Sheer Rosettes For the Gazebo

I started off making little rosettes out of the sheers I bought at WM for $4.75 each, tied them with gossamer sheer pink organza ribbon over a rubber band that secured them while I tied on the ribbon. I'm going to find pretty roses that aren't too expensive to put on there also.

They look lovely hanging and blowing in the freeze. Hubs suggested little string lights and I'm going to do that along with some pretty ivy or some kind of foliage that doesn't look too cheap either if I can find some this afternoon.

A close up of the top of the sheer rosette. If you look closely you can see the hook on which I plan on hanging some candle lanterns I made out of old jars. I just have to figure out how to hang all 5 of them! Trust me, I can do it.

Here you can see the huge finial at the top. Squeeeeeeal..... I'm loving this in my back yard.

Okay, so patience isn't a virtue I've conquered yet! I went out this afternoon, found some ivy at WM and went ahead and added the faux ivy garland since hubs is not home yet for dinner. This chick is on a roll today! Found some pretty flowers but didn't have time to add them at the same time. I'm loving it even more!

Closer view of the top.

I even bought this little wind chime at Michaels at 50% off and it produces the most melodious tinkling sound.

~*~

Random Thought:

Fettucini Alfredo is macaroni and cheese for adults.

~*~

Read more »

My Gazebo and Bedroom Wall

Love Bunny is putting up the gazebo here. He's 6'2" tall so you can see how tall the gazebo is. Squeeeeeeeeal!! I'm so excited about this. It was at a local craft store on here in the west called Craft Warehouse on sale for $200.00 and I grabbed it. I plan on moving it out further from the house but since we have a typical "western" small lot it won't be moved too much farther. Just in front of the quaking aspens I think. I may plant some roses around it. I just don't know. Any suggestions??? I'm open, chicks, to any advice.

The dome has a huge hook that can hold lanterns and a huge finial up there. This is a metal gazebo and very sturdy. I plan on hanging sheers down 4 sides of it. I'll post back when I get that done.

Our apple tree is finally producing some fruit that doesn't have bugs in it......I think. But this is the farthest it's gotten so far after 3 summers. We planted it in 2005 and it was small. I'm so thrilled that something I planted is not dying!

Okay, so one apple has something on the skin. Could be a bruise. I hope it's not a worm. Hubs has sprayed that tree 3 times this year to protect it.

I thought instead of adding spanish moss to these coconut husks I'd paint them instead. So I picked up a can of green "foliage" spray paint and took them out back and sprayed them green. It helped with the smell of the coconut husks and also looks better than the brown husk color.

I contacted a man the other day about painting our bedroom, master bath and walk-in closet. But I received a painting from Gail in Australia (it's gorgeous, btw!) and decided that it would look best over the bed since it's a painting of a bedroom. When I saw the painting I knew it was mine. How sweet of her to sell it to me! I just love the softness of it over my bed. I needed something bigger to frame it though so I set off for Michaels and purchased a huge frame at 50% off and then got another 40% off with a coupon. Squeeeeeeeeal and score!! My kinda deal, chicks. It was black so I had to spray paint it white but no big deal except that there's a rectangle in my back yard that has dark green, pink AND white paint. It'll grow and be cut in the next week so no big deal for Love Bunny. Now I need for the painter to come and paint it and then I'll start hanging stuff back up there. Needs more than that frame and picture.

Gail was kind enough to include a tag and some little prints of her paintings. I think I'll frame them also and include them in the larger frame also. We'll see how inspired I can get.

Read more »

The Front Porch Railing Redo for Pink Saturday

Once again, it's Pink Saturday so be sure and visit with Beverly at howsweetthesound for all this week's participants.
~*~

I thought I'd put these little hanging pots on the porch railing for visual interest. Now, mind you, these were at Joanns at 60% off so how could I pass them up? Even if they had the dreadful coconut husks in them, but I spritzed them with a room deodorizer before I started working on them. I also put some potting soil in them just to have something to stick the faux roses and dahlias in. That was hubs suggestion! Worked well and we certainly have an abundance of soil around this place.

Love Bunny wired them to the railing and I then added the soil and stuck in the flowers. Here they are before I added some greenery.

I then added little sprigs of old greenery I have around for various projects and crafts. Worked out quite well I think.

Close up of the left one. Next time I get to WM I'm going to get some spanish moss and put it in front of coconut husks. I don't like that look but am too lazy to go out anymore today.

Close up view of both.

Coming out my front door this is the view I get.

I think it adds just about the right amount of pizzazz to the front, don't you?

Read more »

Thrifting and Junking Today

You all know by now that nothing is simple around this household, right????? Okay, then let's recount today's adventures or MISadventures and I swear to you this was not planned.

First of all, I showered and did my hair without frying my hair dryer today. Yep, I got my "DO" done fine as evidenced by the "striking one hot chick" photo below. Okay, okay, so I ain't a movie star; get used to it.

I then got in the car to go to Goodwill and show off s*xy hairdo. (I said forget it!) Anyhow, as I pull the Sequoia out of the garage (we all KNOW hubs parks waaaaay too close to the edge of the door anyway, don't we?) I hear the right side mirror scraping along the door. Okay, so today it wasn't the hair dryer, it was hubs' car mirror. Toast! Mirror was hanging out of the surround of the mirror. He took the Camry today because it's cheaper on gas, which prices are rising as I type! So I drive over and did the shopping at Goodwill and on the way back I stop at our mechanic's shop and after 3 men look at the mirror, the manager said it couldn't be fixed and that we'd have to get a new one. I wanted it fixed before Love Bunny got home tonight. They wrapped masking tape around it as IF hubs wouldn't see it. So the new one was ordered to the tune of $330.00 and lucky meeeeeee I wouldn't have to paint it blue so that would save me money. Riiiiiight.

Now, let me say here that our mechanic has taken care of our cars superbly since we moved her 4 years ago and is truly reliable but $330.00 for a side mirror?!?! I got home and thought about the expenditure and decided to call them back and tell them to hold off on ordering it as that much money demanded that I confess to hubs and counsel with him on the matter.

Then I thought of the auto body shop that has also taken care of 3 accidents that hubs was involved in while living here. (Not all his fault however.) You know you're in trouble when they recognize your name at auto body shop and come running out when the receptionist tells them it's YOU. I've never been inside of it but hubs has. The man asked if we sold the Montero and I explained we had indeed sold it and now have the Sequoia.

He looked at my "s*xy" hairdo and lush mascara-ed eyelashes and said he'd look at it. (I'm sure that's it, chicks! Don't burst my bubble.) After looking at it he said he thought it could be glued at the one point and the other "contact" points looked fine. He took the car around back, glued it with Q-glue or something like that (told me that tiny little bottle runs about $100.00 a bottle!), rubbed compound into the surround and then came in and handed me the keys and said words that were music to my ears: "No charge"!!! I swooned and insisted I pay him something but I definitely got the feeling that he thought we'd be back soon as our track record has given him the clue. But here it looks as good as new instead of hanging out the little covering.

Just a tad bit of white to give me away but I'll definitely tell hubs about this tonight—especially since it didn't cost me a penny. I'm baking them a cake or cookies to take over soon though.

Now, let's get on with the shopping. Brand new set of 10 lantern string lights for $3.99!! Score!!!!!!!!

A little tin catch-all for doo-dads for 29¢ that I'm painting pink. Double score!!!

A little candy apple red 3 tiered shelf for $1.99. Triple score!

And lastly, this darling candy apple red ladder that I'm also painting pink for $3.99. It's about 40" high. Quadruple score!!!!

Since I had no traumatic events this evening I went ahead and painted these 2 pieces while waiting for hubs to get home to grill our burgers. Quite different if I do say so. Now to tackle the ladder tomorrow if it isn't windy as our back yard has PINK on some of the blades of grass now. *Wink*

Read more »

Going Shopping Can Be Hazardous to Your Health!

I went shopping the other day, but it wasn't pleasant prepping for it.

Hubs was gone already and I had showered and was drying my hair and all of a sudden I heard this very loud pop and a bright light flashed. Blow dryer promptly died! Not just died, but blew up. But I had no electricity in either of the bathrooms after that so this is pretty much how I left for the day. Okay, so I look like a scared rabbit (sorry SusieQ) and my eyes are still glazed over—like in this video shot from my iSight cam—but I went anyway.

Here is the culprit that took away probably a year off my life and I don't have too many left so I'm frosted about that, chicks.

It's toast. Luckily, being the OC/DC woman that I am, I had a brand new backup one under the sink. But no electricity to use the curling iron. Hubs fixed it when he got home but that's another looooooong story! Later maybe.

~*~

I've been seriously thinking about a new sofa—ME, not hubs. So I dropped into the Ethan Allen showroom in Boise and looked around. I knew the style I wanted and thought I knew the fabric but the 3 I picked out were discontinued. Now, I bought my sofa in 1995 from them and it looks as new as the day I bought it. I'm very careful with my things but we don't have the traffic that someone with little kids would have, so it looks excellent.

My dilemma, besides convincing Love Bunny we need (translated: I WANT) a new sofa, is what to do with the old sofa in the living room. I love it and don't want to sell it but after 15 years I want a change.

But I also love this sofa cover on the one in the family room. The sofa underneath is not as expensive or good as the living room one so I'm thinking of putting the one in the living room in the family room and covering it with the green stripe slipcover because I can wash it and it's heavy and pretty and I love it.

While I was in the Ethan Allen store the interior decorator showed me a sofa that they were trying to get rid of to make way for new styles. It was a lovely style, 97" long, down filled, but it was navy blue. That's not a color that would go with my decorating scheme but it was a $3,500.00 sofa marked down to $1,000.00!! Noooooo, I didn't get it but that was one heck of a deal. EA furniture is tops in my opinion for the price you get superior, quality furniture.

But she gave me a small catalog—nothing like they used to give me—and it had this room in it. Be still my heart!!!! Isn't this gorgeous? Pink! I can't imagine a man thinking this is "just a woman's room" because it is simply romantic. I know MY man loves "romantic" stuff.

~*~

Now I think I'll just tease you with some delightful photos.

A petticoated bedskirt adds charm to any bedroom no matter what its style.

Simple pleasures: a beautiful rose in a tin can.

Fill your sachets with straw, fragrance them with oils and hang them around your house. I use something special for my sachets but no one has ever guessed yet what I use. It's organic so no allergies to it but I've never heard of anyone else using what I stuff mine with and it absorbs the oils well and keeps them fresh for a loooooong time.

~*~

Random Thought:

The unruly children running amok in Wendy's the other day were certainly not as charming to the other diners as they were to the grandma who was treating them to burger, fries and ketchup the other day! Keep that in mind, grandmothers.
~*~

Read more »

Miscellany

There are times when I don't have a lot to say. Marvelous, isn't it?! Anyway, today I thought I'd just share a thing or two and get back to the house work and garden and let you enjoy NOT listening to me so much!

Looking through some clothing catalogs recently I realized the T-shirt is now becoming somewhat dressed and jazzed up a bit. So I took this plain black one and added some black with roses fabric I ruffled and sewed it on. Has anyone else noticed the T's are not so drab and plain anymore? Some have lace and are pleated in front. Just a whole different look. So for me instead of buying a lot of new ones I'm just froufrou-ing up the old ones.

Aren't these decals lovely? I saw them and couldn't resist but now I'm deciding where to put them. They are 7 1/4" x 4 1/2". So where could they go nicely? Any suggestions?

Read more »

A Huge Giveaway and Random Thoughts

Shelf Reliance is giving away a Harvest 72" food rotation system! Visit the Shelf Reliance blog here to enter. The Harvest 72" is valued at $459.99 and can hold up to 600 cans, making it perfect for a healthy food storage supply. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 26th, so hurry to the blog for your chance to win!

Ladies, this is a fantastic food storage system! I have some of their shelves but this is a huge one. Go enter now.
~*~

Collage of my garden roses 6/2009

~*~

I've been wondering why it is that the politicians are always sorry AFTER they get caught lying about their taxes or some other such lie (take your PICK, chicks!!). It's becoming prevalent in the country today. I don't think I've ever seen one of them admit it BEFORE it was discovered! That's not true sorrow as I know it. Being sorry is what you are before the cameras are in your face. Truly sad.
~*~

At church a while back in our Relief Society, someone asked a question and "Big Mouth" here had to raise her haaaAAAAAaaanddd! I said I was truly a "happy chick" and a positive person and truly felt sorry for the women who don't take the time to get to know me. Yeah, yeah, I've said this before here on th' BLOG, but it was the first time I said it in a class of other women. They laughed. It wasn't funny; I was dead serious!
~*~

And while I'm on a roll today, let's talk about the "parkers" in the parking lots. You know the ones I'm talking about. The monster trucks that could house the state of Wyoming in its cab! Yeah, those ones. And the people in the vans with a handicapped sticker. Okay, you might be handicapped but can't you park those vans properly?!?! Hmmmmm??? I came out the other day and could NOT get in my drivers side door unless the chain saw massacrer cut me in half!! I was there first, too. Puhleeeeeeze. Learn to park those things.
~*~

I usually prepare our meals and just put it right on our plates instead of dirtying more dishes with serving bowls. (Hey, it's just the two of us now, ya know!) Anyway, I always give myself the bigger plate and Love Bunny the smaller one. I also give him bigger portions. BUT it looks even bigger on a smaller plate and he's never caught on. My portions look small on the large plate and he sometimes thinks he's got waaaay more than I have! It's so easy to fool a hubby. He needs to watch how much he eats is why I do this. *Wink*
~*~

It's been years since we've watched a television commercial but I remember one from back in the 60s, 70s and even 80s. It's the one about laundry detergent or fabric softener—can't remember which one OR it might have been the same for both. Remember the woman who is making her bed and the sheets are clean and fresh and she is throwing them up in the air? They billow out and slowly come down on the mattress top all nice and pretty. That's a crock! I've tried that for years and even gave it a try the other day as I was remembering how beautiful it looked with those white sheets coming down so perfectly. Puhleeeeeeeze! It just doesn't happen. Besides I use all cotton sheets and they're wrinkled unless I take the time to iron them. (Secret: I've given that up so I can walk around the house in heels vacuuming! Yep, I'm the poster chick for that one! Hah!)
~*~

"Hang loose" What exactly does that mean? Does it mean being sloppy in my attire with slovenly clothing? If so, I'm hangin' loose I suppose. Or does it mean to take situations not so seriously? I don't know for sure, but I'd bet one thing: none of those people who said "hang loose" ever had a daughter on a date with a guy on a Harley!
~*~

Read more »

Glammin' Up the Backyard for Pink Saturday

Thank you for visiting today. Be sure and visit Beverly at howsweetthesound for more participants in Pink Saturday.
~*~

Our son and grandsons were here for a couple of days this past week. The 2 on the right are our grandsons, 20 and 11, and the young man on the left, 13, is a "sort of adopted" child. He takes him whenever he and his wife can because his mother isn't a good influence on him and he loves our son and boys. He is treated just like his sons in everything: trips, cruises, punishments and college when he is ready. His mother won't give him up because......well, just because. He is a sweetie though. Keith is doing much better but, of course, he will have to repeat the surgery on his leg that the gang injured when they beat him. He is very optimistic about everything though.

Here is hubs planting 2 grape plants for us. I suggested we use this metal arbor since the clematis' have all, but one, died. He transplanted the clematis. We'll have a lovely place to view from our patio door and have the grapes to eat. The arbor will definitely hold them.

I have looked at every garden and hardware store in town trying to find a window box I thought was pretty enough. There was nothing available and then "POOF" an epiphany! I had two french vintage wire window boxes in the house—one in the living room and one in the family room under the faux mantel. Another "duh" moment for me. *Sigh*.........

Anyway, out it came from the wall and I put it under the window in my office with the faux ferns (I can't grow any other kind). Then...........

We went out to Michaels and Joanns and found some lovely silk peonies and roses and I stuck them in there with the ferns. I absolutely love looking at it from the front of the house and I can see it out my window seat.

The peonies are really very pink. I took this picture just after a rain storm and it was a bit dark but you can see underneath how the water stayed out from the box a bit. (Notice the rock underneath in the above photo.)

Here are the other faux roses and dahlias I purchased today at Michaels and Joanns. They are truly lovely and 60% off!

While I was out there I snapped more photos of the new crop of roses in the rose garden. Aren't they lovely? I have finally succeeded in growing something!

Just absolutely stunning to me, chicks!

Have you ever seen anything as gorgeous as a rose except for a newborn baby? I think not!

Ooooh, I almost forgot to mention th' thumb! This is what happens when hubby and son take me and grandsons target practice at the local shooting range and they neglect to tell me my thumb is in the wrong position on the semi-automatic handgun for the sliiiiIIIIiiiide (slide)! These are 2 Marines who know and taught Marines how to shoot but neglect to tell th' wife and mom. They're just lucky they weren't standing in front of me after I dropped the gun. *Sigh*........it hurts!!!!

And...........*sigh*........the fluorescent ear plugs you wear when shooting???? Well, I tried one pair and they fell out of my ears so I tried the 2nd pair and they got stuck in my ear! I tell ya, it was not a good day for me, bloggerettes. Thank goodness my son is a nurse. Hubs tried to get them out. I finally got the right one out and I couldn't hear out of my right ear. It was strange because it seemed that I could hear out of my right ear through my left ear. Then Keith tried pulling the left one out and he couldn't get a hold on it. He said, "Mom, why did you put them in so far?" I said that they kept falling out. He used his fingernails to grab the very edge and started pulling and boy, did it hurt. Felt like he was sucking my ear drums out! I had to tell him twice to stop as he was pulling. Well, I can hear out of the left ear but the right one is still plugged up badly. I can hear it trying to pop but I've been going around for 3 days "yawning" to pop it but so far nothing. I think I'll give up shooting.........unless it's a hubby and son! Target practice just could be hazardous to their health, ya know. :-)

Read more »