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Hi everyone! I've already taken most of today off from blogging....my hubby is on vacation from work this week so I'll be taking a blogger break. We're not going away but instead will spend the week having uninterrupted family time and lots of fun!

So I'm unplugging for the week. I'll catch up with you all when I return! Have a fantastic week!

Heirloom Party Fun!

I have many things that are special to me, items that were given to me as gifts or actually passed down to me. Today I'm going to pick a few of my larger items and share their story!


The painting in my living room is probably the only "real" piece of art I own! I'm normally hanging plates, grungy ceiling tiles and pictures in generic frames which makes this painting even more special. It belonged to my Great Aunt Martha and was passed down to my parents. They didn't have a good place for it so I asked if I could hang it in my house. Usually I just steal things from my parent's house and run but I figured they would notice this large painting missing. I think it is technically on loan to me but I know my parents enjoy seeing it when they come over.

Then we have my dining room table. This table became a joke in my family because my dad started calling it "the heirloom." It's a newer table, not an antique but when my parents were giving it up I said something about painting it and my dad then said I couldn't have it joking around....at least I think he was joking. It became a family joke that me, as an only child, wouldn't get "the heirloom" because they were going to find someone to appreciate it without taking a paintbrush to it. As you can see, I did finally wrangle it from them and no, I'm not painting it. It's probably the only thing in this entire house that is safe from my paint hungry hands.

That brings us to my hutch. It isn't a family heirloom but it still holds happy memories. When we bought our old Cape Cod (Read about it here) years back, we purchased it from an older couple who had lived in the home for 52 years. They bought it new and stayed until they could no longer make the steps. They were the sweetest people and we were thrilled when they left the dining room set for us, which included this hutch. We visited with them before the closing and you could just tell the home, and its contents, held so much happiness and meaning for this couple. Even though we eventually sold that house, we took their hutch with us. It reminds me of that house, the happy family that lived there before us and even reminds me of when my girls were much smaller and bibs filled the drawers in the hutch. One day I'll pass this hutch on to my kids and tell them the story behind it.

Now head on over and see the other participants!!

Heirloom Party

Blog List and Award

Hi everyone! You may have noticed (or not) that my "Places to visit over coffee" list has disappeared. The list was getting too long and there were more I wanted to add so I created a new blog for it. I have it set up to list the most recent posts on top which will make it easier for me to keep up with all of you!

Here's the blog with all the links....



http://fromhousetocozyhomefavorites.blogspot.com/



I still have some updating to do but I'm getting there!

My friend Sarah of The MamaCanon Blog, Visit her here, recently passed on this lovely award to me! Normally I just add the award to my sidebar quietly but this one is a good "get to know you" award so I thought I would post about it! I have to tell 10 honest things about myself. Yikes, are these supposed to be interesting?! Here goes nothing...

1. The person who gave this award to me, Sarah, is a great friend of mine. We've never even met but she's become my "real life" BFF anyway. We chat on the phone all about motherhood, our husbands, pets and of course...blogging! Want to know how we "met?" When we were pregnant with our boys we both joined an August 2005 due date forum. We hit it off immediately and can you believe our boys both had to be difficult? Her son was born in July and mine in September. So much for that pesky due date thing!

2. I'm hopelessly addicted to coffee. I've given up trying to give it up.

3. I have two dogs. Sebastian is a Sheltie and such a good dog. He just aims to please. I could do without all the hair but you know how that goes. Tucker is a mix and just plain crazy! He's still technically a puppy so we'll cut him some slack. The kids get a kick out of watching him race around the house.

4. I took horseback riding lessons for a long, long time when I was a child/teenager. The shows were the most fun and I have a box of ribbons to show for it. My grandfather owned race horses so I think it's in my DNA. I also collected horses, drew horses, basically thought about them constantly. I wanted my own badly but unfortunately that was just a dream. My girls keep asking me for my Breyers but so far I've only given them a couple.

5. Okay, I'm running out of things already.....let's see. I love flowers but do not have a green thumb. Many a plant has died a painful death on my watch. Good thing I'm better at parenting.

6. I love where I live but if I could I would have a farmhouse on a big piece of land, complete with barns for horses and chickens running out of the way as I pulled in the driveway....bliss.

7. Two out of three of my children were named during the pregnancy after a great grandparent. Each of those two were born on their namesake's birthday. Oh and born naturally, we didn't force them out of there or anything crazy!

8. I love my mama to pieces and know I could never live far from her. I'd like to be like her when I grow up but honestly I don't have half the patience or kindness she does.

9. I love blogging. Really, really, really love it. Love the people I meet, the inspiration that is out there, the sense of community even though we are all over the world. It's a wonderful thing.

10. I have a secret business project in the works. I'm still in the research and development phase. I don't even know what that is but it sounded business like. Ha! I'll reveal soon but I am finally going to make a dream of mine come true. I'm ready to give it a try, success or failure...I have to find out.

If you've made it through this post, I should send you an award!! I'm really bad at passing these on so I'm not going to single any blogs out. If you are willing to post 10 honest things about yourself, go ahead and steal this award. Just make sure to come back and let me know so I can read all about YOU!!

My Weekly Finds

Today I'm participating in Rhoda's linky party where bloggers show off their yard sale finds! Last week I went with a friend of mine to have a fun day of treasure hunting (hi Sally!). And then my family and I hit an antique mall over the weekend. I can't show you everything because I was shopping for my Pay it Forward participants but here's what I want to share with you today....

Let me start with something that wasn't found thrifting but still was a great deal! I've had this vase for a while but finally figured out where to hang it. My hubby put it up for me today and I couldn't wait a second before running out to the yard and picking from my hydrangea bush for it. The vase was a gift so that makes this project free!
My hubby spotted this big, heavy key for $2.


I'll probably end up hanging it on the wall....as soon as I figure out where.



I love vintage postcards and have been searching for all the holidays. These were all between $2.00 and $3.50.

I found this print at a thrift store for $4. I got it home, hung it on my backsplash it looked like it needed a buddy! I had only picked the one because it was the month of June (my birthday month).


My friend was so kind and went back to the store as she ran errands the next day and picked up another one for me. Now the one doesn't look so sad....

This one says September, not bad considering my son was born in that month!




I've noticed a few bloggers using a cute teacup as a scoop for their glass canisters. I just had to copy for my sugar jar! I found this new teacup at an antique store for $3.

The find of the week had to be this table.....

Look at those beautiful legs! It's a heavy piece, the wood is beautiful and both sides fold up to make a really nice sized table!

The best part had to be the price. Can you read the price tag?! It says $3.93!! As we were looking at it a very helpful lady was there marking it down. I think the original price was $7 which was great but I ended up with it for a steal.

Right now I have it sitting in my dining room. I'm thinking of painting it up and using it as an extra table for guests, buffet table, whatever we need it for!


Now go over to Rhoda's lovely blog (at her new address) and see what everyone else scored this week!

http://southernhospitalityblog.com/

A Pantry and a Purchase

We'll start with the purchase since that's the most fun! I have been trying to rein in my online shopping (if only it weren't so darn fun to receive packages in the mail!) but I had to make an exception for this great find. My new Nest banner from House of Whimsy on Etsy. You can find her store HERE .

She has a super cute blog as well! I love the tiny crowns on the birds, very whimsical which is just what you expect from a blog of this name. I'm a sucker for anything with birds...add some glitter and the word "nest" and I'm done for.

http://thehouseofwhimsy.blogspot.com/

This week I worked on our pantry. It was a mess and needed some attention. First, the scary Before shot:


I emptied it all out and rehomed some items that didn't need to be in there. Who needs 6 phone books anyway?!



After a fresh coat of paint....ahhhh......

While that was drying I got to work on the shelves. I found small pieces of decorative trim at Michaels, and used a coupon of course! Wood glue was all it took to put these on. Just hold in place with tape and they dry pretty quickly!

And here it is all organized and pretty. Hopefully it stays this way for a while at least! I used large baskets on the bottom and lots of containers for cereal, cookies, sugar, etc. Not only will they keep the food fresher but they look cute too!

The glass containers were on clearance at Christmas Tree Shops and the new scalloped trim makes me smile when I open the door now.

I added some toile wallpaper to the shelves that I had lying around the basement.

The silver planters from the dollar store hold the little items like sweetener packets and Kool Aid. I just used scrapbooking stickers to label the contents. Another option for this would be a little chalkboard paint which would be super cute as well!

It feels good for everything to be in its proper place. Now the tricky part will be to keep it this way for any length of time!

Outside Stuff

The outside painting is coming along. I finished the shutters and the new screen door with a couple coats of green paint. The color is "Shortgrass Prairie" by Behr and it was a total spur of the moment purchase. I actually walked into Home Depot with another paint chip. If you've been reading my blog for a while you know I've gone off the deep end deciding on paint colors for the shutters. I just couldn't figure out what color to do and stressed over it. In the end I went to Home Depot, paint chip in hand and then grabbed a random color off the rack and asked them to mix it. No idea where that came from. It caught my eye so I went for it. Here's the result:

The screen door wasn't quite cute enough so I added this wreath applique...

This is what the house looked like when we bought it.....

And here it is now....

I'm really happy with how the walkway turned out...

The door topper came from The Country House .

I still haven't taken down my Fourth of July decor....

We've had this bench for a while now and I'm really tiring of it. I'll probably spray paint it chocolate brown like the wicker. And I'll use the spray paint attachment to save my hand (thanks to all the bloggers who suggested this!). Sewing some new pillows is also on the list.

Shall we head to the backyard?

I started working on the garage as well. I don't have a before pic on this computer but I changed the door panels from yellow to green and the hinges from red to black. It's coming along nicely. We still have to paint the rest of the trim and the garage itself which will be done in a neutral tan. I absolutely love our garage doors....

This back screen door was another addition, also painted green. Say hi to Tucker and Sebastian! They were anxious to come outside and play!

As promised here are pics of the backyard after the tree removal. Notice anything different from the front? Yup, our house is two different colors. The back is an addition and the siding wasn't matched to the rest of the house. Now that the tree is out we realize just how ugly the back of our house is, it was hiding before!

We hope to reside the entire house (in one color of course) in 3-5 years. Until then we'll do what we can with it. A patio is on the list as well as lots of landscaping!

We have a clean slate to work with back here. The addition of sun in the backyard really opens up planting possibilities....which is fun and overwhelming at the same time!

I'll probably take the next year to come up with a landscaping plan and put it in place next spring and summer. That should give me enough time to figure it all out......I hope.