Charmed I'm Sure

Valentine Decore 2012

2012-01-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

I don't have any place to put these off season so just added some red things to make the apothecary jars work for Valentine's Day.

A mini garland that Candice made for me using some of Stephanie's graphics and a little love sign from JoAnn's.

The left half of the bookcase.

The right half. I pretty much use dishes and things that I already have. It's fun to try and reuse the things I already have.

A few close ups.

The red branch things I use in my Christmas tree. Hey, they are red.

a love garland I made up. The letters are glittered with German glass glitter. I'll try and do a tutorial since I am making 12 more for Stephanie's Valentine exchange. Shhh, don't tell anyone who is coming.

Good Valentine decorations are hard to find so I taped a heart to the top of my dome and added little red jewels and glittered birds.

Some beaded garland and hearts make the chandelier festive too.

Brenna made my "love" pillow and I bought the red covers from Ikea.

Hobby Lobby had these glittered foam wreaths this year. I added them to my doors from France along with the "key to my heart" tied with black silk ribbon. It just kicks things up a notch.

It's starting to look like a Valentine's celebration around here.

I bought inexpensive frames from Ikea and added real vintage sheet music and a foil heart. Easy, fast, and festive.

I have two hanging on the wall.

A simple centerpiece.

The mantel in process. I'm still tweaking it.

A few close ups.

I'm doing lots of pinning on Pinterest trying to decide what to make for my Valentine Exchange. Anyone have any good ideas?

Linen Wreath

2012-01-15T20:04:00.003-07:00

Brenna (my daughter-in-law) gave me this linen wreath for Christmas. She made it herself. I love home made gifts...and linen anything. Thanks Brenna!

Valentine's Party 2011

2012-01-08T23:49:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure what happened to my last year's Valentine's Party post but I thought I would show you some of the gifts that we exchanged. Last year we had a pot luck dessert appetizer table and then took turns showing what we each brought and then exchanged them. Some of these gifts were from Steph's party and some were from mine. Above was for a movie night of popcorn and hot chocolate.

Hand made bath salts.

A rice bag for the microwave.

I thought I'd show you this banner that Brenna made using canvas and freezer paper templates to paint the hearts and letters. She let me borrow it to add to my decor.

Brenna made a bubble gum necklace with a felt rosette to exchange.

This one was from Steph's party.

Mary Ann made butter mint shaped hearts to eat. They were delicious

Red hot lips with a wild card.

A vase full of valentine candy and topped with red hot lips.

Dana made a hot date in a fabric box...dice to roll, a razor to use before the date, CD's with modern and old fashion love songs, breath mints, and hersey's kisses. So clever and a lot of work.

Look at these darling owls. We all got a package containing two owls.

Eva made a letterpress poster for everyone.

My mantel. Kind of boring now that I look at it. Too bad I just packed away some red garlands in my Christmas stuff. It needs some work.

Heidi made these cute garlands for everyone.

This is her presentation.

Here is my garland that I made and gave everyone. Sorry I don't have a pattern to give. I bought one and used it for a pattern.

Leslee designed and made these heart blocks.

Lisa made blank accordion books for everyone. Each one was different.

Lisa from Steph's party, silk screened a bag for everyone.

Liz made everyone an apron. They were all different. So much work.

Here's one of my garlands in my "love" branches.

Brenna made this cute pillow for me for Valentine's Day. What a sweet daughter-in-law I have.

I bought 20 of these lunch trays at a school surplus sale. They were 25 cents each. I should have bought more for all my daughters. What was I thinking? We ate off of these at my party.

Minature garland that Candice made me on baker's twine. Steph designed the tags. I have such talented girls who are so nice to remember their mother.

Paper dolls drawn by one of Steph's friends.

Shule designed these cute labels with her husband. Everything on the label was related to Valentine's Day.

Stephanie, a friend, made chocolate turtles and this cute little linen pillow with an embroidered heart and pearl.

(I threw this in so you could see the present my Steph gave me for my birthday. She designs letterpress cards for Sycamore Street Press. I love them so much, I have a hard time giving them away.)

A close up of the heart pillow and yummy turtles.

The Valentine branches.

Brenna made me this wreath for my birthday 2011.

So this post is a year late and missing all the pictures of the people and the food. I guess I need to go back and find those too. If you don't have your own Valentine's Exchange, you might want to start. We have so much fun.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-08T22:45:00.001-07:00

Christmas morning on the stairs about 7 am.

All ready for Santa to come.

Mark and Sebastian...such a good baby.

Campbell and Logan...you've got to love the hair!

Eli and Brenna already worn out.

Creed our little jazz musician who wanted Santa to bring him an accordion.

Santa delivered one to his house. Don't know what he is thinking in this picture. He's looking kind of serious but cute.

Cole with his favorite present...a cougar pillow pet.

Checking out what Santa brought and looking in stockings.

(Another before picture.)

Cole and Grant were here Christmas morning to see what Santa brought for them.

We are missing Sebastian and Ollie but don't these guys look cute in their Christmas pj's?

The Stringhams and Eli and Brenna were here Christmas morning and then we all went to church at 9 am. We saved the present opening for after church when every one could be there. We had our whole family for Christmas and I didn't get one picture of everyone. We sure had a lot of fun though. We had our traditional ginger bread house making, went to temple square to see the lights, had a girl day where we went out to lunch and antiquing, and the boys had a boy night where they went to the movies, played games, ate, and ate, and ate, went to the grill one night at Sundance with all the adults. It was crazy with 8 kids but very fun.

My husband was the official photographer...I can't wait to see what his pictures look like.

Dinner Tonight

2012-01-08T21:51:00.001-07:00

This was dinner tonight. My husband is the best cook. I never know what we will have but it is always amazing. He was recently diagnosed with diabetes so is cooking very healthy meals. Turkey meat balls with lots of vegetables in them, asparagus with sesame seeds and a healthy salad. So good. I'm so lucky!

Christmas Decor 2011

2011-12-23T13:58:00.001-07:00

Here is a short version of my Christmas decorations this year. Half the antique cabinet with part of my nativity collection.

The tree and mantel in our family room addition.

A close up of the mantel.

The mantel.

Felt stockings

One of the book cases.

The dining table set up for dinner for my husband's students.

Merry Christmas everyone. We hope your Christmas is full of friends and family. I know that mine is and we love it.

Candice

2011-11-03T21:35:00.000-06:00

When Candice was up visiting recently, we went to a boutique they had at Spark (a scrap booking/crafting event). It was fun to see people gather around Candice and Sebastian to have their pictures with them. I snapped this with my phone so you could get a bird's eye view. (Evidently Candice taught a photography class these girls attended in Japan and they recognized her.) Candice has been able to accomplish a lot with her photography. She has a great business sense and I think she has a real talent for teaching too. I love my kids!

Adventures with Creed

2011-11-02T21:16:00.000-06:00

Brett and I took Creed to Tuacahn to see Disney's Little Mermaid in October. Here we are on the 5th row waiting for the play to start.

Ariel and Eric after the play. Creed was too shy to have his picture taken with them. He loved Ursala. He said she was her favorite. We loved the whole play. It was an underwater marvel. Creed was even afraid to go out at intermission for fear he might miss something.

We spent the night in St. George and then went to the dinosaur museum. Creed's favorite thing was digging for bones in the sand box. We played tag on a playground on the way home and also stopped for ice cream. The three of us had lots of fun. I even got Creed to do a little trick-or-treating with me on Halloween. It's wonderful being a grandparent. I wish all my babies lived close by.

Don't Give Up On Your Dreams

2011-11-01T20:42:00.000-06:00

My husband is so passionate about photography. He could eat, drink, and sleep photography. He submitted these pictures of old churches in Hawaii to the Religious show at the Springville Art Museum and it was juried and accepted. I'm so proud of him for pursuing his dream and working hard at something he loves.

It was even hung in the main gallery. (That's it on the far wall.) I'm so proud of him.

Are you pursuing your dreams?

Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-31T18:58:00.000-06:00

Friday night we had our annual Halloween party. This year I kept it simply. We had a sit down dinner of walking tacos and some yummy desserts and then had our hat judging. Brenna and Eli wore "Viking" helmets. They look cute in anything.

Our crazy group.

Halloween 2011 Mantel

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

I thought you might like to see some Halloween pictures. (The first picture Candice took. She is so good.) Better late than never right? Here is my mantel this year in all it's glory.

It's kind of a bird theme this year with small black birds, crows, a black owl, bird house, and black feather boa.

Love those 3 M hooks. I can do all kinds of decorating without adding any holes/damage to my walls.

I love this garland that Candice and I made together one year. It was picked up by Making Memories and Target. Candice posted about my mantel this year. I'm sure her pictures are better.

We were infested by a few rats this year too courtesy of the Dollar store.

The last of the Halloween Decore 2011

2011-10-30T20:12:00.001-06:00

A few pictures of my Jeni Gochner gourds displayed this year.

I love this big one that actually lights up.

I guess you can tell that I love Halloween. I love decorating for Christmas too.

Halloween Decor 2011

2011-10-30T20:01:00.002-06:00

I've scared myself more than once walking by this doorway in the dark. I keep thinking this mask is a person.

I serve food off this table.

These branches are decorated with Halloween ornaments

Brenna gave me this cute little guy this year. He's in the middle of my table.

My new antique cabinet. I just love it. It is missing some bigger Halloween witch and pumpkin man. Brenna and Eli borrowed them for last nights party.

A few of my friends and I got together to make our own Halloween garland together. We spent two nights designing all these things to hang on Baker's twine. It was very fun.

The left side of the cabinet full of Lori Mitchell figurines. I had them among a bedding of candy corn.

Right side of cabinet.

Lori Mitchell figures close up. This shelf has a bed of Halloween tinsel.

Lots of Halloween candy.

A Halloween crow.

Dining room table.

I added Bethany Lowe vintage reproduction paper medallions this year. My kids also got them in their Halloween packages.

A view toward the kitchen.

A view from the kitchen to the family room.

My French doors also boasted decor.

Even the picture frames get changed out with vintage cards and other things.

I found this owl in Canada while visiting Marissa. He flew home in my carry on bag.

Even the couch gets decorated.

I still love my old primitive witch doll. It was a pattern sample I made years ago when I had my own store.

Happy Halloween Everyone.

Eli and Brenna

2011-10-30T18:46:00.002-06:00

Eli and Brenna just before heading off to their Halloween party. I think they host some great ones. This year they had it at Brenna's mom's house. This picture was taken in front of our mantel.

The Stringham's had awesome Harry Potter costumes this year. I hope Candice posts pictures on her blog. Happy Halloween everyone.

Elsie Eva Garner

2011-10-14T21:47:00.000-06:00

Here is our latest arrival. Elsie Eva Garner was born October 5 at 7:18 am. She weighed 10 pd. 7 ounces and was 23 inches long. Our first grand daughter after 7 grandsons. Born in Saskatoon, Canada.

No newborn diapers for Elsie. Here she is being weighed in.

She came so quickly that we didn't even have time to put Marissa in a hospital gown.

Marissa's Dr. who arrived as the intern was delivering little Elsie.

Campbell and Logan were so excited to visit the hospital and hold their new little sister.

Even Elsie gave a little smile when Campbell held her.

Here is the happy family on Elsie's first day.

Little Elsie takes after her father and grandfather while the boys look more like their mother, especially Campbell. Strange how these things work. We are so grateful she arrived safely.

Summer Activities- Where did the time go?

2011-09-11T23:43:00.001-06:00

After our trip to Alaska (I was really proud of myself and gathered pictures from my family to make a book on Blurb. I'm still waiting for my books to arrive. I can't wait to see how it turned out. I am not very good at technology so I'm proud of myself for figuring out how to do it. Of course my husband had the best pictures.), we were off to Texas for Cole's baptism. He wanted to go to the Rain Forest afterward so that is what we did.

Waiting to be seated.

Papa and the birthday boy. (All these pictures were taken with my phone...some are better than others.)

The Provo 4th of July parade. Always entertaining. This is my brother and his wife and new grandson.

The Borup's celebrating.

Yogi bear balloon.

Oops, some caves we went to in Texas with the Stringhams. So very fun.

I went back to Texas for the birth of Sebastian.

Than we went to Sundance one night to see the Blue Bird Cafe with Eli and Brenna and our friends the Wilkeys.

Mid July I hosted a Harry Potter Premiere. These are a few of the attendees after the show. We had a blast.

We went to Lagoon in June for our company party. I took a picture of the face painting sign for inspiration. I think it is the only picture I took even though we were there with Steph, Larry, Creed and Ollie.

I snapped a picture of Halloween decor at Dear Lizzie this week. I'm just looking don't worry. I have too much Halloween already.

We went to the Sound of Music at Sundance with my brother Dave and his wife Leslie. They had a sing along during the breaks which were fun. Dave and I were in the Sound of Music several times growing up. It was great to relive those memories.

(Creed after his soccer game. He's showing off a moth/butterfly that someone caught and let him hold.)

We spent a week in Lake Tahoe with my parents, attended a few more plays at the Hale theatre in Orem, and have enjoyed Creed's soccer games. We went to a family reunion and other family events, finished our remodel, and are now busy trying to get sprinklers in, plant some sod, and plant 10 more box woods. We have a long way to go but we are making progress. I worked in my MIL's booth at Swiss Days again Labor day weekend. She received another award so is planning on doing it again next year. I also worked Labor day at the Sheep dog festival. It felt so good to stay home Friday and clean house and catch up on the laundry. Life is great and very full. I'm off soon to Canada for the next grand baby. We are blessed. The best part of my life...sharing it all with my amazingly talented husband.

My New Couch

2011-08-04T17:46:00.002-06:00

My children said that the old couches had to go. You know how you get used to things and they don't bother you anymore. They didn't really bother me but they certainly didn't look good in our new addition. Now don't you want your two cents on what pillows to use on this couch? It needs them because it is very deep.

Here is how it looks on that side of the addition. I'm saving up to buy two chairs to face the couch. If you find any good affordable ones, be sure to let me know.

The Furniture Has Arrived Finally...The New Office Space

2011-08-03T05:07:00.001-06:00

I finally was able to get my furniture I bought while at the Round Top show last March. (I actually bought one of the pieces in another room last September. After 3 other shippers flaked on me...one who cashed my deposit and kept it...I finally found a shipper who would/could deliver. Roll'en Hills Delivery is the company you want to work with if you need shipping from Texas.) This is my old dining room. We took out the carpet and put in hardwood floors, took out the chair rail and patched up the walls, added new wider baseboards, new curtains, and a new computer. We still have to add the fan and get rid of the chandelier, and add some more lighting. My husband will also install a flat screen tv over his desk if he can figure out how to get cable service in there.

Here are the after pictures.

I bought the Graflex camera at the Marburger show. A few of the cameras my husband had collected, and I bought a few more at the flea market in Wimberly. Did I tell you my husband is a photographer?

Trying to make the bookcases look interesting but stay functional is difficult. I took off book covers and put the books in all different directions. The really ugly paperbacks I put on a closet bookshelf.

I camouflaged some ugly books behind this little poster.

Others I hid by lining them up in an old locker basket I bought at Wimberly. I wish I would have bought more.

Other books worked as book ends and display risers.

Here is what the shelf looked like in its entirety.

I found two corbels for $10 each. I think they made great book ends as well.

These gears I found at Marburger. They add interest to the shelf.

More cameras displayed.

The Graflex I bought at Marburger. It is such a great looking camera. It was the only one I paid very much for and even it wasn't bad. The other cameras ranged from $5-$20 each.

The new desk and computer. We are in process on this side.

Link to Jennifer Rizzo's "Pretty up you plain jane party.

Living Room Reveal

2011-08-02T15:37:00.001-06:00

What do you think? I still have to add a few touches but it's mostly done. New hardwood floors to match what we put in the rest of this main floor last year, new gray paint, and white trim, wider baseboards, and a salvaged window turned mirror.

I changed out a few pillows on the couch otherwise, the furniture is the same. We decided not to put in armoire back in because the new office has two bookcases on that same wall and the rooms would seem to heavy on that side. There is no place else to put it in my house so I'm not sure what to do with it. It is a beautiful antique but not in the best shape.

I found these windows in at Fred's salvage in SLC. They were very dirty and look as though they are already mirrored in this picture. Nope, it's just dirt. I bought them to put over my TV in the new addition but they are heavy so I had my husband photoshop them in a picture of the room so I could see what they would look like. It looked like a smiley face with the windows being the eyes, the tv the nose, and the entertainment center the mouth. It saved us a lot of work and I like them in the living room and office.

I used Krylon mirror paint and a spray bottle of water to create the look of an antique mirror.

Old living room decor/colors with armoire.

Which version do you like best?

It is Finally Here!

2011-08-01T17:59:00.002-06:00

My antique bookcase is finally here. I bought it last September and it took this long to get it shipped here. It was worth it though. I absolutely love it. It is so unique that even my daughter who like modern furniture asked to inherit it. It arrived Thursday morning and I've been working like crazy to get the office, living room and this room all sorted out and styled. I know that probably doesn't sound like a big job but it was. I have a ton of dishes I had to stash away plus all the books in the office. (I only need a new chandelier to finish this room. I'm looking.)

I was going to paint the inside first thing but once it got in, it matched the doors from France perfectly so I decided to live with it for awhile.

And...oh man, it barely fit. It literally goes from ceiling to floor. I think it was made for my space. I wish I knew more about it. The women I bought it from said it was from a general store but didn't know where or how old it was. It was made without nails. The whole thing is doweled together. The shelves are all adjustable. the back isn't original. I actually don't think it had a back because the bottom cabinet is not backed. It weighs a ton too. Good thing it is on a concrete floor otherwise it might cause the floor to sag especially since it is full of dishes inside and out.

I decided to display my black and and white dishes. I didn't know I had so many. They were here there and everywhere. I didn't spend too much time on them because I'm going to change them for Halloween and then fall and then Christmas. Can't wait.

And just so you can appreciate the changes, this is what it used to look like before we did the addition. I think it is much improved.

And this is what it looked like for far too long since we had to get everything out of the living room and dining room to add the wood floors. I'm so glad I don't have to live with this mess any more. We are finally back to order around here...ahhhh. It feels so good.

Sebastian Darcy Post #2

2011-07-31T15:35:00.000-06:00

Sebastian on day 2 in the hospital. How quickly they change.

Candice asked me to embroider a "onesie" with Sebastian's name ...cute idea.

I shot all these trying to not get in Candice's way. Mark was holding a gold reflector. What a difference it makes in warming the tones and filling in the shadows. If you don't have one, you need one along with an assistant to hold it in place. :)

Look at his feet. They are what he inherited from my family...long skinny feet and toes.

I think he has our hands as well.

Candice in action. She is such a good photographer. I've learned so much from her classes but it is amazing how much better her pictures turn out. The touch of a real pro.

Sorry I was so busy taking pictures of the baby, that I didn't get any pictures of her beautiful room that we decorated the last time I was there. Maybe she will post pictures one of these days. We bought a side table and two lamps while I was there this trip.

A New Grandson

2011-07-18T20:23:00.002-06:00

Sebastian Darcy S. was born this morning at 11:29 am.
He weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces and wad 20 inches long.
We had to be at the hospital at 5:30 am. so it has been a long day.
Everything went so well. Mother and baby are doing great.
Candice did wonderfully well.
Grant and Cole were able to come and visit and were fascinating by the little guy.
Cole is so excited that he will finally get to be a big brother.

Grant staring in amazement. They just kept saying, "he's so cute."

Cole couldn't be prouder.

Here's the proud dad. He is so absolutely great with all his boys. What a good dad.

Some phone pictures. After Sebastian was all cleaned up.

Soon after the birth. He was wide awake and looking so "all knowing."

Candice and baby. Unfortunately, I took pictures with Candice's camera so that is all I have. I will have to try and get the ones I used with Candice's camera. It was a very full day and I am feeling Oh SO Tired but very blessed. What a miracle the birthing process is. I loved being there. Thanks for inviting me Candice and Mark. (I was supposed to be Candice's birthing coach until the epidural but she did great on her own.)

Update on the Texas Furniture

2011-07-10T17:41:00.007-06:00

The Fourth of July was full of all kinds of fun starting with the Provo Parade. It has become a Borup tradition to take turns staking out and saving the Parade spot. This is my brother Dave, his wife Leslie and his grand kbaby, Zachary. They came early for the balloon launch but missed out since it was too windy to launch the balloons. I was able to watch at least 17 balloons when they launched on Friday.
Steph and Creed.
The Borup clan. Don't they all look patriotic?
And the only picture I actually took of the parade was the Yogi Bear balloon. I promise you going to the parade with the Cory Borup family is a very entertaining experience. An experienced not to be missed...so we don't.

We had a great time at Sundance Friday night. We ate at the grill with Eli and Brenna and our friends Heidi and Blaine, and then went to the Blue Bird Cafe Concert. Such a great evening. The weather was beautiful, the concert was entertaining (even though we are not into country music), and the setting unbelievable. We love going to Sundance. (All these pictures were taken with my phone otherwise, there would be no pictures. I love having a camera built into my phone.)

And now for the promised update on the furniture in case you were dying of suspense. My shipper left for parts unknown. The last I heard, he was hitch hiking to Arizona. But, I did get a text telling me where my furniture was being stored after making a ton of phone calls to anyone I could think of who could possibly know him or where my furniture might possibly be. A new shipper and the sheriff picked up almost all my things. Unfortunately, the warehouse was broken into and a few of my things are missing.

Fortunately, the big pieces where still there and are supposed to be shipped this week. Woo Hoo. It's almost been a year. I'm not holding my breath though and I'm still waiting to find out how much this shipper will charge to deliver my much awaited booty. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be reasonable. (I'm already out my deposit from the first shipper.)

This week we changed out all the plugs and light switches (which we couldn't do at the same time because even though we picked the plugs out from the same bin at Lowes, we ended up with 3 different kinds. Of course, we didn't discover that until we were in the middle of the project.), put up curtain rods, hung linen curtains in the living room and new office, purchased a rug for the office, purchased a new computer to replace the dinasaur we were using, purchased a new couch (that was supposed to be delivered tomorrow but that called and said that a chair was sent instead of the couch. I tell you a have Murphy's cloud hanging over my head so now I just am excited when something goes smoothly.

Lastly, I'm hoping my Harry Potter premiere on Thursday night goes well. I've been working hard to get 329 people in the IMAX theatre at Thanksgiving Point. I do these premieres for people we work with at Alpine Home Care and Hospice. Wish me luck! The way things are going in my life, I'm going to need it.

Life In the Fast Lane

2011-07-01T12:23:00.004-06:00

Welcome back to my out of control life. I don't even know where to begin. I went on a great cruise to Alaska with my parents, brothers and sisters, and their spouses the 5th of June. It was so much fun to be together, then we were home one day before we headed to San Antonio for Coles baptism. Then it was back to work plus lots of fun at Lagoon Saturday for our company employee day. I'm working like a crazy person trying to sell all my tickets to our Harry Potter Movie Premiere. I'm sad that it is the last one. It is a great marketing tool.

During all of this we had Steph, Larry, and family living with us while they were remodeling their new house and we have been torn up putting in new hardwood floors in our old living room and dining room plus trying to paint those rooms and finish painting trim and doors in the part we were remodeling last year. It is been crazy and of course, not a smooth journey...You know...things like the wood that was ordered and sitting in the way for 3 weeks to acclaimate before install was actually 4 inch instead of 5 so you have to start the process all over again and then the new floor finish is shiny while the old was satin. Stuff like that.

The fumes were so powerful that Steph and Larry moved to their house in the middle of their remodel just to escape ours. The floor does look beautiful though. However, the rooms are still empty because my husband left for Canada to a professional conference so wasn't here to help me move things back. Life is out of control and stressful.

My lastest news is my shipper who was supposed to be delivering my furniture from Round Top has disappeared. I'm sure I will never see my deposit money again. At this point I would be happy to just recover my furniture. I'm afraid the police/sheriff will have to be involved. I still have my fingers crossed that I can recover my treasures. I have made lots of phone calls to people who ship and run the shows down there and am hoping to hear something positive by the end of the day.

So, I am trying to not be overwhelmed with life and it's stresses and count my many blessings...like a husband who is now safely home from Canada.

I will soon be off to Texas again for the birth of grandson #7. Woo Hoo! I'm counting my blessings. Can't wait to hopefully be there for the delivery and hold that sweet thing in my arms.

Thanks for letting me vent. I feel better now.

Spring Mantle Display

2011-04-16T22:39:00.005-06:00

One of the requests from Candice was to work on a mantle display for Spring. We bought some moss, eggs, seed pods, and candles, but almost everything else Candice already had. She did buy the "trophy" cup at Marburger along with the decoration on the left side of the mantle. We also bought some little birds that we glittered with Martha Stewart glitter. I was trying to think of something cool to do in the glass apothecary jars. I was just going to hang the birds on fishing line inside the jar and then thought of adding a branch. We found a great one in the brush pile in the backyard. The birds were easy to paint with glue and cover with glitter. We used 3 different colors of glitter.
Candice's mantle ledge is very small. It's probably about 5 inches deep so the arrangement is a little more aligned/flat than I would like. At some point we will probably redo that whole crown but it will do for now. (I don't think you can tell by the picture but the rock sticks out farther than the mantle does so it just doesn't look right.)

I love to add varying heights to my arrangements in this case books helped to do that. The different mosses and seed pods add texture and interest. Beige potpourri with little blue stones in it are in the other jar.

You can read Candice's take on things here.
We have a great time together working on projects. I love spending time with my children working on things for their homes. Steph and Larry just bought a home so I'm sure we will be working on projects together soon. Although I will have to stretch myself to do retro style. (I've seen the outside of her house but have yet to get inside and start the possibilities rolling in my head.) In the meantime, I'm working on possibilities for my husband's home office. There is a lot to be done before the furniture arrives.

Candice had a great book club party at her house right after I left. I would have loved to have been there but we had fun planning it together and it looked magical. I wish she would have had the time to take more pictures. It's hard to be the decorator, hostess, cook, and photographer. Check it out. I think you will be inspired. (If only the weather would warm up a little here so I could do something like that here. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will be good Friday night for my adult flashlight easter egg hunt.)

The Most Recent Project At Candice's House

2011-04-16T21:54:00.002-06:00

This is the kid's home work computer area (along with the kitchen table). Candice wanted to come up with something interesting to use and create interest above the desk. We bought this desk at Round Top 6 months ago. (We love that place in case you haven't noticed.)

We looked for wooden crates to create a grid but never found what we were looking for or if we did, it was too expensive. So, Candice found some locker baskets at Marburger that were flat enough to create a shelf. (Some locker baskets have very slanted sides. Candice has a collection of "S" letters and we found another great one at the Bar "W" field that we added to this wall.

I laid out the arrangement on the floor and took a picture with my phone to remember how everything was supposed to go. I'm a wing it kind of girl and didn't want to bother with putting it on newspaper tracing the outlines of each object and then putting the paper on the wall as a pattern. Mark and I hung everything after getting Candice's approval.

We filled the locker baskets with: 1) rolls of tickets with 3 printers blocks with each of the kids first initials. (There is even an "S" in there for the latest Stingham due in July.) The "5" stands for the # of people they will have in their family soon. 2) has a red polka dot tea pot being used as a pencil holder. 3) has a clock face, a gumball machine, and a carnival type mask. 4) has some Hardy Boy vintage books with Grant's pinewood derby car on top. Simple but fun and it will be easy to change the whole look by changing what is in the locker baskets.
The other project was to decorate the mantel for Spring. No easter rabbits were used so it could stay up longer. I'll post pictures soon.

Round Top 2011 #2

2011-04-12T13:56:00.002-06:00

This is one of the camera's I didn't buy. I now glad I didn't too because Brett had some that he found after I came home and I also found some that were a lot less expensive at Wimberly. (A monthly flea market they have the first Saturday of every month in Wimberly. I don't have any pictures but it was very fun.)
An industrial table I bought to use as my husband's desk. (I took this picture on my phone so it isn't great.)
A large camera I did buy. I will use these as display pieces on top of the book cases, I think. My husband does photography.
And two of these bookcases are coming home too. The shelves are recycled 100 year old oak. I also bought one of those antique glass candy jars, some small gears, some locker baskets (1 old and 3 reproductions from Pottery Barn outlet), an old tray used for collecting maple sap in the 1800's (I want to use it as a magnet board), some more piano player music rolls (too inexpensive to pass up), a big printers block with the #6, a pillow made out of an old bus sign (think subway sign), and a few other odds and ends. Candice and I had lots of fun. The hard part is trying to check everything out before buying. We are always afraid we will buy something and then find something we like better or less expense somewhere down the line.

I went prepared with inspiration pictures, a diagram of room layout and room measurements, my tape measure in hand, and then tried to stay open to possibilities and stay within my budget. We took pictures and emailed them back to my husband getting his input as well.

I want to take out the chair rail, paint the room, change the lighting and window treatments, and maybe take up the carpet and put in hardwood floor to match the rest of our house. I'm not sure that is in the budget but would hate to get the room all done and the bookcases filled and arranged and then decide to redo the floors. I want to do some kind of unusual treatment on a focal wall. I have a list of possibilities. Since this room is our old dining room just off my living room space, I will probably repaint that room too. I like change.

Round Top 2011

2011-04-11T13:39:00.003-06:00

Isn't the quilting in this quilt amazing? I just had to get permission to take pictures. One of these days I'm going to make something similar. I doubt if I can get my stitches as perfect but I can make a quilt with lots of quilting. (It just might take my whole lifetime to finish.) It was $800. I wish I would have been able to buy it but it wasn't in my budget.
I'm still drooling.

I did go to Marburger and Round Top with Candice again this year. I was looking for industrial furniture for my husband's home office. I think I bought some pieces that will work well. A Restoration Hardware feel without the price. We have lots to do to prepare the room before the furniture arrives. Woody, the shipper, promised to have it here, along with my bookcase from 6 months ago, before Mother's day. I have my fingers crossed.

In the meantime, my life has been out of control. As soon as I got back, I tried to catch up at my job, get my house ready for company, unpack, do laundry, make beds, etc. My parents hit town soon after my arrival, and Marissa was already here with her family from Canada. They have been staying at Mike's parents house until last night. Now it is our turn. Yeah! They have been in and out all week though. We had a birthday party for Campbell with 10 little ones and parents. It was wild. It's so much work but so much fun to have everyone together. (Except for Candice's family in Texas. We are missing you guys.)

Steph and family have purchased a house about a mile from us. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will be able to work out all the details and close soon. Larry starts work here the end of May. It will be nice to not have to drive an hour to see them. It's exciting really.

I'm not keeping up with life but am having lots of fun. How about all of you? How do you do it all?

A Cool Thing To Do

2011-03-16T22:20:00.000-06:00

While on Maui we went to church in Kihei. Someone there told us if you haven't been to the old restored Mormon church on the way to Haleakala you must go so we did. There was such a nice spirit there and we enjoyed seeing a piece of history. We were told the acoustics inside were incredible so we decided to try it out by singing hymns together. We all loved it.
My dad even decided to try out the pulpit.
The church is preserved for historic purposes but not used for church anymore. The missionaries live next door and stopped to talk to us on their way to an appointment. Church in Kihei was great that day too. They needed some help that day so Cheryl led the music and I played the piano. We had such an amazing family/church day and made a lasting memory.

Maui in February

2011-03-15T21:16:00.001-06:00

My sisters and I had the chance to go to Maui with my parents the end of January/first part of February. It's whale season and was spectacular. The best part...getting away from winter. Our family that was there the previous week, made us all orchid leis.
We overlapped with Matt's family by one day. The first thing Adam did was to show us the two pearls he found in one oyster. He was pretty excited about that.
Ali with my dad.
The family.
On the beach in front of the condo, one of the locals drew this design in the sand. It was so interesting watching him do all this with a rake.
We spent time on the beach, did a lot of snorkeling, eating, laughing, whale watching, and bonding.
Cheryl, Kristen, and I walked the beach almost every day for exercise. Cheryl and I were nursing injuries so Kristen literally ran circles around us. But hey, she is 18 years younger than I am.
We went on three different kinds of whale watching boats. The whales were incredible. None of my pictures reflect that. I gave up and let my sisters take all the pictures and I don't have any of them. There were so many whales that you could stand on the beach and watch them. It truly was amazing.

Kristen and Cheryl on the catamaran. On this boat we got Maui Mugged. What's a Maui mugging? It's when you stop within legal distance to the whales and then they come to you. Two whales did this. It was so unreal.
Me on the catamaran. Bad I know but at least I'm not in a swim suit. I'm not showing any of those.
Our second trip was on a zodiac. Here is my sister posing for me. She is so entertaining and fun to be around.
Here is Kristen on the zodiac.

And me.

Stopping to watch the sunset. There was a beautiful sunset everyday. My sister is blowing me a kiss. I told you she was entertaining.
Here is the sunset we stopped for.
Here is the sunset from the hospitality room my last day. Oh, it was so hard to say goodbye and come back to snow.
Some whale pictures...whale tails, breaching, and diving.

In Lahaina, they have a famous banyan tree. It's huge.
Does this give you an idea of the size?

We are so lucky to have such great parents. I look forward to being with all my brothers and sisters and their spouses in June to celebrate my parent's 80th birthdays. I feel so blessed.

What Do You Think?

2011-03-14T19:24:00.003-06:00

You probably think that I am crazy but my husband and I found these old windows at a salvage place in Salt Lake. We bought two to go in our family room addition over the TV (see first picture). They need a lot of cleaning up but in my mind they will look amazing. (Sometimes reality paints a different picture however.) Can you picture it? Will it be good?
They are big and heavy. The trick will be how to mount them on the wall. I'm waiting for warmer weather so I can clean them outside and not freeze my hands off. Stay tuned to see the final look. I have my fingers crossed that they won't get broken and that they will look great.

Hiking adventures with Kathee

2011-03-13T18:48:00.005-06:00

Kathee and I are back to our Saturday hiking adventures. Yesterday we hiked from our house (See that white blob by my left shoulder. I think that is the Provo temple. So we started close to there.) to the top of the "Y" and back again. Two hours 40 minutes. It was a challenge but fun. We are both still up and moving today anyway.

I came home and cleaned out the gutter in front of our house and raked leaves. I was pretty tired after all that. The Saturday before we hiked up to the Squaw Peak overlook. We had to keep a close eye out for cougars that have been spotted recently. Luckily there were some snow mobilers and a hiker with a few dogs to act as deterrents. I wanted to try out my new snow shoes but it was easier to hike in the snow mobile tracks in snow boots.
Of course we have to call our husbands from the top and say hello. I now just carry my phone to take pictures instead of my camera. So much more convenient.
It's kind of a dreary day but we always love to be outside.
My husband bought me new exercise clothes for Christmas so I've stopped wearing my purple "Barney" fleece. That's probably a good thing although my friends say they miss it.

I joined Weight Watchers right after I got home from Hawaii and looked at pictures of me with my sisters. So depressing. It's bad enough that I have white hair and am 18 years older than my little sister but do I really have to be twice as big? No I don't...so I'm doing something about it. This is my 5th week.

I like the new program and it is starting to work for me. I feel empowered and that I have some control in my life. I like the changes to the program but wish they had an app for my android phone. That would make it easier. I'm determined to look and feel different when I meet my sisters again in June.

This is all part of my "it's all about me" year. I'm taking control of my life, trying to get rid of my insecurities, embracing technology, strengthening relationships, getting my house in order, finding joy in the journey, and doing what it takes to be healthy along the way too. I'd love to hear what you are doing.

I Have A New Table

2011-03-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

I found this table at a local furniture store. It looks just like the one I am in love with from Restoration Hardware for less than half the price. It is 10 and 1/2 feet long with the leaves in. We broke it in Saturday night when we had dessert and games with about 5 other couples. We could all sit around one table. Now I need to find chairs that I can afford and that I love. Anyone have any ideas? I'm thinking an upholstered parson's chair. In the meantime, we will be using our old oak chairs. Very study and very comfortable but not very stylish.

Want to See More Easter Decorations?

2011-03-08T21:42:00.002-07:00

Now you can see where my bread bowl is. Just in case you were wondering.
A close up of one of the table centerpieces.
Remember the theme is "woodland Easter."
Don't you just love this little vintage bunny?

Another vintage reproduction. I love this one.
Look what popped out of this egg. Yep, a Lori Mitchell rabbit.
The fireplace.
The Easter tree.

The main table. See, the table is still set for you.
Happy Easter in a month and a half. Good thing my children all already have their Easter packages. I am just so organized this year. (That's a joke. I'm so far behind in life but I am determined to catch up on blog posts. I thought I'd give you a few recent ones before I start back tracking.)

Easter Decorations

2011-03-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

I'm keeping it simple this year but thought you might like to see.
Who doesn't like a chocolate bunny look alike?
My theme...woodland easter.
I set a place just for you.
It was easier to cover up the glass balls in my dough bowl with easter grass and add reproduction vintage eggs. I got them for a song last year after Easter from the Pottery Barn outlet in Texas. It's always fun to get the decorations out and find something new in the Easter box.
I bought a few of these little wooden babies for my Easter Tree. (Last month it was my Valentine tree. :)
I love vintage and don't mind that they are reproductions.
The mantel.
Who knew that Easter is not until April 24th... I might be sick of this stuff by then.

My new Sectional

2011-03-06T21:04:00.002-07:00

I ordered this sectional the end June but didn't get it until November. (I tried to move the "man chair" out of the picture. It reminds me of the Dad's chair of Frazier. I'm stuck with it for a while I think. I do share the space with my husband after all. He has approved all my choices and loves the room too.)

The rug is also new. Both were purchased at the Gate House...an interior design store that I love. The room is coming along...slowly but surely. It takes a while to save up or work extra for what I really want. It's the first time in 34 years of marriage that we are buying what we love instead of settling on something because it is inexpensive. I bought a sectional with slipcovers that can be taken off and washed, seats a lot of people and is comfortable. I debated having two couches for more flexibility but went for the increased seating capacity. It is plain and I change the look by changing the pillow. I hoping this sectional will last for the rest of my life.

Projects last Spring

2011-02-28T21:06:00.002-07:00

Last Spring I went to Florida to visit Marissa, help her get back home from Utah with two little ones, and to help work on projects. One of the projects was to hang pictures on the wall. Check.

We also had two dressers, that Marissa got for a song, to refinish. We sanded, primed,

and painted them turquoise or robin's egg blue.

I had to leave before the paint was dry enough to add the hardware and put it back together. We also had fun playing with the kids, going to the beach, eating out, and just being together.

These have now moved all the way to Canada with the rest of the Garner's. Can't our babies move closer to home? I've had to renew my passport so I can go and visit. What adventures are there to be had in Saskatoon? I might just have to go and find out.

Oliver Danger Turns One

2011-02-27T20:41:00.014-07:00

Oh yes, our little Oliver Danger turned ONE. Isn't he so cute. These are part of the party decorations. I loved how cute these were. All those pictures of Oliver with party hats. That Stephanie is a clever girl.
A number One pinata hung on the kitchen wall over the food platters that they ordered from Rubios. Delicious!
The cake for everyone...again delicious. I even had a piece before I figured out it was 14 weight watcher points. Yikes!
Ollie had his own little cake which he loved eating the frosting off of. I'm not sure he really ate any cake.

It was fun to watch him destroy his little cake. Before the cake, he opened his many presents. He actually had a lot of help from his big brother Creed.
Thanks for a fun party Steph!
Happy Birthday Oliver. (These pictures were taken with my new phone. I didn't think a phone could be so useful but my new Sprint Evo comes in very handy. Can you believe I'm even embracing a new kind of technology? I'm being brave and branching out.)

Eli's wedding Dinner

2011-02-27T19:23:00.018-07:00

OK, I'm really behind in posting and I was busy taking care of details, so didn't get very good pictures. Candice took some great ones but didn't post them so I can't share them with you. She make a book with all her great pictures for me for Christmas. My favorite kind of gift.

Anyway last June, in the middle out doing the addition on our house, I was in charge of the wedding dinner. I had hopes of keeping things simple and going to a restaurant but I was out voted. We had everyone home but couldn't even stay in our house so the wedding dinner was in the bride's parents backyard. This was OK because the reception was going to be in a friend's backyard. Red and white were our colors...vintage fun the theme.
Lots of bottled soda served in a vintage reproduction of a coca cola ice chest. I made table clothes out of ikea curtains and added red and white polka dot fabric pleated ruffles. I threaded wide red ribbon through the grommets and tied big bows.
Eli and Brenna enjoying the party.
Brenna's mom, Leslie, being fed cheetos by her grandson.
Sweet Marissa and Campbell who are currently freezing in Canada where they now live.
An overview of the party setup. See those flags hanging in the background? I was going to make cloth napkins for everyone. They all were white with red polka dots and had red embellishments. Each one was different. I gave up and used them to hang around the perimeter instead.
Red lanterns on shepard's hooks were around the perimeter as well.
Red felt placemats with cutouts were under the geranium centerpieces.
Mike, Marissa, Campbell, and Stephanie.
Creed, Logan and more relatives.
Larry and Oliver. You never know what you will get when you take a picture of Larry. He's a character and we love him. He keeps us very entertained.
Strawberry shortcake served in red and white paper baskets, candy sticks, brownies in a jar with vanilla ice cream served on top, and missile popsicles that have yet to be placed in that silver tub were the desserts.
I guess I'm missing pictures of the food table. We served barbecue pork on rolls, a green salads, a fruit salad, individual bagged chips. I used rolls of carnival tickets as risers...can't believe I don't have a picture for you.

Leslie friend, Leslie, me, and Debbie. The reception was at Debbie's house the next night.

We all had a great time and even lived through all the construction at our house. Valentine's decorations are down and Easter decor is up. We even had a dinner party last night with Brett's students. It seems that there is something every night. Life is good!

Brenna's Bridal Shower

2011-02-13T22:39:00.023-07:00

Last May I hosted a family bridal shower for Brenna. Her wedding colors were going to be yellow and gray with a bird theme so I tried to stick with that. I served bird's nest cupcakes, fresh fruit, yellow candy, etc.
Tissue paper pom poms were hung on ribbon from the ceiling and I decorated branches with ribbons, birds, birds nests, eggs, and some jewels.
Little love birds. Ahhhh.

The cupcakes.
A glitter garland I made with Brenna's name and of course...a bird.

A few of the guests. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everyone or even get pictures of all her presents. I guess I was too busy being the hostess. Brenna's mom and Brenna's sister.
Brenna's grandmother.
Brenna
Opening presents.

SIL Michele and niece Nichol.
Niece Jessica, SIL Lynette, Niece McKenzie
MIL Margrett, SIL Shawn, and Brenna's sister.

Eli came at the end to look over all the presents. Who doesn't need a plunger?
We are so happy to have Brenna as a part of our family.

Candice's Photography Class

2011-02-13T22:28:00.004-07:00

Registration for Candice's online photography class starts tomorrow. I've taken her class twice but I don't practice enough to remember everything. It's a great class though.

These are a few of my practice photos taken in my new family room with natural light and practicing depth of field shooting aperture priority. Check it out of you are interested.

A Trip to the Zoo

2011-02-13T20:00:00.023-07:00

Last March we all went to the zoo. I thought I posted all the pictures but I couldn't find the post so I'm doing it again. It was a cold day...we even had snow flurries but it didn't stop us from a day at the zoo.

The monkeys always a favorite.

Marissa and Logan are enjoying the elephants.

Even Eli came along on our trip to the Hogle Zoo.

Logan and Campbell rode in the double stroller while Steph carried new baby Oliver and pushed Creed in the stroller.
Posing with the brass gorilla

We even got to feed the geese and new baby goslings with food we had left over from the adventure the day before.

Oliver all snuggled up in that wrap around thingy.
A picture of Eli with a monkey in the back ground. Why you ask?
Because this monkey's name was Eli. Hee Hee.
Even the peacocks were strutting their stuff and we all enjoyed the show.

Even Campbell enjoyed our day at the zoo.

A Good Idea

2011-02-13T19:51:00.005-07:00

I might have posted this before so this is a short "Just In Case I didn't" post. Steph filled these little envelopes with things that she loved about her friend Lisa and gave them to her for her birthday in this nice frame. I thought it was a very endearing gift. I thought maybe you would too.

I'm going to try and post all the pictures I didn't post last year. I don't want to lose those memories so please be patient as I post old and new happenings.

St. George Quilt Retreat

2011-01-24T17:00:00.001-07:00

This is Megan's quilt. She pieced the entire top, marked the quilting lines, and based the quilt for hand quilting. It's going to be fabulous. She does amazing quilting. She loved to buy old quilt tops or blocks and reinvent or quilt them as they are. A very talented woman.
The week before last I was off to St. George to quilt with 6 other women. Sharon is so nice to share her vacation home with all of us. We sew, quilt, shop for fabric, go for walks, visit, and eat. It was a very fun 5 days.

I needed a little sun therapy even if it wasn't very warm. I enjoyed sewing in front of the window and feeling the warmth of the sun through the window. Yum!

The above picture is Rosemary sewing. This pictures show Carol Ford, Mary Jo Roberts, Megan Lagoff, and Francine Barrett. See that red light in the middle of the picture. Sharon bought us each one from IKEA. They are the best light...small, flexible, and bright. We all loved them. If you sew, you would probably love one too. They are great.
Carol Ford
This is the quilt I was working on. I had to send a picture to my husband so he could see what I was working on. It's almost finished. I'm working on a pieced border. My goal is to finish the top by the end of February. There...I said it...now hold me to it will ya?
Sharon is on the right and that is one of her amazing quilts hanging on the wall.
I know some people wouldn't consider this fun but we all love it. It is amazing how much we learn from each other too. The group changes from year to year and it's nice to get to know new people. (I took these pictures with my cell phone but should have taken picture on everyone's projects. What was I thinking? I do have a new Evo phone and am loving all the things I can do with it...like take pictures and emailing them to my computer without having to sync anything. I'm actually getting into my phone technology which is not like me at all. I'm spreading my wings in 2011.)

There are lots of fabric stores around so we take daily field trips to check them out. This year I wasn't going to buy any but was too tempted when I went to a store that had rows of fabric 75% off. I bought enough Halloween fabric to make 7 pillow cases for my grandbabies. They are all made and ready for Halloween.

Last week it was back to work at Alpine Home Care and Hospice, I taught a healthy living class at church on Tuesday night, and had a dinner party Friday night for about 40 people. I tried to catch up on cleaning, add some Valentine decorations to the house. I'm also on my 5th physical therapy visit for a pulled hamstring. Hmm, no wonder I never get to my sewing room. (My sewing machine is still sitting where I placed it when I got home from St. George.)

There probably won't be any sewing going on this week either. I've got to work on a Valentine craft to teach in Relief Socity at church and make something to exchange for the Valentine's parties coming up.

I did get my invitations out today. Electronic invitations that I figured out how to do all by myself. It's part of my be brave and figure it out goal for 2011. I think it even worked. :)

I hope you get a chance to do something you love this week.

The Big News

2011-01-23T23:03:00.003-07:00

Christmas Eve Grant and Cole opened a present from their parents. In it was a card saying that they are getting a new brother or sister next July. We are so excited...ok it may not look like it in this picture. We were in shock what can I say? We did have a great Christmas with the whole family together.

Fun With The Fords

2011-01-22T22:23:00.006-07:00

My family is complaining because I haven't been blogging so here goes... I had big plans to clean/dig out my sewing room today. My sewing room became the dumping ground during Christmas vacation. Pretty much every room is back in order except that room. I was easily distracted and decided to go on an adventure with my husband instead.

Brett wants to turn our old dining room into his office so wanted to go to IKEA to see if we could find a new desk or desk top to use. So, off we went to check it out. He found some inexpensive cupboards to use in his workshop but we weren't tempted by anything for his office. We did find some linen'ish' upholstered chairs we will probably end up getting to replace our old kitchen chairs.

Then, off we went to a salvage place for inspiration. We also were looking for old wood to possibly make a new table top for our old table. We didn't find what we were looking for but I did show my husband some old windows I had previously checked out. I'm going to add them to my new family room over the tv. It's one of those things that seems great in my mind so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be great in reality. (I have no idea what to put behind the glass. It might just be windows with the wall showing behind.)

We then went to the Ford's house to play with the grandbabies. After putting together a marble contraption and playing with it, playing catch with a bouncy ball, reading a book, and playing with a battery operated tractor and track, we were all off to Pei Wei's for dinner, then stopped off to see what Restoration Hardward had. (I love everything in there and so does my husband. Too bad it's so expensive. I would be happy to furnish the whole office with Restoration furniture but it would take about 3 years to save up for it. You aren't in a hurry for your new office are you honey? I think it would be worth the wait.)

And then, we were off to Hatch Family Chocolate (supposedly they have a reality tv show about them). If you haven't been there, you are really missing out. The hot chocolate is made from melted chocolate mixed with cream. I don't even want to know how many calories are in that one little cup. It is amazingly good though.

See how much fun we were having?

LA Ink

2010-10-25T21:27:00.002-06:00

My son and daughter-in-law go LA ink for Halloween leather pants and all. Pretty great right?
So glad those tats weren't permanent!
Or, that Eli didn't kill anyone to earn that teardrop tat.
Happy Halloween.

Harry Potter Halloween Invitation

2010-10-24T20:46:00.014-06:00

Here is this years Halloween invitation. I wasn't inspired by this. Someone should give them a few better designs. I think they would have sold more of these because I thought it was a great item for an impressive invitation with just a little work.
Here I begin the painting process.
It started out with a plane box like this.

I painted them solid black.
Then I dry brushed with gray paint.
I printed out invitations, with the help of Stephanie's talents, and stuck them inside the box.
I purchased a few other items from Michaels as well as these tombstones that were on sale for half off.
I used the glitter glue to paint the bats and added the mouse inside. I glued the moss to the front of the door and on top of the lid making sure it could still open.

The finished project! The party was a blast.
We had so much fun! Unfortunately, I was so busy being the hostess that I didn't have time to take many pictures. We did take our traditional couple pictures so I'll steal those from my husband when he is done working his magic.

Round Top 2010

2010-10-07T18:12:00.003-06:00

I arrived in San Antonio with my mother-in-law a week ago Thursday. Friday we were off to the junky fields of Round Top. It was a come as you are party. It's a 3 hour drive from San Antonio so we were off and out very early. We didn't want to miss anything.
It was so humid and hot that I had a hard time taking pictures. My camera lens kept fogging up. Not a good thing for pictures or my camera. (This is a picture taken with a fogged up lens. I didn't have anything in my camera bag to clean the lens with.)
(This is what a picture looks like when your camera has acclimated to the weather conditions.) Candice's friend, Michelle, came with us and is checking out one of our favorite booths.
I'm not sure what kind of spider this is, but it looks dangerous. Creeeeeppyyyy! This spider was probably 3 1/2 inches long. We had a problem with fire ants too.
See that bookcase back there? It is from an old general store. I'm now the proud owner of that beauty. I'm hoping to see it in the near future but I haven't heard from my shipper guy yet. It is always a scary thing. He did deliver my last shipment though (after several months had passed) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I think I'll paint the shelves a medium gray instead of that mustard color. I would have loved to take home that industrial light too but for $750, I had to pass on that big boy.
Those cupboard doors are at least an inch thick. Very hefty. We emailed my husband a picture from Candice's phone and got his approval before purchase. It was a steal. I couldn't believe the price.
What do you think? There might be one little glitch...this cupboard is the exact height of my ceiling. I might have to do a little sanding. It is in two pieces so I'm hoping it will fit just like a built in. My fingers are crossed.
We had lunch at a little restaurant in Round Top called Royers. It was interesting. Every wall and even the ceiling was covered with something.
But my salad was delicious.

Cute Michele with her eyes closed. It's the only picture I got of her. I didn't get any of my MIL.
Candice eating her sandwich. We had a great day and lots of fun even with all the heat. Candice was disappointed that she didn't find a desk and some side tables, but we had better luck when we went back again on Tuesday for the opening of Marburger. It is always an experience. The best part is watching all the people. It is very entertaining. (Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of everyone's purchases or the entertaining people. Sorry.)

Candice's Halloween Mantel

2010-10-05T17:41:00.000-06:00

I was in Texas last week working on Candice's master bedroom this time. Here is her family room that we decorated a year ago. It is mostly back together after suffering a lot of damage due to a tornado that hit last June. (That's an original bus sign from England. Isn't it great.) She still has a few frames to fill.
Here is her mantel.
This is an example of using things that can be changed up to look totally different next year or even used for a different season. We purchased candle sticks, candles, apothecary jars, a small cake stand, and little pumpkins. Most of these were 40% off at Hobby Lobby. (I wish I had one of those close to my house.)
To add height, I put one of the candle sticks on a pile of books. I turned them with the pages out because they were blue and didn't fit my orange and black theme. Candice already had the spiders, garland (her original design), moss, apothecary bowl, and black garland .

A cloche on a short stack of books with small pumpkin gourd and rubber mice.
Two Halloween masked that Candice had from an old photo shoot.
Crows on tickets rolls. We use these a lot too. They are very inexpensive from Zurchers...a party store. Happy Decorating! I would love to see yours. Send me a link please.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-04T16:26:00.002-06:00

This year it was fun to decorate because of the new addition...more room to be creative. I've decided that I can't buy/make any more Halloween decorations because I have too many. I don't even have it all out this year because I couldn't get to two of the boxes. That just means I'll be able to change it up next year. :)
Here are my Lori Mitchell figurines. I tried to buy a new one for each of my kids but the Gatehouse didn't carry them this year. I guess the kids will just have to inherit mine. (The candle sticks aren't part of the centerpiece on my dining room table but will be part of the centerpiece for my kitchen table. )
I took lots of pictures because I was practicing my depth of field and shooting in aperture priority for an assignment in Candice's "Oh, Shoot" class. (It's a great class to take if you want to learn more about your digital camera. This is my second time through. She's changed all the videos and Pdf's so it's like taking a new class. She filmed parts of it in our new addition so I really wanted to see the new videos.)

The mantel scape.

The left over favors from one of my parties.

I hope you enjoyed the tour. I decorated Candice's mantel last week in Texas. I took pictures that I will share tomorrow. I've decided that it is a lot more fun to use what you have to decorate with. Buy a few crows, pumpkins and few basic Halloween things and then use moss, cut branches, books, dishes and other things you already have, to set the scene. I'm challenging myself to do this on my kitchen table. Please send me a link of what you have created. I would love to see it.

I'm linked to Do It Yourself Showoffs
and Celebrating Autumn Festival at My Blessed Life

Halloween Care Packages

2010-10-04T16:05:00.002-06:00

I found some great decorations at TJ Maxx. (I love TJ Maxx.) I can show you now because all my children have received their packages. When I went away to college and even now, my mother would surprise me from time to time with little packages. I've tried to carry on this tradition. I hope they know that I am always thinking about them.
Candy necklaces, little containers of playdough, cookie cutters, Halloween napkins, a Halloween sign, Halloween pencils, a Halloween advent calendar, etc.

I'm grateful for a mother who loves me no matter what. I hope my children know I feel the same way about them. I try to show them unconditional love and be there for them but who doesn't love a good surprise once in a while?

The New Addition Reveal

2010-10-03T13:05:00.017-06:00

I'm still waiting for my new sectional but have given up on it for now since I ordered it in June. I didn't want to keep you in suspense any longer...not that you were holding your breath or anything. This is looking from the new room into my old family room and kitchen.
Looking from the TV wall to the gas fireplace. (The blue couches will be gone replaced with a new sectional that is slip covered in an off white canvas fabric.)
The timber framed beams and chandeliers. I still need to find just the right architectural something to go over the big screen. The recliner is also going but my husband is not very happy about that. Since we do not have room to have it directly face the TV, he is not using it anyway.
Looking from the fireplace. The room is 15 1/2 x 34 ft. We absolutely love it and we are so glad that we bit the bullet and just did it. (The cushions on the left are from my outdoor furniture on the patio. It's an easy place to keep them since I haven't ordered chairs for this end of the room yet. Actually, I kind of like the empty space. The grand kids love to make forts on this end of the room.)
My cabinet from Belgium. I like how one little piece can make such a difference in a space. The DVD's are stored in here. Check here to see my original post on my furniture purchases. It took a bit of imagination and sifting to find these pieces.
The industrial kitchen island turned sofa table. The speakers will disappear after we get speakers to be placed in the ceiling.
The zinc table. Those cords will mostly be gone once the speakers are wired into the ceiling. We still have to find them and keep forgetting to look.
The "entertainment" center. We still need to either bolt it to the wall or replace those 2 x4's with something else. Magazines and kid toys are in the baskets helping to hide those ugly wires.
The coffee table.
Specialty lighting for my husband's artwork. We have a whole gallery wall now.
Here's the post I bought at Round Top last spring.
Antique family metal trunks with a creeping charlie plant.
The gas fireplace.
The gallery wall. There are 5 pictures on that wall. I do like the lighting rail. We have a variety of lighting in the room...that rail with 10 lights, spotlights to wash down the fireplace, canned lights on dimmers, and two large chandeliers. You can set all kinds of moods with the lighting.
Looking from my kitchen through the old family room to the new addition. We replaced all the flooring when we built the addition. The doors from the south of France are also from Round Top. My husband liked all my purchases except those. I did get one new piece that will go on that blank wall last week at Excess. A beautiful old bookcase from a general store. I'm not sure how long it will take to get it. (The have a new ceiling fan but haven't gotten to that project yet.)
A close up of the door. So, what do you think? I'd love to hear from you.

New Addition Part 2

2010-09-20T21:10:00.041-06:00

So I went to Texas to visit Candice and buy furniture for this new baby and when I came home, this is what I found...a new foundation

Our shed in it's new home...a little worse for the wear but still looking good.
Logan was visiting at the time and was in seventh heaven with all the equipment around. The workers were great to let them even drive a little.

He sat in there for a long time watching the big digger while pretending to drive the little digger.

While they were working on our house, this is what was going on next door. Our neighbor finally decided to remove his maple tree. Too bad he didn't do it before all the roots and shade ruined my garden space.

The big digger. We use technical names at our house.
A close up of the tree cutting.
There is our little shed. It used to be where you see the front of the foundation.

All this big equipment ruined our driveway but it was amazing to see how well they could maneuver it. I think they were filling in around the foundation at this point.
The walls go up by the end of April.

Spring has finally sprung. Love those fruitless pear trees.
Next came the beams. Our builder tried to talk us out of them. They were expensive but are so amazing. It was worth it.
The beams were parked on a trailer in front of our neighbor's house and then lifted into place. It was amazing to watch.

Then the framers were back to finish the roof trusses. They were nuts. Click on the picture. That worker is balancing on the edge of the wall while cutting off the end of the truss with a circular saw...one handed. Crazy!

The sheathing is on now too. Aren't those beams amazing?

I think the only thing we changed from the original plan was to add another window to the left of this door opening. Pretty good I think.

Stay tuned for more. I can't wait to show you the finished product. Well almost finished anyway. We still haven't passed the final inspection.

Our New Addition

2010-09-19T15:34:00.014-06:00

Our new addition is pretty much complete. It took two years of planning and debating before we decided to go for it. We looked at moving but just couldn't find anything worth moving to that was better than where we already lived. So, in March we broke ground with the only stipulation being that construction HAD to be completed by June 1. I wanted to get everything done before the kids started hitting home for Eli's wedding June 19.

I thought I'd start at the beginning and document the process. This is our side yard where you can see the posts that are all that is left of our garden picket fence. The pathway is deconstructed too. All that work undone...
This is the back of the yard where we removed two trees to make a new spot for our shed.
Here is the pile of pavers I moved...
and the pile of bricks I moved that we used as edging.
The posts were all that was left of our beautiful gate and archway.
Here they are trying to move the shed with a back hoe. That didn't quite work. In fact, moving the shed was kind of a disaster but it did get moved.
The back hoe did work to pull these posts out of the ground. My husband does things right when he does it. Those posts were anchored in concrete and tricky to remove.
Looking from our deck to the back yard where the shed will go.
A pile of flagstone we moved that was part of the path to the backyard.
The new addition starts where the rock work on our patio ends. That tree behind the bench is now history too.
Here is the back hoe on its way to dig up the tree.
Removing the garden posts and still trying to figure out how to move that shed. Stay tuned for more of the adventure.

More Hiking Adventures with Kathee

2010-09-12T18:07:00.015-06:00

This is my good friend Kathee. Don't be alarmed...we always leave early and throw on whatever is handy when we start off on our adventures. Here are a few pictures on one of our Squaw Peak overlook winter hikes.
Yikes...maybe come as you are hikes aren't a good idea. I think I better ask for new hiking clothes for Christmas.
We go rain or snow. We like a good challenge and embrace adventure. It is almost 4 1/2 miles one way.
I think these might have been pictures from two different hikes. I think we did it about 4 times last winter.
Here are pictures from the latest adventure. We hiked Mt. Nebo on Monday. After all it was labor day. It is 8 miles one way. It's the hardest thing I've ever done. It was all I could do to get to the top. The top is almost 12,000 feet and I had a bit of altitude sickness for awhile. It was a steep climb so coming down was hard as well.

This was 6 miles into the hike but those last two miles were a killer to the top. (Again, I'm thinking it is time to invest in some decent hiking clothes. It's not like we don't hike at least once a week and walk everyday.)
Ta Da We made it!
The view from the top.

Proof that I made it too!
Kathee had some major blisters but was a real trooper. Good thing she brought bandaids. 12 hours total round trip. We did have a snack break and lunch at the top so hikes 11 hours straight. I was sore for a few days but Kathee and I only took one day off of exercise before we were back at it again.

One more thing crossed off Kathee's bucket list. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger...right? I'm not sure what I would do without my little exercise friend. She makes life evermore enjoyable.

We are thinking about biking coast to coast. What do you think?

This One Almost Got Me

2010-08-06T14:39:00.003-06:00

Click on the picture to get an even closer look at the rattlesnake that almost got me. My sister clicked this picture after it coiled back up after striking at me.

I was walking on the paved trail chatting with my SIL Mark, when I turned just in time to see this snake spring out at me. I screamed LOUDLY while jumping backwards into Mark. It missed me by inches. What saved me...we all agreed it was our morning family prayer asking for safety throughout our day. I hope I never come that close to a rattlesnake again.

You might be wondering where I've been the last 3 months. I've been to crazy town and think that I am getting back to "Normal"...is there such a thing?

We've had birthday parties, a baby blessing, a wedding, and wedding dinner, family reunion to Wyoming, lots of babysitting of the grandchildren, and helping our children, going to plays and so much more. Not to mention trying to keep up with my job at Alpine Home Care and Hospice. I kind of check out in the evening escaping to my room for a few minutes of reading and quiet to try and stay sane. I only lost my sanity once or twice. My kids remarked that they were proud of me for remaining mostly calm in the eye of the storm of life.

The addition/remodel on our house is almost finished and we love how it turned out. It was not without lots of stress which I'll fill you in on later. We are in the midst of trying to fix the sprinkler system that had to be redone because of the addition. I have a new couch and rug on order and can't wait until it comes. I received my furniture from Round Top and am happy with the choices I made... my husband likes them too.

Can't wait to catch up with you. I haven't even been reading my favorite blogs...a true indication on how wild my life has been. It will be really hard to have everyone gone this weekend after two months of kids and grandkids coming and going but I look forward to trying to get things cleaned up and out around here. I even have an appointment to have my windows cleaned inside and out. Ahhh...bliss.

Design Ideas

2010-04-30T21:15:00.006-06:00

While in Texas, I shot a few pictures at Pottery Barn that I thought were inspiring. I loved these origami cranes hung from mono filament over the bed. I'm not sure I would ever do it but I thought it was innovative. It could be just the ticket in a room without architectural features.
I love that they were thinking green and recycled crates to add walls and display space. (This picture was included in case you wanted to see how to construct a wall like this. Click on the pictures to enlarge.) We thought this would be useful and inexpensive for a backyard party. We were specifically thinking wedding reception since Eli is getting married in June.
I can picture this as a wall to display engagement and/or wedding pictures at the reception. With a branch at the top strung with mini white lights in the branches, I think it could really look great.
I love how they stacked up the crates to create a display area. Someone has some real merchandising skills.
You could use these as the wedding present drop off area but I think it would take a pretty informal reception to pull that one off. You could make a pretty awesome picnic buffet table by adding a big top on top of this. It could be a unique pedestal table.

Next time you are out shopping, pay attention to the displays. You never know where inspiration will hit.

Candice's Living Room Project

2010-04-29T22:19:00.019-06:00

(Candice is letting me post her room before she does. I did ask permission. She isn't worried about my 25 readers/family members spoiling things before she posts. She doesn't usually post about her house so she may never post these anyway. I really want your honest opinion on how you like the room. Tell me what you like and don't like. We can take it. But, just so you know, we don't like to have what everyone else has so this is a bit unique. )

It's becoming a tradition that when I visit my girls, they have projects lined up to do. We did Candice's family room last fall and this trip it was on to the living room. This is taken from the entry hall. This "living room" is really meant to be a dining room but there is lots of space to eat in the "great" room so we thought a library living space would be more useful. We call this our modern take on an old English library. We painted the walls a charcoal gray and left the trim white. We even took the paint up on the ceiling leaving a rectangle of the original color unpainted. We were going for drama. (It only took two coats of primer, one coat of paint that looked navy instead of charcoal, and then back to the paint store and another coat of a true charcoal...ok maybe it was darker than we wanted but at this point...good enough.)
We decided to line one wall with a thin plywood. Candice and I liked that look a lot but Mark encouraged us to go forward with our plan. What was the plan? The plan was to line the wall with pages from two Sherlock Holmes books. (Not that you would notice that is what the pages were from but when we go with a theme...we go with a theme. The book pages were different colors in each book so we interspersed the pages to give the wall a more mottled look. (Mark is hanging the new light is this picture.)

Anna asked why we didn't just apply the pages on the wall. We thought it would be easier to fill a few nails holes than to try and strip off thin book pages when and if she ever decides to change the decor.
What did the boys so while we were working? It was Saturday so the kids were allowed to play the wii while we worked. They loved it.
Candice and Dickens preparing the pages. (She might make me take this off my blog so don't tell her it's on here. Hey, we are working...it's a come as you are party.)

We sprayed the pages with spray mount and stuck them to the plywood. Just in case you were wondering how we did this. Rocket science right?
Mark waiting for us to tell him how to adjust the light. He was a trouper. Very patient with us and our "to do" list.
I really did sew all those stripes on the window draperies. It was not striped fabric. I would have like them better if I had made the stripes the same width. Ahhh, live and learn.
What do you think? The coffee table and locker we bought at Round Top. The pillow with the "S" I made for the family room and the #4 pillow is from Pottery Barn...I think. The chairs and love seat are from the Pottery Barn outlet store. They have some great buys.

(I found the couches I wanted from the Restoration Hardware outlet. They also were a really great price but thought it would cost me a fortune to have them shipped. I was so sad to leave them behind. They don't have shipping from the outlets like they do in the retail store or online. I wish they had some outlets like that around my house.)
Candice is ordering two unique bookshelves to go on each side of the locker. We were able to fit quite a few books in the locker even though it doesn't look like it. I know it is an unconventional arrangement but we like it. There is still more tweaking to do but we finished 2 am Easter morning and I left Monday morning early. The time went too quickly.
Interesting light don't you think? We also have molding to go around that painting rectangle in the ceiling but we didn't get it finished before I left.

Now for an insider secret. We were literally laughing and crying at around midnight. Picture dark gray walls, bare light bulbs, black and what striped curtains, and a metal locker with the doors closed. At that point we thought we had made a HUGE mistake. Especially when Mark came in with the #4 pillow held in both hands in front of his chest like he was having mug shots taken. Candice said that she would never be able to have any one over until it was changed or they would think she was really bizarre. We decided to keep going and once we got the rug and the furniture in along with some merchandising in the locker, it got a bit better. I have to say it was a rough night though. I don't think either of us slept much.
By morning, and a little more tweaking, we decided we loved it.

The coffee table is a old grill of some kind with zinc squares hammered on the top with little nail heads. We love re-purposed interesting one-of-a-kind pieces.
We didn't get everything hung before these pictures but there will be a black and white picture with light matting on that wall behind the love seat. She also had some great letters "M&C" to be hung on another wall. They are the finishing touches the room needs.

And, see those tulips. Mark bought those for Candice. They were there when we got home from Round Top just to show her how much he missed her. He is a keeper. (We feel so blessed with 3 great SILs actually.)

THE END. What do you think? If you are reading this, I would love to hear from you.

Could I entice you to make comments if I promise to show Candice's family room? A room I would really like in my own home. A room that is also unique and answers the question about what to do with a wall that is 24 feet tall without any architectural features.

My Round Top Purchases for the new Addition

2010-04-25T22:59:00.017-06:00

Here was my first purchase. It is my new entertainment center. Do you think I can make it work? I can picture the big screen tv on top of that nice plank can't you?
I wish I had that mirror on top or those pans on the bottom shelf where the DVD player will be.
I love that urn on the other table too and what's not to love about the coral piece. It's a beauty. Unfortunately, I had to pass on so many treasures. I only had a little budget after all.
Can you picture this as my sofa table? I can picture it with big lamps on either end and large baskets full of quilts, pillows, and /or magazines. I know...you think I'm crazy right?
Just look how industrial and cool it is though. Look at the patina on that wood. Can't wait to decorate it up for Christmas with a small tree and all my vintage ornaments. (The room is 15 1/2 feet by 34 feet. The walls are 12 tall with a tall timber framed ceiling. The room can take some big pieces of furniture.)
Here is my coffee table. I don't remember which one but it is one of those. I'll never have to worry about the table top getting scratched from putting your feet up on it. I might have to do a little sanding and waxing to keep from getting splinters but that's OK.

I bought two of these. Now if I can just find the right light kit and a great lampshade, I'm in business. Won't they look great on top of the sofa table? I'll have to think of something great to do with the crates. Have any ideas?
See those doors. I bought a set of old European doors from the South of France. I'm not sure how I'm going to use those yet but I'm hoping to find a place. I might have to list them on ebay if not. They would make a great head board too but I'm going to use my old mantel to make one of those. Candice also bought a set and she is going to use them to make a headboard. I love old doors.

Here is a zinc top table I purchased as well. I wish they would have thrown in the tablescape...maybe they will surprise me with it...wishful thinking.

Another view of it.
Candice saw this little beauty first. It is either from the South of France or Belgium. It's very tall and not very deep which is just what I needed. I'll store the DVD's and videos in the bottom and books and beautiful things behind the glass.

I also purchased a couple rolls of antique carnival tickets and five player piano rolls, a large wooden dough bowl, an old turned column piece, and I think that is it. I hope I don't have any regrets once everything arrives...if they arrive. Everyone said the shipping coming was a good one but they haven't called me and they said they would. I'm a bit worried and am keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out. I'll let you know. It's a leap of faith for me.

So what do you think about my purchases? I really want to know. I do like unique. I don't want to have what everyone else has that is why I don't like shopping in big box stores, etc. One of a kind is a good thing in my book.

Stay tuned for the reveal of Candice's purchases. I don't have pictures of them at Round Top so will post pictures of us decorating her living room and the mostly finished room. I can't wait until you see them.

After that, I will show you how the addition is progressing. We removed the fireplace mantel yesterday and they are supposed to put the hole through the wall tomorrow. The timber frame and roofing is supposed to go on tomorrow too but nothing ever goes as scheduled so we'll see. It is exciting though.