Monday, January 23, 2012

Sweet!

I love finding little notes from one of my sweet little girls!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Oh, The Things I Can Do...

...with a little paint, a sewing machine, and a shower curtain!

These were my inspiration pieces.
A shower curtain that I am in love with the colors, 
and a few throw rugs that coordinate well with it.
 From one shower curtain I made,
a chair cushion...
 Two valances...
 With the original top I used a ribbon
 and wove it through the shower hook holes. 
Then I tied it to little metal flower fobs.


This valance on this window is just hung with a tension rod. 
It's under a cornice box & because it's not really seen at the top it's just kinda plain Jane. 
This piece was cut from the bottom of the shower curtain.

Lastly I made a new ironing board cover to match.
I still have a few small pieces if fabric left that I'm sure I can put to use before this room is done. 
I'm about half way finished painting.
More pictures will follow when everything is complete.
Oh...and while I was sewing these things together tonight I also made a dust ruffle for "baby girl no name" that is due next month.
Now I just need to get it out to her mom so she can finish up decorating baby girls nursery!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Oh Yeah!

Thank you Laci for loaning me your old blender!
SUCCESS!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Eating Healthy

So, my girls are trying to eat healthy and are loosely trying a new program they recently learned about. The program is called the Green Smoothie Diet. I thought I would give it a try too...ahem...loosely. I bought the ingredients to make one for breakfast this morning. Well this morning I ran out of time. Tonight I thought, instead of the ice cream we love, I would make a fruit smoothie, leaving the veggies out for tomorrows "green smoothie".
I only have a regular blender, not the super duper terrific kind that makes soups as well as malts and smoothies. I gathered all my ingredients on the counter....canned pears... frozen banana, blueberries, peaches, strawberries, then a little pomegranate lemonade for additional liquid. The canned pears were puree'd in the blender first. This brought the hubs into the kitchen to see what all the noise was about. Then I added some frozen ingredients and started the blender again.....


This wonderful multi speed KitchenAid in the most beautiful shade of red, that was gifted to me by Dana's mother in law, Kathy.....
BLEW ITS GEARS! 
EPIC FAIL!

So....
I got out my trusty little hand mixer.
Mixed everything really well, 
however I think smoothies are supposed to be, 
well.....
 smooth, and not frozen chunky.

So...
I did what any resourceful girl would do and did it ...

MANUALLY!!!


Yep, I got my salsa maker down, started spinning that puppy fast and
guess what?

SUCCESS!
It was not totally smooth, but the chunks were mini.
They were Delicious! 
As for the Green Smoothies for breakfast....
I think they will be put on hold until I have something to turn all that green into a puree.
I'll be saving for one of these beauties!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

2012....One Down and 51 to Go....

Just a little randomness on this first day of a new 
week.
In the quiet of this morn, the coffee is made

 I'm catching up on current events

 My girl has been fed

 What to do today?
 Spend the day outdoors....

...or play inside with these inspiration pieces?

Friday, January 6, 2012

I Borrowed This from Dana's Private Blog

My Very Own Kitchen Banquette


My parents came by on Braeden's birthday to drop off one of his birthday gifts.  
We sat in the kitchen chatting about home improvements
 I have on my resolution list.
  I rattled off various projects that I hoped I would be able to complete
 (of course with the help of Dad and Mom) before my birthday in June. 
 My first "want" was an improved seating arrangement for my kitchen.  
I have really wanted banquette seating built into my dining area in the kitchen.  
I talked about how I want it to be black with bead board facing
 and a nice tall trim along the bottom of the bench. 
 I shared that I want padded cushions on top of the bench 
and cute black chairs that coordinate with the bench. 
 My mom told me of her love for "kitchen booths" and her want for one as well. 
 It was at this point my Mom had a brilliant idea.  
She knew that they could re-vamp the kids old toy box into my banquette. 
 And that is just what they did. 
 They took the toy box home and two days later, it was returned, 
delivered, and ready to be painted. 
 Monday afternoon Kevin and I painted the beauty and placed 
it in the kitchen. 
 It fits perfectly and can I just say that I LOVE IT!!! 
 It is darling and so well-made. 
 I like that we used an old, 
sentimental piece of furniture that my dad made 
and transformed it into something 
that my family will use every single day. 
 Kathy has her wheels turning on designing and creating the
 cushions for the bench.  
We painted my chairs black and they look awesome too! 
 I am in love with my eating area and have my wonderful parents to thank. 
 They are constantly surprising me with the many super handy things
 they do for me. 
I love them so much!  I am a very lucky {and grateful} girl!


When this old home we live in was just built they featured 
darling little corner "booths" in the kitchen. 
Sadly it is long gone, but my love for them is still alive. 
When Dana started talking about what she wanted
 I knew exactly what she was talking about. 
The old toy box that Jerry built for all our day care kids toys 
was the perfect starting point. 
I love how hers turned out and an anxious to see what 
Kathy whips up for cushions. 
I have no doubt they will be a darling addition! 
We are talking about just how we will build mine. 
We will start from scratch for our's.
 I have some old hutches I'm hoping to incorporate. 
I am ready for a new look in my little dining room!  
What are you working on? 

Monday, January 2, 2012

The Color of 2012

Monday
 January 2, 2012 
5-ish PM


















Monday!

Lots of stuff going on today. For starters, the Rose parade and then Rose Bowl are today since January 1 fell on a Sunday this year. I always go out in my back yard to try to catch a glimpse of the Stealth Bomber that always does a fly over at the beginning of the parade. I thought Fighter jets flew as well, however today I didn't see them. I think the flight path was altered just a tad this year for the Stealth. I have never had pictures even worth showing. Today was an exception.





Ha, a bird and the Stealth in the same picture!

I went back inside to put my camera away then went back outside and saw this.....

OK, for the life of me I can't get Blogger to let me turn this picture!
Anyway, you get the idea. 

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Looks Like .....

Someone is going to be painting in the near future...
...and it's NOT us!!


Can you guess what this is going to be?


 More info as this project progresses!

Happy New Year!

January 1, 2012
What a beautiful day this first day of this new year is!
It's noon,
it's 80 degrees outside, 
the sky is the most beautiful clear blue. 
There is an ever so slight breeze. 
What can I say, we live in sunny So Cal!
Mother Nature always shows off on January 1st!




The hubs
 and I have been to the hardware store. 
We are working on a project...
re-purposing an old project, 
giving it new life. 




Should be fabulous!  

We just had lunch.....
Yes, this is the perfect way to start out what is going to be a fabulous 
NEW YEAR!