What a Big Week

What a big week we have ahead of ourselves.  Tomorrow is a  walk-thru at my parents new home.  I will be doing that for them since they are 2 hours away.  I have a list of things that I have to check on for them and my Dad has given me some other instructions so my notepad, pen and camera are ready.

This Saturday is a very special day for my husband and I because we will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary.  He is taking me to Amish Country for the day and I asked if he would take me to this restaurant that my Grandpa use to take me to and he said that would be fine.  I love thinking about old times I use to share with my grandparents and for me to sit down and have lunch there…..well, it would be a nice treat!  We will then head to Amish Country for a day of window shopping.  I know, I know…..why go when you can’t buy, but we have to watch our money and lunch in itself will be a treat for me.  I hate not having the money I use to have….. it is so hard at times especially when I use to be able to just buy whatever I wanted to buy, but times are tough and I have to remember that I get to stay home with Cameron which is a blessing and a gift in itself.  I hope to get a little something from my hubby, but we will see.

I have been trying my best to stay busy lately.  I have had alot on my mind and it is best to keep busy so that is what I have been doing.  I haven’t been sleeping very well because our mattress is just awful, I had some people in my husband’s family tell me how to raise my son, that what they were doing wasn’t going to hurt them and they walk all over Shawn and I and it is quite hurtful.  I spent the afternoon, yesterday evening and today trying to get calmed down about it, but it is quite bothersome.  It is an ongoing thing and I am just personally getting sick of it.  It is not like I can hardly do anything about it when they are “family” so we at times just bite our lip and let them walk all over us and not respect us as people or parents instead of speaking up and making waves.  I long for some guidance so any help or suggestions from you all would be so appreciated.  I sometimes wish I had more nerves to speak up, but that just isn’t me and instead of creating a mess between my husband and his parents…..well, I just let things be.  Anyway, I have been re-arranging a few things here and there and thought I would share some pictures.  Do you all remember these bowls that I re-finished?

Well, I decided that I wanted them on the side of my cupboard so I hung those up last night.  I also hung up one of my new signs that I made and also found something to put under that sign.  It took me awhile to get it all up because I was having a hard time trying to find something to put under my new sign.  So, what do you all think?

I also found a great place for my tallow berries too!  I put them in my new crock and I thought they looked great.  I might try to take a few out so I can put some elsewhere, but we will see.  I love the way they look in that crock.  So prim perfect!!  Thank you again Sherrie for your kindness.  It is greatly appreciated my friend.

I did however change things around a bit with this picture…..the updated and re-arranged picture is now being used as my header.  Gotta love it.  Well, I am off to start preparing my dinner.  I am fixing my Grandma’s chicken noodle casserole.  I thought it would bring back great memories plus Cameron loves chicken and noodles so we can’t go wrong there.

Hope you all have a great week!!

P.S.  Alot of you gals have asked me where I purchased the candle sleeves.  You can pick them up at any lighting store and might be able to find them at a craft store such as Michael’s, but I would always call first.  Thank you for the great comments.

Punched Tin is a Wonderful Thing

My husband the handyman.  I really never thought that I could say that, but I love the fact that he is taking interest in it and I must say that it makes me so happy!  My Mom was so thoughtful when we were in Amish Country last weekend and bought me a punched tin light for my entryway.  I guess I don’t have to go on and on about how thoughtful my Mom is….. I am sure you already know how thoughtful she is and she doesn’t even need to buy me anything.  She indeed has a wonderful heart!!  I am truly blessed to have her for my Mom.

Well, my hubby hung my chandelier in my kitchen and last night, he decided to hang my new punched tin light in my entryway.  Oh ladies……he did a wonderful job and I must say that it looks absolutely beautiful, but then again I had no doubt (lol).  So, are you all ready to see it?  I never really knew how much prim light fixtures could warm up a home, but after seeing my tin light…..yep, it indeed made my entryway a nice warm place to enter our home.  I have never been fortunate enough to have fancy lighting like this so when my Mom mentioned to me that she wanted to buy me a light, I was super excited.  We pinch pennies alot here in home now that I am a stay at home Mom, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  After working with one company in Corporate America for over 10 years, it was hard to leave that job and most importantly the money, but if you would ask me if I would do it all over again for my son….. I would say “heck yeah”.  My son is my whole world and I would do anything for him.  I loved the fact that I didn’t miss a thing over the past 2 1/2 years of being with him.  What a blessing!

Ok, enough of my rambling….. here is my light fixture that I have been dying to show you all.  Isn’t it beautiful?

Doesn’t it look beautiful?  I just love it.  Thank you again Mom for being so thoughtful.  I am so very blessed.

This post is chuck full of goodness!  Let’s talk about that beautiful rusty handle above.  I must say that I absolutely fell in love with this piece when I found it at the Antique Mall last weekend.  I knew I could find a home for this beauty somewhere in my home and hopefully today I will.  Don’t you love the look of that old rusty handle?  Can you guess what I bought?  Well, if you guessed an old barn door then you are correct.  I thought it would either look great in a corner or even used as a small room divider.  The possibilities are endless.  So, are you all anxious to see it?  Well, here it is……..

I loved the color and though that it would be great to add a small splash of color in our family room.  Don’t you love it?  The reverse side of the door is just as neat.  Totally prim and perfect for my home.  I will keep you posted on where I put it.

Today is suppose to be in the mid 60’s here in Ohio so we are going to get out and enjoy the weather.  I leave you with this picture titled…. Precious Meets Prim.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  What a cutie pie.

Until Next Time…..

Prim Blessings, Lisa

Tallow Berries & More

Where should I start?  I was originally going to blog about a couple other things, but when I heard the door bell ring, it changed my whole mind about what I was going to blog about.  I guess I will just share that other stuff with you later.  Let’s get to the super exciting stuff that was at the door. 

Well, I was in the process of loading Live Writer when the door bell rang and I went to get it.  Cameron thought it was something for him and I reassured him that it was not (lol).  I opened the front door and there stood my mail lady.  Oh, she probably thinks I am a freak or something, but everytime she comes to my door, I get SUPER excited.  I can barely talk when I see her and when I do talk, I really think I squeal at the same time.  She handed me a bill and I kinda threw that off to the side and then she handed me this oh so lovely large box.  I gently grabbed it from her, told her to have a nice day, shut the door and ran into the kitchen.  It was funny because I am running threw the hallway, into the family room, into the kitchen, Cameron is running after me and I am trying my best not to trip over any toys and hold my boobs at the same time.  Yep, it was a pretty funny sight I am sure (lol).  I saw that the return address was from my dear friend Sherrie in South Carolina.  I started squealing and Cameron asked me if I was ok….. I reassured him that Mommy was fine……just very happy!  I grabbed a knife and opened the box.  It was jam packed full with tallow berries.  Oh – I couldn’t believe the large amounts that she sent me.  I knew she was sending them because bless her heart, she told me about them and said that she would be including some for my Mom as well.  Ladies……these bundles were huge and so primtastic!!  I was trying to figure out how large they were, but the only thing I could see that was relatively around the same size was my husband’s shoe.  So, they are pretty large bundles to say the least.

She also included a few flour sack towels in the box as well where she stitched some stuff for Christmas.  I will show you those in just a minute, but let me share some more pictures of the tallow berries first.  Are you ready?  Gosh, I love these and they will be perfect for any crock, basket or just to bundle up and tie some homespun on them and place them on a table.  I literally love them and I am so thankful.  Thank you again Sherrie…..you are so sweet and such a dear friend!!

Aren’t they amazing?  I love that picture that I took right above…..can you see where the shell is starting to open and right inside it is the tallow berry.  How neat!!  So, I have a bundle for my Mom and also a hand stitched Christmas towel for my Mom as well.  Thank you for thinking of my Mom as well.  I am surprised you couldn’t hear us all squealing on the phone.  Yep, we were both squealing with excitement and we love it all.  Here are the towels……aren’t they great?

Gotta love the cute little rusty bell that she attached to each towel.  You are one talented gal Sherrie!!  Thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of excitment going on here today and I almost forgot to post a picture of my new little wreaths that my Mom bought me for my chandelier.  I knew I needed something to prim it up a little bit more and this definitely did the trick for me.  What do you think?

The wreaths have fake red and creamy/tan colored berries and rusty stars…..just enough to make it a tad bit more prim for me.  I took some close-ups, but they were real blurry.  Don’t forget that you can always click on each picture to view them in a larger form.  Well, not much more is happening here.  Cameron recv’d his first dose of the H1N1 vaccine yesterday and goes back in 4 weeks for his last dose.  In the meantime, we wash our hands like crazy and are doing our best to keep things as clean and as sanitized as possible.  I guess you could say that I am somewhat of a maniac about it, but I can’t, won’t and refuse to get sick!!

It is going to be in the mid 60’s this weekend and I am so excited about that I could pee my pants……ok, maybe not that excited, but I am super excited to get some warmer weather.  I was about ready to pack up and head south.  You wonder if my friend Sherrie would take me in for a couple months : )

Hope you all have a blessed weekend.

Until Next Time…… Lisa

Time is drawing near and a GREAT transformation!!

This past weekend was yet another one filled with fun, but very busy as well.  I went to my parents probably for the last time before they move into their new home which is just 5 houses down from us.  What a relief it will be to have them moved back here.  I was originally going to go and help them and be there while the movers were there, but I think that is probably not going to happen.  I started experiencing some discomfort in my chest yesterday after leaving my parents and it continued all evening until I was asleep.  I haven’t been experiencing it at all today so that is a big relief, but I am pretty sure it is probably just stress related.  I told my hubby that if I have it again today then I will contact my doctor to have it checked out.  It is just not anything I want to mess with – ya know? 

I have had so much on my plate lately.  I want so bad to help my parents out as much as I can and I am trying my best to take a load off of them as much as I can, but I think it is slowly catching up with me.  My sister doesn’t do a whole lot to help out so it is pretty much just me helping my parents and making sure that they are well taken care of.  It is hard at times, but I wouldn’t want anyone helping them.  I know that if I help them with things then I know that no one is taking advantage of them which is one thing that I can’t stand.  I guess you could say it is a BIG pet peeve of mine.

Anyway, Mom and I went to Amish Country this past weekend and had one last hurray for a couple months.  We picked up my Mom’s lights and I must say that they are absolutely beautiful.  I would share pictures with you, but they are in our spare bedroom and wrapped in bubble wrap for protection.  Let me just put it this way… she is going to have some beautiful light fixtures.  Talking about light fixtures…..my Mom was so kind to me this past weekend, but when is she not!  My Mom bought me a new light for my entryway.  It is quite lovely if I do say so myself.  I have never been able to afford the beautiful punched tin lights out there especially since I quit my job to stay home with our son, but my Mom treated me with a beautiful punched tin light this weekend.  I don’t have it up yet, but when it is up then I will of course share more pics.  Here is just a sneak peek right now.  Are ya ready?

I love it and can hardly wait to show you it when it gets up.  Trust me ~ it is worth waiting for ladies!!

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Do you all remember that chandelier that I purchased at the thrift store?  Well, I bought it for $9.99 and thought that it was definitely a steal and boy oh boy was I right.  I looks great since I finished it.  Here is a before picture.

If you remember me saying on Friday…. I knew that the shades definitely had to go so I chucked them into the trash and started working on this beauty.  I love the transformation!!  I also purchased some new prim looking sleeves for the candle part of the chandelier.  Here is a better look of one of them.

Alot better – don’t you think?  Well, let’s take a look at this amazing transformation.  It is definitely prim and I love it.  It looks amazing above my farm table and once my little wreaths arrive this week in the mail then I can place them around the candle part of the chandelier.  That will definitely complete the look that I was going for.  In the meantime……here is the after picture.

It was kinda hard to get a picture of it lit just due to the brightness, but at least you get the just of it.  I will probably put a dimmer on it, but just haven’t had the chance yet.  My DH just hung the chandelier last night.  Wow, I am so proud of him.  It was the 1st time he has done something like this so I must admit that I was amazed.  There are a few places that I need to touch up from where he scratched it, but my problem is that I used spray paint on this beauty so now I have no idea how to touch up the spots without spray painting everything (lol).  Any suggestions?  Here are some more pictures for you ladies.  Enjoy!

So, what do you think?  Do you like it?  Does it look alot better?  Looks totally different – don’t ya think?  Much more prim and I must admit that I love it.

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I found some great items at the Antique Mall this past weekend while in Amish Country.  I thought I would share those with you as well.  I love the look of the old flour sifters and since I already had one…..I thought I definitely needed another to put in a different area in my home.  They are so neat looking!  I also found an old brown crock and a very neat and very prim looking strainer.  Let’s take a look!!

Don’t you love my finds?  I wish the old colander/strainer was a bit bigger because I could totally see it turned into a light of some sort.  It is too small for that idea though.  Definitely gets my mind a racing..…. hmmm, the possibilities are endless!

I also wanted to tell you that I also stopped by Sara’s Herbs and Everlasting and took pictures of her workshop and her store along with a few of her garden.  I have been helping her with her blog and also put together a slideshow.  If you have time, be sure to stop by and check it out along with her snow people that she made out of gourds…..they are too cute!  Her guestbook is at the bottom of her page if you wanna take a moment to sign it.

Well, I better run for now.  I have alot of relaxing I need to do (lol).  Oh – does anyone out there have a Homespun sign that they make?  I am looking for one and would love to swap with someone if they are interested.  Just let me know.  Have a great day!!

Friday Finds

Did you all hear that loud squeal?  Well, if you heard it then you know it was me when I went to the thrift store the other day and found something that I feel has lots and lots of potential.  Yep, I stood there and just looked at it and thought about what I could do with it and then finally I snatched it up and walked to the register.  Now that I think about it….. I forgot to look at the rest of the stuff .  Well, hopefully I didn’t miss out on anything else.  I was pretty happy just to find this and the cutting board.  So, are you ready to see the 2 items that I picked up last night?

Did you all seriously think I would pass up another cutting board?  Well, I couldn’t pass it up.  I tried and walked past it, but then my legs went in reverse and my hands reached out and grabbed it.  So, I am gonna have to re-do it and prim it up a bit.  The color isn’t bad, but I am not into shiny paint so it will have to be sanded and re-painted.  What a shame – huh?  My next item that I am going to show you is definitely far from being prim, but like I mentioned before…. it has great potential and before you know it, it will be prim perfect!

Ok, are you sitting down? 

Brace yourself……. Here it is ladies!!

Are you squealing yet?  Just seeing that picture alone gets me all excited (lol).

Who is that squealing?  Janene ~ is that you?  It must be someone close by because I hear it loud and clear.  Whoops…..hahahaha, that is me squealing me!!  I am such a silly girl.

So, are you seeing what I see?  Do you see the potential?  Let me just tell you this first…… the little shades definitely have to go!!  Next we will be painting it because you know that it wouldn’t dare be hung up in my kitchen looking like that – right?  Oh and next….. we will definitely need to add some different light bulbs.  Don’t worry, it will all work out in the end and you all will be amazed by yet another great transformation.

I am off to visit my parents one last time before they move.  We are headed to pickup Mom’s light fixtures along with a few other goodies and I will get my last shopping trip in before they move.  I can hardly wait til they get back here close to us.  What a day that will be!!

I am leaving you today with this cute little clown that we saw last night while trick-or-treating.  He was so stinkin’ cute!!  Oh wait…..it was my son.  Well, I hope you enjoy this sweet little face as much as I did yesterday.  I could have just ate him all up (lol).  Take Care everyone and enjoy your weekend.

 

Pretty cute kid – huh? 

Happy Halloween!

Gingerbread Men & Christmas Star Ornaments

My home was filled with a wonderful aroma today.  Oh – it smelled so good in here that I could have bottled the scent up and sold tons of it.  I wish you all could have been here.  I decided to make myself some gingerbread men along with a few star ornaments and they turned out real cute.  They smell great as well.  I received the recipe from my Mom’s friend Sara.  I must say that Sara is one talented gal.  She has her own shop right next to her home and her shop is always jam packed with the cutest things and the most beautiful dried herbs and flowers.  She definitely has a knack for that stuff.  Anyway, I wanted to share some pictures with all of you of my gingerbread tucks as well as my star ornaments that I made.  I thought that the gingerbread men would be awfully cute tucked into a box with some pine and I even tried it out tonight and boy oh boy – it looks cute!!

First of all – I wanted to introduce you to Sara’s blog.  You can find Sara’s blog at Sara’s Herbs and Everlasting.  She plans on sharing lots of great craft ideas and she will probably be showing you more and more of her shop.  I am sure she will even get more pictures of her shop and dried herbs up there too so be keeping an eye out for those.  If you are ever in the area then be sure to stop by and see Sara & Sam.  Sara is definitely the sweetest gal I have met.  She has been a great friend to my Mom and I know for a fact that my Mom will miss her very much!  Thank you Sara for always being such a wonderful friend to my Mom.  We love you dearly!

Well, let’s take a look at those gingerbread men – ok?  I tried a couple gingerbread women, but I decided I didn’t like them as well so you will probably one see about 4 of them.  I love the stars too.  I thought they would look great on a Christmas tree, but let’s not rush the holidays (lol).

 

Here are some pictures with the pine….. don’t they look too cute tucked in with the Christmas pine?

 

I also made these for Cameron…… I thought that with the small amount of dough that I had left, that I would make him some fake chocolate chip cookies.  Don’t they look so real?  The hard thing was explaining to him that they weren’t real, but for decoration ONLY!

Well, alot of you have questioned me about the recipe and as much as I would like to keep it a secret…… it is only fun sharing it with my good friends to they not only get to experience the fun of making them, but you also get to smell that wonderful aroma that I was talking about.  So, here is the recipe….

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Gingerbread Men Decorations

-1/2 cup shortening

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-3/4 cup dark molasses

-1/2 cup white (Elmer’s glue)

-3/4 cup water

-2 tablespoons cinnamon

Mix ingredients together then gradually add 3 cups of flour and mix.  Add 2 more cups of flour and mix well until everything is completely mixed.  I was use a mixer, but with the last cup of flour, had to end up using my hands to really get everything mixed well.

-Cut out into shapes and bake at 275 degrees for 2 hours.

-Use whole all spice for eyes, place those on before you bake them, but be aware that you might have to really push them down into the dough to get them to stick.  If they come lose then just use a drop of Elmer’s glue to get them to stick.  It will dry clear.

**These are not edible**  Have fun!!

Another Game-Board and my 1st Attempt at Stitching

My game-board hallway  still has plenty of room, but I knew there was one particular place that needed a game-board.  So, I thought about what I could do to fill in that particular space and went to the garage to see what I could come up with.  I created something simple with what I had, but knew I wanted something that would “pop” when you looked down the hallway.  I decided to go with Antique Gold paint over black and I was real pleased with how it turned out.  I painted my board all black  and then once that was dry, I used my painters tape to make a frame around the edge of my board.  Like I said… I wanted something different.  I then painted my board the Antique Gold.  Here is what it looked like after I completed that step.  Don’t you just love my table cloth?  Yep, I use one during meals and during crafting and that way I protect my farm table from any damage that might happen during meal time or crafting time.  Let’s take a look at that game-board.

So, once that step was done, I was ready to get started.  I measured to find the middle of the board and went from there.  Here is what I decided to go with.

Now that it is done, it is now time to sand it and stain it.  Let’s get it finished and up on the wall – shall we?  Here it is after the sanding and staining was complete.

So, what do you all think?  I still have some room above the door and above that game board all the way at the end of the hallway plus I am still working on the other side as well.  So, more pics will be coming soon.

Oh, in regards to my 1st attempt at stitching….. it turned out pretty decent, but I still have alot of practice and improvement ahead of me.  This towel will be mine because I wouldn’t dare send it out to anyone, but that is ok, I will tuck into a basket or something and no one will see it unless they get right up on it (lol).  I wanted something I could use around Christmas so I decided to stitch “Peace” on my coffee/tea stained flour sack towel.  What do you all think?  I didn’t go by any pattern….. I just started stitching away.  Good thing I will get some direction from my Mom this weekend (hahaha).  Well, here it is ~ be nice ladies!

Definitely doesn’t look as good as the little towel that my dear friend Sherrie sent me, but I was trying.  I guess I need to keep trying – huh?

Today I leave you with this beauty!!  I am pretty sure that this is my obedient plant that I planted years ago and has never come up until this past week.  It amazes me, but this beauty popped out of the ground and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it was because it never grew and I thought I had killed it.  Years later…… here it is.  At least I think it is my obedient plant!?!  With the cold, warm, cold warm temps here in Ohio…..no wonder my flowers get confused!

Hope you all have a blessed day!

Until Next Time……..