Monday, July 30, 2012

My Haul From Ikea

Last Tuesday my daughter and I, her boyfriend and his mom, went to Ikea to get a few things. We spent much of the day browsing and shopping. This was our guests first visit to Ikea. 
All of you who've been there know exactly how they felt seeing all the choices Ikea has to offer. They were able to find a couple of bookcases, a desk and a whole bunch of other little items. My haul looked like this:


Ikea has so many inexpensive gadgets. I picked up a couple of these laptop supports for $3.99 each. Mr. Fanatic's laptop gets really hot on his lap and this solves the problem.
 
I picked up a couple of white bath sheets. Don't know about you, but when I get out of the shower, I definitely don't want a little towel, especially in the winter. Ikea towels have this ingenious loop on one side just for hanging them up on a hook. No more finding towels on the floor because they slipped off the hook.


Went to Ikea about a month ago and picked up some other white curtains for my Master Bedroom, but they were too sheer. Found these tab topped Lenda curtains instead and love them a whole lot more. This photo was taken a few days ago before Mr. Fanatic raised up the curtain rod closer to the ceiling.


Here's a before shot of our Master....


Now, while I can't show you the whole room, I can show you how the 20" Fjadrar inner pillows look with some pillow covers I purchased awhile back. Ikea has the most unpronounceable names for their products. I bet the Swedes don't think so! 
The inner pillows are down filled and were only $6.99 each. I  also bought a 24" square down filled pillow for my daughter.

I purchased a few more items and will show you where I put them another time. Will also have to take some photos of the whole Master Bedroom, as well.

If you've been to Ikea, what was your favorite find and what department do you like best?

Pam

p.s. I have not been compensated in any way by Ikea.


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Fading Hydrangeas

My jute wrapped glass vase filled with fresh hydrangeas has been making the rounds...You first saw it on a shelf in my daughter's bookcase, then outside on the little painted table on the basement patio. Now, it looks great on the dining table in our Breakfast Room.

Do you want to know a secret? Until a year or so ago, I really didn't like my Breakfast Room. I didn't care for my breakfast table and chairs either. A different color paint on the wall, some inexpensive Ikea curtains and a round table found on Craigslist that replaced a too large rectangular table made all the difference in the world. I even like my chairs now.


This blue and green tablesetting is one of my favorites. You've seen it before awhile back.


Thought I'd throw in a photo of the french baguettes that Mr. Fanatic made last night. As you might imagine, there's not a lot leftover.


Just an FYI...the hydrangeas are real. They are from my neighbor's yard and they have faded to a beautiful green and light blue. A few weeks ago the flowers on the plants were  a gorgeous shade of blue.

Is there a room in your house that you didn't like before you gave it a makeover?
Would love to hear about it.

Pam

Joining:

Monday, July 23, 2012

Side Table Paint Makeover

Oh, if only painted wood outdoors didn't require maintenance. Who am I kidding? What fun would that be? A little peeling paint is a great excuse to try out a new paint color!


 I found this  little side table several years ago at either TJ Maxx or HomeGoods. The wood stain needed some help after a few seasons outside on our patio in the woods, so  I painted it  blue, then found it a new home on the basement patio. It was looking a little ragged and it needed a little freshening up...


 ...so, I painted it Fern green by Rustoleum. I've loved this spray paint ever since using it on my Front Porch this past Spring.


Maybe one of these days I'll break down and paint the  bench. What do you think?



I'm always amazed at how a coat of paint can change everything!
What needs painting at your house that you can't wait to get finished?

Pam

Friday, July 20, 2012

Yummy Peach Cobbler



A few days ago, a friend of ours gave us a whole bagful of peaches from a well known peach stand. Ya'll know it's peach season here in the South don't you? They are so sweet and juicy and oh, so tasty!
Our daughter asked her daddy to make her a peach cobbler... and so he did.
I found a great recipe on Pinterest. Here's the link from One Hungry Mama.

Mr. Fanatic cut up the peaches and I measured out all the ingredients. It came out really well.


Right after I served myself up some and put whipped cream on it, our daughter came home with some vanilla ice cream. The combination is a classic.
 The peach cobbler tasted even better the next day!

Now back to my low(er) carb diet!
What are you making this weekend?
Please share!

Pam

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Lattice Stenciled Pillow


 Last month while creating the  jewelry organizer for our daughter, I knew  I had 
to make  something else with the beautiful trellis stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils. There was leftover paint and burlap fabric so I stenciled an extra piece and set it on my work table to use at a later date.


Here's the jewelry organizer in case you missed it.

On a side note, I found a taller little "dress form" at HomeGoods and couldn't resist bringing it home for her.

 Anyway...
Our daughter had this cute pillow that I embellished with some fabric flowers, but I though it would be fun to change up the pillow cover.



Yesterday, I finally had a little time to sew the pillow while my daughter was at work. Her new pillow was waiting for her in her room when she arrived home.
She must have really liked it because she wrote this on her facebook status: "I love coming home to new stuff in my room :) #LoveYouMom http://instagr.am/p/NPhUYRkplN/"

Awww.

Her room has evolved over the last few years...It looked like this after we built the bookcases.


Later on, a little vintage table was added after painting it the same color as the back of the bookcases. The little vintage table was my grandmother's.
I really wish I could show you how the whole room looks today, but you'll have to wait until she tidies it up....
Uh, We might be waiting quite awhile.

How do you get your kids to keep their rooms neat? Do you pick it up or do you leave it to them?
Would love to know where I went wrong!

Pam



Monday, July 16, 2012

How Does Your Summer Garden Grow

Happy Monday everyone!
I hope you had a fantastic weekend! We didn't work on any projects this past weekend and I really need to get to it because the list is just getting longer by the day. How's your list going?

I am so excited today because I am feeling better- and actually feeling really GREAT today. Many of ya'll probably didn't know I wasn't feeling well because I hate to mention that kind of thing because I don't want to sound like the crazy aunt in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. You probably have one of those in your family, or at least in your extended family and hopefully it's not YOU! Well, I don't want to be like her. But, if I can help a couple of people by sharing what I've discovered, then it will be worth it. And NO, I am NOT selling anything! So, if you are having problems with low thyroid or thyroid symptoms or being REALLY tired all the time, please email me and I will share what I've learned. As Forrest Gump would say; "That's all I have to say about that".

Back to my post... I wanted to share how my vegetable garden is doing. Hope yours is growing and producing wonderfully. Couldn't resist sharing the view from my favorite backyard spot on our basement patio.

The fragrant basil plants are doing well and it's time to do some picking. Ya'll know that basil will grow really well only if you pick it, right? I don't mean a couple of leaves... you have to prune it wayyyyyy back. I'm mean hack it back! Dry the leaves  on a cookie sheet and put them in jars. That way you won't have to buy basil ever again. Basil is super easy to grow and you can even grow it in containers on your deck. 

This WAS my curly parsley plant. I am NOT mad at all, actually just the opposite. Do you see what's on the center stem. Sorry it's a little fuzzy.

No, that's not a tomato worm. That's what I thought last year. It's a caterpillar that will become a Black Swallowtail butterfly.


These caterpillars parsley, dill, carrots and Queen Anne's lace. Last year they were all over my carrots.
Note to self: plant a second group of carrots in  May just for the caterpillars. They only eat the tops, but don't do nearly as much damage as they did to my parsley plant.

I planted a second grouping of tomato plants and they are starting to produce.


I also planted another Pattypan squash. The really hot weather we had a week or so ago killed my other plant.

The marigolds are doing well and are suppose to keep some bugs away.



My bush beans were planted late and are just now starting to bud.


The zucchini plants have taken a beating from the hot and humid weather. They have fallen over and are now growing in the raised bed below.

I also planted another two zucchini plants(in the back) and more bush beans in the North garden.


I'll leave you with a photo I took last year of one of the Black Swallowtail butterflies that emerged from our garden. You can read about it HERE.

Hope you have a wonderful day! Remember, those of you who would like, feel free to email me and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Would love to know how your garden is doing with all the heat we've been having.

Pam

Monday, July 9, 2012

New Paint For The Family Room

I hope y'all had a fantastic weekend! I didn't get much any projects done with the Walking Dead Marathon on this weekend and with a stabbing headache on Sunday. So glad I don't have very many of those headaches to deal with!
Thought I'd share the before and after photos of the Family Room. We are enjoying the new lighter and brighter feel of the room and am happy with the choice of color, which is Benjamin Moore White Sand. Painting the Family Room and Foyer now brings up some other interior decorating choices, but I will  leave that for another time. 




Family Room before painting:



The Family Room after...
The big window looks really bare now that the paint is lighter. It definitely needs some curtain panels.





Would really love to build up a new mantel and close up the niche by closing it up with some nice moulding above it.
One thing leads to another...oh, the possibilities!