Last years all white table:
Our table setting a couple years ago, more pastel and shabby chic:
This years table coming soon!
xoxo
Friday, April 11, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
~thrifty thursday~{wallpaper picture frame}
Remember this picture of the wallpaper sample that I will be using in our kitchen niche?
Well, it was just that, a sample.
What is one to do with a sample of wallpaper?
Well, you could turn it into a decorative picture frame right?
Pick up one of these.
It doesn't have to be this exact one, it's just the one that I used.
You will want to stain or paint the sides and the back of the unfinished frame.
You can also use Annie Sloan dark wax instead for a quick drying project if you are in a hurry.
Then, flip it over and trace with a pencil onto the wallpaper.
Make sure you trace around the inside opening too.
You could also use paper or fabric for this.
Cut out the paper on the lines but it doesn't have to be perfect.
Apply a thin layer of mod podge over the front of the frame and lay the paper on top.
Quickly and carefully smooth out any air bubbles.
I like to also use a sanding block to smooth out any bubbles.
If your edges don't line up perfectly, just sand the paper right off.
After I was done I added a little dark wax around the edges to give it a more finished look.
That's it!
Print out a photo or use one you already have.xoxo
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
~One room challenge week 2~
Week 2 of the one room challenge.
Lots going on in my world right now, and not to mention that I was gone 3 days last week at camp with my son. So, not too much happened, but I will share what did.
This wallpaper will be going in this little niche.
It has been ordered and will be installed as soon as the counters are in.
The granite is coming out and being replaced but I haven't decided with what yet…..
I painted the pantry doors with a favorite green paint.
I had it mixed up in 2007, and it has remained my favorite grey/green.
{I wish I had the color for you all.
I will give the formula at the end of the ORC if anyone is interested}
We also got a large 5 burner gas cook top!
We hired someone to come in and hook up gas, and my husband cut the hole bigger
in the granite to fit it in.
It has a pop of fan and it has made cooking so much more fun.
We also had a new oven and dishwasher installed.
We saved a ton buy buying "seconds"
I got 2 of these to hang over the island.
{sources will be listed on the last day of the challenge}
The problem is, we only have one outlet at the ceiling and with the skylight there isn't room for another, so we are getting crafty with pipe…….
And finally, this fabric will be turned into new bar stool cushions.
By next week I hope to have the cabinets painted and hopefully counter tops ordered.
Be sure to check out the other bloggers participating in the One Room Challenge.
If you'd like to see week one, click here.
xoxo
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
~I believe in miracles~
August 4, 2013 our sweet Harley didn't come home after being out with the neighbors.
{original story here.}
You were all so sweet and prayed with me, and sent me encouraging emails,
some of you even helped search for him with me.
I could not wrap my head around him being gone.
We were all heartbroken.
I remember searching for days, weeks, and then months.
Our local paper ran a story on Harley.
I plastered the city with literally hundreds of fliers.
I got leads, but nothing solid.
But, I never gave up.
The photo below was taken on Sunday night right after we were reunited, almost 9 months later.
He was scared, full of fleas, and very skinny, and here is how it all happened……
I was working on our kitchen for the One Room Challenge with my husband and got a text from number I didn't recognize.
It simply said,
"Is Harley still missing?"
I immediately responded with a YES and asked if they had a lead.
Over the months I have got so many texts with false leads that
I learned to not get my hopes up too much, so at this point, I wasn't too hopeful.
A few minutes later he responded and said he bought a dog a while back from an abusive owner. Someone had come up to him a few days prior and told him our story and said the dog looked like Harley, so he looked us up.
His next text was one he must have repeated 100 times,
"Would you still be able to issue a reward?"
I asked him to send me a photo which he did.
I honestly didn't think it was Harley and told him he had the wrong person, to which he responded,
"I don't think that picture necessarily shows his looks well. He looks exactly like your photos online, and has a black spot on his tongue….."
So I asked him to take him to a vet and have his microchip scanned, which he promptly did.
{in the meanwhile still asking about reward $}
The next text I got from him was saying he was at the vet and they were scanning the dog and would be calling his owner.
I stared at my phone with the rest of the family, and nothing.
A minute passed and still nothing.
I texted him back and told him it must not be us because I wasn't getting a call from the vet.
He told me she had to take another call and was calling the owner now.
My phone rang.
I had chills. The woman on the phone asked if I was Melaine and if I had a microchip number to compare to the one she scanned.
Yes, go ahead.
As she read the numbers one by one I felt like I was going to pass out.
She read the last number and I lost it.
I couldn't breathe.
I was hysterical, happy, shocked, and I felt like throwing up.
The numbers all matched.
I felt like I had just been read the winning lotto numbers.
My family could tell from my reaction that it was him and now the whole family was in tears.
I asked the vet to hold him and told her that we were on our way.
Unfortunately the guy still had Harley in his possession and he did not want to stay and fled.
Thank goodness she grabbed his license number and a description of him.
I called 911.
I explained that this guy had my dog and how do I get him back…..
I gave them the info I had from the vet and they had a name and address in a matter of seconds.
After hanging up with the police, my phone rang.
It was the guy.
I answered and so began the saga of the reward money.
He told me now that I knew it was my dog, would I have the $1000.00?
I asked him if $500 sounded fair and he said no. That when I had the $1000, I would see my dog.
Back to 911.
They offered to go to the guys house and get my dog, or, they said I could go meet him and pay, or not pay him the money. For some reason the encouraged me to go meet him, not alone of course.
I texted him back and told him I had the money and would meet him. This was 2 hours after the first text came in. He chose a parking lot in a business area in a nearby town in front of a Subway restaurant. We were to meet there in one hour.
We left the kids home and brought plenty of backup with us.
We all arrived before him and waited.
Part of me wondered if he would show.
But he was money hungry.
Finally, a car pulled in matching the description of the one the vet gave me.
I ran over and when he opened his door to get out, a skinny Harley jumped out and attacked me, knocking me to the ground and licking my face!
More happy tears!
I immediately put him in my car and waited while the guys talked to this guy.
He changed his story several times.
One version was that he had purchased the dog off craigslist in September.
One story was that he rescued it from a abusive owner.
Another was that he got him from a friend.
Nothing added up, but Harley was in my car!
My husband ended up giving him $700 and told him he could have the other $300 if he could tell us where he purchased him from, if that was the case.
All of a sudden we were driving away…..
with Harley.
I sat in the back seat with him and loved on him like there was no tomorrow.
Like I said, he was skinny, full of fleas, and was given a new name.
I so wish he could talk and tell me his story.
I pray he was treated well. That he didn't have to sleep outside on the cold winter nights.
We brought him home to happy tearful kids and immediately bathed him.
{the black and white photo above}
He remembered Hunter and was not so excited to see we had a new addition.
{they are adjusting now}
I had some prescription flea medicine so I gave him that. He wouldn't eat for us but did respond to his name. He sniffed around the house and peed on the dining room chair.
I wasn't sure if he was marking his territory or if the guy had let him go to the bathroom in the house?!
Luckily, I think it was just him marking his territory, as he hasn't done it since.
We are all adjusting to having 3 big dogs.
I have to say though, our family feels complete.
It is so nice having him home and I can finally stop worrying about where he might be.
We are getting an invisible fence installed next week, but for now, he goes out on leash only.
It's amazing that after almost 9 months how fast he is settling back in.
He knows us.
He responds to his name.
He is eating again.
He has been checked out by the vet, and other than the fleas, which are now under control, he luckily is very healthy.
I feel blessed, thank you for all your comments on instagram and Facebook. All your emails and to all the people that helped search for him.
I truly think this is a miracle that he is home, safe, happy, and healthy.
Right where he belongs.
xoxo
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
~One Room Challenge~{week 1}
I am so excited to be participating in this challenge this year.
Every blogger involved is uber talented and I am a bit nervous that I won't live up to the expectations everyone may have.
Thanks to Linda for believing in me!
Like I mentioned before, I was going to renovate our basement. However, it started taking on water when the rain started and didn't want to stop.
So every Wednesday for the next 3 weeks, myself and these other talented bloggers will be taking you along on the transformation of one room.
Would you like to know which room I am going to makeover?
Our kitchen!
Ok, I don't hate our kitchen, however, it has it's issues, which I will get too.
Those black pantry doors with the numbers….
I'm over the numbers and the black shows dust like crazy.
I am also over that chalkboard wall.
Time for a cleaner look.
And that niche below will be getting transformed as well.
I will be leaving the wording I painted in the skylight, that's one thing I still love.
But that light fixture has got to go!
What was I thinking?
While I love, love, love my bar stool cushions a dear friend of mine made, they have faded and gotten very dingy over time and are in need of replacing.
Another thing I am tired of is the wall color.
Behr's Teepee Brown is no longer.
In fact I have already painted most of the kitchen with Ben Moore's
Revere Pewter. It looks so much larger!
New window treatments will be coming in, and HOPEFULLY new
counter tops on the L shaped sink area.
However, I don't know if that will happen in the short time frame we have.
Crossing my fingers on that one.
Another thing will be freshening up the paint on the cabinets.
It's a major undertaking but the sealer I used on them last time has yellowed and I am hating the color.
Oh, and did I mention we need a new dishwasher, oven, and I'd really like to add a gas cook top to that island! Ya know, small things.
6 weeks huh?……..
It may look pretty in the pictures, but let me just point out the things that aren't so pretty.
The things that I try to hide in blog photos!
For example:
This awkward plug in squished up against the fridge and the cover keeps popping off.
You can see the new wall color here.
Remember when under the counter cd players were cool?
Not.
This one doesn't even work anymore.
Oh, and you can see my cream, I mean yellow cabinets there.
Something else I never finished when I did the back splash.
Oops, meant to get to that about a year ago.
Once upon a time our skylight leaked.
We fixed the leak and patched it up.
The end.
Never finished that off.
And the lovely 12x12 granite tiles that were put in about 16 years ago.
Oh how I would really like to see marble here.
Anyone want to loan me a small fortune?
And this is what happens when you stain your own floor then get
2 large labs running through constantly.
And while these sconces aren't horrible,
the black shades are dated, not to mention dusty and boring.
Without giving too much away, here are a few elements that will be added to the room:
And that's all you get for now.
Be sure to check back next Wednesday for updates!
I will be gone the next few days with my son at 5th grade camp.
I'll be back this weekend…..I hope.
xoxo
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