Christmas With Mom

Yes, I'm still posting pics of Christmas!  Our family had many places to go so I might post a few times to get in all the pics!  The weekend before we headed out to my mom's house to celebrate with my brother, mom, and step dad.  We tried to have a healthy Christmas meal so my step dad was grilling away when we got there:

Hubby headed outside to keep my step dad company while he was grilling.  And boy did he make the best salmon!  Never fails, that man can grill a fish sure enough!

 My mom was in the kitchen finishing up a few of her tasty dishes and Cupcake would not leave her alone.  She wanted her attention and from the pic below, she got it!  LOL!

My brother was doing his best to help me keep the girls occupied until we opened presents or ate:

 Wow, can you tell who my little cupcake looks like! 

He kept Princess smiling as usual!

Daddy snuck in for some kisses:

 And Princess was completely excited when we brought out the presents!

The girls got all kinds of stuff!  Easy bake oven, Princess dress up shoes, hello kitty rain boots (which we have already worn the heck out of!), and baby dolls!  Cupcake's little doll looks just like her!  The girls are so blessed to have so many loving family members!  We thoroughly enjoyed the day!

We have a WINNER!

YAY!  We have a winner!!

The winner of the $25 CSN give away is:

Jen who said " I'm a new follower! :0)"

Thank you all for your participation!  And Jen, I hope you enjoy your gift certificate!  I will be contacting you shortly with the details!   

Light and Bright!

We are finished painting kitchen cabinets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YAY!!!!  So I thought I'd show you how much brighter our kitchen looks =)  Before we had the builder grade cherry finish cabinets. 

From the above picture you can not tell how damaged the cabinets are close up.  So here are a few of those shots as well:

This first pic is the absolute worst.  Believe it or not, if I kept it oiled up with some Murphey's Oil you couldn't tell a thing!

And here is another:

And the last one shows some sun damage:

Now for the lighter, brighter version!  I tried to get some shots over the weekend when I could get some natural light.  I had a model jump in this photo shoot.  Don't mind her.  To her momma, she only adds to the beauty;-)

Proof, I DO clean my kitchen!  ;-)

So let's recap: 

BEFORE...Dark, Scratched up, Dreary

AFTER:  Light, Bright, Cheery!

Don't mind the prints on the fridge.  I have 2 little ones who LOVE to make a mess.  LOL!

So compared to the dark cherry wood that ALWAYS needed a good slop of Murpheys Oil.  These are MUCH better!  =)  Next up is replacing countertops and maybe the kitchen sink.  Don't miss the next post on the cabinets.  I need some help picking out coutnertops!  =)

So what do you think so far??

*** I will be linking up with the parties on my side bar!  Check them out. Always good stuff there!***

Sleep Training

While hubby was in Iraq I had Cupcake's sleeping routine pretty well on track.  I'd rock her a few minutes and then lay her in her crib.  Sometimes she'd fuss about it and sometimes not.  But, she got to sleep on her own.  Fast forward to Daddy coming home.  He has missed his babies like something awful and he wants to help them get to sleep.  Even if he is snuggling them until they drift off to dreamland.  And now, about a year later, the thought is that Cupcake needs to learn to go to sleep on her own.  She's two now.  So we begin to work with her on staying in her big girl bed after we say prayers and drifting off to sleep on her own.  About two weeks ago I snapped this shot:

We'd been putting Cupcake back in her bed over and over and then it seemed as though she'd gotten the idea and gone to sleep.  When we went to check on her we found her laying just outside of her bedroom door, sound asleep in the hallway.  Make no mistake, she had her silky blanket, 'woof-woof', an passy.  Those are all on her "must have to sleep" list.  I am proud to report that Cupcake is now falling asleep on her own in her big girl bed.  There may be a very short lived fussy girl.  But she's adjusting really well and we are not finding her in her hallway.  Although I do believe Daddy had to take her back to her bed from the hall about three nights in a row.    

Vanilla Bean

Wanna see what I've been working on lately?  Our Mantel!

Have you all seen all the beautiful empty frames around blog land?  And many times they are accompanied by an equally beautiful coffee filter wreath?   

I started checking out thrift stores in my area about 5 months ago.  I was really looking for something to make a chalkboard with.  (I will post more on my chalkboard craft later.  ;-))  I found an empty frame. 

It's calling my name.  It's only $5!!!!!!  I wish I could locate my memory card.  It has before pics on it.  But I can tell you the frame is gold and missing it's picture and glass.  No glass, no chalkboard.  I picked it up anyway.  With a couple of coats of Heirloom White she's good to go!

All I needed next was a coffee filter wreath.  We just had a big snow so I decided to make my own coffee filter wreath!

My supplies:

• a wreath form from the dollar store ( I ended up choosing the green foam wreath)
• clearance ribbon
• coffee filter wreaths from the dollar store
• hot glue gun and LOTS of glue sticks

To get started I opened my green floral form and then I wrapped it with the ribbon.  This way I could put the hot glue directly on the wreath form and in theory get less burns from this project.  ;-) 

Next I folded the coffee filters in half and then I folded the half in half.  So it's now if fourths.  Got it?  If not check out Decorchick! or The Nester's Tutorial.  They are both fantastic!  I did use a different wreath form than they did because I just ran to the dollar store to pick up one and that was what they had.  =)  (I already had the faux grapevine wreath from the dollar store that I ended up not using).  I hot glued these babies (the coffee filters) on until I got my wreath!  She's a beauty, right?!  Well, I may be partial since I made her, but I think so =)

Yah, I know, I am the last one to jump on the coffee filter wreath train making in blogland.  BUT, I love it.  Hubby says it's 3D.  I think it says "soft" and "romantic"..."lovely" and "elegant".  Just what I was going for.  =) 

Her final spot ended up on my winter mantel.  I made a few changes to it and I am very happy with the outcome.  I updated a SLAH which I think is now called something else.  Anyway, I stuck some greenery in a foam shape, cut it out, wrapped it in twine, and stuck it in the SLAH holder.  I grabbed the white cross from another spot in the house and stuck in a dollar store candle.  The plate was another dollar store treasure.  It came silver and I painted it with Heirloom white and applied vinyl with our family name and est. date.  It was a small craft I'd been planning forever! 

The rest were items I shopped the house for! 

And here it is complete with a nice cozy fire!

What do you think?  To much 3d or romantic and lovely?

**I plan to link this up at the parties on my sidebar.  Check them out!  Always good stuff on those blogs and good links for a visit =) ***

Flourish: Cabinet Style!

Hubby and I have been discussing adding some flair to the cabinets in various ways.  My first idea was to use the beadboard wallpaper inside the frame of each cabinet.  I was rolling with that idea until it got down to the knitty gritty.  I got skeerd!  I like the look of the bead board cabinets but I was concerned that:

(1) it would get old to me very fast

(2) it would be to country for my taste

(3) it would seriously date the house

(4) we'd limit "buyers" to our home when selling

So I opted out of that one.  I was actually thinking of putting some scrolly woodwork on a blank horizontal board just underneath the kitchen sink.  About that time Hubby suggested we add some wood work to the LARGE blank slate ABOVE the sink.  I had not told him I was thinking of this already so he is claiming fully that this WAS his idea.  And since this is the idea we went with and he's doing a lot of work here, then we'll say it's HIS!  =)  Once we got the area above the sink sanded, primed, and painted I set off to Lowe's to find the little gem we'd add.  I searched and searched until I found this:

I had been looking at some cheaper versions for around $7, but I knew that this was the one I wanted.  And really $25-ish was not a bad price to add some detail to a boring kitchen.  Hubby painted it and after some careful measurements he glued it up!

So here is the before (with the new paint):

And here is the area above the sink after the addition:

And here it is upclose just so you can see how much it really does stand out and make the space a little less boring:

We are pleased with the progress so far!  Next week I hope to post the entire cabinets painted!  Then we will be in for updating the sink and countertops soon!  =)  What do you think?  I've thought of using some stain or glaze just on this piece to make it stand out more.  But I'm not sure if I want to sand and glaze every cabinet.  Would it look weird just to glaze this piece or is it ok as is?  I'm undecided and would love to hear your opinion!  Let me know your thoughts!

 

In the Meadow We can Build a Snowman!

We went to Connecticut during the holidays and we had a BEAUTIFUL white Christmas!  =)  I wanted to post some pictures of the girls and the hubs making a snowman.  Oh and momma was taking all the pics!  So here is our beautiful snowgirl!  She is complete with mommy's new scarf, tree branch arms, and tissue paper for hair, eyes, and nose (LOL)!!!!

The girls were pretty excited getting ready to go outside to make their very own Frosty!  But as soon as we got out Cupcake had this look:

Which very quickly turned to this look:

However, once we started frosty, she AND the princess were hugging on "her" before she was complete:

 Princess on the other hand was ALL ABOUT this venture:

Look at these beautiful eyes!  (I can say that, I'm her momma!):

And there was daddy....loving every minute of it!

 In between snowgirl making!

And sitting on the world biggest snowball daddy made!

So in Connecticut we had a beautiful and large snowfall!  And we loved every minute we got to play.  =)  It just prepared us for the Alabama snow to come!  ;-)

So what about you?  Do you like the snow?  Does your family enjoy it?  Is it a regular where you live?

Alabama Snow

 We just had our THIRD largest snowfall on record in Alabama!

 WOW! The area we live in got 8 inches. The world stopped for a couple of days. The fam finally got out to play a little so I thought I'd post a few pics. The snow had melted a good bit by this time but we still had fun!  The girls got to wear their new Hello Kitty rain boots!  Our family doggie enjoyed a little play as well!

What has your family been doing for fun this winter? 

Wordless Wed: BCS CHAMPS

WAR EAGLE, BABY!!!



CSN stores Giveaway!

I have exciting news for you!  I was contacted by CSN stores to host a giveaway!  The giveaway is for a $25 gift certificate (though I love all my readers CSN stores has specified this only be open to US and Canadian readers).   
CSN stores have so much to offer!  And since I'm in the middle of a kitchen remodel, I could not help myself looking at the choices of modern dining room tables .  This bar height table is nice:

Or since we've been snowed in here, I find myself wishing for that good ole' warm weather! I could see myself sitting at this nice patio table, sipping sweat tea and watching the girls play.  It'd be nice to have some company over and grill out, right?

They have  200+ stores so there is a lot to choose from.  What are you waiting for?  Go check them out!  =)

So how do you enter for this $25 give away??   You have FOUR opportunities to enter.  Leave a seperate comment for each:

• Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment.  If you already are a follower then leave me a comment telling me that you are.
• Head over to CSN stores   and leave a comment telling me what you like! (mandatory)
• Tweet about this give away.  Leave a comment and let me know.  
• Blog about this give away.  Leave a comment letting me know you did that.   

Now, how's this to start off the week?  Nice, right!  I am super excited to be able to host this for one lucky reader!

Surprise!!!

We arrived in Connecticut a day early.  It was Christmas day.  We were surprising my MIL at a family Christmas gathering =) 

Very big thank you's go out to my BIL,  Uncle Kev and my MIL's sister, Aunt Peggy!  I think we did it!!!

**Side note:  Used my POS camera so pics aren't the best quality.  The Nikon was lost in luggage at the time.  At any rate, the most important thing for this occasion was to have captured the memory **

Kitchen Hardware Make-Over

So hubs and I are in the process of doing this whole paint the kitchen cabinets thing. Which of course turned into, we need new hardware. Amongst the other obvious items that dated our kitchen (sink, counter tops, ahem...it's ALL the age of the house). I knew that I had thought of just replacing hardware at one point UNTIL I found out how much it was going to cost me. Then I ran across so many posts in blog land on ORB! I decided to try it out on the handles and hinges. If it was an Epic Fail then I'd just splurge on the new hardware. If not then I'd just saved myself LOADS of Moolah! Turns out...IT WORKED! =) For the cost of a couple of cans of ORB (around $7 each!) I will have all the hardware/hinges/screws painted in a more updated color.

Once I removed all the hardware I degreased it.  Next I sanded it with an extra fine grit sanding block.  I typically buy the 3M sanding block if it is available. 

Here is the before and after picture of the beautiful brass pulls we had:

Next I placed it on some cardboard outside and sprayed, let dry, repeat, flip, spray, dry, repeat...until I was happy with the result.  So here are the phases of transition that the hardware went through: 

And up next is a small sneak peak at the hardware installed on some freshly painted cabinets.  =) 

It's looking better each day!  I am very happy with how the project is turning out. 

We are making progress each day.  Still have a few painting items left.  After that it's kitchen sink and counter top shopping! =)  I am still undecided on glazing.  I have seen cabinets slightly sanded and glazed and they are so lovely.  However, hubs is starting back to school next week and I am  not sure how much time we will have to devote to the project after that.  You know those two little girls of ours do demand and deserve our attention ;-)  I know I will be happy with just the updates we are planning to finish now.  I might save the glaze for another day or not.  ;-) 
I have misplaced one of my memory cards that has the before pics I snapped ...BUT for an idea of the cabinets (color and condition) before here is a quick picture I snapped before vacation:

Ignore the mess.  We are kinda in the middle of a remodel, LOL!  I plan to find that memory card and use those pictures in the final post of the kitchen make over.  But for now, you get the idea, right? 
 So what do you all think?
On a side note when I leave for work it's dark outside...when I get home from work it's dark outside.  So not the greatest pictures but the best I can do under the circumstances of no natural light. 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!  We are back from a FANTASTIC family visit to Connecticut. I have lots of Christmas pics and Connecticut pics to share at some point. However, we got home Sunday late. So, I have a messy- just opened all my Christmas gifts -house to clean, a bag or two of laundry (yes, it multiplied after we got home I believe), and a very major project to finish.....the kitchen cabinets! YIKES! Weren't those supposed to be complete before the end of the year?!!! Y-E-S. But my sweet Princess got the flu :( So my wonderful hubby came home from work and painted after work. I sanded to get things ready for him while the girls were in bed...but it wasn't enough to finish the project for us. I plan on posting soon on how I've been updating our hardware without breaking the bank! We are getting closer and closer. And from the disarray a project like this can cause, we all are ready to be finished up sooner than later =)


I will give a shout out to the hubby on my surprise gift for Christmas....McNaughton Art!!!  I am really excited about it!  He purchased the Peace is Coming print:

I encourage you to take a look on the website. You can mouse over each and every person in the artwork and there is a story to read. Very interesting and intriguing to me and I am not a history kind of person. So this was my big surprise which I thought was a very large family photo! Ha, ha! I'm quite happy about it and can not wait to get it framed and hung very soon!!!!

Did you all travel during the holidays? Have a great Christmas? I wish each and every on of you a fabulous new year filled with wondrous possibilities =)