Christmas Is Nearly Here...

The past week I have been cleaning, baking and spending time with family.  I even managed to get the kitchen cabinet doors hung! (A Christmas miracle-I know!).  So this week I thought I would share a tiny sneak peek of the hung cabinet doors and also share some pictures of my family.

Me and my mom

My hubby Jason, me, my sister-in-law Susan, my brother Gary and adorable nephew Garrett

Jason(Hubby), Me, Linda(Mom), Susan(sis-in-law), Gary(brother), Ashley(niece), Brian(Ashley's boyfriend), and front and center is none other than Garrett(nephew)

This past weekend my mom's side of the family had our annual get together.  It was my mom's turn to host this year and since she works full-time, I pitched in to get things cooked and clubhouse readied for nearly 30 family members to congregate.  It never ceases to amaze me at how much my cousin's children have grown.  This celebration was tinged with a hint of sadness about the loss of my great auntie Belle.  She was always the one to cook the sugar cookies(a recipe that belonged to a great-great grandmother).My aunt, Glenna, made the cookies once again this year but it was definitely a reminder of the empty seat that would not be filled. On a happier note, my brother's family was able to join us this year so I got to spend some extra time with my sister-in-law and nephew Garrett.  We usually only get to see them once a year in the summertime for a few days so this was a wonderful Christmas gift in itself. Garrett got to meet his cousins for the first time as he was only 1 or 2 the last time they were able to attend.  It amazes me at how easy kids can just mesh together as though they have been lifelong friends.


This week I am enjoying relaxation and of course a little baking too.  I decided I could have a week or so off from all of the hustle and bustle of home renovating.  I am going to be doing a little crafting since I might go into withdrawals if I don't create something. :) I am going to make some catnip mice for all of the furry family cats. 


I hope and pray that everyone has a happy and blessed Christmas surrounded by those you love.

Christmas Decorating

I have been busy trying to get the house decorated in true Christmas style.  We have had the tree up and I now have our fireplace mantel decorated and the outside lights up and running(thanks to the assistance of my hubby).  Here is a peek at the end result of our labor.

I have also been cooking up a storm and trying to find ways to work off all of the goodies I have been eating lately.  This week I am getting ready for a big family get together.  Hopefully I will get the Christmas cards out this week too! :)

Making Christmas Gifts

These past few days I have been working on making a hat that was requested by my niece.  She wanted me to knit her a hat with ear flaps and add the cat ears on top.  Admittedly I am not the greatest knitter, but I could not tell her "no" without giving it a go first. I made no promises one way or the other and after the Thanksgiving craze died down, I immediately began my search for a pattern to use.  In hindsight I should have searched for a pattern that had all of the elements that I needed, but was unaware that these hats were popular with some of the younger crowd this year.  I was fortunate enough to find a free pattern for an ear flap hat (http://heyjulie.wordpress.com/2006/06/27/basic-earflap-hat/)and then later found a pattern for the ear flap hat with cat ears (http://www.kittyville.com/knit/kitty_hat.html)and used just the cat ear portion of that pattern. I rushed to get the yarn and needles that I needed for the project and started my knitting adventure.   I played with the ears a bit and made them where they can curl up a bit.  Needless to say, I am pretty pleased with the results.

I will apologize for my poor modeling skills.  I had my hubby take the picture and this was like take 20.  Who knew he would make snapping a pic so diffucult! :) Despite the adventures in picture taking, I would have to say that the most difficult part of this project was getting the ears on evenly.  Looking back, I am glad I tried something that was new to me and I can't wait to surprise my niece with it as part of her Christmas!

Turkey Day is around the corner...

The only thing that has really been consistent for me lately is that I am behind my own schedule.  I still need to get the rest of the hinges painted so I can hang the kitchen cabinet doors and Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  I am very fortunate that my mother-in-law is hosting Thanksgiving again this year so that I could focus more of my attention on my "To Do" list.  However, it seems that distractions have plagued me and shot holes through my ability to get the kitchen finished in time for Thanksgiving.  I am trying not to beat myself up too much and focus on what I am getting accomplished.  I am going to get a Swedish Tea Ring and Pumpkin Bread Pudding made for tomorrow and I am getting my blog updated this week.

As promised, I do have some pictures to post of my accomplishments from last week and the week before in our dining room.

Before 

During the process 

After with the Christmas tree in place

As usual, the pictures are a bit fuzzy but you still get the idea.  If you are wondering about the white portion of the second picture; I use tissue paper and diluted glue to add texture to the walls in my house because all of the walls had too many issues to make it possible for nice smooth walls (short of completely replacing the drywall). My hubby picked out the paint color-it is Teaberry Blossom by Olympic.  The trim was done in Full Moon by Sherwin Williams.

Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to all of my supportive family and friends!

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Playing Catch Up

I am really struggling to find time to get everything done and post updates on my blog.  I have been a busy bee lately and will break my updates up into a few posts so that this post does not end up looking like a small book.  On Sunday, November 7th I went and picked up my first place ribbon and Nutcracker Christmas tree skirt from the Creek County Quilt Fair.  It was my first ribbon and I am not sure who was more excited...me or my mother-in-law.  

I also FINALLY managed to get all of the wording painted on the cabinet doors and have also stenciled all of the doors.  I do still have some touch-ups to complete on them before hanging them.  I also need to get the remaining hinges repainted a lovely silver.  I took some quick and albeit not very good pictures of some of the cabinet doors I had lined up along the walls in my dining room. 

There were soooo many more doors than what are shown above, but I figured you could kind of get the idea.  Anyway, I had to put this project on the side burner last week because my hubby decided that we needed to get the Christmas tree up this past weekend and I was determined to have my dining room repainted before Christmas rolled around.  I will show pictures of my newly painted dining room and my lovely 9' Christmas tree next time around.  

Until Then,

I'm Dreaming of a Finished Kitchen...

I am now officially down to 1 1/2 kitchen cabinet doors.  Since they are still not completed and do not have any new pictures to post, I thought I would post some pictures of kitchens that caught my eye.  The next time I post, I should have pictures of the kitchen cabinet doors completed and hung.  I found these on the House Beautiful website (www.housebeautiful.com).

I just love the golden yellows and reds in this kitchen. 

I would love to be ambitious enough to paint something similar to this on my walls and ceiling!

Again, I love the ceiling in this kitchen.  Wish I had room for  an island in the middle of my kitchen.

The black and white flooring is just like what I want to do in my kitchen.  Unfortunately, I think I will have to wait until warmer weather for mine....

What elements do you most desire to have in your kitchen?  If you are like me, this list could go on and on.  I just figure if I had everything I wanted then I would have no reason to dream.  

Happy Dreaming!

 

A New Week Begins!

I have not posted anything recently because I have been swamped with things to do between taking our trip to Chicago, celebrating my hubby's birthday and getting settled back into my routine now that we are home.  Let me just say we had a wonderful time in Chicago visiting with Jason's cousin (he has not seen since he was 6) and her husband.  We had sooo much fun enjoying the food and shopping together.  Here is my favorite picture of my hubby and his cousin.

After returning from our travels I got right back to painting the infamous cabinet doors for our kitchen.  I also got lured away this past Friday by my mother-in-law.  We spent the entire day embroidering Old World Santa's for some Christmas pillows.  We are now on the hunt for just the right fabric and trims to complete the project.  As you will see below, the embroideries turned out aaamazzzing! We loved them sooo much that we decided that we need to add some projects to use these Santa's on.  I am definitely going to make hubby and I some new stockings to hang on the fireplace mantel this year and I just may have to have a few more pillows too!  I keep reminding myself that I don't have to make everything I want this year; I can add new designs each year.  I am not sure how successful I will be at convincing myself of this. :)  

Hope that all fellow bloggers are having as much fun as I am getting into the holiday spirit!

Tuesday Already?

It does not seem possible that this week is already here and that Monday has already come and gone.  This is the week that my hubby and I travel to Chicago so he can go before his PhD panel at DePaul.  It also means that I have to get my house in order, go shopping for clothes and supplies and get us both packed.  I was meaning to post some pictures of my latest jewelry creations last night but instead was out late shopping for some last minute items. :)
My mom also had a day off from work yesterday and invited me to go see that new movie, "Life as We Know It" with Katherine Heigl and Josh Dumel.  It was a nice chick flick that had me crying one moment and laughing the next. While I like Josh Dumel and he did a great job in the movie, afterwards I could not help but think how Matthew McConaughey might have been just a bit better and definitely better to look at. (Hubba Hubba!) :)
Anyway, I do have pictures of the two rings I most recently made.  They are both sterling silver and while I would love to have some diamonds to play with, I opted for cubic zirconia instead for the first ring and I just used some swarovski crystals on the second ring.
Ring 1:

Ring 2:

I realize that the photos are a bit blurry.  I am still in need of a good camera and Christmas will be here soon so hopefully I will get one and be able to post some better pics! Overall, these are some of the better photos of jewelry I was able to take with the trusty ole camera phone. I will try to get some better pics taken and if successful will re-post some new images of the rings.  I am sure I will also have some good views of Chicago captured on camera too that I will most definitely share. 

My hubby and I looove Chicago.  It has the best of all worlds... food, shopping, shows and did I mention food?  We are also getting to meet up with my hubby's cousin who he has not seen since they were kids. It is going to be a great rest of the week and getting away for a few days is always nice.  Hopefully I will return with a renewed outlook on my remaining kitchen cabinet doors and the rest of the kitchen list.  

Have a happy rest of the week and weekend! 

Still Painting...

As my title states, I am still painting cabinet doors. I did not fall off the blogland bandwagon. It seems that lately if I become more resolved to get something completed, then life happens and my attention is required elsewhere. I also severely underestimate the time it takes to complete a project leaving me frustrated at the fact that I did not reach my goal. Ok, now I am just blathering and need to stop. While it seems as though the cabinet doors are rapidly reproducing I will get them done... Definitely before the end of the month.
I don't have any pictures to post tonight but tomorrow I will definitely have some new jewelry pictures.
Hope everyone had a great weekend! (ok now I feel like I am just talking to myself, does that mean I am ready for my room at the funny farm?):/

A New Week Begins...

Happy Monday!

I had a wonderful weekend and was excited that my mother-in-law and I were able to get our Nutcracker Christmas tree skirt completed.  Here is the final product of our hard work.

I also got the writing transposed onto another kitchen cabinet door leaving me only 5 more to go!!! I was planning on working on my cabinet doors today, but my mom surprised me with the news that she had today off so I went and spent the day talking laughing and window shopping with her.  

Tomorrow, the cabinets are all mine! I am determined to get at least 3 completed if my hand falls off and we go without food!  Ok, just kidding, I don't think my hubby would really go for the lack of food.  I am so glad to have him around to remind me to do such trivial things as eat and sleep. :)

Better go get my beauty sleep so that I am ready for my marathon cabinet door decorating.  

Wish me luck!

Michael Franti & Spearhead - The Sound Of Sunshine

I spent the better part of my day trying to redesign my blog page. I did get some changes made as you can see if you had previously been on my blog site, but I did not get as much accomplished as I would have liked. I suppose it will get easier with time...

Anyway, I do not have any new pictures to post today, so I thought I would post one of the songs I listened to over and over today.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I am going to go spend the day tomorrow finishing up my Nutcracker Christmas tree skirt with my mother-in-law.

It's Beginning to Look a Bit Festive

I have been hard at work trying to get my Fall and Halloween decorating inside completed.  I have nearly finished with just a few things left I would really like to add. Perhaps I will be able to add the finishing touches over the weekend.  
Tomorrow I am determined to get back to work on my kitchen cabinet doors so I can get some pictures of them all hung up early next week.  
In the meantime, here are some pictures of the decorating I completed today.

I can't believe how fast this week has flown by. For that matter, I can't believe how fast the year has flown by.  I had a friend point out to me that there are only 7 more paydays (assuming you get paid twice per month) until Christmas!  Yikes!


Happy Decorating!

A New Way to Welcome Visitors

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, over the weekend I was able to take advantage of the cooler weather and I painted our front door.  It's not that the color of the door was all that bad to begin with, I just decided that it needed a change.  
Here is the before:

Here is the after:

Well, I am going to get back to working on my Fall/Halloween decorations!