The gracefully part is just a joke as you will see at the bottom of the page. It’s time for our Sunday favorites with Mary Ann and Annie. Let’s talk about how to Move Gracefully with Distractions. We always need them, right?
DAVID AUSTIN ROSES ON INSTAGRAM
I am really missing my David Austin roses. My current roses are all modern varieties and I am not a big fan. David Austin’s Instagram has me dying to plant a few.
OUTFIT OF THE WEEK
I love this pretty “house dress” (I hate that name). It reminds me of the elderly ladies growing up that basically wore their jammies all day. Anyway, this dress from Johnny Was is pricey but it comes in extended sizes and has a fit that I think is flattering for all shapes and sizes. The sandals are from Target, earrings from Amazon, hat from San Diego hat company, and Ray-Ban shades. Whoops, and the straw tote is from Etsy.
SHOP OUTFIT OF THE WEEK
TRAVEL AND LEISURE THE BEST PHOTO BOOK WEBSITES
Do you wish you had captured that vacay (or grandchild?) in book form instead of leaving the pictures lounging on your computer? Travel and Leisure has a great list here for the best photo books.
GRAPEFRUIT APEROL SPRITZ
I am not very adept at cocktails, but even I can prepare an Aperol Spritz or a variation of. We have had a few days up in the 90s here lately. This Grapefruit Aperol Spritz from Eating Well is an easy refreshing cocktail at the end of a hot day.
KEEPING IT REAL
I spent most of today trying to get my office together. I thought about posting a pretty corner but thought it would be better to post a reality check. We have so much furniture and stuff we will not be able to use (many favorites). It is a challenge, what can I say? This room was the former owner’s studio. We got creative and combined our inexpensive IKEA shelves with our antique kas from Maine. My office in our former home (you can read about it in my post How to make a home office Stylish and Functional here) had all built-ins. I purchased three pieces of the IKEA FJALLBO series for under $500 to make my office work in Salinas. I wasn’t sure what to do with this space but I think it will come together. More on this to come.
That’s it for me, back to unpacking. Thanks for reading How to Move Gracefully with Distractions. Have a great Sunday and pop over and visit Annie and Mary Ann.
MOST LOVELY THINGS
CLASSIC CASUAL HOME
Amazing work girlfriend – I LOVE your solution. You are so lucky to have an office – I have the dining room table and a pile or two in every room in the house. I just move the piles around.
I too am a worker bee, but these days I get easily overwhelmed and end up getting nothing done.
Hi Gray
That is what I was doing in our rental house even though I had an office! I completely understand. Steve is so happy that I have a space now. He couldn’t wait to get this room set up so I didn’t have piles everywhere.
Cindy, I love this mix of “high” low” in your office! It looks fabulous! I feel your pain about the moving. We have been in the house almost a year and never really moved all the way in because of the various renovation projects. In 2 weeks the kitchen/eating area and Carolina room are being gutted and the tile floors torn up. All of the stuff from those rooms has to be packed up, the surrounding rooms will be draped, covered, etc.And like you we have lots of stuff in the garage and unused rooms that will not fit in the house. Hoping that my sister will move here soon and take it to her house.
Love the David Austin roses and the outfit! Johnny Was in a favorite of mine!
Take care and enjoy the downtime and the cocktail(s).
Hi Elizabeth
I hear your pain about renovating. My husband did not want a fixer-upper. When he retires he wants to be done. He is happy to do small projects but had no interest in taking on a fixer-upper. What are we going to do with all the extra furniture? Yikes glad to hear someone else has the same problem. We have to meet one day. I know we have so much in common.
Will you talk about the choice to leave Salinas for Paso?
Hi Eileen
Absolutely. We lived in Chualar Canyon for over 30 years and had a place (at lake Nacimiento) for over 25 years of that time. We always loved this area but got tired of the lake going up and down. We decided to sell the lake house and look for a second home here. We looked forever (including a lot right down the street from where we are now). When the real estate market went crazy we decided to put our Chualar house on the market even though we really hadn’t planned on selling for a couple of years. Both our lake house and that house sold within a week. That prompted our move to Salinas into a rental that we have owned for over 20 years. We loved the neighborhood in Salinas but not the weather. So here we are!!
Beautiful roses (I’m sure we’ll be seeing one or two in your new garden soon) That spritz sounds lovely on a warm summer evening! Thanks for keeping things real – your office looks great already (gorgeous floors), Love seeing bits and pieces of your creative process!
Hi Barb
Thank you so much. I will be adding some David Austin Roses. I do miss them!
Ha … the term house dress does bring up images of grandma. Mine referred to hers as a house coat which was really more of a zip up robe … but same idea. Anywhere, your outfit of the week dress is no such thing. I love it! Moving is an ordeal and if you’re able to do it gracefully kudos to you. Your office actually looks good and I can’t wait to see the finished produce … I know I’ll learn something. Did you say grapefruit spritz?! Yes, please. Printed, pinned and making this weekend. You know I love a spritz … and anything with grapefruit so this sounds like a home run. Hope you’re making tons of progress today … have a wonderful week! xo
Hi Juliet
I am glad someone besides me remembers…I hate that term. If only the youngsters who coined the term could see what we have!
What an absolutely perfect fit, size wise, with those Ikea bookshelves! I see you had to cut into the baseboards. Love the old and new look of the wall…with the antique cabinet.
Hi CC
I like the mix too. My husband did have to notch in the shelves to make them fit but I love the outcome. So glad you do too.
Oh I get it, when you say move gracefully you meant move homes – not your body! That’s the challenge for me lately as I pulled a muscle and it hurts every step I take!
Cute dress, pretty outfit (always Cindy!)
I know your office will be lovely I like it already.
Xo Heidi
Hi Heidi
Yikes good point. I never move gracefully. Nor do I move homes gracefully…ha ha
Cindy the office looks lovely…just like you had it at the small house, which was gorgeous. Love the outfit especially the dress and bag. I agree housedress is what all the old grandmas wore who lived with families wore when we were growing up!! Nap dress is dumb too. We need to come up with something better. xo
Hi Kim
No kidding as I said to Heidi the youngsters need to see what house dresses were…
You may not have as much stuff as you think. I have moved a few times and learned that one shelf turns into 4 boxes when packed. It helps to have a large open space, table or counter to unpack because until everything is available for the eye to see it is hard to figure out just where things will go.
The other thing is furniture….move everything that you think might work because until it is in the new space you will not know how it all fits together. I moved furniture around my current living room 6 times and then finally found how all the puzzle pieces fit together and looked just right (the first 5 tries just looked off). Furniture may end up in different rooms than a previous living space so best to think outside the box
Hi Lauren
You have so many good points. We have left some boxes and furniture in one of the bays in our garage. We have space and time to think about what really works where. Thank you for reminding me.
Cindy, I really enjoy your posts! I have a feeling a move is in our not-to-far-off future, so I am beginning a major cleanout. So hard to get rid of beautiful, collected pieces, though. Happy unpacking!
Hi Barbara
You are very wise. We got rid of soooo much but we still need to purge more. Having two garages and a barn for storage proved to be dangerous!
I love the flooring in your office. The room is going to look beautiful!
Hi Pat
The floors are all through the main part of the house. I love them. We do have white carpet in the bedrooms that will not last long with the Hattersley’s seagrass will be coming at some point!
I love the wall of storage you’ve created! Look forward to seeing it come together.
Hi Sarah
Thank you so much. I am loving it.
Cindy,
I love the Johnny Was dress, the sandals are a bargain, maybe that offsets the extra $$$ on the Johnny Was dress. Haha.
I have never had a David Austen rose but it’s on my list for next year. Life’s too short to not have the roses you love in your garden.
xo,
Karen B.
Hi Karen
I wish the Johnny Was “was” more in line with the sandals. Wouldn’t that be nice? I agree about the David Austins. They have all modern roses here. I just don’t see the beauty in the modern rose. I know there are a few, but in my opinion very few.
Love the post as usual! Can you tell me if the dress needs a slip under it?
Hi Virginia
I am so sorry I am so late to get back to you. I have been so busy with the move. The dress is not see through.
Your outfit of the week always knocks it out of the park….and your office looks way better than mine. Stressing me out about our Thursday post…I do have some deliveries scheduled probably not in time though.
I am not crazy about our red roses out front. I remember having a tough time with roses when we lived in Winter Park as they get mold due to all the rain. I did get some garden inspo in Italy though.
Your garden is going to be gorgeous!
Hi Mary Ann
I would go to a local nursery and find out what they would suggest that would meet with your approval. I am not a big modern red rose fan. We have several here that will get the shovel prune.
The garden pictures i love! I would have peacocks in my yard except for the horrible noise they make. We moved across the country if i had it to do over, i would take what is precious to me and sell everything else! It would have made moving easy and i would have new furniture that actually fit. lol
Hi Brenda
When we lived in Chualar Canyon one of our neighbors had peacocks. In the night I would sometimes think a child was screaming! Great suggestions about moving as well.
I really enjoy your blog! And I wish the dresses weren’t called ‘house dresses’ too. What about Day Dresses? Serene Dresses? Easy Dresses? Pleasant Dresses? I think we need a dress revolution for summer – beautiful, cool, and always look good!
Hi Carol
I know anything but house dresses! Let’s start a revolution!
Love, love the cable net! Can’t wait to see the office completed.
Be sure to take care of yourself during this stressful time.
Hi Ethel
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am a worker bee. I love to work. It gets stressful at times but it is almost over!
Cindy! Your office is looking like it’s coming together beautifully! I mean when an old armoire and 2 shelving units from Ikea fit perfectly…you know you are doing something right! It has great natural light too! xx
Hi Annie
With a little help from a handy husband. He had to notch out the wood work!