Hooked on Houses

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Hooked on House Portraits (& Giveaways!)

Welcome to Hooked on Fridays, a blog party I host at the end of each week to celebrate the things that make us happy. This week I’m hooked on house portraits. You may have seen this photo of the old stucco-and-stone house I grew up in that I have on my “About” page. It was the first house I fell in love with. (Look closely and you’ll see me opening the front door and my little brother toddling up the driveway.)

The house probably doesn’t look like much to you, and I have to laugh at the state of the yard, but it was a wonderful place to grow up. I keep this photo on the wall in my kitchen just because it makes me happy. So you can imagine how over-the-moon thrilled I was when the talented artist Fifi Flowers sent me this painting. I love it!

Now the Good News for YOU:

Fifi Flowers has agreed to paint a portrait like this for one of my lucky readers. That’s right–if you win, she will paint a house for you on 6″ x 7″ archival paper–a $150 value (you can upgrade to a larger size for a slight fee). You may want her to paint your current home, your childhood home, or someone else’s to give as a gift. We had my in-laws’ home painted as a Christmas gift one year and they loved it.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post before midnight Monday (May 11). Want an extra entry? Visit Fifi’s Etsy shop, look around, and then leave a second comment telling me what your favorite painting of hers is. I’ll announce the winner on Tuesday, so stay tuned!

Now it’s your turn to tell us what you’re hooked on. If you have something to share with us on your blog, then add your link below. Just please be sure to:

  1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address.
  2. You can put what you’re hooked on in parentheses after your blog name. You’ll probably get more visitors that way! Ex: Hookedonhouses (Not So Big Houses)
  3. Link back to the party from your post so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is talking about today!
  4. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what a blog party is all about!
  5. Double-check to make sure your link works and goes to the right page so it doesn’t get deleted! If you come back and see your link is gone, re-read these rules and try again.

Hooked on Fridays Participants

1. Mary Beth {Cupcakes-They’re Not Just for Eating!}
2. Arleen @ Seasons for All at Home (More Ottomans!)
3. DesignTies (It’s a pool party!)
4. Amy @ Finer Things (cupcakes)
5. Christy – Mother’s Day
6. Linda@Lime in the Coconut( simple easy meal)
7. Misti of Studio M Designs
8. Living With Lindsay (Transforming with Paint!)
9. Mrs. Petrie (care packages)
10. The Shabby Chic Cottage (croquet)
11. Trish @ TheOldPostRoad
12. TK – My Foyer
13. songbirdtiff-Aldi Face products
14. Puna @ Life Signatures
15. Wayfaring Wanderer {Hk’d on Rodanthe}
16. Jenelle at This lady Blogs (photo cards and a GIVEAWAY!)
17. The Tea Room (Pink Roses, Pink Hats)
18. Lindsay @ Peacock Blue (Peacocks)
19. Tricia {Chalkboards}
20. Sarah (Starbucks knockoffs!)
21. Jen@Balancing Beauty and Bedlam(Mother’s Day traditions)
22. m @ tales from an oc cottage (Chiclets!)
23. Katie @ Clean and Classic Interiors (SkyMall)
24. Beach Cottage Love (Tybee Island beach house)		25. Italian Dessert | Gennaro
26. SuzyHomemaker (Butler’s Pantry)
27. Daly Essentials (Wallpaper)
28. Vintgesquirrel (MOGGIT)
29. maya | springtree road (hooked on rescue kitties!)
30. Cooking During Stolen Moments (sausage smothered white beans)
31. A Simple Walk
32. Jennifer @ Blogging God And Me (What is our calling in life)
33. Katie @ Making This Home
34. Everybody Loves Greece
35. Fifi Flowers
36. Michelle@Sweet Something (Hooked on Seashells)
37. It’s Frugal Being Green (Molasses Crinkles)
38. A Beach House Dream (ignore first link)
39. Animators Wife (blogging)
40. Angela @ Peonypatch (Flower Garden)
41. Liz@Violet Posy Garden Entertaining
42. mannequin(who lives there?)
43. Frippery (color)
44. Kate@kandgbookclub(Smelling Flowers)
45. Star’sFault (Hooked on Garden Tags)
46. Alpaca Farmgirl (Crab Cakes)
47. RehabOrDie.com — Hooked on Meat
48. Something to do (Our new kitchen)		49. Stephanie (A Welcoming Home Party)
50. Christine {Patterns}
51. Flower Patch Farmgirl (Blooms)
52. Bonnie M
53. Laura @ Decor to Adore
54. Newlyweds (Summer Garden)
55. From the Right Bank to the Left Coast (An Inspiring Workspace)
56. ImagineCozy (Table Decor)
57. Janis@An Inspired Life (outdoor decor)
58. Likely Design (Funky Half Bath Ideas!)
59. Barbara @ Blogbitten
60. Jane @ Beach House
61. Melissa @ Frugal Creativity (postcards/giveaway)
62. Ramona @ A Day In The Life Of Ramona ~ Crocheting with Chunky Yarn
63. Melissa
64. Deb/Dumbwittellher
65. Sarah @ Designing Woman (Hooked on Damask!)
66. Jan’s Art (paintings)
67. Wendy Langston
68. Shelia @Notesongs
69. A Beach Cottage (giveaway)
70. Lara
71. Kylee at Our Little Acre

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Comments

  1. Fifi is an amazing artist! I would love to win the portrait and I would probably choose my parent’s house. My dad built it and my mom decorated it-so many happy memories. I hope I have a picture somewhere just in case. : )

  6. Wow that is really pretty! What a great house to grow up in. I’ve lived in a lot of houses, but maybe my husband would love his childhood home painted. Looking forward to her Etsy store!

  8. What a wonderful thing to be hooked on this week Julia! Fifi’s house paintings are so joyful. She created a wonderful rendition of your sweet childhood cottage. If I were lucky enough to win I would be thrilled with a painting of my childhood home – event hough it was not a cottage like yours – mine was a 1975 wannabe spanish/ranch tract home – but I loved it as if it were the finest mansion! Thanks so much for hosting this giveaway…I am off to browse through Fifi’s lovely work.

    Christy’s last blog post..A Picture of Motherhood…

  11. Just went to her Etsy store….I really like the “Garden Chair” painting. Thanks for the giveaway!

  16. Checked out Fifi’s store…love “French Wine and Bread”…as my 3 year old would say: “Mmmm, my favorite!”

  18. Julia – I couldn’t pick just one painting everything was so fun! I adore both the Bicycle and French Cafe note cards. Do you know if Fifi paints anything with a seaside theme or is her work strictly French inspired? Thanks again and Happy Mother’s Day!!

    Christy’s last blog post..A Picture of Motherhood…

  21. Oh, what a neat giveaway! My parents had a painting of their old Florida Keys house made and I just love it. I’d love to have one of my own!

  22. I love Fifi’s houses almost as much as I love my house. What could be better than to combine both – you could see my smile for miles!!

  27. Ok, Fifi’s paintings are soooo cute! I love the one called “On the Beach at Cote d’Azur”. It reminds me of Old Hollywood with the swimming cap and vintage swim suit! Her little dog painting (on her blog) is super cute too! Talent, talent, talent!

    Peacock Blue’s last blog post..I Really Heart Peacocks….

  36. Entry one, nowofftofifi’safter iget the cookie crumb from under thespace bar.

  37. I think it is so special that you have a photo of the house you grew up in. So many people are not fortunate enough to have that. Fifi did a great job painting it too!

  40. Of all of Fifi’s paintings, Donna and Fifi jumped out at me. LOVE IT! What a cute bike in front of that little shop! Precious!

  41. Paris Apartment Rendezvous but “the stolen pink car” was a close second. (yaeh the crumb is gone.) now if i can remember my paypal info i’m going back for some note cards.

  49. I’m always taken in by Fifi’s paintings – love them – they feed my desire to travel to Paris!! And I can’t tell you how excited I’d be to have a little portrait of my equally little house (once it’s freshly painted of course… a summer project!)!! Please enter me twice for this draw, Julia… it was hard to choose, but I’m loving the colours and whimsy of “Brasserie des Arts”.
    Thanks for this opportunity!!
    Victoria

    Victoria @ DesignTies’s last blog post..Grab your swimsuit, it’s a pool party!!

  50. Love it! What a treasure it would be to pass on a picture of the house my kids grew up in. Thanks for the chance. Very talented artist!

  52. Oh, how I love FiFi’s artwork!! She is so talented! I already have a couple of her pieces, but would love to have portrait of my home as well!
    Happy Mother’s Day!
    ~angela

    Angela’s last blog post..Hooked On: My Flower Garden

  53. Right now, I’d have to say my favorite is FiFi’s “Vin et Fromage Shop”. However, I LOVE “Pink Trees in Paris” – it’s in my office right now! 🙂 So talented FiFi is!!!

    ~angela

    Angela’s last blog post..Hooked On: My Flower Garden

  57. At the moment, I like Pink Chairs in Paris the best. If I can’t get to Paris, having a Fifi Flowers painting will do just fine 🙂

    mannequin’s last blog post..Kitty Bo

  58. What a great idea..a portrait of your home. Everytime you look at that painting you will be reminded of your childhood. Something we yearn for as we grow older.

  63. This is a great giveaway! I would love to have a picture of my childhood home. Or maybe our farm here that we are about to sell. Hard to say. But I’d love to win!

    BTW, I love your blog so much. It’s a perfect escape for me, a place to come for fun and beauty. Thanks for all you do.

    Alpaca Farmgirl’s last blog post..Finally A Daughter!

  65. Wow, that is so cool! I can just imagine opening the mail and finding a portrait of my favorite house. What a great day that must have been! Hopefully I get to experience that, too. Pick me, pick me! 🙂

    Jenelle’s last blog post..Greetings!

  73. I love the painting of your childhood home. How special! Hope I win!

  74. What a great giveaway. Her painting of your childhood home is beautiful.

  77. Comment #2 – I love the Garden Chair painting the best.

  78. How cool is this! I would love to win this. I have been wanting a painting of my current home for the past three years I’ve lived here. This is the first house I’ve owned that I actually love the exterior. I even have a wall that I’ve set aside for my house painting to go, no kidding!

  79. okay…My favorite was “Aux Provences Brasserie”

  81. Here’s Comment #1. Pick me! I have long coveted FiFi’s house paintings. I love our home and this would be an amazing thing to have.

    Lazy Mom Leslie’s last blog post..Time to Vote

  82. This is great. I’d love to win. My parents will soon be moving from my childhood home; they have been there for over 50 years. They are getting up there in years, and it is tough for them to deal with the upkeep, and the stairs are becoming difficult for my mother. This would be great for them to have as a reminder of all those wonderful years spent there.

  84. If two comments raises my chances to win, three must cerainly be a good thing.

  86. Here’s my second comment. I was drawn to “Painter’s Cafe” and “On the Street with Eiffel”. Lovely.

  88. We’re almost done building a sort of Craftsman style home, which would look great as a painting! Great gift idea, too.

  89. And my favorite painting of hers is Cafe de France because of the bright colors, and it reminds me of our trip to Paris. Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

  90. What a wonderful giveaway! I enjoy following your blog.

  91. I love Fifi’s paintings!! It would be so nice to get a painting of our house.

  92. My favorite of Fifi’s painting are the 3 hanging in our bathroom of Paris! (Fifi Appearing at the Moulin Rouge, Le Consulat Rendezvous, and Notre Dame Embrace that I framed with a cream mat with a little red mat in a black frame) But of her newest ones I love the Aux Provences Brasserie and Pont Neuf Apartment.

  93. ooooh, I love this idea. My husband and I just bought a house and it would be so cool to have this lasting memory of the first home we bought together.

    Carly’s last blog post..the hustons

  95. Fifi is an amazing artist, everything she does is so colorful. She painted a photo I had taken of some peonies from my mom’s garden, and now the painting is hanging in a bedroom somewhere in Paris! I would love for her to paint the victorian apartment building I live in in Hartford, and one of my favorite paintings of hers is no longer available – Marie Antoinette lounging on a chaise. But of her current collection I love On The Street With Eiffel.

    Robin’s last blog post..They’re "sensible" if they make sense to me…

  101. I’d love a painting of my grandmother’s house which no longer exists. I’d have to search some old photos for it. It has the best memories for me and most of my family.

  102. Super fun giveaway! And wow, the competition is fierce! I just love fifi’s work… her favorite piece from her etsy shop, hands down is the Eiffel Tower peaking through the gardens! Love it!

    jill’s last blog post..ETSY shop giveaway!!!

  105. This is such a fun idea. I would love to have a portrait of my house! Now I need to go check out her website.

  106. What a fantastic portait! I would have my current house done, then hang it in my family room.

  107. Its hard to choose a favorite from the Etsy shop. So many great ones. I love Stolen Kiss or the Hip Chick collection. But my favorite would be the Pont Neuf Apartment.

  114. Oh I’ve been a lurker for so long but this giveaway is so fabulous, I just couldn’t skip it! I love Fifi’s stuff, have I seen it here on your site before?

    Kirsten’s last blog post..An Obituary

  115. oh, and my favorite on her Etsy site is the Goldfish Luncheon. So fresh, but echoes Matisse at the same time. I’m booking my flight into Marseilles this minute.

    Kirsten’s last blog post..An Obituary

  116. She is an AWESOME Artist. I would have her paint our house now. My favorite of all.

  119. From Fifi? Hmmmm . . . if I’s selfish, Wine and Roses . . . if I’m generous and get something for my daughter, Stolen Pink Car!

  120. my favorite of Fifis etsy shop is Sud de la France Hotel Room

    Love it!

  121. OMG I would LOVE to win this drawing! It will be cherished!

  122. I would have to say my own house that we are living in right now. It is a 1910 white farmhouse and I take its picture all of the time. Would love to have one done by Fifi.

  123. I love Fifi’s work and the stone chimney in her painting above is so awesome – it has movement and character. It’s a happy painting for a much loved childhood home. Perfect!

    Jane @ Beach House’s last blog post..Beach Walk

  125. For my second entry, I would like to say that my favorite piece of art of Fifi’s is her “Garden Chair”.

  129. What a completely awesome idea. I would love to have a picture done of my childhood home for myself or my sisters. I love your blog.

  130. Fifi has such a whimsical style. Her paintings are eye candy! My favorite one was Aux Provences Brasserie.

  134. I would adore a “Fifi”- I love the sense of whimsey!

  135. My favorite painting (and picking just one was difficult) is “Goldfish Luncheon…”

  136. A great day for me to discover your blog! I’d love to win a painting of my house! I’m a newlywed and new homeowner so that would be really special!

  140. what a great way to preserve a memory! i would love my childhood house done..

  144. Hi Julia, I wanted to let you know that I love this linky party every Friday. Although I’ll have to tell you that you are making me fat. I get out a glass of wine and a yummy snack and look through the links…bad…

    Puna’s last blog post..Good News & Danny’s Birthday!

  149. I love your house, what character! and that is soooooooo nice to have a special house portrait by Fifi. My favourite painting of Fifi’s is “Pink Chairs in Paris”. That is right where I would like to be, reading about your hooked on Fridays….

    Jan’s Art’s last blog post..hooked on houses

  150. Just Love how it jumps off the page. The colors seem to ooze happy thoughts. Thanks for puting this offer and the blog party together- Love it all !!

  153. great house and lovely painting!!!! my favourite painting of Fifi’s is “pink chairs in Paris” which is where I would like to be reading about hooked on houses

    Jan’s Art’s last blog post..hooked on houses

  154. Love these paintings. What a great gift idea thanks for introducing us!

  155. OK I revisited and my favorite is “stolen pink car”.

  156. I’d love to give this as a gift to my brother and sister-in-law. They bought a charming, little house in a great neighborhood when they first got married and have done little, DIY fixes here and there while they wait for the market to turn around. Some day, they hope to add onto it amd I think it’d be sweet to capture it’s current look for them to have too look back at.

  158. This site has already taken up so much of my day today b/c it ‘s fabulous, of course. Now I’m on the bunny trail of checking out everyone’s passions—I’ll be up until 1:00 a.m.! Thanks for the eye-candy.

    Lara’s last blog post..Funny signs.

  162. Fifi’s GARDEN CHAIR is my favorite from her Etsy site.

  163. What a great house portrait! I’d love to have one of our home.

  164. For her Etsy work, either Pink Trees in Paris or The Stolen Pink Car!

  165. Oh, I would definitely want a portrait of the house I have lived in for the past 19 years. It’s where I have had the happiest moments with my husband and 3 sons. Thanks, Joanne ~~ glamourgirljoanne@yahoo.colm

  166. Love Fifi’s work! I’d love a painting of my home. It is our first home, and my husband and I are busy renovating and redecorating to make it special.

  167. What a fun picture. A great way to capture your favorite house.

  173. I have a love affair with the house I grew up in as well. Homes become a member of the family and I think even more so when we are young. And Fifi? Oh my, she is le FAB artist and one of my most favorite bloggy people!

    Petunia’s last blog post..Fashionable and Pink Tea Time!

  179. I would totally pick the house I grew up in as well – it was my first house love, a late 70s contemporary, complete with asymmetrical roofline. 🙂

  180. Hi Julia 🙂

    Fifi did a beautiful job as usual. I just love that woman 🙂

    Happy Mother’s Day!!
    rue

    rue’s last blog post..A mom…

  182. Ohh… my favorite painting from Etsy is definitely “On the Street with Eiffel.” 🙂

  185. a painting of the house I Love, be still my heart.
    Fifi you did a wonderful job

  187. I’m enamored with Fifi’s Garden Chair painting. I’m obsessed with chairs and this painting is so lovely!

  190. No wonder you were so thrilled with your house painting…it is fabulous.
    My favorite painting of FiFi’s is probably the latest one she has blogged about..looking out the window above the desk to a bright blue sky.
    Thank you for the chance to win a piece of her art….
    bj

    bj’s last blog post..5/11…COOKIN’ BLUES..

  193. Oh how I would love to win one of Fifi’s paintings. I went to her Etsy shop so i would have a second chance and I like the painting of the rooster against the black and white check background. Your childhood home is charming.

    Rhondi’s last blog post..It’s Time To Party!

  195. What an adorable picture! I was just introduced to your site last week by a firend and have to say I love it! Thanks for sharing all of the great house pictures.

  196. My mom painted our first home for us and gave it to us as an anniversary gift–it’s a treasure we’ll have forever! However, we’ve made so many improvements that I would LOVE to have a new version. 😉

  197. My second entry:
    My favorite painting is Pink Trees in Paris–perfect for a little girl’s room! (Would go great with my pink toile miniature wingback chair.)

  199. What a house with great character! I can now see why you are Hooked on Houses! Sorry to have missed the Friday Blog party, but I do have an interesting house for you to check out on my blog today!

    Pam Kersting’s last blog post..The Future is Now

  201. I was just searching for this information for some time. After six hours of continuous Googleing, at last I got it in your web site. I wonder what’s the lack of Google strategy that don’t rank this type of informative web sites in top of the list. Usually the top sites are full of garbage.

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