Gracious Southern Living

2009 Before And After Party

2010-01-06T05:18:00.001-08:00

I’m joining Rhoda’s 2009 Top Projects Party. I certainly didn’t accomplish all I wanted to project-wise in 2009 but I am pretty happy about the ones I did get around to. So without further ado, let the party begin!

A few of the projects were done in 2008-2009 but since it’s my party, I decided I could include them anyway…

After my mini-kitchen redo in summer 2008, I made two of these zebra pillows for my white slipcovered chairs. (Don’t look too closely as I have still not sewed the ends together)

My Nell Hill inspired stamped napkins

This Ballard’s inspired shower curtain in my hubby’s bathroom was done in 2008. You can see my inspiration piece and how I made it here.

First big makeover of 2009 was the dining room. About 6 years ago when faux finishes were the big thing, hubby and I painted and glazed our dining room and foyer. After being influenced by the “Something’s Go To Give” dining room, I added these pre-made picture frame moldings and painted the dining room in two complementary creamy tones.

My mahogany table, chairs and sideboard just pop off the antique white! Also added lots of cremeware.

Read about the dining room makeover here.

To go along with my dining room makeover were my drop cloth drapes. Talk about bang for your buck! Please read all about my drop cloth drapes here.

Added vinyl numbers to my Plain Jane front door…

Much better!

Found several unfinished frames at mom’s when she moved out. Painted them black and got white mats and plastic glaze (cheaper than glass) and went from this……

….to this

….then to a family collage wall in the kitchen

Added this auction purchased bench to the front porch and painted it black. Then I made the burlap and stenciled pillow to dress it up. You can see the step-by-step process here.

The beginning of the school year brought the need for a little organizing at my daughter’s house. I made the coat rack for the kid’s backpacks, lunch boxes, etc. and we hung it along her back hallway.

I also got these cute little containers at Dollar General and added their names for school papers. Here’s where I blogged about the coat rack.

Nothing wrong with this white shabby table but…..

I stained the top and love the way it turned out. This is on hubby’s side of the bed and I haven’t shown pics cause it’s loaded down with his sleep apnea machine, alarm clock, and other man stuff, but trust me, it looks good.

And finally I finished this sideboard just at the end of 2009. This is the beginning of my sunroom makeover which is set to begin any day now…..just as soon as I decide on a paint color! This room will be similar to the dining room….lots of creamy tones, seagrass rug, billowy drapes with a twist. Can’t wait to get started.

That’s about it. I may have left off a small project or two but looking back, I did get more done than I thought.

This year I’m hoping to get more organized. Plus, I’m looking forward to starting my 3rd year of blogging. I can’t believe it’s been that long.

Here’s to a blog-a-licious 2010!

The Three B’s

2009-12-31T22:13:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning hubby and I are heading out for a weekend of “fun in the sun” with these guys:

here….

My favorite boy band when I was a teenager was the Beach Boys. The last time I saw them in concert, we were all much younger! And while I know we’ll be up past their (and our) bedtime to see them Saturday night at the Beau in Biloxi, I’ll be rockin’ out to some of my favorite tunes and having flashbacks to those long ago endless summer days and the music I loved.

2009-12-31T13:25:00.001-08:00

Unexpected and Early Christmas Gift

2009-12-23T18:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday driving into work I called my daughter-in-law to tell her about one of the gifts I bought for McKinley (my little granddaughter in Birmingham). She was talking and I was talking and then she said she had some Christmas news…..(drum roll)….they are pregnant! Wow! I about ran off the road. And what’s so funny is that exactly four years ago Christmas Day they announced they were pregnant with their first….and on August 29, 2005 that baby was born (also the day Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast region). Jennifer thinks this baby will be born in August 2010. Of course, we’d love a little boy but just want a healthy baby. I can’t wait to hold a little one in my arms again!

What a wonderful (if surprising) Christmas present this is for our family.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Christmas On The Lake - 2009

2009-12-22T18:43:00.001-08:00

Last year my sweet sister Betsy decided to host the family Christmas at her lake house. Since all our kids are now grown and they have kids of their own, it gets a little loud and crazy at home and since she has a great “great room” at the lake it just works out better to gather there. If you’d like to see our first Christmas at the lake, check it out here.

It was a cold day on Lake Martin and my brother-in-law kept a fire going all day in the fireplace. Each family was to bring either steak or chicken for their family and Betsy and I supplied all the fixins’. I brought marinated cole slaw which everyone loves (recipe to follow). Shannon made red velvet cake cupcakes in the shape of a Christmas tree. DIL Jennifer brought buffalo chicken dip --- yummy!

This year instead of playing dirty Santa or drawing names, we decided to make a monetary contribution to needy and underprivileged families. My sister is a social worker and had over 800 names of families that needed just the necessities we take for granted. But hubby still wanted all the grandkids to have a present to open so I went to Dollar Tree and Big Lots and loaded up….the kids were so excited to get all that “junk”!

Here’s my sister drinking her favorite drink – Diet Sunkist! Coming back from our cruise to Mexico last year, she couldn’t find Diet Sunkist anywhere until we got on the other side of New Orleans!

She has some really nice pieces here at the lake that came out of her MIL’s Mountain Brook home. I’d love to have this table.

Her husband surprised her with this faux Christmas arrangement by sending it to her office. She has lots of allergies and can’t handle real flowers. She said she kept waiting to sneeze when this was delivered and it was hours later she figured out it wasn’t real (duh!)

Simple mantel decorations

She used two of my mom’s birdhouses on the mantel

McKinley wearing some of her Dollar Tree finery!

Pop with his two favorite girls (check out Taylor’s hat!)

This butcher block table was in the kitchen at the Mountain Brook home.

This round Santa puzzle was a dirty Santa gift last year. Betsy and her husband spend two weekends putting it together.

Cute little ice creme table and chairs bought for sister’s daughter who is now grown with a child of her own. The little ones love eating here.

Wonder what those two sweethearts are cooking up?

This unusual piece and the secretary below came out of her MIL’s home.

Steaks marinating in Dale’s steak sauce

My sister spreads butter on her chicken (I’ve never seen this done) but she says it helps lock in moisture

Three little girl cousins – Taylor, McKinley and Erica

My sweet boy Jackson discovers the toy cabinet (he’s getting a haircut this week – thank goodness!)

Jackson and Mason “discuss” who’s getting this toy

Mason getting advice from his “older” cousin Taylor

SIL Don and Jackson enjoying “Christmas Vacation” (I love that movie)

Taylor showing off an early present – two bottom teeth!

Jackson meeting me on the dock (it was soooo cold!)

Austin discovers pots and pans

My favorite picture of all – son, my mom and daughter

McKinley showing off her Wal Mart shoes Aunt Shannon got her (that child loved those shoes)…and I won’t say what kind of shoes Shane called them!

When Taylor was a baby, David was always holding her like “a little bitty baby”. She still wants him to hold her like a little bitty baby!

Okay, pop, that’s enough!

One wall is a entire bank of windows overlooking the lake – so pretty in the summer

McKinley is having a party for 3!

Here’s mom’s new home. She (and all of us) love it there. So homey and everyone is wonderful to her.

MARINATED COLE SLAW

1 large head of cabbage, shredded

1 onion, chopped fine

1 large green bell pepper, chopped fine

1 stalk celery, chopped fine

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup cider vinegar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon salt

Combine cabbage, onion, pepper, celery and sugar. Mix and set aside. Combine vinegar, oil and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over cabbage mixture and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (I recommend marinating overnight –the longer it marinates, the better!)

My Love of Sideboards

2009-12-15T17:42:00.001-08:00

I fell in love with sideboards many years ago, long before I felt I could afford one. My sister’s mother-in-law had the most beautiful sideboard in her dining room in Mountain Brook which my sister eventually inherited. It came from one of their trips to Europe and was very valuable.

The first auction David and I ever went to (about 5 years ago) we went with the intention of hoping to find a sideboard we liked in good condition and at a reasonable cost. That night we actually bought two! One is in the den and one is in the dining room.

Here’s the one in the den:

And the one in my dining room (my favorite)

Then at another auction we attended a couple of years ago we weren’t looking to buy another sideboard but as we were leaving I saw one outside that was in pretty bad shape. We bought it for $25.00 and when we got it home, I cleaned it up and painted it black. It wasn’t the greatest looking piece of furniture but it served its purpose at that time. Now that I’m ready for my sunroom to undergo a facelift, the sideboard was the first thing to get a new look. I decided to paint the body of it with Heirloom White and stain the top in a dark walnut.

Here’s the sideboard painted black:

And I just couldn’t wait to show you how it looks now:

Please excuse the mess and boxes in the background-----I’m still sorting stuff from my mom’s house and this has been the dumping ground for all those things.

I just added this little applique to the bottom drawer. I have one I can use on the top drawer but I think I’ll leave it just like this.

Gone will be the red walls and in its place will be a creamy white. I found an 8 x 10 seagrass rug at a local flea market for $19.99! I already have a khaki loveseat and dark walnut TV cabinet. I have a little something in mind for panels at all the windows and the french doors. I plan to get started on a complete revamp of that room shortly after the holidays so you’ll just have to come back then to see how the room comes together. I will also give a list of the products I used on the sideboard which made my job a little easier.

On a side note, on Monday my daughter and I went to Birmingham for our annual girl’s day Christmas shopping. The weather was yucky all day long. My son was also off doing some shopping of his own and he met us for lunch at P.F. Chang’s (my favorite place). I am so fortunate that my kids love spending time together and Shannon has always loved being with her big brother. I snapped this of them as we were walking out of Barnes & Noble (of course, they think I’m crazy always taking pictures)….

(Yep, they’re probably saying “why is she ALWAYS taking our picture)

Then to top off our shopping extravaganza I stopped by Rhoda’s so Shannon could meet her and see her house. Well, as you can imagine, Shannon loved everything about it! I have now been instructed that we MUST use beadboard wallpaper in the kids bathroom (Rhoda is the beadboard wallpaper queen). Shannon and Rhoda’s hubby had quite a little talk about the upcoming National Championship game between Alabama and Texas that will be played in Pasadena, California. Shannon’s husband is a huge Alabama fan (among all us Auburn folks) and they are flying out to the game…..guess who’s babysitting?

Classic Christmas Dining Room

2009-12-09T19:40:00.001-08:00

I can’t tell ya’ll how much I love my dining room with its soothing neutrals and dark woods. It has really been a privilege to decorate it this year for Christmas. I found that less really is more in such a calming environment.

Mahogany chest next to the window. Like my “custom” drapes? You can read about those here. I picked up the curly iron candlestick at a yard sale for $1.00 when we were in Decatur, Alabama.

This sweet little pitcher is from my uncle’s home. He was a fabulous collector of china.

View of my dining room from the kitchen door. I lit the candles just for you!

Love, love, love this tray. I sprayed it with Almond satin. It is the tray that matches the coffee and tea set a few pictures down. Those are painted with Heirloom White but I didn’t have any on hand so I used the Almond….almost a perfect match.

Can you spy what’s different in this picture from some above? I took this picture before I put the glass candlesticks on the white tray using the Heirloom White coffee/tea set in place of the tureen with white ornaments. When I decided to use the candlesticks, I moved the tureen back to on the sideboard the put the coffee/tea set in the kitchen (you’ll see that in another post).

The pair of deer above I picked up last year at Walgreen’s for around $10.00.

My favorite piece in the dining room is this large tureen. I love everything about it…..its size, its color, those darling handles…..

I’m joining the party at Rhoda’s so check out all the Christmas inspiration there.

I’ll be posting pictures of my kitchen in a day or two. Still tweaking in there!

Christmas In My Den

2009-12-08T15:45:00.001-08:00

As I’ve said in prior posts, I’ve done so much less decorating this year than in years past, mostly due to time constraints. And you know what? I’m okay with that. I’m having a hard time coming back from this fall when we put my mom in assisted living, I think I’m just “done” and don’t have the energy for anything else. Seven weeks of my sister and I going through her home and clearing out/cleaning out then having an estate sale, plus getting her settled in at her new home. Fortunately, she is settling in quite well and that relieves my mind a lot.

So here’s my den this year…enjoy!

Sideboard decked out with a garland, white urn filled with shells, coral and ornaments.

I filled the shell the little angel is holding with sugar….an idea I saw in one of Nell Hill’s books.

Now the mantle (or mantel?). Simple lighted garland and Ballard stockings.

This urn sits on the mantel all year, I just added some green balls.

I picked up these gorgeous Ballard stockings last year. Lime green and leopard, great combination!

Close up of the cuff

Our little tree in an urn. For the past 5 years we’ve put the urn on a mahogany table so little fingers (grandkids) could not reach it but this year they are 4 & 5 and old enough to put the tree back down on the floor.

Love these green and red ornaments I picked up at Old Time Pottery a few years ago.

I had this huge bow made at Southern Homes & Gardens a couple of years back. It has really long streamers that I weave down the length of the tree.

So there you have my den….just enough to be “Christmas-y” but not over-the-top.

Still to come…my kitchen and dining room.

Traditional Outdoor Christmas

2009-12-07T18:17:00.001-08:00

I have used traditional reds and greens in my outdoor decorating for many years. I just love the way that color combination works. Although I really haven’t done that much decorating inside or out this year, I did put a few things outside. I hope you enjoy your tour of my outdoor decorations.

Front door wreath. This is just an old wreath I’ve had for many years that I dressed up with some red balls and a big red bow.

I used a simple lighted garland and tied a bow on my bench. If you’d like to see the story of this bench re-do and burlap pillow, you can read about that here.

(Excuse the extension cords….I didn’t realize they showed in this pic!)

Wall planter filled with pieces of greenery and large Christmas ornaments I started buying a couple of years ago. It really looks pretty spotlighted at night.

And finally my garden gate. This cone shaped planter I picked up on our recent road trip (read about that here). We stopped on Saturday morning at a yard sale and I got it for $5.00!

I will have to replace the red picks next year-- they are looking kinda sad. I got them at Kirkland’s a couple of years ago on a trip to Biloxi. I just stuck them in the planter….doesn’t get any easier than that!

And that’s it for my outside decorations. Check back later this week when I’ll be taking you on a tour of the inside of my home. Can’t wait to show you the gorgeous tray on my dining room table!

Serene Dining Room at Christmas

2009-11-30T19:53:00.001-08:00

I spent hours this past weekend getting boxes and bags down from the attic, then more hours getting stuff out, and trying to get a “vision” of what I was going to do this year for Christmas. One thing I learned was this: I’ve got w-a-a-a-y too much stuff and I’m hoping I can make myself go through all of it after Christmas and “down-size” a lot of this stuff. Hubby had a fit when he had to put all the things I didn’t use back up in the attic, knowing he’ll have to pack it back up in about a month and store it again. I think I got the message loud and clear that something’s gotta give…..

Anyway, I am really happy with the results in the dining room. Let me tell ya, having that neutral palette makes it so simple to decorate, just add some greenery and some white ornaments and call it a day. But it is so soothing and classy. Here’s a peek at how it turned out.

I’ll being joining in for some of the Christmas parties throughout blogland in a few weeks so be sure to come back to see everything then. I’m not doing a lot this year, just a few touches in the den, kitchen and dining room.

Have a great week!

Judy

It’s Been A Long Day!

2009-11-27T19:51:00.001-08:00

I still can’t believe I got up at 3:00 a.m. today to go shopping with Shannon! Good grief!!! Here’s the time I got on the road to meet up with her at a McDonald’s…

We stood in line at Wal Mart for 2 1/2 hours for one thing for Taylor….met some interesting people and saw fashion no-nos. Do some people forget to look in the mirror before they leave home?

Got back home around 12:00 noon and went to pick up my Birmingham granddaughter from her other grandparents house. Then rushed back home to head to Shannon’s house for the Auburn-Alabama game. As we say here in Alabama, she lives in a house divided….she and Taylor are for Auburn and Don and Jackson are for Alabama, makes for a VERY INTERESTING game indeed!

Lots of food!

Stepped outside and it was so funny….the teams had formed their own cheering sections….Auburn on one side and Alabama on the other

And while Auburn didn’t win THIS YEAR I am so proud of our team!

IT’S IRON BOWL TIME!

2009-11-26T20:33:00.001-08:00

Here in Alabama we wait all year for THE biggest game of the year –Auburn vs. Alabama! And just so you know, I bleed orange and blue…..

W-A-A-A-A-R EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2009-11-24T15:07:00.001-08:00

Small Town America Tour

2009-11-19T05:07:00.001-08:00

We had the best time on our little back road tour. This was planned as a very relaxing trip, no special places to stop unless we saw something interesting. Of course, food was always at the top of our itinerary!

We started out around 9:00 a.m. on Thursday morning hitting I-65 heading north. We planned on getting off in Clanton and traveling on Highway 31 as far as we could.

Just outside of Montgomery looking toward Prattville

Sons of the Confederacy flag

Heading into downtown Clanton and some pretty scenery along the way

This old antebellum home was behind a fast food place where we stopped. Unfortunately, it was in pretty bad shape.

From Clanton we arrived in Birmingham on Highway 31. Hwy. 31 is also known as the Old Montgomery Highway or the Birmingham Highway. It just happens to run by the Riverchase Galleria (as well as Old Time Pottery – and yes, we stopped there for a little Christmas shopping).

Skyline of downtown Birmingham

Just outside of Birmingham we next came to Warrior, Alabama where I snapped this old car. My dad and mom had one just like it when I was a little girl!

This looked like a great place to stop to eat some good old fashioned barbeque and it was soooo good!

Here’s Big Daddy himself!

Continuing on Hwy. 31 we headed to Cullman, Alabama.

Cullman is home to the Ava Maria Grotto. A monk who lived on the grounds of a Catholic mission carved all of this work at the Grotto! It is stunning to see his work!

Looking down the path at the beginning of the tour of the grotto.

Back to the town on Friday we discovered that Cullman was going to host their annual Christmas tour the next day. All the shops were decked out for Christmas.

Years ago when my mom and I visited relatives in Cullman, I discovered this place called Southern Architecture and Accents. Outside the shop was this huge urn planed with a fern. Let’s go inside and check it out….

This place is unbelievable! It stretches on forever with one-of-a-kind architectural pieces. Most would be for a big home and a large pocketbook!

Way out of my price range but just gorgeous….

I actually saw this piece in their workshop. Loved the color and I got a little sample of the wood to bring home to use in the future.

We saw this store around the corner and it turned out to be my favorite place.

Lots of hand painted harlequins throughout the store. One of the rooms was full of nothing but lamps and lamp shades. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of all those lamps…

This large picture was so pretty

I would love to have a cozy spot like this to read or watch TV. Again, more harlequins!

These were paper maiche (sp?) Christmas ornaments and only about $12 each!

More pretties…

Another wall painted with creme and gold

Then we started driving around the historical home district. This was just a little building next to the one below

According to the sign outside of this cute little cottage, this was the first home built in Cullman

I had to take this of these chairs in the side yard of this home. I just got two chairs and a table like this from the lady who held my mom’s estate sale. She had them painted red but I’m going to paint them white next spring

Look at that tree in the yard with the chairs….took my breath away!

I loved this little house and especially the front door. This is the door I want on the front of my home which looks a lot like this one (painted brick, etc)

There were lots of planted window boxes which made me want to come home and plant something in mine

Moving on the next day to Decatur, Alabama. This first house I fell in love with. It’s hard to tell from the pictures but it was so darling. I’m sure the lady living here thought we were stalking her…she was working in her yard and I made hubby go around the block several times so I could just drool over this cottage. Wait till you see what I spotted around back on her porch!

Look at her pumpkins and gourds all piled up here..so cute.

And her windowbox….to die for!

But look here! Drop cloths on her porch! I had already planned to do a drop cloth treatment on the frame of my gazebo in the back next year but isn’t this stunning?

Cotton fields of Alabama!

Our hotel was in the downtown historic district, right across the street from antique and speciality shops

Pretty little tablescape in this window

Looking down the street at the shopping area. You can see the hotel where we stayed in the far right corner

Lobby in our hotel

More windowboxes!

And finally heading home!

We had a wonderful time. We even stopped at a yard sale Saturday morning in Decatur where I scooped up a rusty-looking candlestick for $1.00 and a huge rattan thing-y for my front door for 5.00.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I had the pleasure of meeting a lady who had made a comment on my blog when I posted about Taylor and the Christmas on the Coosa pageant. She works downtown close to me so we met for lunch. I think it’s the beginning of a great friendship! Hi Michelle!

Also, on Monday I’ll be giving ya’ll some great recipes using Bryan sausages and Little Smokies. More on that soon……until then, stay safe!

Back Roads and Small Southern Towns

2009-11-11T18:11:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow hubby and I will head out bright and early for a few days. We have no specific destination in mind….just drive toward north Alabama to see the fall foliage traveling the backroads of Alabama and passing through small southern towns. We hope to see some sights like this:

….while driving down a beautiful tree lined road like this….

and I have no doubt we will see something very much like this:

I will be sharing lots of photos with ya’ll when we get back. See ya’ll then!

Christmas On The Coosa

2009-11-07T20:12:00.001-08:00

Saturday kicked off the Christmas season in the little town where my daughter and her family live with the Christmas On The Coosa pageant. There are several categories and Taylor wanted to participate in the Petite Miss Christmas On The Coosa. All along, we never talked about “winner or losers” but that it would be fun to do and MiMi (me) would have her a fabulous dress made! Some of her friends from ballet were also participating so Taylor was really excited and looking forward to having a good time.

After an initial meeting and one practice session, today was the big day. Of course, the mamas (and grandmammas) were more nervous than the little girls.

We tried a couple of bows in her hair to see which one we liked best. Taylor’s hair is so thick (like her mom’s and mine) that her curls fell out before we left and we had to re-roll (is that a word) her hair again.

I found a wonderful lady that makes beautiful clothes for little girls. Taylor’s dress is a simple “pillowcase dress” that ties on the shoulders. I had her initials monogrammed in white, just lovely.

Lots of the little girls congregated in the bathroom to dress and primp. Taylor and her friend posed for this sweet picture. I also surprised Taylor with a little pearl bracelet with a silver cross. She had seen one she liked a few weeks ago and I decided to gift her with one for her special event.

Each girl was asked a few questions about their likes, interests, and hobbies. Here Taylor is telling the interviewer her favorite singer is Taylor Swift. And yes, she is barefoot….it’s a Southern thing for little girls to wear their heirloom dresses and go barefoot! She got her toenails painted a ballet slipper pink.

Doing “the walk”….she was so poised for such a little girl

How could you not fall for that face?

Beautiful mom and daughter

Taylor and one of her cousins

Taylor and her sweet friend Mary Ashley. You might recognize Mary Ashley as being the daughter of Melissa at A Little Loveliness.

While neither Taylor nor Mary Ashley won a crown or title, no one can deny these girls are winners in anyone’s book.

I was so proud of how Taylor handled herself. She went to have a good time and that’s exactly what happened. It didn’t bother her in the least she did not get crowned. Now that’s a winner to me!

One (or Two) Projects Closer!

2009-10-29T11:57:00.001-07:00

Remember earlier this week when I posted a few teaser pics showing a few projects I had in the works? I actually got one of them finished today! And on top of that, I went ahead and started on another one I’ve been meaning to do for quite a while.

Here’s the little teaser photo from earlier this week:

When cleaning out my mom’s house, I found some great old unfinished wood frames so I took four of them and painted them out black. I might distress them later but for now, they will be solid black. On Monday, I went to Hobby Lobby for white mats and glass. I got these cheap little mats for $1.99 each and when I found out the glass was going to run me $7.00 per pane, I again found a more cost-friendly alternative and picked up four of these:

$1.99 for these too! It has a cardboard back and you can’t tell the glazing is not glass. So for around $16.00 I had 4 mats and 4 pieces of “glass” for my free frames!

Here’s my new black and white gallery I hung in the kitchen so everyone can enjoy seeing them all the time.

(I don’t know why these first few pictures look so washed out….the last two show the true color of the walls in the kitchen)

I’ve had this old butcher block table I bought many years ago at a little flea market for $25. It’s rickety and the base is not real wood but cheap looking veneer. When I was single, I used it as an island of sorts in my kitchen but now that THE MAN lives here, it would not work for him so I moved it. I keep dishtowels in the drawer. I’ve wanted to do a paint treatment on the veneer, maybe a distressed creamy white and on the top (which is real wood) stain it dark to match my table. So I went ahead and did the staining and will tackle the painting another day. If anyone can give me some hints on how to paint that veneer, I would be forever in your debt!

Here it is after I taped off the top. I know some of you would have used some kind of stain blocker or sanded down those water rings, but patience is not one of my virtues, and I like immediate results, so the stains stayed. I think it gives it character, don’t you?

I slathered on about 3 coats of Min Wax Dark Walnut stain, let it seep in for a little bit, then wiped it down. The wood really took that stain – just like I wanted!

More washed out pics….it must be the light, sure can’t be anything I did, right?

I’m still working on the table (below). When I took the tape off this morning, some of the stain had seeped below to the painted part so I will have to fix that before I show it to you.

Don’t forget to re-set your clocks back one hour Saturday night (fall back).

EDITED TO ADD:

(I PREVIOUSLY SAID "SO YOU'RE NOT LATE FOR CHURCH" BUT A VERY ASTUTE READER POINTED OUT YOU'D BE EARLY! THANKS TERRY!)

Wouldn’t You Love To Know What I’m Working On?

2009-10-26T17:56:00.001-07:00

I finally got in some time to start some projects I’ve been putting off for some time. Sunday I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get as many started as I could and of course, that meant NOTHING got finished. In my defense, I will say that I ran out of “supplies” such as paint, I needed some stuff from Hobby Lobby which of course is closed on Sunday, and then ran out of steam and daylight. I was doing a lot of painting outside and it is supposed to rain a lot this week, so I wanted to use what daylight I had. Anyway, here’s just a few of the projects I’ve got going on and hope to finish up and cross them off my never-ending list soon….

That’s three things I’ve got going but none completed. However, I do plan to get at least two of them finished this week and then I can share that with ya’ll.

I’ll be excited to get a few more things done. I have two big projects I would love to get started on and finished before Christmas but that remains to be seen. They involve painting my bedroom and bathroom and COMPLETELY re-vamping my sunroom. Fingers crossed!

Blogger Appreciation Week

2009-10-25T19:45:00.001-07:00

I’ve been blogging almost two years now and it’s been a most fascinating journey. When I look back at how my blog has evolved during that time, I just have to laugh at how “unsophisticated” my first attempts were! And while I certainly don’t pretend to have a high-tech blog or one of the newer .com’s some of ya’ll have, I’m pretty happy at how my blog has “grown up” since it got “birthed”! But truth be known, there are a few fabulous blogs that have influenced me from the very beginning. Let me tell you who they are and a little about them. In no particular order, they are the following:

1. Joni at Cote de Texas – I don’t know how I stumbled on Joni’s blog but I’ve been smitten from day one. She has totally turned my decorating style around 360 degrees by her love of linen, slipcovers (or “slips”), seagrass rugs and lots of white! Plus as busy as she is, she has ALWAYS taken time to answer any e-mails I send her and made some very sweet comments on my blog. I can’t imagine there is anyone out there that doesn’t know about Joni, but if you don’t, go check her out.

2. Rhoda at Southern Hospitality – I saw her blog name on someone’s sidebar and being the true Southern girl that I am, the name immediately intrigued me so I checked it out. This was shortly after Rhoda began her blog and I remember sitting at my desk at work (wasn’t busy that day) and ready her whole blog and printing off some 60+ pages from her blog (I’ve told her this so I wasn’t REALLY stalking her). We started e-mailing back and forth and I discovered she lives close to my son’s neighborhood. We made plans to meet as soon as possible and from the very first meeting I knew she was a “keeper” friend. Since our first meeting, we’ve had some great thrifting adventures, including our whirlwind trip to Atlanta in January to meet up with Eddie Ross. Rhoda has such passion for what she does and it shows….she’s one of the best. Her cost-effective, hands-on decorating style is one we can all relate to and utilize in our own homes. I feel very fortunate to have met this wonderful Southern Belle!

3. Pat @Back Porch Musings – You know how it is when you meet someone and you just know they have a wonderful soul? That’s how I’ve felt about Pat from the very beginning. Although we’ve never met in person, I feel like she’s a wonderful friend. If she wasn’t so sweet, I would be seriously jealous of her talents – decorating, cooking, gardening and photography! She just posted her bedroom re-do which I’ve been eagerly anticipating and as I always tell her, she didn’t disappoint! If you’ve never visited Pat, don’t miss your chance now to scoot on over and get acquainted with this precious lady.

3. Melissa at A Little Loveliness – Melissa and I met on line a little over a year ago. Again, this lovely lady is a neighbor, just “down the road a piece” as we say here in Dixie. She should be an event planner and if you’ve ever seen any of her projects, you will agree. Plus she has the most gorgeous family ever! Her daughter Mary Ashley and my Taylor are little friends and share ballet lessons together. Melissa is a sweet soul and she lives and radiates her Christian walk daily.

4. Marian @Miss Mustard Seed – I just discovered Marian’s blog last week and I’m totally smitten with her creativity. I spent some time drooling over her blog and I would highly recommend you do the same! She hosts Furniture Feature Fridays and I decided to play along and to my surprise she picked my dresser re-do which I posted about several months ago as one of her favorites! I was very honored to be featured with these other talented ladies. I can’t wait to see more of Miss Marian in the future.

And there you have just a short list of some of my favorite blogs. There are really too many to mention and I might do another Blogger Appreciation at another time but this will give you an idea of where I get my inspiration from and an idea of some of the extraordinary talent out there.

Ya’ll have a great week!

Feeling Fall-ish and the Motherlode of China

2009-10-16T16:46:00.001-07:00

Whew! What a crazy blog title but I promise it will make a little more sense at the end of this post.

If you’ve been following my blog lately, you know that recently we moved my mom from her home of 40 years into assisted living. That means getting rid of a lot of stuff. My wonderful sister Betsy (Bets, you’re the best) has spent the last 5 weekends at mom’s house with me and we’ve sorted, packed, and had a few teary moments going through all mom’s things. It’s so hard to disassociate yourself emotionally and you finally decide you can’t keep EVERYTHING so you just do the best you can. In fact, this weekend there is an estate sale going on.

Now, on to the motherlode! A few years ago, my mom’s bachelor brother passed away at age 90. My siblings and I along with mom were his only heirs. After going through his massive Tudor style home in North Carolina, one of the things I ended up with was this huge box packed full of stuff which went in storage. When we knew we were going to have the estate sale, I decided to go through the box to see if there was anything in there I could sale. When I started upwrapping all the things in the box, I was overwhelmed at what was in it. A beautiful set of china, gorgeous round butter dish and some fabulous crystal. Here it is all piled up in the dining room (just ignore the pumpkins you see as I haven’t had time to set out my fall tablescape yet):

I think this is for deviled eggs…not sure what it’s proper name is but I love it!

While this pattern is not something I would pick out for myself , it’s just so delicate and pretty I wanted to keep it in the family.

This is my pride and joy! I gave my sister a round butter dish many years ago and have been on the lookout for one for myself….I don’t even remember seeing this at Uncle Charlie’s.

What a sweet tea pot!

Gorgeous stemware

I took a little break from putting all this in protective china storage to go outside and show ya’ll my only attempt at putting out anything for Halloween/fall. I just haven’t had the time.

We have this little garden gate we put on the side yard several years ago and I always enjoy decorating it for the seasons. It’s not much, but here’s how it looks for now….

I have not even had time to clean out my flower beds and you can see all the pinestraw that has accumulated….maybe I can talk hubby into taking his blower out there!

And I hung a birdfeeder on a hook right outside the front door:

And finally, I’ll end this post by saying:

W-A-A-A-R EAGLE!!!!

My New Love

2009-10-15T19:51:00.001-07:00

This past Monday was our anniversary. Hubby took off 1/2 day and we went to see mom for a little bit then out to eat. After lunch, he said we were going to Best Buy….since we’ve been looking to buy mom a new TV, I thought we were going to look at some of the flat screen TV’s. But to my surprise, he had arranged for our computer guy to meet us at Best Buy and I got a new laptop! I’ve been wanting a laptop so I could go “wireless” so I got all the stuff you need to make that happen. By Tuesday night, I was blogging all over the house. Take a look, isn’t she a beauty?

Happy Anniversary!

2009-10-12T05:02:00.001-07:00

October 12, 2003 I took a big leap of faith and walked down the aisle and into a new beginning. Sometimes it seems like yesterday and sometimes it seems like a l-o-o-o-g time but it’s been an interesting ride! The story of how we met and how he proposed is pretty neat….you can read all about it here.

Here’s to the rest of our life…..and I can’t wait!

(I look goofy cause we’d been taking pictures All Day and I was exhausted!)

Drop Cloth Drapes Part 2!

2009-10-06T04:45:00.001-07:00

I’ve got some exciting news! My sweet friend Lindsay is showcasing my drop cloth drapes over at her blog today. Lindsay features “Teach Me Tuesday” on her blog on, what else? Tuesdays, so today is my lucky day.

This was a great little project that I really enjoyed doing and I loved the way they turned out. No one can believe I made these from drop cloths and a black sheet! Please go by Lindsay’s blog and see if you agree with me that these are the bomb! (I don’t think anyone says that anymore).

For the full story and more pictures on my drapes, you can check it out here.

Sunday Supper

2009-10-01T20:17:00.001-07:00

Fall is in the air ya’ll! And when it gets just a little nippy here at our house, I’m ready to make a big pot of hamburger soup served with cornbread. There’s nothing more we enjoy than this simple meal on a cool Sunday night.

This is really a very simple recipe and I’m sure there are many versions out there but here’s how I make my hamburger soup:

Brown your ground beef and drain off any grease

Here are the ingredients I had on hand. You can add any number of things to your soup but I was in a hurry and this is what I had on hand. My mom always adds a little elbow macaroni to hers. I use a lot of ketchup and Heinz 57 sauce for a little “kick”.

Add all the ingredients (above) to the ground beef, adding quite a bit of water. I start off using about 4 cups of water but add more as it cooks down. I also continue to add ketchup as needed. The longer it simmers, the better it tastes, but you can have this soup ready in about 45 minutes if you are in a hurry.

Here it is ready for you to dig in! You can see little bits of cornbread in the bowl, that’s how I like to eat mine.

While your soup is simmering, prepare and cook the cornbread. Here’s the basic recipe I use:

1 egg, beaten

1 1/3 cups BUTTERMILK (the secret to my cornbread)

1/4 cup oil

2 cups Martha White Buttermilk self-rising corn meal mix

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Pour a little oil in the bottom of a black skillet (another secret) and place in the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, mix the above ingredients together and pour in the black skillet after you remove it from the oven. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven. Remove and turn out on a serving platter. Cut into wedges and enjoy!

Look at my platter….does anyone remember that pattern from the ‘80’s?

Just a few more days to go….

2009-09-26T19:43:00.001-07:00

If you’ve been following my blog you know all about what’s been going on with my mom. Thankfully, by this time next weekend, she should be all settled into her new home and I can get back to “normal” (whatever that is). This has been a really emotional time for everyone, not the least my mama, but she’s a trooper and is ready to bust out of the nursing home rehab and get settled in her new place. Lots of changes, but they will be for the best. I’m anxious to get back to some decorating projects around my house so I can share them with you all! Just bear (or bare – whatever – take your choice!) with me and I’ll see ya’ll in a week or so!