On the Move in More Ways Than One!

My friend, Karolyn just moved recently. I couldn't wait to help! My favorite thing is making order out of chaos. We accomplished so much and her house is beautiful. When I got home after my first day of helping, I came in and told Butch. "I'm really good at this"!! I was tired, but pumped! I just love to organize and decorate. When it's someone else's stuff, it's especially rewarding. I love seeing their things in a different way. I felt like I was shopping---just choosing from among the things they already had! Soooo much fun. I freaked Karolyn out a few times by having to put more than one nail in the wall. But all in all, she and Bruce were good sports about it all---remember, I can get really bossy. Bruce was a good sport to move furniture around. The next day, he made plans to play golf with Butch. I might have been a little too much for him!

Karolyn even took one suggestion to heart---I told her to get all black hangers for their closet so everything would look nice. She's particular about nail holes, but not about a bunch of mis-matched hangers!! You don't see nail holes behind pictures, but mis-matched hangers---right in your face! I always tell my friends that when I'm in my "work" mode they can't get their feelings hurt---it's nothing personal. It's just how I see things! I figure that's why they "hire" me (not really, I'm free labor)! They want things to look the best they can be---on that we all agree! I'll let the results speak for itself (I'm not taking all the credit here---they did so much on their own. It was a huge job!).

I have a lot of awesome pictures, but I've picked just a few to show off.

The house is a shotgun style---meaning it's long and narrow. The landscaping is so lush and gorgeous. This house is quite a bit bigger than their old house.

I love the front porch. They had a really nice porch in their old house. They plan to add another on the back of this one, but for the time being, this porch is very inviting.

Bruce and Karolyn did the gallery wall on their own. It turned out great.

The dining room is pretty big. There's a bar/butler's pantry on the left.

 This is my favorite bathroom. The tile has a latticework pattern.

Karolyn got rid of a lot of her scrapbook stuff so that her room would not look so cluttered. One side is scrapbooking and the other side is her sewing machine and supplies.

 We grouped all of her "k's" inside an old window.

This is her work area. As I see the photo, we need to put something on top of the shelves---looks a little bare up there. Maybe some completed albums would look good there. (Side note: I'm going to St. Louis in a couple of weeks to set up Janet's scrapbook room---can't wait for that!)

The kitchen, family room and breakfast room are all one huge space. I love the wrought iron detail of the stairs. They have a lot of really neat antiques that work remarkably well in this modern house.

 This is the family room side of the room. They have a lot of really cool light fixtures throughout the house. I love the old suitcases on top of the shelves.

 There are so many built-ins throughout the house.

There are three bedrooms upstairs. Karolyn has designated one for each of her children.

We're on the move in more ways than one! Karolyn and I along with two of her sisters are hopping a plane on Wednesday for a "Downton Abbey tour". We'll spend time in London, Bath, Oxford and the Downton film locations including Highclere Castle---home of Downton Abbey. Since this is the last year for the show, it was perfect timing for us to go.

Karolyn is on the left, Nell in the center and Elizabeth (from Texas) on the right. You might be wondering why I would be going on a sisters trip with them. But the truth is---Karolyn invited me first! When her sisters found out, they wondered (maybe "whined" is a better word) why she didn't invite them. I told Karolyn to ask them---the more the merrier as far as I'm concerned. I'll just be one of their sisters!!

See you on the other side of the pond!!