Landon Michael

Landon is such a little miracle baby. He was born January 18th, 2010. At first, he seemed to be a healthy baby boy born just a few weeks early. At only a few minutes old, they found that he had something wrong with his heart. After some poking and prodding and an emergency trip to the NICU, they found that Landon had Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Essentially, the left side of his heart was not connected to the rest of his heart. His parents were completely beside themselves, lost in a fog with all that was going on. At just a few days old, he was flown to Las Vegas where he underwent 2 surgeries to reconstruct his heart. He will have to undergo one more surgery before he is 3 and he won't be able to do a lot of strenuous activities. The doctors told his parents that he would probably be skinny and weak, but Landon has proved them wrong. Can you believe this chunky little guy?

{Me holding Landon}

Landon's mom and I went to college together. We both love to plan events and even worked at the same job at the same bank for a few years. Every once in awhile we meet for lunch and go see Landon. He is the happiest, chubbiest, sweetest little guy. And I can't get over that thick pile of blonde hair!

Landon is truly a miracle. In his few months of life, he has been through more than most adults. I can't wait to watch him grow up and get bigger and stronger. I am so thankful that I have this little guy in my life to remind me that when things seem impossible, there is always someone fighting a harder battle, making it through. I can't wait to go hold this chunky monkey again very soon!

It's a nice day for a wedding

My cousin (the groom) is getting married today. It is going to be a very simple, indoor wedding. It's been quite an emotional roller coaster to get to this point. The bride and her mom have been at odds off and on for the whole 9 month engagement. Instead of planning this wedding, I am helping with the food. There will be meatballs, baked beans, salads, breads and of course a wedding cake made by my mom! I came up with this salad reciped based on my favorite crunchy chicken sandwich at a local cafe. Here is the recipe:

Crunchy Chicken Salad

*1 cup mayo

*1/2 cup sour cream

*1 TBS curry
*1 tsp salt

*1/2 tsp pepper

*1 1/2 cups cooked diced chicken

*1 cup red grapes sliced in half

*1/4 cup chopped green onion

*1/4 cup chopped walnuts

*1 lb cooked bowtie pasta

1. Cook pasta to al dente. Drain, rinse and cool

2. Mix all ingredients together, add pasta. If you wanted to try this as a sandwich, don't add the pasta. It tastes amazing on a croissant with some lettuce. Enjoy!

I really like to make gifts rather than buy them. Sometimes I do both-buy and make. I found this super cute monogrammed towel at Kohl's and found some matching brown bath towels to go with it.

I also made them this "S" for them to hang on the wall. They will be getting an apartment and it is always nice to have something to hang on the wall!

I am really looking forward to the wedding tonight. I hope that the bride and her mom are still getting along when it really matters. I will be taking my camera too so hopefully there will be some great pictures to share!

What should I do with this ironing board?

Iron my clothes-yeah right! I don't iron! I don't want to use it to iron clothes anyway-I want to do something fun and creative with it. Does anyone have any fantastic ideas for me? My mother in law got rid of her old ironing board and knew that I would love the vintage look of it so she gave it to me. I absolutely love it! I am just not sure what I am going to do with it! I love the logo on it and it is such a sturdy board too. As old as it is, it still really glides easy when you open it up.
I could always just hang it in the laundry area (garage) as a decoration. Maybe it would inspire me to iron or do laundry-probably not though, I don't think there is much that could inspire me to do that!!

The stand has the cutest green paint and it is so shabby with a great patina!

Isn't the stand really neat? Way better than a moderin ironing board!

Front end

Back end

Now for those ideas of yours. I Googled "decorating ideas for old ironing boards" and didn't get much. The obvious thing is to use it as a table but I don't have room in my tiny little house for that. So if I can't come up with any other ideas, I will probably use it for a table outside when we have parties. If you have a fantastic idea, please let me know! I am really looking forward to what you have to say!

Someone stole my windows...

My husband is the theif! He thought that we could use them in the yard and took them yesterday. It's okay because that just means I can get some more for my projects, and I really like what he did with them!

We have been working on a "party patio" in our backyard for awhile. When we get a little extra money, we buy some supplies and do what we can. It's going pretty slow since extra money seems to be scarce. There will be a bar and a BBQ pit as well as room for a table and chairs. We can't wait to get it done so we can have a party!
My wonderful husand decided to use the old windows on the party patio. He's so handy and resourceful. He took the wire from an old electric fence and used it to hang the windows from the beams. I would have never thought of that! The 4 smaller windows are perfect for the side and the longer windows will go on either side of the entryway to the patio.

I think it looks pretty awesome! Please excuse the unfinished bar and roof. It's expensive to buy roofing, even for such a small structure as this! And that huge weed-I tried and tried to pull it out and it won't budge. It's ugly! I HATE WEEDS!

Here is a straight on shot-I think he did an amazing job and I don't mind at all that he stole my windows! Now to find some more for the projects I wanted to do with them!

I believe in Angels

I have been doing a lot of praying lately. It seems that when you feel like things are hopeless, like you will never make it through another month, a sign is sent your way to show you that someone is there, watching over you. I have always believed in Angels, I have collected them and surrounded myself with them for as long as I can remember. So when I saw this today, I knew that someone was watching over me. My husband and I were walking out of the grocery store today and I looked down and saw this. Thank goodness I had my phone and was able to take a picture. It is such a perfect set of Angel wings reflected on the ground. So beautiful. A Cadillac Escalade parked just right in the sun.
I believe in Angels and know that there is always one watching over me!

Vacations go by way too fast

Our vacation is over-way too quickly as usual. The Oregon Coast was beautiful. I have to say that I was most impressed by the hydrangeas that were growing there. They were HUGE! I can't tell you how many times I have tried to grow one myself. They never live, probably because this Idaho desert heat is just too much for them. Apparently they love the moist, mild coast. They grew everywhere, even along the highway-I guess if you live there, anyone can grow them. I am jealous! My husband grew up in Newport, Oregon. He hadn't been back in about 10 years, so this was a fun trip for him too, to see all that has changed. The biggest change he noticed was all the people. There were tons of people everywhere. We couldn't find anywhere to park on the Bay Front. So we found our own places to explore.

It was foggy there the whole time. So I didn't get to see any beautiful sunsets. On Saturday I left my camera in the hotel, but luckily I had my phone with me. Phones don't take very good pictures, but it's better than nothing!

Here is a picture of Cody and Grady on the beach in Newport. Grady wasn't too sure about the big ocean. Usually you can't keep him out of the water, but I think this body of water was more than he could handle. We walked miles and miles on the beach and we were all very sore but it was so worth it to see such beauty!

This is the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. We didn't go in this one because there was a huge line to get in. Behind it was a huge rock with thousands of birds making lot's of noise and lot's of messes!

This is a jelly fish thing. I am not sure what it is, my husband said it is something that the jelly fish leave on shore. It is pretty cool looking I think!

Of course I had to write in the sand on the beach! We didn't get any pictures of Cody and I together which makes me very sad. But he told me we could go again and get all sorts of pictures!

My husband was able to reunite with a friend of his from childhood that he hadn't seen in 10 years. It was so wonderful for them to get together and remember old times. Hopefully they can come visit us soon!

On our way home, we stopped at Multnomah Falls in Oregon. It is very beautiful but very crowded with people. We didn't hike to the top, not this time, but we will next time!

All in all, it was a wonderful vacation. I loved that my husband was able to show me the house where he grew up, the hills he used to skateboard down, where he went to school, where his friends lived, etc. I definitely wish we were still there, but it is also nice to come home!

To the Oregon Coast we go!

Tomorrow...my husband, the dog & I set off on a trip to the Oregon Coast. It will be a short, quick trip but it will be nice to get away. I can't wait to watch the whales, feel the ocean mist on my face, eat some clam chowder, do a little crabbing and just get away to a completely different world than I am used to. I promise to take lot's of pictures to share with you. Wishing everyone a very wonderful weekend!!

I went gathering today

I did some gathering and hunting today. The first stop I made was at Gatherings at the School.

It's this amazing old school building and I have driven by it so many times wondering what it was. Toni at The Tattered Cottage told me all about it and that they were having a sale this weekend. I have been looking forward to going all week. I woke up extra early this morning and got all my chores done so I could be there bright and early. It was amazing! So much beautiful stuff, it really took my breath away. I wanted everything that I laid eyes on. But alas, I am not a rich girl so I only had a little bit to spend. I walked through a few times just so I dind't miss anything. Thanks Toni for telling me about this sale-I will be back there for the next sale! Here is what I ended up getting: Super cute birdhouse with an old doorknob and plate and a heavy duty stone candle holder. Don't know what I am going to do with them yet-but I sure do love them!

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Then I went to a few yard sales on my way back home. I found some great stuff again!
These two glass domes are brand new, still in the boxes! I paid $1.75 for both of them! I can't wait to put some beautiful flowers or yummy treats under them!

I picked this little cabinet up for $3! It really just needs to be wiped down and it will be perfect!

All 4 of these gold ornate items were from the same yard sale! The 2 big frames were $2.50 each and the smaller ones were only $.50 each. I told the lady that she had the best yard sale ever!

I couldn't resist these roses! I spent $2.00 for all 4 pieces. So pretty!

And these are some thrift store finds. Give me some white paint and I will have all of these things looking absolutely lovely in no time! I can't wait to get started!

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I had an amazing day gathering and hunting...when can I do it again?!

My little buddy

When I was growing up, we only had one dog and a couple cats. Needless to say, I have never been a big animal person. My parents got a dog when I was in college, and that dog is way more spoiled than us kids ever were. I never had my own dog until just a little over a year ago. My sister in law had a neighbor whose dog ran away to their house. They kept him for a week, and then the neighbor took him back. A month later, the poor dog came back to their house. He was so skinny his ribs were sticking out, he was petrified of people, he'd been left out on a 2 foot chain in the middle of winter and the little boy told my niece that they got a new dog so they didn't want him anymore. By that time, my sister in law had already found a new dog. So they asked us if we would take this dog. I hesitated to take a dog, we have a small house and I think you have to be a good housekeeper to have a dog, which I don't think I am! But I couldn't let this poor dog go back to what he had come from. So I agreed and we got a dog. I think his name was Mickey and my sister in law called him Sam. My husband wanted to call him Chevy but it just didn't fit. I wanted a cute boy name for him. While looking through a Sports Illustrated, my husband saw it-Grady-the name of a baseball player on his favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. It fit perfect! I'd like you to meet my little buddy Grady~ Grady is the sweetest black lab you will ever meet. You never hear a sound come out of him unless he is feeling protective. He loves water and tries to "eat" it when it comes out of the hose. He loves to play catch, get belly rubs and lick feet! He's a crazy guy!
We don't know how old Grady is, we guess about 3-4 years old since he is starting to get gray under his chin. He acts like a puppy because he has endless energy when it comes to swimming and playing! If I get my shoes on, grab my purse or jingle my keys-he goes crazy because he loves going for rides. He sticks his head out the window and you can tell he is in heaven!
Of course, I can't just call him Grady. I had to come up with a middle name for him too. And that middle name grew into so many more names. It's funny how he will respond to almost all of them. I call him: Grady Al-o-wish-us
Grady Slim Shady
Grady Pooter Skid
Pood
Boo Boo
Stinky Winky
And those are just the ones I remember-I am always making up something different to call him all the time! He loves hanging out with his dad, working in the garage or fishing. And he loves hanging out with me when I am in the kitchen cooking. He really is man...and woman's best friend.
He loves our 1 year old niece Madi. They like to give each other kisses. He is so good with kids and other dogs. I never have to worry about him being aggressive or scaring the kids.

When we are away at work all day, Grady hangs out in the house and never does it any harm. He sleeps on his bed all day and I don't worry that he will ruin anything. He even let's us "dress him up" in dad's hat's and glasses!

There are days when I want to shave off all of his hair because my house looks like I never sweep. And after a swim in the canal he smells really bad. But I am so thankful that Grady is in our life. I can't imagine not having this faithful companion by our side. He has an amazing personality and so much love to give. I hope he's forgotten about the rough life he had before he was ours. I promise he will never have to live through that again. He really is a special guy and my little buddy!

Thanks to you!

This small town Idaho girl never thought she would have friends all over the country and the world! But this blogging thing has me thinking otherwise. I started blogging just to have a place to put my creations and share my life. I honestly didn't think I would ever have any followers. I now have 11 of the most amazing followers ever. I can't wait to get more! I love your wonderful comments-they make me feel so good! I also love reading your blogs and seeing your ideas. If I am one of your followers, believe me when I say that I have read your ENTIRE blog! It's one of my favorite things to do-see what everyone else is up to. I truly look forward to making new friends here and seeing all the ideas, fun and friendship that will come about!

Old windows

I have been looking for some old wood windows for awhile now. I check at yard sales, on Craigslist, antique stores, etc, etc, etc. I finally found a great deal on Craigslist yesterday and couldn't resist buying them all! There are 4-4 paned windows and 2-8 paned windows. Two of the windows have cracked glasss, but I am sure that won't be a problem. They also need to be cleaned up a bit-but these are old, antique windows we're talking about here people!
The guy that I bought them from has more stuff to go through in his barn. I told him if he has anything else like this that he wants to get rid of, to call me. He said okay...so now I am waiting for him to call me to tell me he has more goodies for me!

There are so many ideas swirling around in my head for these windows-a table, a shelf, wall hangings, etc, etc, etc. Do you have any great ideas for me? I'd love to hear them!

Some afters

I got my bench all painted and distressed. Here are some after photos.

And the before to remember what we started out with.


And I finally figured out where to put the cabinet. Here's a picture of it before its makeover. We decided to use it to hold our movies and CD's for now. I'd really like my husband to build me another one so I can make it in to an entertainment center. He thought I was crazy. We will see what happens.

Don't you think it needs a partner to balance it out?

Love getting things finished! Can't wait to finish more!

I'm linking up with Meridian Road's first ever Re-do Private Party!