31 days of Settling: Day 9

Hmmm.... Maybe I should change the name of this little series of posts, since I'm obviously not going to get 31 posts done. I've been a little under the weather the past couple if days, but I'm feeling better now. So I'll try to get back on track.

One of the main rooms I focused on today was our bedroom, but the work I did get done (mainly putting away winter clothes) really has nothing to show for it. 

However, I do have something to share! Due to a dire lack of cabinet space, we needed to improvise! Open shelving is so popular now days, so we came up with our own interpretation:

It is still a work in progress!! I want to put a basket with my table top potholders etc... Whenever I find them... 

Progress feels frustratingly slow, but it seems we are moving in the right direction. Thank you all for your encouragement!! 

31 Days of settling: Day 5

Whew!!! What a busy and tiring day!! I do have a bit of progress to report this weekend!

Our master bath now has a pretty curtain to help finish it off:

So much better!! 

And... We now have our dresser back!! We were rather tired of living out of laundry baskets! 

(After evicting a little house gecko who had made herself quite at home in my drawer! Don't worry, she now happily resides in the ground cover outside our door with lots of new friends!!) ;)

But lest you think I've almost got us settled in here: 

That's our guest bedroom!! (And YES, there is a bed under there!!) oh my... Now you know.... Sigh... Now to sort this mess and decide what I don't need often enough to rate keeping it here... But not tonight!!! :) I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday tomorrow!! 

31 Days of Settling: Day 4

Another kitchen corner... And there just aren't too many of those in this tiny kitchen!! This section really needed some help:

Yipes!! What a mess! I spent a little while this morning straightening and rearranging. (I don't use my blender very often so it will be stored elsewhere - in a closet, most likely... I really don't have much room to store my kitchen gadgets!) 

But you're waiting to see the after, right?? 

A bit better, right? My hubby was happy - it was the first thing he noticed when he came in! :) 

Here's a shot of that side of the kitchen:

Funny thing, I really didn't think that my red accents would go to well in this brownish kitchen, but it seems to work somehow! 

Thank you all for your encouragement! It really does help me to think, "What am I going to show for today?" :) 

31 Days of Settling: Day 3

Not a big difference today. Busy  day! We enjoyed having our first guests over for dinner. My parents came over for a supper of beans and cornbread! (One of my Dad's top favorite meals!)

I did do a little sprucing in my kitchen. One of the most important areas:

Gotta have that cup to start off the day right!! 

I tried putting my tea canister out as well, but it makes it look a little crowded, especially since I don't use it every day. What do you think? 

Lastly, I wanted to show one of my favorite mugs. This one belonged to my grandmother. Not only was it her mug, but she also grew lots of daisies! 

Can you see the 3D effect going on? It is one of my treasures! 

31 Days of Settling: Day 2

Well, this blog series is already starting to motivate me. In between laundry and typing up our kids' church Christmas program (which we will be having in two short months!!)... I did get a few things hung up this afternoon. Here's the sad little before. (It is a pretty bathroom!!)


And some afters: The basket on the toilet holds washcloths - not a whole lot of storage space going on, so I'm having to improvise! Still, it is a bit more storage than our last master bath had. 

The opposite wall:

And a panoramic picture for your viewing pleasure. :) (It is impossible to get a pan picture in this bathroom without catching yourself in the mirror. So, "hi!") :)

So, our last house had an enclosed shower. No need for a curtain in there - a pretty one anyway. Any suggestions on how to pretty this up? (And it has to be cheap! I can't go spending lots of money here!) :) I'm not too good at pretty shower curtains. Even our big bathroom at the last house never got one, although my intentions were good. :)

31 days... Of getting settled.

Well, 31 more or less... We'll see if I  actually post each of the 31 days in October... Wait! Can it really be October already??? What an adventure the past couple of months has been!!

We are moved into an apartment! That in and of itself has been a journey. I won't give you the long version, but the short version is that God provided a very nice apartment in the complex that Mark and I lived our first year of marriage. 

That's the good part... The hard part has been trying to fit from a three bedroom house with two living areas, into a two bedroom apartment. It is a very daunting task. 

However, I thought if I brought you all along with me this month as I make some effort in getting us settled, that it would inspire me to just keep plodding! And it will be fun to look back on what we have accomplished. And, hey, maybe you even have some tips for me! I'll take any help I can get!! 

First off, I wanted to start with a pretty picture:

The welcome mat I bought before we even moved out of our home, and I saved it for our apartment. The burlap wreath is the same one from last year. That has been one of my most used projects, I do believe! 

Not pictured above: the beautiful mum from my parents to really cheer up my front door! But here it is... It's really starting to bloom out! 

That's the fun part... The NOT so fun part is what it still going on inside... 

(And will you believe it when I say, that is an AFTER shot from Saturday??? Yipes! Inspiration needed ASAP!) 

So it may be baby steps at times, but I will try to post a progress photo every day... Except probably Sundays, that IS a day of rest, after all. ;) 

The first step to a cure:

Admitting you have a problem...

No, friends, this isn't even ALL of them! Maybe the problem is that they mostly reside in pairs. Think they could be multiplying in the boxes they're stored in?

**sigh** No, I'm afraid I simply have a problem. Anyone know of a support group?


I'm starting my spring decor today. Going to keep it simple and less "Easter-y." We'll see how it goes. :)

Valentine's Day Mantel

I hope you all are having a good week!! It has already been a busy week for us! I wanted to pop in and share our Valentine's Day mantel.



I didn't do much different from last year, but I have been enjoying it. Although with some of the beautiful weather we had last week, I was about ready to go ahead and put my spring decor up. Not this week though... it's been cold and rainy, perfect weather for enjoying my cozy winter decor a few days longer. :)

I hope you each have a very happy Valentine's day!! 

Days of Christmas: Day 8

The tree - the official picture!

Finished Object Friday: Wreath Makeover (And Fall Home tour!)

It seems strange to already be almost halfway through September doesn't it? And yet this is only the second Friday in the month... I had to double check to be sure! So yes, today is Finished Object Friday!! :)

I've been doing a bit of crafting here and there... but one of my easiest projects was one that was half done already! You may remember the patriotic wreath that Angie and I made for summer. And you may remember that each of those fabric flowers was attached to the wreath on a small hair clip. This made for really easy removal and the wreath was quickly ready for a makeover for fall!

Such a quick little project!! I just added a few little things from my fall decor stash, whipped together a pretty bow, and the wreath was good to go!!

Speaking of quick, I pretty much all of my fall decorating done in one afternoon! Here's a peek at some of my other decor!

Fall Mantle:

I have enjoyed having a piano to decorate:

Here's a couple of closeups of the vignettes on the piano:



I love featuring this Bible in my decorating. It reminds me of my grandpa - a dear saint! and also of the sacrifices that our soldiers make to protect our country!

A sweet story about my grandpa. Grandpa passed away in 1996 - it will be 16 years ago at the end of this month - so hard to believe. The week before he died, he and my grandmother came to visit. We had a wonderful weekend with them doing all kinds of fun things. I was taking horse back riding lessons at the time and they got to come see me ride. On Saturday, we spent some time at our local county fair. My grandpa was wheelchair bound because of a problem with his leg. A lady came up to him and told him "I can see God all over you!" Little did she know he was just about a week from Heaven.

This is one of my very favorite pictures:

That is my dad with my grandpa and me... they are rolling hot tamales - a family tradition (and secret recipe...) ;) I'm doing what is still my favorite thing - snitching before they are rolled!! ;)

Well... I didn't mean for this to turn down memory lane! You never know where a post will lead! I hope you don't mind... But now that I'm finished rambling, it's your turn! Maybe you've been doing some fall crafting... OR feel free to link up to your fall decorating! I'd love to see!!

A little more patriotism

My new wreath isn't the only summer decorating that I have going on around here. I had fun putting my mantle together as well as a few more patriotic touches here and there.

Not sure if you can read it, but the "parchment" in the frame is the Pledge of Allegiance. :)

Our living room has a bit of a different set up recently:

We sold our couch to some newlywed friends. Although I do miss having a couch every now and then, I do enjoy the open feel of my living room. (Don't look to closely at that side table though... it is a work in progress!) ;) Here's a post showing how our living room used to be set up. Yes, I DO like the more open feel. Eventually we may purchase another couch, but it may be when we change homes. :)

On the piano:

I am enjoying changing the decor in my cloche - I love having that New Testament in there. Such a piece of my family's history! :) (It was the NT my grandfather received as a soldier in the Pacific in World War 2.)

How about you? Anyone else done some summery/patriotic decorating? I am going to put Mr. Linky up just for fun! Feel free to share your decorating post, or anything else really... I think I'm kindof missing linking up every other week... ;)

Finished Object Friday - Patriotic Wreath

As I said earlier, I've been doing a bit of redecorating around our house. I really enjoy decorating for the seasons - not only Christmas, but for each new time of the year. So, since it is now June and basically summer here in Texas, it was time to put away my springtime things and get out my summery decor.

I haven't been super thrilled with the little welcome sign I had on our door in previous years. So I decided to make a wreath. I bought a spool of burlap "ribbon" and wrapped a 12 inch wreath. (With 30 feet of ribbon, I had about a yard leftover.)

 Then Angie and I made flowers out of fabric and buttons that I had on hand. We attached them to clippies so they are removable! I can remake my burlap wreath any way that I want to... and having them on clippies helped us to be able to reposition them until they were where we wanted them. (This is where sis really came in handy. I knew if I kept working with them I'd probably never be satisfied with the placement. I just had her put them on, and it turned out really cute - and I wasn't tempted to keep fiddling with them! It's great to have her home for the summer!!) :) Cost for the wreath about $7.00.

So have you been making something patriotic? I'm excited to see what you all have been up to the past month!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Many blessings from our home to yours!

Share the Love!

I just wanted to share some of my Winter/Valentine decor.

I was so ready to get all my Christmas stuff put away (our tree takes up a lot of space in our living room!) And, yes, I've had it all down for a while! :) I'm just now posting, even though I've had it up a while, because... well... it took me a while to finish it. :)

I know that Valentine's Day isn't always "Sweetheart" day. Some of my close friends don't have a "Sweetheart." So, in my decor, I wanted to remind us of the most important Love that we all share - God's love! The New Testament above belonged to my grandfather. It was given to him by a chaplain in World War II. It is very special to me and I love incorporating God's Word into my decor!

I enjoyed making this wreath. I've been admiring the yarn wreathes on Pinterest for quite a while, and had fun making this one! (By the way, you can find me here on Pinterest! Come follow me, and I'll follow you back!) ;)
The whole mantle: The last finished bit was the frame with the vintage "valentines." Just finished that! 

(and in my hurry to finish this post, I didn't get a super clear picture. It's pretty cloudy today... oh, well. )

I really like how my wintery decor turned out, especially my piano!

I hope you enjoyed my little tour! :) I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day next week!

Finished Object Friday - Christmas Pins!

Yes, it is FOF day!! :) I've been going strong all day, and didn't even get my computer turned on before I left the house! But I wanted to share my new Christmas card display!

I Mode Podged (is that a verb?) :) Christmas paper to some clothes pins. (I found some at the dollar store! Love that place!) ;)

Then hung ribbons from my pantry door to clip my cards to!

I don't think I'm the only one late getting cards out this year! :)

How about you? Got any Christmas-y crafts done - that you can share before Christmas?? ;) 

December Daily - Day 9

And the stockings were hung....

(and yes, our living room is quite small....) :)

December Daily - Day 5

My other Coca Cola tree - baby one in the kitchen!! (Thanks, Brittany, for the little ornaments! I think this tree looks a lot better than it did last year!) :)

Annual Fall Tour

Welcome!! It seems that my "Fall Tour" has become somewhat of a tradition - at least for me. I really enjoy decorating the house cozy for fall. Pull up a chair and have a cup of hot cider! Welcome!

Monday I worked in my flower beds. I have been so ready for pretty color, especially after such a long hot summer. 

I'm loving the color on the front porch - I usually have an ivy in the stand, but it didn't survive the summer too well.

I got lots of pretty pansies planted, but they haven't quite recovered from the replanting. (Don't we all take time getting used to new situations?) :)

Into the living room:

My fall mantle - much more simple than usual, but I'm enjoy it! (unfortunately... I just now realized that I forgot to fasten my fall word picture back down... amazing what pictures will reveal... heehee!! It doesn't like to stick to the paper backing...)

My piano! I need to do another post on this later... it is my mom's old piano, and I am really enjoying having an actual piano in my home! (as well as decorating it...)

On my dining room table:

Well, that's it for now! I hope you enjoyed the tour... come back soon! :)