Making up for lost time

I hosted Bunco last October and am finally getting to share with you.  I had the most fun decorating and cooking for our monthly get-together.  I made Taco Soup that was topped with delicious goodies that was supplied by my good friend Stacy.

I painted the drawers that I was able to recover from my grandmother's sewing machine cabinet and used them to hold plates, napkins and utensils.

 Galvanized buckets held our Bunco score cards and pencils.  Our talented oldest son designed our score cards from adorable free images I found on the internet.  I also attached these images to the front of another two buckets that held our candy.  Sweet Stacy also supplied this candy for us. 

 I used my old ladder that I found on the side of the road and painted to hold our buckets.  And yes, you did see this same ladder in my previous post.  I used it to hang our Christmas stockings.  It worked out great since we do not have a fireplace and mantel.

 Did you notice these sweet bird on the top of the ladder?  I found him at the local dollar store and made  a little party hat for him out of a book page and glitter.

And since Bunco Girls can never have enough sweets to munch on while rolling the dice, I made this delicious, addicting snack mix.  It is made with popcorn, Reece's Pieces and dry roasted peanuts covered with melted almond bark. 

We have the most fun when we get together for Bunco and I especially enjoyed hosting at my house.  I do hope that I am blessed to be able to do it again soon.

It's been much too long

I can't believe how long it has been since I posted, but thought that sharing pictures from Christmas would be a  wonderful way to chime in. 

My Christmas decorations were a little more simpler than previous years, but I really enjoyed them.  And especially enjoyed the time with my family and friends.

Hope yours were wonderful, too.

My New Good Friend

I now have a new friend; a very good new friend.  And my kitchen thanks me.

The stainless steel appliances in my kitchen were in desperate need of a good shine, so I decided to try this vintage cleanser.  Yes, I said vintage; sounds better than old don't you think?

No strong, harmful chemicals; just a wet cloth and a little powder cleanser and now my kitchen is shining bright.  Even my tea kettle and coffee pot and carafe are shining.  And my white canisters that had become grungy with dust and grime from being in the kitchen?  They are now nice and clean, too.  

Creativity of the Heart and Soul

My new Inspiration. 

I found this on Pinterest and it just speaks to me so loudly and gives me the inspiration to follow and answer that little voice from within my heart and soul.  Sometimes it whispers and then sometimes it seems to be yelling and screaming for me to get going and create something.  Not just dream or make plans, but to actually do it!

And thankfully, after this Thursday, I am cutting my working hours from 40+ to just working 8-5 on Wednesdays and 9-1 on Saturdays.  Yes!!  Time to create!!  

And perfect timing to get ready for the beginning of September start to a new homeschooling year with our two youngest.  Not to mention the household cleaning and cooking that unfortunately has been neglected the past few months.  And I am sure all my boys are looking forward to more homemade cookies and treats.

Love and Blessings!

A Few Memories of Spring

Even though it is technically still Spring, here in the South it is feeling more like summer is already here.  We have been reaching into the 90's most days, except for a few days when scattered thunderstorms have cooled things off for a little while.

But here are a few pictures of my small clothes line my sweet husband assembled for me.  

This is my laundry bag I purchased a few years ago at Target.  I love it's Shabby Chic style and love to hang it on my closet door to catch my clothes.  That is when they don't actually wind up on the floor.  I know; I am horribly messy when it comes to putting laundry away.  We will not talk about the laundry that winds up on the kitchen table.  At least it is usually folded.

 Hanging clothes.  Yes, those are my two favorite pair of pajama pants. The green and white paisley ones have a ruffle on the bottom of the legs.  My husband calls them my 70's bell bottom pajamas.

Don't you just love these purple flowers?  A sweet Easter gift from my husband (see just how sweet he is!).

They are right outside my back door and the other day I could not resist picking a few when I remembered this old sugar bowl I had and knew they would look perfect nestled inside.

Thanks for visiting.  My new job has had me busy, but hopefully I can find time again soon to post and hopefully to also visit you, my sweet friends!

New Job

I haven't been on here in a week, but I have a pretty good excuse.  I started a new job last Thursday!  It is at a small pharmacy that is family owned and managed.  It has actually been in business here in our town for 58 years!  I have never worked retail before, always secretarial, but I think I am going to really enjoy it.  And also a change for us all because I am not worked outside of the house for 2 years, since we moved back to my hometown. Now I am striving to learn everything required and get the boys settled and into a routine along with me.  I will certainly be researching slow cooker and fast and easy meals!  And also trying to find time to satisfy my addictions by visiting my favorite bloggers, Facebook and Pinterest.  Busy, busy, but good times!

Lowes Giveaway at French Country Cottage

Courtney at French Country Cottage is sponsoring a giveaway and the winner will receive a $100 gift card from Lowes.  How exciting!!  Visit French Country Cottage and see the fabulous makeover of Courtney's office and you will be inspired to add some beauty to a room of your own.

Cake Bunting

I think cake bunting is just the most adorable idea and after seeing so many cute ideas of Pinterest, I decided to try it myself.  This is a strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting cake I made to take to Cathy, a dear friend's house for a ladies' get-together.  I just used scrapbook paper and cut out the little pendants and glued them to a waxed string and tied the string to bamboo skewers.  This is definitely something I will be making again in the future.  What a sweet way to add something to an otherwise ordinary decorated cake. 

We had such gorgeous light from the sunshine streaming into her dining area that the picture is a little hazy, but look what a beautiful scene of her table and dining area of her gorgeous house.

Cottage in the Oaks Giveaway

Don't you just love this petite chalkboard?  I can just see it on my kitchen counter to post the dinner menu or just a little note to my family.  

Would you like a chance to win one?  If so, head over to French Country Cottage and enter to win a chalkboard just like this from Cottage in the Oaks. 

 And Courtney at French Country Cottage has a code for a 20% discount at Cottage in the Oaks. 

 So hurry over today!

Little Happies

Don't you just love a day when a few little happies come your way?

Some you make for yourself....

 Crackers and garlic & herb cheese.

 A little extra fresh lemon and lime added to my citrus soda.

And some come unexpectantly.....

Just look what I found in my mailbox early this afternoon!

 Don't you just love when you receive an envelope from a company and your name and address is HAND WRITTEN?  Something about that makes me feel so special.

 Samples of linen that I requested just a few days ago from Rough Linen and the request had actually slipped my mind.

Don't those colors and textures just make you swoon?!  Sigh....

Make you sure you go to the Rough Linen site and watch the videos and also go to Tricia's blog -

 Cabin on the Water.  Tricia is also on Facebook and Pinterest!  And you can also request your own fabric samples and receive a happy for yourself!

Easter 2012

Even though I am running a little late, I wanted to share some Easter decorations around our cottage.  I loved the natural feel that I was able to accomplish this year.

These are some eggs I made.  The were all made from plastic eggs.  The moss ones were made by putting hot glue on the eggs and applying spanish moss that I purchased.  The eggs covered in book pages were decoupaged from old books that I purchased from the book sale table at our local library.

A carrot cake cupcake.  No, I am afraid it is not home-made.  During Easter I was only 4 weeks into recovery from a major surgery and Easter was a little laid back this year.  I was able to put together a nice family dinner for us with my husband's help.  We had the traditional ham with delicious sides.  I was just not able to do the baking that I always love to do.  However, everything was wonderful.

 And oh, these eggs came from our 4 hens!  I blew them out and arranged them in this glass vase with a couple of white feathers.