Early Thanksgiving Tablescape

When I  was getting out all of my Thanksgiving decorations, I just could not pass up the opportunity to set the table.   You see on Thanksgiving I will have a house full of family, yeah :) It sometimes gets alittle crazy and I may not get a tablescape set up for 12 people.  So I decided to set a table for an intimate family of 4.

 I made a bouquet from two Kirkland silk bouquets from a sale last year.

 The table cloth is gold, but I could not get a very good photo without the flash. You can also see my dininig room chairs that I painted this past summer.

 The acorns and pumpkins are from last year's decorations, but the are still so cute :)

The red glasses are Murano glass that I found at TJ Maxx on clearance for $1.00 ea, can you believe it? The clear goblets are from an antique store, 12 for $3.00, oh yeah, love them.

 I mixed it up alittle and tried putting my glass salad plate on top of the white, but they were invisible in the photo, so I put a napkin underneath them to add some color?
I had some other colorful dishes, but for some reason my husband thinks you only need two different sets of dishes, so I got rid of my colorful ones :(  However, I may need to stock up again, can you say, Goodwill???

 I am not sure where the mercury glass votives came from?  I found them somewhere last year, they may not even be real, but they look great. The white dishes are from BL a few years ago, and I wish I would have bought 2 sets.

 Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. Please leave me a comment so I know you were here and can come visit you.  I would also enjoy some photograph and Picasa tips, if you have any?

Have a wonderful weekend!
Chrissy

A Simple Door Makeover

Well, here is another project that was still on my camera card from Winter/Spring 2011.

I couldn't decide what to do with this door, since it is what you see as soon as you walk into the kitchen from outside.  It is the door that goes to the basement.

 So I decide, instead of replacing it, I would paint it? What color I was not sure, yet? I gave it a good sanding and wiped it down, then headed for Lowe's.  Guess what color I decided on?

 Chalk board paint??? that's right. Since it is in a prominent spot, it would make a perfect area for posting things. Of course, I took a break to take the picture ;) Mr. RRP is such a wonderful husband.

So there you have it. One BIG message area complete.  My daughter helped also, but did not want her picture taken :o

Thanks for stopping by, please let me know you were here,
Chrissy

Frenchy Bathroom Cabinet Upcycle.

These cabinets were to be posted back when my dad was diagnosed with cancer, so I wasn't sure if the painting thing was old news or not? Since visiting around other blogs and parties, I noticed there is still alot of painting going on, but with a better paint called chalk paint. Well, unfortunately for me, I did it the hard way???

You can see by this first photo that my vanity is black and see the leg to the cabinet over the toilet is stained cherry.

So the first thing I had to do was clean it down from all of the hairspray and dirt. Then, I started sanding, see all that grayish colored dust on the floor (yes, I had on a mask). I proceeding by wiping it down with a tack clothe and cleaning up the floor.

Next, I put on the first coat of Kilz, that was left over from another project, letting it dry between the coats. Well,, when my husband came home he removed the vanity from the bathroom. If you were wondering why this wasn't done in the first place, it is because I am not patientat all. When I get the notion to do something, I want to do it right now.

..

This photo shows you the other cabinet that I was talking about. It is a cherry cabinet so I just lightly sanded it and wiped down.

Both pieces were moved out to the laundry area to be finished with the final Kilz coat. I also had left over paint from the another room, so I used it to paint the two pieces.

As you can tell the paint was off white and I lightly distressed the pieces. The next step was to apply a mocha glaze, using the wipe on and wipe off method.

Making sure to pick up all the crevices and the destressed areas.

I think the vanity will get hit up with some more glaze down the road for a little more of a french look.  Unless, I decide to try a different color? Does anyone else change their mind, after visiting all of those wonderful blogs? I also wood appliques to add to the doors and silver knobs.

I also added a light, flowers and a book to the top. It actually turned out pretty much the way I pictured it in my head :) How often does that happen? It puts me in the mind of being in France, ahhhh :)

Well, I have to admit writing this post was alittle intimidating, but yet freeing at the same time? I am definitely going to get my new camera out and learn to take some better photos.

I am going to try and link up to some parties, let's see if I can figure that out again? Please to go over and check out the parties and get inspired for sure.

Debbiedoos Newbie Party http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/
Nita at Mod Mix Monday  http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com/2011/11/mod-mix-monday-23.html
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia http://www.myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/

Thanks for stopping by,
Chrissy

Building Requires A Plan, right?

Hello everyone,  building anything requires a plan doesn't it? You see this is our deck we put on this past summer, but before we started my husband had to draw it out on graph paper. Then, he planned out the footers/holes for support, built the frame and put on the deck boards.

As you know, I took a break over the summer, due to my father's cancer. Even with his treatment, there was a plan.  He would need so many chemotherapy treatments followed by so many radiation treatments. I am very happy to report that his last radiation treatment was last week and the doctor believes my father is in remission. I would like to thank everyone that has prayed for my family throught this time of healing.

It is through these kinds of  moments in life that we find out what we are made of, so to speak.
I have thought about my blog and all of you quite often, but either not having the time or the words to say.  Now I find myself looking at my life and saying "What is next in this life of mine."

Well, one conclusion is that I want to build my blog, but how do I do that?  I have had the pleasure over the weekend of viewing some blogs and the 31 Day Challenge at Funky Junk Interiors Blog by Donna  has really inspired me to go forward. However, I have also realized I still have alot to learn. 

So back to my question? Did building your blog require a plan? Did you just start and it grew from there?  Do you ever feel like a copycat when you blog about the same things as others? Is that just how blogging is, building off one another? I really do want a blog to biz, but do I have what it takes to get there?

As you can probably tell, this whole cancer thing, has made me a little "out of sorts"?  I want to be here for my family, but yet still have a piece of me for myself. Does that sound selfish?

So  My Story for now, is to keep on learning new things with my blog, revisit Funky Junk Interiors, 31 day challange and to try and come up with how to implement the things swirling around in my head.
I would like to thank Donna for sharing all her useful information, but most of all her passion for what she does and how she does it.

Please leave me any suggestions, blogs, books etc...
Chrissy

WEATHERING THE STORMS OF LIFE

Does this look familiar to anyone? This is our back yard that has been cleared for a deck??? It also represents how muddy my life has been, at times just wanting to close my eyes.  "Into every life a "little" rain must fall."

Hello everyone,

Isn't it funny how quickly life can get so intense that you don't even realize the passing of time? When I actually realized out much time has passed since my last posting, WOW and embarrasment were the only things that came to mind.  It just blows my mind to believe that we are actually in the middle of May 2011!

My life in the past month and half has been filled with what started as shower, progressed to torrential downpours and some breaks of sunshine. I am writing this straight off the cuff, so please excuse the rambling, but as I process what I just wrote, isn't it amazing how that sounds like the past weather events. We actually had a tornado come through in this small mountain town, to our knowledge, there has never been one here before.

You see, it all started with my mother having some major health issues, that we finally did resolve. This was followed by my father having some health concerns, that led us to a diagnosis of Lymphoma.  We have finally got a definitive diagnosis and he has started Chemo to be followed with radiation. 

You know that old saying, "When it rains, it pours." Well, that is how it has felt around here, needless to say that we have a son trying to fill out college apps, a teenage daughter to keep on track and I was enrolled in a college class in Accounting.

I am not sure "why" I chose to share all of this and sorry if I bored you, but I do feel lighter in my spirit.  I can definitely say "If it wasn't for my faith in Jesus Christ and my family, I would probably be curled up in ball somewhere." Okay, maybe that is a little dramatic to some of you, but that is how I truly feel.

Now, to end on a bright note.  Some breaks of sunshine, have been my son getting accepted to college, my daughter being inducted to the Honor Society and I passed my class with an "A".  Last but not least, my family is still intacted, my faith continues to grow and we will all come out stronger on the other side :-)

I have truly missed visiting everyone and your encouraging comments. Now, that the rain seems to be slowing to scattered showers in my life, I hope to get back to posting.  Isn't it funny how the "real" weather is finally calming down and the sun will hopefully breakthrough today. YEAH!

I hope you all will come back and visit me and feel free at any time to leave me a verse or encouraging note, because I can always use it.

The Son always shines, we just don't always see it,
Chrissy

Spring is right around the corner????

This was a photo I took Monday morning, looking out my front window. That snow must have really blowing and it was very heavy and wet.

However, the weather has not been much better so far this week. We could get up to 2 inches of rain or better today and tonight, yikes. I am so yearning for
Spring to come.

What are your plans once Spring arrives? I know I have roses to plant and a garden to work on.

Thanks for stopping by,
Chrissy

Orchids, such a splendid flower.

I know I promised a photo of my Valentine's Day Orchid, but my camera was just NOT cooperating! Or could it be the operator? Oh dear me, it couldn't be, it just couldn't be little ole' me :)

Low an behold, I did manage to get one photo last evening, before my hubby came home. Well, let me back up I think I may have gotten quite a few, but I didn't have in the camera card, LOL. You guessed it that was little ole' me :). Then, everytime I went to focus in and take a shot, some kind of "jibberish" would pop up on the screen???? Well, my husband asked me "Did you check the battery, honey?" I turned around and looked at him like, battery??? What is a battery and whatever would you need one of those for,LOL?????
So Photography 101 repeated:

1. You need a charged battery.
2. You need a camera card, you know it kinda works like film, from the old days :)
3. You need the right lense adjustments or lense changed.

You guessed it! It was all just little ole' "me", having a "duh" moment.

Well, I hope this made you smile and this one photo didn't turn out too badly after all :)
Come back again,
Chrissy