Make it special...

Our neighbors invited us over for dinner last Friday and I was so excited!! Not only are they sweet, but they are Christians, too!! I have always wanted to live in a neighborly neighborhood{other than in an old farmhouse on land :)} and am so glad to be making friends.
I wanted to take something as a hostess gift. I decided to take a plant-I love houseplants!! All those fancy pots are not in my budget so I decided to gussy up a plain terra cotta pot. First, I painted the pot, then I mod podged strips of papers torn out of an old book. I just coated the pot then layered the papers, let it dry and added several more layers of mod podge. After the mod podge was dry, I stenciled their initial, and used rub-ons from Wal-Mart on either side of the B. I used a little Alene's tacky glue to adhere the twine around the top of the pot. This covered the ugly edge at the top as well as adding to the cute factor. I planted a small house plant, watered it, and added spanish moss. Voila!! A cute, personalized gift!! Total cost: under $5. I had most of the items on hand so that helped.
My neighbor liked it and we had a great time!!

Busy living life...

Seems I've been MIA lately...I will say it was great!! I was able to catch up on laundry-I haven't been caught up since we moved in in November. It feels awesome!! Cleared the dining room table off. You can see the before in this post. Scary, but now nice. Enjoying the children. That is my favorite!! I don't want their memories to consist of Mommy sitting on the computer saying, "wait a minute". I don't want to miss what is going on in the here and now with them. I know that one day I will turn around and they will be grown. I know{at least I've been told} that one day I will miss this time of them being small.
Just sharing a few pics from the week...in random order...

Baby jail. {Don't worry, no babies were harmed in the making of this photo.}

The kids thought it would be funny to put this hat on Fisher. Amazingly enough, he kept it on for a long time.

The boy is walking. Circles around the house. This day they were marching around and around. See our trash bag?? White trash...Hahaha!!

Homeschool year end pool party.

Tea parties, movie times{where I fall asleep}, hmmm...sounds like movie time!!

Father's Day. I made Chess Cake for Cory. Lilly wanted him to have a candle so while shopping at Publix, I got a number 6 candle for all the years he has been a Dad. He is an awesome one, too!!

What?? You want the recipe for Chess Cake?? Here it is...

Chess Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 egg{stirred well}

*Put mix in lightly greased pan and press

Topping

1 box powdered sugar

2 eggs

1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

*Mix together and pour over base. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!!

Stop blogging and start doing{aka foyer redo}

Yep, that was my motto for last night. The hutch was bothering me in the kitchen so I{with help from husband} took the top off and moved the bottom into the foyer. Just decorated it up for the Fourth of July. I think I like it!!

Hello, my name is Elise and I'm a shopaholic...

The day started out innocently enough. Kids climbing into Fisher's crib with him. Me changing his diaper and giving him his bottle. Wondering why my husband wasn't freaking out when it was almost nine o'clock{he has to be at work at nine}. Cory told me his boss told him to just come on in at eleven o'clock. I thought he was kidding for a minute. Anyway, we decided to go get breakfast. Afterwards, the kids and I went to the local thrift shop. I felt drawn there AND it was on the way to Wal-Mart, which is where we were supposed to be going.
Found a brand new Guesstures game, still sealed and for only $2.00. We love to play games with friends. Also found a blue and cream sheet which is going to become a patriotic pillow among other things. A toaster which we badly needed. Hopefully nobody powdered arsenic in it!! Love me chunky frame!! I am thinking I am going to paint it antique white, distress it and put a small, aged American flag in it.


I loved these frames. I think they are going to get another paint job.

Everytime I would go into Belk, I would see bowls similar to these. I never did buy one, cause I cannot stomach paying upwards of $15-20 for one bowl.

A subtraction puzzle for the kids. Jackson said, "I can do homeschool later!!" He is not so super excited about homeschool and wants to go to "regular" school. Too bad, kid...

Is this cream pitcher not cute?!?! I am going to put little American flags in it a' la Cherry. I couldn't resist the orange latte bowl. So cute!! I will probably use the doily for Valentine's, but in the meanwhile Lilly can put it in her kitchen.

Thanks for looking at my junk. I promise I don't go shopping everyday!! Hahaha!!

Oh, while on the subject...I am looking for metal embroidery hoops. If you have an aunt or grandma who has some and would like to get rid of them, I would love some!!

Thrifting goods...God's provision...

I took my camera into Best Buy yesterday, and thought while I was in the other town that I should make the best of it and go thrifting. Boy was I glad I did!!
Our house didn't come with a vent hood or a microwave over the range. I didn't really want to shell out the $$$ that it would take to get one. God knows what we need and what we want though, and I'd like to think He honors our waiting and looking by giving it to us for less than we could have thought possible sometimes!!
{Drumroll please...}

A black microwave to go over our stove!! For...$40!! Yes, you read that right, only $40. The price tag on it was $50 and I asked for a discount. Ask and ye shall receive!!

This little grouping only cost $3.00 at various yard sales on Saturday. The table runner was free. The little lady said she didn't want to take it back home. It is in disrepair, but I am going to display it in one of my picnic baskets. Love all the work someone put into it. You can't buy that at Target.

This frame was also from a yardsale. I paid $1 for it. Kind of...It was brass originally and this is the only picture I could come up with on the fly.

I got this rolling cart at that yard sale also. I'm gonna spiffy it up with some paint and sew a liner for it.

These little treasures also came from the same yard sale as the two above photos. All of it was $6 and that included two toys for the kids. I didn't think y'all would care about a nude Ariel doll and Mater. Hahaha!!

Yesterday, I went to the Habitat ReStore and found this bed. I like it for Fisher better than this one. Plus it goes better with Jackson's bed. I think I am going to paint both of the beds navy blue to tie them together. Wanna guess how much this was??

$5.35!! Oh yeah, a great deal!!

This I also got at the ReStore. For FREE!! The man who helped me with the bed told me to just give him $5.35. I was so excited!! I love FREE!!

Garden Swap Goodness

Sooo...do I even need to preface this post by saying my camera hates me?? I went to Best Buy today to let the Geek Squad look at it and they say its either my shutter speed or the lack of flash. I don't use the flash much and the GS say that is why my pics are coming out blurry. Sorry, but I don't buy that.
Anyway...
Saturday, I received a super fun box from the Talented Ms. Em. Oh my stars, y'all, check out the garden fresh bounty!! Love, love, love the "grow" sign. Emilie even made her first yo-yo's for this project. She did great!! The rooster sign that Emilie rusted is so perfect for my vintage farmhouse. Just check it all out. Maybe...I'm sure that top photo is blurry as all get out. Hmmmph...

Get out there and DIG. Had to take a photo of that!! Hahaha!! Oh, Emilie also sent the children along some goodies, but they were sooo excited that I didn't get a pic of them. They really appreciate it, Emilie!!

Look at my uber-fab sign. Don't you love it??

Let's see here...a gardening apron, a kneeling board that Em embellished, and a strawberry grow kit. I may have a bit of a strawberry obsession. ;)

Sprout...love this sign. Heck, I love about any sign!! See that lil peat pot?? I have wanted one of those since I've known Emilie and yay-I have one now!! And it has birds on it and I love it!!

Bloom where you are planted. I love that quote!! One I had to comfort myself with when we lived in our first ever married home. Oh, Emilie made that little tag out of shrinky dink paper. Isn't it amazing??

Close-up of my rusty sign. I LOVE it, Emilie!!

One of my favorite things...a strawberry needle case. This will be much safer than random needles in a tin pail that I have carried hand sewing around in. I extremely {HEART} this. Remember my slight strawberry obsession??

I may or may not have heavily hinted that I wanted a bracelet with flowers made from shrinky dink paper. Well, Emilie delivered!! I am lovin' this!!

Thank you, Emilie, for a fabulous package and thank you all for checking it out!!

Oh, come back tomorrow...I will be sharing my thrifted and yard sale finds.

Wish they all could be California Girls...

Don't know what that song has to do with this post, other than its about my two fave Californian's. Emilie and I have been partnered for a few swaps before, and when she hosted her first "mini swap", she partnered me with her best friend, Jenny, whom I've adopted as my new bf as well. Paris Hilton has nothing on me!! Just kidding!! I actually like my friends.

Anyway...

When I saw Emilie was hosting a Shabby Garden swap, I emailed her and asked if she wanted to swap. Of course she said yes. So, here is what I sent her.

Not the chair...duh!! I made a pillow out of placemats embellished with a yo-yo brooch, a chicken wire cloche, little candleholders made from baby food jars, a ruffled dish towel, a painted polka dot pot, paper plate holders, and some metal and button flowers. I also gave her a bird, pumpkin seeds{cause we love us some FALL}, and two signs that I made.

The "fleurs" sign was not quite as cute originally, but some paint and stenciling took care of that.

I made the "jardin" sign with wood and my cricut. Tied on some fun ribbon and voila!!

The chicken wire cloche...boy I love these girls, cause let me tell you, I didn't have gloves and my fingers felt it!! When a craft involves chicken wire, wear gloves!! I topped it with a glass knob from The Mothership, Hobby Lobby. I remember eating off those wicker plate holders when I was a little girl, only they weren't so festive.

I have to say, I am sooo thankful Emilie "introduced" me to Jenny. I think Jenny and I talk almost everyday. In fact, the other day, Cory said to me that if one of us were to go on vacation, we would probably still call one another. Whatever...

Anyway, Jenny shared on her blog the other day about some super cute, vintage towels her Mom made for her play kitchen. I asked if her Mom wanted to adopt me and guess what?? She did!! I checked the mail the other day and this was in my mailbox. Jenny's dear Mother made this sweet towel for Lilly's kitchen. I heart it so!! Jen also gave me this card from her Grandma's stash.

Thank you so much Emilie for pairing us up for the Thanksgiving swap-I am so THANKFUL!!

Thank you Jenny and a big thank you to OUR Mom ;), y'all are too sweet!!

What's for dinner??

Chinese!! More specifically fried rice, chicken, and asian coleslaw.
For the chicken I just crushed several cloves of garlic and poured soy sauce on it. I let it marinate for a couple of hours. Then I sauteed the chicken. I assume most of y'all know how to make fried rice?? So, I will share my asian coleslaw recipe with y'all. This is actually my cousin's signature dish for the holidays. It is so good!!

Asian Coleslaw
2-3 oz beef Ramen noodles
2-81/2 oz coleslaw mix
1 cup toasted almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup vinegar

Mix coleslaw, nuts, and onions together in a bowl. Whisk beef seasoning packets, sugar, vinegar, and oil together. Pour over coleslaw mixture and stir well. Before serving crumble noodles and add to mixture.
Enjoy!!

Where I hang out with y'all...

Sooo...this is where I sit and catch up with all of y'all. I love the happiness going on here. That is my foyer window straight ahead. I love all the natural light in this space.

Here we are just up the stairs. I used the table I got for $15 at an antique shop. It was originally marked $135 or something crazy like that. The tall red shutters were originally bifold doors on my brother's laundry closet. He was getting rid of them, so like the scavenger I am, I asked for them. Just painted them red and am in love. We used the doors in our old house to hide my husband's gun case. Here I have used them to disguise all the ugly cords and whatnot from the foyer. Under the table I used a smaller set of interior shutters that I painted green to hide more cords. I love the charm they add also. Above the desk I have my framed chicken wire tag holder. I found the huge frame at a yard sale about five years ago and finally just added the chicken wire. Love it!!

An ugly mousepad would never do in this space, so I just covered mine. Its easy...all I did was lay down the mousepad on top of the fabric, trace around, cut it out and mod podged it on. Now it adds a little more charm to the space.

Here is the tag I made for June. I had a different idea in mind, but after reading some blog or another and seeing her summer banner, I thought that is just what I would do. So my June banner tag...

For those of you who guessed that I made the strawberry tag, you were right!! This was the tag I made for May. For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about...My Cali BF, Jenny, hosts a tag swap and we each make tags to send and one to keep.

Cool old junk...

I had to go to the bank today to cash a check. Oh boy!! On the way there I saw an antique shop nearby was having a yard sale. Lilly and I stopped on the way back home. The shop is never open, it seems, so I was really excited to go today. I was just talking about not spending money for a month, but well...I had the best of intentions. Check out what I got $1.25 above. I have been wanting one of those cow creamers. I've seen them at Target for a couple or so dollars, but I got this one for only a quarter!!
The lady gave me the vintage postcard. Yay, I love me some free!!


Moo...

Isn't this cute??

Since I was there, I had to go inside. This place had a basement-two of them!! I found the bed for Fisher. Yes, I am shopping ahead. Everything inside was half off!! The bike was tangled up in a tree out back. I saw it when I pulled back there to pick up the bed. This place was so dirty and dusty. Definitely not the cute antique malls I am used to. I also saw the doors back there. The bike I am going to keep outside by the tree. I want to get a basket on front to put flowers in. Its gonna be so cute!! The doors I got for a dollar each.

Here is the bed. The boys' bedroom is a cabin/lakehouse theme. I got this bed for $15{yes, it does have rails}. Jackson's bed I found at a consignment furniture shop a few years ago. I'll have to show it to y'all sometime. I have a whole post planned for my thrifted furniture.

Love these doors!! I am thinking of painting Welcome to the Lakehouse on one of them for the boys' room. Too bad I don't have a super handy, furniture building man to make me a cabinet for them. :( Cory has other skills, though, and saves us a bundle on car repairs and whatnot.

Oh yeah, baby!! Got this Corona typewriter for $14. I have been wanting one of these puppies. When I saw the price, I think my jaw dropped!! I also got some silver forks and spoons, but there are soaking, so I'll have to share those with y'all later.

Thank y'all for indulging me. Hope you don't think its rude to share prices, but I personally love seeing your good deals!! Hope y'all have a fabulous weekend!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes...Kitchen

I have been teetering with the idea of moving the hutch out of the kitchen for a while now. Y'all may remember that post. Yesterday, I finally got a wild hair to move stuff around. Above is the way it looked before. This was taken in January.

Here the kitchen is today. I moved the bench in the kitchen. It was previously in the dining room. I also took the white chair from the dining room. If you want, you can click here for my inspiration room. I know the chandelier isn't centered over the table, but I am not putting a hook in the ceiling until I can get the room the way I will be {temporarily} happy with. If I leave the hutch out, I am thinking I am going to hang this chalkboard up.

Another view...you can see where I moved the hutch to. I am not super sold on it there either. My husband would rather the hutch be out of the kitchen all together, but I love the storage.

Here is a slightly brighter picture. We plan to add beadboard under the bar and add a brick backsplash. Oh yes, and a vent hood. Baby steps!!

The view from the kitchen. I know my valances are hanging lower than the moulding, but I plan to put a shelf up, so I am not moving them until then.

Okay...what do you think?? Should I move the hutch out of the kitchen totally?? Leave it??