Sunday, February 28, 2010

Unique Storage Idea



Everyone is familiar with these
*shoe storage thingies*.


They don't hold very many pairs
of shoes and take up lots of room.

I don't need this anymore.

Not after Hubby built me my
fabulous shoe shelves!


If you missed my closet redo a
few weeks ago, you can see it here.

But don't forget to come back here
to see this weeks new storage idea.




My seldom used/casual shoes
go into this cute trunk.


It is very sturdy and well made,
and is absolutely ginormous inside!



I found it at HomeGoods.
love that store!


It has real leather trim...

and nice sturdy hardware.




So this is what that *shoe thingy*
is doing now.


It now holds all  some of my old
magazines that I must keep.


It rolls away under my clothes.


It can also go under the bed. 

~~~

Please visit Susan over at
for Metamorphosis Monday.
Thanks Susan!




Gina at The Shabby Chic Cottage
is also hosting an event.

Visit The Shabby Chic Cottage
for Transformation Thursday.
Thanks Gina!

(link will be added on Wed. p.m.)



Don't forget to see my newest
Giveaway details here.






Thursday, February 25, 2010

Transformer Desk... and Giveaway Winner!



Yes! We have a winner for the
"Do Nothing to Enter" giveaway.

This was a surprise giveaway to
thank all my followers.

Every one of my followers were
automatically entered.

~~~


So here are their pretty little faces
... all of 100 of them!


I went into my dashboard
and printed them out.



I just cut them into strips.


Then ripped them into individuals.

Fluffed up the pile a few times...  
and once more for good measure.


Closed my eyes and spun around
and around and around..... okay I'm  
kidding about the spinning part.




And the winner is...




Phyllis @ Around the House!


Phyllis is a very sweet person and has
a wonderful blog. Be sure to go
visit her at Around the House.


~~~



For this weeks Transformation Thursday
I want to show you my "Transformer Desk"


Gina, over at The Shabby Chic Cottage,
hosts this event every Thursday. I will
have the link at the bottom of this post.




"Transformer Desk"


I picked it up at the Goodwill for
30 bucks. I know... kind of expensive,
but it is in tip-top condition.




I didn't "need" another desk, but I am happy
I got it because it is the same wood and
finish as the wall unit that is hiding
behind the plaid chair.


Oh, and speaking of chairs... I just
happened to have this little desk
chair in the very same finish!





Now, when I first saw this desk at GW
I thought it would be great painted a
creamy distressed white, or even black.

But, when I got home I realized that
the only room I could really place
it in was the family room.

Since it is the same color as all the
other pieces in that room... it will
just have stay "orange" for now.





This is how it looked in the store,
except the little removable cubbie
box and the magazine rack were
hidden inside a drawer. 


It was all folded up... looking just
like a three drawer file cabinet.



Then I started to see that it was much
more, with it's fold out desk top. 
I was also pleased to find the
magazine rack in a drawer.



Hubby needed to square up the back
 and tighten the the screws, so the
drawers would close right.

A few more screws... a little glue
and now it looks brand new!



I like multi-purpose things
that can "transform".


Don't you?




Now hop over to The Shabby Chic Cottage 
and see all the other transformations.

Oh, and be sure to say hi to Gina.







Tuesday, February 23, 2010

GIVEAWAY ~ Nothing to have to do!!! (plus an additional giveaway!)




Shhh...


It's just between us...
all 100 and 1 of us!


I want to thank all of you who have
taken the time to read my blog.


Soon I will pass the
threshold of 100 followers!


So...  I am having a giveaway!



This darling Mary Hughes
Sugar and Creamer set
just might be yours!

It is just to thank you for showing an interest in my blog. It doesn't matter if you visit on a regular basis, or just check back from time to time.


I love you all the same!


That's right folks...
you are already entered!
How easy is that?!

~~~

This drawing will be held as soon as the 100th  follower is reached. I'm at 97 now... so it should be any day! I will post the winner as soon as that happens.


~~~


Since I've started blogging, I've found so many wonderful people who have enriched my life. The talent and creativity out there in the blog world is amazing!


Good luck to all of you!

~~~



But wait!!!

What about the newest followers
after the 100 mark?

Gotta send some love your way too!

I have another giveaway on hold...
I will post it as soon as the 100
mark has been met.

Update: new giveaway has begun!

~~~



I still have a few of the coordinating
Mary Hughes pieces left on my website.

It just what's left of my
"brick and mortar" gift store's
inventory, and they are on sale!
~~~


The Easiest Giveaway Ever ~ NOTHING For You To Do!!!




Shhh...


It's just between us...
all 100 and 1 of us!


I want to thank all of you who have
taken the time to read my blog.


Soon I will pass the
threshold of 100 followers!


So...  I am having a giveaway!



This darling Mary Hughes
Sugar and Creamer set
just might be yours!

It is just to thank you for showing an interest in my blog. It doesn't matter if you visit on a regular basis, or just check back from time to time.


I love you all the same!


That's right folks...
you are already entered!
How easy is that?!

~~~

This drawing will be held as soon as the 100th  follower is reached. I'm at 97 now... so it should be any day! I will post the winner as soon as that happens.


~~~


Since I've started blogging, I've found so many wonderful people who have enriched my life. The talent and creativity out there in the blog world is amazing!


Good luck to all of you!




~~~



I still have a few of the coordinating
Mary Hughes pieces left on my website.

It just what's left of my
"brick and mortar" gift store's
inventory, and they are on sale!
~~~


Thursday, February 18, 2010

Surprise! It's Twins!



I am enjoying a lazy morning,
just sitting here, reading up on
some of my favorite blogs.

Not at all like the morning I had
just 30  short years ago.


Yes... that morning I was the
proud, happy, worried, and already
very tired mother to brand new identical twin boys.


And that doesn't even begin to describe
the depths of my emotions.



This is the story of our surprise,
our extra little bonus from the stork.

Yes, it is a story about labor and delivery...
but mine is different!  Really.
(Isn't everybody's?)


This is not a graphic
or gory story.

~~~



A Mother Just Knows


They were unexpected.
By that I mean that I could not convince my doctor that I was having twins,
even after the first one was delivered... breech! 
Frank breech, as in bent in half, bottom first. 
I am not kidding. 
 

I told the doctor to hurry up and
put the first baby down...
and grab the next one.


He gave me that same look I had seen for weeks. He really thought I was crazy...
until he put his hand on my belly, just when the "imaginary" baby kicked me,
hard in the diaphragm, taking my breath away.


The doctor looked as white as a ghost
... I'm feeling vindicated... at last.


 I was a tiny woman way back then.
I was just under 100 lbs when I got pregnant and 135 lbs when I delivered.
Maybe he didn't think I was so big but to me I was huge!

 That doctor needed to
listen to his patient!


After all... strangers had stopped me in the Mall in the last few weeks,
to ask how much "over due" I was, or if I was having twins. 
But, according to my doctor, I was due any day...
and having just one.


This was a planned pregnancy,
and according to my records
I had five more weeks to go.


Sonograms were fairly new back then, and he refused to let me have one.
So... I delivered on time (according to my doctor) but in reality... five weeks early.
Yes... I had been right. With one just over 5lbs. and one just under.
One born on the 17th and one five minutes later... on the 18th.
My midnight babies.


The longest and hardest 
five minutes of my life!

Push!... Breathe... Push!


So, after all was said and done... 
I sat up (sort of) and told him that next time... he better listen to his patient!
One of the attending nurses also happened to be my Lamaze teacher.
I had told her in class, just the night before, that I just knew I was having twins.
I had told all the nurses when I arrived that very afternoon. 
I had told anyone who would listen.


The problem is that they just wouldn't.


Right after delivery my babies were then taken from me (after I got to touch each one)
and whisked off by ambulance to a hospital... just three miles away.
To a hospital that specialized in preemies and twins. 
To where they should be.


They went without me.
To the hospital where I should
have delivered them.


Then, this same doctor preceded to tell me
that I really would not be able to breastfeed twins,
and wanted me to take the meds to "dry" me up. 


But once again I just knew. 


So... I left that place and that doctor, ASAP.
We took in bottles of my milk to the other hospital, 
twice a day, for ten days until my precious babies came home.


10 weeks old

At 2 months they doubled their weight
and by 5 months they had TRIPLED
their weight... on breast milk.

All because... I just knew.


Never underestimate the determination of a mother.
These were my third and fourth babies. 
I had done this before... it was not my first rodeo.


And so our family was complete.


Two girls and two boys. My husband's first children.
We had been married less than a year.
I had added to his family legacy in one fell swoop. 



~~~


Identical twin boys...
and friends for life!



They are now over 6' tall.
One is an engineer for an aeronautical company (Boeing) and the other
is working for the U.S Dept. of Energy at Stanford University (SLAC) .



Happy Birthday
Marc and Matt!


We love you!!!





~~~

Monday, February 15, 2010

Plastic Surgery and my "Big New Knobs"...




This post is all about change,
and plastic surgery certainly is a change!

I want to share my opinion about my having it... and then show a picture of my new knobs. They are much bigger than the old ones.


First of all let me explain...


At 57 years old (at least until April) things get to drooping. Whenever I mention having a little "repair" done to my face, Hubby tells me I don't need it... and it just wouldn't be a good idea.

Now, I kind of understand the latter. Here is just one of the many reasons why... it seems that I am never, ever, happy with a new haircut. I have to come home and "fix" it. Just think how that would work after plastic surgery!


Okay. I get his point.

But if I casually mention having a B@@B job (I spelled it that way, so I won't get bombarded by search engines), he is not as quick to dismiss the idea.  Humph! 

So anyway, I think for now I will just be repairing and rejuvenating the other old broken down stuff around the house... and not me.



So here are the new knobs...

They are much bigger and than the original ones that came with this unfinished dresser. They are not really white but have a slight beige glaze on them. Aren't they pretty?





The knobs were a lucky find (1/2 off) at Hobby Lobby.  I had originally purchased them for my bathroom cabinets. The beige/white finish inspired me to paint the dresser the same color.





  I first painted it bright white and then glazed it with a light taupe. The dresser is one I've had for over 20 years. I used the semi gloss paint that we used in the bathroom and for the bathroom cabinets.



So I figured it basically cost nothing!

(But I guess now I will have to buy
more knobs for the bathroom cabinets.)




This dresser is in my newly refinished closet that I shared last week. It is on the fourth wall that I did not show... as I was waiting to add this dresser.


I still haven't downsized this section of the closet. These are my really casual clothes. Hopefully it will look better after some organizing.  (I need to color code)



 "A place for everything and
every thing in it's place".



Okay... the closet is a done deal!





The next step in my Master Bathroom redo is to paint the bathroom cabinets. Hopefully that will be ready for next week.

~~~

I am participating in these events this week. I hope you will have time to visit them as they are full of great ideas by some really creative bloggers.


Between Naps on the Porch
 please click here



A Soft Place to Land
Please click here


The Shabby Chic cottage
Please click here

Saturday, February 13, 2010

My Pretty Pink Valentine Surprise!




I would like to share a "Pretty in Pink" Valentine's Day tablescape and some past Valentine's Day gifts.

~~~


This little rose topped trinket box was given to me by my grandaughters many years ago.

Isn't it just precious?
What could be inside???


Oooh... a necklace from my Hubby.


It has Diamonds on both sides.


I love diamonds, don't you?



These little pink heart dishes were purchased from Ross a few years back. The cream dinner plates
are from TJ Maxx.


These yummy looking frosted brownies
100 % calorie free!  Yes they are!!!


They are faux. That is a fancy French word for false or fake. They have "frosting and whipped cream".


 See how real those chopped nuts look.
(see top of sidebar for purchase information)



Hubby gave me the most beautiful long stemmed roses a few years back that arrived in that hand painted vase.  


I love these pink glasses that I found at Tuesday Morning. The pink votive holders are from Ross.




These little sugar cubes are decorated with dainty "frosting" roses... and they are also faux





These pink napkins are made from some Waverley fabric remnants left over from my designer days.


The flatware is just stainless but it is trimmed in real gold and is still very pretty... although inexpensive.




I hope you have enjoyed all this pinkness as much as I have enjoyed putting it together for you!


~Optical Illusion~
Does the glass on the right look like it is upside down? Or is the one on the left? It is just an optical illusion. Turn your PC to the side (only if it is a laptop, lol) and it will appear normal.



I wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

XOXO



~~~


Since I'm not much of a cook (Hubby does that) I might be cheating just a bit... but I am joining Foodie Friday. Thank you Michael for hosting this.

Please click here



I also want to share this tablescape with all the bloggers who visit Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch. Thank you Susan :)

Please click here





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