Deann Art in Dining Room

The other day I mentioned that although I absolutely loved our new artwork, Courage in Bloom, from Deann, against the dark walls in our guest room I wanted it to be in a more prominent space downstairs so I tried it on this wall in our dining room and love how it looks! I love how it pulls the taupes, browns, creams, black and blues all together. I am so excited about it!

I also wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to my wonderful, loving Mother and all of the other amazing mom's in our family as well as all of you! I hope you all have a beautiful day.

 You can see more images from our brunch table setting here in this post.

And you can click on any of these images to bring you to the their sources. 

Source List:

Wall Color - Dove White by Benjamin Moore in Eggshell Finish
Trim Color - Simply White by Benjamin Moore in Semi-gloss Finish
Door Color - Mopboard Black by Benjamin Moore in Semi-gloss Finish
Beadboard Wallpaper - Allen and Roth from Lowe's

Artwork - Courage in Bloom from Deann Art
Wood Bookcase with Glass Doors - Wayfair
Chandelier - Savvy in Williamsburg, VA
Farmhouse Table - I made it using this plan from Ana White's site. Stained with Rustoleum's Weathered Gray and Minwax's Provincial
Wingback Chairs - Birch Lane
Pillows - Birch Lane 
Tufted Bench - HomeGoods
Upholstered Side Chairs - World Market 
Side Chairs - Joss and Main 
Navy Corduroy Pillows with Gold RL symbol - HomeGoods
Trophy Urn - The Arrow's Nest
Pears - Mix of real and faux ones from HomeGoods
Runner - Pottery Barn
Sideboard - Found at an antique shop in SC almost ten years ago, recently painted the same Mopboard Black as the doors
Bust - Gift
Lamps - HomeGoods
Mirror - Joss and Main
Rug - Joss and Main
Draperies - Ikea
Curtain Rods - Lowe's
Blinds - Lowe's (have since been discontinued)
Clock - Savvy Home and Garden about 5 years ago
Wrapping Paper - HomeGoods
Ribbon - Michael's
Blue Planter Centerpiece - Chaplin Large Planter from Birch Lane
Pitcher - Classic Glass Pitcher from Birch Lane
White Beaded Dishes - Milford Square Dishes from Birch Lane
Gold Plated Flatware - Wilmington Flatware from Birch Lane
Wood and Marble Cutting Board - Birch Lane
Hobnail Detailed Water Goblets - O'Keefe Water Goblets from Birch Lane
Hobnail Detailed Glasses - O'Keefe Glasses from Birch Lane
Platter - Milford Rectangular Platter from Birch Lane
Serving Bowl with Pears - Francesca Serving Bowl from Birch Lane 
Small Wood and Marble Cakestand - Russo Cake Stand from Birch Lane
Napkins - Mariana Napkins from Birch Lane 
Two black and white prints - gift
Botanical Print - Birch Lane

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, we may get a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links.  Painting provided by Deann Art in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

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Seiko 5 Sports FC Barcelona SRP303K1 - A Legendary Pedigree For Both Watch And Club, A Review

One of many ways to teach the concept of responsibility is to play a game where give a group of people something precious or fragile (sometime both) and see how they manage that item for a period of time. Some of the well know learning games which a lot of people know is with the use of an egg.

In my case, I was trying to proof a point with my second daughter on this concept of responsibility and the item I chose for this life lesson is a mechanical watch. The first thing that came to mind is a Seiko 5. It has all the hallmark of an excellent mechanical watch for a first timer and it is built to last. At that particular time (2012) this particular model was just launched. Since my daughter was small then, a canvas Noto-like strap that comes standard was a good start. 

This watch is powered by the 4R36 movement. A 24 jewel movement that offers day and date functions. It has a power reserve of approximately 40 hours. This movement can be handwind as well as having hacking capabilities.

The day/date window is located at the 3 o'clock position. All markers, including the Arabic numbers plus the hour- and minute-hands are lumed with Seiko proprietary Lumibrite paint. As for the second-hand, it is in red and only the triangle at the tip is lumed. 

The logo of the FC Barcelona is placed near the 9 o'clock position on the blue dial.

The watch is a stainless steel construction and has a diameter of 39.5 mm if you exclude the crown. The lug width is 20 mm and it has a thickness of 13 mm.

The dial has a pin strip pattern which is reminiscence of the jersey worn by the players. On the slopped inner wall of the watch is another set of markers in minutes. The last 15 minutes is coloured yellow to signify overtime (every half is 45 minutes - there are two halves for a full time in a soccer game).  

The day function can be in  English or Roman numerals. The watch is also water rated to 100 m.

The watch comes standard with a Nato-like strap. Its actually a nice thick canvas with FC Barcelona's team colours.

The watch on my wrist. Note the additional holes made on the left side of the strap so as to allow by daughter to use it on her smaller wrist.

Overall, a simple mechanical watch with some fancy prints on it due to its association with a Spanish football club. It's pedigree is legendary and I expect this watch to continue performing year after year without any complaints.

Photo Gallery

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Seiko 5 Sport 100M SNZG09K1 Military Watch - A Value For Money Piece Of Machinery That Can Handle Any Situation, A Review & Videos

Back in July 2011, I purchased the Seiko 5 Sport 100M SNZG09K1 from a local internet vendor. This particular model is a military style automatic by Seiko with green nylon strap. It uses the 23 jewel self-winding mechanical caliber 7S36B movement.

The case is 41 mm without the crown. Like all Seiko 5s, it has a day and date function. The case is stainless steel.

The dial is green with Arabic numbering and indexes. There are three references available on the dial. The outside is an index reference for every minute. Every 5th minute is a major index while the rest is minor. The middle reference is Arabic while the inner reference is also Arabic but starts from 13 to 24.



There is a red pointer on the seconds hand.

Seiko has added its proprietary luminous paint - LumiBrite - on the hands and main markers for great visibility.

To protect the dial, this watch has the hardlex crystal for superior scratch-resistance.

The watch comes with a display case back also out of hardlex crystal. Through the crystal, one can appreciate the 7S36B movement from Seiko. This movement is a non-winding and non-hacking design. The rotor is also not decorated.

To power up the main spring, one only need to shake the watch a few times to transfer some kinetic energy as potential energy into the spring.

The crown is a push-in crown. There are three positions. The first is the locking position which does not do anything. The second position allows the adjustment for the day and date; clockwise changes the day, counter-clockwise changes the date. The final position allows the adjustment for time.

This watch has a water rating of 10 ATM or 100 meters.

The green canvas strap is proprietary to Seiko. Similar in colour to the dial, it helps compliment and reinforce the military aspect of the watch. From the photo above, you can see that the strap is dual layered and thick. The width is 20 mm.

Comfortable to wear and looks the part.

The buckle side is interesting. The holes are protected by a strip of leather. This minimises the potential of the holes getting frayed from constant use.

The LumiBrite used is bright. Even in partial sunlight, you can see the strength of the paint.

Below are a couple of video on the watch. The first is a video of the movement of the seconds hand.



The next is a video of the balance wheel movement of the 7S36B caliber.



This watch is very cheap to purchase and is a real value for money. The accuracy is sufficient and it looks nice on the wrist in whatever situation.

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