Monday, July 12, 2010

Our Weekend And The Winner

We got away this past weekend to my parents log home in Wisconsin. We always have a great time whenever we visit.

Their house is walking distance to Lauderdale Lake and about fifteen minutes from Lake Geneva. Would you like a little peek inside? I thought you might.

The living room is open to the dining room and kitchen. I bought the two cane back chairs next to the fireplace at an auction for five dollars. My mom had the cushions made to fit, she loves those chairs and you can't beat the price.

The downstairs bathroom has a flagstone floor and stone shower.

They did all the work themselves.

We spend a lot of time in the screen porch when the weather is nice. The curtains are drop cloths from Home Depot. I could go on and on and show you so many cool details but that would make this a very long post!

We never run out of things to do when we visit...

We get out on the boat and I look at all the beautiful houses.

This is one of my favorites on the lake.

We play at the little beach.

And try to catch butterflies.

We eat yummy food made by a serious Weber grill collector we call Grandpa.


And end the day reading a book with Grandma and announcing the winner of the giveaway.


Congratulations Cassie

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Outdoor Family Room

I have mentioned before that our house is cozy. And you know what that means...small. So we try to squeeze every inch of living space out of our house. That is where the outdoor family room comes in.


 The loveseat and two chairs were purchased at Target a couple years ago.


So was the gazebo and outdoor chandelier. Last year I hung painters drop clothes as curtains to block the sun when it's setting. I haven't gotten around to hanging them this year; the trees we planted are finally giving us a bit of shade. When the bugs come out we zip up the screens. The deck is in sad shape, this will be its last season. I would love to turn this into a real screen porch one day.


This has been a great extra "room" for us. We really like sitting out here in the evening.


Daisies are blooming like crazy right now.


This is my favorite place to write my blog and read my favorites during the summer.


That concludes the tour of the family room addition. Wish you were here, the lemonade is ice cold!

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                      Remodelaholics-anonymous

Monday, July 5, 2010

Sew Much Love Designs Giveaway

I have always admired people who sew. It's a talent that I do not have...at all. My friend Heather has this special talent and makes beautiful children's clothes. When I first saw her creations I was truly impressed with the quality and the fun mix of fabrics she uses. Heather just started a blog and recently opened her etsy shop Sew Much Love Designs.

Heather would like to giveaway one of her ruffle bum onesies or your choice without ruffles to one lucky winner.


You choose the onesie for the baby in your life. The sizes range from 3-18 months.

These make wonderful gifts and would be great paired with one of her bib and burp cloth sets.
Stop over and say hi and check out her esty shop to see all the beautiful things she makes. Heather is also offering free shipping on any order.

To enter...

1. Leave a comment and become a follower.

2. For a second chance, leave a second comment telling me you posted about the giveaway on your blog or added it to your sidebar.

3. For a third chance, tweet about the giveaway. Leave another comment telling me you did so.
Please leave your email address if you don't have a blog.
The giveaway ends Saturday July 10th (midnight) and I'll announce the winner, chosen randomly on Monday.

Contest only open to U.S. residents, please.  Good Luck!!

*Some comments are not showing up here but they are going to my email, hopefully it will be fixed soon.*

Thursday, July 1, 2010

A New Garden


One of the few plants we inherited when we moved in was a big old lilac bush. I was never happy with where it was planted and couldn't figure out how to incorporate it into a flower bed. I had clematis climbing on the trellis for a season but it didn't come back in the spring. It wasn't the look I was going for anyway.


 Now I love myself some lilacs but this just wasn't worth keeping around for one week of blooms, so out it came.

The funny part is my ambitious hubby thought it would be quick and easy to get out of the ground.


Three broken shovels and a couple of hours later, we had this giant root ball. Now how do we move it? It was so heavy we needed a two wheeler.


We made the bed a bit bigger and made a plan for the new plants. Now it doesn't look wonderful yet, give it a year and I think it will be. We went the craigslist route again for some of the plants. The Shasta Daisies and Coreopsis came from someone who wanted to split her plants and make a few dollars. They are looking a bit sad now but will perk up soon. The two butterfly bushes were bought from a nursery, I like that they have three different color blooms on them. Between the butterfly bushes I planted a climbing rose. In a few years I hope it covers this section of the fence in pink roses.
 

I like the carefree way the daisies and butterfly bush mingle together.


The little one thinks it's pretty exciting when the butterflies come for a visit...I do too.
Have a fun weekend!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Paint Sprayer Take Two

After getting some pointers on how to use the sprayer and finding the right consistency of paint, this time was a great success! I used the ironclad paint from Benjamin Moore because there is no need for a primer or top coat. I used 4 parts paint and 1 part water.


This time around I had an old side table, a small frame and a little stool to practice on before I did something I really liked.



This huge frame is the something I really liked. I have been wanting to paint this for a while but I wanted to wait to use the sprayer. I bought it at a garage sale with a mirror for fifteen dollars, great deal don't you think? I'm going to hang it above the faux mantel in the dining room.

The white paint really freshened it up.

Old table before


I think it would look great painted a fun color but my main goal was to get the big mirror painted and I wanted that to be white, therefore everything else was white too. I almost forgot about this little table, it was hiding in the garage rafters.... I'm glad it was there for me to practice on. The finish turned out really nice and now I'm ready to find a new home for it.

The hard part about using the paint sprayer for me is to remember to do light coats and not go crazy so I don't end up with drips. Oh, and don't try this at home with your flip flops on, my toe nail polish is speckled with white paint! Common sense I know.

                   motivate-me-monday

Friday, June 25, 2010

Paint Sprayer Take One

Last weekend I was ready to try out the paint sprayer I bought off craigslist. It was a great deal for five dollars and has never been used. I didn't say new because it's from 1986!

I have such a passion for transforming old pieces of furniture and giving them a new life. I'm hoping this will be the answer to get a better finish and get the job done quickly. Time is of the essence when you have a four year old!

                                                                   Here she is circa 1986.

My sweet husband got me all set up with a spraying station. Very professional, don't you think?


I started by practicing on some old frames that I forgot I had from a garage sale. Unfortunately I couldn't get the paint to spray nice and even so it was time to pack it up for the day. Off I went to do a little reading on the subject and find out how to properly thin the paint.

The weekend is here and I am ready to give it another try. I have three friends waiting for me to perfect my technique so I can spruce up some of their finds. I am so excited about that...wish me luck!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

The New Look At Sixty Fifth Avenue

Sixty Fifth Avenue got a makeover! The perfect person for the job was Kelly @ Fabulous K Creative. She even made a cute new button for me. Thank you so much Kelly, I love it!
What do you think?