Just Listed!

Click on the arrow to view a little clip of new products just added. I really just wanted to try out the iMovie program on my Mac.

Fall Cooking

I have to post about the yummy Butternut Squash ravioli we had for dinner last night. Now, I bought mine at Costco and we were all amazed by how good these were. Here is the link to the company that makes them: www.Nuovopasta.com. The cinnamon and nutmeg flavors were so good with the thyme brown butter sauce I made for them - my son said they taste like fall! If you want to make them from scratch (but using wonton wrappers), click HERE for a recipe. Enjoy!

Photo credits: www.AllRecipes.com

Office Chic at Make Mine Pink Friday

I don’t know when it happened, but office spaces for women have become so much more personalized and chic! Whether you spend your working hours in a casual home office or go out for the workday, work spaces are being all gussied up. Women are putting their own stamp on their office space making it more feminine and a lot more fun. Take a look around the next time you visit a friends office. It could be something as simple as an altered art tag dangling on a ribbon from a memo board. Or a fabric covered photo frame, boasting her favorite photos of friends and family. It’s not only acceptable to use a feminine eye when planning your office space, it’s become the norm. I don’t know about you, but I love it!

When looking for furniture, remember, it doesn’t have to be boring to be practical and comfortable. An old vanity or desk freshened up with a coat of paint becomes a work space that is not only comfortable but economical and pleasing to the eye. The worn work table you picked up at a flea market can be refinished to give you extra room to spread out your current project. Go ahead - cover that utilitarian black desk chair with a pretty slipcover in a floral or striped pattern. I did and it made a huge difference in how my office space looks and feels. Your office will never be ordinary again.

Don’t forget - everyday office accessories get a feminine makeover as well! Add a touch of feminine and whimsy by switching the document tray for a vintage wire basket. Adding magazine holders in fun patterns help you keep your office space organized and chic. Look for unusual items that can be used as mail or office caddies, again adding to the personalization of your work space. Adding a decorative mouse pad to further enhance your work space is an inexpensive way to add a little pizzazz to your desktop. Perhaps a favorite vintage creamer or coffee cup would be the perfect accessory to store your pens nearby in feminine style. Embellishments make everyday items fun while still being useful. A clipboard can be transformed with flowers, trims and appliquéd accents. Tie a stack of file folders together with lace and pretty trims. Even your stapler can be dressed up with ribbons and roses in colors to match the office décor.

Do you have a vision board in your office? Vision boards inspire you to reach for and achieve your dreams. Dream big with a board embellished with pretty fabrics, pearls, charms and crystal beads. Keeping it nearby will add style as well as keeping you focused on your goals and dreams.Working in a space that is pretty and calming is a great stress reliever. By adding a few embellishments and feminine touches, you can create a chic office space where your office hours will become more fun and less tedious.

Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Click HERE for some of my "Office Chic" products.
Click HERE to see more at Make Mine Pink.

Tent Sale Tuesday-Wire Votives

Aren't these cute? I just listed them under the Tent HERE.

What's Your Style?

According to the Stylescope quiz at Homegoods I'm....

COUNTRY ECLECTIC

You have wide-ranging interests and influences and therefore appreciate a mix of styles, periods, and objects. You would never use a matching suite of furniture or could stand a home that seemed cookie-cutter. But you love the breezy, layered look of wonderfully personal beach houses and the happy florals of English cottages. Bringing the outdoors in makes you happy: a little chintz or ruffle or weathered furniture, urns filled with tennis rackets, colored glasses filled with cut flowers, vintage-looking, mixed tea cups, and all things that give a sense of a happy, simple life.

You value comfort. Your home is a warm and open friendly place, and you feel happiest when everyone is cared for and relaxed in your space. Elements like pillows, throws, overstuffed furniture, and good lighting set the mood. You may also enjoy layering different fabrics or mixing patterns to create a cozy effect.

Click HERE to take the quiz and see what they say about your style.

Doors of Maine

Okay, I promise this is my last post about our trip to Maine. I have been wanting to paint my side door (the most used in our house) a fun color. After driving around Maine I am going to do it! I'm thinking a Robin's Egg Blue. I was so inspired by these pretty doors around Maine.

Do you have a pretty color on your door? If so, let us know!

This post is participating in Hooked on Fridays HERE.

Shopping in Maine

Wish I had time to do more! But the little bit I did was great. I found this shell mirror and starfish at this gorgeous cottage store - The Cherished Home in Belfast.  She had the largest selection of Dash and Albert rugs I have ever seen and 2 floors of themed rooms full of great cottage home decor!  Visit their website HERE.   After coming home from our trip I clicked on their About Us page and was not too surprised to see the owner was another LI, NY'er but I was shocked to see it was Genie Francis from General Hospital! We met quite a few that were originally from our area and relocated to beautiful Maine. I just know we'll end up there one day!

These amazing water views and chippy old chairs are what we found behind The Painted Lady in Lincolnville. She had the most amazing pieces and vignettes in her store. I absolutely LOVED everything she sells. I wish I had taken pics on the inside. But when you looked out the back of the store this is what you saw. So beautiful! Visit her website HERE.


Here is a little glimpse of Camden Village and the cute little shops there.
This was another great store right across the street from Lincolnville Beach. Couldn't find a website for this shop. But it's worth the visit if you're ever in the area.

Coming soon: The Doors of Maine...

"Working Round the House"

Please join us for shopping with a twist on Friday September 4, 2009 as we present "Working Round the House"

With the arrival of September, our nesting instincts return. With the kids back in school, there is more time for yourself and to care for your living spaces. It's time to create a cozy fall home in preparation for cooler days and more time spent indoors.

Living spaces that were moved outdoors over the summer will now come back into the house. Afternoon teas in the garden return to the kitchen or dining room.  A favorite vintage tablecloth spattered with hints of autumn flowers pulled from the linen closet and ironed to get ready for the first guests. Your reading nook on the patio will be returned to the living room or den. Favorite pillows ad cushions stitched in deeper shades of autumn, are fluffed to make the corner cozy again.

This is traditionally the time of year we start fall cleaning, tucking away summer accents and decorations until next year.  Summer curtains are put away and replaced with warm fabrics in vibrant shades. 

The fragrances of fall fill your home now too, coming in through the windows and wafting from the fall bouquet you placed in a vintage metal bucket on the table in the hall. The scents of a fresh apple pie in the oven, and apple cinnamon scented potpourri that fills bowls throughout your home and simmers on the stove. The familiar scents inspire feelings of comfort and home.

Fall is also a perfect time to begin a few of the projects you’ve been putting off.  The small pieces of furniture you picked up at summer flea markets now hold the promise of becoming your next painted projects. The vintage fabrics you found at neighborhood estate sales will likely become your next stitched masterpiece. The possibilities are endless as we happily work around our homes. Somehow, we never seem to mind. Instead, we settle back into our routines and enjoy the first hints of excitement of upcoming family gatherings and holidays not far off.


Joyce Lucas, Founder
Make Mine Pink

Click HERE for Hydrangea Home's "Working Round the House" picks.

Click HERE for the participating Boutiques at Make Mine Pink.

I'm looking forward to getting back into creating for my business and for my home this fall.

I don't accomplish too much of that over the summer with all of the kids home. And I am just dying to work on some great pieces of furniture that we've picked up recently. Here's a little list of some of the immediate projects I want to tackle.

1. My husband found a great hutch (for free!) on Craig's list a few weeks ago. It's a real 70's piece but that just means real simple lines to work with. I plan to change the legs, add some molding and paint it. 

2. I also have an old dresser that I plan on turning into a new bathroom vanity.

3. Stairwell art gallery for my kids projects.

4. Vacation picture wall.

What are your fall projects? 

I would love to hear all about them!

Beautiful sites around Maine

I understand why they call Maine "Vacationland".

And why they say Maine - "The way life should be".

These are just a few of the shots we took around Camden and the surrounding area. I could definitely get used to looking at these views everyday.

The view from the dock - can you hear the quiet?


Bella enjoying the view of the pond

Camden Harbor boats


I know they're just cliffs but we don't have those on LI


We don't have these either -Belted Galloway Cows - Don't they look like Oreo cookies?

Pretty Lincolnville Beach

Camden Harbor from the top of Mt. Battie



If you have visited Maine, I would love to hear all about it, what region, your favorite part.....

Visit Serendipity's post about Camden HERE.

Next post..shopping in Maine.

I'm participating in Southern Daydreamer's Outdoor Wednesday. Click on the graphic below to visit more participants.

I've been here...enjoying the end of summer

...in Maine.

So many pics to share.

The beautiful scenery in Camden and the rest of the Mid-Coast region, colorful doors of Maine, the shops, etc.

Have you been there? Such a gorgeous part of our country.

More pics coming soon.