~~~FRENCH CHARMING CHALKBOARD SIGN~~~ Le Café Français

 ~LE CAFE FRANCAIS~

Sweet Chalkboard Sign

Just after the first of the year I showed you a really charming chalkboard sign I picked up at Hobby Lobby on the cheap!  It was red and painted to look like an English/British Telephone Booth...

 ~ORIGINAL SIGN~

For over a week now I've wanted to upload pictures of where I'm at in the transformation process, but I've been sidelined with other things (like supervising watching  the wall removal in our La Chaumière de Briarwood).  The top of the chalkboard was repainted with hand painted roses and the word TELEPHONE was replaced with LE CAFE FRANCAIS (French Cafe).

 ~NO PINK ROSES~

(Gasp!)

I actually like the phrase, but not the font.  I used "French Script" and it always looks crooked to me (the lower case "S" drops) and that bugs me.  Soo...I may paint it out in the future and redo it with something else...we'll see!

~ROSES ROSES ROSES~

I'm seriously thinking of painting a "menu" of sorts on the black portion of the chalkboard.  I think this would look really sweet~  Maybe something similar to the menu on the right!!!

~FRENCH MENU~

Then again...I may just leave it blank~  Seems strange not to have anything on it tho...

Now...just a quick update on our recent makeover projects...

Tomorrow I'll be sharing with you some pics of the opened-up, newly braced load-bearing-wall and also a couple of photos on what we did to camouflage the 'uncentered-ness' of the window in our den.  It's ALWAYS bugged me and thanks to a tip I saw on CREATE TV I'm pretty happy with the outcome!

Hoping your Monday is awesome!

Love to you...

~~~~THOUGHTS ON A SUNDAY MORNING~~~~ Translation vs. Life

 "My little children, let us not love in words,

neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

(1 John 3:18)

The following story moved me...

"The tale is told of four scholars who were arguing over the beauty and accuracy of various Bible translations.

One scholar argued for the King James Version, siting its beautiful, eloquent old English.

The second scholar was in favor of the American Standard Bible.  He cited its literalism, the way it moved a reader from passage to passage with confident feelings of accuracy from the original text.

The third scholar said he preferred the translation by Moffatt and praised what he felt were quaint, yet penetrating words.  He believed they captured the attention of the reader.

After giving thought to each of the lengthy and impassioned arguments presented, the fourth scholar said, "Frankly, I have always preferred my mother's translation."

Knowing that his mother was not a Bible translator, nor a scholar, the other three laughed and said, No, seriously..."  The man stood his ground.  "I stand by my claim, " he said.  "My mother translated each page of the Bible into life.  And it was the most convincing translation I have ever seen."

 "Her children stand and bless her...."

(Proverbs 31:28 (TLB)

~*~

Something to think about!

(PS:  I have no idea what is wrong with the comment thingy today!  Argh!  Sooo SORRY to those of you who had your comments rejected!)

Hope your day is wonderful.

Love to you...

~THE BLESSING OF A POTTERY BARN SOFA~

~BILLOWS of SOFT WHITE~

Yesterday I shared with you how for the past few months I've been on the lookout for a great deal on a slip-covered sofa.  I've visited our local Pottery Barn store more times than I can tell you just dreaming about owning the natural white sofa displayed on their showroom floor.

I loved that sofa.

I more than loved it.

I would run my fingers across the soft nap of the twill fabric and try to envision what it would look like living inside my La Chaumière de Briarwood.  Once in awhile I'd look at other sofas...a similar one at JCPenney appeared to be a good substitute, but the reviews I read regarding the fabric and cushion performance fell flat and that discouraged me.  Eventually I'd move onto the other things needing attention in my home, but ultimately my heart would always return to that $2,500 sofa and how owning it was probably never going to happen.

Oh...I could have saved for it.  That wasn't the problem.  For me the sofa was just too expensive and that kept me from laying down my hard-earned cash. Being a somewhat older wiser woman I did spend some serious time scanning the classifieds in hopes of finding one, but I always came away empty handed and disappointed.

~ACCENTED WITH FEATHER PILLOWS~

Last Wednesday while chatting with my Mr. AGPMan I happened to click onto Craig's List (which honestly I rarely do!) for a tiny little peek at FURNITURE.  When my hubby needed to put me on HOLD for a minute my fingers (all on their own) :) typed the following into the search bar:

POTTERY BARN SOFA

Incredibly this AD came up:

Beautiful Pottery Barn PB Basic slip-covered sofa 83w x 35d x 35"h. Natural colored 100% cotton brushed canvas slipcovers are machine washable. Hardwood kiln-dried frame. Originally paid $2,500 approx. one year ago. Asking $850/OBO. Taken great care of and maintained well, not exposed to pets or smoke, no stains. Very comfortable and beautiful. Unable to find this type of sofa in Oklahoma unless special ordered, which can take months. Will deliver for additional $50 in OKC metro. Will email more pictures if interested.

Now...I know that some of you will think me totally silly and quite possibly nuts, but I knew right then and there that sofa was meant for me and that we would be bringing it home.  I shared the AD with my guy (probably sounded a wee bit incoherent to him), got off the phone, emailed the seller and then jumped for joy!  I heard back on Thursday afternoon and on Friday night my Mr. AGPMan and I hopped into his Truck and drove out to their house to haul my new-old sofa home.

(The sellers have a beautiful home...very sweet family!)

 ~ADVERTISEMENT PHOTO~

After a quick wash and dry I replaced all the covers back onto the sofa and sat down to rest...  It was then this thought washed over me...

~IN THE LIGHT~

Just as God is faithful to all His children He is also faithful to me.  This morning I'm grateful His faithfulness has never depended on receiving mine in return.  I'm so very human and mess up more times than I can tell you.  I get fixated on unimportant stuff and often fail to remember I serve a God who cares about the little things in my life as well as the big.  For so long I'd prayed a wee little prayer for something material...an earthly possession that in the grand scheme of things was destined to hold no eternal value.  But when I prayed He still listened to me just the same.  And just as He's promised to give me everything I need (Philippians 4:19) I can't help but rejoice because more times than I can count He's also blessed me with things I've wanted.

(Thank you, God, for the sofa!  But mostly...just for caring!)

"Pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks."  (Philippians 4:6) 

~ETTA JAMES~

PS:  Thinking today of Miss Etta James (AT LAST You're In Heaven!)
Jamesetta Hawkins - January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012)

Love to you...