Chalkboards Are All The Rage!

Since chalkboards are all the rage these days, I had to share this cool DIY project with you. Chalkboards are not just black anymore. You can create a chalkboard in your favorite color.

Take a look at the chalkboard tutorial that Bonnie at Coming Home to Roost has shared! Her chalkboard is a light coral color. Isn't it beautiful? Seems to be really easy to make too!

Photo: Going Home to Roost

The possibilities are endless. Take a look at this frig! Love the color!

Photo: A Stylist's Life

How about on furniture?

Photo: Fifthroom Living

I know what I'm doing this weekend! I'm trying this project and guess what color I'll be using!!?? AQUA! And you might even see seashells on mine. Who would have ever thunk it? Can't wait! I'll be sure to share my final results.

Crazy Over Capiz Lighting

I've been wanting a new hanging lamp in my kitchen and I think I've finally figured out what would be perfect. A beautiful rectangular capiz lamp from West Elm! It's so gorgeous and would be perfect over my kitchen sink and bar.


I also like this one. It's is a beautiful shiny shade of tan or gold. This one is available at Z Gallery.


Take a look at this beautiful capiz curtain! Wow, what I'd do to have that in my home.



And while I'm at it, I might as well buy some table lamps for each room!


Here's a lovely capiz votive holders to give the room a beautiful glow.



Or I could make my own if only I didn't have to ever sleep! Take a look at the DIY faux capiz post on Completely Coastal. Maybe you'll be inspired to make your own.

And last but not least, take a look at this beauty! This is no ugly duckling!



So thanks for visiting my blog and I will be sure to post photos when I have my new capiz lighting installed!

Seashells and More by the Seashore

Arial photo of Drum Inlet where we shell.

Its been about three weeks since we took our last shelling trip, but I'm so ready to get back out there before cold weather gets here. Hopefully we have another 2 months here in North Carolina. And maybe a storm or two will glide by us in the Atlantic without coming inland and causing anyone any harm to person or property. That's always the best time to great shells, sea fans, starfish and driftwood...just after a storm whether a hurricane, tropical depression or nor'easter.

We travel by car first, towing the boat about 35 miles to this great little rural community called Sea Level, NC. They have a campground, boat ramp and little country store where we some times get ice cream by the scoop as we are leaving.

Tiny canal leading out to intercoastal waterway.

Once on the boat we navigate down the tiny canal to the sound and finally over to the inlet, Drum Inlet. This same area has a small island called Sand Dollar Island where you can find huge sanddollars by the dozens. We only take a couple of the larger ones and leave the rest to populate. They are so beautiful.


As we scoot along in the knee to thigh deep water over to the inlet, we keep watch for sandbars. Once there, we unload our chairs, cooler, bags and buckets for shelling. Andrew and I usually take off as soon as we hit the sand in search of our sea treasures.

Left is the inlet and right is the sound area.

Below is a short black and white video of a 360 view of Drum Inlet. Sorry it's in black and white. It was so bright out I didn't realize that I accidentally switched the video to black and white.

360 View of Drum Inlet

And here are some of the shells we found on that day. Lots of whelk shells. Mostly broken ones that have tumbled in the ocean for years and years or left buried in the whelk graveyard I call it. Most people toss the broken shells back to the sand, but we grab them, paint them and turn them into pieces of beauty and give them life again by adding sand and air plants of different varieties.

A Helmet shell

Whelks, helmet shells, wood with oysters (far left) and other treasures we found that day.

Our unwanted shells are now wanted again!

So that's a look at our shelling adventure. We hope you have as much fun shelling as we do!