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Last week, directly after posting our One Room Challenge Reveal, we all hopped in the car for a very long road trip to celebrate my Grandma’s 100th Birthday in Northern Missouri. We spent four days on the road and two days preparing and celebrating. 100 years! Can you imagine? I asked her if she ever expected that she would live to be 100. She said that she did not. However, she has longevity on her side of the family. I had two great-aunts that lived to be 104 and 106. When I mentioned that, she replied, “I guess I knew it was a possibility.” Her official birthday is actually today. I would love to tell you that her secret to a long life is a pack of cigarettes a day, plates of french fries and a shot of bourbon every evening, but alas, it is clean living after all.

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Long car rides provide plenty of web surfing time. I planned to write a post highlighting my favorite ORC projects from the other participants. However, I opted to wait to view the projects on our computer at home. A tiny phone screen just does not do them justice. Therefore,  I am a week behind. That said, I still have a little to share that did not make it into last week’s post.

Art & Future Plans For More Art

In Week 5, I wrote about framing and hanging the old photos of Blake Hill House. They are a wonderful addition to the room. However, despite trying to find large frames in order to fill up the wall space, the ones I chose were pretty small for a three-image grouping in a large room. Scale is my nemesis.  Sometimes I get it right, and sometimes I miss it by a mile.  I would like to add some plates and platters to create a full gallery wall. I will be scouring thrift shops for large wooden platters or chargers especially. I think they would look great with the other dark wood pieces in the dining room and living room. My mother-in-law is bringing a few things when she visits for Thanksgiving. Perhaps we will use some of them.

Another piece of art that we added to the room was this beautiful bird print. Due to the glare of the glass, I was unable to get any decent photos of it to share last week.

I have a slight obsession with Cavallini decorative paper. I have the butterfly print in the kitchen.

I also have three more in storage for the upstairs hall outside of the boys’ bedrooms. These prints are so affordable at $6-$12, depending on where you purchase them. (I have linked to Amazon for your convenience.) I buy the frames using a 40-50% off coupon at Michael’s or Jo-Ann fabric. Each framed print ends up costing around $25-$30. I did not include this in last week’s total because I already owned the print and the frame.

The Rug

This rug…It has been such a disappointment, and it is mostly my fault. When we ordered new furniture and a rug for the living room, I fell in love with this rug although I do not know why. Because the house was still completely awash in all shades of green inside and outside, I suppose I could not focus on adding rugs of any color. I still could not see the bigger picture. Visually, I just wanted something plain. My eyes needed a place to rest.

I know you are all probably smarter than I am, but it did not occur to me that light beige is the absolute worst color that you can put under a dining room table. The worst! In addition, this rug which is a jute blend has a binding around it that has never lain flat no matter how much carpet tape I use. That means that nearly every time we come into the dining room, someone trips over the upturned corners.

The final nail in this rug’s coffin is that Millie has decided that it is her absolute favorite. I bought a large boring $10 rug on clearance. I keep it by the front door. It, of course, wears like iron, and Millie won’t touch it. Instead, she prefers this expensive Pottery Barn rug. Our dining room rug is where she practices her yoga (Downward facing dog, anyone?), scratches all of those hard-to-reach places, and falls asleep in a happy puddle of drool. Not even two years after purchase, and this rug is toast.

This morning, after an exhaustive search that started about a month after we bought the beige rug, I found the perfect replacement for an excellent price. I texted Andy to tell him that I finally found THE ONE, and he had no idea I had even been looking for a rug. Do not let anyone tell you that the secret to a long and successful marriage is good communication. We have been misunderstanding each other for 21 years strong. Although the timing is not great, we decided to jump on the purchase since the price is right. ($288 for 8X10)

Image Source

Hopefully soon, maybe even before Thanksgiving, we will have a new favorite rug for Millie to claim. Hmmm…We are going to have to figure that out. I will post more dining room photos after it arrives.

I will end today with a couple of photos of Grandma.  I also want to add that since we were on the road for…ever, I had a great deal of time to read all of the kind and supportive comments regarding our ORC project and the election. One of my favorite things about blogging is interacting with readers. Sure, it feels good to have my ego stroked, but what I appreciate the most is the connection and finding common ground. Thank you for taking the time to comment and for reaching out. As I wrote in response to one our comments last week, BHH is a house of friendship and love. We will not waver from that.

Grandma’s Graduation Photo

Grandma at 100 years old