and a Thanksgiving homecoming!!

    xoxo Elizabeth

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  24. Love your 7 things! One of my favorite things about your blog is how your cute personality comes through! Of course your seeing your house come to life is pretty fantastic too! Happy weekend to you Tina!
    Serena

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  25. Good morning Tina,

    YOU deserve all the awards in blog land. You are amazing and very loved my friend! Congratulations!

    So fun gettting to know you more. Anybody who loves SWEDISH fish, gray colors, random books & drinks good red wine while cooking gets 5 stars in my book!

    Thank you so much for including me on your list with so many talented bloggers. I am very honored!

    I have had no time for blogging this week, but I will catch up later today and see what you have been up to/what I have missed!

    Happy Fall Weekend to you.

    ox, Mon

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  26. Wow Tina thank you so much for the honor of the award! But it doesn't compare to your fabulous new front door and I can't wait to see the limestone surround. Enjoy your day in CT!

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  27. The front door looks fabulous, and I look forward to checking out all the bloggers you recommended. Have a great weekend.
    Best...Victoria

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  28. Congratulations on your award, Tina. Well deserved! I will have to visit the blogs you have listed!
    Hope that you enjoy your day away.
    Teresa
    xoxo

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  29. We all just can't wait to see you moved into your house too. I'm looking forward to seeing all the furnishings installed! Congrats on your award!

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  30. Love all of your wallpaper. The patterns are just gorgeous. Can't wait to see it all come together. Thanks for the wonderful giveaway opportunity. I love all of their pieces. Hugs, Marty

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  31. Hey Tina!
    the wallpaper is stunning!! and the giveway is so exciting. I love the fact that this piece will work in both a traditional and modern space. I left a FB message! M.

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  32. Well deserved. It's always a pleasure to read your blog and in fact I've always felt that you should be an author. You've certainly got the gift of writing.

    Enjoy the foilage this weekend as I see it's at peak form here now. Simply gorgeous!

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  33. Hilarious - I thought I was the only one who pretended I was on camera during cooking expeditions! Well, IF I'm gonna be honest, I do it for decorating, too, heck! Even when I'm sewing I find it much more fun to talk as if there's a camera there. I know - they should prescribe Lyrica or something - but til' then, I'll go on pretending I'm the male version of Martha Stewart!
    Love your wallpaper choices, an the beautiful shots of your house - I can't wait to see you all moved in with decor in place! It's gonna be magnificent and totally magazine worthy!
    Love your blog! xo,
    A

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  34. Hi Tina, How lovely to be on your list of Versatile Bloggers! Thanks for including me. How fun to learn a little more about you! Especially the cooking show tidbit -- love it! And that we have so much in common -- I can't get enough reading either.

    I always enjoy your blog and the unique point of view your bring to your posts!

    Happy fall weekend! XO

    Jeanne

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  35. Congratulations Tina! You certainly deserve this award and so many more. :) As someone else mentioned earlier, your blog is a daily gift...a treasured gift that brings me so much joy and helps brighten each day. Thanks for sharing about yourself and for the unexpected sneak peak...now I'm left craving more sneak peaks. lol Your front door is fabulous just like everything else in your home. Would love to see your bucket list and help cheer you on as you cross off each item. With any luck, I'll be able to get started on my own very long bucket list in the near future. :) Have a great weekend and enjoy your day in CT! Valerie

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  36. I love your blog and giveaway, lovely.
    sanbrosnan@yahoo.com

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  37. It may be random but I loved your blog.....and want your fabulous ironwork door!

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  38. Great post- I LOVE your front door. I hope you can get in by mid-November but I am betting it will be closer to Christmas...simply because I know how slow things can move at this point in "finishing up".

    Fun facts..I am a random reader too...right down to the information on the back of a box of matches!;>) xo Diana

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  39. Dear Tina,
    Thank-you so much for the lovely award I am really honored, especially to be included amongst so many of my favourite bloggers. I look forward to passing it on in the next few weeks when things slow down a little. Thanks always for your support & enthusiastic comments!
    x
    Melissah

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  40. Congratulations on your award! I say the more random your musings, the better! I am looking forward to that cookie recipe recipe!

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  41. tina

    congratz

    you certainly are versatile!!

    and kind xx

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  42. Tina, Congratulations on the well-deserved award and thank you for including me in the list of recipients. I am truly honored. I shall be checking out others over the next few days. I hope you get to enjoy the Fall colors in CT - after 18 yrs in this country I am still waiting for an opportune moment (free weekend!) to see the colors at their peak!

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  43. Can't tell you how thrilled I am to be included in your list of Versatile Bloggers and to be amongst the calibre of not just your wonderful blog, but the others you have mentioned, some of whom I already follow and others I look forward to visiting. I can only aspire to be as dedicated and inspiring in my blogging as you are. I don't know how you manage to oversee such a massive build, raise a family and keep blogging daily with posts that never fail to inspire and delight. Your blog is one of the best things I have found.

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  44. I was just meandering on through the post (enjoying myself immensely I might add) when I realized you included me in that amazing group! Thank you Tina, I am so very flattered!

    This was such a delight to read, the 'random' info sometimes provides the most insight sometimes. The part about you being an actress made perfect sense to me, it meshed. I loved that you pretend you are on a cooking show, that is riotous!

    It's good to see that you are taking things a day at a time. As nerve-racking as it is right now that's really the only way you can approach it without losing your mind.

    Thank you again, sending you a BIG smile this weekend!
    tp

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  45. I would love to win this adorable table. I went to their site, chose a bench I love, went to their FaceBook, told them I was from your site, told them I liked the bench....
    Oh, and I love your pretty blog. :))
    xo bj

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  46. Congrats on winning most versatile! You definitely deserve it...and thank you for including me!! I absolutely love your home updates.

    And I love it even more when bloggers recommend books. I'm really into non-fiction lately, I just finished "Generation Kill" by Evan Wright, which followed Marines during the Iraq invasion of 2003. "The Quaints" sounds really interesting, and kind of a smooth transition from "Generation Kill", time-line-wise, so I'll add it to my book list.

    Thanks:)

    Rachel

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  47. Tina, Congrats on the award and I love knowing more about you. The new front door is amazing...love it! I bought the book Quaints last week and my husband wanted to read it first. Glad to hear it's good and I am looking forward to reading the book myself.
    Hugs,
    Sherry

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  48. Congratulations on the award. You deserve it and a lot more. You are so much fun to read. You make me smile and sometimes laugh out loud.

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  49. Oh my gosh, such a long journey, been if it is a labor of love, and now the end is in sight! I am so happy for you and keeping my fingers crossed for a pre-Thanksgiving move in date!
    Stacy

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  50. "I don't want to be 80 and have regrets or wonder why I didn't at least try something I thought so long about doing! Anyone else feel that way?" ~YES!~
    I've had sev. "lives". Enjoyed all in diff. ways.My new life (divorce needed, not father of kids, he died), kids in college & me ???? First time in my LIFE, need to "make a living", fine. But not a huge "make a living", allowed me to do as I choose. I based my two new & struggling businesses on my interests & loves. I am so happy. Still struggling money wise (new bizes, no experience in retail, marketing etc). Struggling is the least of it, only one more process of thought to figure out. Its the thinking, planning, choosing & BEST part... meeting so many amazingly kind & gifted new people. Those people add so much positive warmth to my life, is mind blowing. For me, my new "adventure" has been all about people & renewed faith after a very difficult period in my life. I encourage you to DO IT, try. IMO is not about the very subjective word, "success". "IT" is about interest & trying on diff. hats (only pretty ones, of course:)!

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  51. OH DEAR, TOO LATE here, but dearest, I am so happy to now WHEN YOU WILL BE MOVING IN! And that door...what can I say, but that you have a castle happening here!
    YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! WITH LOVE, Anita

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  52. Thank you so much for the award! That is so sweet of you to pass it along to me! I'm so excited for you to move into your home (originally, I typed "I'm so excited to move into your home" Ha! Freudian slip for sure) Your front door is beautiful! I love that you wish you could have been an actress. I will always feel that I could have been a pop star. It's never too late! Hope you've had a lovely weekend!!

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  53. Tina, what fun to learn more about. You strike me as someone who is very intelligent, we all know VERY capable and could probably succeed at anything you set your mind to. I see how far you have come with your blog in a short time and see all you do. Go for it, don't let age or time get in your way, there is really no way to live other than in the present and to just go for it, you dont' want to have regrets! I can so relate.
    Loved and admire your random reading, your desire to buy a Vermont farm(I will eat in your restaurant) and your long bucket list.
    You sound like someone who loves life and seems like the fun is just starting! Enjoy every rise and fall, they will make you stronger in the end! FULFILL THOSE DREAMS!
    I finally listened to my instincts, and opened my own graphic arts business, it took almost two years to take off but thankfully now I actually have to turn work away!
    I cannot tell you how fulfilled I am and how happy I am that "I took the plunge"!

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  54. Hahaha, I do #6 too, it is so much more fun to cook that way!! I enjoyed getting to know the woman behind this fabulous blog a little more through your answers :)

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  55. Love the front door, the marble, the wallpaper! I have marble in my kitchen and can't wait to put it in my master bath. Colors and style of your home is similar to mine. Can't wait for you to decorate - you are so kind to share your ideas and resource list. I have a new huntboard in my entry - need to find the perfect decor for it. Help!

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  56. Fab front door! Beauty wallpaper! AND the cookies.....I want some!
    ox

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  57. Tina: needed research on slipcovers and thank you again for that great post! You do such a thorough job of everything you touch.

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  58. Thank you so much Tina for including me in your list. I love the wallpapers you have chosen and your front door is breathtaking!
    I do hope you get to stay on course for a mid November move-in~so exciting!

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  59. Love the Palampore - my kind of pattern! Congrats on the award and another great giveaway!

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  60. Wow your wallpaper selections are out of this world. Thank you so much for sharing with us. I would love to use one of those in my new powder room (under construction)
    Congratulations on your award, few blogs deliver the kind of wonderful that yours does every single day!

    What a terrific giveaway. Have to sign in under my sons acct. so will ask him to enter for me, since i don't have facebook. Thank you.

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  61. thanks for thinking of me :) i promise i'll get around to filling this out next week!

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  62. Hello
    Informative writing, Essays like this are so important to broadening people's horizons, Everyone loves what you guys are up too
    Thank you!

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  63. Informative and interesting which we share with you so i think so it is very useful and knowledgeable. I would like to thank you for the efforts. I am tiring the same best work from me in the future as well. fashion

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Would love to hear what you have to say......happy thoughts only please!!