There's LOVE in the air...

...well, actually it's hanging from my baker's rack. But it had a nice ring to it.

I'm still hung up on black and white. It's just so classy-ish. When I decorate with classy colors I can kinda pretend I'm not REALLY such a hick country girl. But...who am I kidding? Anyway, I found this idea on Cindy's Romantic Home. I LOVE her blog. If you've not checked it out, you should - Talk about Eye Candy! She has some beautiful things. Her hearts were made from pink toile paper, but I didn't have any on hand. (PHOOOEY) So, thus the black and white. Again.

I don't usually decorate for Valentine's Day, but this project just caught my eye. (And, of course, the easy factor had a lot to do with it.) It took 30 minutes at the very most. And it adds a sweet little touch to our kitchen.

But I wasn't the only one getting crafty...

the guys got busy and made Valentine's cards today. Through which I discovered what a pitifully small amount of patience I have ... er, make that HAD. You turn a 3 year old and a 5 year old loose with scissors, glitter, glue, and paper, and it's...well, it's just NOT for the faint of heart. I helped them with a lot of it, but I let them write their own messages (One wrote. One scribbled.) on the inside. Then they got a little carried away and drew pictures of firetrucks inside their Valentines. What romantic little chaps.
They are most proud of their very own Finished Object Friday projects.
I've got to dig up a fresh supply of patience from somewhere because I promised them we could bake Valentine's cookies tomorrow. (my current supply drained away rather quickly today...)Now I'm wondering......WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

To see other Finished Object Friday projects, meet me over at the Chari Tree.
If I survive the cookie baking and decorating, I'll share them next week.
Now get out there and spread some LOVE!

FOF From Pathetic to Pretty

I was so excited to find this adorable chair at Goodwill the other day. Isn't it just the cutest thing?

No? Well, OK, so it's NOT exactly cute. Yet. The turquoise blue seat cover was not blessing me. But the price tag was cute! I got this little gem for 5.99. And after a can of cream gloss spray paint, and an old valance turned into a new seat cover...
It has a fresh new life. I love it!

The only part that required sewing was the little pillow, and it was fairly dummy proof. I'm much more handy...and dangerous...with my staple gun.
This little chair was sort of an experiment. Now that I know how easy it is, I'm not as nervous about attacking the 8 dining room chairs that are stored in the garage. (A recent craigslist steal) Beware of flying staples, scizzors, and spray paint - I'm on a mission. Operation Rescue Old Junky Chairs is now in progress.

Be sure to stop by the Chari Tree to see more Finished Object Friday projects!

A little somethin' to warm you up.

One of the happiest memories of my childhood is my Granny's home made chicken and dumplins. Between me and my brother Jeremy, we could pretty much clean up a whole pot. Years ago, she told me how to do it, so I scrounged around and found the little piece of paper I had scribbled it on. Then I remembered why I'd never tried it on my own. Granny thought measuring was for wimps.

But I gave it my best shot, and it turned out just the way I remembered it. Granny would be so proud. My favorite part about this recipe? The SHORT list of ingredients.

1. whole chicken

2. water

3.flour

Great, huh?! Of course you add salt and any other seasonings that make you happy.

Here's what you do:

Boil whole chicken in a big pot of water. Debone. Put all the chicken back in the pot of broth. Give the chicken skeleton to your doggy, he'll love you forever. If you have a doggy.

Take a scoop of flour , and add a spoonful of broth from your pot to it, enough to make a nice nonsticky ball of dough.

Dump it out on a floured surface and roll it out. But don't do it like mine. I wouldn't win any "perfectly circular rolled out dough" award. That's why I don't make pie, but that's beside the point. Roll it out kinda thin, unless you're one of those weird folks who like fat lumpy dumplins. Cut it into strips.

This is what I mean by "kinda thin".

Then just drop 'em all in the pot of chicken.
Salt it heavily. And if you're feeling real adventurous, add some ground pepper and some poultry seasoning, or what ever floats your boat. Boil until the dumplins are soft and serve it up with a big ol' glass of Milo's sweet tea.

If you just said "what's Milos'?" you haven't yet begun to live.

Welcome to the South, friends.

This is what I call comfort food. It warms you up from the inside out.
And it really makes me miss my Granny.

Another Use for an Old Frame...

I had some fabric left over from the rice sock project, and I loved how the black and white print looked in my red kitchen, so I just HAD to find a way to use that piece of fabric in there. That's where another old frame that was collecting dust came in... It now sports a new face lift as a covered "cork" board. That poor old frame never knew what hit it...

My "cork" is actually a fat piece of cardboard behind the fabric. But it works. And the best part about this little project? Not a single stitch of sewing was involved! And if you know me, you know that's a good thing. Well, that, and the fact that it didn't cost anything! I paid a DOLLAR for that piece of cloth (and I still have some left) as a remnant at HobbyLobby. Speaking of Hobby Lobby...I found that delicious little black shelf there for...hang on to your seat...2.72! The candle stick was also 2.72. And I know it doesn't really fit right there, it's too big. But I wanted to share it anyway.

So here's the board without that huge candle stick obstructing it's view. If you're "craftily challenged" this is the project for you. Take it from a dumb blonde. It doesn't get any easier than this! It took Dave longer to hang the little shelf than it took me to make the whole board...

Check out other cool Finished Object Friday projects over at The Chari Tree!

Bringing Facebook to the Blog...

All of you facebookers are probably tired of seeing the latest "tag" - 25 Random Things About Me. It seems to have taken over facebook in the last few days. Problem is, I just happen to prefer the Blog to facebook, and lots of the blog readers have no clue what facebook is...so I thought I'd bring the tag on over to Blogger. Is that legal?

So here they are - 25 Random Things About Me:

1. One day of winter is one too many.
2. I hate snow.
3. I despise being cold. (are you seeing a trend here?)
4. I LOVE Spring and Summer.
5. I wear a kids size 3 shoe. (yes, some of my shoes have velcro closures.)
6. I still think my husband is the most handsome man I ever met. ( and he didn't even pay me to say that)
7. I have 2 little boys that can take a perfectly clean 4 bedroom house and completely destroy it in 3 minutes flat.
8. I don't enjoy cooking. But I do it out of duty.
9. Eating out is a huge weakness of mine.
10. I have been married for 10 wonderful years.
11. We had our 2 boys by In Vitro, they each had a twin that miscarried, and we plan to have 2 more in vitro babies......eventually. Oh, and one more thing...In Vitro is NOT for wimps!!!
12. I cannot swim. Water terrifies me.
13. I've never flown. Airplanes terrify me. My dear husband just corrected me - I HAVE flown. One time we took a 10 minute helicopter ride over the Smoky Mountains. Does that count? I know it's weird, but helicopters don't terrify me like planes.
14. We've moved 9 times in 10 years and I do Not recommend it.
15. I have a sweet tooth as big as Dallas. There's a special place in my heart for The Cheesecake Factory.
16. I'm a Goodwillin' Thrift shoppin' Bargain huntin' ebayin' craigslistin' nut. Oh, and did I mention I love to shop?
17. I get a thrill out of remodeling old houses. I've remodeled 5 of the houses we've lived in.
18. My husband calls me "Pharoah" (he don't get the same thrill from remodeling)
19. I turned 30 this year and I'm still not over it.
20. I love toile. In any color. It speaks to me.
21. I Love to take pictures. There are currently 7,849 photos on my computer that I've taken in the past 5 years.
22. I prefer Blogger to facebook. Blogging is my therapy. Really.
23. I love animals, scrapbooking, and chocolate.Not that those 3 have anything to do with each other...
24. I am a neat freak - I attack clutter with a vengeance.
25. I am a Pastor's wife, a stay at home Mom, my family's cook maid secretary barber accountant nurse teacher photographer referee counselor etc etc etc......And I love every minute of it....well...MOST minutes of it anyway...

Finished Object Friday

Some of you have asked what I was trying to sew when the whole sewing machine problem took place. So...I thought I'd make Finished Object Friday out of my little project. Be sure to check out Chari's blog for others. (she made a scrumptious looking chocolate cake this week.MMmmm)

I have back and neck problems due to my scoliosis, and I cannot live without my "rice sock". Do y'all have one of those? Mine was an old worn out tube sock I stole from my hubby's sock drawer, filled with rice, and tied shut with a bit of yarn. Pathetic, yes. But, boy, was it priceless. Well it was a sad day when I walked in my room to behold a certain 3 year old swinging it high above his head in circles, like a lasso of sorts. The poor old sock gave way, the end came loose, and rice rained from the heavens all over the entire room. Do you know how many grains of rice are in a 2 lb bag? More than I'd ever care to clean up out of the carpet again. I'm still finding grains hiding behind picture frames, under the bed, etc. Anyway, I decided it was time to upgrade. This time I used an old dish towel folded in half. And I stitched pockets into it for the rice, to keep it evenly spaced. Then I made a nice "slipcover" for it, complete with ribbon and a bow. It's not quite as embarrassing as the old "sock".

I tested the ribbon in the microwave to be sure it wouldn't melt, and it does just fine.
Just pop the whole thing in the microwave for 2 minutes on high power, and put it around your neck, or lay your back on it, or just warm up your bed with it. It's good for what ails ya.
And it's EASY to make. If I can sew it, ANYBODY can.

Girly Bathroom ReDo

Remember this bathroom? The realtor called it "retro".

I called it "sick-o".
So as soon as we moved in, we ripped off the wall paper and slapped blue paint on the walls for a temporary fix. Oh, and we definately changed the blue toilet seat. We made it liveable, but it still wasn't what I had in mind.
I sang hallelujah when that wall mount sink started leaking. We got a new vanity, sink, and faucet back in December. I LOVE my faucet - it's tall, and it swivels - perfect for hair washing.
Much better, eh?
I found these drapes on jcp.com's outlet page. That's a very dangerous place. There are some fantastic buys on there if you check it regularly. I like to use drapes for a shower curtain because you can hang them high, so they go from floor to ceiling making a much more dramatic statement. Somehow, shower curtains always seem too short to me.

I'm just loving the yellow and blue. It kinda makes me think of spring in the midst of this dreary winter.

The cute toile bucket on the toilet is compliments of my Mother-in-law.

These boxes are great for storage, and Hobby Lobby puts them half price every now and then.

When you remodel on a budget, you have to get creative. So....instead of buying a new medicine cabinet, here's quick and easy way to cover the old one. Simply get an old frame, spray paint it white, and clip it to the front of the existing medicine cabinet mirror.

....with these swingy clips. Easy Peasy! (if you have a nice little resident handy man like I do!)

I found this little pitcher set at Goodwill. I love it. I've been looking for different things to decorate this bathroom with for a while now. It's been fun finding bargains and I'm so happy with how it all came together. Bye Bye Retro!!

P.S. I loved the comments left under the Sewing machine fiasco story. Some of you really cracked me up! It's a very comforting feeling to know I'm not the only one with "duh" moments. Thanks for making me feel a little bit better about myself. You can be sure I'll see to it that Mr. Fixit reads those comments, too....

The Blonde Lady Strikes Again!!!

When I started this blog it was NEVER my intent to get into marriage counseling, but here we are with lesson number two for a happy marriage. I've mentioned before that I am NOT a seamstress, I know just enough about a sewing machine to be dangerous. But that doesn't stop me from tinkering with it when the mood strikes just right. Anyway, I turned on my machine and got everything ready, fabric in place, foot on the gas....and nothing happened. I scratched my head, tried her again....nothing but a "wwhheee" sound. I wiggled a few switches and messed with a few settings. No matter what I did that stubborn little needle would not go up and down. I bought the Singer SIMPLE for a reason, people.

As a last resort, I asked Mr. Fixit to come into my scrappy crafty room and look it over. He took one look and said, "Your belt's off." And with a glare that read "there's a million other things I'd rather be doing" he started taking the machine apart. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to get inside one of those babies, but it does help. After a while he had a few hundred little piles of screws (all of them different sizes) in strategic places on the desk to help him remember where to put them back. You'd be amazed at how complex and intricate it is in the innards of a sewing machine. He removed piece after piece, until finally he could see the belt...in perfect working order. Hmmm. More head scratching. He tested various parts, turned the machine this way and that. That's about when I saw it. I said "Oh look! It was just the bobbin winder!" It was set to wind a bobbin instead of to sew. Like this...
A simple flip of the switch and she purred away beautifully. Well, I couldn't help it. I doubled over laughing hysterically. Mr. Fixit did not see the humor in it. He sat there amidst piles of sewing machine parts and screws pounding his fist on his head. Then as if in slow motion he started putting the pieces back together, mumbling something about this being 2 times in one week, and that I was about as smart as a box of rocks, and a few other less than flattering comments. It didn't occur to me to say anything like "You didn't see it either!!" But now that I think about it, if he were really so smart, he would have correctly diagnosed the problem without doing major surgery on the machine. I'd give anything for a picture of his face when he realized what the problem was. Utter disbelief mixed with disgust and pure frustration. Honestly, I can't believe it either...and it is a little embarrassing. The only reason I'm sharing is because he threatened to go right to the blog and tell the story himself. So I figured it would be in my best interest to go ahead and tell on myself before he got the chance.

I hope you, my happy readers, have learned a valuable lesson from my mistakes.

Hey, I'm just here to help.