Giving Thanks...

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year.  Joining us were my parents and brother in law, we were a small band of pilgrims.  My mom and I did all of the cooking which was a little intimidating considering that my sister Gabby usually did most of it in years past.  She is an amazing cook, a natural in the kitchen.  But in spite of her absence, I'm relived to say that every thing turned out!!!  I kept checking to see if anyone was secretly feeding the dogs under the table but no one did.  They even went back for seconds...score...a successful feast!  We topped the evening off with desert and several rounds of the game Balderdash.  It was fun to spend time together and reflect on all the blessings that grace our lives.

Full bellies and Grateful hearts is how we like to celebrate Thanksgiving.  How about you?

Quick fix for hall...

This weekend the family and I were re-watching the Harry Potter movies 

in preparation to see the latest installment at the box office.  Yes we are Harry Potter nerds/fans in this household...when I remembered that I have a bunch of old keys that I purchased off eBay years ago.  I try to be patient with blank spaces but it's a challenge for me.  Especially when this space used to be the perfect spot for my landscape oils.  So I placed the keys in a random pattern around a small wire bird cage w/nest and a corbel shelf that I also painted with the same crappy old paint that I used on the last project. To top it off, I hung a small tray that I brought back from Italy.  The goal for me is to use the things that I already have.  I've always liked these things but over the years found other things that I thought worked better in their place, so they found a new home in the garage.  I'm really glad I've held on to these things, because it's helped me keep my goal of not buying more STUFF!  Stuff that inevitably ends up in the garage.  And yes my jar of Christmas pennies is growing (thanks for asking) which is a good thing because just in case you haven't noticed... this economy really stinks!

The hall has no natural light so it's hard to see the details.  But over all I like how it turned out.  I'd like to give a special thank you  to Mother Nature for the beautiful nest and  also Harry Potter for the inspiration to begin with...I love you Harry Potter!

P.S We loved the movie...nothing but cinematic eye candy...Harry you never disappoint!

repurposing project...

The wall in Mikes office has been bare for the last eight years, so I thought I would change that.  Oh and I'm saving all my pennies for Christmas, so I'm going to have to do it for nothing!  Lucky for me I have a lot of junk/treasure in my garage, ok so it's mostly garbage, but armed with old crappy paint and stain there isn't anything that can't be accomplished!

Mirror frame w/broken glass removed.

Added Bead board in place of glass.

Stained the bead board.

OK...so I forgot to take pictures of the painting and staining process.  The paint on layer one is the office wall color *Benjamin Moore...Nautical Gray.  Then I added some old *milk paint that was a basil color.  The last step to this painting cocktail was dry brushing *Minwax Gel Stain in Walnut.  And finally I added *chicken wire that was spay painted with mate black.  I tend to get a little task oriented at the end of my projects, because I'm so dang excited to have an idea translate into something beautiful and functional!  Mike always has odds and ends left over from jobs that also accumulate in our garage...so my supplies cost zero.  I'm so proud of myself!

I borrowed the urn pictures from my boys room and the oils from the hall.  The only thing that I actually purchased was the clock.  I'd been looking for a clock on ebay and won this little beauty for 36.00 dollars!  She doesn't work but she's the right size and color and I love her face.

Repurposing  junk into a useful tag board make me smile.  Now all I've got to do is figure out what I'm going to replace the urn pics and oils with.  Repurposing may be the answer!

 

 

 

Christmas stuff

I have a chest of drawers in my entry that is home to my Christmas tree ornaments.  They are mostly glass that I've picked up here and there for the past nineteen years.   I only put up one tree and for the past eight years it's been artificial.  So without the problem of sagging branches with a real tree I've been able to pack them on.  But how many ornaments does a girl really need?  So I've decided not to buy any this year (A True Christmas Miracle) and  focus on hand made things...that I actually make.  I'm not saying I won't visit my usual haunts to get some inspiration, but I'm determined to stick to this plan.   Even If my hands and upper lip are sweating as I type!

It feels like autumn!

The weather is starting to reflect the season...Yes!  And it feels fabulous, even a little cold.  On days like this I'm anticipating for the leaves to fall of the trees, but all we have is this.

 

So even though it looks like perpetual Summer, all I want is for it to look like this. 

 I guess I'll have to be satisfied with the feel of autumn instead of the look of it.

So I used my imagination drinking hot chocolate on the lanai.  I even NEEDED a jacket to stay warm!  Don't you just love cooler days and nights.

New Begginings

OK I'm finally going to blog.  I've put this off long enough, almost everyone that I know is doing it.  Talk about peer pressure, but the good kind.  The kind that motivates you to share your thoughts and  inspirations with others.

Halloween has come and gone.  Kind of sad because it's my 2nd favorite holiday.  Of course I'm over it because I have moved on to Christmas...the most glorious holiday of them all.  It's #1 just in case you're wondering.  This year Halloween was a little different around these parts.  First of all we missed my sisters family as trick-or-treating companions.  But the biggest contrast from years past is that my two oldest children were with their friends instead of  us.  I suppose you need to cut the apron strings with a 16 and 18 year old.   Alright just seeing it typed out for the world to read makes me realize that my kids may be a bit sheltered.  But I can't help it I just love their guts, and it's hard for me to break tradition.  So it was just the three of us off canvasing the neighborhood for treats!  The weather was divine, one of the perks of Florida.  Which  in no way makes up for the fact that we do not experience the changing of the seasons, like our northern friends and family!  Here's to memories and hoping that everyone had a wonderful Halloween!