How the house painting turned out...

It was brought to my attention that I never shared how our new house colors turned out. We went with Sherwin Williams 7508 Tavern Taupe for the main color and 7507 Stone Lion for the trim.

I really like how it turned out.

For the door we used Sherwin Williams 6989 Domino (aka Black).. I just put a fall wreath on it.

 And of course whenever I am outside our husky Rio wants to be outside too. :)

Here is a reminder of what it looked like before...

New Rose Garden!

I am so excited! I bought 5 new rose bushes and am going to plant a rose garden this weekend. The roses are not impressive yet.. but I am hopeful for next year and for years to follow!

I bought 1 climbing and 4 knockout roses.

 

Here is a little sketch of the garden I am going to make at the back of my yard. I plan to plant them in the shape of an S as this garden is going to be in memory of my sister Sarah. She always loved roses!

If you look real hard you will find a few plants that are still in bloom around my house....(It's surprising anything survived through this hot hot summer!)

Happy Gardening everyone!

Mother's Day brooch

I can't believe I am just getting around to posting the brooch I received from the Mother's Day swap I participated in, better late than never. I'm actually home sick today so have some extra time on my hands.

Thank you Ellen for the beautiful brooch you sent me! It's just perfect!

And a special thank you to Linda at A Swap for All Seasons for hosting yet another great swap!

Picking an exterior house color, after a hail storm

I think picking the color of the exterior of your house is as hard as picking the right car to purchase. I am going to be 'stuck' with this decision for a few years at least.

One night in April we experienced a horrible hail storm.

 

 

From it we ended up with broken windows, a totaled roof, totaled gutters, damage to our fence and our house now needs to be repainted. Thank goodness for insurance.

We have already had our roof and gutters completely replaced. And have decided since we are painting our house we will make a color change (we were never fond of the green when we bought the house).

Picking a house color is so tough. One of my friends had a house that turned PINK after the house was in the sun for a few years. So I want to be sure I pick a color that is going to look good for years to come. I am thinking gray, white trim (and garage doors) and black door and shutters (we don't have shutters now but I think some may help balance our house out)... Suggestions anyone?

Spring Color

I wanted to bring some spring colors in my house... you should have seen my husbands disbelief with this one! ;0) He was speechless! I told him I am going to continue paining it different colors with the seasons and I think he was relieved that our step stool wouldn't always be this color.

This color reminds me of the sea. I guess you can say I am missing the ocean. I love bright colors and my walls are warm and neutral. I think we all deserve to have some fun with colors every once in a while don't you? Besides I am the one that uses this stool to get up into my top kitchen cabinets.. he is fortunate enough to be super tall!

Here was the stool before...

Our First Anniversary!

It's hard to believe a year ago we were getting married on the beach in Jamaica!

Yes, more amazing flowers were delivered to my work. I just love this combo.. I only wish they weren't quite so fragrant.

As much as I would have enjoyed going back to Jamaica to celebrate we are waiting until our 5 year to do that so this year we celebrated with an amazing local night out.

We went to one of our favorite restaurants, a Brazilian grill where delectable meats and seafood are served on the skewers in a continuous table side service style called "rodizio". Basically you have a coin on your table and you flip it when you want waiters to parade to your table with different various cuts of beef, pork, lamb, and chicken all skewered which were slow roasted over a wood fired grill. They have a huge side bar that you can visit as much as you want for things like the most delicious mashed potatoes you've ever tasted, veggies, salads, Brazilian beans, breads, soups, and on and on. Needless to say we were stuffed when it came time to eat a bite of cake (made by the same person that made our wedding reception cake).

We tried the restaurant piña coladas but they were nothing like the creamy sweet piña coladas we had in Jamaica. So, for or the first time we attempted to make some of our own using the coconut rum we brought back. They ended up great!

What a great day, what a great year! I love my husband more and more with each passing day, he is truly a gift from God.

I'm back!

I realize that I have been horrible about posting. Just like the rest of you I have just been so busy! Please don't worry I am not gone for good, I've been doing some great projects and hope to share them with them with you soon!

I joined www.myfitnesspal.com this week. If you are anything like me and always struggling to lose or maintain weight it's a very beneficial website. It has the best food tracker that I have every found!

Have a great weekend!

Tuscan Kitchen Decorating

I took everything down from above my kitchen cabinets and decided to redecorate with a Tuscan look. By that I mean, what you might find in Tuscany, Italy.

This is how far I am with the decorating...

Looking at these photos makes me realize, I should probably paint that vent the color of my walls so it doesn't stand out as much (photos always tell so much).

I keep my kitchen counters pretty bare as I like to have the space clean and ready to cook and bake with. That means the space above my cabinets is my main area in the kitchen to decorate with.

Do you have space above your kitchen cabinets? If so what do you do with it? How often, if ever, do you change it?

F.R.O.G. "Fully Rely On God"

My mom has told me for years that a FROG should remind me to Fully Rely On God.

Ironically, a friend of mine brought me this frog cupcake to cheer me up after losing my dear friend. Little did she know how much it would mean to me. It was the perfect time for a reminder to fully rely on God.

She also brought me these azaleas to cheer me up. I am so blessed to have such a great friend! She knows how much I am anticipating spring and these azaleas are not only going to look wonderful in my yard, they are going to remind me for years to come of my friend who just passed away.

Stage IV Colon Caner- Schedule a colonoscopy today!

IF YOU ARE OVER THE AGE OF 50 OR HAVE ANY FAMILY HISTORY OR INCREASED RISKS OF CANCER SCHEDULE A COLONOSCOPY TODAY (TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE)!

 

This is a photo of my dear friend Lisa (on the left) in December. She was healthy, she was happy.

A month or so later (a few weeks into January) Lisa was hospitalized with pneumonia. On January 21st, 2011 the hospital gave Lisa horrible news, she was told she had stage IV colon cancer.  For those of you that don't know Stage IV (4) means that the cancer had already spread.

A few facts about my wonderful friend... 

Lisa survived cancer in her 20s. She is a strong woman!
Lisa is not yet 50.

Lisa is the most amazing single mother that ever existed (her sons are currently 12 and 13, this photo is outdated).

Lisa has a fascinating southern charm and a beautiful heart and therefore is loved by MANY (to say the least)!

Out of the past 4 weeks, Lisa has been in the hospital 3 weeks and is currently hospitalized.

Today is Saturday, February 5th. Since January 21st (the day Lisa was informed she has colon cancer) we have learned...

• The cancer has spread to her liver where she has at least 12 tumors, the longest 14cms in length.
• There are tumors on her lymph nodes. 
• She hasn't stopped running a temperature which could mean more than an infection, it could be bone marrow cancer as well.
• Tests on her kidneys show they have issues as well.
• Something has begun to obstruct Lisa's colon, possibly one of the tumors. She can't eat because there is no exit for her waste. A surgeon inserted a stint in her colon. A short lived success, the obstruction is still not allowing enough waste to come through. A new surgery is scheduled for Monday, February 7th to cut some of the colon out and fuse it back together.
• In the mean time Lisa has started to have difficulty breathing and her stomach is swelling because of the gases that can't exit (the gas build up is partly caused by the pain medication she is on). 
• Doctors started investigating into what is pressing on Lisa's diaphragm that is making it hard for Lisa to talk. More bad news a possible tumor is close to her lungs, and more fluid is found on the lungs.
• Lisa has also began showing signs of heart issues.

 Oh how I love my friend Lisa! I pray daily for a miracle!

IF YOU ARE OVER THE AGE OF 50 OR HAVE ANY FAMILY HISTORY OR INCREASED RISKS OF CANCER SCHEDULE A COLONOSCOPY TODAY (TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE)!

Update: Lisa went to heaven on February 9th.

Daydreaming about spring planting..

We currently have a yard covered in snow with a few more inches on the way, sooooo I am daydreaming about spring planting.

Here is a backyard photo, from a good 10 years ago, at a prior house. (Sorry for the poor quality something odd happened when I scanned the print.)

Oh how I wish when I moved I had taken some of my grandma's iris that I transplanted into that yard.

2011 is going to be a big year for landscaping at our house. Our backyard at this house is just so bare. I really don't know where to start. I planted a perennial garden in the far back corner, you can read around it here and I planted a vegetable garden and herb garden that you are read about here and I planted some wildflowers, read about here. What I think I really needs are some shrubs, a few trees, and maybe a rose garden.

Here was a photo taken of our backyard before any of the above... It's really not much more exciting now. We spend this entire last year finishing the basement and making changes to the inside of our home. Now it's time to put some time into the backyard!

Is anyone else thinking about what they are going to plant this spring?

My 10 favorite things this winter

My ten favorite things this winter...

 1. More time with my sons. I love when they are home and inside!

 2. Snuggling with my husband, the most amazing man in the world (no joke!)

 3. Hot drinks.  (Hot Chocolate, hot tea or the occasional white mocha from Starbucks.)

 4. Warm meals.

 5. Wearing scarves.

 6. The snow! We haven't had enough to complain.

 7. The extra downtime because it's too cold to be out and about.

 8. Having a fire in the fireplace, so romantic and relaxing.

 9. Burning candles.

10. Dreaming about the spring flowers that will be here in a few months.

What are your favorite things this winter?

Roasting a chicken

So, the truth of the matter is.. I have always been intimidated to purchase an entire chicken to cook. I am always buying bags of frozen chicken bones or fresh chicken already cut up to meet my recipe's need. This weekend I really stepped out of my comfort zone and purchased a full chicken to roast.. and oh was it worth the trouble, it was delicious!

First I had to remove the neck (um the head is gone, couldn't they have at least removed the rest of the neck??) And I had to remove the gizzards, thankfully they weren't attached to anything. After doing those two things and getting past the pieces of hair still attached to the skin (yuck) I was able to finish the job.

 The part that looks burnt is actually just the garlic that I removed after the roasting process. I am only posting photos so I can look back and remind myself that it wasn't that hard. Can you believe for a woman in her 30s that loves to cook that this was a first!? With this one chicken I served my family chicken & mashed potatoes for lunch and chicken nachos for dinner!

Antique Ice Skates

Last weekend I purchased some really old ice skates that were dirty inside and out. I cleaned them up to hang outside our front door. I am going to paint something on them, possibly our family name.

I figured I better get them out there while we have snow on the ground. I hope to have time to paint them sometime this week but at my current blogging rate you may not see them again until the snow melts (sorry!).

2011 Resolutions

2011 is finally here!!! I say finally because I have been looking forward to 2011 for years. I really like the number one and I like '11' even better. I was extremely happy on 1-1-11 but can hardly wait for 11-11-11. I know it's silly to be so crazy about numbers but I am telling you now, this is going to be a amazing year!

My 2011 new year resolutions include:

• Spend as much time as possible with my sons.
• Be the best wife imaginable.
  
• Continue to organize- A place for everything and everything in it's place.
• Work out at LEAST three times a week and get fit again.
• Cook a new recipe once a week.
• Volunteer at least twice a month.
• Read at least one book a month.
• Do more blog writing.
• Send birthday cards in the mail to family and friends.
• Write a letter at least once a month to someone I care about. 
• Buy some new spices and try experimenting with them.
• Plant lots of flower seeds in the spring.
• Work on backyard landscaping.
• Sew a quilt.
• Travel outside of the country with my family.

Happy 2011!! 

Organizational Tip

Take some time each day this week to clear out your email in-box before the new year. This week I deleted thousands of emails to clear my in-boxes for the new year. Email can be just as annoying as junk mail when you just ignore it and leave it in your in-box unread. Sometimes I tell myself, I'm not interested but maybe another day I will be interested in checking out the sale or whatever it is. The truth of the matter is if I don't read emails when I get them it's usually too late by the time I do get around to them.

So a new year's resolution of mine is to stay on top of emails. I plan to make it a priority to keep my in-box clean and uncluttered. Care to join me?

Photo Ornaments for less than $1.00 each

Last year a good friend of mine, (Helen) showed me an ornament that a family member had made and gifted to different members of her family. This year I gave it a try and loved the outcome. It was so easy and inexpensive I figured I would share in case anyone wants to give it a try next year (sorry I am just getting around to it but December is such a busy month!). Total cost was less than $1 an ornament.

First I purchased clear bulbs (50% off at Hobby Lobby for course).

Then I made a pdf with different size round photos. I had to guess on the size that would fit in the different size ornaments I purchased. You can practice but printing on regular paper and cutting and inserting into the glass ornament (use tweezers if you get it stuck).

After that I had the pdf's printed at Office Max on transparency paper. This is a clear paper that usually people use on a projector that displays on the screen when light shines through it. I could get about 6 circle photos on one 8.5x11 sheet and it cost me $0.70 for black and white or $1.40 or so for color. Much better in my opinion than buying the pack of 50 sheets for $50 only to print out home using my ink.. My gosh, that would be 300 ornaments worth and a lot of ink!

When you pick them up after they are printed there is white paper behind them. This makes it easy to see that they printed correctly and in my opinion easier to cut into circles.

After you cut them out you roll them up and insert them into the glass ornaments, they just pop open. You only need one per ornament. Note if you cut too small they will rotate in your ornament, this could be a good thing or a bothersome thing. 

Then comes the fun part where you get to tie ribbon on them or put fake snow inside them. Next year I might try some colorful beads at the bottom. This year I just used glitter on a few and fake snow on the rest.

As you can see, when the light shine through the photo is visible from both directions.

Good luck!

Flowers

Have a mentioned lately what a wonderful husband I have? I came home the other night to these beautiful flowers. No occasion or real reason... just a little note that he loves me. December is a busy month for most everyone, how sweet he was to go out of his way to do something special for me when there is so much stuff going on. I'm so blessed!

Our 2010 Christmas Card- Finally ordered!

Here is the general idea of our Christmas card photo for our cards this year... I ordered the cards on snapfish for 30%off plus free shipping (1208MERRY, expires today). The card has the decorative border around it and says, "Have a Merry Christmas and a GRAND new year!"