A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PRESENT

SOPHIA

Sophia is one great gal! MC and I had met her before and always knew she would be a joy to have as a house guest.

We were delighted she spent Christmas weekend with us. But.....when she presented us with the beautiful art work she had done, just for us, and the Bucket List House, I can't tell you how overwhelmed we were.

She is such a talented artist. We hope she can go on to great success with her works.

Now....We have TWO TALENTED ARTISTS IN THE FAMILY. How lucky is that!!!!!!

We decided to place her piece in the dining room. I think you all will agree that it "fits" the space perfectly! MC spent the week creating a frame and now it is hung!!

Now.......you all know that things can MOVE. I can not promise it will always be where you see it today. But, if it moves.....it will only be to improve it's importance!

Sophia, we thoroughly enjoyed your stay.....please come back soon.

CHRISTMAS 2010

FIRST CHRISTMAS IN THE BUCKET LIST HOUSE..

We are so blessed!!!!

ANGELA, STEVE AND ISABELLE

EVERYONE WILL BE WARM THIS WINTER

The best part..... meeting and getting to know, Isabelle. She is such a precious baby and we are so lucky and thankful we were able to spend time with her..... I hate the fact she will be going back to Seoul and we won't be able to share in all her "firsts"....

MC and I had a wonderful time getting to know our house guest, Sophia. She was going to spend more time with us, but due to difficulties with her Visa, she will be returning with Steve and Angela. She is a very talented artist! She is also amazing.....she was able to carry the painting, beautifully gift wrapped as carry on baggage all the way from Seoul .......not one tear or wrinkle .....

Sophia and Me

PLACE OF HONOR TO BE FRAMED VERY SOON

The days went so quickly.....and before I knew it .....they were gone. They have business and visits in North Carolina and Virginia. On their return , MC and I will meet up with them for dinner before they fly back to Seoul next week.

Last night I was TOTALLY surprised with a belated Birthday Gift. I am now glad I have reached the age of 70!!!! In Korea, living to be 70 is a big event and one is "gifted" handsomely.

Angela wasn't going to let this go by and I was "Gifted" last evening with a wonderful, great, new lap top.......I am writing this blog on it!!! Thank you so very much......What happens at 71?

Now back to our normal day to day existence. With "fresh" eyes from Steve, MC and I figured out a new approach to the design of the built-ins......We think ....even Steve....will think the changes are up to MC's quality of work....

OH.....IT'S GORGEOUS !!!

1968--------2010

Boy...... after 42 years it looks great !!!!!

The sofa has never looked this good...... I can't believe how GRAND it turned out!!!

Kathy Lockwood did a wonderful job transforming a faded, somewhat droopy sofa, into a very special integral part of our home!!!!!

MC and I are so pleased with Kathy's work. We never dreamed our old sofa could be magically turned into the piece that is now the focal point of the Great Room.

We want to thank Kathy for her very talented workmanship........

Kathy can be reached at:

lockwoodupholstery@gmail.com




Kathy and I have the "First Sit" test......."Yes, it's very comfy" .....

WHITE CLOUD
JUST PERFECT

oh.....it's easy to clean with just water........how great is that!!!!!

The Great Room...... ready for Christmas..... Well sort of! A Lot more layers to add.... in the future....

MC will be constructing cornices for all the windows in the rear of the house. I don't expect them by Christmas though. We are covering them in an ultra suede fabric, a shade slightly darker than the wall color. Looking forward to that addition! Erica and I went shopping last summer in Asheville. Great fabric stores and a great fun day!!!


A big, unexpected, addition will be a 6' x 9' "Flokati" rug in black (of course). I'm going to center it under the red ottoman. Thanks to, two dear friends,... who suggested this medium for the rug. What a great texture addition. I went on line and found a site that sells Flokati rugs and pillows....Stylish Shag & Modern Rugs. Just what the room needs to bring the white and black together......Will order the rug next week, just in time for Christmas and I will share it with a picture when it arrives.

Did some tweaking in the Guest Bedroom. We put the Darryl Carter Thomasville sofa in front of the windows. Need to hang the drapery panels and wait for the cornice. Then.....I will take a picture of our "Guest Suite"!!!

So much to do.....Oh I love it.......
We so Love Our Bucket List House......
Till next time....Enjoy....

A FUN SATURDAY AFTERNOON

.....AND WHAT DID I DO FOR FUN THIS PAST SATURDAY AFTERNOON......??

Boy did I have a BLAST!!!

Around eleven Saturday morning the Sales Center called and asked if I could help put some decorations up at the Sales Office. They were pretty busy making cookies for the Tour of Homes the following day, handling the traffic plus their other necessary work!!!

Didn't have to think about that answer.....
Now how long do you think it took me to get over there?????? Pretty FAST!!!
My dream afternoon was waiting for me!

Two years ago one of the model homes had been decorated from "Head to Toe" or I should say Wall to Wall...Ceiling to Ceiling!!! The decorations had been stored away for two years and hadn't been taken out until last week.

Arriving, I saw boxes and boxes of fabulous, to die for, gorgeous decorations. Everything from bows, balls, tree, wreaths.....You name it ....it was there. Heaven for any designer to work with........I hardly knew where to begin. All I could think of was "Patty, calm down ....move slowly... and do the best you can....."

They requested I do the tree and whatever else to make the large Sales Center main room look "Decorated for the Holidays"!!!

First I divided all the items by color .....It was then easy for me to see that one color dominated and that would be my "Theme".
. My first job was to adorn the large chandelier that dominates the center of the entire room. I found two beautiful glass balls! I knew they belonged in a"Place Of Honor"

Enter....MC .............
With MC on the ladder and yours truly giving "directions" we were able to hang them perfectly.



Now I could start on the Tree!
Russ was working the desk. He and MC handed me balls with the hangers, and I placed them carefully around the tree. I then finished with ornaments and bows I found in the boxes.



Across from the tree is a fireplace with a beautiful mantle.....Perfect place for the large wreath and garland.


Moving right along......two more spaces needed to be adorned!! The coffee/cookie serving area and the long shelf under the Monthly Activity Calendar.



Wow.......by 4:00 it was finished!!!! I have to attribute a large amount of the success to the GORGEOUS/MAGNIFICENT materials I had to work with.

BUT........The "story" isn't over...........

Sunday, when I arrived for the start of the Holiday Tour of Homes, under the tree was the BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT I COULD EVER RECEIVE........




The entire staff made this sign to show their appreciation. I can't thank them enough. I have never been so happy!!!!

THANK YOU .........YOU ARE ALL VERY SPECIAL

MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY NEW YEAR
FROM
MASTER CARPENTER AND PATTY

We wish you all the BEST Christmas ever and a wonderful, healthy New Year! Thank you for reading my silly blog!! We hope you have enjoyed all our crazy antics.......and will continue to follow the journey into our future in the Bucket List House!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY NEW YEAR

FROM
THE BUCKET LIST HOUSE

THE TREE

MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY NEW YEAR
MASTER CARPENTER AND PATTY

FINALLY

AT LAST.....

THE TREE HAS ARRIVED....

The day started early...Russ picked up MC and off they went for THE TREE!


ONE HOUR LATER....

AND NOW FOR THE

THE REVEAL......

BLACK

When Patti was here a couple of weeks ago, she suggested "black"!!! The more I thought about it....the more I thought...."It Just Might Work!" It only makes sense.......the house is basically BLACK AND WHITE!!!!


Many of you guessed that the Accent Color would be black! I think you are figuring me out !

.....previous years the colors have been Red, Purple and Tiffany Blue! Traditional, normal colors!! Again, I am pushing the bar......I am not NORMAL!!!!!



I called my "ribbon" source, Norfolk Wholesale Florist, and within two days I had my BLACK RIBBON!!!!





Now that it's set up in it's "final" resting place.....(I think?).....I can start transforming the tree into a Magical vision ..... Black, a little Silver and Chrystal and Lots of sparkle.

When it's in it's Gorgeous State......I will post a picture......