A little bit of pretty

This is a few bucks I do not regret spending in December!

Usually, I don't buy myself these indoor plants around Christmas, because of al the gift spending. This year I got this Amaryllis and the Paperwhites from previous posts and I am happy I did. I will have to do it again next year. Maybe even get a few more. I have this one in the ugly pot it came with...I will keep my eyes pealed for nice containers at sales this summer.

Mistreating the bathroom?

After sprucing up the bathroom I decided that I would GET RID of that horrid border (below)that I hated and mistreat the lone bathroom window. I case you are worried I am being mean to the window check out more of Nester's stuff to see what I mean my 'mistreat'.

Here is a lovely view of the window from when we were looking at the house. This was, think the second time I saw the house. They just cut th border to 'fit'... LOL

Here is right before I mistreated. Sadly this 'teal' looks better in pictures than real life. Since the lighting isn't great...I wish you could hate it as much as I did! LOL

Here is my 'first' go. The fabric is thinner than what I would like in a permanent 'treatment', but this is a MISTREATMENT!

I used the existing rod, hot glue, my fabric and ribbon.

Here is my final choice. The thought was to do a 'roman shade' type thing, but in the end I just wanted to cover the ugly and have some 'happy' in the room.

Leaving it oversized and folding it under hidles the window frame's need of trimming out.

My inner perfectionist (IP) about had a heart atack that I was posting this.

I am happy to have my pretty little mistreatment for the time being and knowing how "IP" wants me to do so many things it may be 'not so temporary'.

Oh and as for the 'fold' if you don't like it come iron it. I figure six hot showers and it will be gone! LOL

I hd a few extra flowers from my ribbon so I added them to a hand towel. I can't tell you how happy that makes me...silly but happy.

I hot glued them too! I will sew them on before I wash it, don't worry!

Now, onto other things, I really need to get the spare/craft room unpacked, I mean I have been in the house nearly four months. :P

It's been awhile

...since I had a good "haul" at Goodwill. I went and spent 20 dollars the other day. I love when you can leave with five bags and have dropped a twenty dollar bill. :-D

In my post from yesterday the metal bowl and the candlestick were found as well as the pedastal thingy where the soap is residing. Add that two 'doily/lace' throw pillows in white, that need a good laundering. (99c each).

Here is the rest!

Okay, admission I have NO need of a soccer 'slate'. However, this is a heavy duty slate background and the original price was nearly $30. I got it for 1.99. I will either find a soccer mom to gift it...OR.....I will repaint the base and make a cute sign suited to someone I love, maybe even ME!

The 'brassesque' candle holder is HEAVy and pretty shaped, I will likey paint it one color another and drag out the Rub N Buff. There is the adorable cherub ring holder, also in need of a paint ($1? I think, maybe even 49c).

Here is another pic of the ring holder and the little butterfly. I have a small collection brewing of those cheapy/uggy butterflies. (and again) I think there may be something to the 'imagery' of change for a butterfly and my drawn to finding them and making them PRETTY again. I may need some counseling on this point.

So, best for last, those canister set. 1.99 each. Honestly, I wish they had been a tiny bit chaper but $8 for the whole set? I intend to repaint the tops (they all have their little rubber seals, btw). I am contemplating stenciling words on them "FLOUR, SUGAR...." etc... My other thought is to buy cute shabby chic appliques such as these.

Any thoughts?

I have so little counter space I am thinking that I may be able to put them up on the top shelves of my cabinets and still have accessible, pretty and CHEAP.

I think I may have to do a quick ten minute redo on the top of that cabinet over there....how to hide the fire extinguisher, but not forget where I hid it?

10 Minute Room Makeover

The Nester has been doing 10 minute room makeovers. As a fellow FLYBABY much of what I needed to do, I knew, but it is good to have someone remind me.

I cleaned up my bedroom, moved a few things around and have been keeping my bed made. (sans pillows since the PUPPY eats them). I have been more adamant about the way I like my living room. (my hubby likes to move the seating where it is CLOSE to the TV.

Like most FLYbabies when I fall 'off the wagon' it starts with my kitchen sink and my morning swish/swipe. I had let them go. So here I am in all my imperfect glory showing you my bathroom.

We got possession of this house November 1st, then there was painting the kitchen cabinets, moving the horses, building a chicken coop (by myself), plumbing problems which are only partially resolved, Thanksgiving, Christmas, new kitten, new dog and then....where did the time go. I have gotten very little of my 'goals' done. I think if Jake (my DHs lovely horse) would stop knocking down a section of fence I would get more done!

This bathroom wants a total overhaul at some point. There is a laundry area in it with ugly acordian doors, a weird door covering the plumbing access, an old chimney chase boxed in that can be removed to gain space, ugly tile, weird layout and ...... well YOU KNOW how that goes.

I considered NOT doing this 'in public'....I was worried everyone's bathrooms would be nicer, better done etc....but thanks to years of FLYwashing and Nester's prodding I will enjoy the little progress too!

The first before picture! Um...do I need to put some stuff away....YES. Why is my shirt hanging where towels are supposed to be? LOL This is embarrassing!Worse yet? Okay so the new toilet paper made it TO the bathroom and into it's basket, but clearly putting that roll on the roller and straightening up was too hard. In my defense, I was probably chasing Duncan through the house at the same time.
I am not even sure this counts as a makeover. Aside from the 'thingamajig' on the counter that I got at Goodwill for 49cents nothing is new. It is now tidy and clean and feels alot better though so It counts!

So for my next trick I used these two askew pictures to hide the TP in the basket and don't worry the metal bowl and candlestick are not supposed to stay on the toilet, I just wanted them in the picture because I plan to get a little table next to the sink to sit them on and put some more plants in the metal bowl ($2 goodwill) The picture doesn't do them justice.

So I may officially have the 'weakest' makeover on the block, but I don't care! LOL

I also took a picture of the horrendous trim in the bathroom add the little window with the 'tealesque' curtain and I gag just walking in there. Oh btw, the walls are PEACH. YUCK!

The pictures I have hanging were given to me by grandma, who is downsizing, I actually like them alot and will do my final scheme in those more neutral colors. Also intend to replace that yucky oak toilet seat, paint the cabinet, paint the mirror frame etc...

However, it is those "BIG makeover" thoughts that prevents me making it a little nicer. Thank you again Nester for reminding me that BLESSING my house doesn't mean making it perfect. Take that inner-perfectionist I am showing my toothpaste on the intertubes! :D

A weird reason to be sad.

Driving to get lunch yesterday I passed our 'old town park' and noticed they were tearing down the OLD house next door. I am not sure of it's history, but it was OLD. There were 60 year old trees touching the house, where someone who is now old, thought, I will get those later. My guess is the house was one of the ORIGINALS. Old Town Park dates to 1877. This house may have belonged to the family who donated the land? I just don't know.
Really the sadness was not that it was being torn down. The elderly lady living there must have passed and those old trees left to grow too close, probably had destroyed the foundation, not to mention the ???? years of roof neglect and more.
For me, the sadness, was that noone had salvaged, what looks like ANYTHING. As I went by a dumpster full of 'debris' was being covered and hanging out the back was a 100+ year old piece of wood trim. My heart sank. This house was kind of spooky when we were kids, but cool and I just imagined what had been inside when they started demolition. What is left this morning as i passed is about 1/4 of the original mass. Still standing in an interior wall is what looks to be an 8' wood six panel door. Is this an old REAL door, what would I pay to have one made? Did they leave an old mantel on the original fireplace and just wreck it too?
I am so sad, that it is almost not RIGHT. This was no family home, no personal story, just a big old house and the history mattered little to the people who are tearing it down.
Just sad....I wish they had at least seen the potential profit, so that SOMEONE could have gotten that HISTORY, but no! There is even a family nearby who goes into homes before they are torn down and removes useable items.
What a waste.

I will go by later on the way to the hair salon and take a few pictures. This morning the sun wasn't up enough to get one.

Update: Here they are! :(

Happy Birthday, Papa Tom

My father, Tom Russell, Duncan's Papa Tom. Today he is 62. Yesterday we took him a few dozen eggs from the chooks. It is such a weird gift, but he is difficult to buy for.
Dad's birthday always makes me a little sad. He is a life-long smoker and I lost my own grandfather at 67 from lung cancer. Each year sneaks a little more fear into my heart. We don't have a perfect relationship, maybe too much alike, but I love him and Duncan adores him!

Duncan's middle name is Thomas and I prayed when I named him that he would earn some of Dad's finer qualities.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy V-day to my fellow bloggers and friends. I did very little decorating for the Holiday, but I did cute these silly letters out of scrapbook paper and hang them in my shop. I would like to redo it in different colors next year.

I promise

I will be back soon. I printed over 200 pictures from my camera at Walgreens so I can EMPTY it and start snapping away.

Tonight I have to find my son's Valentine cards and get them addressed/ready and also get goodies for my 'out to dinner' pals for our night out tonight.



Hugs to all my blog-pals.

EXCUSE ME?

I am laying an egg in here!~

ACK

Yes, Ack. I am sitting in the Starbucks parking lot, using their internet to pay my bills. My aunt added "U-verse" to her part of the house, knocking out my DSL and they can't get me back until Tuesday. ONE whole week total outage! I am losing what is left of my mind.
On Thursday I typed the following in a word processing program to let out my angst.

I will see you all again Tuesday and I am SO missing my cyber pals!

---
I am having internet issues. You don't realized just how 'addicted' you are to your internet access until it is denied to you. After moving in November I have been only able to use the internet when I am ‘in town’ at work. I can get only dial-up at the new house. Granted, I used to adore Dial Up, I thought it was the Bee’s knees. However, much like driving a NEW car makes you unhappy with your old one, so does DSL make you malcontent with dial-up.
Worse yet, I am experiencing random ‘outages’ at my shop. So, I am here, with a few spare moments in which I could read blogs, post to my blog, email, facebook and all my other weird addictions and ALAS, no internet. I am forced to type on a word processor and copy to my blog later. I have been ‘on the net’ since 1993, or so. 15 or more years of addiction! I remember how cool we thought ourselves when “IMing” with our friends overseas from the college computer labs. Those days it was nothing like today, less user-friendly, no applications, no animated smileys and so on. I went for a brief spell after college with no internet at home, but VERY brief. Now I can’t even imagine a world without the internet as my ‘sidekick’. I could give up many modern conveniences, even GOD FORBID, our TV, but the internet is my social network.
I didn’t come to town yesterday, choosing ‘going without’ and it was fine, but being HERE looking at my keyboard and wondering what all my ‘web-friends’ are doing is killing me.
Do I think a little less online time would be good for us all, yes, but for the love of God, AT&T get my DSL back up before I blow a blood vessel!---

I am out of control with this card thing...

So I went to Hobby Lobby and looked at 'card stuff' yesterday. Lo and Behold I can make TAGS too! :D This is my first attempt at a tag, it is kind of fun and seasonally appropriate.

Then today I made a birthday card for my friends baby. She turns one this weekend. She is making a Butterfly cake and so I did this.

Inside!

Here is the tag I made to go with it. For some reason it refused to be photographed without becoming fuzzy. The grass at the bottoms is ruffle and away from the paper and it was FUN!

None of these are perfection, none are expensive, but it is fun and I think she will like them.

I am sure, though that this may become an 'out of control' sort of thing.

I quite like this flower/butterfly combination, though and am picturing some little bunnies and such for Easter cards! One holiday at a time!

Weird weather

I got an excellent ride in yesterday. We had mid forties and melting snow!Tonight we are supposed to get more snow....wonder what will happen to the above 'slide'?