Del Mar opens*

Morning Darlins,
It is a beautiful sunny morning here in SoCal. You can hear a pin drop it is so quiet. Not for long! Today is opening day for the 75th annual Del Mar race season.
Our little north county beach towns will be flooded with race enthusiasts and visitors for the season.
                           Here are some fun local facts for you! 
    Del Mar is a beautiful and romantic beach town. Location: north of Sandiego and La Jolla it sits next to Rancho Santa Fe in North County. From it's opening, Del Mar quickly established itself as a play ground for Hollywood. Among the icons who spent time at the race track here were such as Dorothy Lamour, W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, Ann Miller, Don Ameche, Ava Gardner, Red Skelton, Bing Crosby, Pat O'brien, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball. Many of them owned properties here in the area and a few of their families still have them today.
     Riding legend of Del Mar racetrack and most notable was William Lee "Bill Shoemaker". He was the first apprentice to claim the race tracks riding title in 1949 and went on to achieve record breaking feats at the Del Mar race track for 40 years.
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Crosby & O'briens money and inflluence are what made the modern day Del Mar Racing season so successful, and as a tribute to Crosby, his little song title, "Where the Turf meets the Surf" is played on commercials during the season and is played before post time each day. By the way, the City of Del Mar adopted that saying for it's motto!

We found this horse shoe on our property when we were grading... I love it and it is fitting for today!

Have a beautiful day!
xo,
Gail

Real Estate: If your dream is to own a little beach house in Del Mar, Cardiff by the Sea, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Leucadia or a country house in Rancho Santa Fe or Olivenhain...

 Drop me an email at gail@harwoodre.com
 l will be happy to assist you, next year you can grab your hat and go to the opening day at Del Mar!

A Birthday wish from MOM

   Morning Darlins...a beautiful sunny morning here in SoCal.

 Today is my oldest sons birthday... 

Looking back on the day my oldest son was born like it was yesterday, it was a beautiful sunny day too.

  

I still to this day can’t even talk about him with out happy tears in my eyes! 
I can’t explain....he just has my heart in his hand!

He is an athlete, competitor and a kind spirit. I wish him happiness and success. He has amazing perseverance and will give in life whatever it takes.

     I couldn’t be more honored and proud of the young man he is... and to be his MOM!

                                                             Happy Birthday Son!

                                                                   All my LOVE,

                                                                            xo

                                                                          Mom

Kitchen's Part-2

Happy Saturday! Hope you have some fun plans for the weekend... It is overcast and muggy here in SoCal, though I prefer this for working on outdoor landcaping projects which is what I have going at the moment ! Also still in kitchen mode....Don't you multitask too!!!!!

My Saturday blog Series "Designing with Vintage" is Kitchen' part -2 . continues...
This was a 1950's complete house renovation I loved doing this project it was like going back in time!  Since I have been in kitchen mode I thought I would share this design project. This is a photo of the before and after.

Follow me over to Second Shout Out BLOG http://www.secondshoutout.com/blog for the whole post!


My Design tip: When buying or renovating a home from a certain design style it is important to deciede whether to change it or keep it the same. Changing the style in only one room isn't going to be good for resale.. The house should have continuity of style.

Have a beautiful Saturday*
xo,
me

Juicing*

This week has just gone by so fast.. I can't believe it's the middle of july!

I have to show you a sweet treat I recieved the other morning when I was working on the computer.... I was handed this! Look at the presentation! Awe..guess after all these years my touches have been noticed! LOVE...

The juice is made fresh from apples from our trees, carrots and kale...

I love fresh juicing!

Have a beautiful day,

xo,

me

Vintage kitchen

Morning! Let's start the weekend...

Wasn't this week was fun with the 4th of July in the middle... I did some vintage shopping last weekend and found a few fabulous pieces for my home! Of course I'll share later!

Last night we tried making pizza again and it was really good! I'm not eating carbs right now so it was torture to only have a tasting.. Shaping the dough is not easy...it isn't a round pizza, nor a square pizza it is a shape unto its own! It is something that everyone can get involved in and it is fun to cook on our new professional duel fuel Wolf range {Sooo excited even if it's a temporary hook up!} 

This brings me to talking about Kitchen's it is my favorite room to design, as I write this I am in the beginning stages of designing and renovating my Kitchen... I am in kitchen mode!

Today I have my second post  Saturday's "Designing with Vintage" on Second Shout Out 

Second Shout Out

 Hop over visit me!

Have a beautiful Saturday*

xo,

me

This is photo is of my vintage sink find!!! On the floor of the shop! She is home safe and sound and already up on her platform in the Butler's pantry...

My First Saturday Post on Second Shout Out!

Hey Darlins... 
Hope your Saturday will be filled with fun events and maybe a little shopping for Vintage!

This is the before to what you will see on my saturday blog post!

I have some fabulous news I'll be sharing soon.. Stay tuned! 
Every Saturday I will have my own blog post on the Second Shout Out blog!
                            My Saturday series will be called...
                     "Designing with Vintage"   with Gail Smith-Peterson.

Please hop over to see my First Post! I have others posts there but this will be my on going series every Saturday!

Click here and pop over....Excited to share it with ya'll!
http://www.secondshoutout.com/blog

Have a beautiful Saturday*
xo,
me

Opening a stairwell!

Hope your week is beautiful... we have been having gorgeous weather her in SoCal!

Pony league Baseball in the evenings, gardening and alfresco dining.

 I have a little stair teaser here for Thursday! This project is our stairwell that only leads to the Master bedroom.

This house was built in late 70's a Mediterranean style... Why did they even build in the 70's or 80's! Especially here in Cali... Can you tell it is my least favorite architectural style and time!!

The stairwell was narrow, dark and won't work with my french farm house design.

The first photo is before... Note the narrow arch. My husband and son are tall and hit their heads on it!

The bottom photo is the new framed stairwell... a steel support to brace the upstairs, gives much needed height to the new landing. I designed the landing with softly curved walls and stairs to enter into the room. By opening up the wall it creates a architectural feature and brings light into the stairwell. The wall behind the chair is curved.  I have the banister designed and waiting!

 We LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out. Even framed....it's beautiful to me!

Have a beautiful day!

xo,

me

Dinner Napkins...

 Happy Summer Darlins...
Yesterday the first day of summer!!!
Summer Solstice {the longest day of the year} truly a beautiful day here in so cal. The lighting in the evening was gorgeous... Silly but I notice everything!

I had a little dinner get together for Father's day and I was rushed as usual, but I always have my dinner napkins ready to set a pretty table.

My Design tip: Start with clean napkins, fold them and use pretty napkin holders and place them under a pretty glass cloche. Not just pretty...always clean* ready* in sight..you can just have anyone set the table!
Have a pretty day!

xo,
Me

Brown Transferware

     Sunday morning Blessings... They  are all around us and constant. I count mine every day, not just on Sunday.
Last October I went on my annual visit to the Midwest, I grew up there as a young girl.. I LOVE visiting my family and seeing the beauty and I call it a refreshing flush! {I will leave it at that}
It is my most special place to just *BE*  My family & my upbringing have taught me to stay grounded through my journey... a blessing that I honor and have held dear. They know me and appreciate that I am the same small town girl!

While I was there we went to the NA-DA Farm Sale.  I have enjoyed Ann-Maries blog she's on my Blog roll. (Link below) we emailed back and forth I told her I was coming.. She was so sweet and greeted us with a big smile & a welcome hug! 
What I treasure most that I bought was the burlap GOD BLESS sign that her husband made. IT wasn't really for sale but she made an exception! I was grateful! I LOVE IT! I think I know where I will hang it!
The Vintage black frame also came from there. More items I  will show you later!


                                                               *Simple Blessings *



                                                       xo
                                                       me
http://nadafarmlife.blogspot.com/

Vintage Horn & Handles

Hope your having a fabulous week so far... My posts have sure been spread out, my life is going in so many directions, but with one destination & common thread if that makes sense! I am burning the candles at both ends but excited and grateful for all the wonderful opportunity's. I'll share soon!!

The photo above I took is a Vintage Horn that was my Dad's, He gave me this and a Vintage Bow and Arrow set with the most Beautiful colors on the arrows... Any hoooo, He used to demonstrate to my brothers and I how he used this hunting. I can still hear the sound! I can't remember if it was for calling deer or moose.

I cherish these things and I also have his mounted moose antlers which I LOVE* LOVE * LOVE. Can't wait to place them in a special spot in my house. My dad was a passionate sportsman / hunter he could tell hunting stories for hours! I don't think it was just the hunting ...it was the event, camping/roughing it in the woods with his friends that was just a great outdoor experience.

 This picture is of a vintage horn handle that is on a cooking fork. We just found this at my mother-n- laws house when we were going through everything.... We cleaned it up and the section above the handle is sterling silver! It was the back yard grilling fork!!! So where is the matching knife I asked?

I love these pieces and cherish where they came from! Someday we will pass them onto our boyz.

Have a beautiful Thursday

xo,

me

Patriotic Sentiments

Memories of my youngest when he was small @ the beach with his small little hands placing the American Flags in the sand..

Sentiments on our Front  Entry Gate...

Our Vintage Tractor....

On a log beside the gate...

Blessings & a safe Memorial Day everyone*

xo,

Me

Firebacks

Happy Thursday Darlins...
Hope your week has been great! Mine has been very busy so I haven't had time to blog!
Did you watch American Idol?  We watched the Idol finale and we were torn over who would win... I think Phillip and Jessica are deserving of a huge music career they will both have. Jessica being from San Diego we wanted her to bring the title home here! We {San Diego} are so impressed by this 16 year old powerhouse.. I think we agree, she has the potential for Music stardom...

Do you know what a Fireback is? A piece of cast iron that is used in the back of the fireplace to protect the brick from being damaged by the heat of the fire. The heat is absorbed and keeps the room warm after the fire has gone out.

I found amazing Vintage this FIREBACK and can't wait to use it... I have a couple thoughts on where I will use it in my design!

*HOPE WELL*

I LOVED THAT WORD!!!

My Design tip: Sometimes things are right in front of you if you have a plan.

Have a beautiful day,

xo,

me

Storied Treasures

Hi Darlins,
Sharing our stories and others with us is such a gift... sometimes we don't get the opportunity to know the story behind a vintage piece... So it's fun to imagine a little.

A life of 95 years was lived and passed peacefully a couple of weeks ago..
On Sunday we paid tribute to my mother-n-laws 95 years of life.  A proud women who was a dedicated teacher for many years and lived in the same home over 60 years. She will be missed...
As we were sifting through 60 years of items, looking and hoping to find any special mementos and keepsakes ...
I couldn't help think of the stories that were never told. Was life simpler? Was travel enchanting?

We didn't find many treasures... though I fortunetly found a couple things that told a story by a simple monogram or some writing on the back. A family member's silver baby spoon was found with his initials...polished up and returned to him. The expression of gratitude said it all when he read the initials...


Above are a few items that came home with us. 


Oh .... Thank you Susan at SSO Second Shout Out blog for posting about Casual Loves Elegance today.  Go on over and visit here  http://www.secondshoutout.com/blog


Have a pretty Thursday*
xo,
me

Vintage * White * Beauty

Good Morning Darlin's

Scouting for Vintage pieces for my renovation is serious....So where do I go for serious pieces around SoCal? Los Angeles has some of my favorite spots. Wish we had as many as the East coast.

A while back I was in LA getting my Vintage doors re-sized and designing my interior doors.  I always make each trip worthwhile and do a little scouting for some pieces I am searching for.

OMG...It was LOVE at first sight when I spotted this Beauty sitting on the floor in the middle of lots of other pretties, but she was the most Beautiful!!! I think I might of yelled... YIKES, I FOUND MY SINK!!!
Oh well... the shop owners are used to that right?

 I wasn't sure how I would ever get it home or even off the floor, it took 3 men to pick her up! We used a lift too. Getting her out of the truck when we got home was another story.....

She's finally in my Butler's pantry on the floor again...A slight obstacle, need to remove the existing drain hole on one side so that I can put a garbage disposal in. I was worried about drilling this Vintage Beauty, what if it cracks? I had my sub look at it and he said he can do it! Great news... I will still be holding my breath and crossing my fingers until  he stops the drill!

My Design tip: Incorporating Vintage is Green. I have done it in all my design projects and renovations. It is the best way to achieve character and nostalgia.
Happy White Wednesday*
xo,
me

From Tree to Table...

I remember one thing that we loved about our property when we bought it was the Little Grove..
A small area that the previous owners planted up near the house.
 Consisting of Apple * Apricot * Grapefruit * Oranges * Peaches * Plums & Tangerine trees. One of each variety, which are lovely matured and produce fruit at different times of Spring and Summer. I love the whole process...particularly the flowering branches before the fruit. It is so beautiful and the fragrance is just intoxicating when you arrive at our gates!

When we first bought our property we fenced it in and we planted a Big Grove mostly Eureka lemons and a few special trees for our family... Clementines, Meyer lemons & Navel oranges.
Right now our peaches are ready! It's like a race... to pick them before the birds!

Enjoy the photos of some peaches I just picked. My family likes my peach, apple & pear crumble!

 I love it on Plain yogurt & my favorite is ... just picking one right off the tree!


My design tip: When landscaping, plant some trees that provide your family with fruit bearing gifts all year. They are beautiful ... while adding value to your property!
xo,
me
P.S. I'm linking up with Debra and the girls


http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

Pretty Vintage Cupboards

Hi Darlins... I hope your week is fantastic so far!

During my renovation I keep loosing cupboards and I still need temporary spaces to keep some dishes and glassware accessible yet fairly protected from construction dust.
I have been using these two tall cupboards.  I bought them a few years ago for extra storage before the renovation. I thought that they were so pretty with the chippy white & pale-grey paint I am so happy to have them for my temporary make-shift kitchen!
They are made from vintage windows and have these pretty litlle handmade roses on them! A score!
I love being Green!!

My design tip: Always consider GREEN alternatives. Vintage is GREEN and the way to go for many building projects... Remember what I always caution you about... Beware of.... "it is a good buy"... If it doesnt' work and have a utility you will have to get rid of it or it will be stored in your garage!

Here are a couple pics of the vintage cupboards so you can see how I am using them now....I aleready have the next use for them planned Out!!!
xo,
me

Welcome May*

Welcoming  May  Day  2012 .... 
When I lived at the beach I was closer to  my neighbors than I am now.
Each May Day early in the morning I quietly walked over to the neighbors houses close to me and put a little glass containers {like the one below on my tin shed} filled with beautiful Heirloom roses from my garden and hung them on their door handles!

I LOVED doing it for them.....I felt like the easter bunny!!!

I hope your May will be filled with Beautiful Flowers in your garden and the warm sentiments from a neighbor or friend!
Happy May Day***
xo,
me