So first, thank you for all of your birthday wishes for my little one. She had a great day. We started if off by going to go see Kit Kittridge, the American Girl movie. The girls loved it. I loved it. My friend Pippin and her girls loved it. It was a great movie. The best part about it, is that it gives you the opportunity to talk to your children about a subject that many aren't very familiar with, the depression. It is a subject that is easier to explain when they have some form of reference, and the movie does just that. It was wonderful.

Then we went to play with Pippin's girls for a while and ate some lunch. Well that is when I got this...





About a year ago, I made a trade with Pippin. I did some sewing for her girl's rooms, and she GAVE me the chair. Isn't it fabulous? It now sits proudly in my bedroom. I needed a big, comfy chair in there to read on and for Alex to sit and put his shoes on. So excited.

Since I'm showing you the bed area, here is a little look at our bedroom and Alex's office (which is the entry to our bedroom).







I hate the way the wires look coming from behind the desk, but we need to get longer wires. So for now, there it is.

As for projects this week... well they are currenly on hold. It looks like we will be going EP sometime this week, as Alex's grandma isn't doing well, and they don't expect her to make it through the weekend. So I am in prep mode. Laundry, tentative packing, Alex is getting new tires for the truck as we speak. The girls are asking lots of questions about "Tita". Death is a hard subject to talk about with little ones. They want to know why she has to go. Why can't her body just get better. I notice that Bella is more concerned about it since she is closer to Tita than Tori is. Bella would go in, during our visits, and just talk and talk and talk to Tita. The funny part is that Tita didn't understand a lot of what Bella was saying since she only speaks Spanish. But that has never stopped Bella. So anyway, please say a little prayer for Tita that she will go in peace.

Okay, I am off to make some breakfast for my girls, and fold some laundry. I am nursing a headache, that isn't quite as bad as it was yesterday, but is still just an annoyance. I feel like I have a hangover. Yucky feeling.

Have a great day.
*ciao*
deb

Things transform with paint, with fabric, with time. Today I am sharing some transformations that I've created for my girls' room, for one of our bathrooms (we have 4 which is a lot of toilets to clean), and one that has taken five years to create.

So here is the before of a mirror that I found while out with my mom yard saleing the other day. There were two identical mirrors for $2... total. When I saw them I envisioned them looking totally cute in my girls' room.



So with the help of my hubby and his trusty jigsaw, some spray paint (have I said that I love spray paint), and a few other things...I now have this...




What do you think. I love it. A fun, whimsical bulletin board for their room.

Now here is something I found at HobLob. After reading about all the deals everyone online was finding, I headed out to find some myself.



Well, I didn't get quite the same kind of deals, but I did get some fun stuff. I loved the look of this basket, but it wasn't the right color. Well, again I turn to my trusty spray paint, and voila...



I have the perfect magazine rack for my powder bath.

I also found this fun topiary at a garage sale for $3. It is originally from The Home Expo. I haven't done a thing to it except clean it up. It now sits in my kitchen right by my computer. Love how it looks.



And finally, the transformation that has taken 5 years... my little Tori is 5 years old today. What a transformation. Ah, my little one. She is full of life... always. She is loving... will come up to me and tell me out of nowhere, "Mama, I love you." or "Mama, you're beautiful." She is dramatic... seriously, this one could and will probably win an Academy Award someday. I am actually considering putting her into acting classes. She is kind... she will remind me when we are in the car and I am getting frustrated with another driver, "Mama, don't say something mean because it will hurt their feelings and we don't want that." She is independent - but she isn't... she can play all day and talk to her dolls, and play pretend on her own, but she has to know where I am every second of the day. I can't tell you the last time I was able to go to the restroom by myself without having her frantically looking for me.



Her first birthday...


And now...

So here is our little Tori. Growing up way to fast for me. I told her that I didn't want her to grow up, and that I wanted her to stay little. So the other day she tells me, "Mama, I can't eat anymore because then I'll grow and you want me to stay little." Oh my little one, you'll always be little to me. Happy Birthday little one.

Have a great day.
*ciao*
deb

Over the past few years it seems that the type of art that we put in our houses has changed quite a bit. We are doing more iron art, old vintage signs, and letters. I have fully embraced this alternative art form in our home. As I was walking around the house yesterday, I realized that I have a lot of words in the house. But I think they all bring a whimsical homeyness (is that a word) to the space.




I made these shortly after we moved into our house. They have gone through a few transformations and a few moves.


I'm not loving these plaques anymore. I'm probably getting rid of them soon.






I know it's a lot huh? Look around your home, and see what kind of "sign" language you have. It might be more than you thought.

My mom was in town visiting us last week, and she told us about these awesome hooks that they have used to hang up difficult to hang items (i.e. heavy, awkward size, or just regular pics) without having to use anchors in the wall. They are called Hercules Hooks. We got them at Bed Bath and Beyond using a 20% off coupon so they came out to about $12. Not cheap, especially when you are used to getting stuff for really cheap lately, but they are well worth it. We hung up some stuff here, including my plates that I have been collecting over the past several weeks. What do you think?




(Note: I didn't use those expensive hooks to hang these. I am saving them for the heavier stuff I have to hang.)
I have more pics to show of some great buys we found while my mom was here and a few transformations, but I'll save those for tomorrow.
Have a great day, and stay out of the heat. It is suppose to be 104 here today. We will definitely be keeping cool.

*ciao*
deb

I love to go garage saleing... but I just have a hard time getting out there early enough. Plus, many times the ones I get to don't have what I am looking for. Well, low and behold, some genius came up with the concept of the online garage sale. BRILLIANT!!! If you're patient, and lucky, you can find the most amazing deals on Craigslist. Well, my sister has found the most amazing deals on Craigslist, I have yet to find exactly what I want. For example, she bought these wicker chairs which she has painted and added to her front porch.




$20, a coat of paint and some clearance cushions and voila, a beautiful porch. Then she found this for her sunroom, also for $20.



She is still undecided as to the color this will be when it is all done. She was inspired by the Nester's stars, and decided to put up some of her own.


Next we move on to the kitchen. She found these chairs for... wait for it... $50 for all of them. Each one was a different color, but thanks to some trusty black spray paint, they are now looking like this. Can't wait to see how fabulous her kitchen table will look when it's all done.




Finally, there is the couch for my niece's room. Now my niece's room is HUGE!! Seriously, all she needs up there is a refrigerator, and she would never need to go down stairs. So when they first moved in, the furniture which previously overpowered the room in the old house, now looked tiny. So we were in search of a couch to go into this "fabulous to be" teenage room. We had seen the couches at IKEA, and thought those would be fun and modern for the room. Well, after much searching she found the couch. Originally listed "for free"... she just about had a heart attack... she ended up offering money to get it and in the end paid $50. Can you believe it. Look how fabulous it looks.



So now I am in search of something fabulous for my home. I really want some of those wicker chairs, and a bench for the foot of my bed, and a chair for our office area.

Do you have any Craigslist treasures?

Have a great day.
*ciao*
deb

So while at my sisters house swimming today, we got to see the exclusive Twilight preview on the Penelope DVD and all I can see is OH.MY.GOD!!!! The closer it gets, the more excited I am getting. Check it out...


I also have some pictures of her house that they have redone, and redone, and redone. I'll be posting those in the AM. For now, I am off to sleep. Way tired. Have a great evening.

*ciao*
deb

So taking a trip without your kids can be a little nerve racking... although it was nice to spend time with my hubby alone... nonetheless it can be nerve racking. My mother in love an sister in love came down to help take care of them while we were gone, which was great...BUT it was my nieces who really, really helped keep the girls entertained while we were in Vegas. Well, as a thank you I wanted to give them something special. So I decided to do these -






I had seen journal jars on a couple of different blogs that I read, and I thought that would be a fun thing for them and a great way to get them to write and think about things. (I know, I know, I'm such a teacher). So I found the jars and journals at IKEA...I love that store... and I just jazzed them up a bit. Then I printed out a lot of journal starters (questions for them to ponder and write about. i.e. Write about something that just drives you batty? Describe a time when a prayer was answered. What are you like now? Do you like yourself? If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be and why? Who was your favorite teacher in elementary school, and why?) The girls really liked them. There are actually journal starters for mothers, fathers, etc. I thought this would be a good gift to give to someone who has just found out they are pregnant. A great way to journal the entire pregnancy. What do you think?

I have the list of Journal starters, so if you're interested just drop me a comment and I'll send them your way.

I found a few other treasures today at Hobby Lobby. The deals weren't as great as others I've read about on the blogs I stalk, but they were still pretty darn good. I'll post the pics in the AM since they are still out in my car and I'm just too lazy to go get them and take pics of them right now. I will say though, if you want some fun rod iron home accents, you might want to go by. My HL only had them for 66% off, but that was still a pretty good deal.

Okay, I'm off to watch The Tudors. Ever since I watched The Other Boleyn Girl, I am interested in learning about that time period. Plus watching Henry Cavill in action doesn't hurt either. He really should have been cast as Edward in Twilight, but oh well.

Okay, have a great night.
*ciao*
deb

is posted on my old post. Scroll down to check it out. ET left out some parts and some dialog since they were talking.

So I finally am satisfied with my studio to post the pictures. I am particularly proud of this room because it is very personal to me. My awesome husband custom built my desk. It is fabulous. Plenty of space to cut, scrapbook, etc. and lots and lots of storage. Notice that my computer tower is nowhere in sight??? It's hidden in the cabinet. Exactly what I wanted. I also have my family heritage collage above my desk. I got old pics of my parents, Alex's parents, our grandparents, our girls and ourselves and framed them all in white. I still have a couple more pictures I need to put up there.



the area above my cubes is something I put together from thrift purchases. I bought some of the frames for like $2 and $3 each. Then I repurposed them. I made a chalkboard, a magnet board, and my calendar (this is purchased from Container Store, but I added a second frame so that it would fit in with the rest.) I am still missing my memo board, but I need Alex's help to cut out the molding for that one, so it is on hold.



Then I have an empty wall over the bed. I am collecting my thrift store plates to put up a collection. I only need a few more.


This dresser is a family heirloom. It belonged to my great grandfather. It was brown when I managed to get my aunt to hand it over. Alex painted it so it would fit in the room, and I love it. It is great storage. The plate holder above the dresser was a garage sale find for $3. It was off white when I bought it, so I just broke out my trusty spray paint. I love how it works as a magazine rack. Perfect place to keep my scrapbooking and decorating magazines.



So there you go. Next to the kitchen, this is my most favorite, and most used room in the house.

Have a great day.
*ciao*
deb

Linda at Restyled Home threw out this little challenge to post your perfectly imperfect homes. So I figured I would repost my kitchen makeover. Everyday I walk into my kitchen, and I am so glad that I painted it. It isn't perfect, by any means. You can see the paint strokes and the knobs aren't exactly right, but I love it. It is one of my favorite spots in my house.

This is the before...








and here is the after.

Not perfect, and lots of short cuts, but I love how my kitchen turned out. Look around your house and you might find that you have your own perfectly imperfect items or spaces that are perfect just for you.

*ciao*
deb