Drum Roll.......... and a Drum Shade!

I have been busy at home and at school.  Besides my regular teaching duties, I have mentioned a time or two or twelve that I have also been in charge of concession stand duties for all middle school and high school football games. No, it was not my choice, but just one of those "extras" that comes with teaching. It has consumed SO much of my free time this fall. Well, drum roll please............This is my last week of concession stands!!

Then there is the work we have been doing at The House.  This is a picture of the dining room the week we bought the house. Since then we have redone all the floors, moved all the furniture and fun stuff in, and last week we replaced the light fixture. Yes, heartbreaking to part with the shiny-faux-brass-way-too-small-for-the-room-light-fixture.

I  bought a simple-yet-classic drum shade. It is a lot bigger and fits the scale of the room very well.

Even the shadows it casts are uber-cool!

No matter how it looks in the pictures, the drum shade is a cream linen. It is prettier than it looks in my (lame) pictures.

Drum roll and drum shades!!  My plan is to get back to doing fun house projects now that my hot-dog selling days are coming to a close. I'll probably begin with the 25 boxes of shades I ordered for the upstairs windows..................In the meantime, I'm 'drumming' up some ideas!!

Family Matters

As an English teacher, I love the play on words the title of the post conveys. Yes, I am writing about family matters, and most importantly family does MATTER!!  


My brother turned 50 (as you can clearly see) a few weeks ago, and his daughter threw a surprise party for him before we all headed to Norman for the ballgame. His daughter Libby used a Pinterest idea for the big 50 made out of pictures. She simply made black and white copies of old photos of her dad and shaped them like a 50. The photos were fun to look at, and the wall was very popular the entire party. Libby was good about including people that were at the party in the photos with my brother. That kept everyone entertained as they found themselves amongst the pictures. Luckily, not one person had aged a day! ha!

My 50 year old brother with his three favorite women: his daughter Libby, his wife and our mother. This is the brother that did the wonderful I Love Lucy tablescape. 


A few weeks ago my daughters and nieces got together at our house for "Craft Afternoon". Of course there was some eating involved too.
They made tiles into coasters using pictures, scrapbook paper and rubber stamps. My seven year old niece Caroline is very creative. Plus, she has no idea she is 17 to 20 years younger than her cousins! She keeps right up with them.


The (older) girls had a bunch of parties they were invited to, and wanted to take little hostess gifts with them. Plus, they crafted for themselves as well. 

This is a relatively inexpensive idea that produces mass amounts of product. It actually is fun for all ages and so easy to do. We used family photos we had copied off. In one case we even copied an old patch from a letter jacket. The girls had a fun time and want to do a Christmas batch in a few weeks. 

Make a pizza or two. Cook up a pot of chili. Have the cousins, or the sisters, or the aunts...or all your relatives over for an afternoon of crafting...before the holidays become too hectic! Because.........family matters.........

(Divine) Intervention

I thought this would be a good story for a Sunday. Actually it's a good story for any day, a gentle reminder about who is really in charge, and the plans He has for us.

I have waxed and waned on here about our house hunt last year. This is a picture of the wonderful house we bought last May. But before we got this house we "thought" we had a different house. We were set to close on the house last December and found out the night before the closing that there were some problems with the abstract on the house and we would not be getting it. We had expected to be in the new house before Christmas, something we were very much looking forward to.

We had been living in a rent house for three years after moving back to Oklahoma and we could not wait to get a new "home". When I thought we were getting the December house, I had ordered two of these Pottery Barn pillow covers. They are a linen fabric with the word HOME in brown and the designs of a key and gate in an aqua blue. Our new master  bedroom at the December house was already painted a beautiful subtle aqua and it had chocolate wood floors. I thought the pillows would look absolutely beautiful in my new bedroom. Most importantly they clearly spoke the message we were looking forward to....HOME.

Then when I found out we were not getting the December house and would not be getting a new HOME, I pouted and kept the pillow covers in their Pottery Barn packaging, vowing not to get them out till I had a new HOME. ...........................Fast forward to spring time. My Hubby finally convinces me to quit the pouting routine and to get back out and look at more houses. We looked and looked, but I kept comparing every single house to the one that we did not get. Then one day Hubby found a house online he thought I might like to go see. Coincidentally, it was only around the corner and a block away from the December house.  Before we even called the realtor, Hubby and I went by the house to look in the windows. Like the December house, this one was also in foreclosure.  We looked in the windows and I knew I had finally found another house that I loved. Within a week we had made an offer on the house. I knew this could be HOME. Then just as I thought everything was working out, we found out the legal issues of the December house had been expedited and the house was now clear for us to purchase again. After all the pouting I had done for months, and now I had a quandry.

Two houses that I loved and I only had  a day or two to decide.

In the end, we picked the second house. We moved into the house in May and we knew we were truly finally HOME. The house seemed to just wrap itself around each of us and  draw us in. We have never regretted that we chose the "May" house and made it our HOME.

So as you know I used the summer to unpack the house and truly make it HOME. The unpacking was a pain, but making it HOME was easy. It is just that kind of a house. Then  one day I got to the Pottery Barn pillow covers, somewhat forgotten  in the springtime months.  I unpacked them, but instead of putting them in my bedroom, for some reason I decided to put them in our two wingback chairs in the big living room. As I sat the pillows in the chairs, I looked out the south living room window. Through that window you can see our old 91 year old iron fence that goes from our home over to our neighbors. This is the only side the fence is on. It is just a wonderful old piece of architecture. The fence is held up by big stone columns. 

I looked at the fence and looked down at the pillows. I looked at the pillows and looked out at the fence. I looked. I looked again. I didn't know whether to let the revelation bring me to tears, or giddy with laughter. The message was as clear as the summer day though. Yes, we were truly HOME. We were where we were meant to be the whole time.  The "May" house. Do you see it yet?  The 91 year old fence that is outside the living room window has an old iron gate right in the middle of it. A gate very, very much like the gate that is on the pillows I bought last winter when I thought we were moving soon. Yes, we are HOME. Right where HE knew we needed to be the entire time.

Coincidence?  I don't think so.

I call it Divine Intervention.

HOME.

I am linking this to Metamorphosis Monday. Also check out Wow Us Wednesday's, and Open House Party, as well as Farmhouse Friday. You will be glad you did!

"Halo" to My Newly Painted Walls.....

On Saturday morning I got up and started taping off the fireplace, all the doors and windows in our living room.  This is how it looked early Saturday morning.  

The blue in the living room, while not a blue I preferred,  was a liveable blue, just not my favorite. With that in mind, painting the room was not at the top of my "Things To Do At The New (Old) House" list. (I had things like a new kitchen on the top of that list!!) But after work (and then concession stand duty) on Friday, the Hubs and I stopped and bought paint for the living room. We did it on a whim. I love whims!!!

There are a lot of doors and windows (and one big fireplace) to tape off in that room! Don't let the picture deceive you. The blue was a robins egg/baby boy nursery blue. There was no aqua to be found in it whatsoever. 

I used lots of green frog tape. It was my first time to use it. I thought when I was buying (three rolls in different sizes) that the tape was a little expensive. BUT after taping so much off, then removing all that tape when finished, I will say it is the BEST stuff I have ever used. It went on and came off SO easily. It did not pull off any paint and no paint got under it. I love it.....And you sure can't miss the bright green!

I did all the taping, because both of my daughters, two sons, and one boyfriend-of-a-daughter helped Hubby and me paint.  This is the boyfriend-of-the-daughter getting the high parts.

No, this is not my daughter trying to hide from the camera. She was trying to paint behind the big armoire. I told her the shirt she wore that said "VOLUNTEER" on the back was very apropos!!  (Maybe it should have said "FORCED")!

Finally, my son that is the strongest human I know, bent down, lifted it up and moved the armoire forward. Then he did the other side. He is a beast. Really. 

Some how I did not get pictures of the other worker-bees. In this picture though, you can clearly see the blue on the right hand side and the new color on the left side of the armoire. It was looking so new and fresh at this point.

I then removed all that frog-green tape.......

........And then I sat down on the couch and just looked at the fresh newly painted walls. I just loved it.

I was happier than a pig in mud.

The color I picked to paint the walls was HALO from Benjamin Moore. I got the color from the dining room of For the Love of a House blog. Believe me, anything copied from her house is going to be perfectly lovely. 

Then after school one day this week we bought blinds for the room. I also found a cute little owl (notice in the bowl).

I bought white plantation blinds and was actually able to find them to fit these big old windows.

It was meant to be....(I always tell myself that if I really want to find a reason to buy something! ha!)

I added a few pictures on the wall. I will put more on as I find the perfect ones. I am in no rush. (But I thought I was in no rush to paint the room too!!!) I love the light walls with the dark floors. 

I will have to say that most people that came over thought the blue walls were lovely. So now, the lighter "halo" walls are just "fine too". I am probably the only one gasping at the loveliness of the new color.....!!!

That's okay with me though..... 
There is a sign I see on Pinterest all the time that says, "Happier than a bird with a french fry".... Well, now I sit on my couch and love the dark floors, the light walls, the white blinds, the fall touches throughout and  say that I am  "Happier than an owl with a french fry!" 

I have Fall Break at school this weekend. So it is a four-day weekend. 

Believe me... I have big plans on my "To Do" list...and on that "On A Whim" list too!

I am linking this to Farmhouse Friday. Come take a look!

The Family Jewels....TEA!! Jewel Tea dishes of course!!

Really. I promise. I will not make every single post this fall about my Jewel Tea dish (gift) collection.

I did tell you that I had LOTS of plates. I have them in three different sizes as well. I think that has something to do with the fact the company came out with new dishes to collect each year. The plates in the front are from Nell Hill a couple of years ago.

I was at a fun vintage market last weekend and I bought the chicken feeder.  There was all kinds of fun things at the market. Ironically, I bought this from my friend that found the globes and 5's for me. It works out perfect for my large collection of plates. I am anxious to see if my mom will think the display is a 'cool' as I do!  She will look at it and remember all the chickens she had to feed growing up, I suspect!

Yes, I did clean it first. (My son asked me that.)

During the summer I stacked some of my Blue Willow in this cute little 3-tiered rack. I have also used the rack to hold desserts and lots of cupcakes. Don't you love versatile pieces that don't have to be put away in the closet all the time?

I got the chocolate colored cake stand for $1 at one of Nell Hill's warehouse sales. The 'plate' had come apart from the stand. I grabbed the pieces up and super-glued them as soon as I got home. I have used it for years.....for desserts and as a mini dessert plate stand!

I also told you I have lots of Jewel Tea mixing bowls. I have lots of JT serving bowls and lots of different sizes of casserole dishes....all with lids. You can see a small one on the left. In the background are the Better Home and Garden leaf dishes I bought at Wal-Mart last year. I bought eight of them because I knew they would mix well with my JT. I wish I had bought more, they are so colorful and pretty. I did think to get a place mat and napkins to match them.

The gold goblet in the background is also Better Homes and Gardens. The little cup in front is a two-handled soup bowl. They are so cute. The bowls in the back are small and heavy. I love the size of them. I presume they are some type of dessert bowl. I know, I know. I probably need to look all this stuff up and be on top of things!

I cleared one of my china hutches out of my usual display and filled it back up with part of the JT dishes. Every time I walk by it I think it looks so festive and seasonal. Now I KNOW my mom will like this display!!!

And don't think we just sit these dishes out and then forget about them. We have been using them for several weeks and will continue to use them every day till Thanksgiving. What's the point of having all these if I didn't put them to good use? That's the best part of having the collection.....That we get to enjoy it every single day in the fall.

I am linking this post to Metamorphosis Monday and Wow Us Wednesdays. Along with Open House Party and Tablescape Thursday. In addition I have joined Farmhouse Friday. And Funky Junk Interiors and My Romantic Home.  Hope you can join!