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Please Join me at Southern Hospitality

February 9th, 2012

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Today I have the honor of our home being featured over at Southern Hospitality for her Feature Friday.

I am sure you all know who Rhoda is, but just in case, she is one of the sweetest and most hospitable ladies in Blogland and you will definitely want to stop by and meet her.

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Her blog is a beautiful place full of decorating and DIY tips, recipes and some of the best advice I have ever received in Blogland.

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Please stop by!

And if you are just coming here for the first time from Rhoda’s – Welcome!

Have a great day.

Posted in Features | 12 Comments

Total Fail Valentine Craft

February 9th, 2012

This one is for your entertaining pleasure.

This is what we tried to make.

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I am sure you have seen on Pinterest, most likely with a comment about how easy it was.

Here is how ours went.

We used pencil sharpeners to make the crayon flakes and placed it on the wax paper.  Now maybe this was our mistake – we decided to add glitter to the mix, you know to add a little sparkle.

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We (my girls and I) folded the wax paper in half and then began ironing it. spacer

The first time was a total fail. spacer

So we tried again.  And it was still a big pile of poopy looking crayon with glitter in it.  Oh, and there was melted crayon all over my iron.  Some how it came right through the wax paper.  Good times. spacer

I did actually cut some hearts out of them but they really just looked like heart shaped poop and I didn’t feel like that was very Valentiney.

So how about you, have you had any craft fails lately?

Thanks for stopping by.

Posted in Projects, Valentine's Day | 8 Comments

Re-Working a Bookcase

February 7th, 2012

When I set my Home Goals for 2012, one of the things I included was to rework the built-in bookcases in our living room.

So last week, I got to work making some changes – nothing revolutionary mind you, just “finishing” them a bit more.

This is where I started.spacer Pretty haphazard and boring.

One thing I should say is that these bookcases are meant for books.

It would be fun to style them out, but then where would I go with all of our books?  Their main function is book storage.

So I started by removing anything that was not a book and this is what I was left with.

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And this is what my living room looked like.  Ugh. spacer

I decided, that for the most part, I liked having all the books together in a section and then open sections for decor.  The books are roughly grouped by categories.  I used a random pattern of where I placed them but left all of the upper sections which have a light without books. spacer

This is where I was partially through the process.

spacer And here is where I ended up.  Quite the difference between taking pictures at night and in the day!spacer

Most of the items are vintage treasure finds or sentimental mementos.  The print in the back of this section used to hang in my grandfather’s office.

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The black and white photograph below is of my husband as a boy at his family’s sugar house and the jars are filled with sea glass we have collected as a family over the years.

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The canister in the top is a liquor canister in the shape of the state of New Jersey – and this Jersey Girl loves it!

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This is a very old bible that my youngest daughter actually bought at an estate sale.

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One of my favorite all time photographs that I took of my kids feet.  I have a thing for baby feet.

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Overall, I am much happier with  how it flows and ties in with the room.  I also feel like it is set up now that I could easily change and add new things as new treasures are discovered!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Posted in Decorating, Vignettes | Tagged Bookcase Organization | 19 Comments

His Plan

February 6th, 2012

When I was in High School, I knew I wanted to go to college, but I didn’t know where.

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There were no internet searches to depend on.

And frankly, I couldn’t depend on my friends – all of them were a bunch of smarty pants – two of them even went to Harvard.  I was not Harvard material.

So, the first turn on my journey of destiny was that someone told us about a woman who was a college counselor.  So my Mom and I went to see her.

She asked a bunch of questions and the answers yielded a list of 10 colleges that fit my specifications.

My parents supported me enough that they took me to EVERY one of those campuses.  I realize now what a commitment that was on their part.

The ninth campus I walked on was the University of New Hampshire.

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That was it – I knew where I wanted to go.

I worked hard on putting in an application and even applied for early admission.

I thought for sure I would get in early.  One of the benefits of early admission is that you get to pick your dorm, and I knew exactly where I would pick.  It was going to be perfect!

Except, I didn’t get in early admission.

I still remember sitting on the kitchen floor sure that the world was coming to an end.

But, not to worry too much.   I did get in regular admission and they picked my dorm.

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Alexander Hall.

Of all the dorms on campus, this one was pretty dumpy and it was the only one did not have phones in the room (devastating as an 18 year old girl – 25 girls sharing ONE phone!).

And while I lived there for two years some pretty great things happen.

I met three life long friends, also known as my Betties.

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They lift me up, make me laugh and make me want to be a better friend to them with each passing year.

And, I met my husband of 17 years.

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If I do nothing else in my life well, I will always know that I chose the most amazing man to be the father of my children.

Alexander Hall was not a pretty place, but it was filled with wonderful people.

People I probably never would have met had I been accepted for early admission and chosen my own dorm.

I think about that often.

How that hard step, of not getting in early, was all part of the plan for the good stuff.

I try to think of that when times are challenging and not going as we think it should.

I read a lot of bloggers talking about letting go and following HIS plan.

I am feeling so thankful that HIS plan lead me to where I am today.

Posted in Living, My Betties | Tagged UNH, University of New Hampshire | 8 Comments

Show & Tell Friday 9

February 3rd, 2012

Hello All.

Today is the day of the week where I tell a little about what is going on with me and then I show you some of the fun and inspiring projects I came across through the week from other blogs.

I thought I would go for a Valentine theme tonight since there are so many great projects out there for Valentine’s Day right now.

This week for me was about photographing a lot of rooms in my house that I had not shared yet so over the next few weeks I will have lots of new stuff to share with you.

My first share are these adorable message hearts found at Linwood Avenue.  Not only did she supply a fantastic tutorial, but included a template as well.

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Next up is My Sister’s Suitcase with these fabulous Love Yarn Letters.  Fabulous yarn wrapped letters paired with ombre coloring – perfect!  She also includes a very detailed tutorial.

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And last, we have a DIY Mini Pallet Valentine Art from All in a Day.  Such a great idea that could be translated to many uses.

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Just to let you know, I will not be posting Show & Tell next week.  I have some personal business to attend to.  It is all fun stuff, but I just can’t share it yet.

Hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Posted in Show & Tell | 5 Comments

Embroidered Valentine

February 1st, 2012

So far I have shared two Valentine projects that can be found here and here.

Today, I want to share a new one.

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I guess I have been on a bit of an embroidery kick this week.  First, I shared my love for a towel that was embroidered and then I shared a beautiful vintage embroidered treasure that I found.

Let me clarify that this was done in a very basic manner – anyone can do this!

When I say that this is embroidered, I mean in the sense that there was fabric, a needle, an embroidery hoop and embroidery thread involved – that is it.

I have been pinning lots of embroidery ideas because it is something I want to learn to do in the near future.

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Here are the steps:

Spray paint the embroidery hoop.

Place your fabric in the hoop.  I bought a couple of quilting samples that were already cut for simplicity.  Be sure to pull the fabric really tight.

Use fabric glue to attach the ric rac trim.

Use a template to cut out equal size triangles.

Use a basic in and out stitch to attach the triangles.

Attach owl with fabric glue.

I found him last year at a craft store – no idea where,  but I am sure similar ones could easily be found.

Easy. Peasy. Done.

I will be sharing at the Decor Chick’s Valentine Party, stop on by

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And remember:

I will “Owl” ways love you!

Have a great day!

Posted in Holidays, Projects, Tutorial, Valentine's Day | 4 Comments

Vintage Finds

January 31st, 2012

The last two weeks have been about tweaking my home.

The details, the personal items, the things I love.

I feel like I reached a certain point after our renovations and then I stopped.

Of course, the holidays were a time to decorate.

But, right now, I am trying to make our home personal and for the everyday, the days that really matter.

And nothing makes me happier then some vintage treasures.

So I went on a hunt and here is what I found.

A simple and gracious embroidered fabric in a frame…

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An amazing brass cricket…

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An old weathered sign – actually he said it was from an old buckboard…

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A great canister set (there are several other pieces as well!)…

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And a lovely lady.

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One of my favorite things about hitting the vintage shops is the people.  I love to hear their stories.  I love the happy ones, the artists, the cranky pants, the crazies.

I love blending the old and the new in my home.

How about you?

Thanks for stopping by.

Posted in Decorating, Our Home, Treasure Hunting | 10 Comments

Is It Possible to Love a Towel?

January 30th, 2012

What do you think, is it possible?

I found this towel last week at Anthropologie.

spacer Anthropologie is not a store that I frequent as there is not one close by.  So, when an opportunity presented itself I took it

In the above picture you can tell it is pretty, but let me show you a close up.spacer The details are embroidered.

Love.

Now, it was a splurge.  But I figure I am better splurging on a $24 towel than a lot of other things that could get me in trouble!  Plus, it is hanging on my stove and just makes me smile!

I am sucker for embroidery, always have been.

But lately I have been seeing more of this technique of embroidering the details on a patterned fabric.

It has me inspired to maybe try something myself.

Oh, and since I am gushing on towels, check out this lobster

spacer and Shrimp one.  Seriously?  The lobster and shrimp are crocheted!

Love. Love. Love.spacer I imagine you might start to see some embroidery showing up on my Pinterest page.

Have a great night!

Posted in Inspiration | Tagged Anthropologie | 12 Comments

Show and Tell Friday 8

January 27th, 2012

Hello All.

I have learned something about myself this week.

As much as I am a constant multi-tasker, when I am in a creative mode, that is all I am.

Room by room I have re-working my house, especially our guest bedroom which has never really been finished.

The result – PURE. CHAOS. IN. MY.WAKE.

Seriously, I am like a tornado.

I have spent little time on the computer, my kids have not had the greatest meals – in fact one night – they made their own dinners (they chose pretty well though!) and my laundry is piling high.  As I move from room to room, the “stuff” piles follow me.  Stuff goes in, stuff comes out, stuff goes back in, stuff goes back out.

You get the picture.

I have also learned that there is an incredible amount of “stuff” in my garage and basement.

I have been “shopping” there all week and I am amazed I keep finding more stuff.

Note to self – your husband is amazing because he never complains about your hoarding tendencies.

So, now on to the sharing…

Do you feel like we are being bullied by Google?

First they take away Google Friends Connect, then they take away Picnik.  I feel like they are forcing our hand to come to them as opposed to making a product so good we all flock there naturally.   I joined Google+ a bit ago, but know nothing about it and I know I have to jump in and figure it all out.

Mural Maker and More has written a post to get us all started.

Craftberry Bush shared her beautiful mantel including an incredible painting she created

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And Virginia Sweet Pea shared this really cute faux patchwork idea.  I think this could be applied to so many things and I thought it was super cute.

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Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Posted in Show & Tell