I will rejoice and be glad

Christmas Card

2009-11-27T07:59:00.001-08:00

So, it has been a while...

2009-09-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here sits my favorite comfy chair. I bought the little orange pillow at the goodwill this week and I like how it brings out the fall colors. You can see on the ottoman my Halloween/Thanksgiving collection of Martha Stewart magazines. They once had such pretty covers. I have been a little disappointed overall with her magazine lately. I am still not loving the mantle yet. I have some friends coming over today that can hopefully offer some input in that department. I have been collecting ivory dishes all year and I finally have enough to do something with. I still can't bring myself to paint this lovely cabinet. It compliments my floors so well. Did I mention it was only $20 at a garage sale?
I found this frame at a garage sale and used it this summer/spring with the word "grow" in it. I have several scrap booking sets of cardboard letters and have been collecting interesting fabrics. There are lots of 4 letter words I can put in here. (only the nice ones). And when I am finished, I put the fabric and the letters in a plastic bag ready for the next time.
Here are my fabric hoops. I love these little guys. They make it so easy to change my decor for the seasons so far I have ones for Christmas, Spring, Valentines day and Fall. I also have a set of wooden ones in my craft office, this is an old photo. The craft office is now in our dining room and this room belongs to baby.
Nursery update coming soon...stay tuned.

Nursery

2009-07-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy summer and it is already half way over. I wanted to post some of the things that I have been working on and gathering together for the nursery.

Here are some of the fabrics that I am using, it came out fuzzy but I am feeling too lazy to go downstairs and then back up to take another picture. The "Blanket" is a Shabby Chic king size pillowcase from target and the other pillow is also from the same line. Victoria gave it to me. The green in the bottom left is a rug that I picked up at a garage sale earlier this spring. I love this bedding set but I am not sure that I will buy it. I have some pieces and some fabric pendants that go with it but I would like to piece it together on my own. I forgot to take pictures of the bedding I have put together so far. Later, I digress.This is an antique jar I found while thrifting with friends in the mountains. See the tiny little "A"?

This was made by my friend Liz on her swanky new cutter thingy. Isn't it cute? I plan on getting a chunky ribbon and hanging it on her door.
These were brought over by my mom along with some others. They were worn by my sister and I when we were babies. They will work themselves into the room somehow.
My mother also brought this vintage print. My sister immediately called dibs but agreed to let me use it in Ansley's nursery.

This is a desk from my spare bedroom. I am going to use it as a changing table. There is enough room for a changing pad and a cute little basket at the end with all of the diapery things babies need. I am keeping my eye out for a laundry basket to go underneath. My mother is an absolute painting genius, I didn't take a good before picture, but I know everyone has seen French Provincial Furniture with all of the gold and laminate. Mom is worried that it is too much pink, any thoughts?

This is how the desk looked before, we havn't refinished this yet but it will happen...eventually.

Growth Update 2: Baby

2009-05-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

We are out of the first trimester and into maternity pants. Technically, I could still wear my pants with my nifty belly band, but the maternity pants are MUCH more comfy. I wish I had thought to take a "before" picture. Especially of my face, it is a little pudgier already.

Things are going along pretty well. I have had some minor setbacks. I was told a few years ago that I had genetic marker that showed me to have hypercoagulable blood(thicker blood that is more prone to clotting). No big deal. My rheumatolagist told me to start taking a baby aspirin daily and make sure to tell my OB whenever I do become pregnant.

When I became pregnant I told my OB and he referred me to a specialist, again, no big deal. I have a friend who had to see one because of one case of high blood pressure(she was afraid of needles and didn't know they were going to take blood that day).

My husband and I were pretty stunned when we were told that I would be administering a shot every day to thin my blood. But we took it in stride. I am blessed to have the school nurse (I am a teacher) administer the shot on weekdays. We are so thankful to know about the problem ahead of time. I am glad that my rheumatolagist was concerned about something as small as veracose veins and checked it out. I have since read around and most women have several miscarriages before they even know there is a problem. I am glad to know that we are doing everything within our power to make sure baby arrives safely.

Me at 15 Weeks

Baby at 13 Weeks

Growth Update:Garden

2009-04-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is doing well. I just wanted to give an update on this years "theme." You may remember, though probably not since it has been so long, that my theme for this year is growth in several areas.

Here is the garden now. I am very pleased with the results so far. Since the last post I have planted squash, lima beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, leeks and marigolds.
These are the sugar snap peas climbing up my mothers home made "trellis." I had some that were planted before the snow. The snow didn't effect them but the rain before (the drops were huge) absolutely pulverized them. So, I planted some seeds as a safety. The seeds have done better than the ones that started from seedlings.

Here is the second bed that was vacant in the previous post. it doesn't look like much now, but hopefully it will come along nicely. It contains lima beans, cauliflower, bell peppers, tomatoes, squash and carrots.

This is one of my blueberry bushes. Isn't the soil terrible? But these blueberries love Georgia clay so they have been totally hands off. I also planted the impatiens this weekend. The plan is that they will re-seed and be low maintenance.
This was the best investment I made. It was a bag of mixed salad green seeds. They are great to throw in with the romaine. In Georgia you can grow it from February through November. I took my mom's advice and planted some more every two weeks so that I would have as much as I needed.

News

2009-04-20T17:50:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the brief hiatus. I have been very busy since I blogged last.

I finished a 132 page yearbook for the school where I teach.
I have written seven individual education plans for the children I teach.
I have planted a kicking garden (pictures when the sun comes up)
I let coupons expire before even cutting them out
and most importantly... looking at a lot of this kind of stuff

Now that I am done with all of the paperwork and the yearbook, and through the first trimester I will be blogging more...I promise.

How does your garden grow?

2009-02-22T16:24:00.001-08:00

Back when we were all doing resolutions in January. After posting mine I got to thinking about some of the talk of having a focus for the year.

This year's focus for me will be growth.

Mental-possibly going back to school
Spiritual-being more intentional about placing myself before God so that he can use me
Physical-growing a vegetable garden. This is the one I will focus on in today's post
Unexpected growth-TBA

After watching several bloggers and what they had done in their gardens I took a page from Manuela's book and decided to do raised beds. Our home is newly built and they scraped all of the top soil off of our land and only left clay. We have had a difficult time just getting grass to grow. My father (who happens to be a master craftsman) built me these beds.

First we laid down newspaper that I had been saving from my coupon clipping exploits. Next we added leaves, then some of the topsoil that we do have on hand, and finally some store bought soil and finally the rich miracle grow to get it really going. In the end mom and I decided to throw in the soaker hose. Not because it was necessary, but because it was free.

I am grateful for Hubbs for the brute strength, and Mom and Dad for their expertise. I am grateful to all of them for working along side me in this project as if it was their own. So far I planted:

Sugar Snap peas (see the little thingy that mom rigged for them to climb)

Romain Lettuce

Spinach (seeds)

Lettuce Mixture (seeds)

Broccoli

We also planted two blueberry bushes. Did you know you have to have two for cross polination?

I am working on a home organizing notebook

2009-02-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

I am kinda type A. I have been saving lists and things forever and working up to have an entire notebook of organization. You know you have all of those stain charts, master gift buying lists, garden plans, shopping lists, and Sunday school class members phone numbers. I don't even have kids yet and I feel like I already let things slip through the cracks.

Does anyone already use one? Here are some helpful links I found.

Fly Lady's Control Journal

How about a daily To-Do List from Penny Pinching Diva-Complete with space for a bible verse and checking off your 8 glasses of H2O a day.

Great printable for every ocasion. There are some very intriguing ones for the scrapbooker at Household Notebook.

Or there is this daily docket from Simple Mom who encourages you to swallow the frog first (do the thing you really don't want to do.)

Overwhelmed already. I really enjoy Home Sanctuary. This Company Girl encourages her readers to do one small thing each week day. I work full time and sometimes more than 10 hours a day. If I can do one small thing it makes me feel a little better as a wifey. You keep track of each small thing (they are all worth a different ammount of points) and at the end of the month she has a giveaway for the person with the most points. Don't worry though, there is also a random drawing for everyone else. She has a new song on her site each day to go along with the day's small thing.

I will post my notebook when it is finished. It will be about a week. Until then her is some click candy.

God Bless!

I have an obsession

2009-02-04T03:47:00.000-08:00

Allow me to confess one of them to you.

Enamel Pans!

Crazy, huh?

Let me tell yo why. You don't have to be fussy about what utensils you use when cooking them. You can get down and scrub them with steel wool or wire sponge when you goof and burn the rice on the bottom(I NEVER DO THAT!) Yeah Right, I do it all of the time. My DH does all of the dishes in our house. But when I burn something I always clean it. Enamel pans are the greatest for my somewhat forgetful way of cooking. And where do I get these little Jems? Why, at the local neighborhood goodwill.

This is my egg pan, not becase I cook eggs in it. I am sure you can see why. It is perfect for cooking dried beans, rice, and heating up a can of soup.And here is my latest acquisition. It doesn't have a name. It is highly useful in skillet meals and hamburger helper. It's durability has already been tested. I burned hamburger helper on the bottom of it this week when I walked away(always the multitasker), and it is just as pristene without a stain on it. I love my little forgiving pans. The hubs is getting tired of trying to fit them all in the drawers.

Lovvve is in the air

2009-01-24T07:58:00.001-08:00

I wish I had had the time to decorate for winter. I love what Joy has done for the winter. She is my decorating hero. I would have my house look like hers in a minute. Alas, this week was about an 80 hour week for me. So, I skipped winter and went straight for valentines day. Interesting fact-my V key is on the blink just in time for my VVVVVValentines day post. Here is what I did with my chalkboard and sewing hoops for V day.

This is what I have going on in my china cabinet right now. I really love the rose pink depression class. I recently aquired the candy dish at the flea market and am loving it.I am so glad that I made these books when they started popping up all around blogland. They have sported jack-o-lantern faces, Christmas ribbon and now are looking lovvvvely for Valentines day. I think I need more for sort of a cluster.

This cute little cake plate is one of two that I got from my sister. The other is larger and they stack together. This ivory spray painted frame travels around my home with different magazine clippings that I think are cute and seasonal. I love candy hearts. I need to buy some more to eat and not just look at.

And last but not least here are my two favorite guys. They are the hobbit adventurers Marry and Pippen. Yes, Mary is a boy. I have had Pippen (the siamese mix) for almost 5 years and can't imagine life without him. Mary is a relatively new addition to our home. But, Pippen is showing him the ropes and will kindly swat him if he gets out of line. And in case you are wondering Pippen is not evil, His eyes just dialate more slowly than the average cat.

Tutorial:Versitle Seasonal Decor

2009-01-19T13:35:00.001-08:00

I love using sewing hoops to decorate. Fabric is always easy to work with and very inexpensive. You can always find interesting prints in pillowcases and other scraps at your local thrift store. I took these Pictures in December, these were the colors that I used for Christmas. If you look carefully you can see that I kept several of the scraps in place for Valentines day and only swapped out the green ones. I keep all of the swatches tucked away together so that I can reuse them for different seasons. For more examples check out my post HERE (Fall). I also have some wooden ones in my craft room here. In this room I actually used some shelf paper in the hoops, just because I liked it better than any of the fabrics I could find. The hoops are easy to find. All of mine came from either the Avendale Flea Market or the United Methodist Childrens Home Sale. Some of the fabrics came from there as well.

Choose your fabrics. and hoops They can come from anywhere. Some of my hoops are quite small and don't take much fabric to fill.
Choose the portion of the fabric that you want to "Frame." This mostly applies to fl orals and toilles.
Place the bottom of the hoop under the fabric and the top piece (they come apart, these metal ones have springs and cork to cushion them) press down until they firmly hold the fabric in place. You may have to tug the fabric until there aren't any wrinkles. Be especially careful with stripes so that they don't get wavy.
Trim around the edges.
Hang.

Here are the ones that I have up right now for Valentines Day.

Camera Broken

2009-01-18T16:13:00.000-08:00

I hate blogging without pictures. So, I haven't blogged in quite a while. The camera is broke so I am having to revert to my older one. It is charging now and I promise I will post some pictures soon, I have been doing some decorating for valentines day. I have been very busy couponing. My husband even got a little involved today. We went and did half of our Publix shopping after church today. When we were at the register he was cheering as the "ammount saved" kept going up. The total that we spent was $9.23 and we saved $34.86. Joel was very suprised and gushing with pride at my couponing skills. Hope to post more pics soon.

Last day of winter break

2009-01-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Sundays are my day of rest. My husband and I live 45 minutes from our church and we choose not to go back to church on Sunday nights. We go to the morning service and to Sunday School. When I was growing up we went in the morning and then back at 4:00 for choir practice and then the evening service. We lived three minutes away. Sundays are the beginning of the week and they are important for me to be able to prepare for the rest of the week. Some people may judge us for not spending three hours on the road on Sunday, but I know for us it is the right decision. We have decided that, for the new year, we will have our date night on Sunday evenings and I couldn't be more thrilled. This evening we plan on having dinner...at the table, discussing our goals for the new year and watching Superstars of dance. He and I are both huge suckers for anyone with rhythm. Have a great Sunday

Coupon Bonanza

2009-01-03T17:42:00.000-08:00

There will be 5 coupon inserts in the Sunday paper tomorrow. So, even if you aren't one of the few, the proud, the couponers, you might want to check it out. There is a preview over at Taylortown Preview. The site looks a little scarey, but if you scroll down you can see what's in them. I spent the afternoon clipping them and there are lots to be had. It is good news because a lot of the ones that I had expired 12/31. Happy Clipping!

New Year Resolutions

2008-12-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Lucy: Charlie Brown, I think you should resolve to be perfect during the coming year.
Charlie Brown: Perfect? Good grief, nobody's perfect! What do you expect of me?
Lucy: I think you can be if you try... I really do!
Charlie Brown: All right, Lucy, if you have that much faith in me, I'll try! I hereby resolve to be perfect during the next year!
Lucy: YOU? PERFECT?! HA! HA! HA! HA!

So, maybe not perfection. But here are my goals for the new year

Eat less meat-more omega 3's (More about this at a later time)
Date my husband once a week
Don't let clutter overwhelm my life
Spend some time a couple times a week on my relationship with God
Start my Master's Program at Liberty

What I am doing today

2008-12-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

The plan for today

Laundry
Test driving a HUGE TRUCK for a 50$ gift card. Check out the details HERE
Discussing reinstating a Date Night with my hubbs. Read THIS and THIS for more details.
Going to Kroger with my list of coupons from HERE.
Taking down Christmas Decorations while watching my new movie

Little Mermaid was my favorite when I was growing up.

Can I tell you how much google reader has impacted my life. I used to have to wait for magazines or all of this kind of info. What are you doing today?

After Christmas...Disapointment

2008-12-29T18:11:00.000-08:00

Firstly, I must apolagize for not having posted anything about Christmas. I promise I am not a scrooge and I did decorate. Christmas is my favorite time of year, I just didn't get around to posting anything about my Christmas decorations. Things just got a little overwhelming with school, doing the yearbook, Christmas shopping, and everything else. Something had to give, so I had to back off of the blog for a little bit. But I am back.

My Bunny and I spent some time today shopping. We don't spend very much on each other so we can go shopping together after Christmas when everything is cheaper. I got some great deals at target. Scotch tape for .25 a roll (after coupons), Free M&M private reserve(or whatever they are called) for free plus a .13 overage, and a .24 scotch wrapping paper cutter. I hit the Victoria Secret Semi-Anual Sale and got some of my favorite panties ;), but I couldn't find anything exciting at bath and body works (who is also having their Semi-Annual)

What I have done since I have blogged last:

I have finished all four twilight novels-on Audio while working on things around the house
I have gotten a good...enough start to the school's yearbook so that I don't feel like it has me in a choak hold.
I have welcomed a new kitty into our home
I have saved a lot on groceries with a little help from my favorite bloggersand lots of other menial tasks that, no one really wants to hear about
Wrote a mother letter and included it in a basket of encouragement for my mother for Christmas
and lots of other menial tasks that, no one really wants to hear about

An award and some of my favorite bloggers

2008-11-27T19:39:00.000-08:00

Meg's Musings gave me this award and I am supposed to list six things I love and then pass the award on to some others. I have the special privilege of knowing Meg in real life and she is just as entertaining in person. Her outlook and energy are very refreshing.

1. I love reading (latest fav. is the Twilight series)

2. I love my pets, we have a new kitty and as soon as she comes out from under the bed he will make his internet debut.

3. I love spending time with my friends

4. I love reading blogs, but struggle with the posting

5. I love the feeling of triumph when you get a really good deal

6. Garage Sailing!

Now, I get to pass the award on to some very creative bloggers!
Julie from My life with boys is a missionary mom who is serving in Hungary) She is very creative with her learning opportunities for her boys. I have several of them marked in a mommy folder on my google reader.
Nikki at Project Domestic Bliss. She, unlike me is great at showing us all exactly how to do any number of her creative crafts. She has even been known to throw in a video.
Shynea at Penny Pinching Diva is the one I always rely on for the up to the minute news about where to go to get those hard to find coupons, and when I am looking at a pile of sales fliers and coupons, I always check to see how she combined sales with coupons for great savings.

Christmas Card

2008-11-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

This is our Christmas card for this year. The photos were taken my Christina, aren't they fabulous?

I created it on scrapblog.com. It was super easy to create but a little more difficult to actually get it once I was finished. They would like for you to purchase it from them and order the cards for a dollar apiece. A little too much for me. I had them sent to my flicker account and then copied it from there to print. Each year we do Christmas postcards instead of cards. Postage is much cheaper this way. I always order from vista print, their prices are very reasonable. I also ordered thank you post cards for our wedding gifts there. You can type out your message for the year on the other side. I paid $10 for 50 cards and if you are a an ebates member you can go through their site and get some cash back. I have also used scrapblog to make my blog header and desktop backgrounds. Enjoy playing with it.

***A note about ebates***

I have recently discovered ebates. If you go through their site to buy things you are already purchasing online they send you a check each quarter. My husband and I have made $25 this month already (due largely to the fact that we signed up for netflix through them, but we were going to get netfilx anyway). This could add up to some guilt free garage sale money. I tell my husband it is great that someone is finally paying me to be a smart shopper.

Click here to sign up:
http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=iPM5zB2fvMRdRjfHfq1NTw%3D%3D

Happy shopping!

Giveaway's on Tip Junkie

2008-11-10T18:29:00.000-08:00

12 Days 2, winners per day!
Starting tomorrow there will be really great stuff given away on Tip Junkie. While you are there check the links for some of the great stores, I have already found several things that would make great gifts. Happy shopping!

Versitile Seasonal Decor

2008-11-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

This is my honey do list. (because it is the first thing seen when you walk in from our garage. I showed it a couple of weeks ago and it was looking a little nanike (naked). I have since gotten some more of the metal fabric hoops and filled them accordingly. Christmas is going to present a bit of a challenge. I have a little christmas tree in the kitchen with it's own little theme one in the living room with a certain color scheme and the one in the dining room with another. It is the closest to the one in the kitchen. We shall see how it goes. The plan is to change out the fabrics and the chalk color in order to go with the different seasons. Tune in to see what I find for christmas. I have had a great time collecting fabrics at different rummage sales.

Dust ourselves off

2008-11-05T16:05:00.000-08:00

America has spoken and even though it is not what I would have chosen, I accept it and I will not wallow. My heart was very heavy this morning and after reading what some very beautiful ladies with gorgeous hearts said. Check out what Nikki wrote. It was very encouraging. Also read the comment by Kristi.

Sunday Savings

2008-11-02T04:22:00.000-08:00

It is Sunday again and that is my couponing day. After Church my husband plays softball with friends and family and I head to my local convenience store and pick up the double paper and get to clipping. I grew up clipping coupons. I remember mom teaching me about saving by letting me keep the money saved by the coupons. I only wish I knew as much about it then as I do now. I have had a lot of help from the money saving mom and the Penny pinching diva. They work hard and usually will give you a heads up about what to look forward to in the weeks Sunday Paper. Here are a few things that are important to remember when trying to work your coupon magic.

Pay attention at the register, make sure things are ringing up correctly. I usually hold all of the things I have coupons for until the end.
The key to saving a lot of money on things is to wait for them to have a good sale AND THEN use your coupon.
Stock up. If something that you use a lot goes on sale. STOCK UP ON IT. Sodas, are one that we are known to buy four 12 packs of the same thing.
Many of you already do this, but you can also plan your menu, snacks, breakfast, etc, on what is on sale that week.
Know your stores coupon policy. I know that most stores double coupons that are .50 and below. Therefore, don't overlook those .35 cent coupons when you are clipping. When I see .50 cents on paper, I see a dollar in my mind. I hate those pesky .55 cent ones, but I still cut them.
Know how low things go. My example for this is Goldfish. I am hooked on those little cheesy crackers. But I don't buy them unless I can get them 10 for $10. And when they do I stock up. Same thing goes for sodas. I have a price in my mind that I will pay and not a penny more.
Have a good system for organizing them. I will show you my system that I got from Nikki at Project Domestic Bliss. She made a handy video. The only thing that I would change is not organizing it based on one store. I go to the store that packs the biggest money saving punch for me.

My System

Here is my notebook. I still need to make it cute like Queen Bee, but it works for me. I keep a little pockety thing in the front. I think it's original purpose was to store floppy disks in. I use it for keeping extra care bucks (CVS), rebates, and coupons divided by stores. I have a miscellaneous pocket for stores that I don't usually frequent. Next is where I keep my lists. I have a list of Thanksgiving things to purchase, Christmas gifts I am looking for and then my list for the week. I list the things that I definitely need at the top. So I can keep them in the forefront of my mind. Then, I make a list like I am going to each store(I definitely don't actually go to them). But I want to make sure that I get the most out of my time and money. Some weeks I will go to more than one. I don't go out of my way, I just stop by on the way home if the thing on sale in addition to my coupon makes it a deal I can't resist.

After I am done making my list I prioritize from the store that I need to go to the most to the one I need to go to the least. Often there will be certain days that I want to hit a certain store. Publix for example has coupons for penny items in the Sunday paper. They only do this on Monday. This item is always a mystery, but in the past two weeks I have gotten two packs of four rolls of toilet paper and two loaves of publix white bread. So, if Publix is one of my top priority stores for the week I try to go on Monday. Note: I got two of these items because I had two of the coupons. I was told that they are not supposed to give two, but so far they always have and I didn't even ask. Good Luck with your couponing, I hope that something here will help you and your family save money. Every family is different, so take a system and make it work for you.

I am alive

2008-10-26T17:21:00.001-07:00

I have been on a little blogging hiatus. But I promise that I am alive. See.

I have several projects that are undone. A little overwhelmed right now with school, home, ect. This is my craft room right now.

Lots of ideas and potential fighting for space on my desk, n my mind, and on my calendar. Stay tuned though, like I said I am still alive and have several things in the works. I have a few posts lined up for later this week. Here is what there is to look forward to in the near future.

-some more fall decor

-more about my new favorite hobie...couponding

-and a shout out to my new favorite photographer

-one of the creepiest things I have seen for a long time

-some more "best of the web" in saving

In other news. Meg tagged me with the fourth of a fourth. This computer is my school laptop so it only has one folder. So the following is the fourth in my one folder. This is from when Meg and I went to the Aquarium. It was an educators night at the Georgia Aquarium. Even though we didn't win any of the giveaways, we still had a great time.

Have a great week!

Some Link Love

2008-10-07T03:35:00.000-07:00

So in my previous post I didn't get to add some of the links. This was due to some Major computer issues. I actually had them in and my connection failed! So, since I must give credit where credit is due here goes, plus a few things I have marked in my google reader to do list.

Here is Christina's tiny little chalk board. Here , here and here.

Here are some cuter pumpkins than mine
Shabby Vintage Chic
The Shabby Nest
Meg's Musings
As Time Goes by
Ask Kari &Kijsa (the original books...I think)

Check out this Budget Art, I love the flower made of musical notes.

Resetteling Avendale Flea Market Finds and other Randomness

2008-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Meg, Victoria and I went to the Avendale Flea Market on Saturday. It was fabulous. This was the first time I had been but, Christina and Victoria had gone since they were very young. It was a church parking lot with lots of booths and parking spaces rented out. Here is what I got...

I bought this shelf and painted it my favorite shade of chartreuse. I needed something to set my plants close to the window when I brought them in for the winter. I love how everyone is painting rod iron things in bright colors, so I just had to do it too.

This is nothing from the flea market, I cut this picture out of an October issue of Martha Stewart from 2005, she used to do this every month, I know "Real Simple" does this as well I have a few from there. I painted this frame Ivory and designated it for the monthly picture of my choice, I don't have one I like I tuck it away or put some other cute magazine picture in it. It satisfies my need for change.

We made some pumpkins last night from books that we bought at the flea market. I bookmarked the idea on my google reader weeks ago and just got around to doing it. It is much more fun to do with friends. Tip, make sure your books are a little yellowed, they look much better. I got one that was smaller that I thought would be a good height to compliment this but once I got started I saw that the pages were made of a different material and they were very white. Live and Learn.

I am very excited about this one. I am an impatient decorator and sometimes that means hanging things.......without ironing them....Yikes. So, this brand new $80 steamer (I paid $15). I was given one as a wedding gift and exchanged it...oops.

I painted this frame from the dollar store. I painted over the glass part with chalk board paint. I got the idea for having a smaller chalk board with cute little things written on it from here.

I also made this little chalk board. I will become my much friendlier version of the "Honey Do" list. I found these metal fabric hoops at the flea market. I need a few more right now it looks a little sparse. I found someone who was cleaning out their fabric scraps, I thought I could just change out the fabrics to reflect the different seasons.

Last but not least is my favorite find. This little tray, actually much larger than it's predecessor, will come in handy for T.V. dinners that are the result of two teachers coming home late and eating chicken fingers and tots. The sides fold down for extra room.

Creamy Cheesy Bacony Potato Soup

2008-09-29T16:27:00.000-07:00

Bloggers, forgive me, it has been one week since my previous blog. A friend of mine e-mailed me today asking for my potato soup recipe. I love this recipe, it is creamy and cheesy and bacony (<--made up word). The recipe is not mine, it comes from a lady that I teach with. It is very easy to make and reheats even better than the first time. It would be great with some of Christiana's rolls.

Potato Cheese Soup

6-8 large baking potatoes
2 c. milk
4 c. chicken broth
2/3 c. flour
2/3 c. butter
8-12 strips of bacon, cooked ( I use the precooked hormel crumbles they keep forever and I buy in bulk at Sam's Club)
1 c. sour cream
8 oz shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

****You can use lighter versions of any of the dairy products, I almost always do****

Bake potatoes untill soft and then peel. Mash or cube the potatoes depending on the desired consistency for the soup. You can also do a combination of both.

In a large soup pot, combine butter and flour to make a roux. (This sounds more difficult than it is, basically you are just using the flour and butter to make a thicker sause to start off your soup with. To do this keep the heat low and keep stirring. After 1 minute slowly whisk in the liquids.

Add salt and pepper, potatoes, cooked bacon, and cheese. At the last minute (about 10 min before serving) add in the sour cream.

When reheating the soup will be thick. Add milk to reheat, it keeps getting better and better. Enjoy with some rolls for a warm fall meal.

In a cloud of paint

2008-09-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

This table was graciously given to me by Victoria as a birthday gift. I absolutely love the color, but it would take a massive overhaul to make it work in my kitchen. Therefore, since I am not moving any time soon, I had to paint this beautiful blue table.

Meg came over (she loves painting) and we got to work on several projects. It is always more fun to project with a friend. If you look closely you can see the pumpkins that she painted on the floor.

We wasted no time and made a total mess all over the grass and the garage. We are both a little sloppy when it comes to painting. I am so impatient and just want to get it done so I can see the finished project. We worked constantly applying one coat here and there while another dried.

So here is the finished project. I wanted to have a chair in an odd color. As you can see from above there is a lot of antique white going on in my house. I decided to go a little different direction with my sewing room chair.

And here is my beautiful finished table. I resisted the temptation to paint these cute little pumpkins. I thought that would be entirely too much. The orange makes a great contrast with the green (curtain) runner I found. I look forward to having family over and no one having to sit on camp chairs!

Now the only thing remaining is to get the paint out of my hair!

Top Ten Favorite Things in my House

2008-09-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

I love to look at everyone else's homes and what they do with their stuff. So when Laurie over at Tip Junkie asked the question I wanted to be a part of it and see everyone else's stuff. Here is the post if you would like to join in. I think it closes on Saturday at midnight. So, here goes. Sarah Kate's top 10 in no particular order:

My husband loves penguins and I have to admit they are adorable the way they waddle around, but I never thought there would be any that I would actually decorate with. My mother in law gave these to us from Target and we both love them.

I get made fun of all of the time for this stick. It is the only one left. I gave in to peer pressure and mother(who is my real estate agent) pressure. I took them all down except for this one. Who knows maybe after the next storm I will have another one to match it.

I am a bath tub girl. When life gets hard I hit the bubbles. When I have school paper work to do, I pull up a chair and my lappy and get to it. The only thing this one is missing is jets!

I have a very formal looking home with all of the trim. I love the outdoors and wanted to bring it in in order to tone down how formal it looks.
I made the framed art from a very ugly bird picture. I spray painted the mat and then added this fabric swatch that I got at a rummage sale. It is one of those things that I just bought and had no idea what I would do with it, I just knew that I liked it. I may put a big letter on it...yeah that sounds great.
This is one of several mini chairs in my house, but it is not the thing I wanted to highlight. I love all of my plants. I have had this ficus tree since college and it is finally growing! I am definitely a P.O.O.P.I.E. but I try to bring in real plants wherever I can.

I found this Ironing board at a huge garage sale. They were closing up for the day and the man that sold it to me had no Idea what it was. It is real wood and I didn't even have to paint it for my sewing room. I like all of the boards comming across.
This cookie jar was the thing in my grandmothers house that I knew I wanted when I was older and had my own house. My whole kitchen is designed around this piece.

This little dude is one of my favorite things. If you can't tell he is a hedge hog and is made up of all of these nesting little cups. I am not sure what it was made for initially, but right now he just sits there looking cute and making me smile. I think he is bronze under there, but I kinda like the worn look he is sporting right now.

Corney I know, but this is part of my closet. My dad built our house and made my closet just for me. I love jewelry and boxes. I used to get too busy and forget to accessorize, but now I have an earring hanger, an bracelet tree. All of my necklaces hung up and pins and miscellaneous stuff in the largest box. In the frame there is a letter from my husband when we were dating and some of the flowers he gave me. It is one of my favorite places with all of the shiny things and a little reminder of how much I am loved.

Resetteling Garage Sale Finds

2008-09-16T16:22:00.000-07:00

So, I have been pretty busy over this little break of ours. I have situated all of my garage sale finds and have been working on the sewing room. I will post that later, it is still a work in progress. Meg is coming over Friday because she loves to paint. I will have more then to post. I am painting this beautiful table. I just wish I could keep it that color. I think I may distress it so some of the pretty blue comes through. Meg loves doing stuff like that. I am getting excited just thinking about it!

And last but not least are some very wonderful finds at your neighborhood goodwill. As soon as I began reading everyone's blogs I saw immediately how many clear glass containers I would need to put things like pine cones, pumpkins, potpourri and who knows what else in. I had had to go out and get some for myself. You can see my cat Pippen really wanted to be in this shot. What you don't know is how many pictures on my blog that he has ALMOST been in. I decided to let him stay in this once and maybe he will get it out of his system...NOT!

Garage Sailing

2008-09-13T11:35:00.001-07:00

This morning I woke up itching to go garage sailing. I am a huge fan of getting thing situated when I bring them home right away so they don't just sit around. I have already put te pumpkin out (without all of that crazy stuff on the top of it. The bird has a new home, the watering can has some ivey planted in it and the glass topper has a cute little plate that it works perfectly with. I will post pictures later of all of thier new homes. I have a week off of school and I plan on getting some projects done. Thanks everyone for the great ideas for the sewing room. I like the ideas of clustering the hoops with letters to create words. Thanks Joy. The blue frames are for Vic I think they will go great with her kitchen. And if not she can always spray paint them. Stay tuned to see what, if anything I get done this week off from school. I have a table and chairs to paint and I have already begun dismantling the topiary. Now to get on with "manteling" it. I am also going to go through the house and try to declutter and re-situate some items. I am going to paint one chair for the sewing room...any ideas about color? I love what Beckie did with her splash of pink in her workspace.

Sewing Room

2008-09-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

This is my sewing room. I love the colors chartreuse and periwinkle, I used them in my wedding and therefore had lots of left over topiarys and my bouquet. I wanted a place where I could craft with friends. I bought the shelf and the desk at Ikea. I love their Expedit series. I wish I could paint the walls in there, but alas, the house is up for sale and not everyone loves the green as much as I. I would love to paint it something like Timoty Straw (I absolutely adore this color, thanks Kimba). I should have cleaned it you a little first. Now that I look at it I think it may be a little busy and have too much going on, any ideas? The photo below is one of my favorite finds. I found the old wooden ironing board at a garage sale. It was already this color. How perfect. The sewing hoops were bought at the United Methodist Childrens Home sale last year, I am sure the woman in the craft room thought I was crazy. I have several more but I didn't want to do them all with the same green fabric. I keep on looking for some other fabric everywhere I go, but I havn't found the right one yet. I thought about stenciling on some of them. Any ideas here. At first I just wanted to put something in the room so I didn't look empty to potential buyers, now it seems that we will have to wait a while and I might as well make the room mine. With the exception of painting, I am up for anything to make this room look better.

A wee bit of fall

2008-09-07T16:08:00.000-07:00

And I do mean a wee bit. I have not collected very many fall materials. I definitely want more pumpkins. Alas, I am afraid I will have to wait for some nice ones to go on clearance for next year. I love all of the ivory painted ones that I am seeing. I may continue to try to find places to put these lovely pine cones I keep on finding.

A fathers Love

2008-09-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

Victoria over at As Time Goes By keeps telling me that I should post my trim on my blog. I hesitated to because it is nothing that I have done. But, as I have been struggling to just get dinner on the table before bed time and therefore have not done anything creative, I thought I would showcase some of my dad's fine work on my house. My house was built by my father, for the most part. We bought it as just a foundation and a frame. Dad has been a carpenter since he was 17 years old and he and mom found a house for us that would be a great opportunity. It definitely ended up being more difficult than we ever could have imagined. Here is a bit of the process and some of the trim along the way. At first I didn't' like the grapes on the mantle but they do add a little something. The built-in here(at the bottom) is my favorite part of the house. When I look at I cannot help but think of the lengths that my dad goes to for me. I cannot tell you the days that we all spent digging rock out of the yard, scraping paint off of windows, and hauling TONS of trash.

As you can see my kitchen is definately pink. I will show more of it later. But this was a cool place to show off some of my cute salvation army finds. These are in the same set as the ones that are featured on the wired plant holder thingy.This is the trim in the front entry way. If you look closely you can see the dirt dobber in the right corner. It would be a serious ladder chore to get it off, sorry guys!

Have a great weekend!

Pray for our open house!

A spray touch for a teacher

2008-08-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

I forgot to take the before picture, but this is my new stool for my classroom. I bought it at the goodwill. I painted it my favorite color...periwinkle. I like that it has a back on it. It was an okay shade of ivory with some faded places and rubbed off places. The worst part was the brass ring at the bottom. It is important in class to be able to demostrate and see their faces to check for understanding. Since I did not have a chair before, now I will be able to demonstrate more and not be limited by how long I can stand up in front of them. I can't wait to bring it in. Also, it seems to be a little higher than other stools therefore will be perfect for writing on the overhead.

Calling all Cooks!

2008-08-27T03:24:00.000-07:00

I got a new crock pot for my birthday from my Bunny. I am looking for new crock pot recipes that real people actually use. This new one can be left on all day and will just turn to warm when it is done. We live to far away from work to use the kind that doesn't do this. I like recipes that are not to complicated and don't have ingredients that I have never heard of.

The good thing is...

2008-08-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

We are having an open house and it just started raining. I don't think anyone else will be coming. Oh well. The good thing about having an open house is that you are forced to do things you have been neglecting to do for a long time. Yesterday I scrubbed the concrete on the front and back porches and did a little window mistreatments of my own. And I do mean mistreatment. Several of the windows only have things pinned up to them. But the effect is still better than nothing. I will continue to look for curtain rods at Garage Sales and thrift stores. They cost SO much. So here is what I got accomplished with the windows. These are the curtains in our master bedroom. The red ones came from the Goodwill but they were a little too dark and the light would shine through them. Not in a good way, but in a cheep kind of way. I pinned the old ones up behind it, added some candles and some pillows to make it look comfortable and there you have window mistreatment number 1. The second mistreatment happened in a very girly room. I usually don't like stuff like this but there is a reason for it. This room holds a lot of special things. I made the throw pillows on the bed when I was in Girl Scouts. They are embroidered by hand. After that my mom made the bedspread for me. Also in here is some of my grandmothers China and her trinkets. So, whenever I had the space to put it in my home I had to incorporate these things somehow. Again, no rod so I pinned up the curtain and the swag. I put some hydrangea petals in the sheer parts and pinned them at the top to make it all tie together. I have lots of plain colored sheers that I have used over and over again. I think they are timeless and with a few touches can be adapted to go with several different rooms. And they are in abundance at secondhand places.

A crafty Conglomeration

2008-08-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

Here is another one of my favorite creations. Every piece of it was found separately. The wired holder came from a neighborhood garage sale. The pink plates that just happened to fit perfectly came from the salvation army, and the cute little shakers came from the good will. Sadly my cat. knocked down the matching pink bud vase at the top, so I am back to the plain white one. I am always rooting more plants to give away and start new pots. This was the perfect place for them. I will add some tour pictures soon. We are having an open house on Sunday, therefore the house will be clean! Have a great weekend everyone.

Purpose Found!

2008-08-22T19:05:00.001-07:00

Found the purpose of the tubular thing's. Thanks Christina for finding it. I can say that I will likely never use it for that, no matter how pampered chef is who made it. I am not a baker! I will keep looking for a new purpose for it. Let me know if anyone has any ideas.

A Triumph and a Quandry

2008-08-21T16:17:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize how important it was to update often. I am remissed. Bloggers forgive me it has been 4 days since my last post. As I said before I really like turning found objects into something useful the thingy to the right was purchased about four years ago at the good old Habitat for Humanity Store. I still don't know what it is but it has found it's niche in my home. I still would love to know what it is if anyone has any insight. It screws apart into four different pieces. I now use it to hold my many dangling earrings(I took most of them off because it looked "cluttered"), and it does a pretty darn good job of it. See where it belongs in my somewhat befuddled closet. I really love jewelry!

Quandary

I have these other things that I bought recently that I can't figure out what to do with. I bought them originally to put Margarita jell-o in and make shots. Well, they wouldn't hold water. But I still think they are pretty cool and I am just waiting for their potential to become obvious to me. If you have any ideas please let me know. Also, if you know what their original purpose was I would love to hear it. I have since seen more at my friendly neighborhood goodwill but without knowing what to do with them I didn't want to buy them. The lids come off of both sides. There is a flower shaped one and a star shaped one. HELP!

Online Music Groves

2008-08-19T17:37:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard it yet. You should check out Pandora Music Project. It is free Internet radio without commercials. I first heard of it on abc.com where I always seem to go to look up artist names and song titles after an episode of Grey's Anatomy. They have a music channel that is all Grey's Anatomy Artists. You can also type in an artist name and listen to songs by them and others that have a similar sound. You have the option to give a song a thumbs up or a thumbs down. If you don't like it, it learns from that choice and moves on to others. You can share your channels with others. It is really very neat. My husband and I take turns choosing a channel to listen to. We each have created our own. It is a great way to hear new music before buying. It is good for when you are doing anything around your computer. Check it out! Pandora. Also I just added my stations to my right hand navigation. Enjoy!

The Tour Part 1

2008-08-18T03:28:00.000-07:00

I am told that the coolest thing about looking at blogs is seeing how other people have made use of found or rescued objects. Most of the things in my house are from garage sales, clerance racks and hand-me downs. My husband and I went from a one bedroom apartment 1 year ago to a much larger home. I found myself in need of a lot to just fill the space. What you will see now is the aftermath of a mad scramble to fill my space to make it presentable to live in and for someone else to eventually buy. The picture to the left shows a cluster of small objects that work together to fill a very large space. I am often made fun of because I will buy lots of small things in lieu of some of the larger things that may make more of an impact. What you see here is the result of that innate quality. Here is another example of that same design flaw that I have. The "stick" is my attempt to fill a very large space and bring some of the outside in. I have a very formal home with lots of intricate trim. Most people who know me would say that it is not really "me". This stick and others make my home look a little nature sheik(sp?). My mother (who is my real estate agent) made me take down the rest of the sticks. A little inconvenient having her be both. Now she feels it even more part of her job description to tell me what I should or should not do in my house. More later!

The Church of the Weeds

2008-08-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Due to an unavoidable and quite ridiculous turn of events, I was home today weeding instead of at church. We have one car right now until Joel gets his new tag, and he had the one car at class. The day wasn't a total wash. I took my mp3 player out to the yard with my Christian audio book and praise and worship play list out to do some much needed yard work. Here is the before picture. Half way into The Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster I was contemplating the deeper things in life. By the time I got to Refine Me by Jennifer Knapp I was in tears and having some very good "Church" among the weeds. I have come to the conclusion that "events" placed me right where I needed to be this morning and it wasn't in a pew. I will no doubt be in one next week and would never make a habit of missing church, but today I am glad that I did. God had me right where I needed to be and I am grateful. Just in case you are interested...here is the after shot. Needs a little more pine straw but I am very proud of the seen and unseen rewards of staying home today.

Come rescue this child for I long to be reconciled to you. Refine me..All I can do is lift my heart and soul to you.

It doesn't look like much yet but hopefully with some more pine straw it will look presentable for the open house this Sunday. Here is the front, it looks much better than that stupid island.

Testing 1, 2, 3

2008-08-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have successfully created a blog and added a picture. Victoria has one already. And since she is my hero in everything from mothering to homemaking, I had to get one too. Now I suppose I will have to read hers just to figure out what one blogs about.

Here is a link to she and her sister's blog

http://christinaandvictoria.blogspot.com/