January 29, 2011

{ A Bit of Life }

I've added a little bit of life to the house.

It's amazing how a few live plants & especially flowers can freshen up a room.

It's been a beautiful, sunny week here & I guess it has inspired me to grow something.
I just hope I can keep them alive. :)

January 20, 2011

{ Pictures on my Camera }

one of my favorite Christmas gifts

making bread


my lunch smiling at me

fun, new cane

yum!

i love new crayons & markers

wooden spoon found on clearance
i love wooden spoons
and clearances :) 

my sink gave me a little "love"

new pillow for the couch from here

January 18, 2011

{ Self-Portraits...EEK! }

Remember in my last post I told you about Little Miss Momma? Well, she gave some tips on taking self-portraits a few days ago so, I thought I'd give it a try for fun. I am very uncomfortable taking pictures of myself or having them taken, but lately I've been trying to change my attitude about that. I decided I want my kids to see the person behind the camera, so to speak, and get into those pictures with them.

Today Little Miss Momma is hosting a Self-Portrait Link Party & I decided to join.

This is very uncomfortable for me, but I'm hoping this will help me get over this insecurity already. Who knows, maybe I'll even join The Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday parties soon. :)

I would love to see some of your self-portraits. Go HERE for those tips on taking pictures of yourself & join the party!

January 12, 2011

{ Craft Days }

This week, the hubster went skiing. Yay, for him & yay, for me. I find it's much easier to haul out my crafting supplies & leave them all over the dining table when he is away. And, that's just what I did!

I've been wanting to try some ideas I've seen for hair accessories. It was really fun and Ms. Sassypants {who happens to be my model} thinks it's awesome because she gets to wear them.

1. Rolled Felt Flower

I completely copied this idea from eighteen 25. What a fabulous blog!

2. Felt Flower Headband


3. Button Collage Headband

Okay, I made this one up. I had all of these buttons & thought they were so fun together. Sassy says it's her favorite. It's so nice when an idea in your head actually works.

4. Pom Pom Bib Necklace (and Headband)

I recently found the Little Miss Momma blog & have really enjoyed it. She is such a cute little gal & very creative! As I was looking through her tutorials, I saw this necklace & knew I wanted to make one. Sassy says she's going to keep it for herself. 

Then using the same method, made some larger ones for a headband.

It was so much fun getting to check some items off of my "project to try" list.

**updated** P.to.the.S. I've linked up to Little Miss Momma

click on picture above to go to her blog

January 6, 2011

{ Goals for my Home }

First of all, thank you for your comments regarding my dinner dilemma. Every comment had some really good ideas! I appreciate you taking the time to give me some suggestions. I feel even more confident now that I will be able to figure out a way to overcome my dinner dilemmas.

I thought I'd finished writing my goals for 2011 until I read this post on Nesting Place. In a nutshell, she talked about having goals for your home. I'd never thought of this before, but thought it was a great idea and sat down with my husband and we made some goals for our home.

The Garden:

 We would like to {a} build up the garden boxes so they're taller & can hold more good soil and {b} install a drip system.

{these pictures were taken two years ago}

And {c} plant a glorious garden that will be completely successful. :)

The Dining Room:

I really want to add a dining hutch this big empty wall. See it up there? I've been collecting things to put in it for quite a while. I have it all envisioned in my brain, I just need to make the purchase. Oh, yeah, and save my pennies. :)

On the other side of the room, we just need a little bit of accessorizing on these two walls. But, it takes me a long time to decide what I like. I'm determined to get it done by the end of this year.

The Entry:

The other big area that I would like to get decorated this year is in our "entry".


This is the only place we have to put the piano & it's a big, player piano. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to decorate around this big sucker. The top is so large that little accessories get lost. I think I might have found some inspiration yesterday in this month's issue of Better Homes & Gardens, though, so my fingers are crossed that we can get this done this year too.

After all of that, I love what the Nester said..."Continue to be content living with imperfection".

So, now that you know a few of my home goals for 2011, do you have any? Go check out Nester's 2011 home goals and find others who are talking about theirs { including me :) }.

January 3, 2011

{ Happy New Year }

Whew! The kids are back in school & I, finally, have a moment to write on the blog!

I am busy making resolutions for this year like most of the world. Why does it seem like I'm writing down the same goals every year? I'm sure that doesn't happen for anyone else. One of my big goals this year {as in past years} is to cook more dinners for my family. Ugh!

Yes, ugh! This is the same goal I've had since we got married. That's 18 years! And after contemplating that very fact this morning, I sat down & recognized some facts.

Fact #1- I don't like cooking so much. Baking, yes...cooking, not so much. I will spend all day in the kitchen baking bread, cookies, muffins, you name it, but please don't ask me to brown some meat & chop veggies. I can't for the life of me figure out why I'm like that.


Fact #2- I don't think about what we should have for dinner until it's dinner time. This means I have to rifle through the cupboards to see what we have, that won't take too long to cook & then try to throw something edible together. Yah, that doesn't work so well.

Fact #3- My kids are picky eaters. Isn't it the worst when you spend all that time in the kitchen making what you think is a wonderful meal & nobody will eat it but you & your husband? Argh!


Fact #4- I feel like we are having the same meals over & over again. Now, I realize this happens because of problem #2 & 3 but, what to do?

So, with all of these facts/obstacles, I really do have a strong conviction that sitting down and eating dinner together as a family is essential & I am determined to do a better job at it this year. Tonight we're having potato cheese soup. After this post, I will be living it up in the kitchen cutting up potatoes, chopping veggies & whatever else to get a good meal on the table tonight.

And, I would love to hear your ideas that might help me in my resolve. You're the best!

**By the way, the photos above were taken by the one & only Meg. I love, love, love her & have talked about her on our blog quite a few times. She was out here last year {haha...that sounds so long ago} & offered to do some photo sessions. She wrote about it on her blog here. Of course, I jumped at the chance not only to meet her, cuz, duh!...she's amazing...but to benefit from her talent as a photographer. {Another by the way, I acted like such a dork during our session. I didn't want to come off as a crazy "fan", but didn't want to try too hard to be funny, but didn't want to be nerdy so I ended up coming off as odd & weird instead...nice. On the other hand, she was so warm & friendly.}

She really is amazing & I've found inspiration in her love for God, her desire to help, her decorating {especially for Sassypant's room }, her photography, her craftiness & yes, I've even tried some of her recipes. My kids love her chicken & biscuits dish & it's super easy. An essential for me. :) Thanks, Meg, for everything!