Update: We Will Miss You Chloe!

Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers.  Our dear sweet little Chloe went to heaven during the night.  We are very sad and devastated, but know that she is not suffering anymore.

We will miss you Chloe!!!

You were the best dog a family could ask for.

You never complained.

You kept us warm.

Came with us on vacation!

You were the best companion.

One of the family.

Watcher of the house.

Keeper of the garden.

The love of our lives.

God Bless Chloe!

We Love You Chloe!!!

It's been a very tough week here in the Bliss House.  Our beloved dog, Chloe, woke up sick yesterday morning.  She was fine up until then.  I thought maybe she just ate something she shouldn't have, but took her to the Vet just in case.  Our local Vet recognized right away that poor Chloe was very, very ill and ran tests which confirmed that she has a very serious disease.  Chloe is a Bischon an only 6 years old.  The disease she has is common in her size breed and her age.  It causes severe anemia.  My husband had to bring her to the University of Pennsylvania where she has been since last night.  Her outlook is very grim.  We are so devastated by this news as you can imagine, and on top of that, our bill as of right now is already well over $3,000.  There is so much going through my head right now, first and foremost, how this is going to affect my children and then of course, how this is going to affect us financially.  Please keep us in your prayers.

Also, please keep Jeanette from Starting Over, and her husband in your prayers as they lost their beloved pet Keelie this week in an accident.

We LOVE you Chloe!

What's Green And Sits Outside?

Take a quick look around the House of Bliss and you'll see that green is my favorite color.  I have green walls on all 3 levels of my house.  My kitchen countertops used to be green.  And all three bathrooms currently have green countertops in all different shades.

So in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd share my love of green with you!

I can't seem to get enough of fake fruit, and not just in the kitchen.  These pears add some warmth to the living room on top of the coffee table.

The crystal bowl came from a yard sale.  Isn't she purrrrrrrdy?

You may recognize this cloche from Southern Living At Home.  I've always wanted one and was lucky enough to score one for just $5 at a flea market last year.

I added some small green apples.

I just added this arrangement to my island with the tray I found in my oven drawer.

Who doesn't want an apple tree in their kitchen!

And of course some green grapes.

A bowl o' pears on the kitchen table.

And some corded rope fruit on the kitchen hutch.

Got lots o' fake greenery too.  "They" say that fake greenery is so yesterday.  I say BRING IT!
(Who are "They" anyway?)

Big green balls in the foyer (cause size DOES matter!) - It's okay, I'm Irish, I'm aloud to be crude today.

A tree in the living room.

And in the family room.

And in the bedroom.

By now "They" must be horrified!

Fake fern.  I saw Rebecca from Adventures In Decorating do this alot and I loved it.  So I copied drew inspiration from her.

This little thing used to be something else entirely until I got my hands on it and began plucking away until all that was left was this.

And on the mantle.

At the top of the stairs I added this table that used to be in the basement.  I thought the birdie picture needed something under it.  And of course, more greenery.

Back up to the master bedroom.

Some green on green.
Can't really tell from the pic but the walls are a sage green color.

So there you have it.  My blissful Ode to St. Patrick.

And just in case you were wondering.............



Paddy O'Furniture!

New Pretties on Etsy

Today it's been a monsoon outside with rain like I've never seen.  We already gotten approximately 4 inches of water in just one day!  It's a great day to blog and get caught up on my Etsy store.  I thought I'd show you some of the new things available on my store.  All are vintage, and all are unique!

A leather decanter with wood stopper.  Couldn't you see this in a room with lots of wood paneling and dark colored walls?

A vintage easel, so ornate!  I could see an old black and white framed photo on this, couldn't you?

A pink tin tray with floral detail.  What I love most about this is the little bumblebee.  Isn't he sweet?

A vintage tin with handles and a Valentine theme.

A dainty white ceramic pitcher.  So many places this would look charming.

And an olive green tole lamp.  I love me some toleware!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are all enjoying a dry weekend!

Is There An Enima For Blogger's Block?

The following excuse for a post is almost certain to bore you into a coma. To offset that, I'm gonna sprinkle in some random eye candy to keep your attention.  Because I need your help.

I'm feeling a bit creatively constipated this week.  That's a new term I coined with the help of my friend Stacy.   Last month the creative juices were flowing like beer at an Irish funeral.  But now, I stare blankly at a blank screen, unable to compose a single sentence, witty or otherwise.  To make matters worse, Stacy sent me an email this morning.  I get a nice encouraging email from her every morning and it always makes me smile.  Here's what she said today:  


"I believe as you go through life - if you are REALLY paying attention to your journey - you learn as you go, perfecting yourself as a human to grow and become wiser with each experience be it good or bad. As this happens, your spiritual vibration is raised to a higher plateau therefore drawing more and more high quality people to your inner circle, that is, if you are moving in the right direction. Higher quality people are very hard to find so your circle may get smaller as your vibration gets higher, but quality always takes place over quantity." - Stacy Polidoro (I told you I'd give you props!)

WHAT??  How could she do this to me when I am the throes of a full-blown creative slump!  The nerve of some people.  Being all profound and eloquent while I face the Hoover Dam of mental blockage.  

I'm going to go take a shower now to try to clear out the cobwebs.  That and I really smell from my spin class this morning.  I will be back in a few.  But before I go, here are some of my fave inspiration pictures.

Do you sing in the shower?  I don't, but my man does.  Nothing in particular, just songs he makes up in his head mostly.  It's kinda cute.  When our girls were first born he wrote a song for each one and would sing it to them every night at bedtime.  How.Sweet.Is.That?

Do you ever put something in a "special" place, so you won't "lose" it? Then when you "need" it you can't "find" it?!!!  Like last week when I was looking for this cute tray I bought at Marshalls.  Last time I saw it was Christmas.  Since I couldn't find it, I just assumed it was packed away with the other decorations.  Then yesterday I set the oven to Self Clean (if only my kids came with that setting) and remembered that I had to take all the stuff out of that drawer.  There was my tray.  Huh?  What?   In my brain's defense, I'm sure it seemed brilliant at the time.  

So back to my problem.  Before the well in my subconscious dried up I did a post on the subject of "Forcing".  I talked about not forcing pieces that just don't work in your space.  I'm gonna take a page out of my own book and apply that same concept to my creativity or lack thereof.   I've either got it, or I don't.  And right now, I don't. 

So thanks for sticking with me in this rollercoaster of randomness.  I hope you enjoyed your ride.

  

Let's Talk Over Lunch

It is with great anticipation and excitement that I announce a gathering of bloggers in the Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey/Delaware area!   In conjunction with my dear friend Wendy of Relatively Unique, a fantastic blogger from Hershey, PA, I invite you to come out and join us for a day of lunch and thrift/antique shopping fun in the Dutch Country hills of beautiful Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Thursday, April 22nd.

Just imagine how great it would be to have a chance to meet each other in person!  I've been to Lancaster many times and there are so many awesome places to shop and eat.  Truly an antique-lover's dream.  It is sure to be a day that we will all remember for a long time to come.

Anyone interested, please contact me via my email (click on Contact Me at the top of my blog) and I will reply with directions.  

One special blogger from Pennsylvania that I have had the pleasure to "meet" is Karen from Elsie Eleanor Designs.  Karen is not only one of the sweetest bloggers, but also extremely talented.  I recently got this beautiful handmade pillow from Karen's Etsy store and I just love it!

I think it looks perfect on my living room chair, don't you agree?

So Karen, if you're reading this, I hope you can join us for our outing!  

I wish you all a happy weekend!

Have you seen my Mojo?

It's gone baby, gone.  Can't find it anywhere.  Coffee is not helping.  May need jumper cables.

Do You Believe In Signs?

Alot of things can happen in a year.  To most people, twelve months seems like a long time.  But at my age, a year feels like a month.  I started blogging a year ago, and in that short span it has become a very influential part of my life.  I spend countless hours at my desk restructuring my blog and getting it just right only to tweak it a bit more - adding a gadget here, removing a blinkie there.  I visit your blogs, and I "ooh" and "aah" at your beautiful homes and wonderful stories.  I love seeing the names of your blogs and the meaning behind them.  It got me to thinking, did I choose my blog name too quickly?  Does it have any true meaning to me?  

I am a very sentimental person.  I form strong attachments to things and those things have meaning to me.  I have a tattoo on my ankle.  It's a turtle.  I chose a turtle because that was what my dad has called me since I was a little girl, his turtle.  "The turtle always wins the race" he would say.  Turtle Power has become my mantra.  Maybe I should have chosen that as my blog title.  But my blog is about home decor, so that wouldn't work. I guess I could change the name of my blog, but that would cause alot of confusion for my followers, and I really don't feel like starting over.  

So you see, this has been eating away at me recently.   Then last week, I got a sign.  A sign that I did, in fact, choose exactly the right name for my blog.  A sign that I'm exactly where I need to be at this point in my life.  A sign that My Domestic Bliss is the story of my life with 2 kids, a dog, a house, a great husband and lots and lots of blissful memories.  

So what was the sign you ask?

It was just that.  A sign.  I found it at Big Lots.  I wasn't even looking for it. So I guess it found me.

And I will keep it next to me from now on whenever I blog as a constant reminder that I'm exactly where I need to be.