All Work and No Play …..

Tomorrow I’m going to son’s house in Birmingham for a few days to babysit while DIL is out of town on business.    While I know I’ll have a great time with the “grands” and son, there will be some work involved.    The main thing I’m hoping to accomplish is making the curtains for McKinley’s bedroom….go here to see the headboard I finally finished for her room.   When everyone was here last weekend cooking out, they were supposed to come back by on Sunday and get the headboard but their car was too loaded down for it to fit!    It won’t go in my car so we’ll have to meet them half way one weekend to exchange the headboard.     I was really hoping they could take it home with them so I could finish the room…..oh, well…..

I do plan to do a little shopping while I’m in Birmingham.    Once I drop the kids off at school and day care, I’m going to take one day to just do whatever I want to do.    Hoping to meet son for lunch one day too but it depends on his schedule.

Only one more week to go and then we’re beach bound!

Headboard for Sweet Girl’s Room and Spring Is Finally Here!

This headboard project has only taken me, let’s see, four months to complete!    In my defense, I’m just gonna say it’s due to bad weather and no motivation to do anything!    

Last summer son and I started working on granddaughter’s bedroom in Birmingham.    We got the walls painted and I made her a couple of picture frames and then I was supposed to get her bed painted but then new little grandson was born, football season came along, then the holidays and a cold winter dreary winter so this project got put on the back burner.   

They turned the upstairs children’s den/office into her big girl room.    Of course it looks a lot different now, her bed (minus a headboard) is in the room and all her toys.    I took these pictures the day we finished painting.      My inspiration was from Melaine’s daughter’s old bedroom at My Sweet Savannah.      Melaine has since updated her daughter’s room to a more grown up room.  

 

Paint colors are Brown Teepee and some kind of pink that has “Shrimp” in the name…..I’ll have to get that!

 

The feature wall is the pink and brown stripe, two walls are Brown Teepee and the wall opposite the striped wall is done in the shrimp pink color.

 

Back in January we had a nice sunny day and I took the bed outside to sand, prime and got one coat of paint on.    Then it sat in the sunroom until this past week and I was determined to finish it.    

 

 

This bed is a family piece that I inherited from my uncle when he passed away several years ago.     He had a houseful of antique furniture and my siblings and I divided them up.      This bed was in an upstairs bedroom in his home in North Carolina.     It was stored in my son’s house and then DIL wanted to use it for McKinley’s bedroom when she graduated from her baby bed to a big girl bed.     

I’m going to be in Birmingham for a few days next week babysitting and in addition to getting the bed up, I’m planning on making curtains for this room.     We’ll be using plain white sheets and some kind of material as a border.      Once I get that done, the room will be complete and we can move on to finishing her baby brother’s room, which was also started last fall!      Well, they do live 100 miles away and they have very busy lives so when we go visit, it’s usually for just the day, not enough time to finish any projects.     

So here’s the (finally!) finished headboard.    I primed it and then it took several coats to completely cover.    I also added a cute wooden applique that I literally took off the wall!   The one I bought was too dinky and small for the headboard so I tried out the one I ended up using and it works perfectly!    Hopefully next time you see the bed it will be installed in McKinley’s room and curtains will be made….yay!

 

Here it is propped up against the back of my loveseat in my still UNFINISHED sun room….hopefully I’ll get around to working on that room sometime in this century!

 

(please disregard all the stuff in here….the grandkids play with their toys in here while they are at our house and I still have some of my mama’s stuff stored in this room as well).   One thing’s for sure….those red walls will be outta here!   (I just noticed the scrape on the bottom of the “leg”…I’ll have to fix that)

 

 

I think the applique adds the finishing touch to the headboard

 

 

No styling going on in here….just pure mess….but I wanted you to see the finished headboard

(The color is “Popped Corn” by Behr)

 

Also, since Spring if finally here, I got out my basket I bought last year on our annual fall trip and stuck in some hydrangas, greenery and a little bird’s nest and hung it on the front door.   

 

 

 

 

 

You might be a redneck if you park your car in the yard!   See the bald spots in our yard?     I’m hoping the grass fairy will sprinkle some grass seeds around this year

 

I thought these hydrangas looked so real

 

Little bird’s nest tucked in among the flowers

 

I also have a little announcement regarding Weigh Less Wednesdays.    For whatever reason, I didn’t have many participants ….but I had a free trial period with the linky thing.     So for right now I’m not going to be hosting Weigh Less Wednesdays and paying for the linky services.      That may change in the future but for now, we won’t be having that link on Wednesdays.     Thank you to everyone who made comments and shared recipes.    I’m still on WW and doing pretty good, the important thing is I’m losing weight!

Hope everyone has a great week!  

No Weigh Less Wednesday Today

Please forgive me for not posting the link to the Weigh Less Wednesday today…I’ve been babysitting my Birmingham granddaughter this week in addition to having some tummy issues.     Wednesday just snuck up on me!    Hopefully we can resume next week!

Looking Forward To….

…..some time off to enjoy a few days here with husband….

 

…..at the beach

 

 

 

 

……then if that isn’t enough R&R I’ll spend a few days …….

 

….at the lake!

 

By the time I get there the azaleas will be in full bloom

 

and I’ll be sitting right here (see my chair?) sipping a cool drink and spending time with my sister…

 

Now if I can just hold out until April….

Spring Forward–It’s Daylight Savings Time!

 

 

Don’t’ forget to set your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed Saturday night.    I love that the days will be longer and weather warmer (soon)!

Weigh Less Wednesday

Here I am again to share a quick and easy recipe that I got, of all people, from my son-in-law! We were visiting with the twins at daughter and SIL's house Saturday evening and he fixed this fajita salad for himself. It looked so good that he fixed one for me. So I headed to the grocery store the next day and picked up all the ingredients so I could have my own fajita salad whenever I wanted. I've already fixed it for myself 3 times since Sunday!!!

Here's what you'll need:

Classic Caesar salad

Tyson Fajita Chicken Strips

Classic Caesar dressing

You just throw a little salad in a bowl,  add the cooked chicken strips on top of your salad (cook the chicken strips according to the directions) and drizzle some dressing on top! That's it, you get a big taste for a little effort. If I figured the Points Plus correctly, it's about 6 points for a small to medium salad (I use a smaller size cereal bowl instead of the big ol' Jethro size husband likes).

If you feel so inclined, I'd love for you to share any recipes you are using to help along in your weight loss journey or just a good recipe for healthy sensible eating!

We gotta take care of a little rule bidness (I'm southern remember?) first:

1. Be sure to link up your URL (permalink) and not your whole blog
2. Please add a link back to my blog in your post so others can find the party and join
3. Please don't forget to visit the other links for some sensible meals to keep you on track of your weight loss goal
4. I'd love it if you became a follower of my blog!

For The Love Of Lanterns

Lanterns are hot, hot, hot right now and I’ve got lantern fever!      Pottery Barn has some gorgeous lanterns….

 

                                            (Pottery Barn)

 

                                              (Pottery Barn)

 

                                                (Pottery Barn)

I’ve also seen some beautiful lanterns on blogs…such as this one!    Traci at Beneath My Heart turned a $3.00 brass light into this Pottery Barn look-alike!

                                                   (source)

 

I tried to get as lucky as Traci and find a light similar to hers to transform but no luck.     So I finally bit the bullet and ordered one from CSN stores.     I ordered the Mossoro Outdoor Hanging Lantern  with the idea of hanging it over my kitchen table but it was really too small for that so it ended up in the foyer.   

We previously had a small chandy hanging in the foyer.     I had a medallion I used on the ceiling with the chandy that I had sprayed black.     When husband hung the new lantern he left the medallion up so I had to prime and paint it the color of the ceiling…..really wish that medallion wasn’t up there but I’m not about to ask husband to take it down!     So for now it stays.

 

Love, love!

 

 

 

 

 

Have you added a lantern in your home?    Don’t you love them?

 

I’ll leave you with some pictures I took last night when the sun was setting.     You just can’t beat Mother Nature!

 

 

 

My Bradford Pear tree is starting to bloom!

 

I’m hoping to get a project or two started this weekend.    What are your plans?

Weigh Less Wednesday

Can I just tell ya'll that I lost another 2 pounds since my last weigh in! Now to some of ya'll that might not be a big deal but I'm sooo excited .....that is the most I've lost in a week's time since I rejoined WW. I also started back at the "Y" yesterday and although I'm sore as all get out (does anyone say that anymore?) I feel great!

I was a little disappointed that there were only 2 links added last week.....come on girls, I know you've got some wonderful recipes and/or meals you can share with us that are healthy and tasty.. When I first talked about having the recipe party, I got a lot of positive feedback from so many of you that you'd love to have a place to come to get (and share) recipes that would make it a little easier to lose weight. So with that being said, let's party!

Now how many of ya'll like pizza! I know I do but normally it would be strictly off limits if you are trying to lose weight, at least for me it would. I can't eat just one little slice, I want all the ooey gooey cheese and love the crust. So I when I saw this cheese pizza from Smart Ones in the freezer section, I decided I'd give it a try.

The box says it's 5 points but with the new Points Plus system I believe it's closer to 7 (for 4 pieces)

I added a little salad with some 1,000 Island dressing and it was a delicious meal. This pizza tastes like REAL cheese, REAL crust, REAL pizza...not a cardboard taste at all! I will definately be buying this again.

I don't have a fancy button (yet) but I do have a few rules to follow:

1. Be sure to link up your URL (permalink) and not your whole blog
2. Please add a link back to my blog in your post so others can find the party and join
3. Please don't forget to visit the other links for some sensible meals to keep you on track of your weight loss goal
4. I'd love it if you became a follower of my blog!

Weigh Less Wednesday Reminder

Don't forget tomorrow is my Weigh Less Wednesday linky party.    Please get your healthy recipes ready to share or you can share an entire meal.     This party is a great way for us to share our recipes and support each other on our weight loss journey.     Hope to see ya'll tomorrow.    (The link will be up late afternoon).

Today I went back to the gym for the first time in 7 months!     Boy, am I out of shape but I MADE myself go back.    Plus, last weekend I had to go out and buy some new pants.     I was also able to buy the sweetest LBD (little black dress)....a classic for church or just about anywhere.    Just one month ago, I wouldn't have been able to fit in that dress....and my husband says it's sexy!   He didn't even ask how much $$ I spent....YAY!

 

Later this week I'm going to show you my newest "love"....something I've been wanting for a while!