Giving Thanks....

TYPED UP ON 11/18/11 - JUST REMEMBERED I TYPED IT & DID NOT POST IT, SO HERE GOES NOTHING:

So I've not been too good about keeping up with the blog... I did, however, win a free bloggers Ecourse and will be taking advantage of that soon.... I hope. Time - there is not enough of it.

I've been reading blogs about tablescapes and have developed quite the obsession over it. I hope to have pics to post for Thanksgiving dinner. I found an AWESOME deal at the Goodwill Store (8 amber wine goblets for a total of $6!!!).  I really want to use them for my Thanksgiving table settings. I have it all planned out.  I just need to find the time for execution. I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner for my family (4 of us), my cousin and my brother-in-law.

Last year I cried "foul" and insisted that we go out. Since we don't live "close" to family, I wanted a day free of being chained to the kitchen. It's just the 4 of us, however, I was in the kitchen from sun-up until after the Thanksgiving meal was cleaned up and put away. Not fun.

Our experiment of eating out on Thanksgiving was not one of my best ideas. Everyone had something to complaint about (these sweet potatoes taste NOTHING like yours, etc.).  Really, a compliment. We were so unimpressed, that I swore to never make us eat out on Thanksgiving again. So what if I have to spend all day slaving over a hot stove and oven... it's worth it if the family appreciates it and looks forward to it.

This year will be even better having two of our family  members joining us!  So I'll be spending my weekend cleaning out and cleaning up the dining room (it has become a collection room of sorts over the last couple of months).  I will be pre-setting the table (the better to take before pics).  I will (hopefully) be posting my first ever TABLESCAPE photo(s) and sharing with you my Goodwill finds.

EDIT: I did actually take pics of my table and have posted them here for your post-thanksgiving enjoyment!

Closing out summer...ringing in the fall

It's that time of year, when the kids are deciding which of their new clothes they'll wear the first day of school -- next week already; they're packing their backpacks with all their new school supplies; wondering if they'll know where to go and where all their classes are.  Since I work all summer, the "back-to-school" attitude doesn't faze me, although it means I won't have to worry about my 2 teens at home all day being "bored." 

It's also the time I start putting away the red, white and blue decorations that have adorned my dining room and kitchen since Memorial Day and look forward to bringing out my fall colors and decos. Today I gave it a gradual start. I have an assorted collection of Longaberger pottery in paprika, cornflower, ivory and butternut.  The cornflower got swapped out for the butternut and I started pulling my baskets' fall "dresses" out of storage (aka liners).  I don't buy "seasonal" baskets, unless they are a GREAT deal on eBay.  But I love swapping out the liners. It changes the look for a very small price.  I do hate that LB is getting away from the liners, especially having them available for a large assortment of baskets. There are just a couple that get the honor of having fall fabric liners available.

I haven't taken a pic of the kitchen yet. I'll have to make sure I do that once the transformation is complete and our final kitchen redo project is finished. 

We (my Dear Hubby & myself, with some help from the kids) totally redid our kitchen last year - all by ourselves. We had a limited budget and went to Ikea.  I have a small kitchen, 12x14, so I wanted all white cabinets, white walls, a new laminate floor (oak), and a black granite-look countertop, and my apron front double basin sink! We ended up going with a custom formica countertop from Lowes. I'm really pleased with the look, especially since the cabinets are bead-board design.  I placed new cabinets in a corner where there were none before -- doubled my storage & countertop space; got all new appliances, a new white trestle table, with black ladderback chairs. I LOVE it!!! Whereas before, it was my LEAST favorite room in the house, that honor know goes to the Master Bath -- next summer's planned project. 

The kitchen had old, old, old cabinets, whose shelves were not adjustable. It had a soffit (which is now gone - to make room for my 39 inch cabinets).  It had 5 ceramic tiles permanently attached to said soffit -- of 5 different types/species of mushrooms.  OMG!!!! Seriously??? They came down within a week of moving in. We actually had to cut huge blocks of drywall out to get them OFF!!! But it was just the soffit, and we knew that was coming down eventually, so we just did a temp patch job.

The only things left to do are (1) hire someone to finish off the tops of the cabinets where they meet the ceiling, as their is a gap and my DH and I cannot, absolutely cannot, cut crown molding. And believe me, we tried, and tried, and tried. And had to stop because we were wasting wood and money; and (2) tile the backsplash. At first I was going to go with a faux-tin backsplash & stick with my country kitchen theme, but I really would like it tiled.  Next dilemma: white tile w/ black grount; white tile/white grout/w/ a decorative thin black tile stripe going all around; or black tile w/ white grout. I'm really leaning towards the black tile w/ white grout, as I think it will blend into the countertop nicely and couterbalance all the white happening in that room.  I'm not regretting going all white.  The kitchen feels light, airy, and larger when I'm in there -- before it was just oppressive.  But I think the black tile will look really nice.

Here is an inspiration pic  
and it just happens to be an Ikea kitchen.(The original image is not on the Ikea website anymore.)

As a matter of fact, the shelf on the wall on the left if the one I also have in my kitchen (well, 4 of them), displaying my baskets and pottery.

So what do you think?  Black subway tile and white grout?  Let me know what you think...

Beginning of a beautiful ..... something.

Okay. 
First step -- create blog - check.
Second step -- find something to write about - ummm... be back soon! ;)

Seriously though, I've been wanting to create a blog for a long time. And finally, after reading and following some awesome bloggers, I've been inspired. I'll be taking pictures and finding subjects/ideas to post about. Some of it you will find interesting, some of it - probably not so much. But if I have fun doing it, then the free therapy is working it will all be worth it in the end. I think...

I collect Longaberger baskets and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE decorating my home with them and finding uses for them.  I love to decorate for the seasons and holidays. I love to do all sorts of crafts (beading, crocheting, scrapbooking).  I collect ball-jointed dolls and Tonner dolls.  I love to build miniature houses (1/12th scale).  I love to read.  I love my dog (2 yr old American Bulldog named Kai) and she is not your typical dog.  So out of all of that, I'm hoping somewhere along the way, somebody will enjoy one or two of my posts. 

Okay everyone, in your best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice say this out loud, "I'll be back."