Monday, June 20, 2011

When It Rains, It Pours!

We've had a lot going on in the last few weeks.  Blogging has had to take a back seat and I've really missed it.  School ended for us in early June and it's been a crazy roller coaster ride ever since.

Here's a recap...
On June 8th, I came home from working out and found two puppies in the alleyway behind our house.  The hubs and I welcomed them into our backyard and began making signs to post in our neighborhood.  I also posted an email on our local HOA site, hoping to get some quick responses.  We were leaving town later that week, so if no one claimed them, our plan was to take them to the local shelter.  After three days and no phone calls or emails, we drove to our local shelter, only to find they had a recent outbreak of Parvo (deadly virus to puppies) and we immediately knew we wouldn't feel right leaving them there.  Aren't they just the cutest?  Such happy pups!  Our daughter named them Rosie (black/white) and Daisy (brown).
Since they were strays, no other shelters would take them.  We brought them back home and asked a few of our neighbors with children to check on them while we were away. This was the last thing we thought we'd be doing before leaving town, but being the animal lovers we are, we were not about to just take them anywhere.  When we returned from our visit with family, we revisited the idea of shelters and other options.  I called our local SPCA, explained our situation and they offered a few options...
The best one was to claim them as our pets and pay the surrendering fees of $20 each. We knew taking them to the SPCA would be the best place for them.  When we brought them in, they were warmly received and I was guaranteed they would be adopted by the weekend.  I'll admit, it was hard to give them up, but we knew we were doing the best thing for them.  Our backyard is not suitable for these cute pups.  They were collie mixes and just looking at their feet, we knew they would be big dogs!  Thankfully, the kids understood that we could not keep them; that definitely made it easier on us.  During that 6-day span of puppy ownership, we learned that our family just might be getting closer to owning our own!  Maybe Santa will leave one under the tree!  :)

On June 15th, we learned our sweet almost 6 year-old daughter needs full time eye glasses.  She recently failed her eye test with the pediatrician and they referred us to a pediatric opthamologist.  I was surprised to learn that she is ecstatic about getting glasses! I'm so glad she doesn't have any anxiety about this, as I wondered if she would.  We can't wait to see how she looks in them and anxious to see the improvement in her vision.
On June 17th, our little boy had a minor surgery.  It was a two hour procedure to repair a hernia.  Needless to say, we were nervous parents as those two hours seemed to drag on.  Three days later and he's back to his active self!  Aside from the fact his appetite hasn't quite returned, you'd never know!  It's been quite a challenge to keep him from jumping and straddling toys... hard to keep a two year old down for too long!
These pics were taken pre-surgery...
The silly juice they gave him before surgery was starting to kick in.  The squeaking of the chair was so funny to him.  I love this picture of us!  
So, now that I'm seeing things slowing down a bit, I hope to return to blogging and posting some fun projects I've been working on.  I have three rooms in the works right now.  The kitchen, home office and sunroom are getting some facelifts.  Painting and storage building are the two main things on the list.  It will be a slow process, but I'm hoping by the end of the summer we will have at least one of them completed!  Hope to post some updates in the coming weeks!

Sunday, June 05, 2011

My Recent "Pins" on Pinterest

Hope you're having a great weekend!  Here are some of my latest pins from the past week.  Hope they inspire you to create something beautiful!




Source: Just a Girl via Alicia on Pinterest
Paint color: Iced Green by Benjamin Moore

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

I've Been Featured on Krylon's "Projects in a Can"

Hope your Memorial Day weekend was both relaxing and productive.  We spent most of our time outside doing some much needed yard work and entertaining the kids.  It took hubby most of the day to mulch the front yard... 43 bags and we still didn't buy enough!  
I'm SO excited to share with you that about a week after I posted the Flower Mirror
tutorial, I received an email from a Krylon rep asking me if I'd like to submit my project on their "Projects in a Can" site.  I checked with a few local bloggers to make sure it wasn't spam.  Being a new blogger, this was the first time I had received an opportunity like this, so I had to be sure!  I got the "all clear" and submitted my tutorial the next day!  As soon as it's reviewed by the department, it will hopefully be available to view on their facebook and twitter... so cool!  I checked today and found it on their web site.  You can view it here in their Creative Corner.


As I've been browsing through their site; I've noticed other projects I've seen on blogs I follow.  It's probably nothing new for so many of you, but being new at this, I was so giddy at the chance to have my project featured!  Many thanks to Kathleen @ Krylon for contacting me!  :)

Sunday, May 29, 2011

In LOVE with Pinterest!

My dear friend and neighbor, April recently introduced me to Pinterest and I just gotta say, it was love at first sight!  What is Pinterest you ask?  Pinterest is like a virtual pinboard - a place where you can create folders and collect things you love and share them with others.  It also lets you "follow" collections that other people have created!  It's seriously addicting!  

We've had several DIY home renovations in the works and having access to this kind of filing system has helped tremendously!  I love being able to gather inspiration from ANYWHERE on the "www" and follow other people that have a common taste.  They even have a "pin it" button that aides in letting you bookmark anything you see and add it to your created folders.

Sorting and cutting out pictures from magazines has been drastically reduced and I'm definitely all about less paper around here!  :)  Just look at some of the great finds I've been able to add to my pinboard...

Angled kitchen banquette via Elements of Style
We hope to create something similar to this in our kitchen!

Foyer aqua hall tree via Simply Seleta

Big Girl's Room Art Collage via Hello Newman's!

Beautiful fireplace mantel via A Creative Beginning,
inspired by Layla @ The Lettered Cottage

So, if you have a Pinterest account, I encourage you to add a "Follow me on Pinterest" button to your sidebar so you can share what inspires you with others!  If you don't, you can register by going to www.pinterest.com.  They will send you an email thanking you for joining the pinterest waiting list.  Then, about a week later, you will receive an invitation to join Pinterest.

I hope that you find Pinterest to be just as helpful!  Oh, and by the way, I'm not getting paid to write this, I'm just super excited and HAD to share my newest discovery with you!
Happy pinning!  :)

Thursday, May 26, 2011

The Magic of Spray Paint

I'm always on the hunt for re-purposing things in my home.  I used to decorate with a lot of dark, oil rubbed bronzed decor and I've seen how other bloggers have used what they have to change the look.  I'm all about that!  Especially since I still love what I own, just not the color of it!  So I purchased some Rustoleum's Heirloom White and went to town on some accessories around the house.

Here's a picture of them before: 
I had already started spraying the candlesticks when I realized I hadn't taken a picture!  As you can see in the second picture, they were a set of three in black.  So excited to use what I already have!  I spent just under 10 dollars on spray paint... using 40% off coupons from Hobby Lobby!
Here's a peek inbetween coats...
There's the Goodwill clock I showed you in a previous post!  
Almost finished with her transformation!  
What a difference spray paint can make!

Here are some of the pieces in their new homes!
The soap dispenser tray...  now it pops off the counter!   
Before, I couldn't really see it's beautiful detail!
One of my favorite DIY's...  These three painted wallpaper canvases were completely inspired by Thrifty Decor Chick!  For a full tutorial on how to make your own, click on the link!  Thanks, Sarah!  I "lurve" them!  
The mirror, birds and candlesticks make their home on our mantel!  So much better!

This is one of my favorite spots, I was inspired by 
Centsational Girl's kitchen and her dining room table decor.  Love it!  
I couldn't help but post lots of pictures!  
Here's the lamp base in the hallway outside our bedroom.
The other pieces have made their home in our entertainment center, master bath and bedroom.  I'll be sharing in a future post how I used these old but new treasures.

I scoured the house and found some more pieces!  Come back to see what I've done with them.  Some will be painted Heirloom White and others will receive my newest discovery... Krylon's Watermelon and Blue Ocean Breeze!
An oldie but goodie... I found this cheese dome at Goodwill for $3!  I plan on making my own cheese dome cloche!  Thanks to Sarah and Allison!  Hope you're having a great day!

I'm linking up to:



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