Lunch with the Verizon girls this past weekend. Oh, it's always so nice to get together with my Verizon ladies. Thank you girls for a great day! We never have enough time. Lunch could last until after dinner and we would still find more to chat about, and lunch was pretty darn good, too. We ate at a little Greek/Italian place called The Blue Fig. The food was very good and so was the service. Our wonderful waitress took this photo for me! The girls each want a copy. Can't wait until our next get together. We're shooting for the first week in December for a Holiday Lunch Party!! What Christmas surprises should I get for my dear friends? I'm on the hunt for the perfect Holiday gifts!

On another note...HALLOWEEN is coming in just a few days and my Jon and Li'l Jon were very busy with their PUMPKIN CARVING! What is that I see outside the window when the lights were out...looks like...A GHOST!!???!!! We can't explain it, really, but that's the kind of thing that happens on Halloween I guess...CrEEEEpy!!

The grand kids will be here in their costumes on Saturday ...I will definitely get some shots of them. That should make for a great post!

MEET ROCKY

My last post failed to mention another new family member...Rocky, our new Green Cheeked Conure. He's very cool. He loves his new home with us. He has taken up residence in my new office...which doesn't fair well for the decor, but he's happy with his ipod stereo system and bright light. He loooooves his music! If I don't sing and dance with him a little each day he gets quite upset!

Well, onto other business... I have so many ideas for projects for this fall and winter, but it always seems like... the best laid plans, you know.

So,I thought I'd get myself a little "TO DO" list going. I'm hoping if I get it written that maybe more of it will get done.

#1. Get my sewing alterations done.

#2. Give the downstairs Family Room a makeover.

#3. Spruce up the Laundry Room.

#4. Get rid of alot of unnecessary junk in my whole house!!

#5. Finish my quilt (yeah sure).

This is just a start. There's so much more but, I think I'll keep it short for now considering the last two things may never get done.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!

Back in Bloggyland Again!!!

Hello Bloggyland! I'm back! With a brand new granddaughter! This is Baby Allison Grace Stuart... isn't she spectacular! She was born on September 1st.

I had, for awhile, lost my zest for writing my blog and I've been out of touch with all the beautiful blogs out there. I think there were many things that caused me to drop out for awhile...a very busy summer among them... but I'd like to think I'll get back on track and start writing regularly again.

With Halloween approaching and all the pretty fall colors outside, I'm feeling a little inspired. I'm sure all the wonderful bloggy ladies have such wonderful posts ...I'll visit my favorites and hopefully be even more inspired to reconnect. I just got a new camera, too, so maybe I'll get better at this photography thing!?!?


It's supposed to be a very long and cold winter...plenty of time to spend on some crafty projects, taking photos, and blogging. Hope to see all my favs. Happy Blogging!

Feeling Much More Alive

That horrible spring and rainy, rainy summer, so far, had given me such a case of the blues.
I'm usually so happpy in the spring.
I was for about a week when I got some gardening done...then more rain...yuk!
The weather has gotten better, I'm back in touch with freinds, doing the things that I was just too blue to do.
GOD IS GOOD! THANK YOU! IWILL KEEP PRAYING AND I KNOW YOU WILL ANSWER!

All Your Post Sound Great

I've had a chance to browse through a few of my fav blogger posts , but I'm so busy with so many other peoples problems ( not to mention my own) I haven't had time to leave comments. I loved every one I checked out. Will leave be leaving comments soon. Hugs to all!

Shopping Day with Traci...FOR BABY STUFF!!

Going on a shopping trip for my new granddaughter to be...Mother and Daughter Day Out!!! FUN, FUN, FUN!!! Must bring the camera so I can post some pics!!
Gotta get ready now she'll be here in an hour..Papa is babysitting the other two girls, lucky Papa!

Been Gone Too Long!!!

So many things going on with my life. Mom's not well and getting worse. I pray...but I feel alot of pressure. I've let my blogging go along with f/b and twitter for so long I'm finding it hard to get back into it, so I decided to just write....anything that comes to mind for today. There have been some bright spots, like taking the grandkids on a vacation to the beach. I think that was the biggest help of breaking me out of my funk. I will post some pics as soon as I get them out of my camera and onto my pc. My daughter is remodeling her kitchen so we've been helping with that...guess I should be getting some before and after shots. That would make a great post. Anyway, I miss all my bloggy friends and hope to reconnect soon. My goal this week is to catch up on all of you wonderful ladies out there and reconnect. Miss all you lovely ladies!!

Met Monday -Hubby's Dresser and some Additions to my Office

It's Metmorphasis monday...Yeah!!...and I have pics of the makeover I did on my husbands old childhood dresser. I'll also have a little peek at the unfinished office. Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality will be surprised at how much parts of my office rally do look like hers.. (copycat that I am).
Rhoda, I hope you feel immitation is the greatest form of flatterry,sweet lady.



On to my metamorphasis:



Well the dresser is in pieces on the floor in the process of being sanded..the top was formica, but with a nice sanding and a good primer it took the paint just fine.

Then I primed with my old standby- Bejamin Moore latex primer...works on just about everything. Just one light coat. Then on to my white paint...this time I chose BM China White... a good off white and best of all it's a stock color and my paint store was having a sale on all in-stock whites....yippee!

The result was this...

I inteded to get some new hardware for it, but the old hardware looked so good I decided to keep it...especiallly after my husband to the old colonial style back plates off the bottom drawer handles. I just love how it turned out!

Now she sits proudly in my new "mini-master" suite ...adorned by my most precious gramma's mirror!

Yes, Hubby's old mid- century childhood dresser has made quite a metamorphasis!

Now for a little Metamorphasis for my new (still unfinished office).

My grandaugthers were over the other day and when I told them I wasn't finished decorating my office they were more than happy to help. And they just love letting me set up their little tables so they can CREATE!

My office walls and doors went from this dull and boring...

To this colorful decorative art work...By: Meghan & Kristen

They did inspire me to come up with the idea to paint them out a picture framed moulding section with some magnetic paint and let that be their very own spot in Nana's office for their creations!

They do love it in there so much, with all that cool crafty stuff Nana has for them to do!!!

P. S. A little peek at some of the unfinished office .

I can't wait till I 'm finished in there! It's actually a little better now, those 2 pics are a few weeks old.

Once again, Thanks to Susan @ BETWEEN NAPS ON THE PORCH for hosting her 15 Metamorpasis Monday!! Hugs!http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2009/04/welcome-to-15th-metamorphosis-monday.html

Missing Beautiful Blogland!!

OH, I have missed my blogland so much over the past week!!
I've been busy with so many family matters, I haven't had time to get near my computer to read my favorite blogs, let alone write one of my own. I haven't tweeted at all and managed to check my facebook page only once! This week is supposed to be no TV, No computer week, but I figure I've had my share of that over the past week
Finally things have settled down around here and all has been well for a few days. Mom is feeling better and we haven't haven't had the grandchildren since Monday so I decided to catch up a little and check my computer.
I'm hoping to check up on of my favorite blogs this morning before I have to skee-daddle again... it's as if I've made so many new friends and now I miss all of you ladies out there if I don't get to catch up with you all every day or so!!.
I'm leaving for a few days for Delaware for a weekend away with some of my best girlfriends this afternoon. We plan on doing some great tax free outlet shopping!! I'll try to get some good pics of my trip so I'll have a nice post for Tuesday (I have a Met Monday post I was planning for this Monday but couldn't get to).
Until then, I miss all my new blog friends and can't wait to get back into the swing of things!

The Joy of Being Nana

I get such joy just being Nana so I thought I’d share a little Nana Love with you all.

We’ve had a few birthdays and thank goodness I’ve finished the Sock Monkeys for the girls!

So here’s a peek at my Joy.

My little Krissy Bear’s 3rd birthday.  Is she not the sweetest thing!  Her Mom says there’s an evil twin in there somewhere…I don’t believe it for a second!

Well, maybe.  But Nana loves them both the same.

And what self respecting Papa wouldn’t wear the princess crown if his granddaughter asked him to.  He wore it for a good part of the day, as requested.  What a good Papa!

Meghan is so thrilled with her her Sock Monkey that Nana made for her.  Nana is filled with joy over this one.  Krissy was too busy being evil twin Krissy for a picture with her Sock Monkey.

Meghan is our little Fashionista.   Nana is diggin’ the headband.  Yes, my future crafter/artist/Fashion Diva  has what her Mom and Dad like to call “flair”.

Then there was J.J.’s birthday party at Outraghiss Pets.  There he is with Dad.  Nana is so proud…Gorgeous son, gorgeous grandson!

 

J.J. was the first pet to be brought around for everyone to get a look at and pet if they liked.  Everyone loved this, including J.J.  More joy for Nana, thank you!

They all got to hold the 200lb snake!  Everyone but Meghan, that is, because she’s hiding behind Mom in the corner.  Nana was a bit nervous watching this herself.

Here’s a very rare photo. My grandson James.  I’m sure it will be worth tens of thousands in the future.  Notice the hand…trying to stop Nana from taking his picture.  Usually he succeeds in getting away. But this time Nana caught him on film, much to his dismay.  This one gives Nana much joy!

So, some Nana Love and Joy.

You can never have too much!

Window Metamorphosis

My new office project has come basically to a crawl due to budget constraints.

That’s OK, though.  All good things come to those who wait.

Instead I thought I’d join Susan’s Met Monday@ http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/with one of the projects I have finished in the room.

My first inspiration for the room was the office space of the talented  Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality.  I immediately fell in love with it when I saw it. I must confess, I would’ve loved to copy it down to the last detail, but in the real world that wasn’t practical.  That’s a good thing, really, because now the room is becoming a little more me than just a carbon copy of Rhoda’s (which wouldn’t be a bad thing because I heart her office very much).  So when you see anything in my new office in the future looking a little familiar, you’ll know where you’ve seen them before…over at Southern Hospitality.

One of the things I’ve morphed so far was the window treatment.  

It’s a very wide but high window and my original thought was a Roman shade with some dummy panels on the side.

Before I found out the unfortunate news that I really had no budget at all, I fell in love with and bought Country Curtains Devon Stripe panels.

They were not inexpensive but I love them and I’m not sorry I bought them…I’m basing my color scheme around the colors in the stripe.

 

Check out some of the other elements I have going in the room to coordinate with them.

Paper I plan to decoupage on the drawer front of my plain white sewing  table.

Cute little flower arrangement that I got for free from my sister-in-law to hang out with my two of my favorite bunnies.

Area rug from Ballard Designs, which I absolutely love (also purchased before I found out there was no budget).

But, I digress. Back to the window metamorphosis. I still needed a shade.  At this point I’d been informed of the budget issue and a nice roman shade for an odd sized window like this one can run upwards of $100 or more…that was not in the budget!

I thought of just sheers but I would need quite a few panels and I thought that would be a little to formal for the look I was going for.

Time to think out of the box.  I found a single sheer 84” long panel in a nice ivory for $20…turned it horizontally…found a beautiful 50 yard roll of ribbon at Costco for $6.99…and put together my own little tie up shade for under $30!

P.S. I have lots of plans for the rest of that very pretty ribbon!

So, from this…

To this…

I’m pretty proud of how it came out and it really looks better in person (I need some digital photography lessons!).

Hoped you all liked my window metamorphosis!  Can’t wait until the whole room is done so I can show you all how it comes out!

Oh, by the way, big hugs to Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality for the original inspiration for my new office.  If you haven’t already (and who hasn’t…she’s so popular) you should check out her blog.  I grabbed her button a while back, so you just need to scroll down a bit to see it and go on over and visit.  You’ll be amazed at how talented she is!

You CAN Go Back Home…just “Keep the Faith”

I have these wonderful old neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. Humphrey.  I’ve known them all my life .  They bought their house same as my Mom and Dad did, when our little suburban development was built back in  1950.  Mrs. Humphrey even watched my brother when he was a baby so my mother could go to work. I played with their children growing up. The two boys would tease us girls like all the other boys in the neighborhood did. Their daughter was a year or two older than me but, she was always nice to me, even though I was probably just an annoyance.  I also watched in sorrow when they lost her, their only daughter, to a fatal car crash at the young age of 19.  I would listen in amazement when he would tell me, no matter what happened “You just have to Keep the Faith”.

Well, we all grew up…went our separate ways…college, marriage…etc..  Most families moved on to bigger and better homes and developments, I  married  and moved out of the neighborhood myself.  There were a few that stayed, though.  My parents and the Humphreys were part of that small group.  “Original Owners” they call them. They just saw it as working, paying off their mortgage and achieving that American Dream. 

Somehow though, something brought me back to this little neighborhood I grew up in.  I’m not sure why we bought this crooked tiny little house around the corner from my childhood home.  I know I had dreams of renovating it into my dream cottage.  So much for dreams.  It’s lost tons of weight in old linoleum, cheap paneling and 40 year old carpet.  It’s had it’s electric and plumbing overhauled.  It’s been decorated and redecorated with love many times since we’ve been here but I’ll probably never be able to turn it into what I know it could be.  It’s just not in the budget.  I’ve been sure for some time now that turning this house into my dream cottage was probably not the reason I came back. 

Maybe it’s because the Lord knew my Dad would be leaving us to be with Him only a few years after I moved back.  That gave me some extra special time to spend with him.  Maybe it’s because the Lord knew my Mom couldn’t make it without mine and my husband’s help.  Maybe the Lord knew that today Mrs. Humphrey would be very ill in the hospital and in his hurry to get to see her,  he would lock himself out of his house and come to us for help. He’s known me all my life. He trusts my husband and I.  Maybe these are the reasons I am back here in this little neighborhood full of tiny little old houses with their tiny little rooms. 

So today while my husband and my 17 year old got our ladder and shimmied their way into one of the windows and got Mr. Humphrey’s  door opened, I sat in my tiny little living room and talked with my wonderful old friend for awhile about his wife, about  life and about“Keeping the Faith”.

My Love and Prayers are with you and Mrs. Humphrey tonight, cause you’re what it’s all about.  “Keep the Faith” Mr. Humphrey.

OK… the Pictures

As promised I am going to attempt to post a few pics of my “almost” finished “mini-master suite”. For those of you who don’t know what a “mini-master” is…well it’s pretty self explanitory. It’s a very tiny bedroom that I choose to call my master suite…well it is attached to a bath…so it’s a suite, right?

Well, I,m very much in love with the soft creams and I do like a touch of color so here’s a peek.

I hate the ceiling fan. (I do have chandeleir dreams!)

This is the angle from the bathroom door.

I just love this print…real cheap and a few years old. I painted the black frame a soft white.

I did the did the same with the ugly frame on the print in the corner.

And there’s that knotty pine nightstand that got me started on this fabulous painting kick. Love it so much better white.

P.S. Got the lamp at Christmas Tree shop for $20!

Hubby’s old childhood dresser…some distressing and that great soft white paint.

Gramma’s mirror on hubby’s dresser. Almost painted the old girl white. So glad I didn’t.

She’s perfect just the way she is.

A closer look at gramma’s mirror…I do love it!

And a little tassel love…Kind of the inspiration for it all…I saw them at BB&B and kept putting them back (I needed 2) because of the price.

They were so perfect and the picture does them no justice…I mean those beads just sparkle. So, I just bought them. For now they help me get over my chandelier dreams!

I hope everyone enjoyed the pics. I wish I was a better photographer (and had a little more space to take the pictures in) but I guess they didn’t come out too awfully bad.

Please leave comments. I would really appreciate it, and could use the feedback.

Thanks!

Jessica

Inspired...Now Some Pictures Please

Just a quick post on how much I love the blogging community. I find such refreshing ideas and inspiration, not to mention some wonderful ladies out there.
I'm very new at all this blogging stuff, and I'm learning in baby steps. I've learned so much just from reading all of your wonderful posts. This whole process is having a very positive effect on me and my outlook on everything. Sort of seeing things with a fresh set of eyes.
Thanks to all of you inspiring ladies out there.
I hope to get better at this and baby steps is fine for now.
I'm still working on getting some decent pictures posted of my newly decorated "mini-master bedroom". I have taken quite a few photos and I now know how to post them, I guess I'm just thinking they're not good enough. I think I'll take a few more....lol...then I promise I'll post them.

April Food Day

Today has been designated, a day where we all can help our fellow Americans in this time of need. The supplies at food banks across the country is critically low. Some food bank pantries are actually bare. Please stop by the above blog and check out ways you can help.(http://aprilfoodday.blogspot.com/)  They are linked to Feeding America which was formerly Second Harvest.  You can also go to their website directly (http://www.feedingamerica.org/).

I hope, if you are in a position to do so, you can find it your hearts to help in whatever way you can.  Thank you.

Life, Faith & Sock Monkeys

I’ve been away from my Little Miss Laptop lately, so I’ve not posted a blog, been able to catch up on some of my blog reading, facebooking friends and tweeting.  Sometime life just gets in the way.

Life getting in the way can been looked at as a good thing, even if the things you have to deal with don’t appear that way. Things like an aging disabled parent or a difficult to deal with sibling are hard.  There are lessons to be learned, though, from these tough times.  I do believe God has put me on this path for a reason.  I may not know why, but I have to believe it’s for the good.  I have a wonderful 90 yr old neighbor who I chat with on occasion, and at the end of every conversation his words are always the same…”Keep The Faith, Now!”   How right you are Mr. Humphrey. And I do have faith…but I need to be reminded. Thanks!

So, the downstairs “mini-master suite” is looking good and aside from a few minor details I’m satisfied with the way it came out.  But, Little Miss Laptop and The New Office have gotten a little ignored lately.  I am in here working.  It’s functional and actually quite comfortable.  Even the Neatnik that I am can tolerate the unpacked boxes (tucked ever so neatly in the corner, of course).   I have faith that it will all work out in time.  You gotta “Keep the Faith”.

So among all this there is the issue of the sock monkeys I promised my grandaughters’ that I would make for them.  It’s been well over a month since I first made that promise.  I cringe every time they ask if I’ve made them yet.  I think the lesson Someone is trying to teach me here is this; listen to the children. 

I’m listening God…I’m making those sock monkeys!