Santa baby....

Please Santa feel free to bring any of the following down my chimney. I've been an awfully good girl.








A girl can dream.....

Aftermath

What happens when this....

turns into this....

well.....you get this of course!!



I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend.

Who's the fairest?

Mirror Mirror on the wall this little mirror is the fairest of them all.

I went on a scavenger hunt at my moms house a few weeks back and I found this little gem.

I knew that all this little beauty needed was a couple coats of Heirloom White to bring out its glory.


I just love the scrollies. (that's one of my new decor terms)

All this little beauty needs now is a mini vase with a single rose. Perfection.

Welcome

Next week I will be hosting my first Thanksgiving in the new house. I am so excited. I love Thanksgiving, mostly because of all the yummy food but also because of the family fun. The hubby and I have been trying to get the place ready. We wanted to make sure the house was presentable. Even though we are not close to being finished, we have made lots of progress. This is what will greet my guest as they arrive.(With just a few adjustments. Like maybe some flowers in those weed infested flower beds.) I hope they all feel welcome, because they are.

Mmmm Monday

When I saw this photo I almost cried for mercy. I will be making this tonight with my own little adjustments of course. I rarely follow a recipe to the letter. I came across this recipe on http://www.foodnetwork.com/ and I will update you on the outcome of my yummy adventure.

S'more Brownie

Ingredients:
Crust:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine salt
Brownie:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
4 large cold eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Topping:
4 cups large marshmallows

Directions:
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.
For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

Going Coastal

Completely Coastal is having a great giveaway.

You get a chance to win $50 toward anything in the Tabletop Department from Outer Banks Trading Group, a coastal home decor store that offers sea inspired accessories for the home.


Go on over and check it out. Entries will be accepted until midnight EST on Sunday, November 15th. And the winner will be announced in my Monday.


Good Luck!

Veterans Day

Thank You for your dedicated and loyal service to this country.

We should ensure veterans know that we deeply appreciate the sacrifices they have made in their lives to keep our country free.

P.S. I Love you Uncle Gary and Uncle Lawrence. Happy Veterans Day.

Decisions, Decisions

I have a foyer light that I want to replace. It's the standard cheap builder light fixture but I would like something with a bit more personality. I found two contenders that are the perfect mix of style and price. Lots of style for a small price, is my mantra. Well now I can't choose which one to get. Whats a girl to do?

NO REALLY!!! What's a girl to do?? Which one do you like?

I Knew it all along....

I'm Glamorous!! Well at least according to the Ethan Allen Style Quiz. I was reading one of my favorite Blogs http://www.younghouselove.com/ and they had a link to this style quiz. It is pretty accurate in my case.

My style is Glamour!The verdict is in—your style is Glamour. Glamour is the penthouse with a view, the Old Hollywood mansion, the home of the connoisseur. A knowing marriage of fashion with sumptuous comfort. A fearless blending of Art Déco, Chippendale, and Modern. Glamour is shamelessly smart, elegant, and timeless.
This online portfolio shows your style. Brought to life in rooms. A subtle mix of furniture, accessories, and attitude. Different “looks.” Because every home should be unique.

AMEN! Now if only my wallet could get the memo.

Thanks, DAD!

My Dad was visiting for a couple of weeks and I made very good use of his time. He is a very "Handy" man, so of course Hubby and I found lots of work for him to do. The carpet in our home was dirty and stained so we knew when we moved in it had to go. We did not want to put new carpet in but we did not have the money for hardwood floors. Lucky for us we got a great deal on laminate flooring and we saved a mint buy installing it ourselves. when we say ourselves we really mean my Dad did it!

This is what the carpet looked like before it was ruined by vandals. It was nothing special just your basic builder grade carpet.

This is half way through the installation of the flooring. Thankfully the concrete slab was in good condition.

Here are the new floors that I LOVE. The floor looks great and I couldn't be happier. Dad, you did a great job and we are so thankful.

Roarrrrr

Tomorrow this little cutie will become......

This fearsome beast. He is suppose to be a lion but he looks more like a honey bear.

Gotta love Halloween. Have a FUN & SAFE Halloween everyone.

Vinyl Giveaway

Karla over @ http://itsthelittlethingsthatmakeahouseahome.blogspot.com/ is having a giveaway. Make sure you go over and check it out.

Lets get cooking. Part 1

If you know me, you know I love to cook. When we moved into the house the kitchen had NO appliances. Well, needless to say, living without appliances was not something we would be able to do for very long. Hubby and I had a plan to buy a cheap mini fridge and a cheap microwave and just live with that until we could save up enough for the real thing. I wasn't happy about it but it was what we had to do. However, thanks to my hubbies wonderful and generous step mom, we were gifted all new appliances. Talk about a godsend!! We were and still are so grateful.

We are still making little improvements to the kitchen but this is a little taste of how the appliances made such a huge difference.

My mini me snuck into this pic. This girl loves the camera..lol.

I need a new coffeemaker that white one just won't do.

We still have to change the lighting, get a new sink and faucet, tile the floor, paint and do the back splash. Then the kitchen will be complete. I can't wait.

Happy Birthday, Mommie!

I just spent a really fun weekend in North Carolina celebrating my mommies birthday. Little Sis and I put together a small surprise dinner party for mom. She was totally surprised and she seemed to have a great time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!! I am so proud to be your daughter and I wish you many more years of health and happiness. I LOVE YOU!

Enter if you dare

I finally put up some Halloween decor in the entry. I am not really big on spending money on Halloween decor BEFORE Halloween. I am all about the 90% off after Halloween sale however. This year I wanted to do some decorating because it's the first Halloween that KJ will know whats going on. So true to form, I headed to GW and found some great stuff. This is the entry with all my finds on display. Please forgive the bare walls. We will be painting in the next couple of weeks.

GW always has lots of brass candlesticks. Well with a little black spray paint they work. I saw on another blog a tutorial on how to make bleeding candles (Sorry I don't remember the blog) and I love the spooky look of them.

This is a good view of my Skeleton Tree. (Love the shadows on the wall.) I have seen so many ghost trees this is my variation of that.

Close up of the pumpkins I found for less that $2 total. Again a little black spray paint and they look great.

Here is a close up of the little skeletons I found at the Dollar Tree. 5 skeletons for a buck.

In total I spent about $6 dollars on everything. I think that's pretty good.

Bedroom inspiration

I have a love affair with Platinum & Plum. I just love the way the colors look together. The mysterious and regal look of the violet next to the sleek sophistication of the silver is intoxicating to me. Well needless to say my love affair has made its way to my bedroom. When I saw the metallic paint colors from Ralph Lauren I knew I had to have it. http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/products/paint/items.asp?haid=116

I had to approach the subject gently with the hubby. He wasn't to keen on the idea of painting all of the walls in our bedroom with metallic paint. Alas, we were able to reach a compromise and just paint one wall with the metallic silver paint and the other walls a softer shade of gray.


Here are a few of the photos that inspire me. This is an example of the perfect shade of purple. Plus I just adore the chandy.

This headboard is divine. I am thinking of making my own.

When I saw this over at "Three Men & A Lady" my jaw dropped. I mean it it really dropped. I love it. Michelle has accomplished putting together a incredible master bedroom. The bed is exactly what I have been looking for, the nightstands are fantastic & what can I say about the wall color..perfect. I used this photo to show the hubby what our bedroom could be. If you haven't already go over and check her out. You won't regret it.

I am in the process of getting the master bedroom put together and I can't wait for "Reveal" day. Check back for updates.

Faucet Giveaway

Kate over at http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2009/10/fabulous-faucet-giveaway/ is having another fab giveaway. Go check it out.

What are you waiting for??? GO!!
(Just don't forget to come back to me.)

Re-make

What do you get when you take this: & add this

that then is Gorilla Glued to this little cutie......

well you get a pretty mini cake plate or as I like to call it a modern

Birdcage.

All of these items were purchases for less than a dollar from GW. Just gotta love GW.
(PS....sorry about the bad pictures. I am hoping Santa :) brings me a new camera.)

Re-make: Mirror to Chalkboard

I have been working on collecting items for my daughters bedroom. GW has given me many great treasures. This is a little cutie of a mirror that I found for only $3 at GW. Its great as a mirror but I had other plans for it. I took the mirror out of its frame and with a can of blackboard spray paint and a sample size of blue paint. It is now this.

This will look great with the desk and chair I also found at GW.

(More on those later.)