Hypocrite?

I can't tell you how many times I've hollered at Nic to stop writing on my walls.

I guess all I can say at this point is "Do as I say, not as I do."

I've admired Landee's wall (that was inspired by Jones Design Company) for a while now.
I've finally decided to pull the trigger.

However... I decided to get a little creative {gasp}... and turn the template SIDEWAYS.

What the freak?!

I think it will make mine look more farm house than traditional. A girl can dream, right?
And I realize that my little designs aren't exactly touching each other (as they are in Landee's tutorial)... but I think I can work that out.

Here's a sneak peak of what I am working on:

I am so freakin' excited!!  I am hoping that I can finish up the tracing tomorrow and start working on the painting part. I want it done by Nic's party!

We will see.

;)

If I didn't think Bank of America would miss me too much...

I'd quit my job and become a wreath maker.

Seriously.

{unless someone from BofA is reading this, then please know that I *love* my job and I wouldn't abandon it for all of the tea in China}

I was a focused wreath maker yesterday.
I started Nic's birthday wreath and made two Christmas wreaths for outside... and worked on our front door Christmas wreath.

Nic's {going to be Cowboy themed} Birthday wreath:

Here are our outside wreaths:

You can see I put up my iron decor again! I figured if asked, I would tell them that it's part of my Christmas decorations! lol... they will come down when the rest of the decorations come down!

P.S. The green pillows will be swapped out for more festive ones. :)

Here is the one for the front door:

I thought it was done, but I am wondering if it's too plain?
I wanted it to match, but not match the other two. There is going to be a lot going on when the lights and other decor are introduced, so we will see if I end up adding to it later on.

I used a flat wood wreath for this one. Got it at Michael's (and probably spent way too much. i ♥ hobby lobby).


As usual, for the first three, I used the plastic covered straw wreaths from Hobby Lobby ($4.99) and some pretty ribbon. For the Christmas ones, I used blue and gold. We are incorporating the blue into our color scheme this year. All of our outside lights are blue!

I think I am getting pretty good at making bows!!

Anyway - that's the only thing I've worked on for Christmas so far. I need to get past Nic's birthday party this Saturday and then I will drag the rest of the Christmas decor out and get all jolly-like.

So exciting.

Maybe I can make more wreaths for the inside of the house?!
Become the weird wreath lady of the neighborhood?!
It's a thought.

I was duped.

In this post, I explained how my kids taught my what SMH stood for in text talk.

Well, I was duped. So my 16 year old explained to me late last night.

SMH does *not* stand for Smack My Head.

Rather, it stands for Shaking My Head.
Well, that explains a lot.

I couldn't understand why everyone on Facebook was smacking their heads all of the time. They might get brain damage (not a funny thing, but you know)...

Shaking their head might only make them dizzy.

This has been a public service announcement... brought to you by yours truly.

You're welcome.

Nas Source

{Weak}

This kid *kills* me.
He does.

I heard him moaning and calling from the other room. After a few "mooommmmm"'s, I decided to check it out.

/sigh.

It's all about the details...

Fall in a box...
Literally. Maybe.
All of our fall stuff is now packed away.

And now it's Nic's turn. He will be 5 next Friday and we are having a Vintage Cowboy party for him.
I've spent all day creating his decorations. I am trying really hard to use what I have and not spend any more on the decor. So far, so good.

And thank gosh we live in a new {and growing} subdivision... we have tons of scrap wood and stuff all over the place.

And really... when it's about Nic's party... it's all about the details.

I am committed to this theme, as you can see.
I've made banners, signs, labels, etc.

I figured I would get all of this done now and then next Thursday and Friday, I will get the grocery shopping squared away and the cupcakes figured out.

I have a feeling the next few days are going to go by so quickly. As have the last five years.

Sniffle. Sniffle.

Let the Winter Holidays begin!

With Thanksgiving over... it's time to start getting ready for CHRISTMAS!

Next weekend is Nic's birthday party, so we will be super busy with that... but shortly after, I am starting my Twelve Crafts for Christmas and also my Favorite Things posts.

In fact... here's the schedule for Favorite Things...

I hope you come back on December 4th to see a few of my favorite sites & people!
And remember, if you are interested in sharing, please email me at QOTC@Cox.net or simply click on the email icon on the right sidebar.

Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving 2011 {Photo*Dump}

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving. We stuffed ourselves full of good food. We laughed a lot.
There were 10 of us total. The six of us, my parents, and my grandparents. It's a tradition.


I made three pies; one apple and two pumpkin. This was only the second ever apple pie I have made. I liked it.

Adult table decor...

Fall around the house...

My daddy...

Abby and Grandpa Barney!!

Marcos filming me taking a picture of him. ;)

I decided to bring the kitchen table into the formal living/dining room so that the kids didn't have to eat alone in the kitchen. I shortened it (took the leaf out) since we only needed four seats. 

Adult table... (P.S. I made the runners out of canvas and green tulle.)

Do you know how hard it is to find Fall themed candy/snacks the day before Thanksgiving?! We settled on Gold Fishies and Reece's Pieces.

Our theme this year... owls!

The food is on the table...

Last year we did a thankful tree... {see that post here}... this year, we did Thankful Owls...
Everyone wrote down what they were thankful for as they came in the door.

Yes, one of mines  wrote that he was thankful for his PS3.
And it wasn't the 16 year old.
Nor the almost 5 year old.
Hmph.

I am very thankful for my family, my friends, people that do good things...
I am thankful for our health, our happiness, and each and every morning we get to try, try again.

I am thankful our Thanksgiving went off without a hitch and that I got to spend it with my wonderful parents and my fantastical grandparents. I love them all so much.

I hope you had a wonderful Turkey Day!

Turning Green {Repurpose}

I found a new spray paint that I love. *Eden Green*
But before that, I found something cool at Goodwill.

It was on the wayyyyyy bottom of one of the shelves. Forgotten. Alone.
I saved it.

But I didn't take a before picture of it.
SMH

{did you know that means Smack My Head?!? i just learned that from one of the kiddos. can't remember which one. prolly nic}

Let me tell you - it was OLD. DARK. SCARRED.
I didn't know what it was.
The husband said it was a cabinet door. I laughed at him.
Allllll the way home.
Until I got the piece in the light {I am telling you - it was dark, glossy, stained, dark!} - and I found the hardware holes. SMH again. I hate when that man is right.

Who cares what it is. I like it.  I was going to leave it dark. Then I was going to spray it cream. But then I spied Eden Green and I knew it was exactly the color it was meant to be.

The kids love it. They thought (before I sprayed it) that it looked like one side of a saloon door.
What the heck do they know about Saloons?

Here it is, just after spraying it.

I let it dry, then I took sandpaper to it. Here's how it looks now. Love, love, love the green.

 

And finally, here is a comparison shot of the corner. 

Holy Guacamole, that's one fine corner. Now, if I can just get the rest of the house to measure up!
And maybe... one day... I will get the formal living room couch slip covered (hello, Santa Fe) so that I can give you a wider shot. =) That's the plan!

So... with the curtains now reinstalled, I wanted to share with you a few more pictures.
The room is FAR from done. It's going to be a library some day. Which means we need bookcases.

Here's a close-up of the drapes.

As a reminder... the inspiration came from Ashli of Mini Manor (formerly known as Maillardville Manor).  Here is her drapes post... And you will see that they are not really drapes; rather, they are table cloths she (we, really) bought on clearance from Target earlier this year.

Here is my first drapes post.

Well... that was a lot for today... So much to get ready for and here I am sitting on the computer.
I guess I should go bake something.
Or something.

Toodles.

Working the Corner

Scratch that. The title should be "Working on the Corner."
Hmm. Rereading that - it doesn't appear much better, does it?

Well, my drapes are still down {but I am going to pick them up from my aunt's house today}...
I told you about that, right?! I took them down, washed them and took them over to my aunt's to get some material added to the bottom. They were highwaters. Which I didn't mind so much, but my mom?!? She hated it! So, I complied. Finally. I've had the extra material (brown table clothes from Target, same material as the "drapes").  It just took me a while to get them down and out. My aunt had the drapes done in less than 24 hours. Seriously. She wanted me to have them back up in time for the holidays.

Anyway - drapes will be back up tonight... In the meantime, I was up and at Hobby Lobby yesterday before they opened. I was on a mission. I failed, but that's not the point. I found a new lamp!

I've been wanting a lamp for the formal living room - and it SPOKE to me. Seriously.
I passed by it once.
The second time, I snatched it up. It was the only one left with a brown lampshade.

Here it is:

It's a little hard to see the base, but I am okay with that.
The thing is... the new shade will go PERFECTLY with the added fabric to the drapes.
I *love* it when a plan room comes together.

Wait. See something else? I swapped out the frame (it was a sleek black IKEA frame) for a woodsy one I found at Ross last week. And then... see my new signage?! $4.99 at Hobby Lobby.
Love it.

So, what do you think?! Am I workin' it?!?

Don't answer that.
{unless you want to. i <3 comments}

An Organized Thanksgiving

With Turkey Day just a few days away, I needed to step back a little to make sure I have everything under control. Once I realized that could never be {ha ha ha, silly momma}, I decided to at least make it *look* like I could handle it all.

Thanksgiving dinner for us involves my family, my parents and my grandparents. This year, that equals 10 people.

A couple of weeks back, my mom and I sat down and came up with our dinner menu. We also decided on who was bringing what. A few days ago, I sent out a reminder to her and my grandmother - so they knew all of the details.

This is what I sent them:

I included who was bringing what and when everyone should arrive.

I forgot the rolls. We will have rolls, people. I promise. 

I made the plan colorful and fun... Did you see what my grandmother {aka Waneta} is bringing?! My grandpa! :) My grandparents don't really drive anymore, so my mom will be picking them up on their way over here.

With that done, I realize there is still so much to do. I started making lists in my head last night... Which does me no good, because I can't remember what I put on those lists this morning. So I made myself a Thanksgiving To-Do list.  I broke it out into three columns: A Few Days Before, Day Before and Day Of. There are some things I can tackle today (or I *need* to tackle today) and there are some things that can wait until the day of.

I think a visual reminder is the way to go! I am in the middle of filling out my lists now and will hang it on my refrigerator in hopes of someone else seeing it and feeling pity and joining in on the items that need marking off. Who am I kidding?.

Because I am thankful and grateful... I wanted to share the list with you as a download. Click on the picture below and you will be taken to Google Docs, where you can print off the PDF.

Here's to a busy week ahead and tons of turkey madness!

It's Monday, so you know I am linking here...

Merry & Cheery & More {Announcement}

I am trying really hard to give Thanksgiving its time in the spotlight... but I have to admit, I am getting very excited for Christmas.

I've decided to do something new this holiday season...
As with Halloween and Thanksgiving, I am going to focus on hand-making our festive holiday decor. Some brainstorming today led me to this:

I am challenging myself to make at least 12 homemade decorations for around the house. I will be sharing them with you, every other day during the month of December.

Exciting right?!

It doesn't end there, though.

During the other days of the month, leading up to Christmas day, I will be doing what I do best...
visiting every blog I can to find amazing Christmas projects, decor and more.

I will be sharing {and linking back to} a few blogs during each post. I applaud all of the crafty and creative people - it takes time, patience and talent to come up with beautiful things!

So... there you have it! I hope you'll visit QOTC often during the month of December to take a gander at all projects; mine and theirs. I may even try my hand at a linky party... Oooo! Something to check back for, for sure!

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming Thanksgiving.

It completes me.

Well... maybe not *ME* - but I think it does a wonderful job completing the family room. Furniture wise, anyway.

I mentioned yesterday that we went to several stores... one was this one:

 

We'd never been there before... We actually found it by accident, looking for a new Goodwill to scour.

We weren't at the donation door to drop stuff off... rather, we were there to pick up our latest thrift store find (cue handmade logo)...

We walked right in. I thought some items were a tad over priced, but we kept looking.

My eyes scanned the large, open store for the furniture section.

It was love at first site.

I didn't even sit in it.

(the hubby did, though)

It was the right size, color, shape, style, color, shape - it was perfect!

In my eyes anyway.

And seriously... it was the only chair there that did not have any rips, stains, or sagging issues.

We all hate sagging issues, don't we?!

The price tag indicated the chair was $40.
The sign out in front of the store said it was 50% off day.
We stole that chair for $20 buckaroos.

When I was trying to describe the chair to my mom, I think she was a little worried that we picked up a 70s high back. I think it's fairly new... at least within the last couple years. Even if it's not - it was taken care of quite loverly.

I spent all morning cleaning it up. I probably used a whole bottle of Fabreeze (love that stuff!)...
and used the shop vac to make sure I got everything off of it I could.

After all that, Isabel and I lugged it into the house and worked out it's final resting place.
I think.
Eventually, I want the tile to extend into the family room. I think that will help with the positioning of the chair.

I am pleased with the way the room is shaping up.
And I'd like to point out that the coffee table was a Goodwill find ($12), the end table was a Goodwill find ($9) and the lamp & shade were also from Goodwill ($9).

I love thrift stores.                                                                                                                                   

Even better? One less person has to sit in a folding chair come Christmas Eve. YAY!

A day in the life of.... Us

Happy Saturday to you. Happy Saturday to you.

Happy Saturday dear you - ooou. 

Happy Saturday to you.

Doncha just love Saturday's?

The husband, the little kid and I made a day of it today... And I tried to capture it in pictures.

I will admit, I kept forgetting to take the camera out once inside most places... but I tried.

So - here goes...

A day in the life of...Us

 

In the end... We got some great stuff from the Thrift Store and Goodwill.

One of the items being a chair for $20.

Can't wait to clean it up and show it to you!!

We also got our Christmas lights... from WalMart.

Very excited about that.

The three of us were gone for over 7 hours.
I am glad to be home.

Where my handsome handyman is now making chicken enchiladas for dinner.

He takes me Goodwill shopping AND makes me a divine Mexican meal?!?!

Yep. I am lucky like that.