Gabrielle Messina Just a Girl

Lovely New {{Old}} Items

I've just started to list a few things in my etsy shop. They're things from my personal collection that I'm letting go. I still love all of these items, and they're a bit hard to let go, but I can't hoard all these beauties for myself forever! Take a peek if you wish! 

Some Spring Things

 

I can't say I've done too much Easter decorating this year, but the mantle is looking spring- like in it's candy colored hues, so I thought I'd give you a little tour of the spring things going on here at our home. This large bunny I've had for a handful of years. He's from an old candy store that closed down. They used to use him in their window display each year. How I wish shops like that were still a dime a dozen.... This old iron piece I've had in the garage and decided to bring it in and  use it as sort of a fireplace screen for our "flip switch" fireplace. My husband said he would weld some small legs onto it so that it could be the proper height.

 

Andrea sent me this beautiful pink mercury glass egg! Isn't it lovely? And the wrapping too, it was a bit of Spring itself.....  From one Italian girl to another, she knew I'd love this big, beautiful tin, of which the contents have since been eaten! It was filled with biscotti....   With the exception of an Easter tree all decorated on the kitchen island and few faux chocolate bunnies scattered through the house, this little egg display in the corner in our kitchen just about sums up my minimal Easter decor for this year. Have you decorated for Easter?

I should be back very soon. I have a piece of furniture I made over and want to show you.... Happy Spring! 

 

 

Jetset

Every year at about this exact time, when I've about had it with the cold winter days, I begin to wish I was jet-setting to some place nice and warm....

                                     . 

Of course, in my head I'm flying high in a golden plane like this one and toting suitcases that looked like these.
                                   

And when we'd arrive, I'd put on a suit like this ....

And looks as fantastic as these sunbathing dolls!
And just where am I off to, you say.... The Island of Capri!

All pictures from my Pinterest Board

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! 

favorites of late

I was visiting with Jenny who'd been visiting over at Happy Loves Rosie. Both had their lists of some current favorites and I thought I'd join along in sharing some of my favorites lately. Hope you enjoy!!If you're like me and cringe every time you turn on the radio, and hear the likes of Lady Gaga, then maybe you should have Duffy's newest album on your list too! She's a breath of fresh air and a throw back to days past all in one. A Welsh beauty with a voice that will knock your socks off! It's been too long since her last album. I can not get enough.

 I've been wanting to make one of these forever, maybe I'll give up and go ahead and just purchase one.... The Messina family is addicted to whipped cream. One of these whipped cream makers was a very smart investment! When an occasion arrives, and my husband asks what he can get me, if there's nothing I can think of, I suggest one of these,CAKE clutches by Petunia Pickle Bottom. I first found them when I was pregnant with my second babe and searching for a new diaper bag in a great local botique. was smitten. Over the years, the've changed their patterns a bit, one is no less prettier than the others. The Italian cut velvet makes me swoon and I love the fact that they name their collection has a name like "CAKE". I get stopped constantly by women asking what kind of bag it is. To many's surprise, it's made to carry diapers. A changing pad and wipes case is included. I must add this tidbit, while out the other day with my Pistachio Cake clutch, a woman stopped my husband while he was carrying it for me! I'm itching for this pretty Chocolate one to add to the collection..... 

Well, that's my current little list of favorites. If you decide to play along, link back in the comment section. I'd love to hear what you can't live without! 

Jack the Nutcracker

Well hello sweet girls! I hope you enjoyed a lovely Thanksgiving with your loved ones! We had a great one this year! We just got done having leftovers for lunch... I love having a little Thanksgiving in the days that follow! 

I've been working on a rather large project, on and off(more off) for much longer than I'd care to admit. This is Jack. Jack's our five and a half foot nutcracker. That's right, he's taller than me!! Jack wasn't always a part of our holiday home, I must admit. He was next door at my mom's house for a year or two and my girls were in awe of him and is giant stature!! Finally, my mom told mt girls they could have Jack for their house. Of course, they were ecstatic; I on the other hand, wasn't so excited....I guess, because Jack looked like this before his dramatic makeover. He was in classic Christmas colors and as pretty as he might have been in someone else's holiday home, he didn't quite fit in with all the pastel and muted colors in our house. Here's his head in the process.... And because my neighbors don't think I'm odd downright weird enough, I dragged this huge, headless nutcracker to my side yard to give him a few hefty coats of cream spray paint. After he was dry, I tugged him back into the house and got started on the fun part of making him a one of a kind nutcracker. I should add, my husband thinks I took away every last ounce of Jack's manhood with his makeover. LOL   I started by making some hundreds of baking cup flowers then added glass glitter for a more festive touch! 
He was foofed and primped, decked and spruced.....Detail on Jack's shoulder... an old rhinestone bit, scraps of tulle and velvet leaves in pink and aqua. A fancy collar of paper flowers and Christmas baubles in the perfect pink! For his torso, I used some of the most beautiful embossed vintage wallpaper Lori  gave to me last year at Silver Bella. I was saving it for a special project and I think this one fit the bill. I trimmed it with velvet ribbon....  and some old rhinestone buttons completed the look.   Even Jack's little friend had a makeover too! I think he's looking much happier now than before....  Do you think so too?  I don't know why it was so hard to get a good shot of him in his entirety, but here he is....
I gold leafed his shoes and dusted with mica then topped with another bauble and I covered the base in cotton batting and sprinkled more mica on top of that!   I saved his crown for the very last. I was a bit perplexed on what to do, but I decided to just remove the velvet jester's hat he was wearing originally. I filled his crown with old glass and velvet millinery berries, and flowers and sprigs of silver pine. I think it has this wintry nest look and that a little bird would find his crown a welcome place in the cold.  I guess that about sums up his makeover. My mom asked for him back now that he's been upgraded... she was totally kidding, but did remind me that she gave it to the girls so, when the time comes for them to one day move out, Jack goes with them. {{I laughed}}

 

Velvet Fruit Giveaway and Halloween too!

In this world, there are few things better than velvet, so soft and decadent. As much as I enjoy velvet throughout the year, I love it all the more come the holidays. Earlier this morning, I was trying to get some Christmas decorations is in order. As a rule of thumb, I always have my decorations up by Thanksgiving and this year won't be an exception. I like to take my time and enjoy the process. As I was saying, I was going through some of my decorations and came upon these velvet fruit ornaments I had purchased at Anthropologie about ten or twelve years ago. Year after year, I look forward to unwrapping them, each like a little gem. I place them in the kitchen, either on a tree or in garlands. They have such old look to them. There's plums and pears, grapes and cherries and the tiniest slice of watermelon you've ever seen! Gosh..... ten years ago, I loved everything about Anthropologie then. Their style really has changed. Am I the only one who liked it beter years ago?? A whole 'nother post I guess....  The reason for this fruity post is that I have a dozen or two and wanted to share some velvet fruit with one of you. Just comment here, on this post for me to put your name in the hat! If you'd like to better your chance of making these fruits yours, blog, post to Facebook or Tweet about the giveaway and  I'll drop your name in twice!  If you win, I'll send you one of each fruits for you to adorn your holiday home.   Is it too late to share Halloween pictures? I know, I know, from Christmas to Halloween. My life right now, is certainly reflected in this post! I feel like I'm all over .... and never in the right place. I can't believe we're already this far into November! I adore this snapshot of my girls. Even though it's almost a portion of a picture, it's so in the moment and their faces just exude excitement! We went to our favorite them park for some Halloween fun! All three of them on the Tilt- A- Whirl! Right before trick- or- treating!!And my little man as a cheeseburger! We got stopped so many times while trick- or treating. He was quite the attention getter! Well, I hear my little cheeseburger waking from his nap now! Take care, sweet girls! 

on decor, unmentionables and car love

 One  of the things I love about looking through pretty blogs so much is being able to see the peeks into fellow bloggers homes. Sometimes the peeks are little glances of a corner or niche and other times, we get the grand tour of some pretty fabulous homes. I love seeing all the takes on decorating in vintage style. From frou-frou, feminine and French to shabby, industrial or cottage. There are so, so many really talented creative women out there and their style just carries over into their homes.   I have to say, I sometimes covet that style when the objects once used for inndustry is introduced a bit to their homes.... with rusted letters and old signs and clever coffee tables from old carts right up there with their glistening chandeliers. It all blends so seamlessly. I don't think I could pull that off. For some reason, it intimidates me. Such a step out of the box for me..... When it comes to decorating, I tend to like to mix the inexpensive.... like hatboxes with a few splurges, the things from near, with objects from afar... like a one of a kind lamp and the feminine with the ultra -feminine. I tend to stick to the things I grew up. Most of their items in our home aren't much of a stretch from the items I could have found in my mother's, grandma's and great-grandma's homes. I've always admired the furniture, knick knacks and accessories sitting about.{Now, if only I could get my hands on some of that great flocked wall paper my Nana had}I guess you could call it my comfort zone. This is the style I know how to pull off....   What about you? Do you have your own comfort zone? Do you have a name for your style?Ok, transitioning here.... A month or so ago, I planned on incorporating this little bra and panty set of gold charms into a blog post.  I've had them for a few years just sitting in my jewelery box, just waiting for me to take them to the jewelers to have them soldered onto my gold charm bracelet. Finally, one day, a few weeks ago, I put them on a gold chain just to be able to wear them. When I came home I realized they were missing. I had been all over the place that day. I searched and searched my house and my friend did he same at her house since we were there for a visit as well. I'm so sad.... even still. I did a internet search to see if I could find another set with no luck. So, this is a little ode to my beloved charms.  From golden bras and panties, to gummy cars... I am definitely not the best transioner(...... I found these pretty pastel gummy car candies at Ikea the a week or so ago....

I knew they would be this little sweeties new favorite candy. I don't think I ever shared with you that my oldest has this passion for cars. It all started about two months ago. She knows every make and model on the road and can tell you what each teacher in her school and every neighbor in our neighborhood drives. just as soon as her daddy's car magazines arrive home, she grabs them and then goes off to study emblems of the more exotic ones. She keeps me in stitches! I think it is so cute that this that little thing knows all about an ultimately male dominated subject. We have lots of car guys in out family along with my husband's friends and they can't believe it. Their expressions are priceless after quizzing her on cars.Well, lovely ladies that's it for tonight. I'm off to give the kiddos a bath. Over and out.....

 

Heaven, No?

Dreamy...oh la la....Divine....Scrumptious...I'm back from the beach girls, a little tanner and slightly rounder from too many boardwalk fries....  I've been doing some daydreaming... To see more you have to go here! 

Divine Inspiration

Over the weekend, we took a little trip antiquing and visiting friends. We had a wonderful opportunity to also make a trip to The Grotto of Lourdes at Mount Saint Mary's in Emmitsburg, MD. I can't even describe the feeling I had while walking up this mountain.... all I can say is it was incredible and awe inspiring. I left feeling renewed, grateful and faithful.  Still feeling inspired, today I pulled out some of my favorite holy medals and decided to make a charm necklace out of them.  
 Some were collected at flea markets, but the majority are those I've had for years.... the two smaller ones at the top, my mom gave to me years ago....  The baby pink and baby blue Miraculous medals, I bought with my allowance when the catholic store are church was closing. I wore one of these everyday while in grade school through high school.    Nice to have something that holds memories, both old and new....