Master Bedroom Refresh (Florida Home)

 

My master bedroom was in need of a refresh after six years in my new Florida home.  I didn’t dislike the room, but just wanted to bring the metal elements together after the addition of a pretty large barn door and its black hardware.  

By adding more modern black knobs to my perfectly fine dressers, the look was totally changed and updated. The white ceiling fan was also changed for a black, three blade, up to date style and the curtain hardware was easily changed from silver to black with a can of spray paint.

The biggest expense was a new black, taller and sleek iron headboard to replace the dated silver one with its more traditional elements.

The new quilt kept the same coastal blue and green colors and the space overall kept its cool, calming feel, but with a modern twist.  When you are happy with a room, but it has become dated in certain areas, small changes, without spending a lot of money, can make the decor fresh and new again. 

Happy Tuesday!

6 Years as a Floridian

 

It has been six years today since we closed on our Florida home and it has been a very good six years in the Sunshine State.  

When you make a big decision, you really never know how things will work out.  Our roots were deep in Michigan, but because we had moved quite a bit before settling down for the school age years of our girls, moving was not really scary to me.  I knew the outdoor lifestyle would be everything we wanted and help keep us young.

Leaving friends, family and especially Melissa who still lives in Michigan was hard of course, but looking back, I think we have done a good job of creating times together.  I do not hesitate to jump on a plane and will continue to do so.

Florida during the covid years was a different experience than living in Michigan and I am thankful for that.  Being able to experience fresh air and sunshine made a hard situation more tolerable.  

After six years, we are established with roots, friends and many new experiences, including two major hurricanes.  The good always has to come with the not so good, but I really do not have any regrets and look forward to many more years in our own little paradise.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Week in Photos

 

I just love this time of year in my little corner of Florida.  The majority of the snowbirds are gone and tourist season slows way down.  You begin to feel like where you live is the best kept secret around.  There is room to experience all that southwest Florida offers and the reason so many visit for their precious vacation time.  I never take it for granted.

The photos show a week filled with breakfast, lunch and dinner out; a goodbye dinner at a greek diner, a high tea in downtown Venice and breakfast with a water view.

There were also a few walks with beach views, a visit to Clearwater Beach on Mother’s Day and a morning at the Venice Farmer’s Market for fresh vegetables.  Also, I replanted a few pots on my lanai; always a favorite thing to do.

A busy, but good week.

Happy weekend!

Ricotta Banana Nut Bread

I made lasagna for dinner recently and there was a container of ricotta cheese in my fridge needing to be used.  Remembering this recipe on one of my Pinterest boards, it sounded delicious and an excellent use of the ricotta.  I always pick sweet over savory and I just can’t help myself.

It was a typical banana bread recipe with a few twists.  The ricotta made the wet ingredients very creamy which was a good thing.  Also, I have never made banana bread without mashing the bananas.  This recipe called for chopping them.  It made for great banana flavor.  

The only change I made was to use pecans instead of walnuts, because that is what I had in my pantry.  I also broke in my new williams-sonoma loaf pan which made it very pretty before cutting.

Have a great weekend - maybe with this banana bread and your morning coffee :-)