I'm back and busy

Well, we made it through the whole Dallas and 7am flight thing. It was an experience. Not all of it good. I wrote about some of that over on my other blog. If you care to read it - check it out over there. I don't want to write any of that unpleasantness in here. 

Anyway - we are home and I am BUSY!

I went to Ace Hardware this weekend for their big Memorial Day sale and bought 2 of those $25 Adirondack chairs. They are awesome for the money. BUT they are raw, natural wood. So my big holiday weekend project is that I'm staining them (and their bizilion pieces) a dark walnut color. Then I'll poly them. Then after they are fully dried we'll put them together. When all of that is done I'll do a reveal post! I'm starting to get excited about our back patio space!!!

In the meantime though I'm going to give you a teaser of another project I just finished. I just have to get it hung up and I'll do a whole post about it. 

So for now here is something to tied you over

It is a hanging quilt rack I got at my Fav thrift store for $5. Except I don't need a hanging quilt rack.

Just a tease of what it is becoming!

Hope everyone is having a fun and SAFE holiday weekend! 

Wear Sunscreen!!!

Gone for a couple of days

We are all really sad today. 

I am taking my 12 yr old to Big D today and putting him on a flight tomorrow morning to Seattle to go and spend the next 5 weeks with his dad. 

It's ok and it's a good thing for him to be with his dad.

But, we are sad too.

We love our bubba in this house. 

We love him BIG TIME. 

So, I'll be out of pocket for a couple of days and then, when I get back, will probably be pretty sad for a bit.
I'll try and get back to posting soon.

My Alec

We'll miss you Bubba. Have fun and come home safe.

Front Porch Flower Pots

I've been working on our front porch a little here and a little there.

Truthfully, the actual PORCH needs to be resurfaced and I'm currently researching that because, frankly, I don't want them to have to rip the thing off and re-pour it. Can you say headache? And expensive? And HUGE project?
I'm in denial.
So I'm looking into things for crack repair...and inexpensive ways to cover the ugly cement. 

In the meantime though, back to the flower pots. 

In an effort to minimize the ugliness of the cement and the cracks - I've been sprucing up the existing area to attempt to make what I have a bit prettier. 

Husband again - insists - I'm in denial...and something about trying to make a sow's ear into a silk purse....

I maintain that I can't help myself. 

The space is not done so I don't want to show you all of it.

So here are some teasers...

I decided to paint my 2 flower pots that sit on our porch steps. I got the idea from Miss Kimm over at Reinvented.

I was smitten with her front porch flower pots. So much so that I copied got completely inspired by them and had to make my own.

Here they are before

Plain ol'pots. They already had my geraniums in them and they aren't even real terracotta - they are the plastic look alikes.

I brought them into the backyard and put a plastic bag over the flowers. Then I spray painted the plastic pots with some flat black spray paint. I let it dry and gave it another coat. Let that dry about 2 hrs.

Then I spounced on some large white polka dots randomly. I just used some white outdoor paint that we already had. Let that dry another 2 hrs.Then I sprayed on some poly to seal them.

And this is what I got!

I think it's awful cute!
I've already have 3 different ladies stop and ask me where I bought them! 

Ok, like I said, ignore the ugly cement. Hopefully we'll get to that soon.
Oh and I think I may paint our front door black. What do you think?
I have this whole black and white thing working on our front porch area.

I'm linking up with

Domestically Speaking and her POPP

and It's So Very Cheri

Thanks for looking!

Mirrored Candle Sconces

Well, remember my dining room - the one I had juuuuusssssst about finished? Remember that it still needed one more thing???

That one more thing I needed for the walls were mirrored candle sconces. 

Like this

But a little less modern

more like this - I heart this one but not the price tag :(

These are not terrible expensive (like some I found - $200 each - egad!) - but I'm still not paying $50 each.

This is what I wanted but couldn't find. They were either too expensive OR if they were the right price, they were much too small. I needed something to be about 24 inches tall and around 12 inches wide. I needed it to be a rather substantial piece on the wall. Not a tiny, small, little thing. 

So, since I couldn't find what I wanted - I made it!

First, I pulled out 2 old mirrors I had used when I was attempting a mirror wall - that didn't work out so much but, like any good hoarder decorator I kept all the mirrors!

 Then I went shopping to try and find 2 small taper holders. 

Don't even get me started on how hard that turned out to be. Seriously. Any other time I would see small taper holders everywhere. Except when I am looking for them. *sigh* 

Anywhooo - I settled on two from Hobby Lobby. They were on sale for .99 cents each. 

And I also picked up some Epoxy at Hobby Lobby too.

I was a little intimidated by the Epoxy at first - but the stuff mixes easily and goes on smoothly. I think it's AWESOME now! I'm a believer!

So then I figured out where to Epoxy the taper holders onto all the scroll work on the mirrors. 

Added the Epoxy, put the taper holders on, attempted to keep them level...

and held my breath....

for 5 hours...until I couldn't stand it anymore

And I hung them up

Yes, that is my wine glass. Probably why the picture is off center. oops!

But I'm thrilled with how they turned out!

They stayed up, nothing fell, no drapes caught fire!
Ohmygoodness - my idea works!

Again, these are just teaser shots of the dining room. A real, true reveal is coming...but currently the husband has the dining room as a work surface as he is re-doing the windows in our bedroom. He scrapes and sands outside...then brings them inside to stain one side and paint the other - in the dining room. Ah....such is life when you are renovating a home!
When he is finished with all that craziness I will do a dining room reveal post!

My lesson in all of this was that if you can't find what you want - make it! This project cost me $5.50 - $2 for the 2 taper holders and $3.50 for the Epoxy!

I'm linkin up with

The Girl Creative

The DIY Showoff



It's So Very Cheri



 Sumo's Sweet Stuff

and Tools Are For Women, too!

What are you waiting for?

Seriously - what are YOU waiting for?

For most of my life, I had things I wanted to do, accomplish, see, buy, make, etc, etc, etc...
Sound familiar? I always had plans to do or get or whatever these things...some day...

Last summer I had my third child, my little girl, and woke up the next week with Bell's Palsy.
Half my face was gone. It didn't work. I could no longer smile. I could no longer blink. I couldn't speak well. Eating was a challenge and I wouldn't drink anything in front of anyone else because much of what I put in my mouth would fall out the paralyzed side. It was embarrassing. Humiliating. Frustrating. Heart rending.

Until a couple of weeks later when they sent me for a routine brain MRI (standard protocol for Bell's patients). They called me to tell me they saw a brain tumor - unrelated to the Bell's. Three MRI's later and they had found a total of 3 tumors; 2 in the brain - both benign, and 1 behind my right eye. None related to the Bell's. The benign tumors in my brain still have to be watched b/c if and when they begin to cause problems (if they keep growing) then they have to come out. In 2 separate brain surgeries. The one behind my eye - they aren't sure if it is benign or not yet. They have to keep monitoring it. Best case scenario is that I just go blind in that eye. Slowly. Worst case is that it is malignant, grows aggressively, and will have to be removed - along with my right eye.

All of a sudden the Bell's wasn't so awful.

Just so you know, I am 37. I am healthy. I don't take any pills for anything other than a multi-vitamin. I am 106 pounds. We eat healthy. We are active. I don't smoke.
By all reason none of this should be happening to me. I never saw this coming - not in my wildest dreams.

But it still happened to me.

There is still a TON of this stuff that is unknown. The doctors simply can't tell me exactly how any of this will play out.

Here's what I want anyone who is actually still reading this to take away - stop waiting on tomorrow.

Seriously. Stop waiting. GO DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU WANT TO DO. Tomorrow may not come or if it does it may not arrive like you thought it would. Stop waiting on some day.

Make your life like you want it NOW. Live your life. Live it now. Please don't wait.

Enjoy it. Live it. Appreciate it. Notice the small things. SMILE. Show gratitude. Be mindful. Be humble. 

And don't take a second of it for granted.

Wordless Wednesday

Some pics of the Piper

inspecting the ground

inspecting the roses

spies mommy...*squeal!*

flowers are more interesting though

hmmm....I'm pretty sure I could get those snapdragons...

*squeal!*

grabbing for the camera

And a couple of Max

He *mowed* all day with daddy on Sunday

Literally beside his daddy while his dad mowed - Max walked with his bubble mower

He was very proud of himself...but very tired.

He said later that night, "Dad, we mowed a lot today, didn't we?"

:)

Happy Wednesday!

Mossy Topiaries

I'll tell you a secret....lean in close....

I have secretly and quietly

coveted 

Topiaries for a looooooong time.

But I was too cheap to pay the $49 or more for ONE.

Like these from Ballard Designs.

Love them. But nope. Wasn't gonna happen. Not for $50 each.

But then I started seeing all these little DIY topiaries around blog land. 

And I got inspired.

I was in Gordmans the other day I found some little Moss balls. And some boxwood balls. 

They were PERFECT for a DIY topiary. 

So I came home and did this.

Mossy ball topiaries!

I had to move them into the dining room to get better light for the photo.

These cost me exactly $14.50 (or $7.25 each) to make.

Please excuse the windows in the back but the husband is currently in the process of stripping and redoing all 9 from our bedroom. 

Anyway - back to the Topes. 

The Moss Ball was on clearance for $5.99.

The little tin pot they are in were $1 each at Dollar Tree.

I had the spanish moss already. 

The stick is from my yard. 

And the green floral foam that is in the bottom of the white base was $1 for 4 of them at the Dollar Tree. There is one in the bottom of the white base. 

On my mantle where they are going to live.

These were SO easy. 

I literally found two sticks in the yard and snapped them to be about the same size.

Came in and used a knife to make a hole in the moss balls - then jammed one end of the stick into the hole.

I put the green floral foam in the bottom of the white pot and jammed the other end of the stick into it.

Then I tossed some spanish moss on top and VOILA! Topiaries!!!

I'm addicted now. 

Must make more with the other balls!

This is totally easy - you should do this!!!!!

I'm linkin up with

Sumo's Sweet Stuff

Making the World Cuter Mondays

and at The Girl Creative

And remember - as soon as I hit 50 followers I'll be doing a giveaway of some beautiful, hand stamped, one of a kind jewelry!!!