The Playroom {Brainstorming}

By now you've probably realized that I haven't shown you every room in our house. And for good reason, trust me. Case in point, the room we affectionately call "the playroom." I'm so embarrassed of this room that I'm not even ready to show you photos of it. I sometimes refer to it as a used furniture store. It always becomes the resting place for furniture we're not sure what to do with but aren't ready to get rid of and other things we don't know where to put.

Our current living room is an addition that was added onto the house in the 90's. The room we have used as the kid's playroom is the small original living room. When we first moved into our house (about 10 years ago now), our kids were preschoolers and so this room became their place. Even when we moved in I had grand plans for this room....bright colors, cubbies for storage, a table for projects. But time, finances, and well, little kids kept me from really making this a great space. About three years ago we did paint the room and I bought new curtains for it's big picture window. I was hoping to get some new furniture. But those plans stalled as well as I started to concentrate more on our actual living room and kitchen. There was a bathroom makeover in there somewhere too.

And now the kids are teenagers. We still call it the playroom, but it doesn't see as much action anymore. The room is mostly used for watching TV and Hubster and I recently talked about this space being used as home office.

A big re-do isn't really in the budget, but now that I know what we really want to see this room used for, I'm starting to gather some inspiration photos and I've created a Playroom board over on Pinterest. Take a look!

 Coastal Living

My #1 goal is to make this room comfy and a place that we will want to hang out. It's not going to happen overnight, but at least when the time comes I will have thought through how we will use this room and what I want it to look like.

You can see that there are some common elements in a couple of my inspiration photos. First off, a nice comfy sectional. The room is not large so it would have to be a smaller piece, but I would love to have some nice, comfortable seating.

BHG

Storage! I kind of have a love affair with the Expedit line at IKEA. We already use some of this in our kids rooms. It is so basic....and fairly inexpensive compared to other storage units....and can be dressed up in so many different ways depending on what type of bins, baskets, and accessories you use. I would love to be able to house books, DVDs, office supplies, craft supplies, etc.

**In looking to provide a link to the Expedit series, I discovered that IKEA is phasing it out!! Say it ain't so IKEA! It is being replaced by a similar series call Kallax. BUMMER!

We also need something to put our TV on. It is currently sitting on our piano bench....OY!

You can also see that I love the globe trend. I'm really drawn to those colors so that may be a jumping-off point for the color scheme of the room. We'll see.

But for now, I'm just dreaming and gathering inspiration for the future.

Easter Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! We enjoyed ours immensely!

Fortunately, Hubster had the day off on Good Friday. That afternoon, we celebrated Easter with his family so that his sister who lives out of state and her family could be with us. We enjoyed a good meal and then headed outside for the annual Easter egg hunt for the kids.

I must say that the weather this weekend was just gorgeous. It was so nice to be outside in the sunshine and not have to be all bundled up. After this winter, I was just thanking the Lord all weekend for such glorious weather.

The kids love the egg hunt. It's been tradition at Nana and Grandpa's house since they were very little. All the grandkids are growing up though, and so the egg hunt's years are numbered I'm afraid to say.

Our Saturday began with Easter baskets at home. Yes, on Saturday. This has become our tradition over the years. It really began because honestly, we were usually so busy on Easter Sunday that we didn't really have time for baskets. It has worked out well though because now our Easter is more focused on Jesus instead of the Easter Bunny.

 

We never made a huge deal about the Easter Bunny when the kids were little (most of that kind of stuff entered their lives via school.) One of the first years we did baskets on Saturday, they were so excited about the Easter Bunny coming to our house. but we told them he wouldn't come unless they took a bath. So they all got in the tub and while Hubster was giving baths, I hid the baskets. For a couple years after that they thought that the Easter Bunny only came while they were in the tub. Worked out great for us! Ha!

Now they know it's just Mom and Dad hiding the baskets and so they huddle in one bedroom while we hide them and then come out and search. We don't have many great hiding spots in our house, so the search is very short. But it's tradition.

 

 

(I'm such a bad blogger. For the rest of the weekend the camera was pretty much forgotten about.)

 

The remainder of Saturday was spent getting the house ready for our guests for Easter dinner the next day. My sweet Hubster even went out and bought some flowers to plant outside by the door to welcome everyone. 

 

Easter Sunday started early for us. At our church, the youth plan the early service (formerly known as the Sunrise Service). Since two of our kiddos were involved in that this year, they had to be at church especially early. Hubster drove over with the kids while I came a little later to do a few last minute things at home.

 

The kids and our Youth Director did a great job. It always feels so right to start out the day joyously celebrating that Jesus is risen.

 

That service is followed by Easter Breakfast....scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, muffins, fruit, juice, and this year, a French Toast casserole....YUM!

 

Next came our main service. The choir sang in this service and my parents, long-time choir members, recruited our middle guy to sing in the choir for Easter. How sweet it was to see his face buried in his music trying his hardest to follow along. I also had to privilege to be part of the worship team this morning. It's always wonderful to be able to lead people to worship Jesus, but it was even more so on the day when we celebrate the Resurrection.

 

After church, we headed home for lunch. (Don't know how we had any room for lunch, but we managed. Ha!) What a fun time we had around the table. We always do. Mom, Sal, and I had all contributed to the meal and everything was delicious. Here's our menu in case you missed it.

 

We finally relaxed after lunch by all sitting around and watching Frozen. Yes, all eleven of us! Those of us who had seen it a time or two or more sang along. Fun times!

 

Shortly after that the party broke up. Hubster and I cleaned up, put the kids to bed, and collapsed in front of the TV to watch the Amazing Race. 

 

Our weekend was full. But these are the times when I look back and realize how full our life is....kids, family, church, home, friends.....and even more important things like love, hope, and the Giver of it all.

 

I hope your Easter weekend was blessed as well!

 

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Before I go, I want to tell you about a great giveaway that Sal is having over at Drinking From My Saucer. She's talking about Spring and mason jars today and has a set of green Heritage Ball jars to give away. So if your house is still needing a little Spring in it, head on over and you could win a set of those beautiful green jars!

 

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A Table For Easter

 

I'll be hosting my family for Easter dinner this year. When I'm having company, I always like to do a "dress rehearsal" of my table. I pick out my tablecloth, dishes, napkins, serving pieces, and put together a centerpiece. I like having it all figured out ahead of time so I'm not pulling things together at the last minute. Much less stress that way.

So here's what I came up with for Easter this year.

 

 

C'mon over and take a closer look!

 

 



I had a hard time deciding on dishes. It was between our original Pfaltzgraff Garden Party or the new Asiatic Pheasant. The Garden Party dishes are very Spring-like with their tulips and violets, but in the end the new dishes won out.

 

 

I made cloth napkins out of this bright yellow fabric that I found in fat quarters at WalMart. Making my own was much less expensive that buying cloth napkins and I hadn't found any I like anyway. The fat quarters were almost the perfect size (18x21 in.) and I just had to cut off a little to make them square. I'm so glad I went this route. If I had bought fabric off the bolt, there would've been a lot more measuring and cutting....and the cost was about the same.

 

Since I don't have a sewing machine, I decided to fringe the edges instead of hemming them. I learned this from my mom. When we got married, she made cloth napkins to go under the centerpieces on all the tables at our reception. Mom helped me fringe the Easter napkins too. It's very easy to do, but fringing twelve napkins wound up being more time consuming than I thought it would be. Thanks Mom!

 

 

 

 

For the centerpiece, I used all my latest ironstone finds and filled them with pretty purple and yellow Violas. I love how it looks.

 

 

 

 

I also used a couple small metal planters that I found in The Spot at Target. I filled them with Easter basket grass and some yummy chocolate eggs for [hopefully] AFTER dinner.

 

 

 

 

So there's how our Easter table will be set. Our menu is set as well!

 

 

Ham

 

Sal's Killer Hash Brown Potatoes

 

Cinnamon Applesauce Jello Salad

 

Green Peas

 

Easter Eggs

(hard-boiled)

 

Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

 

and

 

Chocolate Éclair Dessert

 



 

 

 

So now that the plans are made for our Easter Dinner, it's time to clean the house a bit!

 

Are you hosting an Easter Dinner at your house? What are your plans?

 

 

 



 







Welcome To April!

April is upon us and that means a new calendar up on the chalkboard.

 

 

I couldn't resist adding a couple pretty daffodils. Hopefully they will be showing themselves around here soon.

 

 

 

So did you survive April Fool's Day? Hubster woke our oldest son up at 2AM and told him it was time to get up and get ready for school. He had adjusted his clock the night before. It's a good thing our son is such a good sport. I don't think I would have been so kind at 2 in the morning.

 

 

 

 

April 1st is actually the anniversary of when Hubster and I got engaged. Seriously. He asked me to marry him on April Fool's Day. He had purchased a ring and it was burning a hole in his pocket. He couldn't wait so he asked me to marry him on April 1st. True story!

 

I hope this new month is starting out well for you!

Treasure Hunting

Last week was our kid's Spring Break. We didn't do anything grand. We mostly just hung out at home. It was a good week. But by yesterday when the kids returned to school, I was ready for a little "Me Time."

So I decided to head out for a little treasure hunting at a couple of my favorite haunts. It was a beautiful day to be out. The sun was shining and it was warmer than it has been in a LOooooNG time!

First stop....a local thrift store just around the corner from me. There I found the ironstone sugar bowl you see on the left....for 90 cents. At that store I also found a globe, which I plan to use in a future project.

 

 



Next I headed to the Goodwill Store. I don't know what it is about this store, but I am 3 for 3 at finding ironstone there. I spied a large set of what appeared to be ironstone....a platter, a couple serving bowls, cups and saucers, a creamer and what seemed to be a sugar bowl with lid. They were marked Independence Ironstone Castleton Japan. I don't know a lot about ironstone yet, so I took a chance. I really just wanted the platter and creamer, but I felt badly about breaking up the sugar and creamer even though something just didn't seem right about the pair. It turns out that the sugar bowl may just be a piece by itself and that the sugar bowl that went with the creamer was much more slender with handles that matched the one on the creamer.

I also discovered after a little research at home that this pattern may have been produced as recently as the mid 1960's. So it is actually fairly young....like me! But it is still a very pretty pattern even if it isn't old.

I decided that the sugar bowl from the first store actually suits this sweet little creamer better even though it has a little more heft to it and the pattern isn't exactly the same.

 

 

 

My next stop was Target. I had a bunch of things I need to get there, but I was also hoping to find some clearance goodness. No luck though. I got what I needed and headed to HomeGoods just down the street

.

My first reason for going into HomeGoods was to look for inspiration for our Easter table since I will be hosting my family this year. But my second reason was to look for some specific plates. As you've probably seen in many of my photos I have a couple of these black and cream Asiatic Pheasant dishes that I purchased there a while back. I've grown to love their toile-looking beauty. So far, I have just used them decoratively, but I have been hoping to find more dinner plates so that we can actually use them some time.

 

Since I hadn't seen them at HomeGoods for a while, I had even checked Replacements.com and was shocked at the price. I told myself that if I ever spotted them again at HG, I was going to grab them while I could. Well, yesterday was the day! They actually had a good number of them and so I bought eight more to add to my collection. I was a happy girl.

 

 

 

 

My last stop before heading home was the Salvation Army store. I have just recently started stopping in there, but a couple weeks ago I saw a pair of end tables that I had been thinking about ever since. They were an awesome deal at 19.99 for the set. I had huge plans for them. But the day I saw them I just couldn't commit.

 

So yesterday I decided to stop in and see if they were still there.....and of course they weren't. (I was actually surprised to find that all the furniture had turned over since I had been there which surprised me since there were some pretty big pieces, like large sofas and china cabinets.)

 

Anyways, it just wasn't meant to be I guess and I could just kick myself. I left empty handed.



So I feel pretty good about my thrifty finds and I had a fun time doing something I enjoy. Just FYI, I don't have aspirations of having a huge ironstone collection. I mostly find myself drawn to pitchers and little creamers and so I wouldn't mind finding a couple more of those and will have fun hunting.

The Most-Pinned Item From My Blog And Free Printables

Do you remember this post about the re-do we did in our kid's bathroom a while ago?

 You may be surprised to find out (as I was) that the most pinned image from this blog on Pinterest is this one of the wall art I DIY-ed.

So I figured why not give this word art away as free printables!

You can download all four words HERE. (You DO NOT have to sign up for box to be able to download them.) They are 8x10, but for the bathroom I printed them as 5x7's and matted them in inexpensive 8x10 frames.

I will tell you that they are ink-suckers....so you might want to save them and have them printed somewhere instead of doing them yourself. Your choice.

ENJOY!!

** For personal use only. Not intended for resale. **

Taming Kitchen Counter Clutter

First things first.....HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!!

Are we all excited, or what?  We knew it would get here if we were just patient, right?
And now, as I see it, things can only get better....or at least warmer!

So today I wanted to share something that I have a bit of trouble with....kitchen counter clutter. In my case, just one particular part of my counter. You can see from this picture I took back in September that this peninsula counter in our kitchen gets lots of action.

**Disclaimer - The counter was looking particularly horrible on this day. It doesn't always look quite that bad.

You see, it's right inside our back door. So it just becomes the drop spot for everyone to leave their stuff when they come in....besides all the papers that come home from school and in the mail. It is also my command center since that's where the phone is.

Over the years, I have tried different "filing" systems in this spot to try and tame all the paper. Usually they work for a while, but then get so stuffed and out of control that I can't stand to look at them! Then what usually happens is that we will be having company (the peninsula is usually our buffet area too) and so I will stuff the "filing system" in a closet....and will forget about it until I need to go looking for something that is in the files.

That's what happened last week. And when I looked at my nice clean, uncluttered counter I started thinking that maybe I need to come up with a new tactic in order to keep it looking nice.

So here is my new three-step plan.

STEP ONE:  Keep it simple. No elaborate filing system needed. If I keep things simple I will be more likely to maintain the order.

STEP TWO: Make it pretty. My eyes like pretty. If it looks good I will want it to stay that way.

STEP THREE: And this is the real key.... Handle papers as they come in and don't let things pile up. Now sometimes that is easier said than done, but I am going to make more effort to do this. Even now, since I took these photos, there is a little pile of papers that includes some coupons which I need to put in my purse, a birthday party invitation that I need to RSVP to, and one or two other things. I have to keep on top of it.  

This is what I came up with for now. I used this lazy Susan that I purchased on my recent trip to IKEA as kind of a tray to contain things. I added the phone and other important items for this area, like note paper and pens and pencils for messages. This is also the spot where I charge my iPad so the charging cord needed to be here too. Then I added the pretty with a plant and this little robin statuette. Simple. Pretty. And hopefully easy to maintain.

I have also decided that I still need to maintain some files for some important paperwork, but I need to find a more inconspicuous place to keep this so I don't have to hide it every time we have guests over. I hope to give my desk area a little makeover in the coming months so that will be part of that project.

So that's my plan and hopefully I can stick to it. Sometimes you just have to rethink what isn't working and find a better way that makes more sense for how you really live your life.

Do you have a clutter trouble spot in your home? Hopefully my plan will help you think about how you can improve that space and make it work better for you.



Four Things For Friday 3.14.14

Good Friday Morning Everyone!

It's been kind of slim pickin's on the blog here lately, but if you've been dying to know what's on my mind, here are today's Four Things!

1.)  I have promised myself I will not write one more blog post that contains comments on Winter weather. (Thus, the quiet here.)  I'm done. The end.

2.) My sweet white tulips from last week are unfortunately also done. I've replaced them with some faux daffodils for the time being. As faux flowers go, these daffodils I got at WalMart ($3/bush) are pretty nice, I think.

(What do you think about the word "faux?" Is it really better than just calling something fake?")

 

 

3.) Our son who is wheelchair dependent has figured out that in June he will be old enough to get his temporary permit to drive. Help me, Lord! That will take a miracle on so many levels. But who am I to squash his dreams? ( He also wants to manage a professional baseball team, preferably the Cleveland Indians) In the meantime, Hubster has begun quizzing him on traffic laws. OY!

 

 

 

 

4.) Remember that old song.....

          

            Make new friends, but keep the old.

         One is silver, and the other gold.

 

Today, Mom, Sal, and I are having lunch with a couple dear old friends. Then tomorrow evening, we are having some new friends over for dinner. It should be fun!

 

 

I hope that whatever your plans are that you have a great weekend!



Weekend, Sisters, And Another Favorite Blog

Sisters, Sisters.

There were never such devoted sisters.

My sister, Sal, and I used to sing that song (from White Christmas) when we were kids. I'm not so sure we meant it as much then as we do now. We argued and pulled each other's hair back then. But I'm so thankful that these days I am able to count her as one of my best friends in the whole world. 

My kids adore their Aunt Sal too. (Oh, and don't call her Aunt Sally. My Mom referred to her as Sally the other day and they were like, "HUH?") For a couple Christmases now their gift from Aunt Sal and her family has been some kind of party at her house. One year was a pizza-making party, but usually it's cookie-baking. Saturday was the day for this year's big party and the kids were so excited.

(Shhh, don't tell....i just totally stole these photos from her Facebook wall.)

And not only is this a gift for the kiddos, but Hubster and I get a few hours out of it for a date too. We got to go out for lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant and go browsing around an antique mall. (That Hubster, he knows the way to my heart!)

I've said it before and I'll never stop saying it....I am blessed.

Besides being an awesome sister and aunt, Sal is also a blogger. In fact, she's the one who encouraged me to start my own blog.

Sal blogs at Drinking From My Saucer ['Cause My Cup Has Overflowed]. She writes about all kinds of topics related to home and family. She shares stories, recipes, organizing and home tips, crafts, bargain shopping.....a little bit of everything.....all with wisdom and wit. 

I adore her and I know you will too. Stop by and tell her I sent you!

 

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Sharing A Little Spring With You



Yesterday when I was at the grocery store, these tulips called out my name.

I gave in and bought them because, wow, aren't they beautiful? And besides, who couldn't use a little dose of Spring right about now?

And they've been making me smile ever since I brought them home yesterday, so I thought I would share them with you.

Enjoy!

The March Chalkboard Calendar

It's time for the March calendar!

I know....I'm a little late. What's new?

Funny story.....

The other day my son asked my when I was going to do the March calendar.

He said, "It won't be hard this month. You just have to add a couple numbers."

I was like....huh?

"What do 'ya mean? I have to re-do the name of the month and then I have to erase all the numbers and start all over again for a new month!"

"No you don't! You just have to add 29, 30, and 31!"

All of the sudden it finally hit me. He was right! February and March always start on the same day of the week....except in Leap Year.

"My son," I said, "I love you and you are the smartest boy in the whole world!"

I would have been SO kicking myself if I had erased that whole calendar!

And that's my boy, always thinking, especially when it has to do with numbers.

So, the month of March has arrived! Home to the first official day of Spring (even if it doesn't look like it outside!), Spring Break, and March Madness. (I never knew what March Madness was until I lived in Indiana. Those Hoosiers LOVE their basketball!)





Do you have big plans this month? I hope your March is off to a good start!



** If you'd like to see our chalkboard calendar from other months, you can click on the Our Monthly Chalkboard button over here in the sidebar.**  -------->

Adding Color To A Room For The Seasons

It's no surprise that I like to decorate for the seasons.  Besides making our home festive for holidays and the different seasons, it always makes me feel good to have some change in my life every once in a while.

Even though I sometimes have holiday decorations that I use, mostly I make changes with color. Today I thought I would share some of the simple things I use to add color to my rooms.

Before I do that, I want to give you two tips that I think give seasonal color punch in a room.

First, I think having a neutral background for your color makes a huge difference. It took me a long time to 1.) figure this out, and 2.) actually make this happen in our home. Over time, with used furniture finds, hand-me-down furniture, and a couple new pieces I have been able to accomplish this. It didn't happen overnight. It took time and patience. But I think in our main rooms we are finally to that place.

Second, if your going to add seasonal color to a room, I think it makes more impact if you stick with a certain color palate. For February, I used  red and turquoise. In the Fall I usually go with orange and yellow. So once you've decided on a color scheme, start gathering things from around your house in those colors.

Here are the four most common things I use to add seasonal color to a room.

I LOVE using dishes to decorate with. There are so many pretty choices. You can go with solids or patterns or shaped dishes like the leaf plates above. To me, it's like adding art to my room. I use plates, bowls, platters, cups, saucers, pitchers all over the place! HomeGoods and TJMaxx are my best sources for dishes, hands down.

You can make a lot of color impact in a room with pillows. There are beautiful ones out there, but they can be outragiously expensive. HomeGoods and Target are great sources. For example, I found the red heart pillow in "The Spot" at Target for about $3. You can also get creative by making your own pillow covers like I did with the red striped ones. They cost me a fraction of the price as similar ones I saw online.

I must confess that I have a bit of a candle issue. I have a lot of them and I have to keep myself from buying more. But candles and candle holders are a SUPER easy way to add some color to a room. You can use colored candles or jazz up a plain white pillar like I did for Valentine's Day. Get creative.  My most favorite candles are actually the jar candles from Bath & Body Works. They have great long-lasting scents and colors, plus their pretty labels often have seasonal looks. Watch for them to be on sale occasionally and be on the lookout for other candles on clearance as well, especially after a holiday

.

Using things from the outdoors can often add a burst of color to a room besides adding texture as well. And I use that term "living things" loosely because sometimes I use real live things and sometimes I use faux.

Here are some examples....

* fresh or faux flowers 

* potted plants or bulbs

* pinecones

* fresh or faux fruits and vegetables (like lemons in Summer and pumpkins in Fall.)

* forced branches

* wreaths made of greenery

* pine clippings in Winter

 

So there you go, some simple tips from me on how to add color to your room.....especially if you like to change things up a bit every once in a while and don't want to spend a fortune.

Linking this post up to The Scoop #108 at Stone Gable.