29 Oct 2018

A Master Facelift

by | posted in: Books, Home | 0

 

(This post is sponsored by Harvest House who sent me the book The DIY Home Planner to review.  All thoughts are my own.  Thank you!)

When my mister and I get married he already had all of our bedroom furniture.  We were both older when we got married, and thank goodness that I really liked our master bed!

So, we just don’t have the money to go replace perfectly good beautiful furniture just because I might not have picked it at the store, or I would like to lighten it up some.

But, he has always been generous to me in our marriage to make our home really what I would love it to be.  So, we’ve done that over the years.  We still have the same furniture, but my husband may not have picked the Hearth and Home garland that is now over our bed.

When we moved into this house 15 months ago, our master bedroom didn’t have a door for the master bathroom.  And it only had the 70s bar doors (the swinging type) into the toilet room.  So, before we even moved in we took those down and repainted that area.  But, we’ve done without a main door.  And all along I wanted these barn doors.

I had the privilege of getting to know Cathy Nugent during our time in ATL.  She is a beautiful wedding planner.  And since I was already married, I couldn’t use her skills in that market.  But, she and her husband, Rob, started A Hosting Home, and I love what they do.

When we had a little bit of money come in, we knew it was time to go for it.  So, Cathy and I talked back and forth, sent measurements, shot her Pinterest ideas.  And she and Rob took those and made us the perfect barn door.

We had some friends come and install it for us which was such a blessing.  A friend loaned us their truck, we snuck in a day date in ATL.  All in all, my husband said last night that he loved it, well worth the money, and could easily have cost us double what we paid for the door, delivery, and installation.

So, if you think you want a statement piece in your master (or anywhere else in your home), don’t hesitate.  Just think it through and go for it.

The DIY Home Planner has been a fun design book to look through and use the pages to think about what we would like to do here in our home.  As a watercolor artist, I love the illustrations!  If you are a pen and paper girl like I am, this book will be a great workbook tool for you for any room in your home.

4 Oct 2018

DIY to Build Community

by | posted in: Uncategorized | 2

Some times it is really easy to build community over food and pretty things.

Some times you need a project.  My friends over at A Hosting Home built a barn door for our Master bedroom and I will be doing another post on that soon to show it off – in love is a short statement!

But, my mister may be talented in many things, but when it comes to an “expert” home project, he’d rather bring some one in.

So I mentioned it to my friend Ivey yesterday and her and her expert husband in the home projects department – came over today.  How fast!  And we had fun, they worked, and had another mini food styling shoot with the new Best of Augusta magazine.  I saw my first photo in an ad in the magazine – here’s to more, right?

And we had pumpkin muffins.  And I painted.  Always paint, right?  And that is a great way to build community: projects, food, coffee, and pretty things.  All while wearing yoga pants and I hadn’t even showered after exercising.  It was ok.

And I’m ready to giveaway this Bible – perfect for the girl in grade school in your life.  Ok, I say girl because it is yellow and sparkly on the cover.  But, I mean, whatever.

Tommy Nelson sends some great things my way.  This is the International Children’s Bible edition.  Topics that kids may want to know more about are bolded within the text.  Beautiful full color illustrations portray different Bible stories.  It would be a great hardcover, durable Bible for your little girl.

How to win: just leave a DIY project you are working on – or would be a dream to work on. 

And if you are curious, my mister loves the pumpkin muffins at Panera.  These muffins are a copycat recipe.

This post was sponsored by Tommy Nelson.  All opinions are my own.

25 Feb 2018

Sunday Funday

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Hey yall.

So, I’m home from church this morning because I woke up with a killer sore throat and ear ache (probably tonsillitis again like I had in December).  I took a low-dose oxycodone because I didn’t want to walk downstairs and get tylenol.  And with little sleep and on meds, I locked myself out of my house.  Had to wait for the mister to be done with playing for the service to tell me where our spare key was.  Now, I’m fading, but thought I’d have some fun.  If this post makes no sense, you’ll know why.

Just thought I’d share some things I’m loving right now!

This book.  It has be a good primer for me in drawing flowers.

These little cute things.  They will go over my desk when we get a curtain rod, so right now they are in our dining room. I got them from a local nursery.

Friends who know more than I do about DIY projects.

These chocolate chip cookies.  They are perfection.  I like them with dark chocolate to cut the sweetness just a little.

Dreaming of summer and day trips to visit friends.

This book.  I just finished it.  A must read.

What have you been loving?  Please share!

17 Nov 2017

DIY Gift Giving for the Holidays

by | posted in: Christmas | 1

(This is a sponsored post by Walmart and @incommworldwide for the #SaveMoneyGiveBetter2017 Campaign.  My opinions are my own.  Thank you The Women Bloggers)

Even though I live in the South, and it usually only mildly cold, it is still a lovely season when I get to drink all the warm drinks.  Some of my favorites are dirty chais, caramel apple cider, chai lattes, or peppermint mochas.  Since I’m not really a “coffee” drinker, I have to improvise when I meet up with friends over the holidays at our favorite coffee shops.

So, when gift giving at the holidays, I love to gift homemade mixes that will help people enjoy sitting by the fire with a warm cup in the hands all winter long.  And these mugs at Walmart by The Pioneer Woman are oversized and perfect for wrapping up in a knitted throw and reading a book, sipping on something warm, and staying there – all.winter.long.

And I know the perfect way to gift these homemade mixes: a cute box like this one from Wal-Mart, tissue paper, a handwritten tag, a cute mug (they have so many to choose from), and your mix.  Throw in some holiday candy and you are golden.

But, wait…what would make it all the better?  A gift card of course.  I think throwing in a Vanilla Mastercard from Walmart would be the perfect pairing.  You can use these cards anywhere.  They are perfect for buying a book you’ve been wanting so you have something to read as you cozy up to the warm fire.  You can use it for a new movie that you can watch after the kids go to bed.  You can use it to order in some food so you won’t even have to cook.

I’m definitely one of those people that think giftcards are the way to go.  Unless you know I’m going to love something – the best thing is a gift card.  And Walmart has a display with a gift card for every single person on your list.

Check out these homemade mixes that you can add to your special holiday box (and don’t forget the gift card, its a great way to give better)!

What goes in chai?

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

Warm Apple Drink

Vanilla Chai Mix

What are smoe DIY gifts you like to give at the holidays?  How do you plan on gifting giftcards this year so they will be a wonderful surprise to your friends and family?

22 Nov 2010

Much & Link Love: November 21 edition

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Vacation over: Thanksgiving ahead.
1. Vacation was great: hiking, eating, sleeping, photoging, seeing friends. Beautiful weather.
2. Parents come in town tomorrow.
3. I’ve decided not to do the half on Thursday. That would take out 9 hours of what my parents and I could do together (drive, run, drive), so we will find stuff to do in Raleigh without going to Charlotte.
4. Friends are crucial to my wellbeing, but I also love downtown when I don’t see another soul. I’ll have to find a time to do that after my parents leave. Hmmmm. Maybe New Years.
5. It just wasn’t a pretty football weekend, except for the GATORS. I was in Boone (home of ASU) and loved saying GO GATORS. One of the signs I saw read “Gator: It is what’s for dinner. Go App.” – Well, that didn’t happen.
6. Short week in the office, busy week of editing and reading.
7. To shed some weight this holiday season (instead of put it on): one meal a day has to be either oatmeal, egg white omelette, or veggies. That will definitely help cut some calories during the day.
8. Got some new things in the works for after New Years. Thinking and excited.

Link Love:
1. Girls Gone Wise blog hits up entitlements and rights of women.
2. I think I would like to host one of these. Anyone in RDU interested – good way to start the new year.
3. These will definitely be making their way to a holiday party near you.
4. These will also be making it to a Christmas party near you (if you live in RDU or Lakeland).
5. Love this article that Justin posted on his blog. Often as Christians we ignore culture. But, here are some wise ways to engage and redeem. Hopefully a post will be coming on that by a friend of mine.
6. I would like to try this Chicago-style pizze at home one night, maybe while the parents are here.
7. Ed Stetzer to the rescue – especially if you are flying this holiday season.
8. I thought of these videos a lot this wknd while scaling 23 feet up a ladder on a side of a mountain.