My Beautiful visitor on this Beautiful Winter Day!

The sun was shining today!! Hallelujah!! In fact, I think it got up to almost 40 degrees! Can I get an Amen?? I was up, showered and ready for my visitor this morning. Oh how I enjoy spending time with this lady...

Jayme's lookin' all serious in this picture, but she's really a hoot and 1/2! We laugh more when we are together than anyone I know! We tackle things...like moving furniture, painting furniture and borders around pictures...we're not afraid to do anything! (sort of)

What do you notice about the picture below??

Scroll back up and LOOK AGAIN! See that picture hangin' in the corner? Well, Miss Jayme found this picture, framed at a thrift store (or somewhere equally as fun!) and someone had PAINTED a mat around it! Gasp! And can you imagine...they painted it ORANGE! My gracious...what would motivate that? Anyhow...Jayme was painting her guest room (yes, this is her guest room!) while I was slapping on a couple coats of paint on a darling little night table (what makes them "night tables"? Are there "day tables"?). Anyhoo....she decided she didn't like the orange border but she loved the picture. What's this nut do?? She takes the picture out of the frame and begins painting over the orange with the wall color!!! We were busting our gut laughin' at that one! Like she said, "What do I have to loose? They already ruined it!"

Well, that's just part of that picture I wanted you to notice! Now, scroll back up and look at that loom! Wow! She actually knows what to DO with it! And see what is on it?? Do you need a closer look???

Why yes...it's a RUG! Can you guess what she made this rug out of? (I'll spare you the thinking process!)

HOSPITAL BOOTIES!! Yes, that's right! What a clever way to recycle!! And guess what??

She made it for ME!!! I LOVE IT! It is so pretty in my new laundry room!!! I'm going to wait until Spring to put it down though b/c I don't want it to get all muddied up while we're still tracking in muddy waters! Did I mention how much I love it?? Thank you Jayme....it's PERFECT!! Love you girl!! We've got a lot of shenanigans to pull this Spring and Summer!!

And it didn't stop there....

She had this table that she was tired of in her house....so she said I could HAVE IT! Isn't THAT fun?? How generous is this lady?? My mind is spinning to figure out which room this is going into! Knowing me, it'll probably make it into ALL of them before it finds it's perfect home! What a sweet friend!!

I'm back into decorating again. I'd love to take up the tile in the foyer (that you see above) and put down hardwood. Dennis say's no. Spoil sport! Ha!

Next up...I have 1 gallon of Palace Arms RED PAINT. I'm stripping the wallpaper in my powder room (who powders anymore?), building up my vanity (the sink cabinet, not my personality!), painting it off white with glaze and and then painting the walls RED! This should be interesting!!! I'll surely have some before's and afters on this project! I got the paint when Sherwin Williams had their 2 qts. for $5.00 sale! Sofar, the cost of the entire makeover for that powder room is $10.00!! My plan is to keep it at that!!

Now THAT'S affordable!

Pretties, Parties and Fun with great friends!!!

It's that "holiday season" when we all begin to think about hosting dinners and having family over for Christmas. I love doing this. If I could have a dream job, I think I'd like to be a table decorator for family gatherings. I could say more about this, but I won't! : )

Dennis and I invited 3 other couples from church over for what we hope to be an annual "Peaches" Christmas Dinner. Each of these ladies is sooo sweet and all love the Lord, which makes our time together even sweeter! And now, we found out the "hubbies" get along well too!

I think this had something to do with it, don't you? ; )

Pamela made this breathtaking specimen of a Carrot Cake!!! She is going to share her recipe, so hold on to your shorts girls...it'sa comin!! Oh is this wonderful in the morning with a cup or 2 of coffee. I can give testimony to that one!!

We sat and chatted.....

Listened....

Smiled...

And watched the candles flicker...

Until it was time to get SERIOUS and play a game!! Brian and Amy went to a party the other night and played this game and I loved the idea of it so I copied! Get a "token" gift for each couple represented, put it in a box that matches all the other boxes. They get a roll of paper, roll of tape, scissors and a roll of ribbon. 3 min. time limit. GO!!!!!! OH WAIT!!! I forgot to tell you that each of them can only use ONE HAND and they have to wrap the package together. Time is an issue, but so is prettiness, soooo now....GO!!!!!

First up: Mike and Paula Drexler, LaPorte, IN. What brave souls they were to go first! Ha!!

They did pretty good, but they couldn't manage getting that ribbon tied up!!!

Then, here come Jeanne and Tom. Jeanne's part time job is "gift giver" so I was quite certain they'd win. She's at a disadvantage however...her fingers are very short. We gave her no mercy for that...just told her to keep wrapin'!!!

Then up were Jim and Pamela. They were whispering before they sat down. Some thought it was love chat, but we knew they were strategizing. Sure enough...they had a plan...and it ALMOST WORKED...
Until Dennis and Cheryl stepped up to the table! Normally we are totally opposites...if he wants to go right, I'd probably turn left. We do not, nor have we EVER, balanced the checkbook the same way. I stop and ask for directions...he drives for hours heading towards the "sun"...or the "moon" or the "water". Oh have mercy on me....now we have to do this!!!
But we did it with time to spare AND we have a curlie ribbon on top!! Ha!! WAY to go hubby!!! You must be getting those fingers of yours limbered up to do a gift wrapping marathon next week!! YEAH!!!!

Anyhow, even though we beat everyone's time AND had a bow, we showed true humility and gave the winning prize to the second place couple...Pamela and Jim. May they enjoy burning their candle and not their house! Each couple got to keep the little gift they wrapped to. (It was a little birdhouse ornament for their tree...or they can just keep it wrapped and take it to their white elephant party!) HA!

We sure had fun. Lots of food, the most delicious carrot cake ever made..EVER! A lot of fellowship and chatting how the Lord is so good to us. Can't wait to meet with these "peaches" again!!

Have a party!!! Your house gets cleaned up, you have a GREAT meal, and the best part for me...getting up the next morning, pouring a cup of coffee and reminiscing the evening before...and how much you are blessed for having such wonderful friends!!

Hi, I'm Cheryl, And I'm a HOARDER! {who makes applesauce and redecorates her house}!

It's embarassing. BUT...I'm a HOARDER! Amy pointed this out when I sent her a picture of my cabinets all exposed! I never saw it before, but sure enough, when I sat there drinking my coffee and eating my toast this morning, I could clearly see it. I'm a hoarder! Mark my words...1/2 of all this stuff is going to go "bye-bye" before I get the cabinet painted and the doors back on!

Mark my word!

And just so you don't think poorly of me, I can also make applesauce!!

Look at these beauties!

Paula, a new friend of mine (an old friend of Jeanne's) {Jeanne is the short one standing next to the tall one!} had Jeanne, Pamela and myself out to her country home to make homemade applesauce and then we canned it! Each of us brought home 8 beautiful quarts of delicious applesauce for the cold winter months ahead!
Paula had Hot Apple Cider ready for us along with cheese and crackers when we arrived! Some of us put red hots in it...and boy howdy, did that taste scrumptious!
Did you notice her square pan? We all decided we needed one of those! What a smart idea!!

Here are the cooks! Me, Mike (Paula's chef hubby!), Pamela and Paula holding our bags of Jonathan Apples!
And we pressed cooked apples all afternoon...in between card games! Mike, bless his heart, kept grinding applesauce since there was only one mill. Next year, I'm bringing both of mine and we'll speed up the process to 3 times faster!

{good thing I hoarded my food mills!!}
Above is Jeanne and Mike, chopping away! I think I remember one said man imitating Julia Childs once...but there was no blood loss involved! Ha!
Paula and Pamela boiling apples....
While I snooped until I found her pantry, FULL of freshly canned goods! I want to marry that pantry!

Below you'll see what's been occuping my days and nights for a week now! I'm painting my cabinets! Did you think I was going to let my kids do theirs and me not do mine?

NO WAY JOSE!

Yes, I'm still a horder. I did get rid of 1 coffee mug and 2 old cards.

Tomorrow's another day Scarlett!! I'll try again!

Now here you'll see the different color I'm putting on my center island. It's called Pearwood by Williamsburg. Carolyn suggested it. I do whatever Carolyn say's b/c she's smart and I love her taste! As you can see, I have no doors on that baby either. And my drawer fronts are all spread out in the garage getting 2 fresh coats of paint. I am also painting my knobs. Boy, that's a lot of work!

Oh girls....look at this picture below!! Jeanne got it for me for my BD! She was proud to say she got it at the Thrift store she volunteers at a day a week. I was proud of her for getting it for me!!! I couldn't believe how it fit right into my decorating colors!! I'm even going to move my shelves to accomodate this little baby! The lowest shelf is going to sit only a few inches from the bottom shelf. I plan on finding a couple of short wide baskets to slide under there to hold the mail and such other things I HOARD!

It'll be the "mystery baskets"!

I'll bet you'll wanna come and snoop in them!

Here's another angle of the center island.

I know, I'm going back and forth and probably making you dizzy 'bout now! I'm so excited to cover this laminate siding on that center island! The beadboard that's going on it's sides are out in the garage waiting to be cut!

Ready to see the BLING?

There it is!!

I've decided on a beautiful Quartz countertop that I won't have to worry about scratches!

Oh..I can't wait! It gets ordered tomorrow and the time from order to install is approximately

FIVE WEEKS!

How in the world can I wait FIVE WEEKS?

Well, easy. It's going to take me that long to take off the other 21 cabinet doors and drawers and get them painted!

Plus, I have a little grannyson that's coming to visit his Grammie and Poppie next week!

I must have doors on my cabinets by then.

Carter is walking now.

And he loves to get into cabinets so I must get the doors back on so I can put rubber bands around the knobs!

Then he'll feel like he's at home!

I like things to come together all at one time.

And it'll take me FIVE WEEKS to DE-hoard!

MARK MY WORD!

Friday Favorites...

This is what a tired lady looks like when she's just laid, ummm...I mean MADE durn near a dozen eggs for her good friends, Jeanne and Cheryl! I want ya'll to meet my dear friend Leslie! The Lord brought her into my life about 5 years ago, but she didn't know it until just a little over a year ago. We love thriftin' and keepin' our homes, makin' our hubby's happy and carin' for the youngin's! (well, I aint got no youngin's at home no more, so mine are givin' me grand-youngin's to keep me young!) She has learned to be soooo creative and she is such a sweet little 'thang' to think about we, whom she left behind (b/c she moved on to a beautiful place in the woods!) to fend for ourselves! Sooo...now ya wanna see what she's been up to????????

Look at THESE glittering beauties!!! These belong to my other friend, Jeanne. Jeanne is more shabby chic in her decorating style (good thing, so we don't fight when we go thriftin' together!) so thoughtful Leslie made her sparkly eggs...in such beautiful Easter colors! (word has it she found the glitter at Wally-world, 3? colors in a pack!). Her daut, 'Buttercup', blew the egg guts out with her very own lungs (yes, she's a singer!!) and didn't crack a one of 'em!

Aren't they just the pertiest things you've ever laid eyes on? And I think Jeanne's bunnies are so happy to be nestled around 'em...don't you?? Must be girl bunnies!! NOW...what you've been waiting for...MY EGGS!!! I LOVE primitive things...more country in nature so that dear girl hand stitched my eggs! And I put 'em all in ONE BASKET!!! Can you believe that??

She SEWED my eggs!!!

Now look at the detail!!! Hand picked fabric and she cut each one out and sewed those things together to make them look like EGGS!! (and word up to the 'LOVE' family...they DON'T look like footballs...they look like EGGS!) So quit makin' fun of 'em!!!

I JUST love this girl! Thank you Leslie for all your thoughtful, hard work! We sure don't deserve it, but we love it!!!

Do you have all your eggs in one basket???

mmmmm....

Dennis and I were just talking about our friends this morning....and missin' them! ; )

Make your own Pizza and Card Night...

Friday night we had Leah and Kevin over along with Ally and Adam for a "Make your own Pizza" 'n Cards night! Kevin made fun of me that he had to work all day, then come over and make his own meal, but he got over that quickly when he found out what a GREAT pizza he could make! It's always good for a man to know that he CAN operate in a kitchen should he ever need to! :) We ended the meal with a lively game of "3-13" (even ADAM played!!) and dessert. Homeade Kit-Kat bars, Peanut Butter Patties and Rice Krispie Bars. Ally and Adam spent the night and we ended up going thriftin' Saturday while Dennis and Adam made a trip to the local John Deere joint, then to Harbor Freight to find some boy tools! Ended the day with Chicken Enchiladas, chips and Salad then they took off for the country. What a fun night!!

Weekend Getaway!!!

Dennis and I had THE most lovely time at our friends in West Lafayette this weekend! We picked up Jeanne and Tom early Sat. AM and headed down the road to Leslie and Tim's. She is the "Hostess with the Mostess"! They met us at the door with warm hugs which were quite welcome since the high temp. for the day was about 11 degrees! When we arrived, we warmed up the yummy Chicken soup that Jeanne brought and had a bite of lunch. Following that was a casual game of "13"...a new card game we learned. Dennis smoked all of us and Tim lost miserably! Poor guy! We gals had to make a Walmart run b/c I read on a blog that they had those silly scarves for just $5.00 each and since it was cold, I needed one! Then, back home again where we were met with a warm fire burning in the fireplace and us gals headed to the kitchen to whip up the Chicken Enchiladas, Chili Cheese Dip and Blue Chips! The Mexican music was playing and we enjoyed dinner by candlelight! We ate till our belly's were bursting, then I made a batch of Sopapillas which sent us over the top, thinking we'd never eat another meal in our lives!

Chatting by the fire until nearly midnight we finally gave up knowing we had an early morning! We woke to a beautiful snowfall, coffee, juice and Cinnamon Leaf Ring then all 6 of us managed to be ready to head out for church at 9:00! We enjoyed a very worshipful service at Leslie and Tim's home church where Pastor Viars shared just the message we all needed to hear from Hebrews 3! They are blessed to have such good Bible teaching and we were grateful to have the opportunity to visit their new church home! As if we hadn't eaten quite enough, we stopped at Cracker Barrel on the way home for more "down home cookin" vowing to never eat another bite! (of course, we knew there was a DEEP DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE waiting back at home!)

Back home, girls in the kitchen to frost the cake and the boys set the table up for a "revenge" game of 13. This time, Tim won and Dennis lost! That's only fair, right? Coffee...and cake made us remember our vow, but it was a little too late! This cake was THE BEST cake I've ever eaten!!! (Feb. 2009 issue, Country Living Magazine) That thing not only was beautiful, it was so rich and buttery! Definately not on WW, just an FYI!

After cake and coffee, we had a lively conversation around the Word of God which was followed by a sweet, SWEET time of prayer, each of us praying for the person to our left. I've never done this before, but it was honestly one of the sweetest times I've shared praying specifically for dear friends as we shared some of our most difficult struggles. It will be such a blessing to wait and see how the Lord will be answering our prayers!

Safely back home by 6:00 PM, in our jammies and content as can be! Thank you Tim and Leslie for SUCH a beautiful weekend! We will never forget our time with you and look forward to many more good times together in the future! BLESSINGS!!!