::MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A THANK YOU::

A little thank you to all who follow my little ole blog.  Your comments make me smile.  Your blogs  make me smile.  So, from our home to yours we wish you a blessed Christmas this holiday season.  May your time with family and friends be sweet and your New Year be a joyous one!

image by Kim Klassen

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a saviour who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

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::CHRISTMAS DECORATING CONTINUED::

I will be continuing on with our home decorated for the holidays.

Below is our tree. I am so excited about our tree.  It is real.  The hubs gave in again.  He really wanted to pull out the ole artificial tree from the attic, but I was really wanting a real tree again this year.  We weren't able to go to a tree farm and cut it down in 20 degree weather, but it was fun looking for it just the same.

We decorated it with a box of sentimental ornaments that I have collected over the years.  This tree is the first very full and tall real tree we have ever had.  So, I am thinking about making  some more ornaments to hang on it.  I recently was surfing a linky party and saw a tutorial where someone shared how to make dove ornaments.  Don't you just love my tree skirt???  HAHA, yeah, it's a white sheet.  LOL, nothing fancy here.  I haven't had a chance to sit at the sewing machine.  Maybe next year we will have a proper tree skirt.

Here is a closer look of the tree.  It's a Nobel Fur...or is it Fir??  Ha, I am not sure how to spell it , but that is what kind it is.

 Here is the mantle.  I decided to leave my Joshua 24:15 up.  I had wanted to do another piece of art that Luke 2:11 on it, but just didn't have the time before we had company or in between before we had our holiday party.  I just kept it simple.  Some garland and some pinecones and our stocking holders and my mason jars.

 To the right of the tree in the breakfast nook I chose to hang my barn star.  I also decided to place the piece that my hubby made me here.  As you can see, I have only got as far as priming it.  Sad, isn't it?  It was too hot to paint it during the summer and by the time I had a chance to get to it again, the temps had gotten cold.  Hopefully in the spring, I can put a coat of cottage white on it.

 I chose to put our Christmas music here.  We have a tradition of buying on Christmas CD every year and  around Thanksgiving we start to play the Christmas music.  I also chose to put our nativity on this piece as well as a red quilt to give warm to the lower shelf.

 Here is our dining room. See that big empty wall behind it?  I have a couple of ideas for it that I will share with you .  Maybe y'all can help me decide which ideas to use there.   I purchased that dining table cover at Target.  Love it!  It was only $16.00!  I think that is a pretty good price as it is a big one.  I think it's 6ft. by 120 ft.

 I chose to keep the center piece simple.  You know, so there is room for plenty of food and the plates.  : )  I just used these glass candle holders and some cranberries.  Love the red.  I also used some cream round candles I had to place inside.

And this, well, this is my kitchen.  pretty blah for now.  Haven't done much in here.  I just wanted to show you where I blog from.  I usually am on the end there blogging and making sure that I am not burning dinner while I blog.

Well, hope you enjoyed the tour.
Have a great evening.Pin It Now!

::: I AM BACK....:::

I sure hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I can't believe it's been that long since I posted. 
Sue, thanks for asking if I am all better.  That was sweet.  I am indeed feeling better.  I got over the pink eye ........and would you believe five days before Thanksgiving  and a house full of guests I got strep throat????  Oh my, I hope I am done with being sick for the winter season.  I was able to get antibiotics and am all better now.  We had my husbands family vising for  a couple of weeks and then I had a house full of guests from work for a Christmas Party.  So, that meant that I had to decorate the house for the holidays.  Our house here isn't as big as our old house, so I didn't put out too much, but just enough to get us in the holiday spirit and have it be cheery.  Enjoy the pics below.


Welcome to our home for the holidays!
We've kept things simple outside.  Just a simple red wreath on the door.  I purchased this at Target for a pretty reasonable price.  Of course if I had time I probably could of made one.  I have seen Martha Stewart make these before.  But I was on a time crunch to get things decorated.

As you come in the front door the first thing you will see is our living room.  We have an open floor plan which we love.  It's great for entertaining.

This is our living room and it's the first thing you will see as you come in.  I am standing by the french doors taking this picture.  The opposite side of the front door.   To cozy up this area for the hoidays I added some red checked pillows to the sofa.  I also have a quilt that I want to lay on the back of the sofa.   Behind  the sofa is our kitchen and to the right of it is our kitchen dining nook.   Between the french doors and the kitchen nook is a small wall and this is where we chose to put our tree this year.

Later this afternoon I will post the rest of the decorating pics.  Blogger is being grumpy with me and not allowing me to add pics at this time.

So be sure to stop by later on.Pin It Now!

::SICK::

Down sick with pink eye in not just one eye, but two.  Blech!!  So, while I am recooperating and getting ready for some holiday company I want to share some linky love with you.

I was blog hopping last week and found this blog.  She has a sweet idea on making your own gift tags for the holiday.
Take a look at

http://gettingmycrafton.blogspot.com/2010/11/simple-homemade-christmas-gift-tags.html

Check out this one for some nontraditional way of wrapping gifts.  Very clever ideas and yet they are simply elegant.
http://craftberrybush.blogspot.com/2010/11/simplicity-saturday.html

  Love it!

I will be back after the holidays. 
Happy Thanksgiving!Pin It Now!

::WINNER OF CSN GIVEAWAY!!::

Hi all!

I am sorry I wasn't able to post earlier this morning who won the giveaway.  I work a part-time job and had to fill in for someone and didn't get home till late.

Thank you to everyone that stopped by to participate in the  CSN giveaway!   Since there was  only a handlfull of entries I chose not to use random number generator.  I put everyones name on a slip of paper in a bowl and mixed them up and picked one out.......and the WINNER IS.......

Tracie from
http://flutterbygones.blogspot.com/

Tracie, drop me an email so I can get your info to get your gift certificate to you.

Have a great evening everyone!Pin It Now!

::CSN GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

Hey everyone!

I am so excited to share with you that I am hosting  a  CSN giveaway!   

If you haven't heard of CSN stores, you are missing out.  They have a variety of things to sell.  They have everything you need to accessorize your table for the holidays, home decor, cookware and more.  With Christmas just around the corner you will want to be sure that you have a beautifully set table.  Take a look at this beautiful drop leaf table they offer.

I love the finish and the styling of the legs.  Nice clean lines.  A great funcitonal piece of furniture that you can use anywhere in your home.

The folks at CSN have graceiously offered a $35 gift certificate for your shopping pleasure.  If you would like to enter for a chance to win, all you have to do is leave me a comment telling  me what you would buy if you won.


I will accept entries until midnight  November 2nd, Central time. I will announce the winner on November 3rd in the afternoon.

NOTE:  I am extending the time to enter.  I will accept entries until midnight on November 7th Central time.  I will announce the winner Monday, November 8th


 That's it!
Good luck!Pin It Now!

::A BOOK REVIEW::

Hi there!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day wherever you are.  A big shout out to anyone living out in the midwest.  Hear they are having some awful storms out that way.  Y'all stay safe.

If you have never sewed before or have minimal experience and would love to learn more.  Than Deborah Moebes book is for you.  Sorry, the pick is not clickable.  It is the only pic I could find of the cover from Amazon.

This is the best well done begining sewer book I have ever seen hands down.  She covers everything from the basics of sewing to why we should prewash our fabric before we sew.  Each of the projects in the book is photographed every step of the way with welll written clear directions.  Ladies, this is a first for me to see in a sewig book with this many projects in it.  She starts with very small beginning projects and has you work up to harder things like sewing zippers, etc.

This is a must have for your sewing library if you don't already own it.  I am planning on buying the book next week.  I have also contacted Deborah in hopes of her possibly giving a signed copy away here on my blog.  So, hopefully that will pan out.  So keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Additionally, I have been chatting with someone from CSN and I will definitley be doing a giveaway here.  Just not sure when.  Hopefully soon though as it sure would come in handy to a lucky winner for Christmas gifts, wouldn't it?

I am working on a tutorial to share with you all.  It is of  a sewing/quilty nature. 

Enjoy your evening!Pin It Now!

::Handmade::

With having moved this year and done a bit of traveling with vacations and what not; the holidays will be lowkey this year.

I am planning on giving handmade gifts this year.  I have done this in the past and the family for the most part enjoys their gift.  If you too are planning on making it a handmade holiday season this year be sure she stop by http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/

During the month of November they will have 30 days of
 handmade holidays.

So, if you are looking for inspiration I am sure they won't disappoint.  They will be having giveaways as well, so go and be inspired!Pin It Now!

Another giveaway!!

Can you stand it?    Lots of generous blog gals out there in blogland.

Have you been to
http://thepaintedhive.blogspot.com/

Kristine is a sweetie and she shares so many wonderful projects that she has done for her home.  She has shared everything from redoing furniture to creating art to hang in your home.    If you haven't been by her blog you will have to stop by and enter her giveaway and tell her "hello."

Hope on over to get the details of how you can enter to win this

Photo by Kristine of The Painted Hive

She made this beautiful linen faux grain sack pillow. Click the link to read about her linen throw that she made for her masterbedroom redo.

http://thepaintedhive.blogspot.com/2010/10/diy-linen-throwand-grainsack-style.html

She got such a great deal on this linen that she had some leftover to share in  the form of this beautiful pillow as a giveaway.

In other news, I have had a busy week so wasn't able to post much this week.  I have lots to share and hope to post something for you all each day.  That will be a first.  I dont' ever do that.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

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A gracious giveaway.....

Head on over to




She won a $150.00 gift card from Lowes due to winning with her patio project at
Oneprojectcloser.com

She is so grateful to her readers for voting for her that she wanted to share her winnings.

Here are the ways you can be entered in this giveaway for a $75.00 gift card to Lowe’s:

1. Leave a comment telling her what you would use your gift card for…DIY project, Christmas gift to hubby. etc.

2. Tweet about this giveaway and go back and tell her in a separate comment. (leave your twitter name or link)

3. Share this giveaway on your facebook page and go tell her about it in a separate comment.

4. Mention this giveaway on your blog and go tell her about it in a separate comment.

That’s four chances to win!!!


The giveaway ends Friday. October 22nd at midnight EST.

She will announce the winner on Saturday from the Relevant 10 Conference in Harrisburg, PA.

Good luck!

P.S. You don’t have to follow her  or subscribe to her blog to be entered in the giveaway, but she sure would love it if you would anyway. :)Pin It Now!

FALL CLEANING AND DECLUTTERING

So, I mentioned in my last post that fall has me decluttering and deep cleaning so everything is ready to go before we head into winter.

I am so happy that my local Wal-Mart is finally selling these.

Ever since Andrea (over at  http://fadedplains.blogspot.com/ ) shared what she uses to clean her house.  I  had been on the look out for the product ever since.  I chose the lavender scent and love the scent it leaves behind after I am finished cleaning.

I also have been inspired by http://houseofsmiths.blogspot.com/2010/07/pantry-remix.html
Y'all have to click the link to see her pantry redo if you haven't already done so.  I am in the middle of organizing mine and will share it with you all later this week.

What do you like to do to your home during the autumn season?Pin It Now!

Autumn.....

Does it make you want to declutter and clean things out? Does it make you want to curl up by the fire with a warm cup of hot cocoa?  Does it make you want to whip out your recipes  of soups? 

 For me, it's all of the above.  One of our very favorite things about fall is looking forward to these.

They are Honeycrisp apples and we only get the chance to enjoy these in the Fall.  I plan on making some applesauce,  rustic tarts and some apple fritters with Honeycrisp this season.  They have a wonderful texture and flavor and my most favorite thing to do is slice one up and eat it raw.  The best thing about them is that if you slice them up and decide to eat them later, they won't have that brownish look on them when you eat them.  They flesh stays looking as if you just sliced it.

Below I am sharing my apple fritter batter with you.  I hope you take some time out and enjoy some apples this Autumn season.

APPLE FRITTER BATTER

3 to 4 large apples, peeled and chopped

1 C. flour

1 T.  baking powder

1/2 t. salt

   2    eggs

1/2 C. milk

1 T. melted fat

Combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Stir in milk and eggs.  Drop your chopped apples into the batter and combine so that all the apples are coated with the batter.  Then drop your a few spoonfulls of the batter in the fat and let it fry up and then turn.  They should be golden brown.  I like to place them on paper towels to drain them and cool slightly and then serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top or not.

Enjoy!

Tomorrow I will share some soup recipes I like to make during the Autumn season.

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WRAPPED IN LOVE.....

Remember a long while back I was given the opportunity to make a quilt for my friend who lost her mom to cancer???

She gathered some clothes...shirts,etc. that were her moms and some shirts that were her father's and asked me to make her a  lap quilt to give her father.

Well, after looking at all the many clothes and shirts she had given to me I came up with a pattern.  Her mom was a teacher for over 25 years.  She taught in the public school system; as well as  at church.  So, to me it was important to put her T-shirt that represented most of her life as a teacher in the middle of the quilt.  She was also a grandmom and alumni of Perdue.   Go Boilermakers!    My friend tells me she was a wonderful woman that loved the Lord, teaching and her family.

I recently sent off this quilt to my friend.  I titled the label "Wrapped in Love."  I sure hope her Daddy likes the quilt and finds comfort in it not only by warmth, but by the memory of his lovely wife. 

Here is the finished quilt which my daughter so graciously held up for me so I could snap a pic of it to share on the blog.

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Mini reveal of the masterbedroom...

Hi there!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  We did. 

Sorry to have postponed the bedroom reveal a couple of times.  I didn't want to reveal until it was TOTALLY done.  Unfortunately, I have come to realize it will be a work in progress.  So, I will share what I have so far.

So far I have only spent $74.74   My greatest find that was at the most phenomenal price you wouldn't believe were these lamps.  Here is a view of  it on my hubby's nightstand.  I really wanted new lamps for this room and I was looking for glass based lamps.  I found these at Target.

   Look at that glass.  Don't you just love it?  It's the kind that has a crackle look to it.  If you click on the picture you may be able to see it better.  And are you ready for this???  Doesn't this lamp look like it could be pretty pricey???  I thought so too until I picked up the lamp base and looked at the price tag.  They were $8.74 a piece!!  Can you believe that?  I thought y'all might not, so I took a picture of the clearance price tag.

 Next up is the bed.  I was looking all over for a white ruffled bedskirt.  I have to tell you though I was not about to pay $89.00 for a bedskirt!  That is how much they were for  a queen sized bed.  I already had this natural linen tailored one so I used this. I also already at this alternative comforter as well.  So, no money spent there.  FREE!!  Love it.

 Not sure if you can see the shams too well in this pic, but they are Battenburg Lace shams.  I also have a bed skirt to match it, but it doesn't quite go all the way to the floor, so I didn't use it. Since I already had these, they were free as well.  Don't you love when you are able to use what you have already?

       Here is a better view of the bed with the linens on it.

Here is a closeup of our cedar waterfall chest.  It is one of the few pieces of furniture we bought when we were first married.  It has served us well.  It is a very deep chest and I store lots and lots of blankets in it.  That blanket on it is the most soft blanket.  It is my fave and I occassionally curl up with it on the sofa next to hubby to watch movies.

One thing I didn't take a pic of is the one splurge I made....and that was on the sheets.  Y'all, I have never had 400 + thread count sheets before.  They are the softest, most comfortable sheets I have ever slept on before.  They even have a tag at the bottom of the sheet to let you know that that end goes at the foot of the bed.  So fancy.  I love them.  They seem to get softer each time I wash them. 

So, the grand total spent so far is:

Sheet set          44.00
Lamps             16.74
Shades             14.00
       Total         74.74

Not bad, eh?  Tomorrow I will show you the seating area and hopefully my version of the Bonne Nuit  pillow.

Let me know what you think so far.  Do the glass lamps look okay with our furniture?  Do you like the bedding?  Is there anything you can suggest to add to the bedding?

Enjoy your day!Pin It Now!

Update on the masterbedroom

My back is feeling much better and I am hoping to do a mini reveal on Friday.  I have been having the hardest time finding drapes for our room. I have been looking for white ones and long ones at that.  We have odd sized windows that either require custom drapes or spending the extra money to purchase the length we need.  I found some beautiful Shabby Chic ones at Target, but they weren't the correct length.  Been looking online and it seems I may have found some at IKEA.  Only thing is that this room redo is on a major budget and I will need to save up to purchase these drapes.  I think they will finish of the room and give it the softness and airiness that I am going for.  Until then, I will share with you what I have so far and you all can give me tips of what I can change or add or whatever.

In the meantime, you must go take a look at Tina's blog.  She posted recently about some hemstitch pillows she made for her bed and I gotta tell ya, I was just in awe of them.  So beautiful....and all done by hand.  You must go take a look see.
http://therubieplace.blogspot.com/2010/09/spring-fever-some-diy-linen-pillow.html

She has inspired me with her beautiful handwork to make a runner for my dresser.  I am going to give this project a go and if I am successful I will share with you all.

Summer has drawn to an end and Fall is upon us ...well, not here in Louisiana cause it's still stinking hot, but in other parts of the states crisp cool days are ahead.  I love them and will miss the changing of the leaves and the crisp, coolness in the air.  This time of year always had me reaching for a warm cup of hot chocolate or tea and making lots of hearty soups to warm our bellies.  It has also gotten me thinking that Christmas is not too far off.  I like to give handmade to our family around the holidays and I am in need of some inspiration.  Are you making handmade for the holidays this year?  If so, please share.

Have a great day!Pin It Now!

Master bedroom update..

Hey there.
I wasn't able to do the masterbedroom reveal on Friday as you probably already noticed.  I ran into several glitches.  I also threw out my back.  Been taking advil and taking it easy.

I was able to acquire some new things for the room at prices you wouldn't believe.  Can't wait to share and give you a breakdown of the items.  You won't believe it.

Enjoy your weekend and hopefully I will be able to do the reveal next weekend.Pin It Now!

Masterbedroom makeover in process...

Hi all!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  We did.

I can't believe it's the middle of September already.  I have been working on my masterbedroom and hope to reveal it Friday.  You might remember me talking about how much I disliked the UGLY green wall color in their.  Well, I have come to terms with the fact that the hubs isn't going to paint and as much as I would like to tackle doing it myself, I don't think I could do it well with those twelve foot ceilings. 

I have decided to go with all white bedding with some natural linen thrown in there.  If I can get my hands on some taupe and white ticking this week I will throw some of that in as well.  I am also looking for some new lamps for the bedside tables.  I have some glass based ones in mind, but we will see.  I am doing this room on a budget.  I have looked all over for a decent white ruffled bedskirt that won't cost me a fortune and I wasn't able to find one so I am going with something I already have.  I also have been looking for some white curtains to hang on the windows.  Twill ones in particular, but every time I find a pair for a good price I read the reviews and it seems that all the twill curtain panels out there seem to shrink when washed.  So, I have come to the conclusion that I am doing drop cloth drapes.  I just hope that I am happy with the end product when I am done with them.    I am also hoping to do one large art piece above the bed. 

Big reveal day is Friday....or Thursday if I finish it earlier.
Have a great week.Pin It Now!

SUBWAY ART TUTORIAL

Yesterday I said I would share how I made my subway art.

Well, here goes my first tutorial.  I hope my pictures and written directions are clear.  If you have any questions feel free to email me.

SUBWAY ART TUTORIAL

What you will need:

your canvas/wood or surface of your choice
stylus, pen or pencil whichever you like to work with
your printed wording or saying
mat board
paint
paintbrush
graphite paper




I have chosen to  use the scripture reference to show you how I did this .  Here are my materials.

I use my mat board so that I don't ruin the table top I am working on.  First, I printed out my wording  then I  took my canvas and my graphite paper and my printed wording and started tracing away.  Here is how it looked before I started tracing.  I placed my graphite paper down and then placed my wording on top of that where I wanted it .  Then I started tracing the outline of the letters and numbers with my pen.

The next step makes me giddy...cause I am an instant gratifaction gal when it comes to projects. Once you finish tracing and pick up your graphite paper and your wording here is what you are left with.

There is my wording that is now transferred on to the canvas.  Pretty cool, huh?

All that is left to do now is fill in your traced letters with some paint.

       Then sit back and admire your handiwork.

YOU'RE DONE!

Please share if you decide to make your version of subway art with my tutorial.  I would love to see what you come up with.Pin It Now!

Come take a peek at my SUBWAY ART

Last week I wanted to share a project with you that I was working on, but life got busy and I wasn't able to share it on Friday like I had planned.

I worked on it some on Saturday and Sunday we were gone all day so I didn't have a dedicated block of time to work on it.  Yesterday I was determined to get it done and hang it up.  

In our new home it's important to me to decorate with things that have meaning....like faith and family.  So, to start off my first piece of artwork here, I chose to have a scriputre verse on my subway art.  I plan on making more to put throughout the house.   I chose  Joshua 24:15 to use.  Here it is.  Let  me know what you think.

and here is a close up.  I had a little paint mishap, so there is a smudge I need to fix and I also need to paint in the scripture reference.

I am pleased with how it turned out.  I am not sure if I will lean it up against the wall like that on the mantel or actually hang it up a little higher.  What do you think?  Lean or hang?

Now I have my very own piece of subway art that is meaningful to me and my family....and do you want to know what the best part is????  It only cost me the price of the canvas...which was $18.99!

Stop by tomorrow  and I will share how I made my subway art.

Have a great day!

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A GIVEAWAY you won't want to miss

Have you seen one of these? 

If you have, then you know this sweet little machine can create lots of neat things to make your home look wonderful and much more...

If you haven't, hop on over to the
http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2010/08/super-fantabulous-product-giveaway_23.html

She talks all about it and tells you how you can enter her giveaway to win one!
Hurry!
Good luck!Pin It Now!

I have been inspired...

Since moving into our new home recently I have been blog hopping lots of blogs that have home dec ideas/tutorials.  You know, the we can make it ourself without having to pay and arm and leg for it.  So, I am on a quest to redo the bedding and add some window treatments in our master bedroom.  You can scroll down below to see  what the room looks like.  I so dread this ugly green on the wall.  The hubs likes it and absolutely has NO desire to paint.  I would love to paint it a steeley blue color or even a gray...or is it grey???  Anyhow, here is my inspiration for a pillow that I will be making to put on the bed.  I absolutely love the font they used and the simple elegance of this pillow.

photo: Pottery Barn

I also plan on making my own shams.  I am looking for some fabric that will lighten and brighten this space since I can't paint.  : (

 I am thinking of making some shams like these.  What do you all think?  Maybe with the right fabric it will go nicely with the french lumbar pillow?

photo: Pottery Barn

I plan on using white bedding for the quilt part of it and possibly a white bedskirt.  They only place there will be color will be on the shams, the lumbar pillow and maybe some euro pillows.  We'll see.  In any case, here are some sad pics of the room below.  Look past the mess please as we are on the last few boxes of finding a home for all our stuff.

So, as you walk in the room, you will see our bed up against this wall.  See how hideous that green is?  Oh my ...our lamps are looking pitaful too.  We haven't been able to locate the harps...thus no lampshades.  Did I tell you I am looking for new lamps too??  LOL, I told the movers that if they accidentally were to drop those, I would totally be okay with it.

To the left of the bed we have an alcove area.  The previous owners had a sofa in this area.  We decided to put our two reading chairs here.  I know, they are burgandy leather recliners....it just adds to the disjointedness of this room.  If that wasn't enough, I couldn't get a good pic of this area to save my life.  Sorry for the dark shot in this area.  Again, please look past the mess.  And doesn't that light fixture look weird there?  We do have pot lights above that would probably be enough light, but it's always nice to have task lighting.

This is to the right of the bed.  You first see this on the right as you come in the room.  See the door there?  The doors to the left of the dresser lead into our HUGE master bath and closet.  More on that in another post.  You can also see here in this picture why I think the hubs is okay with the green color.  We have 12 foot ceilings.  Yeah,  it would take lotsa paint, a ladder of which we probably don't have one big enough. blah blah blah. 

Then, to the left of the door is my dresser.  We haven't attached the mirror to it yet.  The movers broke off a screw that was used to attach it.  So, we have to get that fixed.  I actually didn't want to have him attach it.  I wanted to be able to play with hanging some pics and doing some season vignettes on the dresser.  So, we will see about that.  Again, sorry for the dark pic.

Ewww, and can you see in this picture that the previous owners painted the curtain rods that same UGLY shade of green?  YIKES!! 

I know, I am complaining way too much about the color.  Go ahead, tell me.  It's not a color I like at all.  Don't even own any clothing in that color.  I don't think our black furniture shows well against it.  But what I will tell you is that I LOVE all the windows that allow the light to come in when it's a sunny day.  I also LOVE the triple crown molding, the beautiful, large master bath and closet and the carpet.  So, with that being said I have another project in the wings as well.  I am hoping to share that with you tomorrow.  It involves a canvas from Hobby Lobby, some paint and some freezer paper.  So stay tuned for that.

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another GIVEAWAY!

Thanks to Kelly   and Traci for participating in my giveaway!  Scroll down below to see who won.

Now Sam over at http://thenestuk.blogspot.com/  is having a CSN Giveaway!  Hop on over to her blog and enter to win.
Click on the link below to head on over to Sam's blog


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GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Happy Monday to everyone!

The winner of the Inspirational Home giveaway is

Traci

of

A big thank you to you and Kelly for participating in my giveaway!.  Because there was just two of you participating I don't want anyone going away empty handed.  So Kelly, you will be getting a little something in the mail as well.

Please email me so I can send you both your little gifties.

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GIVEAWAY!!

In honor of all things home and family, I am having a GIVEAWAY today!

Have you heard of

If you haven't, then  let me tell you a little bit about her. She is a wife, mom, artist and author of 

 

I turned 43 a few weeks ago and treated myself to this book.  I have been entering giveaways all over blogland to win a copy, but it never happened.  Now, I am giving you the opportunity to win a copy of this lovely book.

Jeanne shares how to decorate your home with faith inspired art.  She gives you clear directions and even has a page with copyright free graphics you can use in your projects.

Once you have entered for a chance to win, pop on over to Jeanne's site and check out her artwork and then you can head on over to her blog!   

Have fun!

http://www.jeannewinters.com/

http://jeannewinters.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2009-07-20T16%3A13%3A00-06%3A00&max-results=30

To enter for a chance to win this book and an extra little surprise something tucked in the box, leave me a comment on how you decorate your home with faith inspired ideas.

Winner will be picked on Monday, August 16th , central time.  So, hurry and enter.  You have until midnight Sunday night.

Have a great weekend!

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Sneaky peek of the new place...

Welcome!
Here is our front door. 

I love the style of it and tomorrow I will show you the unique architectural  feature on the inside of this door that I love.   Also, there is a unique lighting fixture on each side of this door that I think really makes the entrance to the front look so grand.  I will share that tomorrow as well.

Would like to share some pics of the backyard garden with you first.  First up  is the lovely swing that the previous owner built.  . 

yard swing

The beautifully overgrown canopy is grape vine and wisteria. If you are sitting down on the swing and looking up you can see these

 They are muscadine grapes.  We haven't picked any yet, but I thought they would make for a cool photo op.  Next up is my fave thing in the whole yard.  Are you tired of me talking about it yet??? It's the fig tree. 

figs

 We missed the first round of harvest to make some fig jam.  So hopefully there will be another bumper crop in the next couple of weeks or so.  Hoping to get  the stawberry fig jam recipe from my hubby's aunt so that I can make some to enjoy this winter.  

 Moving on to the herb area of the garden.  Here you will see lemon basil and basil ,  rosemary and oregano(not shown)

lemon basil and basil

rosemary bush

Stop by tomorrow and I will share some more of the garden and a sneeky peek into the master suite.  I need your help ladies.  The wall colors in the whole house we just love.  I unfortunately don't care for the color in the master bedroom,but hubs said no painting will be happening.  : (  So, I have to make the best of what is there.  So, need your ideas.  HELP me out!! 

Friday I will be posting a giveaway.  So tell all your friends to stop by.

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We are finally here....

Hi there!
We made it to the new house a couple of weeks ago. After being engulfed in boxes and furniture for a week we decided to head out on vacation. We just recently returned and it's back to getting the house in order.

Once we have things bloggable I will post pictures. Lots to share.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer.Pin It Now!

What do you enjoy about blogging.....

For me, blogging is a way to share some of my ideas with others on quilting, sewing, cooking and family.

I am always grateful for those ladies out there who are willing to share tutorials on anything that has to do with sewing, quilting, home decor, cooking, etc. I am a very visual person and these gals that take the time to photograph each step and write the directions are just the best.

I have had the opportunity to befriend some sweet people out there who are generous, friendly and enjoy blogging just as much as I do.

So, for me to have had the opportunity to meet one of my bloggy friends was an absolute treat. I had the opportunity to meet Stacey ( and her sweet girls )at

http://theblessednest.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2010-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=50



She recently moved back to the Chicagoland area and I thought it would be nice if we had a chance to meet. I was hoping to go to the Eddie Ross event in Illinois with her, but because of our move and bad timing, I wasn't able to.

Instead, we met up in downtown Naperville. Beautiful town in the springtime. Lots to do and see. Stacey shared some of her favorite stores she likes to go into and I shared a couple of mine. Stacey is just as sweet in person as she appears on her blog. I enjoyed spending time with her and her daughters. It was like meeting up with a friend you hadn't seen in years.

What do you like about blogging? Have you had the opportunity to meet any blogging friends?

On a side note, we have a buyer for our house. God is so good. We are heading out this week and I will be off the grid for posting for at least a couple of weeks. Once we are settled, I will post all about the adventure.
Until then, here is a pic of Stacey and I . If you haven't been to her blog, do stop by and tell her who sent ya.


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