Winter Mantel

My winter mantel is a very simple one.

My on going goal is to simplify and only do what is the best for my family. I have to really think about it everyday. Two quotes I'm trying keep on my mind everyday is 1) "If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most." Dieter F. Uchtdorf and 2) “work at our responsibility as parents as if everything in life counted on it, because in fact everything in life does count on it.” Gordon B. Hinckley

Wishing you all a Warm and Happy January!

PB Look-A-Likes

Like a lot of you I love getting my Pottery Barn catalog. I can spend hours looking at it. Here are the 2 things I saw in my December catalog and had to have them but my way.

Now here are mine.

I just strung up some ornaments on ribbon with help from my 8 year old. She really enjoyed helping me make this because anytime someone asks about it she tells them she helped make it.



This just finished off my front room tree. I cut out a stencil with my cricut and then painted Merry Christmas on some burlap strips.

I want to wish you all a
Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Mantel

This mantel has been in the making for a while. I made the candle sticks out of chair legs and found more shudders. I found the green urns a while back on one of my thrift shopping trips for $8. The Santa was also a thrift find just after Christmas last year.

I have been working on a few PB look-a-likes and here is a little peek.

A Thankful Mantel

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holiday's. I love the harvest. Growing up on a farm you see all the summers hard work pay off.
This year we as a family are keeping Thankful Journals now until the new year. I hope to keep mine going all next year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bewitch has landed at my house

I made her yesterday. She is made of plywood. I cut her out with my jigsaw. Spray painted her with kilz primer and then with black and finished her of with clear sealer. Then gave her a broom and lantern.


The old witch was a lot of fun to make and I think she looks so cool.

Summer Reads for the Whole Family

At our house we LOVE Shannon Hale. (Plus I love reading her blog.) My 9 year old daughter is reading the Princess Academy. Our bedtime story books right now are Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, Shannon Hale's graphic novels. My kids just can't get enough of them. I have read all of her books and I can't pick just one as my favorite they are all so good.

Enjoy!

Book 1 of Summer Reading.

I have been a very busy gal the last month getting ready for summer. For the last 3 summers I have gone home (Boise, Idaho) for about 7 weeks of the summer. We come for the salmon fishing and then play in the warm non humid weather. Being gone for that long takes some work like getting ALL the clothes washed, cleaning out all the food that will go bad, packing up 4 kids and coming up with a few new things to keep the kids busy while on the 6 hour plane ride. This was the kids 4 time and they did so well. I was only ask a few times "How much longer?" Giving the kids watches was a life saver.

Well, while my kids are playing with grandma's and grandpa's, friends and family, camping, fishing, 4wheeling, going to parks and family reunions. I can get a few books read.

Here is my 1st book choice.

It is an amazing story that is beautifully told through letters. I had a really hard time putting it down. it's a book that kept me thinking about the story long after I put it down. Enjoy!

thrift store shopping 101

The last few weeks I have been doing a bunch of thrift store shopping. I'm on the hunt for a few things and by going often I have also found other cool stuff but that is another post.

As I have been hunting I really paid attention to what I do at the stores. I'm new to the area and had to find the cool stores and now after getting to know the stores, learning how they have things organized and where things live. I figure out my shopping loop.

I go strait to the furniture then to the frames. Next nic-nac's and housewares. I go around the nic-nac's a few times. Then to the books and clothes, only if my kids are up for it.

When I'm shopping I look for the things I collect. And for things that I have seen in magazines that I like and want to decorate with. Sometime those things need to be fixed up. I have to weigh out price and time to fix it up and the price of it and how much I like it. If I really like it and the price is good I get it. Because more times then I can count I have passed on something and wish I would have gotten it.

I like to go to the store often. It is never the same place twice.

My Formal Dinning and Living Room Curtains

When my folks came to visit a few weeks back between all our playing my mom and I worked on my curtains. It wasn't quite as easy as I hoped but we got it done. We also made some pillows and that really finished off the rooms.

The chairs in the last photo we got at Costco last year and started working around them. In the fall I found the same fabric that is on the chairs. So I put it on the bottom of my curtains. How cool is that.

So I have a question... I like having the pillow pushed down in the middle like the chair on the left, my husband likes the pillow on the right. What do you like? Right now they are both pushed down.

My 1st Blog Award!

I received my very First Blog Award!
A BIG BIG Thanks to Angela over Secrets of a Super Mommy.
Check out her cute Earth Day Dinner. She really is a Super Mommy. I really know this because we are friends in really life.


10 Things That Make Me Happy.

1. Being a Mom! Sticky hands and all
2. Power Tools/ Cool Tools
3. Finding a good deal or better yet dumpster diving
4. Working along side my hubby
5. My kids laughing!
6. An organized house
7. Eating fresh raspberries
8. Knowing I get to be with my family forever.
9. Having good friends
10. Home cooked meals


I am Awarding this Blog Award To:
Melissa @ 320 * Sycamore
Stacie @ The CrEaTiVe CraTe


Here are the rules for accepting the award:
1. Copy & Paste the award on your blog
2. Tell who gave you the award and link to their blog
3. List 10 Things that make you happy
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.