A New Year Full of Projects and Promise...

Like many others, I have decided not to make a bunch of resolutions. Instead I am choosing some goals that I would like to accomplish this next year.  As a person admittedly with ADD it is often a challenge for me to stay focused on one project at a time.  I often find myself getting really excited as I start a new project and it doesn't take long for the new to wear off and I start looking for other things to do.  This has left me with a lifetime of collected projects that I started but rarely finished and more chaos than I even want to think about.  I began my battle of unfinished projects this past year and while I strayed from time to time, I think I was more successful than I have ever been.  My successes of the past year have left me looking to this new year full of hope and promise.  I am determined to get the majority of the renovations completed on the inside of our home this year despite the daunting feeling I get in the pit of my stomach when I think about it all.  I am looking forward to spending this next year sharing views of my successes with anyone else who may want to peek into my world. I would also like to hear about any goals others have set for this year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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!