Widows Walks

I have always been fascinated by windows walks.

There is something so beautiful and romantic, and I would add in tragic, about them.

"A widows walk (or roofwalk) is a railed rooftop platform often with a small enclosed cupola frequently found on 19th century North America houses. A popular romantic myth holds that the platform was used to observe vessels at sea. The name comes from the wives of mariners, who would watch for their spouses' return, often in vain as the ocean took the lives of mariners, leaving the women as widows."

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( I love how this photo/painting morphs into the railing and sky)

Almost every morning I ride out to our beach and there on the channel is a beautiful house/cottage with a enclosed widows walk.

I often imagine, being the hopeless or helpless romantic that I am, waiting there gazing out into water waiting for my sailor to come back.

Now I know that my sailor does not like the water much so I know that that will never happen, but I would love to be able to lose myself into the horizon day after day and night after night.

There is something so calming and peaceful about the site of the water and the endless possibilities of the horizon.

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I would love a place to escape to where the days troubles just fade away into the distant.

I am sure a many wonderful conversations would be held on a widows walk as well.

Here are a few that caught my eye today while browsing around...

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Um, yes please!!

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I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and I wanted to thank you too for the sweet comments left on my last post. I love this community and all the wonderful support, you truly are wonderful friends. :)

I am off for another weekend of basketball!! :)

HUGS!!!

Sea Treasures and A Rut..

Do you ever feel like you are stuck in a rut?

I have to tell you that I have had this feeling for a bit now and it is really starting to irritate me!

I feel like I lost my mojo.

It could be because I ran myself silly with back to back projects during the winter; or maybe because I don't have enough time in the day to start and complete anything; or this rainy, sunless weather we have been having (although yesterday and today were really nice);

or perhaps I am just so far behind in everything I am not even sure where to start??

UHG!!!

Anyway, I haven't been doing much of anything lately due to the above but I did manage to find a few sea treasures to go around the house.

I purchased some sea fans from Beach Grass Cottage the other day and I LOVE them.....

ALOT!!!

I love what they add to the room.

They are just so beautiful.

I also purchased a couple oars from my favorite antique store and hung one in the family room above the front door...

and the other in the kitchen above my work-in-progress gallery wall.

I still need some pictures. I have them, just too lazy to put them in.

Sad, I know.

I am loving the yellow with the white and grays in the kitchen.

Oh, I don't think that I told you that I painted the bottom cupboards the same gray as the trim in the family room. I think I told you that I was going to do that on Spring Break, which I did, but never showed you.

I haven't put the knobs back on yet, and that was what, a month ago?

Still sad, I know.

We also have this...

the TV cabinet that is partially painted.

This one is not my fault though. :)

I have been asking hubby to take the TV and DVD player out so I can finish painting and he has not done that yet.

Hopefully soon cause it looks silly. :)

Sorry this is so boring, I really have not done much of anything other than catching up on cleaning and running kids all over.

I did get out in the garden today which was really nice and raked leaves and started to at least clean up the winter mess.

But, it is supposed to rain for the rest of the week.

Maybe that will force me to finish up some little things around here........

Maybe....

:)

Where Our Souls Reside

I just wanted to share something with you today. Today has two pretty special meanings to me and I am sure to a lot of us. Today is the day that The Lord sacrificed His life for us, so we can live eternally.

Today is also Earth Day, a day to celebrate this beautiful place that we call home that holds so much beauty and resources.

My dear friend Sandra from Frugal French Girl wrote this beautiful poem a couple years ago on her way back from a place where she and her hubby travel, a place that calls her home and her soul lives when she is not there, the Mayan Riveria and the Caribbean Ocean.

Photo: Frugal French Girl

I wrote this on our first trip back to Mexico in 2009. It's called "She beckons me home"

As I woke up this morning

In this beautiful place

I looked to my husband

And saw a smile on his face

A smile in his sleep

Means joy in his heart

I can't help but smile too

Feeling such love in my heart.

I quietly dressed

And grabbed the camera, eager to see

What beautiful things

She has to show me.

As I quietly leave our room by the sea

I can hear her soft voice

She is whispering to me

My feet hit warm sand

As I walk on Her shore

Everywhere I look

I see Her beauty and more

I watch the sun struggle

To peek through the clouds

The colors so rich & amazingly loud.

Never have I seen a more beautiful sight,

all painted for me, in colors so bright.

I sit here alone, in this moment in time

Knowing that all this is for me,

This moment is mine.

No one around to share this glorious sight

My soul feels so full

I know it is right.

As a sense of calm comes over me

I feel so content,

So whole and complete.

She gave me a gift,

She means it for me

She gave me a gift,

No one else will ever, ever see.

"She" is the Ocean, so humble, so strong

She beckons me closer:

"Why don't you come in?"

I suddenly realize this isn't a dream.

The beauty around me is so surreal;

that I cannot believe all that I feel

I slowly walk closer, my feet in the sand

Holding some of her amazing treasures tightly in my hand

As I get wet, I feel so alive

She surrounds me with love,

And I know, I've arrived.

If home is where the heart is,

Then this is my home

For nowhere else have I ever felt

So fulfilled & happy,

While completely alone.

I look forward to next time

We meet at Her shore,

When She'll fill me with calm

And replenish my soul.

Until next time...

I know that there is a place like this for me and I am sure that many of you have a same spot that "calls you home".

So what do Good Friday, Earth Day and Sandra's poem have in common?

To me it means that Jesus sacrificed His life for us to be forgiven of sin and to live eternally in paradise with Him. Earth day represents how we should care for the world that God gave us, He sent His only son for us, why should't we take care of the only Earth that we have that He gave us, our home? A home that inspires such beautiful poetry of places where our hearts and souls are drawn too, an Earth that provides us with so much beauty and inspirations.

So please, no matter what your celebrate today and this weekend, remember that we are share this planet and we can all do something, a small sacrifice maybe like recycling, reusing (which I know that a lot of you are amazing at!) and just being aware of our surroundings, to help preserve our wonderful home.

Hold it in our hands as He has held us in His.

HAPPY EARTH DAY

AND

HAPPY EASTER

Thank you Sandra for allowing me to share your beautiful poem!

Also please say hello to Sandra, she is crazy talented and she has a heart of pure gold

A Simple Joy

It has been a busy week so far here at the Cove! We have been running kiddos everywhere and tonight my wonderful hubby graduates his Police class and will be an official Police Reserve for our county!! I am so proud of him and I will post more on that later.

I just wanted to thank all of you for your wonderful comments on Raliegh's artwork, she is so talented and so sweet and genuine. I will be posting more of her work in the future. :)

Also, I want to welcome all of my new followers/friends! Thank you so much for joining me in my crazy little world. :)

I have not done much in the way of decorating, I am still working on the bonus room bit by bit. My biggest issue up there is that one of my cats..........

AHEM....

decided that it would be a great place to potty! Yeah Me!!!

SO I have been carpet cleaning and spraying special product up there for days now!!

GGRRRRR!!!!!!

The weather here has also been icky. Remember when I said that the snow didn't stick? Well, I must have made Mother Nature upset because the next morning IT STUCK!!!

Don't fret though, it is gone and now we just have rain, rain and more rain along with high winds.

Last week Friday I think it was, my hubby and daughter were at her basketball practice, my little one and I hunkered down, lit a fire and cozied up The Cove with some candlelight!

(sorry the pictures are not the greatest, that was my attempt at nighttime photography. I still have much to learn)

It felt so warm and cozy in here and to just be able to hear the winds and the rain next to a roaring fire and snuggle with my little man was so relaxing and felt so good.

A simple joy in life for sure. :)

Beautiful Hawaiian Art

Hello again my dears!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. We were quite busy running all over for our daughters basketball both Saturday and Sunday and it was so fun to watch her play.

The weather has been rainy and icky and is even snowing as I am typing this. (Nothing is sticking though)

I hope and pray for those you that got caught up in all the severe storms around the states over the last couple of days are safe.

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to a very sweet and very talented artist who happens to live in a very beautiful part of the world..

Hawaii.

Raliegh from ArtbyRT

"Michelle has a nice beach feel in her decorating. One day while I was visiting her blog, she pointed out a perfect place in her dining room to hang a print. I emailed her to let her know that living on the island of Maui, I had done alot of seascapes.

There is a lot original artwork that is affordable. A lot of artists are willing to work a deal, especially if you’re buying more than one piece. Oil paintings are higher priced but save money on framing.

I happen to do watercolor so the framing is essential for protection of the art.

Though with some creative matting and framing, a small piece of work could be that added touch for a beautiful statement to a room. I do keep my work priced low and love trades and deals ...(my store is ArtbyRt)

Lahaina is my home where I live with my husband and two youngest girls.

My oldest daughter is married and teaches at a private Christian School where my girls attend. My son also lives in Lahaina. I search the shores for seaglass for my handmade jewelry and for beach scenes.

As a Pastor, my husband has an occasional wedding. My daughters and I fell in love with this couple from Finland. It was their dream to get married in Hawaii. To make their marriage legal, they married in Finland first. They remained chaste until their dream came true on Maui with a beach wedding. Lucky and beautiful bride, what a prince he really is."

Thank you so much Raliegh for allowing me to share your beautiful artwork, jewelry and photos! What a dream to be able to walk the shores in search of perfect beach glass and images that you can share not only through the camera lens but also at the end of your paintbrush.

Your artwork is truly gorgeous and inspiring!

Please stop by Raliegh's Etsy shop for more watercolor gorgeousness and more information!

You can also reach her at artbyrt@live.com if you have any questions about her jewelry.

Mahalo

What is Emerald Cove?

When I started this little blog I really had no clue what I was doing!!

I knew that I wanted to try to promote my jewelry (which I have not done in ages) and had heard from several sources that having a blog is a great way to get the word out.

So, I signed up!

I made a few posts about jewelry and what a pain it was to figure out the finance part of a home business, but then starting seeing all these wonderful and glorious blogs about the sea and beach and decorating and I instantly fell in love!!!

(Coastal Living)

I have always loved to decorate and fiddle with things in the house but never beyond my wildest dreams did I know that you could talk about it with people that love it too!!

The first blogs that I came upon were Maya's Completely Coastal and Marie's Sally Lee by the Sea, then I found Kat at Low Tide High Style, Melanie at The Frosted Gardener and Rene at Cottage and Vine.

I. WAS. HOOKED!!!

Ok, Michelle, you are not really defining your blog!??

I know, I am trying! This was way harder than I thought! :)

I know that I love to decorate and I looooove the sea and combining the two has been so much fun thanks to all of YOU!!

YOU inspire me and honestly gave me the courage to do the things that I do.

Ok, combine that with a love of painting everything and I have had the best year!!!

So, how do you define all that?

Here it goes....

My goal for my blog is to show you who I am through my love for

Family

God

Friendships

Decorating

and whatever else my wonky little heart comes up with that day while somehow tying all those into the place where I feel the most at peace....

the sea.

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Ok, so maybe that is not really a definition and it is a bit scattered-brained, kind of like me, but I will fully embrace it and use it to the best of my ability. :)

And like my header says, I just want to find the simple joys in life and that is what I hope that I can do and not only learn from you but show you as well.

Thank you from the very bottom of my heart for following me along, commenting, lifting up my spirits, giving me friendship and love and the courage to open up my heart, mind and eyes to see all the beauty that is everywhere and showing me that there is still good in this world.

I am linking up to:

Mantel Planks

Since we did the fireplace on Sunday and it went rather quickly I thought that while I had a few seconds I would show you how it came out. I want to thank you for all your visits and comments about my family room redo and hopefully I am not boring you with this project and hopefully I will show you the ENTIRE room one day! :)

Anyway, I have always loved the plank walls that I see in old cottages and homes and even faked one in my kitchen that you can see here if you have a minute.

Knowing that hubby was not up to doing another wall again, especially after putting in the floors and everything else that he has been so graciously helping me with, I decided that just a partial plank wall will do, and what better spot for one than over the fireplace.

Before:

After:

It was pretty easy to do, well, it looked pretty easy to do since I observed most of the time.

We, or he, just cut the boards to length, trimmed the top and bottom boards so they looked even and then nailed them up!

I then slapped on some leftover paint and hung up my treasures.

I love how it turned out and it adds another, what I feel, beachy texture to the room and makes the fireplace seem a bit more interesting.

The 'old' fishing net I got at TJ Maxx along with the bigger sand bird.

The starfish and beach grass I shopped from the house.

But see the little sand bird?

Isn't he cute?!

My friend Anita from Going A Little Coastal asked me were I had picked up the larger bird. I told her where and mentioned that it would have been great if they had different sizes.

WELL,

being the sweet gal that she is, when she picked up her sand bird she told me that there were indeed different sizes and brought home this little guy to send to me!!! :)

I love him!

She also sent me this amazing smelling candle that smells like the sea!!

Thank you SO much again Anita, he is perfect with his big brother!!! :)

This week in between taxing the kids around I am tackling this mess!

This would be our bonus room or grave yard of all things not needed at the time.

My goal is to make it a tropical sitting room for the kids.

UGH!!!

I will be back Thursday to join the adorable Sarah from Modern Country Style and her

DEFINE YOUR BLOG linky party!

Click on the bottom above to find out what it is all about!

HUGS!!

In A Nutshell..

WOW!!!!!

Can I just tell you what a warm day does to ones soul?!!

I have been waiting for this...

for what seems like FOREVER!! :)

Warm breezes finally came through the house. It was almost 80 here today and we loved it!

Last week was pretty good.

It didn't start off so well with my little one being sick and we missed out on an indoor waterpark and then we had icky weather, a few bumps in the road with some appointments and then I had to work.

BUT,

We did find some time in between to

climb some trees....

take many rides out to the beach and the docks....

give a little scale a makeover...

put up a gallery wall in the family room....

and just relax a bit!!

It was a nice break and much needed because the upcoming weeks are going to be BUSY!!

Spring sports have started and that means that not only does my oldest play but so does my little one, so we will be here and there and everywhere!

I love it though, it is so fun to watch them play, learn and have fun. :)

I have missed you and can't wait to catch up and please bare with me if I am a bit late on commenting and responding and posting.

I also want to apologize for the sending out emails that had to do with Shoppybag. I tried to catch it as soon as I could and let you know and hopefully I didn't break anyones computer. :(

If you signed up I would delete your account and change your email settings to not allow that site. If you need more info, please let me know and again I am REALLY sorry!!!

Hopefully I will be back soon to show you what we did today over this:

I also wanted to thank Marie from Sally Lee By The Sea and Heather and Vanessa from At the Picket Fence for featuring my beachy redos!

Thank you so much ladies!!

Please stop by and say hello, you will find yourself surrounded with so much inspiration and friendship. :)

Also, if you have not read, my friend Marcia from Blessed Mom's Simple Home has a nephew, Jordan, who was wounded severely in Afghanistan and is now home in the states undergoing surgeries to repair what was done. Please read here about what had happened and also here to see the latest update and an address to send him some birthday wishes this month. If you could send up some prayers as well, that would be even better. :)

See you soon!!