Contest!!! Here is my submission....

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family?  That we will all be together and not to lose sight of the true meaning of CHRISTmas!

2. What is your Christmas morning / Hanukkah Nightly tradition? Breakfast with the family after opening gifts.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? An IPad.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? We listen to Christmas music constantly and watch Christmas movies/cartoons.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Scrabble, monopoly, then we had our first Nintendo and we loved Duck Hunt. That was a family favorite.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Our family gathers Christmas Eve and we have a huge meal of appetizers, dips, punches and just visit and enjoy each other's company.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas/Hanukkah-away-from-home trip?  Disney World

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?  Nintendo DSiXL for my son, Wii Fitness and Tony Hawk Shred for Wii.

Can I have a day off, puhlease???

Like many of you, I work full time.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my job and am so thankful to have it, but I am thinking that the work week (at least for me anyway) needs to be a Monday through Thursday affair.  I have so many things I want to do and make and give but there never seems to be enough time in the day.  By the time I leave the office, pick up my son from after-school care and get home, it's 6:00 p.m.  Usually hubby has dinner ready unless he's out of town, so that  puts us at 7:00 p.m. by the time the food is eaten and the kitchen is cleaned up.  Our son goes to bed around 8:30 so that now leaves me 1.5 hours to spend with my child, talk to my husband, do laundry, clean the house (not likely), work on my projects, etc. because I am no longer a night owl...I.MUST.SLEEP. at least 7-9 hours each night.  I just can't hang anymore.  I cannot stay up until 11 or 12 every night and then get up at 5:30 or 6 every morning for work. 

I just need a day off to get everything done that I can get done....yeah, right....I just can't justify asking for it.  "Um, excuse me...um, my craft projects are falling behind and my house isn't properly decorated for Christmas...may I take a day off??"  I don't think so.  =)

So, I'll just keep plugging away at getting done what I can accomplish when I can accomplish it. 

On a happier note, we did get one of our Christmas trees up and mostly decorated last night!!

Mom Cave in Progress

My Daddy came back to town to help me finish up the workspace table for my Mom Cave.  Here are a few pictures of the work in progress, taken by my 5 1/2 year old and his mad camera-clicking skills.

I wanted a large workspace and this seemed like the most logical place to put a table.  Of course, I couldn't find a table to fit the spot that fit my budget, so I enlisted my retired-and-loves-to-piddle father.  He built a frame for the table and then we cut shower board to fit the frame.  My jigsaw skills lack much to be desired, so we trimmed it out in pretty molding that I picked out.  We used small ballusters (sp??) as the legs and screwed them into the frame. 

Here is the end result.  I'm not finished organizing and getting things like I want them, but you get the general idea.

I got my valance hung and think it looks fantastic!

What do you think?

It's nice to feel loved...

I was featurued on my FAVE blog, Pure + Lovely.  Click HERE for the post!  She showed the pictures of my refinished china cabinet.

Thanks, Ashley!! 

Silhouette Giveaway from Pure + Lovely

My favorite fave blog to follow is Pure + Lovely .  Ashley over at P+L is hosting a Silhouette Giveaway.  You can win $50 in goodies.  You DO NOT have to have a Silhouette machine to use these products...scissors will do! So, get off your booty and go enter Ashley's contest!

                                      Here is her link: 

Yard Sale Finds

Yard sales...Ah, the cool mornings and junk to puruse. I truly enjoy a good yard sale.  I enjoy getting up early on Saturday morning, coffee cup in hand, GPS set and Craig's List ads listed by start time and location. My husband and son have no interest in getting up at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, so I enjoy this time by myself. 

When my parents were visiting this past weekend, there was a yard sale that they wanted to check out on Saturday morning.  I decided to tag along.  Here are a few things I picked up:



 

Shelf?  Shadow Box?





Ugly mirror, but I liked the shape and detail on the frame (not bad for $.50)



8x10 picture frame



Don't forget to follow my blog.  I'm just starting out and would love your support!  Thanks!

A HUGE THANK YOU!!

Wow...I asked for help and it arrived...in the form of a wonderful lady from California named Linda at lifeandlinda.blogspot.com.  Linda offered to give my disasterous looking blog a facelift and she did a fantastic job!  I am so thankful.  Check out her blog and sign up to follow her.

Another man's junk....well, you know....

My parents came to visit us Wednesday night.  They live about 2 1/2 hours away and were staying until Saturday.  I had previously emailed my Daddy a link to an Estate Sale I found on Craig's List a few weeks ago.  They went to see if they could scope out the goods on Thursday, but alas, nothing was outside.  So, bright and early Friday morning, they arrived on the scene.  (a little backstory....tangent?  No way!)  I am turning a small room in our upstairs into my Mom Cave.  I have never had a place for my scrapbooking/crafts/junk and this house we live in now finally has the space.  I told my Mama I wanted a barrel-shaped light fixture kind of like this.  I thought it would fit perfecly in the dormer area of my Mom Cave.  Back to the present...she called me from the Estate Sale and told me she found this!!  AND, best part is that they only wanted $10 for it.  TEN SMACKERS!  My kinda deal.  They also found this sweet solid wood bookcase for another $10.  Mama said she thought I could do something with it...um, she's catching on to my new hobby well!!!  "Bring me your tired, your weak, your needs to be painted and made fabulous again...." 

But, I digress...let me back up.  I had to intention of working on my Mom Cave this weekend.  My house was a mess, it was Halloween weekend, my parents were there and my in-laws were coming Saturday so I was just going to save it for another day. Well, my daddy had other plans.  He is retired and loves a good project.  I routinely call or email him with the phrase, "I've got a project...can you come help?"  The great part is that he has most any and all tool(s) that I could ever imagine using.  Besides, Logan loves a visit from his grandparents. 

When they arrived Wednesday night, I took Daddy upstairs to show him what I plan to do and what I envision doing with the space in the future.  I planned a wrapping paper station, storage and organization for my scrapbook supplies and a large, flat workspace with added lighting.  As soon as I started mentioning things, Daddy started making plans for this and that.  It's so funny to watch him get excited over building things and I love the time he and I spend together planning projects, shopping for supplies and executing our ideas.  I don't know many 30-something women who spend that kind of quality time with their dad's...especially once they are married with children.  Don't get me wrong, my Mama and I are very close and we do ALL the girlie things together, still, but I so enjoy and appreciate the time with my Daddy. Once I showed him what all I wanted to do to my room, we began rummaging around in the attic.  We found all kinds of scrap wood, paint, tile, molding and sheet rock that the original owners/builders left in the attic.  SCORE!  We found some pieces of wood to build the frame for the wrapping paper station.  By the time I got home from work on Thursday, he had the wrapping paper station completed except for painting it.  We finished it all up and got it mounted on the wall.  It looks fantastic and we made such great use of the small, awkward space!  I am so pleased!

Here is my Mom Cave in progress.  I chose some cute Amy Butler fabric and coordinating Free Spirit Park Slope leaf green dot fabric for the valance on my one window.  I may never have a daughter, so this room is going to be girlie.  I found a sweet girl, Tracey Wilson, on Etsy.com to make the valance.  She did a super-great job and I am so pleased!  Shen sent me back the extra fabric that I used to recover the chair that I bought on Craig's List.  The little desk I purchased from a local antique shop that is going out of business.  I found a few cute brass planters at a yard sale which I have painted white and will use for little knick-knack supplies on my table or on the larger surface.  I also scored this bookcase on Craig's List which I have painted white.  Looking now for some cutesie baskets/storage bins to hold inks/paper/scissors, etc. 

                     I am so happy with my Mom Cave in progress!!

gift wrap station

Craig's list chair repainted and seat recovered

Craig's list folding bookshelf; got to find some cute bins

                                  Gorgeous valance made by Tracey Wilson

We added shorter rows at the top for ribbon and larger rows on the bottom for large paper

BIG undertaking...

We have a HUGE foyer/hallway/entryway when you walk through the front door.  We've lived in this house for a year and I have been so stumped as to what to do with this large space.  I mean, it is huge.  It's wide and long....the walls look barren.  I came home one day and my husband had hung some random photo frames and crosses on the wall.  I hated the way they looked, but haven't ever taken them down.  I kept thinking I needed some large piece of furniture, but who has $1000 or more to spend on something like that??! 

I got the inspiration I needed after seeing this and this by two very talented ladies. I was on the hunt for a dresser/buffet/credenza that I could revamp and use it in my large foyer.  After scouring Craig's List for a few weeks, I found exactly what I was looking for!!

 It's now sitting in my foyer full of serving pieces, bowls and wedding gifts (from 7 years ago) that had no home.  A great friend and neighbor gave me two buffet lamps and I am in the market for some new shades for them.  The cost of my new buffet, you might ask???  $40!  It's solid wood, weighs about 300 pounds (or that's what my hubby said when he tried to get it in the house) and has fantastic design and the original hardware is beautiful!  I can't wait to start painting away!!  I am thinking I'll paint it similarly to my china cabinet that I recently redid.  What do you think?  Stay tuned...

Mom Cave Linky Party!!

This is my first Linky Party entrance.                                                     

  Between Naps on the Porch Mom Cave Linky Party!!

I am turning a small room in our upstairs into my Mom Cave.  I have purchased a few small things for this room, but need storage and organization....a rug would be a nice addition, too.

I planned a wrapping paper station, storage and organization for my scrapbook supplies and a large, flat workspace with added lighting.  We accomplished the wrapping paper organization and it looks fantastic.  I'll post pictures ASAP.

Here is my Mom Cave in progress.  I chose some cute Amy Butler fabric and coordinating Free Spirit Park Slope leaf green dot fabric for the valance and to recover my chair.I found a sweet girl, Tracey Wilson, on Etsy.com to make the valance.  She did a super-great job and I am so pleased!  Shen sent me back the extra fabric that I used to recover this chair that I bought on Craig's List.  The little desk I purchased from a local antique shop that is going out of business.  I found a few cute brass planters at a yard sale which I have painted white and will use for little knick-knack supplies on my table or on the larger surface.  I also scored this bookcase on Craig's List which I have painted white.  Looking now for some cutesie baskets/storage bins to hold inks/paper/scissors, etc.  This is what it looks like so far:

I am so happy with how my Mom Cave is coming together and hope to have it finished in the next month!!

I do need a few more things to make it perfect! HomeGoods could help me accomplish this!!

I seriously need more storage space in my Mom Cave!!

Blog help??

I want a pretty blog.  I want it to have a nice header and for my pictures to show up where I put them and not randomly spaced throughout my post.  Can someone help??  Please and thank you

To Paint??? Or Not To Paint??

I am truly blessed....with a husband that doesn't insist on NOT painting wood furniture. Let me explain. We purchased an OLD smallish china hutch and buffet right after we were married (circa. 2003) because I had to display all the newly acquired formal china. Okay, so, I found this piece in an antique shop on Broad Street in Augusta, Georgia (where we were living at the time). It needed some TLC and a little Old English and it was shining again.

Flash forward: We are about to celebrate our 7th anniversary. See previous posts about my love (read: obsession) with decorating blogs and tips. This borning hutch and buffet is the perfect piece to try my hand a updating and revamping furniture. No, it's not a craptastic piece, but now, it shines with fabulosity! (insert snickers here)

This was kinda spur of the moment. I went out to my vast paint collection in the garage and knew I had a can of Kilz...well, I did...but it was almost empty. I found a can of builder's beige that was on all the walls in the house and went to work...Necessity is the mother of invention, right?? Right....so, it worked.

Notice the cute helper I had? In order to save his clothes, I insist on stripping down to the bare necessities only. He gladly complied (what almost-6-year-old boy wouldn't?!?) and grabbed the roller. Finally convinced him to go watch something...anything....and I took the hutch to the garage. I was being lazy and figured I could try spray painting the pieces instead of having to brush and roll it. It worked great! I used Valspar White Gloss. 

A few days later, I was browsing some bloggies and found this Post detailing how she glazed a crappy credenza. I figured I could use the same techniques on my hutch.

What do you think??

Fall Door

A friend of mine (who is the guilty party for getting me started on following blogs....), sent me the link to this easy project. I made the door wreath and loved it. Sorry, no "how-to's" or "in the making photos." It was made with Dollar Tree supplies. Lovin' the fact that the whole project cost less than $12.

Hello World!!

I've decided to join the world of blogging (again) but this time, I plan on using this outlet to show/chronicle my projects that I so enjoy.

I have fallen prey to the designer/DIY on a budget craze that is sweeping the blogosphere. I would rather be decorating my house and shopping for bargains and doing projects but, alas, I have a full time job and an almost-6-year-old and a husband that travels a lot.

So, without further adieu, join me as I try to take things from Craptastic to Fabulosity!!