Two Favorites ~

If you have followed me for any length of time, you know that Hooked On Houses is one of my very, very, long time, favorite sites. There is SO much to learn on her site and she is one of the kindest bloggers I've met since being a part of the blogger's world. I tried once to choose my most favorite part of her site and it wavered between Movie Houses and Realtor Mistakes, but then I gave up, called it quits and kept digging and delving.  Seriously, you can never read everything she's either dug up or a reader has sent in. It's forever changing and I love that.

This afternoon I knew by her caption I was going to like this post. The landing didn't look too shabby to begin with, until I scrolled down and saw what you see here. Oh.My.Stars!! Now, I know a designer came in and did this, but I just bet with the determination and a husband to say 'yes' or 'I can do that for you' you or I could do this, too. That is, if we had a landing. Which we don't. But that doesn't stop one from dreaming, even when you tell everyone that YES this IS the last house for us. {Snicker font} Our best friends know us too well. Take a nice long look at the AFTER shot, then hustle over to Julia's site and see a few shots of the rest of the home. Leave her a comment, too. We heart comments. Bookmark this site!

And oh my sweet friend, Dawn. The Feathered Nest. One of the very first sites I found while up late one night recovering from the accident and trying to find out what a blog was all about. She's become a 'friend I haven't met yet' and I treasure her thoughts and artwork. They come from the heart. You can find more posts on both ladies if you look over to the left and scroll down to labels. Some blogs you just can't get enough of, and these are two of mine.

I have long loved Winnie the Pooh and feel such a kinship with him. This is one of the quotes close to my heart. Dawn has always offered her beautiful vintage and antique prints for free for you to use to create your own beauty. Yeah. She's a gift of His. This print today is just one of many. Click here to go to her site, if you don't already have it bookmarked. I always feel better having visited. And there's normally a smile on my face ~ 

Oh, Naps On the Porch ~

 Today I was going to share a few Mardi Gras tablescapes and a couple for Valentine's Day, but I got delightfully stopped at Naps On the Porch! First, I saw the salad plate and lusted after it, until reading that she purchased it at Marshall's and we don't have one around here. I need to find where the closest one is! What you'll love about this writer, one of the things you'll love, is that after each post she tells where and when she bought the items, along with the brand name if listed.

Where we live Mardi Gras is celebrated not as much as places further west but we do have our parades. Each year I say I'm going to decorate for it and then I get caught up in Christmas and wanting to enjoy it a bit longer, then I enjoy the cardinals and the wintry whites, so it's difficult to fit another holiday in and enjoy it any length of time before decorating for Spring and Easter! How do you do it?!

I also love her purple plates and don't think I'll have a difficult time finding similar ones. Love Tuesday Morning and TJMaxx! Now to find a Kohl's and Marshall's nearby! Here's a photo of our little Mardi Gras Princess! She's grandbaby #3 and growing up too quickly on me.

Okay, so after I read her MG post, I looked for Valentine's Day. There are quite a few tablescapes but the one below was my favorite. Again, she tells where you can find the dinnerware and other pieces she selected for this look. 

Click here for this Valentine's Day tablescape. I'd love for you to tell me how you decorate. How often do you change? For the seasons? For the holidays? Mix the two?

THEN, I saw Winterscape and decided then and there to plant nandinas this spring at our home. Just so I can use them at Christmas and during the winter. I don't see them around here, but I plan to hit a nursery and bring some home. The birds love the berries and I love the color they bring inside. They will look so happy with my cardinal salad plates!

Here's where you can find her post on her Winterscape.  The snowmen make it look festive and you have to smile, even if you're not already!

There's a bar at the top of her blog that shows other sections to explore and I found one on a gorgeous new 'old' Victorian home. Below is one of the four tablescapes found in this home (can you imagine FOUR!)

There are quite a few posts for Touring a Victorian Home and I promise you'll love every one of them. I haven't finished looking through each but I've loved what I saw. I've followed NOTP for a few years and she's gotten larger and added more sections. She has a world of tablescapes. She also keeps a Linky party going on table settings so yeah, you'll find lots! 

Reminds me of a dear friend I have in Prattville, Lynne Griffies. Her home is always beautiful but at Christmas it absolutely shines and is breathtaking. Each room has a theme. And a tree. Big trees, little trees. I think each year she comes up with something new. It always thrills me when she posts photos on Facebook to share with us the many vignettes she's created. I'd love for her to have a blog simply to share her home at different times of the year, and especially at Christmas, but she's a busy lady! I'm thankful she has the time to share on Facebook.

When I find a blog I enjoy I want to know everything about it. Hooked on Houses?  Hours.  The Feathered Nest? Hours, (and Dawn has some of the sweetest FREE printables you'll find.) If you have a favorite blogsite, leave me a comment. I'd love to visit. Blog hopping. One of my favorite pasttimes.

~ Until, I pray you're having a great week and are looking to have a fun filled weekend.

You'll Love These Blogs, Too ~

Melissa Lester always brightens my day with her posts. From crafts to celebration ideas, to reading her thoughts on our Lord, I am always uplifted after visiting A Little Loveliness. You will be, too. My favorite is when she discusses the books her club reads, and shares the recipes and decorations that accompany their gathering to discuss the book. She's a very talented woman. A very spiritual one that sees beauty in the smallest of things. Go visit, you'll be blessed ~

Freckled Laundry and Jamie ~ She shares her thoughts, her dreams, ideas and goals, not to mention a dreamy way of photography. The photo below is credited to another, but it shows a little of her artistic ability to put words with photos in a beautiful way.

I have introduced you before to The Feathered Nest.

Dawn is a lover of vintage lace, toys, babydolls, and items that stir the heartstrings of days gone by. She is also such a love in  that she gives you art to upload and use! I have ordered from her Etsy shoppe and still love the items. They never go out of style with me. But like her, I'm a girly girl and I love the softness of life. Visit her soon. Here's a favorite photo of mine that she's sharing today.

This blog is different than most of the ones I frequent. But I love it! Brooklyn Limestone ~

Mrs. Limestone has set her site up to easily find what you're looking for. I found this under her DIY tab. How cute is this?! She used a Halloween theme. I plan to use it for the four seasons. I have dinnerware for each of the major holidays, but how nice to have dinnerware to use those weeks in between.

Visit her limestone and see what you think. I think you'll be impressed.

Susie Harris. She was one of the first blogs I found when I began mine and I've been an avid follower ever since. She is talented, funny, compassionate, very artistic, and a Louisiana lovin' woman. I love her signs and the way she shares her daily life. The photo I've chosen to share from her blog today is a furry baby of hers. Susie takes you through the good and the bad times of her life, all the while letting you know that when it's all over, she'll thank you for being there for her. Go check out her site and stay long enough to see the signs I'm talking about! I'll include one for you! She will custom make you one as well!

Didn't I tell you? Simple but grabs those heart strings.

Early Morning Meditations. I wanted to share this site with you because I love our Lord and this man does, too. Raymond Elliott is a minister of the Gospel and I know without a doubt that you'll be moved and uplifted, comforted and loved, when you visit his blog. He has other writings as well, one is humorous hunting tales and another is memories of the college he attended in Montgomery, AL. Visit and be blessed.

Yes! This is me! I wanted to share with you a very special time in my life. In our life, for it affected all of those that know and love me. When we go back to Prattville, it's not uncommon for someone to tell me they prayed for our family and me as I lay 'sleeping' for 77 days. It was a journey that touched us all in a way that changed our lives and the way we live now. We are closer, we appreciate taking that first breath each morning, and we know with certainty what's ahead for those that love the Lord. I hope you'll take the time to visit and if you've had a similar experience I'd love to hear from you. I still like sharing mine.

Asleep ~ 77 Days It really happened. And someone always comes. His children never leave alone.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Note ~ I appreciate proper capitalization. Apparently, this font does not. I apologize for that. I do know better.

Frame These Prints!

I was looking through the items I've saved in a file for my blog and saw these prints. I am inclined to say they most likely came from The Feathered Nest, as Dawn is such a sweetheart to find items like this that she uses in her crafts for her Etsy shop, yet shares them with her readers for free! These would look great framed in the ivory color and framed in a white distressed with the aqua as an undercolor. I can see them in our new home. What would you do with them? I'm always looking for ideas! Have a blessed week ~

It Can Look Like Ballard's!

I love Ballard Designs. There are items I order from Ballard Designs. But not many. Mostly, I just copy them. If you are blessed, as I am, to have not only a Michael's and a Kirklands, but a Michael's, Kirklands AND a Hobby Lobby, you can recreate any page in the Ballard catalog. Take for instance, the above console. I love it! You can find it at Kirkland's for at least, depending on the sale that week, $1000 less than the one shown above. The one at Kirklands is a bit shorter but you have the choice of a distressed black or a deep distressed red. Gorgeous. Functional. Cheap. CheapER.

The next idea I've shown before, when I was featuring other blogs. This is in the Ballard Design catalog. Yeah, you have to buy it. Old books with the cover torn off, tied with string. MaKe iT. It's cheaper!

Who doesn't love to see flowering trees and shrubs this time of year?! You can buy these at BD, too, but guess what?! I got 5 stems at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 a piece on sale! And they had yellow forsythia if you like the yellow color.

I took a tall skinny candle holder, put some sand and rocks in it, and told Mr. Hood NOT to water them. (The small lamp may not be staying there. I like the light during the evening hours, but during the day it looks a bit busy to me. What do you think? Should I move the lamp out?)

I haven't seen them in Kirkland's lately but we bought a huge square faux tufted leather ottoman for less than $100 two years ago.  Still have it, still looks good as new, still love it. One of my girlfriends was looking for a table to go between her two sofas, so guess who drove her to Kirklands?! Muah. She chose this one and stores her soft coverlets for those nights you need something fuzzy to snuggle up in.

Pictures. Have you noticed how much money you can spend on one framed picture?! Good 'ole Kirklands. Good 'ole Hobby Lobby.  Now, you have to wait for HB to have their framed pics at 50%, but that happens at least once a month.  They are still a bit pricier than Kirkland's but I shop both stores.

Just be careful when you go to spend hard earned money on sets such as this.  There are blogs, like The Feathered Nest and The Graphics Fairy, that love to give away free prints! Wally World sells frames like this for $2. HELLO?! Betcha could find a matching mat while you're at it. Oh, and while I've got The Graphics Fairy on my mind, she also gives out free backgrounds for your blog! You can find her in the list on the lower right hand side of my blog under 'Dress Your Blog'.

Think how easy this would be to go through the aisles at Michael's and Hobby Lobby, choose nine of your favorite scrapbook papers, grab nine small canvases, some spray adhesive and you're set to go. And saved a bundle of money.Notice how they didn't hang one of the corner squares. They've propped it. Cute!

It's this size framed art that I look for at Kirklands and Hobby Lobby. OR grab some paints, a plate, two brushes (one to use, one to hold in your teeth), a spray bottle of water, and 'paint, brush, and spray' like David Bromstad on HGTV. He AmAZeS me with the way he whips out a painting. He laughs a lot, too. Maybe that's another reason I like to watch him.

His theory? "Just take off with an idea. You can always paint over it." I've held that theory for years.

The Original Fun Soap!

I know you've seen these. If you ever shopped Linen 'n Things, you saw these in there. Along with the other members of the soap line. Alas, Linen 'n Things is no longer but Fun Soap is still around! I order over the phone but it's possible to go to their online site or contact them through Facebook! I just loved the ones you see below and they are even cuter and larger in reality! How cute are these sets?!

They also have Soap Shapes!

Here are two that caught my eye!

There's a whole line for the ones in your life that loves girly-girl

and for those that love bugs, and nature.

These add a classic look,

while these continue the fun side of life.

I met the co-owner of Fun Soap through Dawn Edmonson through her blog, The Feathered Nest.  It was a couple of years before I realized her family was the home of those cute ducky soaps I was familiar with. Below you'll see Dawn's version of soap and I have to admit, they look just like fresh farm eggs! The packaging is adorable and I haven't seen a single item that wasn't too cute left wrapped.

Visit their site and if you're on Facebook, go to their page and become a friend of their site. It's a good way to promote a Christian family home-based business ( and that's what America was founded on) and a good way to keep up with their new products! I appreciate your time, your kindness, and Merry Christmas!

Fall Is In the Air!

Fall is in the air. When I found this serene site at The Feathered Nest, I knew it would fit perfectly in our dining area for the season ~ I'm wondering if I took it to our local printing company if they could make a 11x14 print, in order to have it matted and framed. All of the photos and vintage prints at Dawn's site are free. As in FREE! She is a sweetheart to be willing to share her bounty with us. When you visit, be sure to leave her a comment. We all love comments! Come with me as we tour 'the house'.

What's this on the front door? A ruffled wreath! Burlap. What screams fall more than the texture and smell of burlap. I recall seed sacks in our grandfather's barn made of burlap and in its dusty smell was the sweet scent of corn. Jones Design Company has a tutorial on this wreath, along with other unique ideas for the season. Moving into the dining area, the vignette below greets our eyes.

One of my favorite blogs is Melissa's Heart and Home. Melissa not only has a beautifully decorated home, but her writing is clear, concise, and she loves to share ideas. I heart the colors in her home, as I've decorated for years with the same hues. Somehow, mine just doesn't look as elegant or finished. Gotta work on that! Her blog is one that I can spend several hours on. She's also taken us on her journey to lose weight and I think it was close to 50 pounds! She is married to a pilot in the USMC and I appreciate the sacrifices she and her man have made to keep our country safe and sound. Let's head toward the kitchen and see what Miss Becca has for us ~

Another blog that's got my colors and heart is Adventures in Decorating. Becca lives and loves in South Carolina and always has a treat for the eyes. Here again, I've learned new ways to put old things together and how to use everyday items in a different and more interesting way. I've found several bloggers that live right here in Alabama and will be showcasing their sites soon.

Beth, at The Stories of A to Z, is a cute character as well as having the privilege of living in a brick townhome that just oozes character and past lives. Can you imagine having a brick wall on one whole side of your three floors?! When you visit her, and you should, look on her right sidebar and you'll find where she takes you on a tour of her home. It's awesome, although after living in our townhome for almost a year, I'm not sure I want another home with stairs {decrepit font}. When I saw Beth's idea for this I immediately thought of our youngest daughter. This would be right up her alley and the boys would get a kick out of it. It's also something easy to save and use year to year. Our home? You want something of our home?

This time last year we were welcoming sweet Elle into our family so I don't have many fall photos from last year. I'm slow in getting to them this year, but you'll be seeing them as I finish them!

This sweet child just turned one and yes, we celebrated. What joy it is to see our future growing in love and laughter, and we are blessed to be a part of all this.  I pray you have a week filled with giggles, hugs, and many moments to enjoy the changing season. Before you know it, snow will be in the air ~