Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger

JoAnne from A Pocketful of Blue

 Saturday Spotlight: Life Behind the Blogger is a feature done each Saturday that introduces you to a blogger you may already know or a new blogger for you to get to know. This feature gives you a peak into the personal life of the blogger.  Getting to know the special person behind the beautiful blog.

There is so much talent and inspiration in blogland so enjoy getting to know these talented bloggers each Saturday.

This week it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to JoAnne from A Pocketful of Blue blog.  I love JoAnne's blog because all the posts show how much she loves her home and how talented she is with her decor DIY's.  She is as sweet as ever so enjoy reading and getting to know JoAnne and then hop over to check our her lovely blog.

Hi Blog Readers!

I'm JoAnne from A Pocketful of Blue. 

Today I am Kris's Saturday Spotlight and I'm so appreciative that she 

invited me to be part of her weekly series.

I have been blogging for over four years now and I have enjoyed it so much.

Most of my posts are about decorating, projects around our house and

how much home means to me.  We bought an older home about 7 years ago,

 so we have been working on updating and decorating it in the cottage style

 that I love ever since.

So here are some things about me that I don't usually post about.

I have a wonderful hubby who I met 23 years ago through a personal ad in a

local magazine.  That was in the days before the internet (you know, way back then)

 so it wasn't a very common thing for people to do at the time.

Here is a picture of us on our trip to New Hampshire in 2013 in

celebration of our 20th anniversary.

We have 2 kiddos, 17 and 13.

Our son will be a senior next year so I am already feeling sad

that he will be going to college in the not too distant future.

It will be a huge transition for me but we are very proud of him

and we couldn't ask for a better son.

Our daughter is in middle school.  She is beautiful and smart and she

lights up our lives with her fun personality.

 However, please pray for me to survive these middle school years.

  Oh my, so much drama - and it changes by the hour!

A totally different experience than when our son was that age.

Here is a recent picture where I somehow caught them both

 in a happy moment at the same time!

We also have a chubby kitty named Sox.

We all love him and have a lot of fun with him and

he is pretty much the boss of our family.

I thought I would share a few random facts about myself:

* I have 3 sisters, no brothers - I'm no. 3

* I attended Catholics schools my whole life including college

* I worked in Accounting for 18 years

* When I was growing up, my Dad owned a stockyards where

 he held livestock sales every week

* I love animals - mostly the cute, furry kind

* We adopted our daughter from Russia when she was 15 months old

* I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan

* I like peanut butter and mayo sandwiches

A recent event for me is that I got a new car.

My last car was an SUV that I drove for 14 years!

It was kind of sad when it was towed away because our

kids had kind of grown up in that car.

They had left their special marks on it like the scratches my

daughter put on one of the windows one day when she was bored.  : )

Now I'm driving this and I love it . . .

. . .  so fun to be-bop around in.

I haven't yet blogged about something we are doing this summer.

The four of us are going on a 3 week trip to Europe.  Years ago, we started

talking about traveling to Europe sometime before our kids are out of high school.  

As I mentioned, our son is going into his senior year so we knew we had to do it this summer.   We have spent a lot of time planning (and saving money) and it's hard to believe that it is  coming up so soon.

These are the places we are visiting: London, England Paris, France Munich, Germany Florence and Rome, Italy Even though we are going for 3 weeks, it was still challenging to narrow down  the places we would go. There's just so much to see and do and I'm pretty sure this will be a once in a lifetime trip for me - so excited! Back on the home front, we want to work on our backyard this summer. Last fall, my husband and son replaced the old concrete blocks on our patio with some beautiful pavers. So now I'm looking forward to adding  some landscaping, lots of flowers and patio furniture. I think we'll really enjoy it this summer.

Thank you so much for reading! My blog is A Pocketful of Blue so please come over for a visit anytime! Thank you, Kris, for this opportunity! You have a wonderful blog and beautiful home and on top of all of that, you are one of the kindest and most caring bloggers out there - I really mean that!! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thank you JoAnne for letting me feature you this week in Spotlight.  Your two kids are adorable and little Sox too.  Have a great week rest of the week end everyone.  Enjoy the beautiful weather.

Kris

:)

Snickers

  I know I shared with all of you the loss of our grand dog Penny about a month ago.  My younger daughter Kim was mom to Penny.  Penny was a 5 year old Dachshund that had a spinal condition that left her paralyzed and they were unable to do the surgery to correct this issue so we lost the fight to keep her.  It was a very sad time for all of us especially my daughter. 

My daughter Kim with her little Penny.

My daughter is a nurse and works with cancer patients which can be sad many days so she always loved coming home to her little Penny waiting and excited to see her after her shift.  It has been really hard for Kim to not have Penny there and part of her life.  So Terry and I decided to surprise Kim for a Mother's Day Gift and gift her a new little dachshund.

Her name is Snickers.  She is a Reverse Chocolate Pie Bald dachshund. 

Does she not have the cutest little face ever!!!! She is not old enough to come to her forever home until the first week end in June.  So we are all excited to have her coming soon to live in our family.
Look at her cute little white back paws.  It is like she has slippers on.

Just thought this would be a good post before Mom's Day Week End.  I want to wish all of you a great Mother's Day.
Be sure to check back on Saturday for Spotlight I have another wonderful blogger in the Spotlight.

Have a great rest of the week and all you wonderful mom's have a great week end.
Kris
:)

Cream additions to the Dining Room

Happy New Week.  I decided I would love to add some cream to the gray and white in my dining room.  Just some little touches here and there.

I had added this white ruffle awhile back to a couple of my dining chairs.  Well it was ok but I really was never too happy with the look.

Then I remembered I had this table cloth that had rows of ruffles in a sweet cream color.  So I began to think hmmmm....
can I re love these rows of ruffles onto my dining room chairs.

Yep these chairs just needed a little something.

So I thought this would be a good way to add some cream to the gray and white in the dining area.

Easy Peasy. Took the seat off of the chair.   I cut the rows of ruffles to fit each chair and then with a staple gun attached the ruffles to the seat of the chair.

Added the cushion seat back on the chair and now have a ruffle re love to these chairs.  Adding the cream to the gray and white  gave the chairs just a little touch of soft bling.

I was not sure if  I could make cream and gray and white mingle nicely together but I think I am really liking this marriage.

 I  have added some creams to other area's of my dining space.

Just happy I could get another neutral color like cream to work with my gray and whites.

Hope you are having a great week.  Love the month of May.  It gets nice and warm here in Chicagoland and I can start to think about my summer flowers.  So excited to be starting the flowers this coming week end.  Traditionally I have always started my flowers on Mother's Day.  So hoping our weather stays true and warm and I can begin to see summer flowers coming to my outdoor space.

Have a wonderful week.
Kris
:)

Parties:
Mod Mix Monday
Wow us Wednesday
Inspire me Tuesday
Shabbilicious Friday Link Party
Share your Style Party
Show and Tell Friday
Favorite Things Blog Hop

Cream and White Guest Room

If color is your thing this post is probably not going to be your cup of tea.  I did up some changes in my guest room and kept the palette very neutral.

The entry way into the guest room is where I have my angel on the old chippy swing to greet my guests.

The hanger that the swing hangs from is an old school desk top.  I love the history to this piece.  You can see all the past loves's carved their initials into the desk areas.

The door to the guest room I hung an old vintage mailbox full of magazines.

On this side of the guest room bed is an old dresser in white and old cream chippy shutters hang above the dresser.  The old vintage record box holds more magazines.

My bed linens are all in cream and whites.

I decided to keep the room light and neutral.  I figure the guests that stay here will add the color! :)  I want this room to be serene and restful for my guests.

I have an old chippy candle chandelier over the bed for romance.

Sweet Dreams Pillows

I have a chandelier on this side of the bed for a more romantic feel for the room instead of a lamp on the table.

This chandelier gives off a soft and pretty light at night in this room.

Brought in this old garden table for this side of the bed.

The sun filters in this room in the late afternoon.  

For now I am loving the neutral palette in this guest room.  I love to mix the architectural pieces to bring some character to the room. 

 I have to be honest I am looking for new drapes that will have a splash of color to them.  Just have not found the right pattern and colors to match in this room.  When I do find the right curtain I may paint the headboard to a soft color to pick up the drapes.  For now until I find just the right drapes it will be staying neutral in this room.  When I have guest stay I always add fresh cut flowers with lots of color in a pretty blue mason jar.
I really want the room to feel serene and not the center of attention.  I want my guests to feel they bring the color to the room.

Have a great start to the new week ahead.
Thanks for your visit and sweet comments always.
Kris
:)