God is the Master Crafter

I absolutely love Winter...the snow, the cold, the cozy feelings, the snuggling....

BUT

I adore Spring and how everything starts to turn green and flowers bloom!

However, I can't stand the humidity we have every year during the Summer months.  So I love to go outside when the sun is going down.

Sitting on the swing, feeling the warm breeze, smelling the sweet perfume from the flowers blooming, listening to the birds nestle in for the night...it truly is my favorite time of day during Summer.

See how the sun shines brightly on the back deck...truly hard on these blue eyes.  I can barely see through the major squinting when I first step out.

My flowers seem to be loving all of that sun though.  I can't wait for everything to get bigger!

My most favorite flower ever...the Peony.  The way they smell, it's like Heaven!

The petals are proof that there is a God and He is an amazing artist!  

The beautiful shades of pinks and whites...oh my, they make my heart swoon!

Aren't they just gorgeous?!

~They smell so good on the porch~

A dear friend of mine and I have been working on her home for quite some time.  Her words were "I want my home to look and feel like your's"...now what better compliment could a gal get?  I recently made her curtains and some shade slipcovers, so she sent me photos of them after she got them up.  As I looked at the photos, I saw just how many things we've done to her home in the past year and a half.  It didn't seem like a lot, but if I listed everything, it would take up a page or more.  I am so happy that she is happy!  We've started working on her deck and let me say, we were sweating and wishing for a pool, lol!

She had a wreath hanging on a light she was wanting to change out.  Unfortunately, a Robin had chosen that for her newly built nest.  We couldn't see in the nest, but when we took it down, she was so heartbroken.

The mommy had laid 3 beautiful turquoise eggs.  I told her I would take it home with me so she wouldn't feel guilty.  

The work she put into her nest just amazed me!  I've never looked at a nest like this...the mud, the tightly woven grass, the perfection of it all!  Once again, God is definitely the master crafter!

And one last thing to share for now...I added some garden fencing to the canopy bed the hubby and I made.  Oh how I am loving it!

Have a blessed week and don't forget to thank God for all of His blessings big and small!

Everything needs a "Refresh" sometimes

It seems like we all need a little change sometimes.  Whether it be a small floral arrangement, a different piece of furniture, new bedding or just rearranging.    Well, this past week has had all of these, lol...plus a few extra things like paint!

If I can remember correctly, it started with that old cabinet Mom brought me that became the new kitchen island.  It has domino'd  from there, I guess.

I'm still smitten with that island...and I adore the new views!

So far, everyone has been able to find the silverware just fine.

I managed to do a little shopping while picking up a vanity from a local shop that I love to deal with.  Her name is Lesa and I feel like she is a long lost friend every time I visit.

Look at this gorgeous mirror she had for sale!  I had to paint it white of course!  Perfect for the mantle in our bedroom.

Another mirror she had that fit perfectly on top of the mantle upstairs.  The newly made curtain hides the gas stove.  The stool came from our oldest's room and got a makeover too.  

Just look at the details!

I am loving the all white theme...

This is the vanity I picked up and turned into night stands.

I also had another vanity in the garage that I worked on along with this one.

I won't bore you with my handy craftsmanship, but I will say that my handy dandy jig saw and I done a fantastic job making some wood match some missing pieces.  

Maybe you can spot them.

These ended up in our oldest's room.  She definitely needed more storage.  I cannot stand to see clutter and if things aren't hidden, I tend to see RED.

I used these in our retreat.  Photos to come of them later.  

See how the first set look with this beautiful bed?  That bed definitely takes center stage.  Please over look all of the posters...they drive me bonkers because of the dust factor!

Oh, that chenille spread was a yard sale purchase and I got 2 of them, 4 shams and two white cotton rugs for $20...can you say THRILLED and doing a happy dance?!  Not one stain on any of them.

See, no clutter.  These babies are loaded down with books and stuff!  You wouldn't believe it if I opened them up....really!

I even hung up her lights that she had strung over one window.  Now this looks like a glam closet for sure!

Now I am ready to rest!  I worked all weekend long.  Never once did I get into the pool...I just looked at it through the windows I was cleaning.

I hope everyone's week is a blessed one!

What a difference a color can make

For months now, I have been contemplating on painting our front door.  It has been black for years and after replacing the door knob and lock, it looked a little shotty.  A few nicks that showed the previous red,  just wasn't appealing to this shabby chic gal.  I love distressed, but it has to be the right colors.

Also, see how the door get's lost?  That kind of drove nuts!

It's like it wasn't really there...

And of course when it is open, I really didn't like how dark it made this corner even with the light coming in.

Now look at the difference!  I think it gives that cottage welcome, don't you?

I had to lighten this photo to actually see the wreath.  Now look at the after...

Look at how it can be seen now...it is really one of the prettiest wreaths I've had on this door!

I lightly distressed the door to let the black come through.  

Oh how I truly love this door now!

And I think Louis approves of it too.

After rearranging the living room, I knew I had to paint that door.  It just didn't go with what I call my Easter colors.

So that's my little project for Monday even though the door took 3 coats of paint, lol!  Shew, I don't think my knees can take much more....

Thanks for visiting and until next time, have a blessed week!

Sweet Memories

When my Aunt Judy passed away, her daughter gave my Mother a piece of furniture that Judy had held onto since the passing of her late husbands sister, Francis.  I guess it seemed to be in bad shape to both of them because Mom gave the piece to me.  All I saw was how beautiful is really could be and visioned an island from the beginning.  I already had a kitchen island that my husband and I had built many years ago when we remodeled.  It was a pretty good size, but it took up too much space and made it hard to maneuver around during the holidays.

This shows the size pretty good to give you an idea of how big it was.

This is the cabinet that was passed down to me.

It definitely needed some TLC.  Sprayed with bleach, wiped down, painted with added new pulls, this is what it looks like now!

How beautiful it is to me...and what sweet memories I have to look at every day.

As I was painting the inside, I noticed a piece of paper lodged into the joists so I carefully pulled it out.  This is what I found...

It was  Valentine that Mammaw had given to Judy's sister in law, Francis from her and I.  I used to live with Mammaw, so that's why she signed my name and hers.  I sat in the floor and teared up, thinking of all the years that has passed and how this piece ended up in my home.  Now if that wasn't a sign that this piece was meant to be mine, I don't know what it was!

I turned the island another way which excites me now to be able to move it.  Just look at all of the floor space now!

We were able to re-use the old island top, just cut down and touched up with paint.  Not a dime was spent...I even re-used the pulls from the other island.

It is the perfect size too!

Remember the laundry room and that table I had in between the washer and dryer?  Well....

We used one of the cabinets in it's place.  I still had the aged bronze pulls stored away and used them.  Of course I painted them white with chalk paint.

And more storage....now that's always a PLUS!

I really do have lot's of sweet memories of my family throughout our home.  It definitely makes it ~Home Sweet Home~

And if you all are like me, one project always turns into many.  This plastic frame was so detailed and pretty after painting.  I've always has issues with under this window...so I am pretty content now with this grouping!  Now I'm off to take a Sunday afternoon nap...I am one tired chick!

Has it been a month since my last post?

I couldn't believe it when I saw that my last blog post was almost one month ago.  Have I been that busy?

YES! 

It seems like eons ago that my heart was racing preventing me from doing anything.  The fear that it may go even faster scared me to death.  After having a racing fit while working in my flower beds and mowing, I decided to take it easy for awhile.  So I didn't dare work outside last summer.

This Summer, I am doing the things I used to do, it makes me happy!  I've had a few fast heart beats, a little dizziness and some sleepless nights, but all in all, it's been good for me.  As for the thyroid problems, they're proving to be a pain in the butt (oops, did I say that?).  But that's another story in itself...still trying to find a doctor that takes this thing seriously since I'm getting older by the minute!

 Between painting, gardening, mowing, washing down the house, cleaning porches and decks...this is just a few of the things I've gotten accomplished.   Remember, I've not blogged in a month, so a lot is being skipped over, lol.

We have a huge cement pad in front of our home with a large graveled driveway.  I wanted some greenery around our home, but with all of that cement and gravel, it proved to be a daunting task to figure it out.  Most people have shrubs and flowerbeds around their home, but we can't.  I do look forward to Spring for the flowers in the planters for some green.  I decided to plant some trees in these black urns for the front....they did the trick!  Once I can buy some more flowers, I think the front of the house will look great with the garage door that I painted.

Some Mother's Day flowers from my sweet little family.

I decided to do a white theme this year...gasp, no pink!  Can you believe it?!

I found the little sign in the garage the other day while cleaning it out.  One of those sweet surprises I forgot all about.

Our front porch....truly a gathering spot for everyone.  The breeze all year long is quite nice sitting here and relaxing.

I love this little table and I moved the window to here instead of at the bottom of the stairs.  The double impatiens will do better in the shade.  A perfect welcoming to any guest.

Can you remember this window being inside hanging over a sofa?

On an outing with my Mom, I found this gorgeous heart wreath...the beauty of the pink roses definitely over rode the "white theme" I had planned.

My snowball bush is overflowing with blooms this year.  I usually never cut my flowers and use them because I always feel so guilty.  But this year, I decided it had plenty to share with me.

I think this is my favorite for the porch...it's definitely a reminder to me and any that visit.

I've had this little sign for over 10 years...it has weathered well.

And my other favorite...our swing.  I grew up with a HUGE porch and a swing.  There is something about laying and swinging in the evening that is so relaxing to me.  This swing used to be on Mammaw's porch so it's near and dear to my heart!

Now isn't this a gorgeous grouping?!  An old jar carrier with some blue mason jars are a perfect place to showcase some clippings from my flowers.

On the way to the back deck, we'll say hi to Gabe taking a rest in the new soft mulch.  He's such a good ole dog!

The weather sure does beat this space to death making it a task to clean it all up for Summer!  The white turns green and brown....

Nothing a little scrubbing and fresh paint can't take care of!

See the chippy bench...I still need to paint them.  But the petunias sure do look pretty in this French stand!

 A few clippings made their way to the old insulators.  I made them into a little stand that can hold candles or flowers on the table.

See the birdhouse in the back?  I just made it the other day from an old post and a light fixture.  

An old bed spring holds an insulator that sits with an angel my Mom bought me over 20 years ago.  Sweet memories inside and out!

And one for the road...one of the rugs I finally painted!  I spilled paint on this one years ago and haven't gotten to it until today.  It was still drying in this photo, but I wanted to share it with you.  I have another one coming soon but I ran out of paint, lol.

Please excuse the flowerless flower boxes...this gal hasn't had the time nor money to buy what I want!

Thanks for stopping by.  I sure do hope you all have a blessed weekend!