the Year in Review

Wow! What a year! Where has the time gone? I really can't believe that 2010 is over. I decided to do a year in review just because it seemed to be the thing to do in blog land:o) As I started looking at what all we had accomplished as a family, I realized that we have been busy making this house a home. We have really made this place our own and finally feel at home and not just living in a house. 

I am sharing links of each of my favorite projects for the year of 2010.

So here goes......

January

S.R.'s Canopy

February

Small Buffet Redo 

March

E's Spaced Themed Room

April

Coffee Table Makeover

May

Vintage Jelly Roll Dress

June

Old Bench Transformed

July

Living Room Reveal 

August

Menu Board

September

Dining Room Curtains

October

Music Sheet Wreath

November

Ornaments and Trees

December

Board and Batten Bar

 

And there you have it. It's been a lot of hard work, but it's been fun. I do plan on making some changes for this blog for the following year. Stayed tuned to see what happens. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful weekend and please be safe.

Happy New Year!

Clean Up, Clean Up, Everybody Everywhere...

 This was our house Christmas morning. I have never seen a White Christmas in the deep south before(been here almost 10 years)...and it was GREAT! The only problem was that we didn't get to enjoy it for very long because we had to make our way to my parents' house before the snow got too bad.

 Isn't it beautiful?

 This is the view off the side of our house. Before too long, that area behind the trees will be filled with houses. For now, we can still enjoy the view:o)

The snow is melting now, and I am in the process of breaking down all the Christmas decorations. I am really not into it, but I reeeeeeally want it all down....can I hire one of you to come do it for me:o)

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas. We surely did!!

Hoping to get my craft on here in the next few days...my house is starting to look NEKKED!

Some Teachers' Gifts and A Weekend Holiday Tour

What a whirlwind weekend we had! I hope that you all had a great one. I'm sure several of you were attending last minute holiday parties and finishing your shopping. I FINALLY got my shopping done. Now, all we have to do this week is sit back and relax. The hubs is off work for the next two weeks. Life is grand:o)

Here's a quick overview of the gifts that I gave E's teachers at preschool.

 

I started with these fleece blankets from Walmart. They were $3 for the set. Not bad, eh?

Since they were already rolled up, I tied a ribbon around each of the blankets.

 I also found these mugs at Walmart. They were $2 a piece.

 I cut out some vinyl with my Cricut and applied it to each of the mugs. I love the first one...the initials are "M.E." How funny! Inside of the mugs I put a pack of hot cocoa, red crinkle filler and dipped white chocolate marshmallows. 

 I got these acrylic trays from my neighbor. She has started a little vinyl applique side business. She had a few extras left over, so I bought them off of her. I love these trays. I think they turned out so pretty!

 I also added peppermint cupcake jars in with the other goodies. Let me just say that those were DIVINE! They were so delicious. These gifts were such a huge hit with all the teachers. They were so excited.

 In other news....we had our 2nd annual Holiday Walk in the neighborhood this past weekend. There were 8 houses on the tour and ours was on it. I have pics to share of our house. Some will be repeats from an earlier post...please humor me:o)

For the previous post (and better shots of my living room tree) go Here

Our Master Bedroom:

just a little side note...I am fully aware NOW that almost all of our trees are leaning....so frustrating!!:o)

 Dining Room

 Love these napkin rings from Pottery Barn!!!

 E's Room

 Space themed tree...I was a little disappointed in this tree. After Christmas I am going on a hunt for 2 white trees. One for the Hubs' office and one for E's room. All the ornaments on this tree are dark and they blend in with the green of the tree. Maybe I'll do silver in here...we'll see:o)

 SR's room.

Living Room

 Can you see the curtains in the kitchen window? No sew curtains using a canvas drop cloth. I'll do another post on those soon.

 Here's an updated shot of the Menu Board with the new wall color behind it. It stands out so much better now.

 Our appetizers that we served. 

 These little cookies were so yummy. Turtles I believe is what the kids are calling them these days. Pretzels, rolos and a nut of your choice(I used almonds). Super easy. You can find the recipe here. 

 Our upstairs guest room

 Bonus room (1/2 of it at least).I had another shot, but it was so fuzzy:(

 These little goody bags were the favors that we handed out to our guests. Head over to Cookies and Cups for this great party mix!

Our house tour was AWESOME! There were so many nice neighbors that were going on and on about how much they loved the house and how it was decorated. Even the men were talking about how much they loved it. Made me feel proud:o) The hubs even paid me a high compliment..He told me that sometimes he forgets how talented I really am. That really made me feel nice:o) Anyway, this is it for me for this week. We will be maxin' and relaxin' until after Christmas. I hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!!

Participating in these parties:

Lounge-y Pants

It's been a lounge-y week. Well a week that involved very little motivation to do anything since both of the kids were down with the flu last weekend and this week has been spent recovering. They are much better now, only a cough, which will last for a few weeks, according to the doc...(Whoopee!) So needless to say, my wardrobe has consisted of pj's for the past week. I have looked skank-tastic with wild unkempt hair, no make up and usually not getting around to brushing my teeth until bedtime...fantastic isn't it?  I feel really sorry for the paint guy right now who is here painting S.R.'s closet door. He must have thought, WOW! when he saw me...Oh yeah, it's that good!

Anywho....There is a blog that I follow called Whimsy Couture. They have some of the cutest patterns for sale and even have some free ones...all about some free stuff! Anyway, occasionally they send out a call for help in testing new patterns. I answered the call this time:o) Most of my pjs are 8 years old (or older) and have holes all in them. This was my chance to freshen up my jammie wardrobe. The pattern was super easy to follow and I was done in less than an hour on these puppies. I made the legs a little long just in case they shrunk in the dryer...not real big on pre-washing my fabrics b/c I am impatient:o)

So I will be sporting these for the next 8 years:o) You guys should check out all the patterns that are available. 

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? I have 3 more gifts to buy....thought I was done:o/

I will be working on E's teacher gifts this afternoon. Just waiting on the paint guy to get done so I can put the rug rats down for a nap. Hopefully I will have pics to share with you tomorrow!

We Have a Winner....

And the winner is......

The Baking Bride!!!!

Her fave characters are Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head:o) Love it!!

Make sure to shoot me an email with your address so I can get you your DVD....and thanks to all of you who participated in this giveaway....

Can't wait until the next one:o)

Board and Batten Bar

This was our project last weekend. The hubs was the man power behind this project. I was more than willing to hand it over after all the heartache I went thru working on the Dining Room. This took a few hours of work and we already had the supplies on hand so there wasn't any extra cost....finally a project that didn't require a trip to Lowes;o)

This is the before. I shared it with you guys the other day.

 The walls were a creamy yellow color with hints of Cheeto fingerprints dispersed thru out:o)  

I really love how it turned out. The hubs did an excellent job hanging the batten and I did a pretty stinkin' good job painting;o)

 Now if you'll notice, there are only 2 chairs sitting there. I am waiting for my new bar stools to get here so that I will have a total of 4. I really hope they get here before Sunday. We are having a White Elephant Christmas party at our house then. Can't wait!! 

On another note....the winner of the Toy Story 3 DVD will be announced tonight. Thanks for all the participation!