Show us where you live Friday...Foyers

It's that time again! I love it! Kelly at Kelly's Korner is hosting Show us where you live Friday and this week it's Foyers.
Please head on over to Kelly's to see more wonderful houses!
By the way, next week is children's birthday parties and I am super excited!!! :)
Today is Foyers and although you've seen mine here, I just HAD to participate.
This is what you see when you first walk in. Light fixture is TERRIBLE but it's either about to get painted (see this for an example of what I am thinking and feel free to give your opinions-PLEASE!) or replaced.

This is the right side and I just love the mirror. TJM find at $25!
This is the view looking out the front door.

And because ya'll all know I love Christmas...here is almost the same view during this past Christmas, showing my wreath on the door (it was open). I LOVE alot of white lights!
Thanks for stopping in and feel free to leave a comment!
Also, don't forge to go check out Kelly's Korner!
Reid

Blog Hop: Favorite Photo and Caption

Today, I am blog hopping.....that, and well a million other things but couldn't resist showing a picture so why not.

Nothing says Happy 4th of July like some static in your hair....He's Electric!

This week, on TUESDAY, 7/7/09, the theme is A FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPH. Post up one of your favorite photographs and a caption that tells the audience about it then add your blog link. For more help, go here: http://mcklinky.blogspot.com/2009/07/mcklinky-photo-blog-on-tuesday-sample.html

Free Signature Generator

This week, on TUESDAY, 7/7/09, the theme is A FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPH. Post up one of your favorite photographs and a caption that tells the audience about it. Here is a sample: http://mcklinky.blogspot.com/2009/07/mcklinky-photo-blog-on-tuesday-sample.html Be sure to enter your own link to your own blog hop post as soon as the blog hop starts!

Latest Thrifty Treasures

Here are my latest finds....

All of these came from His House and were $11.50 for all!

The pair of lamps were $5 each, large tray $1 and smaller tray .50.

Of course you know the trays will be chalk boards....wait, they already are as I painted them yesterday! The smaller one will be in my daughters room hung by a colorful ribbon.

I liked the details of the lamps and they already have a coat of black paint on them. Now, I am on the hunt for some cheap cool shades. I don't normally like matchy-matchy but may use these on my buffet. If not, I will split them up.
This Beauty came from Good Will and was $2. It's already black as well....just gotta decide which spot to put it in...

Remember when I found these little plates (2 for $1)....well, I found this matching cup to go w/ one of them at His House. $1! Now, I will be on the lookout for another one. I have several of these plate/cup sets and LOVE them for a small gathering. The ones I have though were my grandmothers.

Remember this find from Big Lots? I didn't like the design on it (and it was a tad too white for me) but I couldn't pass up a tray (LOVE them) at a good deal.

I painted it Heirloom White then distressed the corners and edges some...

Then, I put scrapbook paper on the bottom (Yes, it was hard matching up the pattern...not perfect but it'll do).

And for now, here is it's home....

Remember this tray find here.

I didn't like how red it was.

I painted a darker red over the whole thing (looking back, that probably could have been left out) then wiped a black paint over most areas. Then, I painted a gloss over it to make it shine more. Know the look I was going for?

This is the area the tray is in now...it's the before

And here is the after. I love this area now.

BUT..............someone please tell me what I can do w/ this monster! I bought it with intentions of trying the above technique but not sure how it would work on the platter. So.............HELP

That's it for now............Thanks for stopping in!

Go check out Rhoda's Thrifty ideas here as well as her linky party for even MORE ideas!

Free Signature Generator

Show us where you live Friday...or in my case Monday

The weekend was wicked busy so I didn't get a chance to post or even schedule a post for Friday so here I am.

I don't have a recent picture of the front view of my house but this is taken from the driveway and you can see one corner of my front porch. Imagine it's the length of the house with two rocking chairs on the front.

And here is my back door. The red dresser was a His House find ($20) and I have yet to decide what to do with it. I just love the look here but really need it for storage in my kids' rooms. *sigh*

And did you really think you would get a look into my garage!?!? EEK, that thing is scary! And is ANOTHER DH rant!!!

Ok---you talked me into it...but these are just a peek...the rest may scare you!

From inside looking out.....and I carefully avoided the clutter when this picture was taken.

Thanks for stopping in..........

Go check out the rest of the yards/garages at Kelly's Korner.

Free Signature Generator

It's the little things....

Today, my heart is heavy. I know I normally post lighter stuff but today I thought I would share some sad news. A co-worker's wife and kids were in a tragic accident yesterday morning. His wife is now in stable condition but broke her back. His two kids, ages 3 and 5, did not survive.

The article is here:

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=10611623

I can't possibly imagine having to go through any of that. It's a humbling time for me. I hugged my kids and loved my husband extra last night!

This news hit me harder than I imagined it would and so here you have a post about the little things. You never know when your life will change in an instant.

Have you ever walked around your house, gone through your normal routine, or sat at your desk and just noticed the little things? The little things that make you smile and remember your loved ones?

In the wake of this devastating news, here are the little things I have noticed so far today:

• on the windowsill in my bathroom sits one penny and one dime. I smile. Why? B/c Gracie put those there one day while trying to use the 'big girl potty' and proclaimed 'Mine!' They remain there to this day.


• the sight of my son holding his own bottle makes me smile. I love little fingers and the fact that is he is here, relatively healthy, is a true miracle.


• having a very helpful husband who not only changes diapers, dresses the kids, and packs their diaper bag but also loads them into the car every single morning.


• upon unloading the kids at daycare, I see a tiny line across my back window where the dirt has left a 'ring'. You see, my window only rolls down half way and every single morning I have to roll the window down so she can tell daddy 'bye bye see you later' and get one last touch of his hand. Precious.


• seeing my daughter walk proudly into school, plop down on a chair and proceed to eat her 'poptar' (pop tart). She's growing up way too fast and I'm reminded to cherish every second. I hated to leave them today.


• scratching one Doctor off the list of Specialists my son sees after yesterday's follow up appt.


• getting out of the car at work and noticing a little blue paci. smiles.


• walking in my office every day seeing a painting my little man painted at school with his feet.


• arriving at work and being thankful that I have a secure job and work at a stable company.


• thankful for the people that I work with and around and I know that any of them would be there if I needed them.

And what is to come....

I know that when I walk in my children's classes this afternoon they will be happy to see me- one comes running for my open arms yelling "Mommy!" and the other leaps forward from whoever lap he is on (yes, they hold him most of the time) with open arms. What a blessing and what a gift.

You see, it is all about the little things.....

(PS--ignore the pink blanket on said son, it was all I could grab when he was tired and not feeling well....little things.)

Free Signature Generator

My Thrifty Treasures

So, I am joining Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures again. I think I am early though.
You can check out her blog here. She is very crafty and has a great eye for design.
The tray below is a find from His House for $1 I picked up the other week. I finally got around to turning it into a chalk board and love it. I plan to hang it probably on this wall and remove those wall hangings.
This tray is also a find from a recent trip to Hobby Lobby. It was $3 and I decided to redo it somewhat. I painted over the too bright red with a darker red then painted black on top of that and wiped some off w/ a rag. I am going to clear coat it so the color is brighter then put scrapbook paper on the bottom (the paper is off white w/ gold cursive writing...pretty). Then, I am going to hang in in the kitchen somewhere.
This is the first step, w/ the red

This is the second step after the black I need to get some clear coat so I had to stop. :(

And I plan to put the fleur de lis back on it when I am done.

This is a candle holder (I think) but loved the wicker look w/ metal. It was .70 at Good Will and I think I am going to spray paint it black or leave as is w/ a flower bud in it.

I spotted this bowl at GW too....fell in love w/ the color and the shape. I plan to use it for food until I get a grouping of white pieces for my dining room. It was .70!

I LOVE anything Christmas so had to get this plate. It cleaned up well and was .50!

It's hard to see the tray on the left but it's a silver (not real, of course) and has a tree looking design on it. I am going to spray paint it but not sure what color yet....

and the little mini casserole dish I found was a score I thought. It was .70 and made my Pfaltzgraff made in 1983. It's got a little chip in it but didn't care b/c I love the look, size, and color.

This is my favorite/best find. I have been looking for something like this for G's newly redone room (soon that is). I want to paint it antique white and hang her coming home outfit on there (see the little rod going across where that door is --that door is not attached either so will take it off). I saw this idea somewhere so when I ran across this at GW for .....wait...... .75 I squealed!!!

And here are a few other finds. I loved this basket and it's well made and kind of squared off. $1!

The pink container was $1 also and it came w/ a bunch of kitchen utensils (most of which were wooden spoons--which we LOVE). I may leave it pink but may paint it to go in G's soon-to-be room with flowers in it. You can't see it but it had little bead details around the top...pretty.

The other flat-like 'basket' was .50 and is currently gold but will be repainted another color when I figure out where it is going to go (thinking coffee table w/ magazines on/in it).

Those are my finds for now. I need to get some projects going but just haven't found the time. And I am so addicted w/ thrifting that I am already excited to go by GW one day this week!

And go check out everyone elses thrift finds at Rhoda's. You can see the links here. I get so many ideas and encouragement each week!

Thanks for hosting Rhoda!

Free Signature Generator

Show us where you live Friday-Master Bedroom

It's that time again. Does anyone else feel like they are on Cribs? I haven't watched it in a while but I sure, especially this week.

It is Show us where you live Friday again hosted by Kelly at Kelly's Korner. You can go visit her blog here. She has an adorable little girl!

This week is Master bedrooms and I am excited. This is one of my favorite rooms in the house but will admit beforehand, is not decorated fully. Just like most rooms of my house, there is little (if any) decor on the walls. I'm working on finding thrift finds for that so more may be coming there.
Off we go.....

This is looking into our bedroom from the den. You saw my den here.

And here is what you see when you walk in.

This is right inside the doorway, to the right. I love having a door that opens onto the porch. On rainy nights we leave it open if is it not unbelievably hot that is. It is so nice.

This is my side of the bed. The dresser my mom bought me when I bought my first house. LOVE that thing. The mirror was my grandmothers. Notice another 'A'. I addicted. Thanks TJMaxx!

This dresser was my grandmothers also. It was part of a set and was originally painted white. I refinished it but will repaint it white one day for my daughter I think. Love the camel lamp--another gift from my mom.

This is the view from that door leading to the porch. I'm not wild about the scrolly stuff in the wood around this inlay but for now, it stays. DO, love the inlay though. Works nicely for the Tv. Now, someone give me ideas how to conceal it. Maybe shutters?

And the couch used to be in our den until kids. Then, I decided I didn't need a white slip covered couch in there, and got leather instead.

Close up of the inlay.

This is a funny picture. Know what this is? Or what the area is known as in our house?

This is the naughty chair! hahaha

I tried to get a close up of the area because when I was taking the pictures for this post, I noticed there are a few little greasy hand prints above the stool. You can kind of see them. Funny.

This is also a view from the porch door, into our bathroom. You saw that here.

Here is a close up of our bed and headboard. Which is one of my favorite things and ideas in our house. We found these two (you can hardly see one for all the pillows) old doors at His House for $10 each. They were both covered in white paint and no door knobs. We stripped them and stained them to match some of our furniture (remember, I like unmatched stuff). I had found the glass knobs several years before and had the brass plates from my first house. And we actually bolted them to the wall and slid the mattress right up to it. Voila!

We talked about putting some kind of moulding at the top (kind of like the mirror to the left) but decided we liked it just like it was and also didn't want more height.

What do you think?

This is the view going into our den.
*Note: notice the two black (mirrored) diagonal pieces? I'm so bad....these pictures were taken all in the same night and midstream I changed out some family photos for the beauties I found at Hobby Lobby last week. Terrible, I say.

And because I am a complete Christmas freak.....I just HAD to include one from this past Christmas...I loved the tree I put in here and loved how it looked at Christmastime.

It is hard to see the details of the tree, but it was done in white with a touch of silver and was mostly white little mittens, ice skates, and icicles.

Hope you enjoyed the tour. Come back any time!

Monday I will be joining Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures because I got some good deals at Good Will the other day. So, if you want to see some good ideas and great style, go on over and see her here and check back Monday because everyone has some great finds and ideas!

Free Signature Generator