Life Goes ON...

There have been many bumps in my road, not unlike many
of you I'm sure...One thing I know for sure, Cottage White
calms my soul. My little cottage, be it so humble, is
cozy,
comforting,
and wraps me in solitude.

~*~

 

Lately my McGiver and I've been making a few

changes around our little cottage to help me organize my
lifea little better.Our third bedroom was used for storage
for years.  If you remember we have a small rambler, and our
garage was made into our family room...For some of you,
that may be an ideal arrangement, but for us, we've found
we really need the storage space a garage offers.  It was pretty
much floor to ceiling just before our Grandpeeps came to
live with us. My McGiver rented a storage space, cleaned
out the third bedroom, and we fixed our Grandpeeps a very
cute bedroom for the months they lived with us! 

 

When they moved home, I decided to redo it, and make it
into my Creative workspace. It's taken a few weeks
of very hard work from my McGiver, (who I'm indebted)
for all the back breaking work he did!
The first thing he did was pick up the huge white elephant
80's shelf unit I bought at the thrift store for storage.
He wasn't at all happy about them, but they were already
paid for, and I'd already borrowed our neighbor's truck,
so under a lot of protest, he and I picked it up, (them)
and parked all three pieces in our living room!  

 

~three very large dark shelf units~

 

My McGiver soon turned them into this!

 

~Can you believe the difference~

 

Once we added all the shelves, they became beautiful!

 

The next thing he tackled was the horrible floor, although

it's hardwood, the owners before us, had somehow painted

most of it white....Arghhhh!

 

~this is what he started with~

 

~after some tlc...NOT~

 It started looking like this...

 

 

~until finally he sanded the heck outta it~

 

 

~ he put this adorable chandelier up~

 

 

He finished the floor, and it's beautiful!

 

I'd told my Bunco girlfriends I would host

this years Bunco Halloween party, so my

creative workspace, along with the rest of the cottage,

soon dawned a cloak of black lace, fabrics and

ravens...

 

I chose The Raven as my Theme, and ran with it...

Why Poe's The Raven , you ask? I just happened

to have my Grandmothers 1904 copy of

Edgar Allan Poe's works, as I flipped through the

pages, I became infactuated with The Raven!

 

I will reveal my finished room soon, and post

all the decorations for my Raven themed

Bunco party!

 

Thank you for visiting my blog, I apologize to my

regular readers for being absent so long.

 

 

Always, Debbie~

  

If You Don't Like it, Paint it!

I hated this flat hollow door,

smack dab in the middle of my

dining room.

I've shown this before,
but I decided to show
it again, because it's
been such a favorite of
ours!

I bought a beautiful

vintage screen door

to put there instead,

but it was way too big

I bought an old window

pane door, but it wasn't

the right size either...

What have I always done

when I couldn't get something

to fit or work out...

I painted it, yep I did!

Here's what I did with that old

flat door.

It's really hard to see, but I decided

this door was going to be a 3 panel door!

Yes I did!

 First, I measured out the 3 panels,

then I drew the 'Pantry' lettering.

 I started by painting the top panel,

basically it's just a shadow,

giving the illusion of a panel...

Next I painted the lettering on,

it took some time to get this part done,

but I'm happy with how it turned out!

Then I painted the chalkboard paint onto

the two bottom panels!

Huge difference right away!

I was loving it already!

You can tell I was excited, the paints still wet!

We love it this way,

 and our Grand kiddos probably

love it even more!

There's one slight problem

with it though...

Well maybe a big problem,

I didn't sand off the door paint,

and you've probably guessed,

the door paint is a good oil base

paint, and the chalkboard paint isn't.

So, the first time brand new chalk

was used, it scratched the chalkboard

paint right off, leaving what I wrote

as a constant reminder of what I

shouldn't do...I do know better.

So, sometime soon, I will have

the job of sanding it all off and

starting over...

But you know what?

It'll be worth it, because

I looove this old door now!

Thanks for visiting my blog and

I'd love it if you left me a comment!

I'm linking up to Cindy's blog,

My Romantic Home,

for her wonderful new

 'Painted Furniture party'!

 Please go check out everyone's

painted goodies, they're

wonderful!

Always, Debbie~

I Won Jennifer Hayslip's Giveaway!

Pinch me...

I won a wonderful giveaway,

hosted by Jennifer Hayslip!

Jenn was celebrating her blog,

Sweet Eye Candy's 4th. Birthday!

~source: Jennifer Hayslip~

I almost fell off my computer chair 

when I saw her message,

 that I'd won!

Read all about her giveaway here!

~Jennifer always has the cutest pictures

and the most incredible creations!

~source: Jennifer Hayslip~

You know that last week was a toughie

for me, losing my dear Uncle Tom.

So winning Jenn's giveaway,

was really uplifting

and gave me something

to look forward too!

I couldn't believe it when

we stopped off at home

after his memorial.

There,

sitting on the porch,

was Jenn's box!!!

What a wonderful sight!

It couldn't have come

at a better time.

First I took out oodles & oodles of

pretty pink tissue paper,

and

found

this!

~a sweet box of 'Eye Candy'~

It truly was like opening a party, in a box!

~*~

Ohhh how I love Birthday parties!

Especially 4th. Birthdays!

There was ice-cream...

~is this sweet baby Vivi~

~love this~

and

Cake!

~adorable gift cards~

Yummy glittery cupcakes,

that is!

~Elephants, by two's~

~sweet button eyes~

Is he not the cutest?

...and he's a gift card!

~sooo cute~

~a darling birthday card~

...and

this!

A Glamour Girl Necklace!

It's beautiful

 and so much fun!

~Source: Jennifer Hayslip~

~such beautiful eye candy~

Wrapped up in this

beautiful rose fabric!

How exciting!

Oh I will enjoy all my 'Sweet Eye Candy'

Creations!

I probably won't be able

to part with anything...

The adorable gift tags

might just be

too

cute to give away...

I feel so honored to have

something of Jenn's,

I've been in awe over

her creations for some time!

I can't say this enough,

Thank YOU Jenn,

from the bottom of my

heart, I love it all!

I'm going to link with

Cindy's blog

My Romantic Home

for

Show & Tell Friday

and

Beverly's blog

How Sweet the Sound

for

Pink Saturday!

Thanks for visiting

and

Don't forget to leave

a comment, they

make my day!

Always, Debbie~



Turning Sadness and Stress, Into Creative Energy!

My Bunco gals got together

for an evening of gab

and a BBQ !

Love that it was hosted

by Barb, not only is she

a wonderful hostess, but she lives on a

beautiful serene lake, in the country!

It's so quiet, calm and peaceful!

If I decided to go,

 I was  making a fruit salad to share

with the girls.

I got detoured a bit, by

some sadness.

 Our sweet Uncle Tom's

illness had him back in the hospital,

his body wasn't responding well,

the cancer throughout his bones

and the chemo, had taken a toll on

his already tired body. 

While waiting for word on my Uncle,

the salad I was going to make

ended up turning out like this...

~a fruit bouquet~

~yummy fresh fruit~

~add some dip~

Fruit Dip:

Philly Cheese

           Marshmallow Creme

Mix thoroughly!

Enjoy~

Delish~

And the best part

 is,

My Aunt Mary called

with good news!

Uncle Tom started

responding,

and his

tests were coming

back so much better,

and he's resting

comfortably!

YAY!

~*~

I decided to go

to the Bunco

get together

after all.

All the girls made it

so special, the food was

delicious and the fire

down by the lake

was as warm as

the conversation!

OMG...

and then Barb brings on

the dessert!

Brownies, vanilla ice cream,

strawberries & chocolate

chip cookies!

I'm linking to Cindy's blog

My Romantic Home

for

Show & Tell Friday!

Thanks for taking the time in

your busy day to visit my blog!

Please leave a comment, I

read each and every one of them, 

they truly make me smile!

Always, Debbie~



Thrifty Treasure Finds!

I looove going to my favorite

thrift stores!

We have two

well known

stores.

One I call VV's,

~Value Village~

and

the other,

I call

The Goody!

~Goodwill~

I almost always

find some treasure

I don't really need

I can't possibly

live

without!

Here are a few of

the treasures I've

found lately.

~sweet pink nursery planter booties~

~love these~

~I couldn't resist this~

~baby boy blue~

~Lennox trinket box~

~so pretty~

~mini serving plate~

I have the perfect topper for it!

~my mini cloche~

~mini soup tureen~

Perfect for dips!

~a girl just can't have enough of these~

~adorable little blue bird~

~if you move it's wheels it's wings flap~

Our Granddaughters will love this!

~vintage baby pillow cover~

~adorable~

I've had this for awhile, but haven't shown it.

~even a little something for my McGiver~

They're sooo toolish!

~for my crafty guy~

So there you have it...

You can tell I'm having fun!

School's only been out for a

couple of weeks, and I've

already

been up to NO GOOD...

at the GOODIE & VV's...

Not to mention the

SWAP MEET!

That's another blog story

in itself!

Thanks so much for visiting,

and please leave a comment,

I enjoy them sooo much!

I'm linking to Cindy's blog

My Romantic Home

for

Show & Tell Friday

and also

to

Beverly's blog
How Sweet the Sound

for

Pink Saturday!

Please go visit as many

of the participants you

can, they're full

of wonderful

ideas!

Always, Debbie~

Family Fun on the Fourth of July!

~Cousins Bella & Lulu~

~Both December babies~

~Birthdays a week and a half apart~

Who knew they were both 'Wonder Women'

under their street clothes!

~the newest family member, Angelo~

Thank you Aunt Mary & Uncle Tom

for another glorious

4th. of July

on

the

beach!

We even have a Parade!

~the pirates~

Our family are 'ALWAYS' Pirates!

This is a neighborhood parade,

they block off the street

(there's only one way in

and out)!

an hour before it starts!

~more pirates~

~part of our gang~

Young and old are in the parade!

~there are floats~

~and there are boats~

~even a dragon~

~a couple of these~

~a cart without it's ponies~

~an Uncle Sam look alike~

~some peddlers~

~and the groupies~

Don't we all love a Parade?

YES we do, especially the

Pirates

of Priest Point!

Thanks for visiting!

Always, Debbie~