Busy in my studio!

I'm a lucky girl!  I have a lovely art studio in my home...it is my "woman cave"...LOL.  I paint, scrapbook and sew in my studio.  I can make a big mess (something I'm really good at) and clean it up later!  I bought an old hutch at the thrift for $40 that provides tons o' storage!  I bought inexpensive shelves at Walmart and hollow doors at Lowes to make craft tables.  It's awesome and didn't cost me an arm and a leg :)

So there are some pictures of my special space....my creative, happy, amazing, girlie place!!

Here are some of my creations.....

yeah....I was on a bit of a Mermaid kick awhile back.  Anyhooooo....you get the picture. I love to paint!

Okay....a bit about me.  The hubster and I retired effective January 1, 2012 and headed South!!  We lived in Northern Va. and have relocated to Palm Harbor, Fl.  Can I say the weather has been FABULOUS!!  Winter...what winter?  We were stand-up paddle boarding on New Years Day!!  I fell in and the water was WARM!!  What's NOT to love about Florida?  Okay, okay....I know....check back with me in June, July and August....if I haven't melted by then!!  I'm "at that age"....okay?  I have plenty of "private summers" if ya know what I mean!  Hee Hee.  Not as bad as they used to be...but the hot flashes still come!

So we have a 24 year old son, Evan, who is a US Marine Sgt. SO PROUD!!  FOUR deployments in 5 years...our Marine has been busy!  He's married to our beautiful and brave daughter-in-law, Kristen and they have our first grand daughter, Ryan Savannah.....who turns TWO the end of May!  Where did the past two years go?  She's practically perfect in every way and can do no wrong!!  We are proud Mimi and Pap-Pap for sure!!

Our precious daughter, Caitlyn, is a college Jr. in South Carolina.  She's studying to be an elementary school teacher and we could not be more proud of her!!  She works and studies hard - and burns the candle at both ends with her friends too!  What college student gets enough rest??  Not ours!!  She brought home 8 of her "best" friends for spring break week about 3 weeks ago...what fun we all had!!  I felt like a short order cook and hubster put up a covered "gazebo" thingy on our ground level deck and filled it with outdoor furniture.  Then he purchased a fire pit - so the kids could have s'mores and sit around the fire at night.  They LOVED their week at "camp Rinkenberg" - LOL.  We loved having a house full of kiddos!

So that's it in a nutshell....busy empty nesters.  We stand up paddle board, walk our chocolate lab, Bauz, for an hour each morning, ride our bikes for 12-14 miles most days and just love the out doors!!  The beach is just around the corner and our home is across the street from a 'trail' that goes for 45 miles from Tarpon Springs, Fl to St. Petersburg, Fl.

Oh....did I mention that we painted our home BRIGHT TEAL green with a HOT PINK front door???  Yup...we did!!  We are NOT beige people!

TA DA!!!  Don't you just love it?  We sure do.  I've since hung a few fishing buoys and put lights on the palm trees out front.  True "beach" house!!

So I'll be "blogging" about interior decorating, crafting and painting and anything else that strikes my fancy...and hopefully yours too!!  Until next time....... Cherie