Simple Decorating

I thought I would share these simple decorating ideas that we learned at our last Southern Living at HOME consultant team meeting. The best way to decorate is to keep it simple.

Galveston Hurricane: this idea was created for St. Patrick's day - a few drops of green food coloring and a few fresh flower stems - voila!

Renaissance Hurricane: this is a very tall piece; it is being used on a hearth here to flank a fireplace - add some water and either a fresh or faux flower stem to float on top - simple yet elegant!

Jamestown Centerpiece and Ruffled Glass Bowl: combines two great pieces that should be in anyones decor - water and floating candles in the bowl set inside a St. Patrick's Day wreath on the centerpiece - can be changed out for every holiday very easily!

Jamestown Centerpiece, Barley Twist Pedestal and Mini Cake Dome: combines 3 products and still only takes about 5 minutes to complete - Easter grass lines the bottom of the centerpiece, the pedestal sits in the center; put a candle and wooden or decorated faux easter eggs on the pedestal and add the dome; add cute little candy dishes and any other easter figurine desired - cute and fabulous!

Petite Bud Vases: fill to your hearts content with St. Patrick's Day or Easter sprigs and stems and flowers.

Bountiful Tray, Villa Stoneware and Tuscan Tidbit: just another way to create that punch of color and wow factor at the dining table.

and the WINNERS are...

Congratulations Jennifer from JJGreeley PaperDesigns on being the only one to guess the correct answer for the shoes on the door rack. There are 37 pair.

All of the guesses for the total number were close so you were all entered into the drawing. I own 60 pair...wow maybe I do need to purge. That is INSANE!!! What can I say - I love shoes!

The lucky winner of this drawing was... Congratulations Jennifer and Emily!

Each winner will receive a mini card stack. My normal card stack is 6 so the mini is 3. Jennifer will get first choice for having the right guess and Emily will get the other stack. I made both card stacks using my Slice now that I have it working properly. For those who own the Slice, don't forget to HOME the blade. Problem solved very easily.

1st stack uses SU colors: Cameo Coral, Orchid Opulence, Whisper White and Certainly Celery

2nd stack uses SU colors: Yoyo Yellow, Real Red and Tempting TurquoiseSpeaking of Jennifer-I got the call this morning...Baby G arrived! Both Mom and Baby are well. I won't spoil the news for those waiting for the email later today from Jennifer's husband. I'm so excited for her family on their newest member. Thank you so much for playing along with the shoe guessing game. This was fun!!!

Whoah - that's a lot of shoes!

2 part blog candy contest --

This is my new shoe organization rack hanging on the inside of my bedroom closet door. I live in an older house with very little closet space so I am always looking for ways to maximize my storage space. This is my newest solution. I can't believe how many shoes I have - and actually this is not all of them. I don't know if I should admit that or not.

1st part of contest - guess how many pairs of shoes are on this rack.

2nd part of contest - guess how many pairs of shoes I actually own.

I will draw 2 winners from the correct guesses so be sure to include both answers in your comment and you could win two prizes. Good Luck!

Cake Decorating

I really want to take the cake decorating classes from either HL or Michaels but I just can't find the time right now. I'm hoping this summer when things slow down I will be able to. Here is my first attempt at decorating a cake on my own, no training. Not great, but it was edible. I made this cake for our friend's daughter who celebrated her 17th bday. Remember she is the one with the new baby, now 7 weeks old. Here are some pics hubby and I took with the baby at the bday bash which would have put baby P at 5 1/2 weeks old. She has grown since then :) Ignore the messy hair on my head - it was a super windy day and I had been out in it all day!

Packing Peanuts

Sometimes we think, what a great idea! Packing peanuts to secure your items while being shipped...but then the reality sets in when you open your package. I just thought these pics were too funny not to share. My boss receives this package last week and proceeds to open it. These peanuts stuck to everything; his hands, shirt, the desk, the floor, the boxes inside the box, the packing slip and just when you thought you finally were cleared of the little irritants, just kidding there were more attached to his pant leg, his shoes and the chair. I could go on an on. I was laughing sooo hard. It was so HiLaRiOuS I had to take these pics to share!

New Automatic Gate

We live in the country and after having our riding lawnmower stolen last December, we decided that we would start keeping our gate (actually two that met as one so twice the work) shut all day everyday. This tedious chore worked for only a few short months because hubby and I got tired of getting wet and muddy when it was raining or getting cold. He decided it was time for a new gate with an automatic opener. He works weird hours and the gate just became a hassle. My Dad so graciously offered his services and his cousin's welder to assist with this project and four days later it was complete. YaY! Now all that we have to do is paint it to look nice. I'm so excited...so convenient. Thanks Dad for all your help and keeping hubby motivated :)

So here they are hard at work...
and the weird board/clamp contraptions that held the posts in place while the conrete hardened...

our dog even decided she had to help (more like get in the way)...

Aahhh - the new gate...

Next project - patio cover at the master bedroom sliding door happening this Saturday courtesy of my awesome construction brother-in-law and again my Dad and hubby. We are always doing something. No wonder I can't find time to stamp, make cards or complete a scrapbook :)

and the WINNER is...

Congratulations goes to AnAggieBug for winning my blog candy! Here is what she won....

This card stack has 6 cards made using three of the Stampin' Up "in" colors. I used the same concept with each sticking with the same color palette on each individual card. I like Jennifer's monochromatic post from the other day so much I wanted to use that idea here. Okay, so its not completely monochromatic because they also have white in them, but its close. The cards use various items from the Tangerine Tango, Pink Pirouette and Baja Breeze colors.

Contratulations Jennifer from AnAggieBug!

Blog Candy Entries Closed

Thank you to all who posted a comment as an entry for my blog candy giveaway. I will draw the lucky winner this weekend as well as put together the prize and I will announce the winner in a post on Monday. Thank you ladies who participated. Have a great weekend!

Finally - My 100th Post!!!

I know several of you have been very patient with me anxiously awaiting my 100th post. I have been holding off for something very important/memorable/special to me and after much deliberation...I have decided on my sister's experience 2 weekends ago. I know this isn't a very happy topic but it is one our family will remember for the rest of our lives, so I felt it would be a good 100th post.

Pictures will never allow you to understand the devastation that others witnessed in real life. My sister lives in the Bastrop/Smithville area that was hit by a large and dangerous 1,200 acre fire that took days to completely extinguish. Sis and her hubby were evacuated and spent some time with us because hotels had no vacancy. To tell you in words how God works in mysterious ways and has a plan for everyone, would not be possible...we just knew that His plan for my Sis was not to lose her home that she purchased less than 7 months ago. She was very fortunate that the fire was extinguished literally 2/10 of a mile from her home. The fire burned on all sides of her home in this 2/10 of a mile radius. Not all of her neighbors were as fortunate. Thank God, no one was injured or killed in this fire!!!

I was very careful which pictures I chose to share allowing for the privacy of the families involved. So, now onto those pictures...

1) a field bordering my sis' street --

2 and 3) on her street; keep in mind that in the piney woods there is supposed to also be underbrush which you can see is no longer there --

4) the median across from her street --

5) an unfortunate family; we think this was a barn or moble home --

6) remnants of a house in between the trees; we never knew this house was there b/c of the trees and underbrush --

7) a house used to be up on this little hill --

8) an antique shopping center --

9) this little street is where the helicoptor dropped the fire retardant 2/10 of a mile from sis' home; the retardant is a little reddish in color --

10) and finally, my sis' lovely home nestled within the trees so blessed to still be standing --

So now onto happier things...

BLOG CANDY!!! That's right. My 100th post deserves some blog candy, so leave me a comment and you'll be entered into the drawing. Comments must be entered by Friday, the 13th at 12:00 noon. I will draw 1 lucky winner over the weekend and announce it in a post on Monday. Oh, by the way - now that the 100th post is over, I've got a lot more on the way!!!