Gabrielle Messina Just a Girl

On the Horizon

 Where have I been? I've had a few emails asking that question.... Well, I'm here and have been trying to keep up with posting, comments, emails and blog visits.... To be completely honest though, my heart's not all here. You guys are the best and deserve my whole heart! I'll be taking a blog break for a bit. Sometimes life hands us difficult situations and we must be strong and weather the storm. I know there are blue skies on the horizon. Things that were certain a month ago are not so certain anymore and things that may have mattered then are irrelevant now.... I'll be back just as soon as the time's right. All my love...

Our Bedroom

 At some point on most any given day, the rooms of my house begin to look like a pig sty. It's not just the kids, I pile my messes and projects on all available surfaces. This room is different, however. I don't set piles of laundry that needs putting away on the chairs; instead the piles stay in the laundry room or actually get put away. The curtains are pulled back just as soon as we awake. The bed; unless someones ill, it gets made every single day. There's no television and if the kids bring a few toys in during the morning, I make sure they take them out before we head downstairs to start the day. In my experience, they day just seems to go smoother when I walk through a tidy room to get to the laundry room throughout the course of the day. The day also seems to come to a better close when everything's in it's place. It really is a little haven for me, as much of a cliché as that sounds.The bedding is Simply Shabby Chic from Target a few years ago. It was a complete steal and I love it. I know there are lots and lots of companies that sell beautiful bedding out there. They are tempting at times, then I snap myself back into reality and realize I really don't want to have to take out a loan from the bank to get it! There's a fluffy down comforter from Ikea inside that you sink into and makes you feel as if you are sinking into a cloud.  
My husband's side of the bed. I removed a ridiculously large alarm clock and put the Blessed Mother statue in it's place for the sake of the picture. The chandelier, as with most other things sitting around, was a flea market find. The flowers in their pastel shades looked like buttercream roses that were plucked right from a cake in a bakery shop window. The metal is old has a perfect patina and the candles are waxy with drips.
Mary statues.... I could never have enough. Most are from family or a trip I took to Italy when I was much younger. The clear glass one, is my most treasured and was a gift to my grandparents on their wedding day.  And the wall in the background, I have big plans to turn it into a wall of mirrors, it just hasn't materialized yet. It will, though!  Talk about serendipity! This lamp was another flea market find. It is an exact pairing with the chandelier with it's roses of butter cream, perfect patina, and drippy wax.A close up of vanity goods.And the vanity itself. The dusty pink velvet chair is part of a pair. My mom put them in my bedroom as a little girl and I took them with me when I left home. They've been in my bedroom since. They hold an extra special meaning since they came from the furniture store my grandparents owned decades and decades ago.   Well, I think that about sums up your nickel tour of our bedroom. I didn't get a picture of the armoire, but I think you can get a pretty good idea from the reflection in the mirror here. I do hope you enjoyed yourself and I hope that you will come back and visit with me soon! ; ) It's a beautiful day here! 

Ol' Mr. Rabbit....

 With Spring in the air(finally!!) I thought we could really use another Mr. Rabbit around the house.... After two years, and never getting around to doing the original Christmas project, I used the same technique Heather taught in this tutorial for our newest Mr. Cottontail. He's all paper... lots and lots of it, actually with forget-me-not flower ears, Lametta tinsel eyes and whiskers and a bubblegum pink velvet bow-tie! I think he looks like something you could find in the five and dime forty or fifty years ago! It was a simple project that took up a few nights and he's adorning the playroom door. Adding a little festivity in that corner of the house today.   I think he might be in need of his Misses. I guess we'll have to wait and see if I get around to her before Easter comes!  The kids and their wardrobes are in need of a bit of freshening up! Is anyone else loving the D Signed clothing at Target for their little girls?  After a trip to the donation center, my closet's looking rather spring- like too with some new velvety pink hangers and a lot less clutter! Lots of organization and spring sprucing around the house these days. How about you? Has spring fever hit you too?

Party Time!

   Hello, ladies! I thought it might be high time for me to get to posting about my girls' 7th and 5th birthday party! We had a tiny intimate affair, this year. The girls picked a few of their closest friends from school and invited them for an afternoon of girlie fun! As you can see form the above picture, my littlest lady loved her doll and named her Miss Angela on the spot.The night before the party, I set the able with a few paper dolls and a vintage handmade table cloth my mother- in- law gave me.On the cabinet in the corner, I stacked some hatboxes from my bedroom and craft room along with a vintage train case and tacked some paper doily bunting to the ceiling.I made a little clothes line with a sweet selection paper doll attire to festoon the cake.   And individual vases of petite roses at each place setting.I pulled the buffet table from out of my craft room and set it up in the kitchen, once again. Of course, another paper doll.Here's the cake I made the morning of the party. Strawberry buttercream icing, as per requested! And the little clothes line atop! A party isn't complete without cupcakes, now is it?A day filled with smiles galore.