Is this thing on?

Okay, I am sure you have assumed I died, was maimed, moved to an island with no internet or worse! However, I am alive and well. Alot has happened in the months since I was a routine or semi-routine blogger.

It's feeling like SPring in Indiana so I am cleaning out the garage, sprucing things up and generally getting back into fixing up the house, so I might have some things to share.

For today I share that I found a lovely peice of Junk: An old Door!

I had a few ideas of what to do with it, which color to paint it and dragged it home. Then I just liked it's old patina so much I have left it for now. It isn't a door, or part of a project. For now, it is a peice of art, history in and of itself. I like it. The problem is that all the "ideas" still want a door, so now i have to find MORE of them! :D

Home found for Valentine table!

Well, I didn't get her painted or anything, but I found a lamp (also Goodwill), and a chair I found (GW!) a few weeks ago....and put them in place.

Then I added a picture (GW!) and an extra frame (FREE at yardsale)....to complete the set.

I have found something weird. I feel very PROUD to say "I got a deal on this...EVERYTHING in this room was thrifted, hand made, handed down etc...." and I say it with PRIDE, yet people always say "well that is okay" Like I told them I have foot rot and they are consoling me. Harumph! So I come to blogland, because I know you too LOVE deals!

Sorry I didn't get a picture of it "all together" when I get the lamp shade I want...and paint the table I will try to remember. Now...to paint the inner frame...or not? Hmmmmm

To see other pretty furniture in blogland go to:

Simply perfect

At least in my opinion.
A few years ago I bought this tiered tray (I am sure they have a name) and spray painted all it's chippy ugly plasticy silver parts white. I have used it for other things like this.
It has held soap in the bathroom, candles, you name it.
I put dollar tree silver pine cones, some berry doo-dads from an old arrangement (Goodwill) and some beeds I got YEARS ago from Walmart.

I don't know why, but it makes me smile. I hope it makes my guests, both blog and real, smile too.

Special Ornaments Volume 1

Each of my trees has a few very special ornaments. Most of the special ones go on my family tree which has a 'non-theme' theme.

The woodland tree on my sunporch, seen here last post, has just a few 'special' ones.

First is an ornament Duncan "made" in school when he was in 1st grade in art class. They pressed real pine tree parts into clay. I think it is genius, I think he probably actually was able to help with most of this project and I love it.

The one below is a beautiful REAL leaf that was gold-plated. It was a gift from my dear friend Daryl several years ago. It is from main and each year as I take it out of it's box I see the gift tag she put on it (taped inside the box) and am reminded that these friends MAKE Christmas for us.

If you have some special ormanents share them with the rest of us. I think unpacking those memories is one of the best parts of the season.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like....

Christmas at our home!

I guess I can do a cyber tour.

WELCOME!

Our 'woodland' themed tree ended on the sunporch this year. I have dreams of a white tree with all pinks for next year.
I decorated Grandma's drum table with some poinsettias and Garland. I have to say I love the picture of Duncan, I paid $5 for an artist to make it when we were on vacation in Florida.

Here is prooof that our tastes change. When I was given the reindeer above I was 20 years old and it went with NOTHING I owned and I didn't know what to do with him. I put him up those years anyway. This year I adore him and put out Grandma's old oranaments with him. I am looking for a few new gold items to put with him as I am out shopping today.

Here is where you can have a snack on the sunporch, enjoying my gold reindeer and the view of the snow on the lawn.

And last but not least I hung my dear friend Billy's stocking on the head of the guest bed, he is the friend most likely to sleep here over the Holiday season. If he comes to visit I will be sure to fill that tin with goodies and love.

At the foot of the guest bed, I put some pink ornaments in a dish as a reminder of how pretty my little white tree will be with them on it.

I will share more of my home later this week, I hope you come visit again.

Found!

These guys (plus a few with no panes) were in my barn loft. I had begun hosing them down before I took the picture, but wanted to leave some cobwebs for your viewing pleasure!

I don't know what/where they are going, but I am IN LOVE. I wish I were talented I would build a cool cabinet for the tall skinny one!

Chairs anew

Will blog the full makeover story later, but for now....here are my recovered rose-backs. I only suffered one STUPID self-stapling injury and they are much more cheerful now! I have acquired these two partial sets at yard sales. One had the lovely brown (did hide dirt well, note all the ugly grease stains)

The other was this blue print, which while not horrid wasn't ME. It did have LAYERS Of older colors underneat...I will share that later.

What do you think?

Two posts, one day?

Don't worry there is no planetary disruption just me trying to win some cool art!

NESTER is having a Linky party to tell where you put your feather/egg art or where you would put it.

So to get my name in the hat for those lovely prints here I am.

So this is a picture from our first tour of the house. So don't mind that triangle of dark wood in the middle of that white, trim, I fixed that right up within a week of moving. Behind June (my realtor) is a wall begging to be a GALLERY for those prints. I dare say they would be perfect here!

Click the link above....to go to Nester's site, and from there you can go to L. Herbert and see what it is I am drooling over!

Being taken over by the bathroom

Since my 10 minute makeover I have been a bit obsessed with making the bathroom a happy place. Some new candles, bubble bath and just more happy from that room (actually both bathrooms) but now I think about how to make it a bit nicer each day.

Today I went to Goodwill (anyone surprised?) and really found nothing of interest except....border for bathroom. Don't freak out I am not putting a new border up after removing the ghastly one from before, i just had an idea.

So I went to Dollar Tree to round out my idea and here is what I came home with.

Roll of border (99c), Dollar tree photo frames (4 @ $1 ea) and that little thing of SOAP ROSES. Yes, I said soap roses. They are pretty and you can use them. I like it!

After getting the border I actually used a deposit slip to 'measure' each panel on the border and took that paper into the dollar tree. It works! In the above picture I have used the glass to measure 'frame' out my new inexpensive print and mark it with pencil. Then I simply cut it to size and framed it.

I will end up with FOUR of these pictures for 4.99c (plus tax, of course).

Oddly the frame actually goes well with the print, but I will most likely paint it a complementary color to my bathroom.

What do you think?

Oh, and while talking deals I got two Martha Stewart books for $4 at the Library sale. YAY!

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

Which way do I go?

So, now that we can't truly move our stuff and get in and do dirty work until Sunday I am panicking a little. I have to admit I have some serious character flaws and one of them is chronic worry. I need to work on giving it to God.
So, I have a huge 'to do' list for both the old house and the new house. Some very IMPORTANT ones are pictured below.
Put hen house here! So I can stop carrying heavy hens across the yard and moving their little 'chicken tractor' around. I am hoping this job will find a 'helper'. I can see this being something I would spend days trying to do when someone with some 'skills' could knock it out in a few hours.

Next is to take the stone behind the barn and level this little garden. This could surely wait until Spring, but I would like to get a few of these things done before the ground freezes so SPring will be the lovely 'surprise' I like it to be. I want to move some of my Daylilies, a rose bush and plant some new bulbs.

Probably TRULY first is getting out the KILZ2 paint. The previous family had a cute little girl about Duncan's age, but I don't think Duncan will appreciate her Teal wall? Well, he probably doesn't care, but mommy does NOT like it. Also, D's room is the only one with carpet and I can't have carpet in his room. I will have to pull up the carpet and remove that nasty adhered stuff below and see what is there. If it is wood I will paint it, if it is something else I will panic a little more and then fix it as I find out.
About ten seconds after I arrive at the new house I fully intend to CLEAN these Cabinets, go outside to do other stuff (see above), come back in, Kilz2 them, go upstairs kilz d's wall and so on. I really think those green cabinets are dragging that kitchen down! Get some white in there and Ta da, a cute little cottage kitchen that begs me to make some muffins for my family.

Hey, did I mention that Kilz2? I also intend to get rid of this green division between the dining room and the kitchen. I am hoping this will open the space up some more and visibly increase my space.

Oh yeah....see that Traingle of wood? That has to go under some paint, too. If you are in love with that wood I apologize profusely for doing it to you, but again, small space, no islands of bold color change for me.

So....anyone got their paintbrush packed and on their way yet?

Betcha Can't Decorate Just One

Okay, I guess you can if that is the only room you have to move into for today!
We don't technically get the place until Sunday. We talked to the sellers and got permission to offload the trailer load of stuff. So I have space in the barn and in the sunroom.
Here is the new table in the sunroom with just a few of our things. Here is the view from the front door...WELCOME to my new home!

Here is Duncan's pumpkin in an urn with some yanked out plants from some annuals near the door. Literally, I stuffed an old box down in there pumpkin on, broke off stems and ta da...entry done!

So, just for fun I wanted to do a "how expensive was this quick sunroom" run:

Bed frame - $10 yard sale

Table - Barter (zero dollars)

Rooster lamp - 3.50 Goodwill

Cute birdy stands-5/pr clearance at Orchard Country Store

Chairs-Road side FREE

Mattress, bedding and box springs - about $140.

then let's add the tiny pumpkins and big pumpkin -$4

the urn on clearance at Michaels- $5

Grand total: 167.50

Now, I will have a few other little things adding along the way, but I thought this was pretty impressive. I love being FRUGAL!

So as a goodnight gift I share you my garden's denial of Autumn bloom!

Why I love Cottage Style.

Whether your cottage style is Bright colors or pink roses we All have a reason we LOVE this style.

First of all, I don't know that I ever heard or paid attention the the 'term' until I met my friend Daryl. I remember spending a night in her house and feeling like I really could STAY there and BE there. It didn't look a bit like "mamaw's house" but it had that feel. She had taken the effort to put a photo I had emailed her of MY family on the nightstand next to my bed, right next to an iced carafe of water. With those two things I felt so at home.

I have always loved a place where you could put your feet up, where you could have the things you love even if they don't all 'fit' perfectly together. Then, when I realized you could do all this AND it had a name I fell for "cottage style".

I can completely appreciate a modern kitchen, I can appreciate a house with very 'stiff' lines and rules, but I just don't feel HOME there.

I want my friends to come and want to linger. I want my family to LIVE in my home. I particularly love that you don't have to have a 'second' home to have the cottage feel. It makes me smile to think that we can all have cottage style from our 600 sq. ft. condo, to an actualy beach house to the 4000 sq ft. home.

I have had a few 'naysayer' friends continue to overuse the word 'little' to describe my new house. At first I get my feelings hurt. Then I remember that this style we love came out of making the best out of a small space. Taking a summer cottage and making it home while you are there. Making a cute house out of 'found' items and furniture. I look forward to taking my 40 year old sofa and chair (grandma's) into my LITTLE house, shopping for end tables on craigslist, flea markets and goodwill. Finding a way to make alot out of a little. When people come over there will be no question they can put their feet up and stay awhile. We can sit on the sunporch and discuss whether cicadas or crickets make better sounds. I look forward to people sitting around my dining room table while I cook and the dogs trot around on the back deck (or underfoot). I enjoy the challenge of redecorating without having a huge (any?) budget for it.

Thank God for Cottage Style and cottage friends, may you all come over for sweat tea in the summers and hot cocoa in the winter.

So, if YOUR cottage is bright and cheery, all white or your only cottage element is a pink slipcover on your sofa....Three cheers for Cottage Style.

By the way the cute guy on the back porch of my 'new LITTLE house' is my Fossil. I assume I will have to do a whole post about THAT. Let's just say, for now, he and his wife took in a heart wounded, newly motherless, obnoxious sixteen year old once upon a time. What crazy people they were? Well, I can't thank them enough and Fossil even came out to walk through with myself and the inspectors this week....still coming through for me.

Having a Go at Blogging

Well, this may be akin to a monkey with a paint roller: A disaster! However, I have been SO inspired by a few blogs I have been reading. Some very realistic and some where what they call 'on the cheap' is more than I can see myself spending to remodel right now.

I purchased our house in 2001 and more than half the reason was the little 'garage' behind which is now my grooming salon. Other reasons I liked the house were: Great trees, corner lot, stone fascia, white cabinets in kitchen and three bedrooms.

There are lots of things I knew I wouldn't love about the house, but I didn't know seven years later I would still be staring at some (manY) of them. Firstly, the house had nearly white carpet. I am the mother of a disabled son (then 3), have dogs (I rescue, so the number varies), groom for a living and generally LIVE in my home. The carpet lasted almost a year before it was intolerable. Then we pulled it up (being generous here...basically we means ME, one strip at a time) and found wood floors...that had been less than loved in most of the house. I have managed to get most of the BIG blobs of paint off and it looks better for the effort, but they need to be either refinished or repainted, more on that later. Then there was the fact that when they added on they have THREE doorways in my kitchen....ARG! The 'master bedroom' was once a living room and they did some horrid 'pocket door fix' which I tore out. Where the front door once was there is a lovely piece of "wood". There were ugly box shrubs out front and a lean too shed on our porch (YUCK AGAIN).

There are lots of things I would replace and redo in a major way if I intended to live here FOREVER. I am in my early thirties and am a horse-owner. We board the horses, but the goal is to have them HOME sometime soon. So this will mean buying land and a new home. So I save any 'big renovations' for THAT home and for when I can be one of those people who say "It was only $100 for this" . For now, I am a ten dollar, curbside, dumpster diving, goodwill shopping decorator!

I will post more later, I fear you have all passed out now from my rambling.

------above....an very unappealing 'face' of my house the "old door" is an eyesore and I have to decide whether or not to put a door, a fake door or cover it so much with flowers you can't see it. Either way this is a BIGGER future project that will require some help from my hubby.

Phot0 of one of my surprise lilies today!