Glass Slippers and all sorts of stuff..

Vintage Liquor Bottles

2012-02-27T19:26:00.005-07:00

I have a feeling I would have gotten along just swimmingly with my husband's grandpa. He was a collector of wonderful old things just like me. How lucky that he gave some of the things he collected to Cody. These vintage liquor bottles are so much fun!

This dapper gentleman is dressed in a tuxedo with tails, wears a top hat and carries a walking stick. So fancy! He used to hold I.W. Harper whiskey.

This is a George Dickel whiskey bottle that has a leather holding apparatus. The bottle itself is brown glass. It is very old and very neat!

Another George Dickel whiskey bottle that is shaped like a golf club. It has a grip and a golf ball on the top. I am sure that drinking this would really improve your game!

This Jim Beam whiskey bottle has a lovely picture of the Redwood Empire Trees in California. It is such a fun shaped bottle that is really a work of art!

This football player is probably one of Cody's favorites because he loves football and his favorite number is 7! The top of his helmet comes off so that the liquor can be poured out.

This Smirnoff bottle is huge-over 2 feet tall. How many drinks could you make with such a large bottle of vodka?!

A three foot bottle of Chianti would taste great with some nice fava beans, at least Hanibal Lecter would think so!

The last bottle has its own stand and spicket for dispensing the alcohol. I am not sure what kind of liquor is in it, but the label is all in Italian.

I think these bottles are so unique and special. The fact that they belonged to my husband's grandfather and now him make them even better. He definitely knew that someone would love and cherish these bottles someday, I get to be one of the lucky someone's!

Linking with:
Knick of Time: Tuesday Vintage Link Party

Ivy & Elephants:What's it Wednesday

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-02-19T20:06:00.004-07:00

Do you ever see something so many times in so many different places that you eventually have to try it for yourself? Homemade laundry detergent seems to be all the rage these days so I thought I would give it a try. I have seen this done on many blogs and all over Pinterest. The recipe is simple and costs about $12 to make. I found all the ingredients all in the same spot at Wal-Mart. I bought a 1 gallon cracker jar to put it in. Here is the recipe that I used:

*6 cups of Borax
*4 cups of Washing Soda
*4 cups of Baking Soda
*4 cups of Fels-Naptha (almost 2 bars)
Measure the first 3 ingredients into a bowl. You might want to use a bowl that has a pour spout. Grate the Fels-Naptha with a cheese grater. If you have a Kitchen-Aid with a grating attachment-use it! Other wise do it by hand like I did! Then mix it all together with a wooden spoon and pour it into an air tight container. Doesn't it look like cheddar cheese?

It has a very nice clean smell to it. From what I have read, it is safe to use in High Efficiency washers. But don't take my word for it!

To use, add 2 tablespoons to your load of laundry, just like you would a regular powdered laundry detergent. I tied a pretty bow on my jar and used a silver tablespoon to measure it out. The recipe said "almost 2 bars"...so I used almost 2 bars and the left over square inch of bar I saved. The label of the soap says that it is a great stain remover. I put it on a little pink plate so that I could use it as a stain remover when needed.

Normally when I have stains to treat, I use Murphy's Oil Soap. No kidding! Just put a little on the stain and use your fingers to really rub it into the stain. Let it sit overnight and then launder as usual. It is an amazing stain remover! But since I didn't have any, I used the Fels-Naptha to treat my stains. I just got it wet and rubbed it on the stain and washed it with my new laundry detergent. Here is a before and after so you can see how it worked. Not bad!

There are so many other homemade cleaners out there, I am definitely going to try my hand at making more. I have found recipes for homemade soap scum remover, dishwashing detergent, toilet bowl cleaner, everything you can imagine! So far I really like my new laundry detergent and plan to keep using it. I hope you give it a try too!

Linking with:

Coastal Charm: Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Dotty Swap

2012-02-13T19:53:00.010-07:00

Getting something in the mail that is not a bill is so much fun. One way to ensure that you get fun stuff in the mail is to join a swap or two. I love participating in swaps because not only do I get to make fun things to give to others, I also get great things in return! I recently joined the Dotty Swap at Cutie Pie Cottage. My swap partner was Roselle from Seaside Rose Creations. Here are the goodies I sent to her.

I made a pretty pink polka dot box using a heart shaped chocolate box. There is a frosty pink rose in the middle, 2 sparkly charms and a pink oval that says love. There is a sweet pink ruffly ribbon around the box, lace and pink pearls on the top. I filled it with 3 clothespins decorated in polka dot ribbon and an ornament that has an "R" and pink polka dot ribbon.

I also made a card with red cupcake liners. The back of the card has red paper with tiny white polka dots. Here is the box filled with the goodies. I also sent her a cute little box of conversation hearts!

I have long admired Roselle's beautiful rose creations and I was so excited to receive my package from her. Here is everything that she sent me all laid out.

In one little bag, there was a pretty white paper rose, a ribbon rose and this gold "inspire" medallion. It was tucked inside with 3 pages out of a vintage French book.

Another little bag contained 3 tiny little clothes pins with polka dots...great minds think alike wouldn't you say?!

This pretty tag was on the front of the bag. I love the Paris love notes and the colors!

And now I can say that I am the proud owner of one of Roselle's beautiful, hand painted creations! I just love this little vintage salt shaker that she painted pink and added a sweet little rose bud to. I love everything that she sent me and I hope she enjoys what I sent her as well!

Thank you to Cutie Pie Cottage for putting this fun Dotty Swap together. They are always so much fun! Thank you to Roselle for my wonderful new treasures! I can't wait to do another swap soon...if you haven't tried one yet, I highly recommend it!

Linking to:

Ruby Jean: Sew-Crafty Tuesday

It's a Very Cherry World: Rednesday

Faded Charm: White Wednesday

The Vintage Farmhouse: Creative Things Thursday

How Sweet the Sound: Pink Saturday

Conversation Hearts

2012-02-09T09:47:00.011-07:00

My favorite part of Valentine's Day isn't roses and chocolates-it's Conversation Hearts! I have always loved the sweet little bites of sugary goodness, but now I love all the creative things people have made with them too! They are pretty cheap to buy and 12 of them are only 60 calories! So grab 12 hearts (my favorite flavor is the yellow) and take a look at some fun things you can do with Conversation Hearts.

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And here is a little history on the Conversation Heart-I have a history minor so I just love to learn about such things and I hope you find it interesting too! These candies really are a vintage treat!

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"Oliver R. Chase invented a machine in 1847 to cut lozenges from wafer candy, similar to Necco Wafers, and started a candy factory. Daniel Chase, Oliver's brother, began printing sayings on the candy in 1866. He designed a machine that was able to press on the candy similar to a stamp. The candy was often used for weddings since the candies had witty saying such as: "Married in pink, he will take a drink", "Married in White, you have chosen right", and "Married in Satin, Love will not be lasting".The heart-shaped conversation candies to be called Sweethearts got their start in 1901. Other styles were formerly produced such as lozenges, postcards, horseshoes, watches, and baseballs. As of 2010, the classic pastel candy formula is being abandoned. Sweethearts will be softer candies with vivid colors and all new flavors. Line extensions carrying the Sweethearts brand include chocolates and sugar-free hearts.In the 1990s, Necco vice-president, Walter Marshall, wanted to update some of the sayings and retire others, including "Call me", "Email me", and "Fax me". The romantic expressions continue to be revised for young Americans. Necco receives hundreds of suggestions a year on new sayings. Necco produces the hearts from late February through mid January of the following year. Approximately 100,000 pounds of hearts are made per day, which sells out in about six weeks." The new flavors were not favored by people so they went back to the old flavors in October 2011.

{all images found on Pinterest}

What a fun and easy idea this is. Glue a few hearts randomly on a white (or any color) candle and place it in a dish full of more hearts. Simple yet very festive!

Love this idea! A cute little Conversation Heart vignette with topiaries and a frame covered in the candy. Who wouldn't love this?I have seen so many of these wreaths and I think I might just have to give it a try myself. I would add a fun bow to really pretty it up!Now for even more fun, make some Conversation Heart flavored vodka. What a fun drink to have on Valentine's Day! Click here for the how-to.

Apparently you can even make your own Conversation Hearts. I am sure the flavors just wouldn't be the same as the real thing but it would be fun to write your own messages on them. Here is the how-to on making your own!

When I was in the 5th grade, I had a "boyfriend" named David. When he wasn't my boyfriend, I flirted like crazy with him. But as soon as he was my boyfriend, I got really shy. For Valentine's Day that year, I got the big Conversation Hearts to give to my class. I picked out the ones that said not so nice things to give to David. Needless to say, he wasn't my boyfriend for very long!

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I have been hearing so many rumors about Google Friend Connect going away and I am scared to lose all of my followers. So, please be sure to follow me via the Linky Followers tab on the top right hand side of my page.

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Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day!

{all images found on Pinterest}

Linking up with:

Common Ground: Vintage Valentine Party
How Sweet the Sound: Valentine Pink Saturday

Stories of Cancer-survivors & in memory

2012-01-31T11:54:00.008-07:00

Not a day goes by where I don't hear another story about someone who has cancer or has passed away from it. It is just such a common thing to hear these days and I am not going to lie-I hate it. I hate cancer and everything it does. Cancer has touched my life in so many ways recently. Whether it is someone in my immediate circle, a friend of a friend or a stranger asking to help tell her story-it is always there.

{My father-in-law Sonny & mother-in-law Cheryl}

My mother-in-law, Cheryl, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the beginning of 2010. She had surgery to remove the cancer and went through a year of chemotherapy and radiation. She lost all of her hair and had days when she didn't know if she would make it through another round of medicine. Thankfully, after a year of fighting her battle-she won! She has been cancer free for over a year now and we couldn't be happier!

Unfortunately, not everyone is that lucky. This is Nancy-she is from my hometown and is about 5 years younger than me. She went to school with my cousin and her brother was a friend of my brother's. When Nancy was 17 weeks pregnant, she found a lump in her armpit and the doctors just gave her antibiotics. Not long after that, she was admitted to a tumor institute and was diagnosed with anaplastic non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She refused to give up her baby in order to save her own life. Sadly, the baby didn't survive much longer and Nancy passed just a few short weeks later. Her friends have rallied around her and started a dance studio named in her honor. They raise money to donate to cancer research and keep her memory alive. You can read more of her story here and here.

This is Heather. I don't know Heather, but she reached out to me and asked me to share her story. Diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, Heather is a survivor and wants to share her story with others who might be faced with a situation that we so commonly see these days. I encourage you to read her story and find hope.

My hope is that you read these stories and learn from them. If you feel like something just isn't right, do whatever it takes to get the answers that you need. Don't take the first answer that you get, keep seeking answers and second opinions until you find someone who will help you find the right diagnosis and the right treatment. Not all stories have a happy ending, but some do. If you are ever faced with this horrible thing we call cancer, I pray that you come out a survivor!

Dedicated to Nancy and her precious baby girl

Vintage Sears Canisters

2012-01-25T09:22:00.014-07:00

My grandma had a set of these Sears Victorian Girl canisters when I was little and I would spend hours in the kitchen just staring at them. I loved the different scenes on each canister. For as long as I can remember, I wanted my own set of these canisters. My grandma is one of those people that constantly changes her kitchen decor theme, so I knew she wasn't using these anymore. I asked if she still had them, and if she did if I could have them. Apparently, she decided to get rid of them not too long before I asked. She said she asked all her kids and grandkids if they wanted them and no one did so she gave them to her sister-in-law. Wrong-she didn't ask my mom or me, but that is pretty typical of her. I was a little sad but that didn't deter me from getting my own set!

My husband and I had taken a trip to Northern Idaho a few years ago and I saw a set in a thrift store. Unfortunately, a lid or two was missing so I didn't buy it. I finally found a set on Ebay that was in great shape. The price was right and I was the lucky winner! This isn't my grandma's set, but it is the same set that she had so it is still special to me!

I think that I may be missing one canister. After looking on Ebay, there appears to be one that is a smaller size down from the largest canister. So now I am on the lookout for that one too.I also found that there are salt and pepper shakers and a napkin holder that go with this set. Those are on my lists of wants too!

I even saw a set of cups and saucers that match! Boy, I better be saving up my pennies so I can complete my set!

There are so many cute details on these. Each little girl has a pretty little dress and a ruffly white apron. The biggest canister has a girl rolling out a pie crust, maybe, with a rolling pin, a hutch full of dishes and a cute little kitty begging for a treat at her feet. The next one has a girl grinding coffee so she can make a fresh pot to share. Her kitty is lying on the floor. The third one has the girl sittling in her rocking chair in front of her fireplace with a cute little puppy on her lap.

The girl on the smallest canister, or sugar holder, is enjoying a cup of tea on her ruffled rug. And the creamer has a girl icing a yummy cake! The scenes are all different and all so cute. I could still just stare at them for hours!

These vintage canisters are proudly displayed in my kitchen where everyone can see them. I definitely need to find the rest of the pieces that go with this set to make it complete!

Linking up with:

Faded Charm: White Wednesday

Faith, Grace & Crafts: Pearls & Lace Thursday

Coloradolady: Vintage Thingie Thursday
Hope in Every Season: Homemaking Weekend
How Sweet the Sound: Pink Saturday
Knick of Time: Vintage Style Link Party

Common Ground: Vintage Inspiration Friday
The Charm of Home: Home Sweet Home

I got a new camera!

2012-01-19T14:05:00.002-07:00

I finally bought myself a new camera! I couldn't stand it anymore and there was money for it burning a hole in my pocket. I didn't get the fanciest, most expensive camera out there, but I did get a nice one. My new camera is the Canon Rebel T3. I think it is very much deserved and it will get a lot of love and attention! Since I work at a college, I get to take as many free classes as I want...so that means I will be taking as many photography classes as I can! I will also be taking some graphic arts classes too. I can't wait to go home and play with it and show you some pictures that I will be taking! This is so exciting for me!

Packing and moving

2012-01-11T09:31:00.004-07:00

Via Pinterest

The time has finally come-we are in the middle of packing and moving. We thought we had another month to get it done, but Monday night my realtor called and said we had only one week to get out of there! With tears streaming down my face, I called my cousin, who will be renting from and asked her if there was anyway we could move in sooner than our original February 1st date. Thankfully she said yes, otherwise we would have been homeless for a few weeks. Talk about lighting a fire under us! Yesterday I got some boxes and the packing began last night after work. Thank goodness we had already started a little, otherwise we would be hurting even worse. The plan is to pack as much as we can after work each night, load it in to the back of the truck, and Cody will unload it at the new house on his lunch break. Hopefully by this weekend we will only have the big stuff left. My parents and my brother will be there to help with that. It is a little depressing knowing that we are losing our home due to something that was out of our control. We worked so hard to make that house our home and for nothing. Don't get me wrong, we will be living in a bigger house for less money, but it isn't ours to do what we want to it. Someday, we will have the home of our dreams, but today we just wait and let life do what it wants to do. So while I pack, load, clean, move and unpack, I may be away for just a short while. I will soon be back to share our new place with you. Thank you as always for all of your wonderful comments and thoughtfulness-it really does mean the world to me!

Grandpa's birdhouses

2012-01-04T09:31:00.004-07:00

So many of you loved the birdhouse that was in my last post, I knew I had to share a little more about it with you. Here is a refresher as to what it looked like.

My Grandpa Kenny made this. He is my dad's dad. He was a produce man at Safeway for many years, as much as he loved that job, he also loved to work with wood. I have so many memories of Grandpa whittling away at a piece of wood when we were camping, or at a picnic-anywhere he could find something to whittle, he would!

He's very creative when it comes to his birdhouses. He would use knots as porch posts or chimneys. Then he always made sure to add lots of tiny details. This birdhouse has a pile of wood, a chopping block and an axe, all handmade by Grandpa.

Some of his birdhouses had little sets of skis or snowshoes. Mine has a tiny little rifle. Can you see the cute little edging along the roofline? Now that Grandpa Kenny is almost 84 years old, it is hard for him to build birdhouses like he used to. My dad decided that he would take over this very important duty. Grandpa gave dad all of the wood and carvings he had. Every year on Christmas Eve, there is a birdhouse that gets raffled off. Every one's name goes into a hat and the lucky winner gets a birdhouse made by Grandpa. This was this years birdhouse, made my by dad with Grandpa's special extras.

Guess whose name was drawn? MINE! For the first time ever I won! This is extra special to me because it was created by my dad and my Grandpa! Here you can see the knot used as a porch post, the chopping block and axe is there too!

Another knot on the porch as well as a tiny little rifle. My dad's special touch is the river rocks on the porch and the roof.

This is my favorite part-tiny little elk antlers (that my mom cut off a plastic toy) and a sign that says "Christmas 2011"

My dad even put in a real glass window on the backside of the house!

And no house is complete for Christmas until it has Chrismas lights hanging on the eaves! I am so lucky to have both of these birdhouses! They don't go outside-they are way too special for that! They have a special place inside the house where we can preserve their beauty forever!

Here is a picture of my Grandpa Kenny on Christmas Eve with my Grandma Carmene behind him. They have been married for almost 58 years! They are a great example of true love. Thank you Grandpa for the lovely birdhouses you have given to me. I will treasure them always!

I hope everyone is enjoying 2012 so far!

Angel Wings & Faded Charm Wins

2011-12-21T08:23:00.004-07:00

Angels have always been a favorite of mine. I have a huge collection of angel figurines that date back to when I was in Junior High. We redecorated my bedroom in roses and angels and I was always on the lookout for a new angel to add to the collection. It seems that I am seeing a lot of angel wing ornaments this year and I love them. Of course I had to make some myself!

Just the simple shape of the angel wings is so pretty. But add some vintage French script, glitter, rhinestones and some crinkled seam binding and it is beautiful and elegant! They are fun to make too!

I recently won a fabulous giveaway from Kathleen at Faded Charm. She sent the sweetest package of goodies. They just so happened to arrive on Saturday when I was sick with the flu, so that made me feel just a little better!

I love this cone covered in sheet music, white feathers and a beautiful image of Mary and baby Jesus. It fits in perfectly on my tree.

I love this big burlap stocking with pretty white ruffles. Tucked inside is a vintage music card. I have it hanging on the chair where I do my blogging.

And this cute little bottle brush tree sits atop a vintage spool wrapped in sheet music. I think it looks just right next to the birdhouse my grandpa made for me!

Thank you so much Kathleen-I love my gifts!

Linking up with:

Faded Charm:White Wednesday
Boogieboard Cottage:Masterpiece Monday
Kristen's Creations:Share Your Creations Party
The French Cupboard:French Inspiration
Common Ground:Vintage Inspiration Friday

Ruffly Tree Skirt

2011-12-15T11:00:00.002-07:00

Tree skirts have always been a problem for me. The first few years that I had my own Christmas tree I don't think I had a tree skirt. Then I had one but I hated it. I finally got a red one and the next year I decided to decorate my tree in blue, white and silver so the red skirt didn't go. This year I decided to make my own. With a little inpsiration from Miss Mustard Seed via Pinterest, I made this ruffly tree skirt!

Let me tell you, I didn't follow the directions to a T, I am like that-I just kind of wing it and do my own thing. I started out with the tiniest of ruffles and it took me FOREVER to get just the first row. I got smart and made bigger ruffles with bigger pieces of muslin. I also just used a red felt skirt as the base so there may be a little red peaking through. This was definitely a trial and error sort of project. I love the way it turned out and I think it looks perfect around my little tree. This won't be the last time I try my hand at this project. I found making all those ruffles quite therapeutic!

It is only a 40 inch tree skirt but there is a lot of muslin on it...I think I ended up using about 4 1/2 yards total. But I probably only spent $10 for all the material. Oh, and there is no sewing involved here-just lot's of hot glue!

Sorry that this pic is a little blurry, I was trying to get the lights on the tree to come through and the setting I used shows the lights but makes it blurry!

And this is just one of my favorite ornaments. Last year at my work Christmas party this was the ornament that everyone wanted. I didn't end up with it at the end of the exchange, but I really wanted it. I went to the little shop that sold them the next day and I found the last one buried deep in the back of a Christmas tree. It was meant to be mine-no matter how I went about getting it!

I can't believe we are only 10 days away from Christmas...hope everyone is enjoying the hustle and bustle going on around them!

Linking up with:
Common Ground:Vintage Inspiration Friday
Hope in Every Season:Homemaking Weekend
Artful Affirmations:Deck the Halls Sunday
Coastal Charm:Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Vintage Skates

2011-12-12T08:21:00.002-07:00

I went ice skating once in high school. I didn't fall, but that is only because I never let go of the side! I have found a much better use for ice skates these days. In the middle of summer I stumbled upon a garage sale with 3 different pairs of vintage ice skates. These tiny little size 13 skates were too cute to pass up. I knew that as soon as Christmas came around, I would decorate them up and put them on display!

Aqua is one of my very favorite colors and I couldn't pass up these aqua picks from Michael's. White, silver and aqua are pretty colors together no matter what time of year it is!

I didn't glue anything onto the skates, so I can change them around any time I want. I definitely like to use ice skates for decorating purposes instead of ice skating!

I have been so lucky lately and have won some really great giveaways. Tracie at Fishtail Cottage was having one heck of a giveaway and I was lucky enough to be one of the many winners! This pretty little salt shaker ornament is what I won. It was created by Debi at Garden Party. Thank you both, Tracie and Debi, for the chance to win such wonderful goodies!

Two weeks until Christmas...are you ready? I am getting there, slowly but surely!

I am linking up with:
Artful Affirmations:Deck the Halls Sunday
Coastal Charm:Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Ruby Jean:Sew Crafty Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia:Tuesday's Treasures
Faded Charm:White Wednesday
Faith, Grace & Crafts:Pearls & Lace Thursday

Clara's Tea Party

2011-12-08T08:54:00.002-07:00

The Nutcracker Ballet comes to the College campus that I work on every year. Before their performance, they have a special tea party for their smallest guests and this year I took my 2 1/2 year old niece Madisyn. Here are some of the highlights of Clara's Tea Party before the Nutcracker.

{Her momma made her red & white tutu as well as her red & white hair and shoe bows!}

When you first arrived, they would announce your name and you walked through swords on a red carpet. "Announcing the arrival of Princess Madisyn"!

This is my favorite picture of Madi meeting a Nutcracker Ballerina, or as she says it "Bal-uh-ween-uh". You can tell she is in awe!

Now she is dancing with the ballerina. She would have done this all night!

This ballerina is dancing en pointe and Madi can't figure it out...she wants to dance on her toes too!

There was face painting. Madisyn was a Snow Queen!

The Tea Party had lot's of goodies. Mady only licked the frosting off of her 3 cupcakes and she spilled hot cocoa on herself. The girl loves her chocolate!

There was fun dress up stuff. Another highlight of her night!

She is such a girly girl and I like to think I have had a little something to do with it!

Arts and crafts finished off her night. She was tired but she had so much fun! We can't wait to do it again next year. And maybe, we might even be able to stay and watch the Nutcracker Ballet!

Linking up with:
It's a Very Cherry World:Rednesday

Christmas Whites & a winner!

2011-12-06T09:02:00.009-07:00

I know I have said this a million times already, but I love blogging! I love being able to show all of you the things that I create, bake, make and love. But I also love to see the things you do too. So many of you have so much creative talent I can't stand it! There are just too many wonderful ideas out there and every once in awhile I have to indulge and try it out for myself. Something I have never used or decorated with were bottle brush trees. It was about time I tried it! I found these little trees very cheaply at my local craft store. They were of course green, but I quickly changed that. A little bleach water and within 20 minutes I had these beautiful white trees!

I kept the decorations simple. The two smaller trees have a sweet little string of white pearls wrapped around them. The big tree has pearlescent bubbles, white and silver balls, tiny pastel candy canes and a silver glittered star on the top.

They look even more beautiful sitting under a glass cloche tied with a pretty ribbon. I am amazed at how exquisite these simple little trees look under glass. It really says Christmas to me!

I don't know who the first person was to think of bleaching bottle brush trees and decorating them. I don't know who the first person was to think of putting such pretty things under a glass cloche. Whoever it was-thank you for the inspiration! My favorite view is through the chicken wire on my little white cabinet.

And I finally tried my hand at these book page wreaths. The hardest part for me was rolling the page into a cone. Once I got it, I was on a roll (lol) and I didn't want to stop! I am making large wreaths for Christmas gifts this year. This small one is for my office and you wouldn't believe the compliments I have gotten on it so far. It makes me smile! Thank you to whoever came up with this brilliant idea too. You are a crafting genious!

Now on to the winner of my Eiffel Tower Ornament Giveaway. Thank you to everyone that entered and welcome to my new followers! You have no idea how happy it makes me to see a new comment on one of my posts!The winner is:

June from Laughing with Angels!

June is the sweetest. She has an AMAZING blog with AMAZING pictures. Her home is so beautiful and her gardens always leave me in awe! She was one of my very first followers and she leaves me such kind comments. She is also a fellow Idaho girl and someone I am so glad to call my friend. Congratulations June!

Thank you to everyone who entered! You just never know when I might have another giveaway up my sleeve so be sure to stay tuned!!

Linking up with:

Faded Charm:White Wednesday
Faith, Grace & Crafts:Pearls & Lace Thursday
Common Ground:Vintage Inspiration Friday

One more day to enter giveaway

2011-12-05T12:30:00.002-07:00

Don't forget to enter my Eiffel Tower Ornament Giveaway if you haven't done so already. Tomorrow is the day I draw the name at 12:00 pm Mountain Time. I can't wait to see who wins!

Click here to go enter!

More ornaments & a giveaway!

2011-11-29T08:57:00.004-07:00

I am having way too much fun with these Eiffel Tower playing cards. The ideas for ornaments just keep coming and I keep creating! Here are 2 more...it is way too hard to pick a favorite since they are all so wonderful!

This one has vintage crocheted lace in a creamy white color all the way around it. A white pearl button on one corner and a black pearl button on the other corner, a silver glitter star and a sheer black bow make it so pretty! I even glittered around the Eiffel tower.

These look so lovely on my tree!

This one is probably the most simple, yet still just as stunning. I made a paper rosette out of vintage sheet music, glittered the rosette, then added a clear rhinestone to the middle. The opposite corner has a silver glitter star.

Don't you just love these!?! I know I do. I have many more ideas for these cards including a banner! Although I have 4 sets of these playing cards, I have a feeling I will need to go back for more! Here are all 3 of them together...see-how could you pick a favorite? You don't have to, I am going to giveaway 1 of each to one of you! Just leave a comment on this post and I will pick a winner on December 6th so that you will have them in time to hang them on your tree!

Just leave a comment and I will pick a lucky winner on December 6th!

Thank you to those of you who stop by and leave a comment-you have no idea how much it makes my day!

Linking up with:
Faded Charm:White Wednesday
Faith, Grace & Crafts:Pearls & Lace Thursday
Kristens Creations:Share Your Creations
Common Ground:Vintage Inspiration Friday

Eiffel Tower Ornament 1

2011-11-27T12:41:00.002-07:00

How was every one's Thanksgiving? Mine was just right...we spent Thanksgiving with my dad's side of the family-his large extended family. I believe there were about 160 people there! Crazy, I know! We also went to visit my mom's mom who has been in the hospital since November 1st. On Friday, I made our own little Thanksgiving dinner just so we could have leftovers! No Black Friday shopping for me this year and it was so nice to sleep in! And I have already got into the Christmas spirit-we put up out tree yesterday and I have already started creating some new ornaments!

JoAnn's has some really great Paris themed goodies in their dollar bins. For $2.50, you can get 2 sets of Eiffel Tower playing cards. Use some coupons and the deal is even better. I got 2 because I knew that I could use these cards in all kinds of things. My mind was thinking all night and here is just one of the ornaments I came up with! I made a medallion out of vintage sheet music, glittered the edge of the card and glued it on.

I glittered a tiny white rose and glued that in the corner. It adds just the right touch of whimsy. These don't have to be packed up with your Christmas ornaments, you could use them year round!

There are a lot more ideas going on in my head for these cards. So stay tuned for more creations! Go out and get some yourself-I would love to see what you come up with!

Have a wonderful week...Christmas will be here before you know it!

I am linking up with:
Deck the Halls Sunday:Artful Affirmations
Share Your Creations:Kristen's Creations
Creative Things Thursday:The Vintage Farmhouse
Pearls & Lace Thursday:Faith, Grace & Crafts
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday:Coastal Charm

Eclair Cake for Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T19:11:00.002-07:00

Surely you have heard of Eclair Cake, haven't you? I am surprised when I meet someone who has never indulged in this yummy no-bake cake! It is one of the staples at any of my family gatherings and I promise you will love it!

There are only a few ingredients needed:
*1 box of honey graham crackers
*2-4 serving boxes of Jello Instant French Vanilla pudding
*3 cups milk
*1-12 ounce container of whipped topping
*1-2 cup bag of milk chocolate chips or 1 can chocolate frosting

Lay down one layer of graham crackers in a 9x13 pan. However you lay them out is fine. You will use about 1 sleeve of crackers per layer and there are 3 graham cracker layers altogether.

Mix 3 cups of milk with 2 packages of pudding. Once it has started to thicken, fold in the entire container of whipped topping. Then take half of that mixture and spread it on the bottom layer of graham crackers.

Add your 2nd layer of graham crackers on top of the pudding mixture.

Then put one more layer of graham crackers on the pudding. At this point, you can use a can of chocolate frosting for the top, or melt a bag of chocolate chips and spread on top. Let the chocolate set before you cover it. This cake is best when you have let it set overnight, the graham crackers soften and the pudding sets...it is soft and delicious and has so many layers of flavor! Give it a try-I know you will love it and make it all the time!

I recently won a giveaway from the sweet Jenny at Jenny's Heart. She put together a fun package of pampering goodies! Lotion, polish, chocolates, a candle, a pumice stone and some super cute aloe infused socks! I shared the chocolates with my husband, but the rest of it is all mine! Thank you Jenny for your generosity and friendship!

I am wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! If you are traveling, be safe! I hope you enjoy being with your family and friends, and if you are going shopping on Black Friday-good luck!

A Prayer for Motherhood & a winner

2011-11-21T11:27:00.004-07:00

I beleive that sometimes God brings certain people into your life for a specific reason. It might take awhile before you figure out that reason or it might not take any time at all. As soon as I started at my new job, I knew that God wanted me here for a reason-to meet my new friend Kelly. As some of you may know, my husband and I have been trying to have a baby for sometime. We try not to get too stressed out about it but it gets to a point where you begin to wonder if it will ever happen for you. I have so many friends that just blink an eye and get pregnant and it is so not fair! My new friend Kelly is currently going through fertility treatments and has had no success yet. We are kindred spirits in this quest for Motherhood together! I don't have the money to go through fertility treatments, so I am relying on prayer to help me out. Kelly just found out a week ago that the latest fertility treatment didn't take. She was heartbroken and I cried right along with her. After she left, I knew I had to do something to help ease her pain. Saint Gerard Majella is the Patron Saint of Motherhood. I found these beautiful silver medals on Ebay and bought one for each of us.

The front of the medal is engraved with Saint Gerard. The back has Madonna and the Jesus Child on the back. As a Catholic, I know how powerful these medals can be. I decorated a box to put the necklace in and wrote a sweet note to Kelly, letting her know that my prayers for my own baby were accompanied by prayers for her too. I included a copy of the Prayer for Motherhood:

Prayer for Motherhood

O good St Gerard, powerful intercessor before
God and wonder worker of our day, confidently I call upon you and seek your
aid. On Earth you always fulfilled God's designs, help me now to do the holy
will of God. Implore the Master of Life, from whom all paternity proceeds, to
render me fruitful in offspring, that I may raise up children to God in this
life, and in the world to come, heirs to the Kingdom of His Glory.
Amen.

She was in tears when she found the necklace and card on her desk this morning. It meant so much to her and it means so much to me to have someone in my life who understands, who I can go to for advice and comfort. If you think about it, please say a prayer for us!

And now, the winner of the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software is Michele from Nook & Cranny. Congratulations Michele! If you didn't win but would like to try out this amazing software, use coupon code STMMMS39821 at check out to receive $10 off your purchase plus a $10 coupon to use in the My Memories Store.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving Week!

Grady's Story

2011-11-14T09:38:00.003-07:00

My Grady dog and his story is currently being featured on the blog From Alone to Home. Please go check it out! I am so glad to have this handsome Black Lab in my life!

From Alone to Home is a wonderful blog that features pets that have been adopted from shelters and rescue groups. Even though we rescued Grady from an abusive home and not a shelter, Kate was kind enough to make an exception for my buddy. Thank you Kate!

My Memories Giveaway

2011-11-11T09:13:00.005-07:00

There has been a lot of buzz lately about My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software in blogland and it is for good reason! I was one of the lucky people who was asked to try it out and I am so glad I did. It is very easy to download as well as being fun and easy to use. One of my lucky friends will have a chance to win it for themselves!

If you read my last post, you will remember that I am very interested in photography and have been contemplating getting more serious about it. With this My Memories Software, I could not only take wonderful pictures, I will also be able to create albums that are printable for my "models". This in and of itself is a big deal! Here are a few pages that I created so you could see what all can be done. There are way more possibilities than I have shown here!

I really wish I would have had this software when I was forced to create my own wedding album after the photographer flaked out on me. Just for fun, I might have to create a new one-it's easy enough!

This software could help you market your blog or business too. I definitely have a lot of ideas running through my head. My marketing degree and this software will work beautifully together! The possibilities are endless!

Would you love to win your own download for free? Just leave a comment on this post and you are entered in to win! Feel free to stop by My Memories and let me know what your favorite paperpack is for an extra entry. If you can't wait for me to draw the winner and want to get it RIGHT NOW, use code STMMMS39821 at checkout for $10 off your purchase of the software plus a $10 coupon to use at My Memories Store-that is a $20 value! The lucky winner will be drawn on Friday, November 18th-so hurry and enter! I promise you will love it!

Pursuing Photography of People

2011-11-07T15:09:00.003-07:00

I have come to the conclusion that I am better at taking pictures of people than I am at taking pictures of things. I am so envious of those bloggers out there that take pictures of objects that literally take your breath away. I am not one of them. I think I have better luck with pictures of people as seen below!

This is my niece Ashley, she is my husband's older sister's daughter...when I got married I gained lot's of neices and nephews! Ashley is a Senior this year at Bend High School in Bend, Oregon. I took her older brother's senior pictures 3 years ago and was very excited to take hers this year. I was driving all over the place looking for fun places to take them. I have to say I am pretty happy with how they turned out.

Ashley was a very good sport. As you can see I had her lay down in the middle of the road...there was no traffic, it was out in the middle of nowhere! It was so much fun coming up with unique ideas!

Over Labor Day weekend, my niece Brielle decided that she wanted to do a photo shoot of her own. I love taking photos and love having a willing model! She put on her jeans and boots and borrowed grandpa's holey cowboy hat and we were off!

I call these her "Freshman" pictures (I can't believe my little niece is a freshman...I was a freshman when she was born!) I think we will make this an annual thing. Next year will be "Sophomore" pictures, then "Junior" pictures, then "Senior" pictures...but I better not get too ahead of myself!

Brielle's older brother Casey, who was born when I was in 7th grade, is a Junior this year which really makes me feel old. I would love to take his Senior pictures next year, but I have a feeling he won't be as much fun-you know how teenage boys can be!

I am seriously thinking about investing in a fancy Digital SLR camera to really pursue this photography thing. Don't get me wrong, the point and shoot digital camera I have works very well, as you can see. But I think people take you a little more serious as a photographer when you have a serious camera! What do you think? Should I continue to pursue my photography?

Happy Birthday Little Brother

2011-11-03T11:18:00.002-06:00

I am late in posting this Happy Birthday message to my little brother. His birthday was October 18th...better late than never right? This is my little brother Josh. We are 2 years and 1 month apart, but were 3 years apart in school. As you can imagine, we didn't always get along very well growing up!

I was the typical older sister. Bossy and annoying...I know he would tell you that plus a lot more. I always got in trouble for trying to be his mom, in fact I still catch myself mothering him. Now that we are older we get along so much better. I can talk to him about anything and he often confides in me as well.

One of the things that I used to do that he really hated was call him Mister Spotty Fisher. I have no idea where that name came from but he hated it. Once in awhile I still call him that and it doesn't bother him quite as bad now! We used to play catch together in the back yard all the time. Most of my favorite childhood memories include my little brother. I am so thankful that I had a little brother to share growing up with!

My husband Cody and my brother Josh are great friends. Josh was one of Cody's groomsman and he even caught the garter. We are still waiting for Josh to settle down and get married himself. He has a girlfriend right now that I actually like (I am very picky about the girls he dates and normally find one reason or another not to like her-horrible, I know!). So maybe this girl will eventually be the one! I can't wait to have kids soon because I know that Uncle Josh will be their favorite uncle!

Josh is a lover of the outdoors. He is constantly hunting and fishing. Since the house he owns isn't very big, my parents have all his trophies hanging in their house. There is a bear rug, an elk, a deer, an antelope, a caribou and various birds. If you can't reach him, it is probably because he is out hunting or fishing!

This is Mutley, my nephew-Josh's black lab! Our dogs love to get together and play. I love my little brother so much and I am so thankful to have him in my life. He is a wonderful man with a great work ethic, a kind heart and a real zest for life. Happy Birthday Josh/Bubba/Mr. Spotty Fisher! Siss loves you!

Halloween Treat Potions

2011-10-28T16:45:00.007-06:00

I always like to do something extra special and fun for my favorite trick-or-treater's also known as my nieces and nephews; they always expect fun things from me! Last year I made them Halloween cones filled with candy and decorated with lots of fun Halloween embellishments. This year I came up with something fun as well!

I spotted these adorable little bottles of soda at Winco. They are about 8 ounces and really cute. The grape flavor has a black hue so I knew they would make great Halloween treats!

I created some fun labels on Word using clip art. Each of the 10 bottles has a different, spooky label. I tied a piece of black ribbon on the top to make them just a little more festive.

The piece of art corresponds with the "flavor" of the "potion" that each bottle holds. Each one has a customized description too. Here is the list that I came up with in case you want to make some of your own:

*Witch Wart Water-wonderfully refreshing. Fur of Werewolf Juice-100% fresh clipped werewolf hair. Broken Bone Broth-the freshest fragments. Gurgle of Ghost-Boo! Devil's Dangerous Drink-full of fiery fury. Vampire Blood Essence-only the freshest blood. Zest of Zombie-brings you back to life. Graveyard Dust Extract-bottled in the pits of fire. Black Cat Brew-don't let it cross your path. Putrid Pumpkin Puree-it pleasures the palette.

I simply removed the label and taped these on. It was fast and easy and I know my favorite trick-or-treater's are going to love these bottles of potion and a little bag of candy.

Wishing you all a very Happy Halloween Weekend!

Ben's Bells

2011-10-18T09:26:00.001-06:00

Have you heard of Ben's Bells? I happened to be watching a news station that I never watch and saw a story about Ben's Bells. In honor of a little boy who died suddenly and without warning, his parents started creating these bells. They place them all over cities and towns and when people find them, they are encouraged to take them and spread a little bit of kindness. What a wonderful way to remember such a sweet little boy! I never thought I would be lucky enough to find one, but yesterday I did!

Sorry for the awful picture, I took it with my phone!

This is the Ben's Bell that I found. I just happened to be in a neighboring town on my lunch break to visit a friend. When leaving her subdivision, I looked at the speed limit sign and saw a flower and other colorful things hanging there. It took me a second to register what it was, but when I finally did, I flipped my car around and ran across the street to get it. I couldn't believe that I had found one!

The card attached to the bell tells you all about it. I went on to their website to learn more. Ben's Bells is actually located in Tuscon, Arizona, and I have no idea how it came to the Boise area, but I am so glad it did! I was overcome with joy to have found a Ben's Bell and I had a little pep in my step the rest of the day! I think that is the whole point of this project, to remind people that there is still kindness in the world. And if you are lucky enough to be treated kindly, pay the favor back! Now I just need to figure out how to spread some of the kindness that was given to me!

Fall Tag Swap

2011-10-04T11:38:00.003-06:00

I recently participated in a Fall Tag Swap hosted by It's a Very Cherry World. My swap partner was Janice at Curtains in My Tree. Here are the tags I created for her.

I made her 2 tags. One that is for Fall/Halloween, and one that is just for fun! The fun tag has vintage lace, pink pearls, a rose, a vintage button, beads and a glittery paper bird. The fall inspired one is fall on one side...

And Halloween on the other side! I love the little ghosts and candy corn!

Here are the lovely tags Janice made for me. I love them both!

The first one is this October Lady. I love her orange hat...it matches the orange seam binding on top! The yellow buttons are perfect as "O's"

I just love how she used a vintage BINGO card and spelled out my name with Scrabble tiles! The ribbon on the top is orange velvet and black lace.

Thank you so mcuh Janet for my tags! I had so much fun creating these for you and love the tags you made for me! I can't wait to do another fun swap soon!

Craft fair goodies

2011-10-03T16:01:00.005-06:00

Yes, it has been awhile. Life has been a bit hectic. My new job is in full swing-lot's of event planning, scheduling and learning-but I love it! We got an offer on our house. An insulting offer, but that's what a short sale is really. I signed the papers on September 20th-my birthday-kind of a sad thing to do. Now we just have to wait for the short sale to be approved. We could be moving within 2-5 months...which brings a whole new dilemna-to decorate for fall or not to? If I do I know we will have to move really quick...if I don't, we will be there forever! I haven't decided what to do yet! In the meantime, I have been crafting to get my mind off of things. I sold some of my stuff at a craft fair this past weekend and I plan on making more stuff to sell at other fairs this year. Here are some pictures of what I made. I get so much inspiration from blogging and Pinterest. Enjoy the pictures!

My favorite candle with white eyelet laces and a big frosty blue/gray rose.

Towel holders-painted and distressed.

Fleur de lis tins.

MagnetsRose altered candle.

Rose message board made out of an old metal tray.

Paris metal tray message board.

A little vignette of the Paris goodies.

I loved making all these book bundles. No two are exactly alike!
White vintage lace, creamy crinkled seam binding and a frosty white rose.

Pink vintage lace, pink pearls and a frosty pink rose.

White tulle with a frosty blue/gray rose.

Blue and white vintage lace with a silky blue ribbon and a glittered hydrangea.

Black crinly seam binding, black pearls and a tiny skeleton key.

I hope everyone is enjoying fall so far. I can't wait for the temperatures to drop and the leaves to start turning. Maybe when that happens, I will be swayed to decorate for fall!

Linking up with:
Faded Charm:White Wednesday
Faith, Grace & Crafts:Pearls & Lace Thursday

I finally joined the Pinterest bandwagon!

2011-09-15T19:08:00.003-06:00

And I love it! I held off as long as possible but I couldn't stand it anymore! This time of year I find myself drawn to baking all sorts of yummy stuff, so naturally, most of my pins have been food related! But that's okay too because I love to try new recipes...my husband is happy!

One of the first recipes I tried was Cake Batter Blondies. Unfortunately, they didn't quite turn out. Not sure if I used too much milk, didn't bake long enough or used too small of a pan. I haven't given up on them completely and will try it again. These Rolo cookies turned out perfect! Caramel and chocolate-one of my favorite combination's!

Super easy to make too! 1 box of devil's food cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of oil. Mix together and form a ball of dough over a Rolo. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 and dust with powered sugar. Yummy!

I did make those Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars and they were amazing! So good in fact that I was only able to snap a picture of them fresh out of the oven and none of the individual bars themselves. These are absolutely the perfect September dessert. It is like an apple pie, apple crumble, cheesecake and caramel apples all in one delicious bite. You won't be disappointed if you make it. For the recipe, visit The Girl Who Ate Everything.

The weather is cool with scattered rain showers and thunder. And I love it! Fall is definitely in the air! I am looking forward to the weekend-I am going to see Def Leppard and dressing up 80's style. And my birthday is on Tuesday and birthday's are always fun! Wishing everyone happy weekend!

More vintage treasures

2011-09-09T19:05:00.004-06:00

I have been finding some really great vintage finds lately! Today on my lunch, I stopped by a local thrift store and immediately found some things that I knew I couldn't pass up! I didn't know what this was exactly, but I loved it!

After a little Google research, I found out that this is a General Electric Baby Food Warmer. You plug it in and it keeps food nice and warm. This one didn't come with a cord, but that is okay. I am sure if I really wanted to find one I could. The pictures are just so cute!

A little boy catching butterflies in his net with his dog is in the first tray.

Two little girls in a hot air balloon with a cat is in the middle tray.

A little girl in a pink dress with an umbrella, a turtle and a duck in the third tray.

The removable tray has a cute little Eskimo boy ice fishing!

And I just love that it pink too! This would be so cute holding crafting supplies or baby stuff! What a clever idea for warming baby foods before microwaves were in every kitchen!

The instructions on the back say not to clean in an automatic dishwasher or boiling water. And if it breaks and blue liquid leaks out-watch out-it will act as a laxative! That doesn't sound appealing!

I also found a great bundle of vintage Jello molds! I just love these and can't wait to use them in my crafting. I have lot's of ideas floating around in my head for these!

Do you remember this vintage American Tourister Tiara train case? I finally figured out what to do with it!

The top tray is holding bits of ribbon, seam binding and ric-rac. I definitely need some more to fill it!

And the bottom is full of all my lace! I have found that I have a new obsession with lace. Every yard sale and thrift store I go into seems to have some waiting for me to buy!

Look at this fantasticly chippy stool! I got this for a steal at a yard sale and I think it is pretty much perfect as is. Rusty, chippy, vintage and yellow!

It works pretty smooth too. Maybe next summer I can put it somewhere in the yard holding pots of pretty plants!

Thank you to everyone for your comments on my last post. Little by little I am coming around to the fact that I am losing my house, but I am very excited to see what the future holds. You are all amazing women and wonderful friends! I hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Linking up with:
How Sweet the Sound:Pink Saturday

My tiny little house is for sale

2011-09-07T16:37:00.003-06:00

Well, our house is officially on the market. The realtor came by last night to have me sign the papers, take measurements, pictures, etc. It's so bittersweet. I bought this house in December of 2007-right before the economy took a plunge. The market was high, prices were high, interest rates were high...but I felt like that was the next-right-step to take. If only I had waited even 3 more months! I paid way too much for not very much house. And since I was laid off in July and even though I got a new job, I still don't make enough to make a mortgage payment. So through a lot of sadness and tears, this house will be sold in a shortsale. Someone already came to look at it today! I guess that is good. Since I might be moving soon, I thought I should show you some pictures of my little house before it isn't mine anymore.Here is the front. This really is the nicest house on our street. The rocks on thse side of the garage as well as the landscaping give it really nice curb appeal.

The view of the living room. This is where my husband proposed to me. Makes me sad to think I won't be living here very soon.

This is the view into the dining room. You can see the little sewing desk that my husband refinished for me-it is where I do all my blogging and a lot of crafting. We custom painted the whole house and I absolutely love the colors!

My sweet little kitchen. We just painted the cupboards white this winter. I was in the process of getting rid of my coffee decorations and changing over to a shabby chic tea theme. This is where I cook and bake and do so many things I love.

Another view of the kitchen. That clock on the little wall was a steal for 50 cents at a garage sale. This is the perfect little spot for reading!

Here is our party patio. We never got the chance to finish it. My plants and flowers are finally starting to really bloom and now I won't be able to see them grow anymore. We never got to have that party we wanted to have out here.

The view of our attached patio that houses our hot tub. That is coming with us!

And our tiny little master bedroom. So tiny that only a double bed will fit. And the summer's here get so warm, you can barely sleep with a little thin blanket on you. I have never had a matching bedroom set with matching linens to go on it. Maybe someday that will change. Many sweet dreams have been dreamt in this tiny little bedroom.

I have cried many tears over this house. Somedays I hated how small it was but then I would see the coziness of it and love it once more. If only there was a way to have the tiny little house have a tiny little payment to match, we could stay...but life doesn't work that way. I know someday I will have the house of my dreams, but that may take a long time to happen. Hopefully something will go our way very soon. I really wanted to be able to say that I made it through this recession without having to sacrifice my credit, my pride or my well being. Unfortunately, I have no control over this and I didn't make it through. I am sad. I am sick. I am heartbroken. I hope no one thinks that I am taking the easy way out because I can tell you that this is the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.

A telephone pole for an anniversary gift?

2011-09-05T13:35:00.004-06:00

My parents will be celebrating their 31st wedding anniversary on September 11th. This weekend, my mom gave my dad his anniversary gift...a telephone pole! Why would anyone want a telephone pole and who would give that to someone? Well, let me tell you the story!

Dad going to see his gift, a little bit in shock but very happy!

My dad is a phone guy. He was in the Air Force, working in telecommunications and currently works for a telephone company as the installation and repair manager. If you ever want to learn how exactly a phone call works, just ask him and he will be happy to tell you! When he first started in the industry, he worked for a telephone company in Midvale, Idaho and loved his boss, a guy named Verde. Back then, my dad would have to climb telephone poles to repair them, wire them, etc.

Mom telling dad how she got the pole.

Most telephone poles from back then have been taken down and replaced with newer ones. But there is a place still in Midvale where the poles are still standing-they have no wires on them, they just never got taken down. Everytime my dad drives by these poles, he tells my mom about how he used to climb THOSE poles when he worked for the telephone company and how much he would love to get one.

Dad checking out his new telephone pole.

After you have been married for so long, you probably run out of ideas as to what to get your spouse for a gift. My mom really wanted to get her hand on one of these telephone poles since my dad so clearly wanted one! She found out who owned the property where the poles were located and gave them a call. She told them the story and how much my dad wanted one and the lady said of course she could have one if she was able to cut it down herself.

So this weekend, while the boys went fishing, us girls found a way to get that telephone pole cut down and brought it home to surprise my dad. We told him we had a surprise for him, put a towel over his head and walked him over to it. Mom told him she knew how much he wanted it and he was shocked when he saw it. He couldn't believe that she was able to get one for him!

He was so funny, he told us all the story of how he climbed this pole many years ago and showed us where the climbing spurs on his boots had made marks. He has big plans to put it across the creek in his yard and maybe add some more to it!

I not only love the look of this old telephone pole and the antique insulators on it, I love the story that comes with it. I love that my dad has fond memories of working and climbing these telephone poles, but I also love the story of how my mom did her research and was able to get this for my dad. I love that we were all there to be a part of the surprise!

Happy Anniversary mom and dad!

Linking up to:
ColoradoLady:Vintage Thingie Thursday

Hurry up September!

2011-08-30T12:16:00.009-06:00

September is only 1 short day away and I can hardly wait! Like so many of you I absolutely love fall! Not just because my Birthday is on September 20th, but because of so many more things. Here are a few things I love about fall:

*The leaves changing color*

*The air getting cooler*

*Wearing sweaters, jackets and boots*

*Crisp, cool mornings*

*The smell of apples, cinnamon and cider*

*Time for kids to go back to school*

*Baking yummy treats*

*Football games and marching band*

*Harvesting the last of the summer goodies*

*Hunting season*

*Lot's of apples, squash and pumpkins*

This is a picture of the building where I am now working. This is the first building that was built when the college opened in 1891. The college campus that I work on is very small so you walk everywhere. It is a beautiful campus with so many trees. I cannot wait for the leaves to start changing color and falling to the ground. I will definitely have to start bringing my camera to work so I can take some beautiful pictures!

One thing about working at a private college that is no fun-you have to work on Labor Day. Sad face. But you get other days off that others don't, like the day after Thanksgiving-that is my favorite day to have off anyway. Since everyone will be at work on Labor Day, I think I am going to bake them an apple treat this weekend. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Doesn't this look so delicious? It is Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars and I can't wait to make it...better yet, I can't wait to eat it! I will be sharing the recipe and some pictures with you later!

What is your favorite thing about Fall?

Have a wonderful week!

*Photos courtesy Google Images*

Very Vintage Toys

2011-08-19T14:17:00.005-06:00

Most people have 2 grandma's, but I am lucky and have 3! Of course there is my mom's mom and my dad's mom, but my Grandma Red is a very special grandma. She was the secretary at my dad's office long before I was born. She had red hair and so she has always been and will always be Grandma Red to me and my brother and sister. She was probably a better grandma to us than my real grandma's in all reality! We loved going to her turn of the century home. We would run up the stairs to the playroom and play with all of her amazing toys. She had a whole bunch of Fischer-Price toys. A barn, a house and a hospital, as well as all he little people, cars and accessories that went with them. I have some of the best memories of playing with them. My Grandma Red's husband passed away about 3 years ago and she finally made the decision to sell her home and move in with her daughter. It was sad news to my ears-I loved her house and all the AMAZING antiques that she had. She had one room called the "Pink Room" that was floor to ceiling Pink Depression Glass. I so wish I would have made it over there to take pictures-truly swoon worthy! Grandma Red decided to get rid of her toys since all of her grandchildren are grown up, so I jumped and asked if I could buy her Fischer-Price toys. She gave them all to me! The first thing I did when I got home was set them up just like I was a little kid. It's amazing how the memories came flooding back to me!

Here is the inside of the barn, complete with sheep, rooster and tractor. When you open the barn doors, it moos!

This is the back, complete with a poster advertising a circus!

The front of the barn...picture perfect!

This is the inside of the house. Lot's of beds and other furniture, as well as cars, playground equipment and the family dogs!

The back of the house, perfectly landscaped...don't you love the shutters!

And the front of the house. You can even ring the doorbell!

Here is the inside of the hospital. My favorite pieces are the X-Ray machine and the scale. You can also go up and down the elevator!

Back side of the hospital with a cute little pup playing by the bird bath.

The front of the hospital full of lot's of happy kids!

Here they are all set up in a row. I am so glad that I got these toys from my Grandma Red. They are in such great condition. The earliest one is the barn-1967, the house is 1969, and the hospital is 1976. I plan on keeping these things forever and maybe when I have my own kids, and maybe if they are lucky, they can play with them too and make their own memories with some real toys!

Linking up with:

It's a Very Cherry World:Rednesday

I got a job!

2011-08-15T15:48:00.003-06:00

I have some very good news to share with you all...I got a job! I will be working in the College Relations department at my alma mater, The College of Idaho. Although the job pays about $15,000 less a year than what I was making, it will be so much better in the long run! I know this is a step in the right direction, even though we may struggle for a bit in the beginning. I am totally starting over in a new career, but I am confident that this is the place that I am meant to be. We will probably be short selling our house because there is no way we can make a payment now, but I think everything will work out the way it is supposed to and we will be happier and a lot better off! Thank you everyone for all your thoughts and prayers. I truly believe that every little one counts! Your friendship amazes me all the time!! My first day is August 25th, so that means I have a week and a half left of my "vacation"...maybe I should get some things done that I need to so that I can share it all with you!!

Tiffany & Co. Inspired Cookies

2011-08-03T12:23:00.005-06:00

Today I am meeting my best friend Kyla for lunch in honor of her Birthday! There is nothing Kyla loves more than a frosted sugar cookie, so I made her some very classy cookies!

I found a recipe for Sugar Butter Cookies that is super simple and very yummy. Here it is in case you want to give it a try!

Sugar Butter Cookies
*2 cups flour sifted
*1 cup softened butter
*1 cup sugar
*1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla together.
3. Slowly add sifted flour to butter mixture.
4. Using a cookie scoop, drop balls of cookie dough into sugar and place on a cookie sheet. Before putting in the oven, smash the cookies just a bit with the bottom of a glass.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting.
Now Kyla may not LOVE Tiffany & Co. as much as I do, but I know she will love these cookies! I love Tiffany Blue so much, I don't even have to look at anything to get my color just right...and I think it is perfect. I piped on some pretty white ribbons and they are totally Tiffany & Co. worthy!

I placed them on a plate, wrapped them in cellophane and tied it up with a Tiffany Blue bow. I kinda want to keep these for myself because they are just too pretty!

Perfection! I just had to show you these adorable cookies before they get all gobbled up! I better be going, I don't want to be late for lunch!

Linking with
Sweetology: Tea Party Tuesday
A Texas Mom Blogs
Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday

Lot's of time on my hands and lot's to do!

2011-08-02T16:16:00.005-06:00

Thank you to everyone who left such warm, heartfelt comments on my last post, as well as all the emails to check in on me. I am doing pretty good, still a little stressed and a tad bit depressed, but good. I have had several job interviews and have met with lot's of people to help steer me in the right direction. Next week I have a final interview for a position that I am in the top 3 to get it. Wish me luck!

With all this free time I have on my hands, you would think I would be busy crafting, creating, decorating, thrifting, etc. But to be honest with you, I haven't really been myself lately and haven't done much in those areas. I think I am finally coming around because I have recently had the itch to get back into the game! I have gone to a few yard sales, some thrift stores and been browsing things on Craigslist. Here are a few of my recent finds!

I have had my eye on this gate for years. I drive by it everyday and was just waiting to see someone taking it down so I could ask if I could buy it. Apparently they did it this weekend when I was out of town. Lucky for me, I saw it at a thrift store last night and told myself that I would go check it out and if it was still there, I would buy it. It was there today and I snatched it up! I just love it!

It has some great patina to it and doesn't need anything done to it. It is very solid and sturdy. Now if I could just make my mind up as to what to do with it! Any suggestions??

My next great find was found on Craigslist. This cute little shadowbox was only $10. It is perfect just the way it is and it even came with some pearl head pins to tack things up with. Can't wait to hang it in my craft room and start filling it with treasures!

When I found this travel case at a yard sale, my hands were so full that I couldn't unlock it. So I blindly bought it hoping the inside was in good of shape as the outside. The inside is like brand new! It even has the original tags. Two dollars was more than a steal for this American Tourister Tiara travel case!

My brother in law gave me this neat little vintage-looking wine carrier. The one side is insulated and holds a bottle of wine. The other side holds 2 wine glasses, the wine opener and a napkin. I can't wait to go on a little wine picnic with my handsome hubby!

This little foot stool holds all your sewing needs! I didn't oringally plan on buying it when I saw it, but in order to get the old and very cool aqua mason jar full of vintage buttons that was in it, I had to buy the whole thing. When the lady told me she wanted $10 for it, I said yes as fast as I could in case anyone else was around!

It is full of spools of thread in every color imaginable, even some vintage wood spools. There are beads, tape measures, patterns-I am finding new things as I go through it! The outside has a very gawdy gold vinyl that I am definitely going to redo...but other than that, it's perfect!

So you see, I have lot's of things I could be working on. There are many things not shown here even! I just need to get the motivation to do them and I better hurry. I have a feeling that I will be employed again very soon!!

Laid off

2011-07-19T07:41:00.004-06:00

This has been my mantra lately because a week ago today, I was laid off from my job. The company that I worked for had been telling us that there were big changes coming, that they were in the process of restructuring the company, and that a reduction in staff would be made. At first I thought I was safe, but the more I heard about what they were doing, the more I knew deep down that I would be one of many to go. I had told a few people at work that I had a feeling it would be me, and they all said no way. So when I got that tap on the shoulder to go in the back with my manager and the HR lady, I instantly burst into tears. On my walk to the back, I looked at those people that I had talked to and mouthed "I told you it would be me" to them. One of those people was my best friend Kyla and she burst into tears too. The whole office was crying. My manager bawled right along with me as they explained my severance package and they assured me it was not performance based, just something that needed to be done in order to cut costs. In other words, I was making too much money for the position I was in and it would save them a lot more money to get rid of me and hire a new person to do my job for less than half of what I made. Horrible but true! Let's be honest, I did not like my job and I was very unhappy. However, I needed that job, truly needed it. So the reason I bawled my eyes out wasn't because I loved my job and was sad to lose it, I was freaking out because how am I supposed to pay my bills now? We lived paycheck to paycheck before so now, there will be things that won't get paid because we flat out won't have the money. Unemployment doesn't even pay half of what you normally made, and my severance package will only last us so long. So I am on the hunt for a new job, I started as soon as I got home last Tuesday. So my fingers are crossed, lot's of prayers are being said and I am hopeful that I will soon find myself in a job that truly utilizes my talents and sees the potential that I have.

So as I wait for the next door to open, I ask you-my friends and blog family, to say a little prayer for me that something fabulous comes my way. I know in the long run, this will truly be a blessing in disguise and everything will work out for me. I am hopeful and know that God works in mysterious ways and He has a reason for everything He does, whether we get to see it right away or maybe never at all.

Winner! Winner!

2011-07-17T15:46:00.003-06:00

Another giveaway, another winner! I am happy to announce that Autumn is the winner of my $100 gift certificate to Ann's Bridal Bargains! Autumn is currently planning her wedding-it is a vintage, secret garden inspired wedding...I can't wait to see pictures of it! Congratulations Autumn!

Giveaway-$100 to Ann's Bridal Bargains

2011-07-14T16:24:00.003-06:00

You know how much I love weddings and everything about them! You know what I love even more? Being able to give one of you a $100 gift certificate to Ann's Bridal Bargains to use however you please! Wanna see what I would buy with with this gift certificate? Here are some of the lovely things I picked out:

Wedding Napkins are so much fun! Not only do people use them when they are eating cake or drinking punch, a lot of times they take them home as a keepsake from your wedding! To see all the colors and designs Ann's Bridal Bargains has, click here.

Love these seals. They can be used on party favors, programs, thank you cards-anything you can think of!

I love the idea of this memory frame that attaches to your bouquet. What a wonderful way to have someone who has passed on still be a part of your special day.

This print is something I wish I could get right now! How amazing to have an 11 x 14 inch canvas print of your favorite wedding picture. I know the exact picture I would use from my wedding!

I know there are a lot of you planning weddings this year and I know you would love to win this $100 gift certificate to Ann's Bridal Bargains. Be sure to click here to be swept away to their lovely website full of wedding goodies!

If you would like to be entered to win the $100 gift certificate, please leave a comment on this post letting me know you want to win! This is only open to US residents. Giveaway closes Sunday, July 17th at 3:00 pm Mountain Time. Good luck to all who enter!

Giveaway Winner!!

2011-07-13T19:52:00.002-06:00

Before I announce the lucky winner, I would like to thank everyone who entered my giveaway! You left some amazing comments and I gained a few more wonderful followers! My blogging buddies never cease to amaze me! Of course I wish I could thank you all by sending you all a gift, but I hope my heartfelt thanks is enough!

So, without further ado, the winner of my White/Wedding Giveaway is:

Suzann from Shabby ESP

Congratulations Suzann! Suzann's blog is so lovely, go check it out and tell her congratulations!!

Thank you all again so much! Stay tuned because I will be having another giveaway starting tomorrow!!

One more day to enter my giveaway!

2011-07-12T20:02:00.003-06:00

Just a reminder-there is one more day to enter my White/Wedding Giveaway. If you haven't already entered, be sure to leave a comment on this post!

I will choose the winner tomorrow at 8:00 pm Mountain Time. Can't wait to see who wins!!

Frugalicious Lamp Makeover

2011-07-10T16:59:00.005-06:00

Do you ever see something you own and think, "I could make that look so much better!"? That recently happened to me when I looked at my lamp shades. They are pretty plain, in other words-a blank canvas! I searched and searched for ideas online, but could not find what I was looking for. I wanted something simple and nothing that would be an eyesore. What I came up with was this-a woman will definitely notice it but a man might not...subtle!

I don't really know what color my lamp shade is so finding something to match it was a little difficult...until I cleaned out my closet! I had a pair of corduroy pants that had a broken zipper. They were trash and I turned them into treasure! I cut to hem off the bottom and cut strips-very rough and unevenly. But that doesn't matter, you are going to twist and turn and glue and make these corduroy roses that no one will ever know weren't perfectly cut!

You can find all kinds of tutorials online on making fabric roses. Lot's of trial and error and lot's of hot glue will get you these beautiful roses! Can you believe how well the corduroy matches the lampshade?

I am definitely digging my new lamp shades! Total cost of this very frugal makeover? FREE!! That is the best price to pay for almost anything!! I have some other lampshades and some other clothes that I am throwing out so I think I might be creating a lot more of these frugalicious lampshades!

Tasha over at Frugalicious Me is featuring me on her very first New Gal on the Blog. No, I am not brand new, but I am still pretty new to a lot of you. Please go visit Tasha and tell her I sent you!

And don't forget to enter my giveaway here. It ends July 13th!

Happy Independence Day!

2011-07-03T12:01:00.003-06:00

It's the day before Independence Day and I am finally getting a post done on my very few 4th of July decorations. I have honestly never decorated for this holiday before so I don't have much to show...guess that just means I need to do some shopping and get a good stash for next year! The first thing I made was this red, white and blue bunting. Six different patriotic themed scrap book pages cut, folded, stapled and glued together to make this fun bunting. The middle of each circle has a sparkly star. It's hung on a white ribbon with red bows between each circle. I think I will leave it up all summer!

I found these fun wooden stars on sale at Michael's. I added a sparkly star to the center of each to tie it in with my bunting.

The glass votive holder below was purchased last year at Kohl's for $2.00. I placed a few flags in it and it makes for a very patriotic centerpiece!

I have been busy doing some other projects. I picked up a few tank tops at Old Navy for $2 each and wanted to pretty them up a bit. I had seen tutorials on line about making roses out of satin ribbon by burning the edges. For this flower, I made each petal individually and then sewed them into a flower, added pink beads to the middle and sewed it onto the tank.

This one is my favorite. The rosettes turned out unperfectly perfect! I made 3 layers in 3 different sizes then sewed buttons to the middle and sewed them on the tank. I think this is going to be my new obsession! I gave these shirts away as a birthday gift, so I will now be on a mission to find some shirts for myself as well as some that I might sell as well!

Hoping everyone has a very happy 4th of July weekend!

Pink Paris Party

2011-06-30T21:03:00.005-06:00

My little friend Jayde recently had a 10th Birthday and we celebrated in style, with a very chic Parisian Party!! When her mom asked if I would put together a Paris themed party for her, I was all over it! We made invitations that contained a boarding pass for an overnight stay in Paris. I hear that the invitations were all the talk!!

No Party in Paris would be complete without a mime and a pink poodle of course!

This is Jayde's dad. He was such a good sport and dressed up like a mime. What do you think of my mime makeup job? He silently greeted each girl with a rose. Fletcher, Jayde's Goldendoodle, was the perfect pink poodle!

I brought over all of my Paris decorations. I loved being able to see them used outside of my own home!

I made a pink Paris banner and pink tissue paper flowers! I love the way the mantle turned out!

On the dinner menu: ham and cheese croissants, French bread and dip, fruit and cheese platter, and French sodas. For dessert, a Perfectly Pink Eiffel Tower cake!!

This was such a fun birthday party to plan! I am just really glad that I got to leave and didn't have to try to get to sleep with 9 ten year olds at my house! Joyeux Anniversaire Mademoiselle Jayde!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!

Linking to:
Frugalicious Me: Pinkalicious Thursday
How Sweet the Sound: Pink Saturday

Working on the Patio

2011-06-27T19:34:00.006-06:00

We've been working on our patio little by little. If it didn't cost so much money to put a roof on it, it would be done by now! In the meantime, we are doing what we can to make it an outdoor sanctuary. I found some of these wonderful antique aqua Ball jars at a yard sale a few weeks ago. I snatched them up as fast as I could when I heard that she was only asking $1.50 for a dozen of them! I wanted to make some cute little candle holders to hang around the patio railing!

It couldn't be easier to make these. I just wrapped some wire around the mouth of the jar and made sure I had a handle to hang them from. I had my husband put some nails in the railing, I popped in some candles and instantly the patio looked and felt even better than before!

I love the way they look when the candles are all lit at dusk. Candle light in antique jars are seriously dreamy!

My old white wood windows were hung up once again, this time we made sure to make them a little more sturdy since they would swing in the wind before.

I just love the way our patio is coming together. Of course I can't wait to finish the roof, close in the bar, tile the counter top, fire up the smoker and have everyone over for a party! Until then, Cody and I will enjoy our work in progress as it slowly comes along!

Summer is definitely in Idaho now! We seemed to completely skip over Spring, but that is just the way it happens around here these days. So we have been spending a lot of time out in the yard, on the patio, loving the warm weather. Once it gets past 95, however, I'd rather stay inside and stay cool!

Have you entered my giveaway yet? I am giving away a shabby chic white candle holder that is dripping with crystals, an ornate frame with a beautiful sentiment inside, and a special gift that I got from Miss Gracie's and Friends Vintage Barn Sale. Go check it all out here and enter to win!!

Linking up with:
Faded Charm-White Wednesday

Miss Gracie's finds and a White/Wedding Giveaway

2011-06-18T20:27:00.004-06:00

Amazing! Miss Gracie's & Friends Vintage Barn Sale was amazing in so many ways. The sale started at 6:00 pm on Friday, I thought I would be good by arriving right at 6:00...apparently I should have been there an hour earlier! The cars were lined up a couple of blocks down both sides of the road. I am not the only one who was excited for this sale! People were already putting their purchases in the yard and going to buy more! I wish I had pictures to show you because you would be blown away at all the gorgeous things!

I saw Miss Gracie herself but she was so busy I didn't want to bother her. I did run in to another blogging friend, Toni from The Tattered Cottage. She was the sweetest lady and had some very lovely treasures for sale too! I didn't have a lot of money to spend, nor do I have room in my tiny little house for anything big, but I definitely wanted to buy something for myself and something for one of you too! Here are the purchases that I made. Her prices are so reasonable which makes it even better!

The first thing I spotted and scooped up were these silver napkin rings. So sorry for the glare, but they are engraved with a "P"...perfect since my last name is now Phillips! Six of these were $5...I couldn't grab them up fast enough!

I passed by these heavy metal keys several times. On my 3rd walk through of the whole sale, I grabbed them. I think they are just too neat not to have!

There were 2 of these heavy iron finials. I only grabbed one but now I wish I would have grabbed both of them!

This little mirror caught my eye right away. It is so tiny and adorable. You can't see it in the picture, but there are two little kissing cupids at the base of the mirror.

I just love the rose pattern on this metal cone. I must confess, it was all white when I got it but you couldn't really see the raised texture on it, so I distressed it to bring out the rose and other pretty areas. I could see this full of pretty flowers! I love everything I bought! It will be very hard to decide which thing I want to add to my giveaway!

Now for the giveaway-here is what I have for you! In honor of my 2 year wedding anniversary and my 1 year blogging anniversary, I have put together a couple of things that have special meaning to give to one lucky winner!

First up is this ornate frame that I have painted white and distressed. On a sheet of vintage sheet music, I printed out the words "Faith, Hope, Love". First Corinthians 13 has a very special place in my heart and it was read at our wedding. The greatest of these is of course, Love!

Next is this beautiful white candle holder. This was one of my centerpieces from my wedding. It has beautiful crystals dangling from it and is the perfect shabby chic accessory. You can put a candle on it or use it as a cupcake stand!

If you win my giveaway, you will win the white candle holder as well as the white frame. I will also be including one of the treasures I picked up from Miss Gracie's sale, except for the napkin rings. It's a beautiful, white, wedding inspired giveaway and I hope you win!!

So here is how you can win!

1. Leave a comment on this post, letting me know which of the Miss Gracie's items you would like to win along with the other goodies.

2. Become a follower and let me know or tell me you already are!

3. Post about this giveaway on your blog. You can use the picture above if you would like to post it on your sidebar. Let me know so I can come take a look!

You get 3 chances to win! This giveaway will run until July 13th, I will draw the winning name at 8:00 pm mountain time on July 13th and let the winner know on this blog.

Thank you to everyone who has given me the support to keep my blog going for a whole year! I may not be a Miss Gracie, but I love sharing my life and all things I love with all of you!

Good luck! I may just throw in a few extras too just to surprise you!

I am linking with:
Faded Charm: White Wednesday

I'm going to Miss Gracie's & Friends Vintage Barn Sale

2011-06-17T12:43:00.002-06:00

Guess where I am going tonight? Miss Gracie's & Friends Vintage Barn Sale! As soon as I get off work I am out the door, on my way and ready to buy! I am sure you are all readers of Miss Gracie's Blog, so you all know how amazing she is! Here are a few pictures that she has listed on her sale information...WOW!!

I don't know what I am going to buy, but I am sure I will know it when I see it. Last year I went and made a few purchases, you can see them here.
I am planning on buying something for myself of course, but I am also planning on buying something for one of you too! I have a white giveaway planned and I know I can find something at this sale, just for you!

I know you all wish you could come with me, how much fun would that be? I will be sure to say hello to Miss Gracie and maybe if I am lucky, a few pictures too! Her pictures are way better than anything I have ever taken, so I might just let you look at hers!

Either way, I can't wait to share with you what I get! I will be thinking of you as I dreamily shop away!

Initially Yours Swap

2011-06-14T19:42:00.006-06:00

If your name is Tiffany from The Cranky Queen-do not read this post until after you have received your package!! =o)

I recently participated in a swap over at It's a Very Cherry World called Initially Yours. We were to create anything we wanted for our partners, making sure to use their initial somewhere in our project. My partner was Tiffany of The Cranky Queen. As you can see from the creation above, I got lucky! She created such a beautiful piece of altered art for me!

Every inch of this has something that I love! It is vintage French inspired, using my favorite colors-aqua and pink, my favorite flowers-roses, and a place a I hope to visit someday-Paris, as well as the name of my blog-Glass Slippers in French!Here is my "T". I love that she did it in aqua surrounded by pink!

To see the pictures that Tiffany took of the creation she made for me (she is a much better photographer than I am,) click here.

And here is what I made for her. It should be arriving to her by Thursday-I didn't realize it needed to be to her by June 13th-what a slacker! I promise it is on its way Tiffany!

I honestly had no idea what I was going to make for her. There were tons of ideas going through my head. As I worked, it all just started to come to me and I love the way it turned out! The background is vintage sheet music that I darkened with some coffee. Vintage lace is on either side. This is set in a white, distressed frame.

One of the things Tiffany said she liked was vintage dogs. I found this cute little blue faced dog at a local antique shop and had to add it to this! Behind the dog is a burlap rosette that I made with an old button in the center.

Tiffany also collects crowns-of course The Cranky Queen probably has lot's of those! Two of the vintage buttons that I used had crowns on them, just for her! I kept the colors scheme to whites and ivories mostly, and I think it looks fantastic! I used some pretty white roses in one corner and a vintage, embroidered hankey in the other. On one side of the frame is a jute rope and the other side has some creamy crinkled seam binding. Of course a large, distressed white crown with some bling tops off the "T"-the center of this creation!

I can't wait for Tiffany to receive this! I had such a great time creating it for her and I hope she likes it! Participating in these swaps are so much fun! I love creating things for others and getting something in return! If you haven't participated in one, you should definitely give it a try!

Linking up to:

Faith, Grace and Crafts: Pearls and Lace Thursday
Faded Charm: White Wednesday

Pretty Pink Peonies

2011-06-13T19:47:00.005-06:00

All of the sudden, the weather is just perfect! The grass is green and the peonies are in full bloom! I was so excited to see my one little peony bush blooming with tons of beautiful pink flowers yesterday! I ran to find some garden shears and something pretty to put them in!

I cut a few off of the bush and there are still plenty more on there! I placed them in a vintage carafe and an antique Strong Shoulder Mason jar. They look so pretty...I think I am in love!

I love this time of night, when the sun is starting to set and the shadows cast their shapes everywhere. It is the perfect time to take some wonderful pictures!

Don't these pretty pink peonies look so romantic on my distressed blue bench? Even the sky is the perfect shade of blue!

Mother Nature is amazing...look at all the beautiful things she creates! There are so many gorgeous flowers and vibrant colors!

I am enjoying today, spending some time with my amazing husband and enjoying our life together! Thank you to everyone for all of your lovely anniversary wishes! Time flies when you are married to your best friend!

I am planning a special anniversary giveaway...a white giveaway to celebrate my 2 year wedding anniversary and my 1 year blog anniversary! Stay tuned to see all the loveliness I have for you!

Linking with:

Fishtail Cottage: Cottage Flora Thursday
How Sweet the Sound: Pink Saturday

Frugalicious Me: Pinkalicious Thursday

June 13th, 2009

2011-06-09T20:13:00.008-06:00

How perfect that Angelic Accents just happens to be hosting her 2nd Annual Wedding Blog Party just 3 days before my Wedding Anniversary! I think it is meant to be...just like me and my husband Cody! We were married on June 13th, 2009 at the home of my parents in Cambridge, Idaho.

Please excuse the chaotic order of my pictures. My photographer took over 3800 pictures, which we narrowed down to about 1300, which I now own only a measly 125 of them. Our photographer took the most AMAZING pictures, but completely ripped us off. It took a year and half for me to get them and I didn't even get what I paid for, but I digress...here are a FEW of my favorites to share with you all today!

My mom is a cake decorator so I didn't even have to search high and low when it came time for my own wedding cake. My wedding colors were Tiffany Blue, Black and White. I designed this cake and my mom, of course, baked and decorated it. The cake topper is my Cinderella wedding snow globe, our initials are on the top tier, diamonds on the 2nd tier, the 3rd tier has a ribbon that says "...and they lived happily ever after", the 4th tier has scroll work and the bottom tier has a Tiffany Blue ribbon with a diamond square. I LOVED my cake!

My dress was beautiful and made me feel like the princess that I am! It was a halter style dress with a pick up skirt-pretty simple. My mom sewed Swavarski crystals into each pick-up and added a corset to the back. She also added the crystals to my veil as well. I got so many compliments on my dress...I want to wear it everyday!

We made my bouquets and boutineers. There were 3 different colors of pink roses. We wrapped the stems in Tiffany Blue satin ribbon and added diamond pins to the inside of the roses. The gold cross that hung from my bouquet was my something old. My grandma and my mom both wore this cross in their weddings so it is very special to me.

My sister is a beautician so she did my hair. I wore my hair down in loose curls and had a simple diamond tiara. I wore a single princess cut diamond necklace. I did my own makeup as well as all my bridesmaids makeup! Have I mentioned that I do makeup for weddings, photos, etc.? Yes, I do...I love makeup!

And of course I had to wear glass slippers! No Cinderella wedding would be complete with out them. I wore them for pictures and the ceremony, but as soon as I could, I put my flip flops on!

This is my favorite picture of Cody and his nieces and nephew. Cheyenne and Sierra are his older sister's girls and Hunter is his younger sisters son. They love their Uncle Cody and were the most adorable flower girls and ring bearer ever!

I just love this picture of Cody and the guys. The photographer said jump and he snapped them in motion! It is so fun to see the different levels of height they got!

This is my favorite picture of me and my bridesmaids. We got married at my parents house and there were so many beautiful places to take pictures. I love the dresses that we picked out for them. A simple black A-line dress with a Tiffany Blue satin ribbon tied in a bow at their waists. Everyone looked so elegant and these are dresses they can wear again and again!

Cheyenne and Sierra were the sweetest flower girls ever. They were so excited for the wedding they could hardly contain themselves. I added a few pink roses and aqua ribbon to the white roses that were on these dresses. Sierra even wore hers for her birthday party a year later!

Here is our first kiss as husband and wife! How did I get so lucky?

The ceremony took place in the yard below my parents house, on the banks of a creek. Our wedding was June 13th, 2009. I planned it for that day for several reasons: 1. I love the tradition of weddings and wanted to be a June Bride, 2. The cotton on the trees would be blowing in the wind, 3. People think 13 is an unlucky number but I want to prove them wrong! 4. It's the beginning of the summer season so it wasn't too hot, it rained a little, and there was still snow on the mountains in the background-absolutely breathtaking!

This picture was taken before the rain came. I love the umbrella! You can kind of see a little bit of that magical cotton floating too-my dad said that I ordered it and definitely got it!

This is a picture of my family: my parents, grandparents, brother, sister and her family. We definitely have room to grow!

This is a picture of Cody's family! This is just his 4 sisters and their families-1 sister and 2 brothers are missing! I love that he has such a big family! Look how many sisters, nieces and nephews I gained!

I absolutely loved planning my wedding and I have to say it was amazing, beautiful and very memorable. I had no idea about blogging while I was planning my wedding, which was probably a good thing because I would have needed another 2 years to plan it! I feel so blessed to have met the man of my dreams! It is so hard to believe that 2 years have come and gone so fast! He still makes me weak in the knees and takes my breath away every time he looks at me! Happy 2nd Anniversary to me and my Prince Charming!

Fried Chicken Dinner Cupcakes

2011-06-06T17:53:00.011-06:00

My husband Cody loves fried chicken, but I just can't seem to perfect it! So for his birthday treats, I made him these Fried Chicken Dinner cupcakes. I saw them on Paula Deen and just had to try them myself. They are so easy and so cute!

The fried chicken is a donut hole frosted and covered in crushed graham crackers. I used a toothpick to adhere it on the cupcake that was covered in graham crumbs too. If you have time to make a little bone out of melted white chocolate-by all means do it! I didn't have time so you will have to use your imagination here! The peas and carrots are green Skittles and orange Starbursts cut into little squares. For the mashed potatoes and gravy, I took just a little of the center of the cupcake out with a melon baller and frosted it. The pad of butter is a yellow Starburst and the gravy is caramel! To really make them even better, set them in a disposable muffin tin! Aren't these fun?!

Cody wasn't as excited about these as I was, he would have rather had the real thing! But all the guys at work just loved them! I even took some to my work and they were a hit! I hope you give these fun cupcakes a try!

Here is where I am linking up to:
Sweetology: Tea Party Tuesday
Sugar Bananas! Sweets this Week
Mouthwatering Mondays
Just something I whipped up!
Tempt my tummy Tuesdays

Hoosier Homemade: Cupcake Tuesday

Happy Birthday to my Prince Charming!

2011-05-31T19:53:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow, June 1st, is my wonderful husband Cody's 34th Birthday! He doesn't like to be reminded that he is getting older, but I can't let such an important day pass without celebrating him!

If you would have asked me in high school the kind of guy I would want to spend the rest of my life with, I would have said a cowboy/doctor. Cody is not a cowboy nor a doctor, but he is everything I never knew I always wanted. We are complete opposites but I think that is what makes us work so well together!

When my friend Tera was first telling me about her husband's cousin that she wanted me to meet, I admit I was less than interested. She said he had tattoos and big holes in his ears. I was scared! But I had a deep down feeling that the next guy that I met was going to be the one I would marry. And boy was I right! From our very first date we were pretty much inseparable and have been for 4 years now!

Cody is the most gentle, loving person. He may look rough but he is so kind and affectionate. He loves his nieces and nephews and is a wonderful daddy to our furry babies. I know someday, if God chooses to bless us with children, he will be an amazing dad to them too! I honestly could not ask for a better husband or best friend!

I always tell Cody that I don't know how I got so lucky. He says I am not the lucky one, he is! I just love him so much and am so thankful that I get to spend the rest of my life with him!

Happy Birthday to my Prince Charming! I love you with all my heart! XOXOXO

Wishing all of you a wonderful week!

Waiting for warm weather and green grass

2011-05-24T19:37:00.003-06:00

We are still waiting for Spring to really come into full bloom around here. It seems as if Spring gets here later and later every year to the point where Spring never comes and Summer hits us in the face full blast! So while I wait for the nice weather and green grass to get here, I am looking at some of my pretties from last year that are outside.

This bird house with the door knob perch as well as this heavy ironstone candle stick is from Gatherings at the School. If you are ever in southwest Idaho when they are having one of their sales, YOU HAVE TO GO!! I promise it will be well worth it!

My parents built this picket fence lattice for us last year. My husband built a bench to go in front of it. We love sitting there around the fire pit in the middle of the summer, roasting marshmallows and making s'mores!

Last year for my husband's birthday, my parents gave him this rustic birdhouse! He built a perch to set it on. I brought home this very cute cast iron bird bath and he built a pedestal for it too. He wanted his bird friends to have deluxe accommodations in our yard! The picture below is a close up of the bird bath-I just love it!

Even though we haven't had the best weather, I can't complain. My thoughts and prayers are with those in other parts of the country and world that have been affected by the devastation that Mother Nature has created.

I am happy to be linking up to White Wednesday over at Faded Charm. So many BEAUTIFUL whites for all to enjoy!

My first White Wednesday

2011-05-17T18:43:00.006-06:00

La Tache in French means "To Try".

I have been drooling over all of the White Wednesday posts at Faded Charm for a very long time, but haven't had the guts to post anything of my own until today. Since this White Wednesday is the 100th White Wednesday, I thought it would be a great time for me to get up the nerve and show some of my white stuff!

Here is a little vignette for some of my pretty whites. A frame that I painted and distressed really helps pull it all together. I love the frosty white roses at opposite corners of the frame. I strung some small pearls in the frame to hold up the lovely wedding cabinet card and vintage BINGO card. I just used plain clothespins to attach them to the pearls.

The pretty little ballerina dressed in ivory sits overlooking everything. I added a pretty crystal necklace to one side of the frame.

These heavy candle holders were found at Goodwill and were perfect just the way they were. I have placed the boutineer that my husband wore in our wedding on top of one. At the foot of the candle holders is a vintage beaded necklace.

I made this pretty white rose with a simple coffee filter and placed it in a glass flower frog. I think it would look really pretty with a whole bunch of these coffee filter roses.
This vignette sits on top of my very favorite white cabinet. The bread dough roses on the front add a very romantic and shabby touch to it. You can see how I transformed this cabinet here.
Here is one last look at my very first white vignette for White Wednesday. Thank you for letting me join in and please go take a look at all of the amazing white posts. There are some VERY TALENTED ladies out there that truly take my breath away with their decorating!
Happy White Wednesday to you all!

Snickers Cake

2011-05-16T20:12:00.003-06:00

Do you have an Albertson's Grocery Store where you live? If so, you have hopefully tried their delicious Snickers Cake from their bakery. It's full of chocolate and caramel and Snickers...who wouldn't love it? In fact, I love it so much, I decided to try to make my own Snickers Cake. I am not going to lie, mine is pretty darn good and maybe even better than theirs. But why don't you make one and tell me what you think!!

First, start out with a whole bunch of yummy Snickers cut up. I used about 30 minis, but you could use 3 regular sized bars (or more if you want).

While you are baking 2-8 inch round Devils Food cakes, start on your whipped butter cream caramel frosting. To make whipped butter cream, start out with 1 stick of soft butter, whipped until fluffy. Gradually beat in 4 cups of powered sugar, 1-2 teaspoons of milk and then add caramel.

I used Hershey's Caramel Syrup, but any will do. I added about a cup, but you can adjust it depending on how caramely you want it.

As soon as your cakes are done baking, remove the rounded tops. Here is a little trick for cutting the tops off of your cake. Take a serrated knife and follow the edge of the pan to cut it off. This will give you an evenly trimmed top. Save the tops...I will show you what to do with those later! Turn the cakes out onto a plate and freeze until cooled all the way through.

Once the cakes are cool, take a chopstick and poke wholes all over the cake. Then pour some more caramel syrup on the cake, making sure it goes into the holes.

Then frost the bottom cake with butter cream, add half of the chopped up Snickers and then put the top layer on. Repeat the process-holes, caramel, frosting. Before you sprinkle the Snickers on top, drizzle a little caramel and chocolate syrup on top. Then sprinkle the remaining Snickers on top. Oh yummy yummy! I made this one for my husband to take to work for a buddy's birthday. I wanted to taste it but didn't want to cut a piece...here is where those cake tops come in...just save a little frosting and Snickers and make yourself a sampler!

Trust me when I say this cake is good. Maybe a little too good because you will want to eat it all! Go ahead and make this and see how you like it. I would love to hear from anyone that has tried the Albertson's version to see how they compare...obviously not exactly the same but still very comparable!

Really wishing I had some of this right now because chocolate and caramel sound so good on this rainy, cold and dark night! Have a great week everyone!

A rose for a non-mom

2011-05-14T11:20:00.004-06:00

At the restaurant we took my mom to on Mother's Day, they gave all the mom's roses. At first the waiter didn't give me one and I will admit that it made me sad. I really wanted a pretty rose of course, but mostly because I am not a mom. We have been trying to get pregnant since January but haven't had any luck yet. I know that is only 5 months (but I have not been on birth control for almost 2 years) and it can take years for some people to get pregnant, but I have this deep down feeling that we won't be able to no matter how long we try.

At dinner last night with some girlfriends, we got on the subject of having babies. All of them have children. Some of them are done and some are still planning on having another soon. Then they asked me if we were going to have any babies. I told them we were trying now and then I broke down crying after telling them that I didn't think it would happen for us. I have never cried about it before because I try not to think about it too much. I don't know what came over me I just got really emotional about it. I know that God only gives you what you can handle, so maybe He knows that we can't handle a baby at this particular moment. I hope that is all it is. We can't afford to do anything special-no fertility treatments, no surrogates, no donors, no adoptions. We may not ever need any of these things, but if we did, we wouldn't be able to anyway.

The point of this post is not to feel sorry for myself. I think I just needed to let it out, that I am worried and unsure. I have been keeping that doubt bottled up inside and I think that is why I broke down. Maybe by posting this, some of you can give me advice, share your own stories or offer words of encouragement and prayers. I have always wanted to be a mom, to carry a baby inside of me, feel it growing and moving. I have always wanted to give birth to a human life created by me and my husband. And as that baby grows I want to be able to say, "he looks just like you" or "she has your eyes". I hope that I do get to experience all of that just as I have always dreamed of.

Thank you all for your love and friendship and for giving me a place to express myself. You listen and that means so much to me. Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Vintage Embroidery Love

2011-05-06T19:31:00.002-06:00

I have always loved things that were embroidered. One of my favorite pillow cases when I was a little girl had a pink mouse embroidered onto it. I wish I still had it. My mom also has a collection of tablecloths and napkins that were embroidered by her grandmother that I have always loved. I hope that some day she passes them down to me. Until that time comes, I have started my own collection of pretty embroidered things. I found all three of these runners at yard sales and didn't pay more than 50 cents for any of them. That makes it even better!

This blue runner has this pretty design on either end and the small design runs all the way down both sides. It is a little stained, but I still like it!

This one does not have any embroidery on it, but I love eyelet lace so of course I love this one! It has round edges and is very pretty.

This runner has a simple pattern of flowers embroidered on both ends. It also has a nice lacy trim all the way around it.

These pillowcases are some of my favorites. Again, all of these were found at yard sales and I literally paid pennies for them!

I love pansies. They represent thought for others and I just love this pillowcase. There are pink, yellow and purple pansies on this. There is also a pretty purple trim.

The design on this pillowcase is small and simple-a basket of flowers. It is very pretty!

This pillowcase has very intricate pink flowers on it. Someone spent a lot of time on this one between the flowers and leaves.

Not only do I love the pink flowers on this one, I also love the detail on the end of the pillowcase.

I think I have started a new collection/obsession! Now I am on the lookout for even more at every yard sale and thrift store I visit. I really don't think it's a bad thing...do you?!

Did you notice what I had my runners and pillowcases on? It is a twin sized head and foot board that I found at a yard sale on my lunch yesterday. I paid only $10 for it-score! When I told the lady I didn't need the rails, she was very concerned that my rails wouldn't fit. I told her I wasn't going to use it for a bed and then she was curious. This will soon turn in to a bench like this one that I will put on my front porch. As soon as my amazing husband gets it built, I will get it painted and definitely have some pictures to show you!!

Wishing all you wonderful mother's out there a very Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Pink Saturday!

I picked a winner!

2011-05-03T12:54:00.004-06:00

First of all, I would like to thank every one of my followers. I honestly am humbled by your kind words and sweet thoughts. I am really just a little nobody who started a blog and somehow you found me and became followers. Thank you for that! Thank you to those that were there in the very beginning as well as the new ones I have gained. It is an amazing feeling to make new friends! Thank you to everyone who entered my 100 posts~100 followers giveaway! I will be having another one in the next few months to celebrate another milestone so stay tuned. I am already on the look out for what will be included in it! So, without further ado, the winner of my giveaway is:Linda from Country Pickins.

Congratulations Linda and thank you for entering and for following my blog. I appreciate your friendship! All of the lovely things in the picture above are all yours, plus I have added some more fun stuff. Please shoot me an email so I can get it all packaged up and sent to you!

Again, thanks to all of my followers old and new. You really make my days brighter!

(I picked the winner the old fashioned way. I wrote everyone's name on a piece of paper (1 for each entry, then mixed them all up in a bowl) and picked a winner!

Last chance to enter giveaway

2011-05-01T21:18:00.002-06:00

Just a reminder that my 100 followers~100 posts giveaway ends tomorrow. I have added a few more goodies so you will get more than you see pictured! I can't wait to see who wins! Click here to make sure you have a chance to win!

Paper Crafts

2011-04-29T20:51:00.003-06:00

Creating things with scrapbook paper is one of my favorite things to do. It comes in so many great colors and patterns which means the possibilities are endless!! Here are a few things I have made recently using a simple piece of scrapbooking paper.

A friend of mine is having a little girl in June and she is naming her Stella. She is doing her room in black and white damask with hot pink accents. Since I love monograms, I wanted to make her one that will match her room. I found this wonderful paper at a local craft store and it's perfect. Even though you can't see it in the picture, the white part of the paper is sparkly! I can't wait to give this to Stella's mommy for her room!

I see so many pretty Tussie Mussie's or paper cones, I wanted to try and make some myself. I love the soft pink colors of this scrapbook paper. I added some pretty lace, a ribbon, a rose and some pink Easter grass. These are really fun to make!

Another fun paper craft is these lovely banners. This particular one I made for my mother in law. She is a breast cancer survivor and is very special to me. This banner is made with pretty pink scrapbook paper and says HOPE in silver. She has this hanging on a mirror above her bed. I am so thankful that she is a survivor!

Paper is such a versatile tool-I just love it and can't wait to find more paper crafts to try!

Don't forget to enter my PINK giveaway here.

Go check out all the other Pink Saturday pretties here.

Fox babies on Easter

2011-04-26T20:43:00.005-06:00

I had to share a few pictures of these cute little baby foxes that live along my parent's property line. On Easter Sunday, they were putting on a show for all of us and they were so adorable and very curious!

I think there were 5 of them in the den, but they would only come out one at a time to take a look at all of us. There momma was across the field, probably finding them something to eat. They were enjoying watching us as much as we enjoyed watching them.

My parents have a beautiful piece of property in Cambridge, Idaho. A creek runs through their backyard and it is gorgeous year round. I got married there and I have to say it was the most beautiful wedding ever! Wink, wink! As soon as all of their lovely flowers start to bloom I will definitely share some pictures with you all!

These little fox pups are so sweet, I wanted to take them home with me. But then I remembered that I had two pups of my own waiting for me at home!

It was such a wonderful Easter treat to see these sweet little babies. God has such wonderful creations and I was so glad I got to see these particular ones!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

Tea cup swap spoiled me!

2011-04-25T18:13:00.006-06:00

Wow did I ever get spoiled this Easter! I participated in an Easter Tea Cup Swap hosted by Teri at Artful Affirmations and Martha at Martha's Favorites. I got an absolutely wonderful partner, Debi at Life in My Studio. She put together the most beautiful Easter basket filled with the loveliest items. I was so excited when the box arrived I could hardly wait to open it. Two of my nieces were with me when I opened it and they were excited too-mostly for the candy though!

The tin aqua basket had the cutest Easter Bunny on the front. There was sweet lace tied in a bow and it was filled with pink Easter grass. Inside were so many treasures. Vintage Bingo cards, a vintage flower post card, an old wedding photo, seam binding and lace, some sparkly eggs, flowers, an antique tea spoon, lot's of candy, a beautiful tea cup and inside a pretty Rose Chintz box was a necklace made just for me featuring Cinderella-one of my favorites! This was the most amazing basket full of goodies! Thank you so much Debi! I am still drooling over everything in it!

Here is the necklace that she made me. This in itself is a fantastic gift! I was so amazed to see this! She really listened to what I liked and spoiled me rotten.

And here is the beautiful tea cup that she sent. I just love the roses and the beautiful shape of the cup and handle. It is perfect for me!

This is the cup that I sent to Debi. They look almost identical! Great minds think alike!!

I found some vintage hankies, a doily, a brooch, some eggs filled with candy, tulip suckers, some chocolates and I embellished a spoon to match her teacup. I don't think I sent her nearly enough, but now I know better for next time!

I made her a pretty little basket that wasn't too Easter-y so that she could use it all year round.

It was so much fun doing this swap-I can see why so many of you are addicted to swapping! I can't wait to join in on another one, equipped with many new wonderful ideas!

Don't forget-I am having a giveaway and would love it if you won! Click here to go to the giveaway!

100 followers~100 posts giveaway!

2011-04-22T22:02:00.006-06:00

You may or may not have noticed, but I have reached 100 followers! 100 posts!

When I started this little blog of mine, I honestly NEVER thought I would have a single follower, let alone 100! So this is a pretty big deal to me. Yes, some of you have hundreds, even thousands of followers, so 100 is just small change to you, but to me-it's HUGE! I want to shout it from the roof tops! I want to celebrate it so I am doing a giveaway to celebrate YOU-my followers!

Little did you know that I have been collecting some treasures to give to one lucky winner. Some very pretty, pink, pampering treasures. Included in my giveaway is a very cute black and white damask makeup bag with ruffly pink trim, rose scented lotion, a pink striped bath fizzie, a soft pink wash cloth and a beautiful pink candle that I have embellished that smells like the freshest, prettiest, pinkest rose in the garden. I wanted something beautiful that anyone would adore, because I adore all of you-my followers-old and new!

There are 3 easy ways to enter my giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Become a follower and leave a comment letting me know. If you are already a follower-thank you!! You are automatically entered but feel free to leave me a comment!

3. Tell people about my giveaway on your blog and let me know you did.

I will be announcing the winner on May 2nd. I might be throwing in a few extra goodies so you will probably get more than you see here...surprises are fun!

Happy Pink Saturday to you all and thank you so much for making me feel like the little things I do really matter!

Happy Easter!!

Madisyn in Wonderland Birthday Tea Party

2011-04-20T17:54:00.007-06:00

Our niece Madisyn turned 2 years old on April 9th, so on April 17th, she had an Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. When her mom found an adorable tea party cake, she knew a tea party was in order. Her cake was a team effort: grandma baked and frosted the cakes, mom made the fondant and I rolled out the table cloth and decorated it! It was a lot of fun to make!

The tea party was outside at my sister-in-laws house. We showed up extra early to get all the food made, cake decorated and table set. I took over a lot my pretty servers to serve the tea party food on. We had 4 different tea sandwiches, scones, mini quiche, fruit salad, lil smokies wrapped in bacon, lemonade and of course 5 different, yummy teas.

I had a lot of fun setting the table with all my pretties and lot's of flowers. Everyone had a tea cup and saucer to drink out of...what kind of a tea party would it be without them?!

Here is the Birthday girl sipping her lemonade like a lady. She was wearing a pretty dress and lot's of bling!

Here she is blowing out the candles on her cake. She blew them out before Happy Birthday was done being sang to her, I think she just wanted some delicious cake!

Here are her tea party guests. If you ask Madisyn if she had a great Birthday Tea Party, she will tell you "No" even though she means yes!

Happy 2nd Birthday Miss Madisyn!

Spring Salsa

2011-04-19T17:46:00.004-06:00

As soon as the Spring weather decides to show up around here, there is nothing I crave more than sitting on the patio with a margarita in one hand and some chips and salsa in the other hand. Making homemade salsa that is as good or even better than a Mexican Restaurant salsa is so easy to do. Before I figured it out, I was too intimidated to make it on my own. Now, I refuse to buy store bought salsa!

I am not a big tomato fan but I love salsa. So I use canned tomatoes for my salsa, crushed so there are no big chunks. This batch is made with one large can. Then I cut up one onion, one bunch of cilantro and one jalapeno pepper-more or less depending on how hot you like it. Then I add a little garlic salt and regular salt to taste. I like salt so I probably add more than I should! And the only way to really get the yummiest salsa ever, is to get the best chips ever. I can only eat Juanita's tortilla chips with homemade salsa. They are so salty and crunchy, you have to try them if you haven't!

Be warned, making homemade salsa will spoil anyone who tries it and that is all they will ever want again. I am going to go sit out on the patio with my margarita and chips and salsa...won't you join me?!

My first matchbox swap

2011-04-11T20:01:00.004-06:00

I recently participated in a Matchbox Swap hosted by Laura at Decor to Adore. It was my very first swap of any kind so I was very excited and a little scared. I wanted to make sure that I gave my swap partner something wonderful that she would enjoy. My swap partner was Michele at Nook and Cranny. Look at this beautiful box she created for me. The box was covered in a beautiful blue and green paper with sparkly hydrangeas. On top she tied a lovely bow adorned with a very pretty rose.

Inside were some wonderful treasures. It seemed like the box had no bottom because I kept pulling out more and more great things. There was vintage lace, buttons, a broach, a magnet, an old wooden spool, a fun straight pin and a pair of pretty diamond earrings.

She also included cute little bunny picks, beads, paper cut-outs and a sparkly binder clip!Some very pretty tags, an old clothes pin wrapped in the cutest blue polka-dotted ribbon all nestled in a sheer pink bag. I love every single item that she included! Thank you so much Michele for all the wonderful things you sent me. My first swap was a success!

Here is the box that I sent Michele. She told me that she loved birds! On top of her box, I made a cute little nest holding 2 aqua eggs, tied with a pretty little bow.

It was so fun filling the box with lot's of fun things for her. I found a very cute rusty birdhouse with a rusty little bird to match. Some vintage ribbons and lace, tiny little Easter eggs, many silk flowers, buttons, beads, vintage playing cards, a vintage cloth tape measure, bubbles, some flower picks and two tiny little blue birds. I lined the inside of the box with a sewing pattern. I really hope that Michele liked all her little treasures because I sure had fun putting it all together for her!

And our wonderful host Laura sent this sweet little box filled with lot's of little goodies. I love the gold bunny holding a basket of flowers on the front. These boxes gave me lot's of ideas-thank you both for your generosity!

What fun it is to participate in a swap like this. I can't wait to do it again!!

Spring indoors

2011-04-08T15:16:00.002-06:00

Spring is in the air at my house! I have been trying to decorate to make the inside feel like spring, even if it still feels like winter outside! I don't have a mantel, so I like to decorate the top of my TV. I found these cute little glass vase things at work and brought them home with me. I knew they would hold an egg perfectly! I purchased some real looking eggs made out of a ceramic material at a craft store and painted and glittered them. Then I added a bow and a flower. They are very springy!

I couldn't decide if I liked the vases empty, so I put in some jelly beans to see if I liked it better. I almost think empty looks better, what do you think? Do you notice the car in the bottom left of the picture? My husband likes to add his own touch to my decorating, mostly in the form of his matchbox car collections! I humor him since he pretty much let's me do whatever I want with our house!

I took Friday off since my little Bella girl got spayed on Thursday. I wanted to be home with her because I am sure it is a pretty scary things she just went through. Of course I can't just sit and do nothing, so I made this SPRING banner to hang in my window. I used 6 different colors and patterns of scrapbook paper and added lace, flowers, pom poms and ribbon. I like the way it turned out and it adds a nice springy touch to the living room!

And one more spring touch is my teapot full of spring flowers. I added in a few eggs on sticks to bring in the Easter aspect! Thank goodness for silk flowers this time of year!

I hope that you are enjoying spring like weather where you are! I am joining Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday. There are always so many lovely pinks for everyone to enjoy!

April in Paris

2011-04-02T20:43:00.003-06:00

I never knew the charm of spring
Never met it face to face
I never knew my heart could sing
Never missed a warm embrace.

April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom
Holiday tables under the trees
April in Paris, this is a feeling
No one can ever reprise.

I never knew the charm of spring
Never met it face to face
I never knew my heart could sing
Never missed a warm embrace

Till April in Paris
Whom can I run to
What have you done to my heart?
{Lyrics by Vernon Duke & E Y Harburg}

I wish I was spending April in Paris. I know that my heart would fall instantly in love and I would never want to leave!!

But since Paris isn't in my near future, I can dream and create. This is a banner I made with images of the Eiffel Tower from The Graphics Fairy. My guest bathroom is done in a Paris theme, so this banner fits right in hanging on the mirror.

I can't wait to visit Paris one day, be it in April or any other month. Visiting will be a dream come true for me! Until that day, I will fantasize about the lovely city that she is and dream a little dream of April in Paris!

I am joining up with Frenchy at La Chateau de Fleurs for the French Obsession Party!

I've created a new crafter!

2011-03-27T20:50:00.005-06:00

I had a much needed 4 day weekend. I was sick with the flu last weekend and did absolutely nothing, so it was good to have 4 days this weekend to get caught up. My little friend Jayde came over on Friday. Her mom and I are best friends and we also work together. Kyla, Jayde's mom, swears that I am really the mother of Jayde. As you can see in the picture above, we look alike...if we go out to eat, the waiters always put her meal on my check! Jayde and I are also drama queens and we love to craft, and that is what we stayed busy doing on Friday!

Jayde wanted me to show her how to make some fun crafts. I started out showing her how to make flowers out of paper. The vintage sheet music flower above is mine. Jayde was very good at following directions and tried her hardest to do what I was showing her.

This is her card. Not too bad for a 9 year old. A few more tries and she will really have it down! She saw my LOVE banner and wanted to make one of her own. I cut the paper, showed her how to fold it and staple it. I glued it while she drew and cut out the letters. I glittered and glued them on. She picked out the ribbon and I think it looks pretty good! We also made a bunch of flowers for our hair. As you can see in the picture of us, we are both sporting our new flowers. I showed her how to take apart a flower and make clips and headbands. Don't we look cute?

Pretty sure I got her hooked on crafting and creating. Her mom told me that she was playing with her stuff all night and showed it to anyone who would take a look! I've definitely created a new crafter!!

Here is a cute little Easter wreath that I made. It hangs sweetly in my big frame. I am really looking forward to Spring and Easter-can you tell?!

So glad that I got to spend some time with Jayde crafting and creating. She used to call me Aunt Chucha when she was little and now she is trying to teach her little brother to call me that! I sure do love all the little ones in my life!

Tulip Festival

2011-03-23T11:38:00.004-06:00

If you have never been to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Northwest Washington, put it on your Bucket List of places to visit before you die. It is the most amazing feast for your eyes-rows and rows of beautiful tulips in the prettiest colors imaginable. My friend Rachael used to be the assistant director for the Tulip Festival so I had the opportunity to visit her and take in all the fun and festivities. These pictures are great, but to see it in person is just AMAZING!Look at all of these beautiful pink tulips that I am surrounded by. Photographers love it because there are so many angles and colors.
This is me and my cousin Carlie standing in a field of red tulips with some pink ones behind us. The colors are so amazing. As you drive through this area, there are fields and fields of tulips everywhere you look and plenty of places to stop for a photo opportunity.

The yellow tulips are so rich and radiant. The pink sky in the background just adds to it. Do you see the photographer in the tulips?!

There are so many fun things to do while visiting Skagit Valley. One of my favorite places was Bunnies by the Bay. It is the cutest store with bunnies and tea parties and adorable things for babies. As soon as I have a baby of my own, I will definitely have to go back and buy something there!

The Tulip Festival takes place every April. Since you can't really tell when the tulips are going to bloom, festivities happen through the whole month of April. If you visit in April, you are bound to see some beautiful tulips. It's not too late to plan your trip for this year. Or if you plan on going next year, maybe I will see you there!!

Happy Pink Saturday!

Happy Birthday Dad!

2011-03-16T14:27:00.004-06:00

March 15th was my dad's 54th Birthday. Can you believe that I talked to him yesterday but compeletly forgot to actually tell him Happy Birthday? We had a party for him on Sunday so it's not like I completely forgot him!

This is a picture of me and my dad dancing at my wedding. We danced to the song "Cinderella" by Steven Curttis Chapman. My cousin learned the song in a week and played it on his guitar. That made it even more special.

I only cried twice at my wedding-when my dad walked me down the aisle and when we had our daddy-daughter dance. My dad and I are so much alike that we often get on each other's nerves. But I am still a daddy's girl and it was such an emotional time for both of us.

My dad has taught me some very valuable things throughout my life. He taught me how to be a hard worker, not to be a quitter, to save my money when I can, to love my family and be the best person I can be. I am so proud to call this man my dad. His name is Jody (my grandma named him after the little boy from the move The Yearling...it was just a few years later that Jody became more common as a girls name!) and I love him with all my heart. Happy Birthday Dad-thank you for giving me life and loving me always!

Slooooooow Computer

2011-03-14T20:17:00.002-06:00

My computer has been on the fritz lately. It's very slow and freezes up all the time. I am losing patience since I can't seem to catch up on my posts or blog reading. Luckily, I have a super smart nephew who is going to help me out. This boy can take a slow computer and make it like brand new. He is going to fix it for me tomorrow so that I can hopefully be back in action by Wednesday. I promis to catch up with everyone once I'm all fixed up and running at a faster speed!

Pay it Forward 2011

2011-03-07T10:55:00.003-07:00

A couple of months ago, everyone was posting on Facebook about "Pay it Forward". I glady participated and received some really fun things from it. I thought about doing something like this in blogland, but wasn't sure about it. Today, I see that Petite Michelle Louise posted about it and I jumped right in to join her! Here is how it works:

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The first five people to comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me. In return, you must do a blog post explaining Pay it Forward 2011. Then, send out a handmade gift to the first 5 commenters. This is sure to be a ton of fun, both in the giving and receiving! I can't wait to start creating some wonderful things as well as seeing what I get back in return!

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Thank you to everyone who left sweet comments about my sick dog Grady. He is doing much better. His red blood cell count and iron levels are still very low, but he has his appetite back and his sweet personality is shining through again!

Get well soon Grady

2011-02-23T19:46:00.002-07:00

A little over a week ago, Grady started refusing to eat. Normally, he can't get enough to eat so this immediately had me worried. We tried a different food thinking that he was just being picky, but when he came down with a bad case of diarrhea, we knew it was time to take him in. So just this Monday, he went to the vet. After running some blood tests, the vet said that he is extremely anemic. He had never seen such low iron levels in a dog and it could be a number of things-a bone marrow deficincey, kidney or liver failure, cancer or just some sort of virus. As he is telling me these things, I am crying my eyes out. He gave us special food, vitamins and an antibiotic. I took him back in today for a re-check, and his iron levels were lower than before. Now he is on steroids, more vitamins and is pretty much on bed rest. He has no energy, no appetite and it's breaking my heart. This is how Grady is spending his days right now. I think Bella knows that her brother is sick. As much as she wants to play wtih him, he has to be calm and relaxed at all times so that he doesn't collapse from exhaustion. We take him back in on Friday to see if all the vitamins, steroids, antibiotics and special food is helping. We can't afford anything drastic, as it is we are scraping money together to pay for these things. I don't want him to suffer because we can't afford to fix him. Please pray that everything turns out okay and that he doesn't have to have anything more. My heart is aching for him and I don't know what I will do without him!
On a happier note, we got the kitchen cabinets finished. Remember how I wasn't allowed to help paint? Well, he should have let me be in charge of colors. He thought all whites were the same color. Not so much. So he ended up painting the cabinet doors and drawers a different white than the actual cabinets. So the doors and drawers look a little gray. So, I guess they aren't really done, but they are done for now. This is just one picture of the after. I need to do a little cleaning to really show you how the kitchen looks!

On Saturday night, our niece and nephew stayed the night. One of their favorite things to do is make cookies. So I whipped up a batch of cake mix sugar cookies. Hunter and Madisyn frosted them and put sprinkles on them. It was a lot of fun having them!

Wishing everyone a very happy week!

Pink Nightstand

2011-02-18T20:01:00.004-07:00

My bedroom is a real work in progress. I really don't have anything that matches. The nightstands that I currently have are just round wood tables covered with tablecloths-I am on a mission to find some mathching ones that I can paint and distress...hopefully the yard sale gods will be good to me this year. Here is my nightstand now-very pink-imagine that! I have a pink pashmina covering the table now, but it always changes depending on my bedspread. There is a LOVE plaque in soft colors, Romantic Wish lotion from Victoria's Secret, lip balm in a pink tin and a journal that I have been writing in off and on for the past 8 years. It holds stories of my first love and and first broken heart and everything in between. Sometimes it is fun to read it to see all the changes I have gone through in my life. It also makes me thankful to be where I am now! This beautiful angel keepsake heart was made for me by my sister. I loved it the first time I saw it and love it still. The pretty blonde angels have soft blonde hair with golden halos, sweet white wings and rosy cheeks. They are surrounded by beautiful pink roses. Still a very favorite piece of mine that I plan on keeping forever. It is special because my sister made it for me many years ago.
Inside, you will find all sorts of treasures. More angels, rosary beads, pictures, fun little trinkets, memories and who knows what else! I love keeping special things in here! I recently received a special gift from Linda at Charmed Victorian. She has some great giveaways on a pretty regular basis, so stop by her blog and say hello! Aren't these heart charm bracelets beautiful? They arrived just in time for Valentine's Day!

I made her a thank you card for her generosity. I always like to say thank you to someone if they are kind enough to give me a gift. Thank you Linda!

As I type this post, my husband is starting on our kitchen cabinet makeover. Lucky for me, he loves the white, shabby chic, vintage look too! So I am getting white kitchen cupboards this weekend! I would help, but he doesn't think I do a good job at painting such important things, so I guess I will just supervise! Can't wait to show you after pictures soon!

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Hope everyone has a very Happy Pink Saturday! Check out all the other lovely pinks over How Sweet the Sound!

Who doesn't love cream cheese?

2011-02-16T19:45:00.002-07:00

We are having a party at work tomorrow and I am always the go to person when it comes to yummy treats. Since I had some extra cream cheese and shrimp in the fridge, I made this divine dip. Once you start eating it, you just can't stop! It's starts with a brick of cream cheese smoothed out in to the bottom of a dish. Then cut up some shrimp or use baby shrimp, and spread that on top of the cream cheese. At this point, you can add green onions, olives, avocado-whatever floats your boat. Now this is the most important ingredient-the Chili Sauce. This is the best chili sauce ever and this dip won't taste quite as good if you use another kind. It doesn't have a name, besides Homemade Chili Sauce. Spread this evenly on top of the cream cheese and shrimp. Then sprinkle with shredded cheese.
The best part comes when it is time to bust out the tortilla chips and give it a try. Make sure you get a good scoop with all layers on your chip. You probably won't be able to stop eating it once you start! Delicious!!

Another one of my favorite recipes for cream cheese is a fruit pizza. I use refrigerated sugar cookie dough and spread it evenly on a pizza pan. Put it in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes. Let it cool, then make the yummy cream cheese "sauce". Take 1 brick of cream cheese and mix in 1 cup of sugar. Then fold in a container of Cool Whip. Spread that over the cooled crust and top with your favorite fruit. Looks like a super healthy pizza to me!

If you have never tried these delicious cream cheese recipes-do it! I guarantee you will have some new favorites to take to your next get together and you won't look at cream cheese the same again!

My favorite Valentine

2011-02-14T19:43:00.003-07:00

Valentine's is a special day for me, although there were times that I despised it! Three years ago today, my then boyfriend, told me that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. A week later we went shopping for a ring. A month later he proposed. A year and 3 months later we were married. He is and always will be my Favorite Valentine!My husband is always letting me "entertain" some of my crazy ideas. I decided that this year for Valentine's Day, we were going to sit at the dining room table and have a very romantic, candle lit dinner. I decorated the table in reds and roses to really set the mood. It was simple, yet lovely and we really enjoyed each others company.
On the menu was steak, garlic shrimp, twice baked potatoes, bread and wine. It was delicious! I did my best to set the prettiest table I could with what I had.

For dessert, strawberries with chocolate dip. The dip is so easy to make and so yummy to eat. Here is the recipe in case you want to try it:

Chocolate Dip

4 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup melted chocolate chips

1/4 cup milk

*Heat cream cheese in microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Whisk in milk and chocolate until combined. Serve with strawberries. Super yummy and romantic!

The only thing more I could have asked for was the dogs to do the dishes. Wishful thinking! But they are definitely a couple of my favorite Valentine's too!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Love

2011-02-12T09:05:00.003-07:00

I have been the biggest slacker lately! Sometimes I doubt myself and wonder if my blog is really that interesting, really worth taking the time to read. But you always prove my doubt wrong and leave me wonderful comments. Thank you so much for your kind words-you all know how to make a girl feel great!! While I have been slacking blog-wise, I haven't in other areas! We got our taxes done which was a big, sad let down. I went to some training for work, and even got a little crafting and decorating in! Here is my one and only Valentine's Day project! This cute wooden heart is covered in Pink sheet music scrapbook paper. Pink and sheet music-a wonderful combonation! I sanded the edges to give it a vintage look and used some crinkled seam binding to hang it on the wall. I used a pretty pink hair flower to dress it up a bit. Pure Pink Prettiness!
I have recently decided that my big frame in the dining room will showcase something special, depending on the month and holiday. I added one of my new LOVE banners to the bottom, adding a red heart in place of the O. Love is in the air!
Here is a wall that is above the door to our garage. It's a lot of empty space. We decided to put up some shelves to dress up the wall a bit and to give me more places to display my treasures. Here it is before:

And here it is after. I added just a few things to see how I liked it, and will be adding more things very soon. I love shelves and I love having a handy husband that can do these things for me!! I am a lucky girl and very much in love!

Thanks for sticking with me even when I take an unexpected 2 week break. I truly appreciate all of you. Have a very Happy Pink Saturday and a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with lot's of love and romance!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-01-31T14:32:00.002-07:00

Today is my mom's 51st Birthday! Last year we had a big shindig for her, this year it was low key but we still celebrated the amazing woman that she is! My mom is half Irish and half German. She is quick to tell you not to get on her bad side! Her name is Margaret Anne-Margaret is her great grandma's name and Anne is her aunt's name. Don't call her Maggie or Mother-you are liable to get hit!! She is the oldest of 3 siblings, the only left hander, the only one that never smoked or drank coffee. She calls herself the black sheep of the family!
When my mom was only 24 years old, she lost her dad whom she was very close to. He passed away from Crohn's Disease. I can't even imagine losing my dad, especially at that age. She has kept his memory alive for us. I feel like I really knew him even though I was the only grandchild he ever got to meet.

She is so talented and creative. She makes the most beautiful wedding cakes you have ever seen and can pretty much make a cake to resemble anything you could ask for. She loves the outdoors, gardening and being surrounded by family and friends. And I think she is beautiful too!

My mom is my best friend. I can't imagine not having her in my life. She was there for me when I had my first kiss, my first broken heart and everything in between. I am so much like her in so many different ways. Sometimes I even sound like her! I can't wait to have babies of my own because I know that she will be the best grandma ever to them. I am so thankful for her and wish her the happiest birthday ever. I love you mom!

L-O-V-E

2011-01-28T19:07:00.011-07:00

L-O-V-E L is for the way you look at me...
O is for the only one I see...
V is very, very extraordinary...
E is even more than anyone that you adore and...

LOVE is all that I can give to you.

LOVE is more than just a game for two.

Two in LOVE can make it

Take my heart and please don't break it.

LOVE was made for me and you!

One of my most favorite songs by Nat King Cole!

I made this LOVE banner after watching a video tutorial at Artful Affirmations.
Now making these banners is one of my new favorite things to do! I LOVE to make them!!

I won a giveaway from Petite Michelle Louise and all of the beautiful PINK pretties made me swoon! I LOVE everything she sent me!

There is a tote bag, tags, crinkled seam binding, a stamp and some fench paper cutouts. It all came wrapped in a fun vintage sewing pattern. Even though I know what I am getting, it is still so fun to open the package and see everything in person! I always like to send thank you cards whenever someone is generous enough to give me something. Here is the card I made to send to Petite Michelle Louise. Thank you for your kindness!

Hoping everyone has a wonderful weekend filled with lot's of LOVE!

I am linking up with How Sweet the Sound's Pink Saturday!