A New Bathroom

I know its summer and all; birds are tweeting, flowers are blooming, wee bugs are out flying. But today I thought we should take a look inside as well as out.

My friend Tara lives in Portland, Oregon. I love it there and given the chance I'd go in a New York minute.

Tara is a talent in so many ways. She is an expert felter. She can do amazing things with a sewing machine and her gift giving talents are absolutely unmatched!

But she is also a great inspiration to me and the people around her. She has a magical heart and it shows in her little cottage. I am blessed to call her friend.

When she and her husband bought this house in the South West burrough of Portland, they knew they'd be doing some work.  Add to the list of her talents above, she is also an accomplished gardener and her interior eye is enviable!

The pictures below are first of her cottage. It's my dream home. You'll love it too. Next I'll do the "after" pics of the bathroom and finally, I'll end with before shots. They are all original photos taken by Tara.

Building more vegetable beds.

Look at this sumptuous little rain garden!

Look at that beautiful arch and the subway tile.

Medicine above, laundry below. And a deeper blue within.

Tangerine objet and a sweet little whale.

Before shots here: The difference is palpable.

Lots of storage but everything got lost in the back.

This storage spot was sacrificed to move the door.
See below.

My Cute Town

I have a few "pet peeves." One of them is when folks who live in my town say bad things about it. It ranks right up there with Americans joining in to slam our country with Europeans. Something is just principally not right about that.

Another one is bad grammar, but I'll save that for another post.

How can someone say, "Sacramento = no culture." We have a beautiful and very cosmopolitan museum.

People say all the time, "What a cow town." Apparently they haven't been to Vacaville - actually named 'cow town.'

And why do natives from here say things like, "I hate it here." I say, "Then get out!"

We have excellent recreational trails for biking, hiking and walking, we have outstanding restaurants, we have a thriving art community, we have good hair salons and we have trees second only to Paris. Plus we are the state capital. A town offering all that is much more than a cow town or any other slanderous label a dimwit can put on it.

Have I mentioned the real estate? Look how sweet this is!

So the next time you find yourself or someone else talking about Sacramento as if it was a less than awesome place, I urge you to think of the charm I am showing you here and also, my mother taught me, "If you haven't anything nice to say, then do not say anything." Or move away!