Saturday is kick off day in the SEC. We’ve waited a long time for this day. It’s one of the things I love about fall….football, tailgating, socializing with friends, good eats and the sound of 80,000+ fans cheering on their favorite team in the stadium. Our favorite team won the National Championship 2 years ago, so we’re always excited to see what each year holds for us. Good luck to all of ya’ll and WAR EAGLE!
This past weekend we celebrated the joint birthdays of my Birmingham grandchildren. McKinley is 7 today…born on the day Hurricane Katrina hit! Her brother Cade was 2 on August 18th. For the last two years my DIL has let them share a birthday party with family and a few friends. We met at a local park and thankfully it wasn’t extremely humid and left for lunch before it got too hot.
Here’s my sweet little grandson….look at those curls!
My baby boy and his baby boy!
My two favorite girls….Taylor & McKinley
Cade checking out the cake…he’s very food friendly!
After spending the afternoon with all the grown kids and grandkids, we headed to the lake to meet my sister and her husband at their lake place and dinner at the lake
We got there around 6:30….it was so peaceful and quiet.
We ate at one of my favorite places on the lake…Sinclair’s. We usually go several times during the summer but this is the first time we’ve been all summer long!
I love how you can “drive” your boat up to the dock and get out to eat
This was apparently a party boat as their music was blasting and they sped off really fast
There was a “school” of turtles gathered at the edge of the lake waiting for bread crumbs to be tossed out
Sunset at the lake…doesn’t get any better than this
Thankfully we have dodged the worst of Hurricane Isaac here in central Alabama. We had a little bit of rain this afternoon and other than it being a little windy…that’s it! I know our friends south of us aren’t as lucky. We had planned on going to the beach for a few days next week but after seeing all the news reports, I doubt we’ll be able to go.
My husband is on vacation next week and I have a lot of things I’d like to get done while he’s off (if we don’t go to the beach). I’ve had to put on hold finishing the guest room until he can cut out the headboard for me. We got the curtain rod hung last night and I’ve got to finish up with the drapes and paint the two pieces of furniture going in there. I know I keep saying it, but I absolutely LOVE how this room is turning out!
I worked on a small project today. After seeing my friend Diana’s (@Our Vintage Home Love) mailbox revamp I got busy and started working on mine. I got it painted and the post partially stained before it started raining. Hope I can finish it up tomorrow. I’ve always wanted a copper mailbox but they were too cost prohibitive. The copper metallic spray paint I used makes my mailbox look just like the copper mailboxes I’ve always admired. There was an AT&T phone guy working in the neighborhood that even stopped to admire it! Check out Diana’s post…you might get inspired to make a little upgrade to your mailbox too!
Happy Friday! I’ve been a busy girl the last couple of weeks. We went to Ikea in Atlanta last week to buy the items I needed for the guest room, only to find out they were out of stock! Although the Ikea web site indicated they were in stock and had been for 2 weeks! So, I had to come up with Plan B on the spot. Luckily, I was able to pick up everything I needed and still stay with “the look” I was copying going for.
Just as a reminder, here’s the room I fell in love with at the Southern Living Idea house that inspired this make over:
I’m just going to tease you a little bit for now because the curtains are not hung and I have not made the headboard yet nor hung a gallery wall. Also, I haven’t decided on what I’m going to do with the chest and bookcase so until then, this is all you’ll get to see….
The sheet set I ordered should be delivered today so I can properly make the bed then.
I mentioned to husband that I wanted to do a plank wall behind the headboard but really didn’t get a response so I’ll take that as a “yes”! I’m going to call our carpenter friend to come over and see what he can do about that. On our way back from Atlanta, hubby had me call our painter to come paint the bedroom last weekend….apparently he didn’t want to spend the weekend painting!
Anyone else feeling a little fall-ish? The temps here are a little more bearable….not so much humidity. So I went out to Michael’s this week and picked up some fall items to incorporate in the den. Once I get those out, I’ll be sure to share.
We’re heading to Birmingham tomorrow for the joint birthday parties of my two grandchildren that live there. One will be 2 and the other 7! They are 5 years and 5 days apart!
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
I’ve been reluctant to share the drama that resulted in my sudden job loss at the end of May but since I’ve mentioned it several times (thank you for all your supportive comments and prayers) I decided it was time to tell “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say.
First a little background. I have been a legal secretary/paralegal for 25+ years. When I remarried 9 years ago my husband didn’t want me working full time so I was lucky enough to work for a friend 4 days a week, off on Fridays. Fast forward a few years and due to an on-the-job injury which resulted in me being out of work almost a year, I then found a job working 3 days a week. That company went under (it was in real estate) so I started working 2 days a week for an attorney friend until he decided he needed me 3 days a week. That was perfect, I was off Mondays and Fridays, and worked 3 days a week, 6 hours a day. Can’t get better than that!
In March 2011 we brought on another attorney, a former judge. I loved working for these two guys, and I thought it would be a job I would stay on at least 6 more years which I planned to retired permanently.
The Tuesday after Memorial Day I got to work and there was another girl there! It had been mentioned to me that they were “thinking” about bringing on another person who was bringing in files from her former boss, but there was nothing in stone about bringing in someone else. Now this ain’t my first rodeo (thanks Dr. Phil) but I knew it was completely unethical for a non-attorney person to bring files in from another lawyer, that was money walking out his door! The attorney I had worked for the longest was on vacation, which I didn’t know anything about. The “new girl” had taken over his office, knew his computer password (I did not) and basically took over my job. She “ran” errands (which I normally did), was out of the office for several hours, opened mail (after I had already checked all the mail) and he had left her the work I normally did. She sat in on a domestic relations consultation after telling me she knew nothing about domestic relations, that was my job, that she was hired to work on SS disability files (the files she brought with her). This all happened on her first day at work. A situation occurred on the 2nd day that was totally out of my comfort zone (not to mention unethical) so I left for the day and e-mailed one of the men that I wouldn’t be back that day but asked them to get in touch with me on the following Monday so we could address my concerns. NO ONE EVER CONTACTED ME! No phone calls, no e-mails, nothing. I was devastated to say the least.
I went ahead and filed for unemployment and after about 4 weeks was notified I had been denied. I naturally assumed my former employers had objected to my filing for unemployment but have since found out the Dept. of Industrial Relations objected to the filing. We had a phone “hearing” a few weeks ago which resulted in the final denial from the Dept. of Industrial Relations for my unemployment compensation, even after my former boss stipulated they “fired” me.
The hearing was a joke! The idiot guy that conducted the hearing wouldn’t let me or my boss get in a word at all…he ran the show from the get-go. I could have appealed that decision as well but it just wasn’t worth it. I was experiencing anxiety and stress and depression from it all so now it’s over and done with. However, my former boss has stayed in touch with me, we have gone to lunch a couple of times, and he indicated he will be calling me to come back to work….but I don’t plan on returning. I feel much better after finding out they did not object but wanted me to get my “pennies”. However, they are compensating me since I got denied.
So now you know “the rest of the story.” I know this is hard to believe but sometimes I miss having somewhere to go every day. Of course, it’s obvious I’m leaving out some things with regard to the “new girl” that took my place but I’d rather not get into that. I just want to move on with my life and start this new chapter.
On a much happier note, we had a huge yard sale this weekend and made out like bandits! I hope to use that money to finish up the guest room and hubby’s bathroom. The purging and decluttering took a month getting ready for that sale but the end is in sight. It feels so good to get rid of so much stuff….I hope I never let things get to that point again!
I’m smack dab in the middle of cleaning out one of our spare rooms. It’s my son’s old room but for quite some time now it has been used as a “drop zone” for everything. Actually, I’m surprised Hoarders didn’t give me a call!!! Where did all this crap stuff come from? After getting rid of everything in the room, I still have plenty of stuff I just can’t part with. The closet is about 1/2 way done so lots of the keep stuff will go in there. I just ordered a mattress and box springs so I’m on a deadline to finish up for that delivery.
Here’s what I have in mind for the room:
This was the bedroom I fell in love with at the Southern Living Idea house in Senoia, Georgia when we toured it back in June. I’d love to have planked walls but doubt I can talk hubby into that. But I will be using buffalo check pillows and curtains, buying white bedding and linen colored duvet & shams. Also, I found this fabulous DIY headboard here and am going to try my hand at making one ..
They made a template for the headboard, cut it out and covered it with a drop cloth (one of my favorite go-to fabrics) and finished it with nail heads.
Now for the “ugly paint job” question….I have a bookcase (very cheap) and a french provincial 4-drawer dresser that I spray painted black a few years ago. The dresser finish is too shiny. My questions are: what color should I paint the bookcase and dresser? Should I use a primer before painting? Just to remind you, here’s what the color scheme will be:
Right now the current wall color is a pale, pale grey and I really don’t want to have to repaint but I might have to….the wall color looks very similar to the one behind the headboard I’ve featured.
Here are some ideas I like…..
Then I would paint the bookcase a solid color. But I’m not sure how these would work with my linen and cream bedding….thoughts?
Now that I go back and look at the two dressers, I don’t think they would work. I’m totally confused!!!! I really don’t want to do just solid color because I wanted to do something a little different on the dresser. I love that grain sack dresser though!
Okay, enough of these “!!!!” and not enough of these 
Tomorrow (Monday) my sister and I are taking our mama to visit her oldest and dearest friend as well as tour the county just south of where we live now and where I did a lot of my growing up. Not only am I a true child of the South, but we grew up in Lowndes County, which is smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt and well known in the history books as having played a major role in the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. I was witness to the march from Selma to Montgomery, saw Viola Luzzio’s car where it landed off Highway 80 after she had been shot while driving a civil rights worker back to Montgomery (her body had been removed by the time our school bus passed by the next morning); remember our bus being escorted by the National Guard when the first black students boarded our bus for their first day at school in Hayneville, Alabama, and many other events of that era.
My mother’s parents relocated to Lowndes County in the 1940’s from North Carolina after 3 of their sons were stationed in Alabama. They remained there until the 1970’s when my uncle (who never married) and grandfather moved back to North Carolina. My grandmother has passed away the night man walked on the moon! My mama and daddy got married in the “parlor” of my grandparents home and I have many fond memories of growing up on their farm. It has passed through at least 2 different families since my uncle sold Canaan Farm (as it was named) and it bears very little resemblance to the time my grandparents lived there. My grandmother and uncle worked the grounds until they were a true showplace….today there is no evidence of their hard work short of a few trees that still remain. The inside of the home was gutted and has lost a lot of it’s original charm as it was “modernized” to fit each family’s needs. However, driving up in the yard brings back many many memories for me.
I previously posted about our last trip to Lowndes County here. Since my mom turned 92 she has a hard time getting around. I’ve been anxious to take her back for a visit as I’m afraid it won’t be long before she is unable to get out for another excursion there. She is very excited about seeing all the familiar sights and visiting with her friend.
Do you ever take trips down memory lane?
Recently my sweet blog friend Kelly over at Talk of the House featured some vignettes in her kitchen. If you missed my post about her gorgeous house, you can see that here. I have very little counter space in my kitchen but I still like to make them pretty. I would love to have butcher block counters and new cabinets but since I don’t, and that probably won’t happen anytime soon, I try and make the most of what I do have. A few years ago we replaced the old Formica counters and added tile floors. My husband wanted me to use granite but I didn’t want to go that route until I could replace the cabinets and add hardwood floors…maybe one day!
Here’s the view when you come into the kitchen….this is the longest counter I have. We took the doors off one set of cabinets and added the plate rack. The guy that originally built it made a big ol’ mess out of it so when I had the cabinets painted, another person tried to correct the first mess. I want to have them redone because it’s hard to find plates to fit…I plan on having this cabinet reconfigured so that I can use it better and instead of having three openings, I think I’d like to have one for the plates and above that, a larger area for platters, pitchers or other decorative items.
I love using trays and/or baskets throughout my house so I set up this little vignette using a silver lamp, old scale and a couple of breadboards. (Love my tomatoes – from my in-laws garden)
I love having family pictures in every area of my home….I placed this one of me and my “babies” here so I can enjoy it every day. When my husband and I got married 9 years ago, we had family pictures taken at the beach and this is one of my favorite ones from that time.
Hand soaps placed nearby on a cute scalloped dish
We had this built over the stove a few years ago for display. It’s so hard to photograph because it’s painted dark but I enjoy highlighting some of my favorite pieces here.
Other than two other little countertops (and I do mean little) that’s all the counter space I have. If you want to see how Kelly decorated areas in her kitchen, you can see that here.
Thanks for dropping by my home this morning, hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
Today I’m sharing a fabulous recipe my daughter recently made. She found it on Pinterest so I’m linking it to the link on her Pinterest page.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler!
Preheat oven to 350 F. Melt butter & pour into a 9x13 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix egg, milk, flour, sugar, baking powder & salt. Pour over the butter, but do not stir. Add the strawberries & cream cheese pieces. Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is golden.
This stuff is heavenly! I know it’s too hot to heat up the kitchen but this cobbler is well worth the effort.
I’m knee deep in decluttering and getting ready for a yard sale. I’ve spent the better part of 4 days in my son’s old room (which had become a hoarder’s paradise) throwing out, sorting, and purging. Last Saturday hubby and I cleaned out our two (!) storage buildings and went to our house in the country which is basically used for MORE storage to get more junk stuff. We’re staging it at my mom’s empty house so we can go over and set up & get things priced in our spare time. Now I just have to tackle the closet in son’s room to make it a craft/office storage area, buy a new bed & bedding and I’ll be done with that project. I’m in purging mode so I have to take advantage of being in that frame of mind. Next up will be the laundry room.
Still haven’t decided on a new chair for our den but I’m really liking the Jennylund by Ikea (thanks Kelly for the suggestion).
I also like the gray and white checks
AND the dark gray
We’ve had so much going on this summer it’s been hard to find time to head to Atlanta to get my sofa but maybe things will slow down in the next few weeks and I can get over there.
Better get off my hiney and get some more purging done!
Do you find decorating to be a domino effect? What started out to replace my den sofa has now evolved into getting a new rug (more on that later), a new accent chair and now I’m looking for a replacement chair for my husband’s recliner (he doesn’t know that yet)! I’m 99% sure I’m getting the Ektorp white slipcovered sofa from Ikea with an additional slipcover in the Svanby beige so I can change up. We have a very comfy recliner that has seen better days so I’m thinking that I need (want) to replace it with something more stylish but still comfy. Here’s a few ideas I’ve found:
(via overstock.com)
(via Overstock.com)
This won’t work but it’s such a pretty chair…much like the one featured in the Southern Living Idea House (which I’ll be reposting about after the August issue of Southern Living comes out)
(via Overstock.com)
(Pottery Barn)
(Pottery Barn)
I love this one…it swivels and looks like it would be so comfortable
(Pottery Barn)
I love this one too….it reminds me of one I saw in Country Living one time
JC Penney's has a line called “Friday” by Linden Street but I couldn’t get a good picture. One of my sweet blog friends (Kelly) also suggested I might want to consider getting a stripe slipcover for their Friday chair…a good idea since the sofa will be white.
Of course, Ikea has a Ektorp chair that matches the Ektorp sofa but I’ve heard it’s not very comfortable. Comfort is key as we will be using the chair a lot….like every day and it’s where I blog from. I love the ones from Pottery Barn but just not the price!
I would love for ya’ll to give me some ideas/suggestions/links for a replacement chair.
About my new rug mentioned above….I noticed when we were at the Southern Living Idea House they used two 5x7’s (I think that was the size) from Ikea together in the den and I liked that idea so I was planning on buying two when I get my sofa. But the other day I was in Ross and found one which was just a tad smaller than what I needed (I needed an 8x10) but this was 7.6 x 9.6 so I brought it home and it works beautifully! The Ikea rugs were $99 each and this one was $89.00! Even my husband likes it.
I don’t know if I’ll leave the faux zebra down but for now it stays until I bring in my new sofa and see how I like it then (can’t wait to put that loveseat back in the sunroom and bring in my new sofa)!
I also picked up a couple of burlap pillows today at T.J. Maxx for two of my kitchen chairs….of course, these are subject to change too!
My appeals hearing is set tomorrow via teleconference regarding my job loss in May. Please keep your fingers crossed things go well….I’ll be posting about the outcome just as soon as I know.
Have you met Kelly from the fabulous blog Talk of the House? If not, let me introduce you to her and her gorgeous home!
Kelly is a Southern girl and from the first time we “met” through our blogs, I felt like I’d known her forever. It’s obvious how passionate she is about her home and family and it shows.
Here’s Ms. Kelly looking all stylish and cute!
This is the home she and her husband built in Georgia….isn’t it just gorgeous?
What an inviting porch (I love that door!)
Love her bike decked out for the 4th of July
Entry way
Ohhh, I love her kitchen. She shares how her husband added the transom to join these two areas….Kelly says her kitchen is not as large as her previous one but that she loves the “cottage” feel of it
Love her plate rack….here you get a sneak peek into her sunroom
Kelly made her curtains…in fact I believe she makes all her own window treatments
Wouldn’t you love to have a long soak in this tub at the end of the day?
Kelly recently did a post about furniture in the bathroom and then shared hers….don’t you love how cozy this bathroom is?
Gorgeous hutch in another area of the bathroom…love how she accessorizes with fluffy towels and family photos…makes such a personal area
It would be hard to pick a favorite room in Kelly’s house but if I had to, I’d say it would have to be her sunroom
Here she changes things up by adding pops of red with pillows….Kelly loves red!
See that cute desk tucked into the corner? That was her first purchase when she was only 13! I think it’s great that she had a love for antiques at such a young age
I love her wicker furniture and pillows in addition to the lamps that add such ambiance
I love this table in her sunroom
In addition to sharing her love of her home, Kelly also shares some yummy sounding recipes and some great travel adventures
Please visit Kelly’s blog and be sure to tell her I said “hey”!
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