Dimples and Tangles

Dining Room Decision...Help!

2012-02-29T07:11:00.003-06:00

Happy Leap Day!!

Isn't this just the coolest little extra day? My favorite memory of Leap Day is from when I was little, too young to be in school. Our next door neighbors were like our grandparents, and Mr. McClain took my sister and me in his old black pickup truck to McDonald's for $0.29 french fries that day. Isn't it funny the things that stick in your mind?

And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend and college roomie Julie today! She's 10!!! (really 40!!) She's the only leap day baby I know, and we always got a kick

out of her birthday in school. Happy Birthday Jules!

I wanted to do a fun Leap Day design related post today, but came up with nothing.

So, I have a dilemma for you to weigh in on instead.

My dining room re-do hangs in the back of my mind every day...it's slowly coming along. I've been searching for a new china cabinet to go on the one wall in that room . I love this style-to be painted most likely-to mix with the other pieces I'm using.

Here's my dilemma: is this tall enough for the space? These older china cabinets are my favorite, but they're just not very tall. Could I get away with just putting something on top of it to add some height?

Here's a little peek of the wall and a rough estimate with tape of the size of the cabinet.

Excuse the poor quality of the photo, I'm still trying to work with a broken camera.
But, you can see my new chairs! Those are the only thing that is done so far! That table's not staying there, probably not the drapes, etc., etc., etc.!
I have 10' ceilings, and this cabinet is 76" tall. I feel like it might be too short, but know that any older piece I consider will probably be about the same size.

I just pinned this picture yesterday and LOOVVVE it so much!

Source: frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Thoughts???

How to Add a Little Bit of Cute to Your Kitchen

2012-02-28T06:45:00.020-06:00

Actually, this project is so simple it doesn't need a "how-to". But, here's what I did:

1. Find some cute towels on clearance at Target.

2. Add a monogram. Find a friend with a fancy sewing machine
who will work for Sonic drinks. {Thanks Pam! :) }

3. Add some ribbon and trim.

4. Display in your kitchen!

I've never really kept towels hanging on the dishwasher and oven handles before, but since adding the stainless appliances I think it will be helpful in keeping those smudges at bay.

An easy project if you have 10 minutes to spare-it may not have even taken that long!

My House Smells Really Good!

2012-02-27T09:11:00.000-06:00

Do you buy grocery store flowers?

One of our local stores had a floral coupon I couldn't resist last week. And, even though it took 3 different stores to find one with a decent fresh selection,
I came out with an armload.

Ray is even convinced that he know just which grocery store has the best flowers and the best selection. That's just fine with me...more bang for your buck and I'd rather stick them in a vase myself, anyway.

I love stargazer lilies. Just about the time one dies off, another is ready to burst open and show off it's brilliant colors.

I've enjoyed these as a reminder that Spring is just around the corner!

P.S.- I dropped my camera-on the brick kitchen floor!-right in the middle of taking these pics. I didn't take my friend Sumer's advice to USE THE NECK STRAP every time you pick up your camera! As far as I can tell we just lost the LCD screen, which we have already replaced once before so it shouldn't be too complicated (or expensive) of a fix.
Little blessings!

Our Kitchen {The Details}

2012-02-24T06:45:00.001-06:00

Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start...

Photo via MLS listing

About 2 months after moving in, I stripped all of the wallpaper.

(Tip-warm water in a spray bottle with a few drops of Dawn original dish soap is the best I've found to remove wallpaper. Spray thoroughly, wait about 20 minutes, and start peeling. If your paper doesn't come off easily or completely, respray and wait a little longer. Usually if I had a problem I either didn't get it wet enough or didn't wait long enough. Still, stripping wallpaper is the worst job ever!)

I textured and painted the walls. We also changed out the sink faucet around that time and switched out hardware, but no other major changes until about 3 years later.

Sometimes you just have to live in a space for a while and figure out what works and what doesn't. I loved the island in the kitchen, and because of the layout, I did 95% of my work there. On about 24" of counter space. I really thought about the idea of enlarging the island. There was tons of unused space at the end of the island, but the bar counter angled in towards the center of the kitchen. If we lengthened the island, there would have been mere inches between the edge of the island and the corner of the angled cabinet.

Photo via MLS listing

I consulted my dad and a friend about what would be involved in slicing the sink counter where it started to angle and making the angle wider. They both seemed to think that wouldn't be too difficult. A meeting with a contractor (didn't want to do this big of a project ourselves...we're not that good!) confirmed that this would be a relatively simple and inexpensive project, so enlarging the island was a go! We had already planned to get new counter tops, so the timing was right to just do everything at once.

Here you can see the footprint of where the cabinet base used to sit, and how much we swung it out. Providentially there were exactly

enough tiles found in the garage to patch the spot.

Here is the island with one end torn apart. The plan was to add another 2 foot section to the end, where I had them install two pull-out drawers.

We added one big cabinet door to those pull-outs and that is where I keep my toaster oven and mixing bowls. Very handy. The workers had removed the end panel and trim molding, so they just replaced it after the additional section was completed.

For all of my cabinet painting, I've used the Behr paint with primer in it from Home Depot. I didn't sand, just cleaned with TSP beforehand. We removed all of the doors and drawers and laid them outside. They were all painted with a foam roller and a brush for the corners. I painted the fronts and backs of the doors but did not paint

the insides of the cabinets.

Finished! That entire right panel is the new section added, so you can see how much empty space there was before.

I added glass knobs and pulls here for a bit of sparkle and to lighten things a bit.

There was an opening left when we widened the angle, which they patched and I added some moulding afterwards to cover some seams. If we would have thought a little more before hand we probably could have added another tall skinny door there or something, but didn't realize that there would be that big of a empty spot created. Oh well, live and learn.

The white color was "Cottage White" by Behr with a glaze over it. I sprayed (aack!) polyurethane over the glaze which set and sealed it quickly. I've read that the spray poly that I used may have a tendency to yellow over time, but we'll see. I believe you can just glaze and put nothing on top of it, but it takes forever to dry and cure.

My hardware was fairly new and I still liked it, but it was an antique-brass. I spray painted all of the knobs and pulls with Rustoleum's Oil-Rubbed Bronze (ORB). It has a really pretty slightly sparkly finish. The paint has held up well in the 1 1/2 years since we've done this, although I have noticed a knick on 1 pull that I need to touch up.

I purchased an in-stock sink from Home Depot. One bowl is slightly bigger than the other, and that larger side is HUGE and DEEP. Love it. Only drawback-I can pile way too many dishes in there before they make it to the dishwasher! It's a composite granite sink and I've been very pleased with it. I've always had a white cast iron sink before, and this one really resists markings and is easy to clean.

The kitchen was already wired for fluorescent under cabinet lighting, but Ray took those down and installed halogen spots that we found at Home Depot. He also put them on a dimmer switch and the glow is nice and warm. We used these little boxes to contain all of the cords. I intended to paint the cords the color of the cabs, but just realized seeing these pictures that I forgot. We never see them-out of sight out of mind!

The pantry doors were large and plain, so I bought some trim that matched what was on the rest of our interior doors and added those boxes before painting the doors. I also sprayed those knobs with the ORB paint.

We already had done some backsplash work that I'll talk about in another post, but these are the tin-looking tiles that are really plastic that you can purchase at Lowe's or Home Depot. They are also spray-painted in ORB. We re-used them for now but may do something different for the backsplash in the future.

So, that's about it! Way more information than I'm sure you wanted. But, if there's anything I didn't address that you want to know feel free to

leave a question in the comments.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Sidetracked

2012-02-23T09:13:00.001-06:00

Hey! I haven't finished the kitchen details post yet, it's going to be a long one but I'm still working on it. I got distracted by my favorite sale of the year at Dillards- 75% off plus another 40% off!

I was on the fence about these, but seriously?
I could not walk away and leave them there.

I'm going to need a pedicure.

I think I can wear these with the cuff in or out:

A little bling:

And a new purse for spring:

It looks red in the photo but is really a shrimpy-coral color. This is one of my favorite moderately priced brands-Big Buddha.

Back to work- I WILL show you the rest of the kitchen next!

Our Kitchen

2012-02-21T07:25:00.005-06:00

I'm working to add more to the "Our Home" tab on my home page, and today I wanted to share our kitchen with you. I'm not going to say much, just show pictures. In another post I'll tell you about the changes we made and give you all of the details.
Alright...get your scrolling finger ready...

And, here's a few before and afters taken from similar angles. The before photos were from the MLS when the house was listed and show the previous owner's items.

Ahhh, the power of paint (and granite, and new appliances ;-).

Go here to see the remodel pictures and read about the changes we made.

Linking up with Crafty Texas Girls,

Tag...I'm It!

2012-02-20T07:30:00.001-06:00

OK, I was tagged by Lisa at Shine Your Light in a little Q&A going around. I've enjoyed reading this post on other's blogs and getting to know them a little better,
so I figured I'd join in the fun!

1. What's your favorite place in the United States?

My family has been visiting the mountains in New Mexico since I was 12 years old.

From the first sighting of a far off mountain peak, I know it is time to relax and enjoy God's beautiful creation.

2. Where would you love to visit that you've never been before?

So many places! Canada, Hawaii, Europe, a tropical island...I'm not very well-traveled so there are a ton of options!

via

3. Favorite song you're loving right now?
"Everything" by Michael Buble, "Hold Me" by Jamie Grace & tobyMac, "Knee Deep" by Zac Brown Band, "Toothbrush" by Brad Paisley-love the lyrics.

4. Good book recommendation?
There are so many I love, but I'm kind-of a Christian Fiction junkie. The Mitford Series by Jan Karon, anything by Terri Blackstock or Dee Henderson, the Anne of Green Gables series. I want to read the Hunger Games.

5. What's your best quality?

I am very calm. It takes a lot to ruffle my feathers.

6. What is something about yourself you'd like to change?

I tend to procrastinate on way too many things, and I'm not very good at small talk.

7. What is the number one thing you hope to accomplish in 2012?

As far as house goals go, it's a tie.

My dining room and my master bedroom MUST be done soon!

8. What is your favorite project that you've ever accomplished?

I don't know if it's my favorite EVER, but I'm still really loving my daughter's room re-do.

9. What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Really, so many people are kind to my family on a weekly basis in one way or another.

It makes me feel like I need to be doing way more for others!

10. Favorite kitchen or home improvement tool?

Right now I'm loving my huge 12" cast iron skillet that I got for Christmas.

11. What do you enjoy about blogging?

The incredibly supportive community, the opportunity to share tips and creative projects, and all of the fun, extremely talented people I've met! Mostly I feel like I have learned so much more from other bloggers than I could ever contribute myself.

I'm passing the game along to these amazing bloggers...go visit them if you don't know them! (I know, I'm bossy, but do it anyway!)

Kristin at The Hunted Interior

Sonya at Beyond the Screen Door

Gail at Sophisticated Steps

Kim at Savvy Southern Style

Shelli at Alamode

Jenny at Northwest Lovelies

Debbie at La*tee*da*kids

Sara at It's Good to be Queen

Cassie at Hi Sugarplum!

Laura at Finding Home

Samantha at Crafty Texas Girls

Questions:

What was your first job?

What's your favorite kind of ice cream?

What is the one chore you would never do if you could get away with it?

What's your favorite book?

Would you rather spend a weekend a) at the beach b) in the mountains or c) at home alone with no agenda?

Who is 1 person living or dead that you would like to sit down and interview?

What is your favorite beauty product?

What do people compliment you on the most?

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

If you could live in another time period, when would it be?

What blog do you love that you want others to know about?

Rules:

**You must post the rules

**Answer the 11 questions that the tagger posted for you; then create 11 questions to ask the people you've tagged

**Tag 11 people and link them in your post

**Let them know you have tagged them

Botanical Gallery Wall

2012-02-17T06:30:00.015-06:00

Several of you guessed my latest project correctly!

I used my new botanical book for a fabulous gallery wall in the kitchen.

The pages are just about 9x11" and sweet Emily Clark tipped me off to some great budget-friendly frames at Michael's. They are 11x14" and come in a 2-pack for $7.99. I used a coupon and ended up getting each frame for about $3. Even though they are plastic frames, I think they look relatively high end, and the backs were super quick and easy to remove and put back together.

To remove the pages cleanly from the book, I used an X-Acto knife to cut the page while holding the spine open as far as possible. Once the page was out I used my scrapbooking paper trimmer to clean up the cut edge a bit.

Before framing the prints I spread them all out on the floor and worked with them until I found an arrangement that I liked. Then, I took pictures so I would remember the order to put them in when ready to hang them on the wall.

The pictures are mounted on a piece of white poster board...easy peasy!

The hardest part of the project was marking the wall, but even that was simpler than I thought it would be. It just involved some persistent work with a tape measure and my trusty laser level. I used two nails close to the top corners of each picture so they wouldn't get crooked on the wall every time the kids slam the back door. ;-)

I'm really loving the cleaner-but dramatic-look on this wall. As a reminder, here it was a few weeks ago:

and here it is today:

I hope your weekend is fun and productive! There's a pillow-making fest going on here, and, I'm behind on some e-mails. Promise I'll catch up this weekend!

Linking up with: Remodelaholic, Homemaker on a Dime, Crafty Texas Girls, Savvy Southern Style, It's Overflowing, Southern Lovely, The Shabby Nest, Shine Your Light, Tatertots and Jello, Classy Clutter

Using Sand Timers in Decor

2012-02-15T08:20:00.007-06:00

Several years ago I thought sand timers were just a trendy toy that my niece had on her Christmas list, and were found at the teen store at the mall. Lately I've noticed them popping up everywhere! I've seen some great ones at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, but you better snatch one up when you see it or it will be gone the next time you're there

(trust me). Now it's my favorite new accessory!

I have a friend who just moved into a new home and she picked one up for a lovely little vignette on her kitchen island. I came across this one at Tuesday Morning-once again-didn't buy one the first time I saw them and when I went back they only had 1 left. Whew!

This one looks a bit heart shaped to me. It's been perfect sitting out this month!

Here are some other rooms where a sand timer (hourglass)
tucked away adds a bit of charm.

Wild Pony

Design Sponge

contemporary family room design by chicago interior designer Sean Michael Design

modern home office design by san francisco interior designer Kimball Starr Interior Design

modern home office design by san francisco architect John Maniscalco Architecture

Do you use sand timers as accessories? I remember my mom having a brass one when I was little that we used when practicing the piano. I may have to see if that one is still around, too. Brass is back!

Remodelaholic & Happy Heart Day!

2012-02-14T07:38:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Source: misskateside.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

We will be having these for breakfast:

Poppies at Play

and the kids will be passing these out at school:

and here some pretty pictures to get you in the Valentine's Day spirit:

Source: dottieangel.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: home-biba.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: maryruffle.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

My Blessed Life

Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetie...today is the 20th Anniversary of our first date, so we'll be out tonight to celebrate.

Photo by Caitlin Boswell

Whether or not you have someone special to celebrate this day with, I pray
you will know God's never-ending love for you today. His love is relentless, never failing,
and all we truly need.

The Girl Creative

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I am SOOOOO excited to be at Remodelaholic today! Justin and Cassity are featuring my Laundry Room. Their site is full of amazing ideas and they have some mad DIY skills!
Here are 3 of my favorite recent projects from Remodelaholic:

Wall Mounted TV Frame made from recycled fence panels

Oversized Scrabble Tiles Family Name Wall Art

Look at this enchanting play kitchen they built for their lucky little girls!

Thank you Justin and Cassity! You can visit them here to see more of their fantastic work.

I'm Here

2012-02-13T06:30:00.004-06:00

Hello Friends! I feel like I've been away forever. Two weeks ago I decided I needed a little break from blogging, and really the computer in general, so I took all of last week off. I have truly enjoyed this venture of blogging but it really takes a lot of time! I felt like I was letting some things slip while spending so much time online, so I used the week to get things back in order. Thanks for your patience!

As it turned out, the week off came at a perfect time. We had to say good-bye to our almost 15 year old cat, Abby.

We've had her almost our entire married life, so the last week without her has been an adjustment. I still find myself watching my step every time I go out into the garage...she liked to camp out right under the door.

She could do tricks...like sit up and beg for a treat.

The kids are handling it well. Caleb said "This is so much harder than when Rex (his fish) died." They were definitely sad and still miss her but are enjoying their memories of her, and think it's "boring" around here now that she's not here to play with. The other day they let me know that if they pooled their resources they had $90, and asked me if that would be enough to buy a new cat. (smiles) I told them that they could probably get a new cat for free and they were pretty amazed about that. We're going to hold off on getting a new pet for a while, but in the future, who knows?

One day last Christmas we found her curled up with Baby Jesus.

In other news, it was a busy week too. We hosted two parties over the weekend so the week was spent in preparation for those.

I've been tweaking the breakfast nook and working on a few other projects, and I'm looking forward to showing you some new things this week!

Here's some sneak peeks...

Hope you have a fantastic week! Thanks so much for sticking with me and reading my blog. You all are the best!

Funky Chairs and Fur Stools

2012-02-03T06:30:00.015-06:00

Last week when I showed you my new houndstooth pillows, a friend wanted a better peek at the furry things peeking out in one of the photos. I'm glad she mentioned it, because I've been meaning to show them to you anyway, I just keep getting side-tracked.

Last year we turned our "office" into an office/playroom/media room/music room. We squeezed in a couch and loaded a new tv into the bookshelves so we could move the Wii in there (and get it out of the middle of the living room!). It is a decent size room, but I didn't want to give up the floor space that a conventional coffee table would require since we did want lots of room to move around. However, I knew we would want something to put our feet up on when watching movies. So, when I came across these little beauties (not!) on Craig's list I hatched a plan to re-do them and use them side by side as a coffee table. That way, they could easily be moved around if we needed more floor space. (I couldn't find a true before photo, just imagine cherry legs and you can see the original tapestry peeking out from under the kilim top.)

So, I bought them ($20!) and painted the legs black and used that kilim to make slipcovers for the tops. We used them in that room for a few months, and then I found these...thrift store...$14.95 each.

I know, you're probably thinking I paid too much! But, I loved the shape, the lines, and the tufting and knew they weren't too far gone to look fantastic with a fabric overhaul! I purchased them and had them recovered with the plan to put them in my bedroom, but last summer we did some rearranging and they ended up in the living room.

They are a smaller scale chair but they are really comfortable. The kids especially love them, they think they just their size and just right for them.

Which leads us back to the stools. The chairs needed a little more "somethin' somethin'." I knew I had those 2 matching stools in the other room but didn't like the slipcovers I had done if they were going into the living room. I remembered this post from the Nester and thought "Hmmm, easy, quirky, and fun! And no sewing!" (She wrote a great tutorial at that link, also, if you want to make your own.) The only decent fur I could find locally was this shaggy black, and I was ok with that. But, the legs were painted black so I knew those would have to be changed. I didn't want to go white, and finally GOLD popped into my head. I used a little bottle of acrylic paint and brushed it on the legs.

I love them. I may have another gold furniture item up my sleeve in the future...

So, for now, they're living happily together, although when I redecorate my master this year I plan to move the chairs back in there. I also really think I'd like to paint or switch out the legs on the chairs to something like these

overstock.com

but haven't found the right ones for a good price yet.

Wow, that was way more than you wanted to know about my chairs and stools.
I love pieces that have a good story!

Picnik, Photo Storage, & Purchases

2012-02-02T06:30:00.000-06:00

Before I started blogging, I thought long and hard about if I really wanted to do it or not.
I did zero research into HOW to do it. So, I have a few questions for you fellow bloggers today. Please school me!

1- If you're a Picnik user, I'm sure you know by now that they have announced they are closing in April. Picnik is all I use for photo editing. Now what do I do? I don't own Photoshop and frankly don't want to purchase or learn it right now. Picasa? Something else? A Macbook purchase may be in our future, so that may affect my photo editing options, also.

2- Photo Storage: Until now, I have just saved all of my edited photos for the blog in a file on my desktop. I can tell that as I continue blogging that file will get much too large. How do you store your digital images? Do you use an online site?

3- Because a post without pictures is no fun, look what arrived in the mail yesterday:

Santa chose not to bring these to me this year, so I bought them for myself.
I'm doing that a lot lately. Bad girl.

I'd seen a few bloggers mention the Botannicals book and bought it intending to cut pages out to frame. The book is so beautiful, though, I'm not sure if I can do it!
Yes I can...I have big plans for those pictures.

OK, give me the skinny on the photos!!!

Straightline Laser Level-Not Just For Hanging Pictures!

2012-01-31T06:30:00.038-06:00

This week I'm working on some draperies for some dear friends who have just finished building their dream home (literally...they built most of it themselves!). I wanted to share a little trick I use for cutting wide drapery fabric straight across. I used to measure from the cut end of the fabric about 5 or 6 times across the width and sort-of just eyeball a cutting line, but that was time consuming and didn't always give the straightest results. Then, a light bulb went off in my head one day.

Don't you just love it when that happens?

First, I measure the length I want down one edge and make a small cut.

Then, I do the same on the other edge. I grab my handy laser level and adjust the beam so that it starts at one cut and shines across to the other cut. I don't use the bubbles at all, just the line up the laser beam.

Sometimes I need a little obstacle to stop the beam so I can tell where it's hitting the cut on the other side. Next, just follow the line with your scissors and voila! A perfectly straight cut all the way across! It does help to start your cutting on the opposite side of the level, that way your hands aren't blocking the light as you cut across.

I darkened this picture up a bit so hopefully you can see the red laser line. I was cutting as the sun was streaming through the windows today, so it was a little tricky to see the line, but if you're in low light or even working at night where you can dim the lights a bit it works especially well.

Linking up with: Savvy Southern Style, The Shabby Nest, Remodelaholic,

{Old} Magazine Inspiration

2012-01-30T06:15:00.015-06:00

First of all, thanks for your input and thoughts on what I should do with my chairs. I'm still trying to decide for sure and would welcome more input if I haven't heard from you!

So how was your weekend? Ours was relaxing and productive-the perfect mix! Ray & I enjoyed a date night Friday evening while the kid's spend the night at their grandparents' house and yesterday we had Ray's parents over for lunch. I made this cake and it was delish! There was none left by the time the day was over.

My big accomplishment for the weekend was that I checked #7 off of my list of goals for the year. My closet is clean, hallelujah! I could not stand it one more day so I tackled it while the kids were gone. It feels 3 times bigger now! No pictures...the before was way too embarrassing and there's nothing special about the after...it's just clean!

Anyway, as I was cleaning out I came across a stack of old magazines that I flipped through one more time before I pass them on. Here are a few photos that caught my eye. I find it interesting that even though most of these pictures are several years old, the design is still appealing and attractive. That's successful design in my book-

classic and timeless.

Bright, beautiful kitchen-

Southern Accents November/December 2005

Another fantastic kitchen-love the paneled island, open shelving that is styled beautifully, and the bamboo shade.

Southern Accents November/December 2005

Such a fun idea for a girl's room!

Southern Accents November/December 2005

I'm drawn to the colors of this room, the patterned rug, and the gold coffee tables.

Architectural Digest November 2006

It's a secret what I liked in this room...but doesn't it look sleek and sophisticated?

And colorful?

Architectural Digest November 2006

The arrangement of the books on the shelves, the oversize candles and the bunch of leaves gathered in the middle of the table.

Southern Accents November-December 2006

Gorgeous ceiling and double sided see-through fireplace. Grand.

Southern Accents November-December 2006

Molding detail on the ceiling and that yummy chandelier dripping with bling!

Southern Accents November-December 2006

Green chairs and matching lantern.

Veranda April 2010

Love this mix of table and chairs. And the ceiling. And the chandy. And the styling. Everything!

Veranda April 2010

Yes, please. I'll sit outside all day!

Veranda April 2010

Decisions, Decisions {Help Me-Vote!}

2012-01-27T07:15:00.007-06:00

I'm planning a project in the near future. I have these-

Same chair redone: Isn't it great?

I'm planning to use these at the ends of the table in my dining room redo. I'm 99% sure that I'm going to paint the frame black, and I probably won't put any tufting in the cushions. I've been thinking all along about using a canvas drop cloth to do the upholstery, but lately I've been drawn to the idea of doing something fun that will really make a statement.

A few ideas of where I might be headed-

Simple Details

Two Thirty-Five Designs

My table will be a dark stain and I'm not sure what I'm doing for the side chairs. I've been searching on CL for months but haven't found anything yet.

Soooooo, here are some fun fabrics that I found while browsing the web. I'm really loving my black and white drapery so I thought I might pull that into the dining room (it's all open together with the living room).

Zebra-

Larger scale zebra-

Geometric prints-

These 2 chevron prints are large scale-

Greek Key-

Large scale ikat-I'm planning to make some pillows from this soon but thought it might also look really cool on the chairs. Go here to see a fantastic project with this fabric, and the pictures will give you a good idea of the size.

One other choice-go ahead with the dropcloth and make

some punchy pillows to set in these chairs.

Thoughts? Have you seen something I didn't include that you think I should consider?

I'd love some feedback on this one!

P.S.-I know lots of my friends that read don't have a google account. You can still leave a comment by selecting "anonymous", write your comment, and sign your name in the comment section if you wish.

Painted Built-Ins

2012-01-26T07:15:00.017-06:00

You've already seen glimpses of these built-ins, but I'd like to go back periodically and
show you some before and afters of a few projects that I've done
prior to starting this blog.

See the tall section completely covered by doors? When we bought the house the section in the middle was just a big opening for the television. I can't stand trying to make it look "pretty" around a tv, so we had some doors made to match the ones that were already there to conceal the tv. It's such a cleaner look and looks a bit more like a built-in piece of furniture to me.

We've slowly jumped on the painted cabinets bandwagon and it's amazing the difference it's made in the look of our home. I've always loved stained cabinets, but sometimes it's just time for a change! These are very nice, well made shelves but the time had come where they needed some attention to the finish. After a few years of debate
(in my own head), I decided to go for it.

The main reason for all the debate was that I didn't want to paint all of those shelves! Enter my birthday present last year, a $49 paint sprayer from Home Depot. I had 2 coats on those shelves in about 5.2 minutes. It is a fabulous tool, although I did go through much more paint than I would have used had it all been applied with a roller.
Worth it, though.

We changed the hardware out not long after buying the house, so this time around I just used a little oil-rubbed bronze spray paint to change the finish on the knobs.

As much as I enjoy decorating, I do not particularly enjoy styling bookshelves. It always involves lots of trial and error, arranging and rearranging to find just the right grouping. Generally once I get them figured out I leave them alone until it is time to change decor for the seasons. This time I used lots of mixed metals and tried to keep them fairly simple.

My dad made this mantle for a house that we lived in 12 years ago that didn't have one. It has moved with us through 3 other houses.

I wanted to go dark with it but decided to leave some of the oak showing through so it would look a bit distressed. I basically just dry brushed and rubbed paint off as I went if I got a little too much on.

I Heart Houndstooth

2012-01-25T07:30:00.001-06:00

1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/ 6/ 7/ 8

Last year my sister found a fabulous large scale houndstooth fabric and
recovered an ottoman with it. I loved it so much I finally bought
my own fabric and made some new pillows. Heart.

I even wore it to church last Sunday!

Houndstooth: Do you love it or hate it?

Life's A Trip! {Church and Stage Decorating Ideas}

2012-01-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

Our annual Women's Retreat took place over the weekend and I was responsible for coordinating the decorations. The theme was "Life's A Trip!" I was thankful for lots of help to pull everything together and here are some photos of how everything turned out.

We met in the Fellowship Hall for our meals (yum!) and we had 32 (!) round tables set with centerpieces of maps, globes, and travel cases stuffed with travel brochures.

A friend was responsible for the dessert bar we had on Friday evening, and I wanted to show you how cute it turned out.

Gracia Burnham was our speaker. You may remember her in the news about 10 years ago. She and her husband, Martin, were American missionaries in the Philippines. While celebrating their 18th anniversary at a resort, they were captured and taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group, who were a militant group of Muslims. They were constantly on the move, endured many gun battles, and after a year of being held her husband was killed in a gun battle in which she was injured but freed. Her story is an amazing testimony of encouragement, hope, trust in the Lord, and truly understanding what it means to love your enemies.

I am thankful for a wonderful church who cares about fostering spiritual growth for women and the talented, hard working group of ladies who organized this event.
Fantastic job, ladies!

1 Down, 3 To Go

2012-01-19T07:15:00.002-06:00

I have TONS of storage in this house, and every bit of it is bulging. It's ridiculous! I'm on a mission to clean up and clean out-starting with this closet:

I can't believe I'm showing you this. Once at a party a guest opened this door by mistake thinking it was the powder room. Horror of horrors!

It's the dumping ground...the place everything gets shoved when I don't have a spot for it. I usually have to clean it out twice a year just to remember what's in there.

And...after working only a little over an hour. The anticipation and dread with these kinds of jobs is always so much worse than just doing it!

It's not a perfectly staged beauty shot with matching storage baskets labeled with chalkboard tags, but it's clean. And organized.

For now. Here's hoping it will stay that way for a while.

These tubs work beautifully for deep shelving. They are easy to slide in and out so I'm not having to dig around at the back when I'm searching for something.

Oversized boxes from IKEA used to corral all of the "special" school papers.

I also wanted to show you this ribbon rack that my dad made for me years ago.
It hangs behind the door and is SO handy!

Close-up: Just some dowels drilled in at the top and notches in the side to hold more dowels. This would be fairly simple to DIY (but I'm so glad my dad did it for me!).

The best thing is all of the empty space. I feel smothered when every space is crammed full and there is not an inch to spare. Now there's room for those extra kleenex boxes, paper towels, and my purse!

Have a great weekend-I'm out until Monday. I'm spending today and tomorrow decorating at the church for our big Women's Retreat this weekend. Will show photos next week!

Cakes of Birthdays Past

2012-01-18T07:30:00.003-06:00

You know I've had birthday on the brain for the last week, and I thought it would be fun to share some of Caleb's cakes that we have done in the past. I've always made the kids' birthday cakes and the theme of their party has always centered around whatever they were really interested in at the time. It's been fun to look back through these and remember all of the things that were his favorites (and most still are!).

Most of these pictures aren't great and the cakes definitely aren't professional quality, but it was fun to see what we could come up with each year to match the theme.

Birthdays 1 and 2 were pre-digital camera, so I didn't have easy access to those pictures. His first cake was a big brown bear and the second was a dump truck.

3 years old-Firetruck

4 years old-Drum

5 years old-Nascar

I couldn't find a picture of this one but I made the cake shaped like a oval track and placed his toy Nascars on top.

6 years old-Dalmatian dog

7 years old-OU football helmet and football cake

8 years old-Airplane Runway and Jets

9 years old-Lego

10 years old-Star Wars Legos

11 years old-Army guys

Thanks for indulging me on my walk down memory lane!

My thanks to Aimee at It's Overflowing for featuring my tree stump tables. Her blog is one of my new favorites-lots of good stuff there! Visit her here:

Linking up with: It's Overflowing!

Kitchen Eating Area

2012-01-16T10:28:00.005-06:00

Well, this wasn't one of the projects on my big list of home goals, but it's definitely in that "finish what you start" category. Several months ago I made new drapery for the living room with my new fabric but I didn't have enough to continue them across to the kitchen. I wanted to live with them for a while anyway to see if I wanted to keep it a little different in the kitchen or make all of the window treatments the same across the back wall. My floor plan is very open and everything flows together, so I ended up deciding that I wanted some continuity across all of the back windows. And, I really liked the fabric! So, I found the best price online for more fabric and got to work.

First, we're going to go way, way back. This is what the room looked like when we first moved in.

Excuse the mess! When we moved in we had to rip the carpet out before we would even put anything on it and then we lived in a state of turmoil for about a month while we did tile work and painted the entire house before we had the new carpet installed. But, you can see the lovely wallpaper, no light, and blah everywhere else.

Here's what it looked like before my most recent little re-do:

The curtains were my attempt to go "neutral". At first they didn't have the little valance topper but I couldn't get used to not having any color there, so I added the green at the top. The rug...oh...I'm learning not to buy something just because it's a good deal! No, it's a nice rug and I needed SOMETHING there. I love our brick floors but they are a little tricky to move chairs back and forth across, so a rug helps out there. I couldn't find one I really liked for the right price so I bought that one for a fill-in.

After some sewing and rug shopping, here's my space now.

It was tricky to find the right sized rug. A 5x7 is too small and we have a floor vent to work around so an 8x10 was too big. I finally landed on a 6x9 and I think it will be just right. I bought this rug from Pier One and expect to be really happy with it. I've never had a natural fiber rug before so we'll see how it goes (and hopefully the wrinkles will flatten out!).

Striped lamp shade inspired by Carmel at Our Fifth House. The lamp base was a brassy thrift-store find. I love the shape and the finish was

nothing a little spray paint couldn't help!

There was one more element I was wanting to add that I showed in my inspiration pictures, bamboo shades on the windows. We don't really need anything for privacy on these windows, but I like the look and texture they give. I chose a matchstick roll-up shade and sweet Ray installed one of them over the weekend, but once it was up I didn't like it. What do you think?

It just gets lost during the day time with the sunlight coming in. I haven't abandoned the idea-I'm going to find something more substantial and less transparent to try.

And here you can see the view across the living and kitchen windows. I like how it all flows nicely now.

Even though it's done for now, I still have several things I'd like to do in that area. I'm ready for a change on the wall-maybe some botannicals? I love my kitchen table, have had it since we've been married, but it needs some freshening up and those chairs are just stand-ins until I figure out what's happening in the dining room. I'm also looking for a great fabric to cover the kitchen chair seats in. And, we've really enjoyed having the loveseat in there but I'm looking for a settee that's a smaller scale. So life goes with a home decorator...nothing is ever really finished!

Linking up with: It's Overflowing!, Shine Your Light, Tip Junkie

Kitchen Eating Area Inspiration Photos

2012-01-13T05:59:00.004-06:00

I am completing a mini-redo of the eating area in our kitchen that I will show you on Monday. But until then, I thought I would share a few inspiration photos that I referred to for the space.

Black and white drapes: (but I also love the entire color scheme
and those animal print pillows!)

Source: emilyaclark.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Black and white drapes again, but also the bamboo shades in the next two pictures. This picture is actually one of my all-time favorites. I love the black/white/ & green color scheme-it's what I'm using a lot of in my own home.

I also think all of the natural elements are fantastic.

Source: 4.bp.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Don't you just want to cozy up on that sofa with a good book?

Source: room-galleries.myhomeideas.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Striped lamp shade:

Source: ourfifthhouse.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

By the way, these were all pinned on my Pinterest boards. You can follow me by clicking on the red Pinterest icon on my sidebar.

By the way #2, my tree stump side tables are featured on The Shabby Nest today! Thanks so much to Wendy for hosting her Frugal Friday party each week. But, for this feature in particular, thank you all so much more because I tied with Allison at Fab Rehab for having the highest number of "Likes" for our projects. You guys are the best!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Birthday Money

2012-01-12T05:17:00.001-06:00

We partied hard...the birthday boy requested chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, an escape from school for a quick lunch at McDonald's, and dinner at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. We've also been at church every night this week for our special Winter Bible Study, so we raced home after dinner to open presents before heading to church.

We had a first this year...Caleb was requesting $$ more than toys. He's saving up for some techy gadget that every 11 year-old must have. I remembered Pam's suggestions for clever ways to give money and decided to try this one.

I went to the bank, traded some larger bills for ones,

and lightly taped them together end to end.

Then, I rolled them all up and placed them in a tissue box that I had opened on the end and removed all the tissues from. (I actually also stuffed a plastic grocery bag on each side of the roll of money so it wouldn't rattle around in there.)

I wrapped the box with paper and cut a slip in the top to feed the bills through. I wrapped this box in a larger box to keep it concealed until opening.

Caleb was thrilled!

The best part was stringing it across the floor and counting!

(It's not that much, but a lot of $1s end to end look impressive!)

Due to our busy day and party decorations strewn about, I didn't quite finish up my project I've been working on enough for it to be photo-ready. I'll show you on Monday.

(Oops! I just noticed...maybe you do get a sneak peek of my project in the picture of Caleb at the top!)

11 Reasons Why I Love Caleb

2012-01-11T05:45:00.001-06:00

1. He is a servant. He is always happy to do whatever he is asked, and often does things that need to be done without having to be asked.

2. He has a great imagination.

3. He is teachable. He listens to instruction and applies it to his life.

4. He has a tender heart. He's sensitive to others and their feelings.

5. He is funny!

6. He's a planner. He knows what he will need and takes care of getting his things together. He knows exactly what he has and where to find it at any given time.

7. He always works to do the right thing. He wants to be pleasing to others.

8. He is enthusiastic. Whenever he decides that he likes something, he goes all out to support it.

9. He is a huge encourager. He's the one on the team cheering for each teammate and always saying "good job" to players on the other team.

10. He loves the Lord and strives to learn more about Him.

11. He's just like his daddy.

I love you Caleb Ray. You have grown and learned so much these past years and I look forward to what the Lord has in store for you this coming year. Happy Birthday!

Sew Busy

2012-01-10T05:50:00.010-06:00

Rather than spending a lot of time on the computer today working on a post, I'm working hard to finish a project! Hopefully I'll be able to show you on Thursday. We have a birthday boy to celebrate tomorrow!

The One That Got Away

2012-01-09T05:33:00.009-06:00

Over the weekend I was looking through some pictures stored on my desktop and came across this one:

It's from a Craig's List posting last spring. I bookmarked the listing to "think about it", and of course forgot to come back to it. Several weeks later I saw my bookmark and decided to check into it. It was big...like 3x5 feet. Yes, it was still for sale, made out of wood, said it was from Italy, and he would take $75 rather than the $100 listed on the price.

The man didn't live in our area but had advertised it here to get more exposure. His daughter did live here and he said he would bring it the next time he visited her. Weeks passed. I contacted him and nicely asked if he was still planning to bring it. He said yes, he just hadn't made it to town yet. Several more weeks passed, I attempted to contact him several more times, and I never heard from him again.

I still wonder what happened. Did he get a better offer? Change his mind? Discover he was crazy for selling a fabulous mirror like that for $75? I'll never know. I still think maybe I should have found out exactly how far away he was. It might have been worth a road trip!

I obviously haven't forgotten about it. Maybe I should contact him and see if he still has it? Is that stalking?

What's your "One That Got Away" story?

Sunday Morning Scripture

2012-01-08T05:30:00.008-06:00

via

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around

like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you

and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:8-11 (NIV)

Stump Side Tables

2012-01-05T07:25:00.005-06:00

Did you know that nothing more than a tree stump can be an intersting and functional addition to your decor?

Some have wheels added...

Source: greigedesign.blogspot.com via Paige on Pinterest

Source: mobile.boligpluss.no via Diana on Pinterest

Source: 79ideas.org via Kylee on Pinterest

Painted or natural...

Source: tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com via Geneviève on Pinterest

Source: blairpeter.typepad.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: remodelaholic.com via Shelly on Pinterest

This one sells for $199 at West Elm. Ahheeemmm! Yikes!

Source: westelm.com via Tonya on Pinterest

Bark or stripped bare...(yes, pun intended! Haha.)

Source: heatherwagnerphotography.com via Michelle on Pinterest

I couldn't resist!

Source: capturedbycarrie.com via Elicia on Pinterest

After originally seeing this stump side table that The Nester made, I was inspired to make my own.

Nesting Place

I kept an eye out curbside for stumps being thrown out, but I never saw anything that I wouldn't have to trim. So, we went to the wood lot where we buy our firewood and the guy was willing to let me look through the pile that hadn't been split yet. I chose 2 that were about the same size (about 15" tall). They had some vines and such growing on them but I sorta liked the character that added. Left them on for now.

After bringing the stumps home we rinsed them off and sprayed them with bug spray and let them sit for a few days. Then, I washed them off again just because I didn't want any pesticide residue on them.

I wanted casters on them to add a little height, but also these things are HEAVY! The rollers have been invaluable when I need to move them around for cleaning or whatever.

I like the look of the bark left on, so all I did was sand the top a bit and rubbed 3 coats of paste wax on. I wanted it to repel water a bit in case a drink leaked on it or something. The darker portion in the picture is where I had just applied the wax, but as it dried the wood went back to the original color. I didn't treat the bark at all, so we'll just have to see how that turns out as it ages and dries out. I may strip it all off some day if it starts to fall off.

And, the finished product!

These are so handy and are the perfect spot for the remote and a drink while watching tv. In a pinch they even work as extra seating. I'm not sure what we did without them!

**Updated to add: Warning! A reader informed me that those large hairy vines are most likely poison ivy and can still be harmful even if the vine is dried out. I haven't had a problem with ours, but would hate for anyone to have a reaction if you come across something like this. Proceed with caution!**

We paid the wood lot guy $5 for both stumps (I don't even think he wanted that much!) and the casters were about $6 for 2 at Home Depot. I think less than $30 was a great investment for this project!

Linking up with these great parties:

The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Savvy Southern Style
It's Overflowing
Southern Lovely
Miss Mustard Seed

Winter Entry and Dining Room Table Decor (& Blogger Question)

2012-01-04T04:54:00.001-06:00

Happy Wednesday friends!! My kids go back to school today and if you were here you would see me doing a little happy dance! Honestly, I love them to pieces, but it's time! Can anyone relate?

Today I wanted to show you my little spaces when you walk in the front door, all dressed up for winter.

I re-purposed some things I had out for fall and Christmas, but was going for more of a winter-y/January theme.

Aren't these guys the cutest? I found them at a little consignment store and almost left them there. I'm really glad I changed my mind.

I also worked on a new arrangement for the dining room table. I'm trying to use real plants more instead of fake greenery, so when I saw these 2 ferns and and an ivy on clearance at Lowe's for $1.25 each, I snatched them up! I knew I wanted my clam shell to be a big statement piece on the table, so I loaded up the plants in some old containers and covered everything with moss.

I had all of the supplies on hand, so I got a new arrangement for $3.75-can't hardly beat that!

Finally, is anyone having trouble with Blogger lately? When uploading pictures, I can upload several and then add the one I've chosen, but when I go back to the picture icon to insert another all of the pictures I already uploaded are gone. I'm having to upload and insert one at a time. Also, when I want to join a link party and choose "crop" for my image, I can't crop it. I just have to choose a picture and I don't have any control on what the thumbnail will look like. Everything was fine until about a week ago and then these problems started. Any thoughts?

Christmas Card Prayer Sticks

2012-01-03T09:45:00.001-06:00

Last week while browsing through Pinterest, I noticed an idea that one of my friends had pinned. I didn't re-pin, but I just went back to find the original source and you can see that here (hers are much cuter...should have checked that out before we did ours, but our version was super quick and easy!)

When the kids were smaller we would use the Chrismas card pictures from their friends and make place mats. They still enjoy pulling them out today and seeing how everyone has grown and changed.

This year we used our pictures and spent a little time on New Year's eve making these prayer sticks.

Each morning during breakfast we read a little devotional and pull a stick out of the group. Today we're praying for Jack and his family. Loving the "Jesus Calling" for kids devotional book.

Do you do something special with all of the family pictures you receive at Christmas?

Linking up with Savvy Souther Style and It's Overflowing.

12 Home Goals for 2012

2012-01-02T04:42:00.001-06:00

There are several big projects that I would like to accomplish this year. I think I appear to be all organized and "Type A", but I'm really a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of girl and just hope that things turn out similar to the vision in my head. Hopefully, if I list them here, I'll have a little bit of accountability from you all and stay on track to get things finished! I'm the worst at taking on a big project and getting it 90% finished, then never quite totally completing the task. So, here goes.

Source: therusticcottage.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

I have chairs like this in my garage. They don't look this good. Yet.

Source: hollymathisinteriors.com via Jennifer on Pinteres
Inspiration pic for dining room.
2) Change out my dining room. Well, technically fill it up. I sold my furniture months ago and everything in there right now is temporary.

Source: awelldressedhome.com via Jennifer on Pinteres
One of my inspiration pics for the master bedroom.

3) Master bedroom overhaul. Paint, drapery, bedding. Figure out what to do with the furniture.

4) Finish our kitchen. We did a semi-major remodel about a year ago that I still want to show you, but there are a few more things to do before I'll declare it officially "done."

5) Paint interior doors. I've got a small start on this one but still plenty to do!

6) Major trim touch up. Most of the lower baseboards in our home are getting pretty sad looking. This is probably the job I look forward to the least!

7) My closet. Two words... Total. Disaster! Figure out a way to organize it to keep it clean once and for all!

8) Master Bath Redo. This one has been a long time coming and it's finally worked it's way up on the list.

9) Back yard clean-up, "tending to". There was no landscaping in our back yard when we moved in 4 years ago, so we've tried to add a little at a time. I know we'll do something back there this year, just not sure what yet.

10) Clean out/re-organize the garage. This is one that never leaves the to-do list!

11) Put the finishing touches on my son's room. It's pretty good right now but there are a few things I've had in mind in order to have it be complete.

12) Have lots of people over, relax, and enjoy the company!

Well, there you have it! My top 12 home goals for 2012. I know there will be lots of other projects sprinkled in along with these major ones, so I hope you come along and see what actually gets done around here!

Sunday Morning Scripture

2012-01-01T05:30:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

This is technically a Psalm of Thanksgiving, but the Lord brought it to my mind as I thought about new beginnings that lie ahead this year.

Happy day, friends. I am so thankful for you!

photo via

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!

Serve the LORD with gladness!

Come into his presence with singing!

Know that the LORD, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his courts with praise!

Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100 (ESV)

Favorite Project Highlights of 2011

2011-12-30T05:01:00.006-06:00

I almost didn't do this post because I've only been blogging for a few months, but I wanted to get in on the fun! Hopefully next year I'll have a much longer project completion list. Here are my favorite projects from the recent past:

My New Laundry Room
(Pictures in this post are updated just a tad.)

Re-hung Dining Curtains

It was a small change that made a HUGE difference in the look and feel of the room.

Updated Ceiling Fans

A Perfectly Striped Wall

Emily's New Room

Stocking Pillow

I can't wait to start a new year. I'm working on a list of house goals and have so many thoughts spinning around in my head...I want to do it all at once! Happy New Year friends!

Linking up with....Tatertots and Jello, Thrifty Decor Chick

Christmas 2011 Wrap-Up

2011-12-29T20:28:00.000-06:00

Well hello friends! I had planned to take this entire week off while the kids are out of school, but I missed everyone and felt out of the loop! I hope you had a very meaningful Christmas and time of celebration with your families. Here's a little recap of our Christmas.

Our church held two Christmas Eve services and Ray preached both of them this year (he's not the regular preaching pastor but fills in occasionally). After our Christmas Eve service, we hosted both sides of the family for a snacky-appetizer dinner and time to just enjoy being together. The kids performed a few musical selections of their choice...entertaining to all!

Probably one of Emily's favorite gifts-the day she received it she tried to make it to 100 jumps. Today, 3 days later, her record was 1,467. Wow. Ray & I had to switch off counting. And, she can now jump with no hands. Do you think any colleges offer scholarships for pogo jumping?

Approximately 2.7 seconds after opening, Caleb had a pop bottle in the back yard to use as target practice for his new bb gun.

My present-a total surprise! It's a beauty and Ray even added a huge basket and bling-bling bell. Watch out neighborhood, here I come!

We spent today roaming around downtown OKC. The kids had never been to the OKC National Memorial so we toured the gardens. There are 168 of these bronze chairs to represent each life lost that dreadful day, which include 19 smaller chairs that you can see a bit of in the background to represent the precious children lost. Heartwrenching but it makes me so proud of how the people of our great state came together and demonstrated compassion time and time again in the aftermath of the bombing.

There's a lot happening in downtown OKC! This is the new Devon tower under construction. It's huge! That tower next to it is the next tallest building downtown and it used to seem big...now it's dwarfed.

As of this evening Christmas is all packed up and back in the attic. Our living space seems so much bigger with it out. Now in the morning I just have to clean the trail of disaster left behind!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T04:12:00.002-06:00

Wishing a Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

The Lord has showered his blessings on our family and I am so grateful for His gracious care for us. Praise be to God for His indescribable gift (Jesus!)
this Christmas Season.

I am so thankful for all of you that visit my blog and share your support. I'll be back around the first of the year and look forward to sharing more time with you!

Raspberry Chipotle Cream Cheese Dip (& Jib Jab!)

2011-12-21T04:11:00.002-06:00

This is one of my favorite go-to appetizers to serve at my home or bring to a party. It could not be easier, and is oh, so good! If you have a Sam's Club in your area, pick up a bottle of this the next time you are there:

It's on the aisle with the barbeque sauces. I got hooked on this treat a few years ago, Sam's quit carrying the sauce, I found something similar at a local grocery store, and then they quit carrying it about a year ago! I truly crave this through the year sometimes, so when I discovered that they had it again (maybe it's seasonal?) I've snatched up 4 bottles. No sirree, not running out of this stuff anytime soon. If you invite me to a party you can guess what I'll bring!

By the way, do NOT get this expecting it to be the same...

Blech! Very barbeque-y.

All you need to do is set out a brick of cream cheese and let it soften, and then liberally pour the sauce over the top. Wheat thins are the perfect accompaniment to scoop up the dip.

I hope you try it and enjoy it, it's one of our family's favorites (the adults, anyway!).

On a side note, my kids are hooked on the Jib Jab "Elf Yourself" cards that you can make online. Here's our most recent. It's especially amusing to us because even though what each person is doing is totally random in the song, ours turned out perfectly. Ray really does play the drums and I really did play the bass violin in junior high. Funny!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Go here to make your own.

Shop at The Rink

2011-12-20T04:01:00.020-06:00

This post is for all of my local friends. Looking for a unique gift or accent for your home? Have I got the place for you!

The Rink Gallery is located on 32nd and Rockwell in Bethany. It's actually just a few blocks from the house I grew up in and literally used to be an ice skating rink. I think the old Zamboni is still in there somewhere! They have divided the space into individual booth areas which have such an interesting mix eclectic, vintage, and antique goods, furniture, and clothing.

My parents rent booth space here. Mom is the master shopper and Dad is the master fixer/painter/cleaner-upper of whatever she finds. Here are a few pictures of their booth:

All of the grandchildren call her "Bree." Her name was going to be "Grammy", but when my son tried to say that it somehow sounded like Bree. She loved it so much better than Grammy, so the name stuck.

My dad PAINTED that brick floor-I think it adds such character to their space.

They have a little bit of everything in their booth. Just look for the brick floor straight down the middle of the building.

A few other spaces throughout the building that I thought were interesting:

Charming memorabilia...

Can't you just see these chairs re-done in a fabulous print? I like the oval clock on the table, too.

And a few unique items:

I saved the best for last...metal, green, drawers...love!

The Rink is open every day from 10 am-6 pm, Thursdays until 8 pm with live entertainment from 5-7pm, and Sundays from 12-6 pm.

Parties and Painting (Last Minute Gift Idea!)

2011-12-19T04:01:00.034-06:00

Over the weekend we hosted a lunch for my girlfriends, a dinner for several young couples, and a birthday party for my sister. I thought we might as well squeeze in as much as possible while the house was clean and looking good!

I basically kept the table set and just switched out dishes for each event. These ornaments served as place cards and a take-home party favor.

The "cupcake stands" were inverted milkglass glasses that I spotted at a thrift store. They were $2.99 each, but I knew they wouldn't sell for that much so I kept an eye on them until they were marked down. Yes, I wait for things to be marked down at a thrift store. I snagged the set of 12 for $9.00.

The girls sat in the dining room...

and this was the boys' table-I kept it super simple and left the fluff for the girls.

I meant to take pictures with our guests at the party, but I always forget to pull out the camera once people arrive.

Part II-
Several weeks ago my friend Darla and I took a road trip for the day to Dallas-we packed in Ikea, fabric and jewelry warehouses, several Homegoods stores, Anthropologie at Northpark Mall, and dinner at Babe's Chicken (YUM! if you've never been there...I wish I had some right now!) Anyway, we had a project in mind and found our supplies at Ikea.

Inspired by my friend Pam at Simple Details, we wanted to make some monogrammed door mats for Christmas gifts. If you haven't been to Pam's blog, check it out! I love everything about it...she has such impeccable taste and every project she does ends in perfection! We started blogging about the same time and she was one of my first "blog" friends, and we've since discovered that we have so many things in common. Visit her site for a full tutorial, but here's a quick run down of what we did.

I enlarged the letter I wanted on the computer and printed it out. Thankfully, it was a gorgeous, sunny day so we used the window to trace the letter in the center of a piece of posterboard.

Then, we trimmed the letter out of the middle to make a stencil and centered it on the mat. Spraying straight down to try and avoid any bleeding, we gave each mat 3 or 4 coats. Darla used Krylon flat black and I used Walmart glossy. I think hers turned out a little darker. I don't know if the flat/glossy was the difference or the brand.

She's going to kill me for putting in this picture, but I have to demonstrate the process, right? So, I'll say nice things about her so she won't be too mad. She's the kind of friend everyone needs...an amazing mother, smart business woman, and she truly hungers and thirsts to know the Lord better. She's my "Upstairs Friend" that I can completely be myself with and I know she will always love and accept me no matter what my house looks like, how my kids act or what stage of life I'm in. She was my #1 encourager to start this blog and is always kind to express her support.

After the letter was finished we just eye-balled the border, taped it off and sprayed. This was a fun project, mainly because I had a great partner and our kids had a blast playing together while we worked. I made my mats for teacher's gifts and we were really happy with how they turned out.

It took us maybe 1 1/2 or 2 hours to do all of these from start to finish, not too bad.

The finished product!

How would you wrap a doormat? This is what I did...

Whew! I guess that was really two posts in one. Thanks for hanging in there!

Sunday Morning Scripture

2011-12-18T12:39:00.000-06:00

via

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Personalized Ornaments

2011-12-15T00:54:00.002-06:00

While on vacation I saw some ornaments similar to these in a gift shop and thought "Those would be really easy to make," and they were! If you need a last minute gift or just a little extra something to accompany a present or even a few more ornaments to fill out your tree, give these a try!

I purchased a box of glass ornaments and used paint and ribbon that I had on hand.

One trick that I like to use when painting dots is to cut one out of a sponge. I sponge the dots on (remember sponge painting walls and t-shirts in the 90's?) and then go back and fill them in with a brush. The sponge gives me somewhat of a template to make the dots uniform and makes the process much quicker since I only have to do a few swipes with the brush to fill it in.

See my fancy handy-dandy drying rack? The kids saw them still hanging there in the morning and thought I should leave them. Maybe that would be a good addition to the decor next year!

My lovely assistant even painted one of her own.

After painting the dots I used a black paint pen and free-handed an initial. When that dried I went back with a wooden skewer barely dipped in white paint and lightly added the white dots. Done!

On Monday I'll show you what I did with these. If you haven't been there and have a few free minutes (or hours!), click over to Nesting Place for the Christmas Tour of Homes. There's lots of good Christmas inspiration and, don't you just love seeing other people's homes? I do! I'm a bit nosy that way!

Christmas 2011 Home Tour

2011-12-13T00:01:00.079-06:00

Are you tired of looking at holiday decor yet? I hope not...at least until after you finish this post! I decided to lump everything I haven't shown you in one final post, so get ready for a lot of pictures. I won't talk much, so just grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Go here to see a closer look of the tree.

Fur covered letters...one thing checked off of my craft to-do list!

Our built-ins house a collection of nativities. The one on the bottom is made out of olive wood and was a gift to us after my husband's parents visited Bethlehem.

I love Sunday School crafts so much...this one is a "NUT-tivity." Isn't it adorable? All the characters are-you guessed it-made from nuts and the baby Jesus is a little acorn. The cotton balls are sheep.

This snowy bird scene was inspired by the pages of Better Homes and Gardens. See more projects inspired by the magazine here.

Quite possibly my favorite decoration this year...

Or maybe this one is. I'm not sure what these are called but all of the nativity characters are represented on different levels. Found this at a yard sale while vacationing in Angel Fire, NM. The couple told me that it came from their son when he was stationed in Germany.

Go here to see more of my mantel.

Vintage ornaments on a little tree in the kitchen.

Kitchen table-go here to see how I made my Pottery Barn knock-off stocking pillow.

This boot arrangement was inspired by Kim at Savvy Southern Style, who was inspired by her Ballard Designs catalog. Visit her blog sometime...you'll love it!

Another check on my Christmas Craft to-do list!

I'll be linking up with The Inspired Room, Alamode, and The Nester at Nesting Place. Come join the fun!

How to Make a Bow {Video Tutorial}

2011-12-12T00:01:00.052-06:00

Good Monday morning, friends! Hope that you all enjoyed your weekend. We attended a couple of fantastic concerts, Christmas parties, and spent Saturday morning partaking of doughnuts and the Muppet Movie. Manamana!

Today I wanted to show you how to make a bow for a wreath, swag, package, outdoor decor, or wherever you need one. It really is simple once you get the hang of it, just takes a little practice.

I started off taking lots of pictures of the process, but decided it would be easier to demonstrate in real life. So, I made my first video...please excuse all of the "um"s, "but"s, and "anyway"s!

(Note to self...next time figure out how to edit the freeze frame before uploading video!)

How to Make a Bow {Video Tutorial} from dimples and tangles on Vimeo.

A few things I forgot to mention... PLEASE trim the ends of your ribbon tails! Either cut the end diagonally or make the swallowtail "V" cut. Nothing ruins a beautiful bow like unfinished edges! Also, if the ribbon you are working with only has the pattern on one side, just twist it over each time you bring it to the middle and pinch, so that the pretty side is always on the outside. Lastly, I think I used about 4 yards for this bow. Your yardage will vary depending on how large your bow is.

And here is the finished product-

Linking up to The Inspired Room.

Sunday Morning Scripture

2011-12-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

We were blessed to host Keith & Kristyn Getty at our church for a concert Friday night. This song was such a meaningful point in the evening. Kristyn read from John 1 and then sang their song "Fullness of Grace." Beautiful and so appropriate as we approach the Christmas season.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.

He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John bore witness about him, and cried out,

"This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses;

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

How Lovely Are Thy Branches...

2011-12-08T21:28:00.002-06:00

I never do a specific theme or color scheme for our family room tree...just whatever I like or what we've collected over the years.

My favorite part is the topper. A few years ago we moved into this house with taller ceilings and the tree looked skimpy. I used feathers and branches from the top up to make it look taller. Looks a bit like something exploded up there, but I like it!

One of my faves...fluffy fat red birds.

Sunday School crafts

This is a fantastic idea...a story-telling nativity glove. The kids' kindergarten Sunday School teacher made this for us. It's a black glove with animals on the thumb, Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus on the pointer, and the Wise Men on the 3 last fingers. Do you see their gifts they are bringing (oops, looks like we lost one!)? And the star that they followed is on the palm. Thanks Miss Stacie!

This Moses basket would never sell in a garage sale...and then I was glad! I use it under the tree for Baby Jesus' "manger" to help us remember that He is the real gift at Christmas.

Enjoy your weekend friends. I hope to finish my Christmas shopping! What are your plans?

I'm joining the Christmas Tree Link party at Honey We're Home and Thrifty Decor Chick.

Christmas Mantel

2011-12-06T18:49:00.005-06:00

I'm finally sharing my Christmas Mantel. I've been ~~almost~~ finished decorating since last Friday when we had a Sunday School class fellowship in our home, but something about the mantel was bugging me. So, today I finally did a bit of tweaking and came up with something I'm really happy with!

I love looking at so many different Christmas decorating themes, but I'm a traditional red and green girl with lots of natural elements mixed in. Once again I used my copper-y lanterns that you might recognize from my fall mantel.

These bark covered birdhouses are some of my favorite Christmas items. I've had them on the mantel for several years. They came from Hancock's fabrics-of all places.

I use this traditional Christmas plaid ribbon everywhere. If something doesn't look quite right, it must need a bow! They quit carrying this pattern several years ago at Hobby Lobby and I haven't seen it anywhere else, so I'm hoarding every little scrap I have. I can't remember ever NOT using this plaid with my Christmas decorations, so that means it's been around for most of the 17 Christmases that we've been married!

I made both of the stockings for the kids-although I don't think Emily got hers until her SECOND Christmas. Man, those things took forever!

These darling little feather trees were new additions a few years ago. They came from Gordman's.

The glitz and glimmer of a few ornaments helped brighten things up a bit-those are what I added last minute today and they made such a difference!

This year I dressed up the plaid stockings with a bit of leopard trim. My hubby saw them and said "Couldn't you have done camo on mine?" (Then I took the trim off of his.)

All ready for a roaring fire, mugs of hot chocolate, and a handful of Christmas stories!

I'm linking up with these great mantel parties and can't wait to see yours!

Southern Hospitality

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Ten June
Mum of All Trades
Alamode

Don't Forget to Look Up!

2011-12-06T00:01:00.002-06:00

I'm waiting for some sun outside so I can photograph Christmas decor, but did want to share one little thing. Don't neglect your light fixtures when decorating for Christmas!

I love just a touch of greenery and sparkle to draw your eye up and continue the festive setting.

Disclaimer: Those are real cedar clippings...I know that they will stay green but it's an experiment to see what will happen to them as they dry out. I don't THINK they are a fire hazard but we'll keep an eye on them!

I shared my candle cover dilemma with you in this post, and here you see that I decided to go dark with them (for now!). In the past I have wrapped fake garlands around the lights, but wanted to freshen things up a bit this year. I cut sprigs off the end of cedar branches and just laid them in place-no wiring or anything, just worked with them until they stayed put.

A few other inspiration pics that are totally doable...

http://inspirebohemia.blogspot.com/2010/12/holiday-chandeliers-and-brancheliers.html

I saw something like this at Anthropology, they had just used a jillion clear glass balls and hung them together with string. Super cool.

http://pinterest.com/pin/553081854/

http://pinterest.com/pin/351871209/

http://pinterest.com/pin/234378738/

You know I love this one...anything with a branch!

http://pinterest.com/pin/290701995/

Look up! What little bit of sparkle can you add to your lighting?