Let's Visit the Dining Room

 Today we are visiting the dining room.  This is the most "formal" eating area in our home.  Our great room has a weird shape, and this section is on the very front of the house.  When we moved here, I had this gorgeous table and china cabinet.  I love the cabinet so much, I couldn't bear to part with it.  I started to make it a library, but...you know how that goes.  Money, money, money, yada, yada, yada.  So, the table and cabinet fond a home there. 

This house has a huge kitchen with room for an 8 foot table which is perfect for my family.  Most of our time is spent in the kitchen, so it's only natural that we primarily eat in there.  However, I love the way this more formal dining space flows with my great room. 

Most of the decor in this space is from Kirkland's.  I made the orchid centerpiece a couple of years ago, and it has moved all over the house.  I like it best here, I believe, because it goes perfectly with the chairs and the Kirkland's art between the windows.  Here's a closer look at the centerpiece...

The dishes and glasses are from Beall's.  Beall's is a Florida deparatment store for those of you that don't have one near you.  I love these white shell dishes - got them for HALF off, making the plates and bowls about $3 each!  The napkin rings are Pottery Barn, and so is the flatware.  I am in love with this flatware, by the way, but I can't afford it.  LOL!!  So, I have created my very own Pottery Barn Layaway Plan.  Every time I go in the store, I buy a set.  This way my husband doesn't I don't notice the cost of it as much, and before I know it, I will have the 12 place settings I need.  Pretty clever, huh?



My curtains are "no sew"...Remember, I don't sew?  LOL!!  They are just long panels of material ($6 a yard!!) folded and clipped with curtaian rings.  Doesn't matter that they're not store bought formal draperies, they do the trick and match my couch to a "T".  I tried lighter colors on the windows, but with all the light in this room, they just faded into oblivion.  I think these tie the entire room together perfectly.

See why I couldn't bear to sell the china cabinet?? I think it is one of my favorite pieces of furniture.  The metalwork on the doors is totally fabulous!



And, finally, here's a view looking back from the great room living area. 

Linking up to Debbie's Newbie Party!





And also par-tay-ing over with Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Table Top Tuesday, Linda at Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays, and on Thursday with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch!!

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For the Love of Pillows.. Stenciled Burlap Pillow

I am obsessed with pillows.  There, I said it.  I love, love, love, love pillows!!!  I just don't think I can ever have enough.  When you add in the fact that I love burlap and damask, well, you see where this is going.

Let me just go ahead and straight up tell you that I can't sew SQUAT. And while I'm confessing....I'll go ahead and add this little tidbit.....  When I was in the 10th grade and took Home Ec, I really didn't sew my shirt I had to make to get an "A".  I messed it up pretty bad and ended up taking it home to finish.  Instead I took it to a local seamstress.  She helped me straighten it out, and I took it back to school the next day.  Don't get all crazy on me, I did it.  Yes, I know...what kind of principal CHEATS on her Home Ec homework???  The kind that now knows all the tricks the kids have up their sleeves, like taking home their Home  Ec homework.  LOL!!  (That was the only "bad" thing I ever did in school for the record.)

Anywho, I can hot glue up a storm, and who needs to sew when you have hot glue? Now, I surely wouldn't wear a shirt or skirt I hotglued together, but I don't mind a few hotglued pillows!!  (I did lose a wraparound skirt off me once at OpryLand when I was like 10, so after that traumatic little incident I won't be wearing anything ever again held on by strings much less hot glue.)

I started out with some burlap, I think it was about a 1/2 yard.  I didn't measure it out, I just cut it to the size I wanted.  (It was a scrap piece leftover from this fall.)  I took one piece and taped the damask stencil to the fabric.  I then used a black fabric marker to color in the template.   The fact it isn't totally black is just fine with me.  I like the different shading, it makes it look "old" to me.  By the way, this dries fairly quickly!

After it dried, I then hotglued up three sides, filled it with polyfill (leftover "snow" from Christmas I had in the closet).  Next, I quickly folded over the last side and hotglued it together.  You will have to "pinch" this side in place for a few minutes to ensure it holds. 

Keep in mind, this is a "decorative" pillow.  If the hotglue comes off, just reglue it!  This little project cost me absolutely NOTHING since I already had all the materials.  If I had guess, I think you could make a couple for under $10.  The major cost would be the material and the stencil.

Pretty cute for a hotglue job, huh?

I'm linking up to Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday! 

By the way, I was featured over there this week for my grapevine window wreath last week!!!! THANKS, LINDA!  YOU MADE MY DAY!!!

Beach Birthday

It's hard for me to believe, but my "babies" turned seven on Saturday!!!  It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant (what a shocker that was!!),  and then they were born. 

The years have flown by so quickly!  On Saturday, we celebrated their 7th birthday.  We stayed at the beach the entire weekend and just enjoyed some quiet time.  We had a beach themed birthday party just for our own family, and we had fun just doing nothing much at all.

Me with my only daughter, Laiken.  I didn't fix my hair at ALL the entire weekend, nor did I put on anything besides a swimsuit and flipflops -- not even any makeup!!  I enjoyed that so much since I have to dress up for work every day.  It was nice to unplug and unwire. 

We made sand castles and played in the water while the boys fished...  They caughts LOTS of fish!!!

Of course we took time out for a very special birthday party....

What a great weekend!!  If you've never been to the Gulf Coast, you have missed a treat. I am so lucky to live in such a beautiful place!!!

Happy Birthday to my "babies"!!!  They were the best Mother's Day present anyone could ever imagine. 

Linking up to Debbie Doo's Newbie Party!

Something Old, Something New

Two of my favorite things are old windows and old picture frames.  I love to repurpose them, and I love to mix them with the unexpected for a new, fresh look.  We have a local antique store that has TONS of old windows out front where you can score some amazing finds for $5 to $10.  Here's a great idea for using an old window frame outside in a new way...

Attach your window frame to the wall, and add a window box near the base.  By simply attaching a window box and adding a springeri fern to the base of the window,  you can create an entire new look for your outdoor spaces for just a few dollars. 

Here's another great idea for using an old frame outside....Attach the frame to the wall (this frame was attached using L shaped hooks).  Take two grapevine wreaths of different sizes and wire together.  Hang the wreaths inside the frame.  Attach a window box near the base of the frame and add a springeri fern.  Again, an entire new look with repurposed items!

By mixing something old and something new, it's super simple to create unique outdoor displays that are high on style but won't break the bank!

Linking to Debbie Doo's Newbie Party, Southern Hospitality's Thrifty Treasures, The Tattered Tag's Keep it Simple Sunday, Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, and Savvy  Southern Style's Wow Us Wednesdays.

Precious Memories

Life is filled with precious memories that are like snapshots in our minds.  Some are big events, others are those unplanned things that just somehow unexpectedly stick in our memory like velcro.  Growing up, I always measured my life by the "big events".  I remember thinking when I graduated from high school that the next big event I would have would be my wedding.  I remember when I had my first son one of the first thoughts I had the next day was would I have more children and experience this same joy and happiness ever again? 

One of my first " big events" with my husband was our Senior Prom.  Don't laugh, but you know you had hair like this if you were around in the 80s... Hair like that took skill!!!

You gotta love that Aqua Net!!!  Now, let's fast forward 24 years...  My son and his girlfriend, Prom 2011...

Love, love, love her dress!  It's a Tony Bowls high-low dress.  If you notice, the dress has two long layers of different material with a shorter skirt underneath.  GORGEOUS!! 



Love this closeup photo of them...

My parents with the happy couple.... We were so glad they could be with us.  My dad has terminal cancer and has been given only a few months to live.  We are thankful for every big event he gets to share with us.

I especially wanted to show you a closeup of her corsage.  Here's a tip for those of you in the market for prom flowers.  To get a unique, one-of-a-kind corsage that no one else will have, ask the seamstress for any/all scrap fabric and/or beading from the gown.  Take that to the florist.  When they go to create the corsage, the florist can then work some of these pieces into the corsage.  This dress would not have been easy to match.  However, look at what the florist was able to come up with for them using the leftover scraps of material and beading...

It was a wonderful evening!  It's so fulfilling to see my "baby" boy grow into such a handsome, amazing young man.  WOW, do I feel old tonight!!

See you tomorrow with some ideas for easy ways to spruce up your outdoor spaces!

Nobody Better Lay a Finger on My Butterfinger...Cake, That Is!

My grandmother always said after a meal that she wanted "just a taste" of something sweet.  Well, I promise you that can't take "just a taste" of this yummy-in-your-tummy Butterfinger Cake!!!  It's super simple to make and delicious!  You can actually make this cake with other candybars, such as Heath Bars or Snickers Bars.  I just used Butterfinger bars because my son loves them.

Butterfinger Cake

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix (I used Devil's Food)

3 Butterfinger bars

1 can sweetened condensed milk

container of chocolate syrup for drizzling

container of caramel ice cream syrup for drizzling

1 large container of Cool Whip

Prepare chocolate cake mix according to directions on the box. Pour into 13x9 pan and bake according to directions on box.  While cake is still warm, poke holes in cake and pour one can of sweetened condensed milk over the top of cake, making sure the condensed milk sinks into some of the holes in the cake.  Next, drizzle a little chocolate syrup and a little caramel syrup over the cake while still warm.  Crush one Butterfinger bar and sprinkle over cake.  (To make candybars easier to crush, store them in the freezer.) Allow cake to cool.  Once cake has cooled, spread Cool Whip over the top of the cake.  Drizzle chocolate syrup and caramel syrup over the top of the cake.  Break up the remaining Butterfinger bars and sprinkle over the top of the cake.  Drizzle a little more chocolate and caramel syrup over the top of the crushed candybars.  Refrigerate until serving.  Best served cold.

Not the most beautiful cake in the world, but it is divine!  Here's a closeup of a yummy hunk of cake...

Bet you can't eat just one bite!!