Hot Chocolate Bar

I wish I could take credit for this idea but I have to give credit where it is due. My friend Theresa gave it me. She sets up these areas in her house. A tea area, A hot chocolote area, etc.... I just loved the idea so, I made a little hot chocolate area in my family room. I have this little hutch in my family room and can never figure out what to put on it so, I decided to make it into a hot chocolate bar.

The little jar in the middle of the candles was given to me by Casey. It has a sweet mix in it that you add hot water too- sooooooooooo yummy!

baking cookies!

I hurt my back pretty badly two weeks before Christmas which put cookie making out of the question. But, one night I managed to make sugar cookie dough. The next day my sister and parents came for a visit and I told my sister she would not be able to go out shopping until all the cookies were made! Here she is with Isabella, rolling out dough and cutting them with the cookie cutters

Isabella really enjoyed "Crazy Tia" (as she is so lovingly referred to) helping her make some Christmas cookies and some great memories.

making a ginger bread house

I thought it would be fun if the kids made a ginger bread house. I hurt my back and needed something that would entertain them. So, I called my neighbor's daughter over to oversee the construction. This is Jillian glueing the house together. Only to find out later that she glued the wrong pieces together- LOl

Here are the hands of children trying to make the house stand. Eventually, they gave up trying to make it stand and just ATE it up!

My pictures are out of order. Here they are looking to see what piece goes where???? Hey, it kept them busy!

Going from Shabby to CHIC!

I found this little tool carrier at a yard sale and bought it for 1.00! I knew I could give it a new look and it would be pracical. I ordered a few appliques (3-two on the sides and one in the front.) I know I will use it for many things. The possibilities are endless!

And here it is! I lined it with some lace and used it to hold the plates for my tea party.

Here is a side view of it. The wreath is on both sides of the carrier.

What Grieves God's Heart

Do we ever stop to think what grieves the Lord's heart? Have you ever prayed, "Lord let me be sensitive to things that hurt you" Today was one of those days.

Keep your eyes and ears open this Christmas season. Keep your focus on what is of true value. And, may the Lord who sees all and especially the heart of man, shed his grace on this very blesed nation.

Adrienne

Ladies Christmas Tea 2009

I really enjoy hosting a ladies tea for the women of my church every year. This year the teen girls came and it was so much fun to have them. Can you say, MOMMA NEEDS A NEW CAMERA- this pictures says it all!

I was in such a hurry to get finished before everyone got here that I forgot to take a picuture of the table with all the food on it!

This was the drink station. punch, juice, tea and yummy desserts.

The Queen of the house

Here she is! My mannequin all dressed up for Christmas. I made the swag that is wrapped around her body. It says NOEL on it.

I just love my mannequin. I am so happy I found her in the junk shop a few years ago. I got her for a really good price and as crazy as this may sound I enjoy dressing her up in different ways. (I need some therapy!) Here she is sporting the new crown I got for her. My kids asked me why I bought a crown and I simply said," Because I am the queen in this house!"

Deep Fried Turkey~

Nothing tastes better than a deep fried TURKEY. Here it is from start to finish. Step one- make sure it is clean and NOT FROZEN!! (it will explode-if it is)

Slowly lower it into the hot oil

Doesn't that look HOT!

This was a 19.99 lb turkey that we cooked for 66 minutes

Here It is all done, cut up, and ready to eat!

Christmas swag and more!

I finally finished the black and white Christmas swag for the bathroom. Here it is! It reached from one end of the main wall to the other which I was glad about but it made it hard to hang and lay flat. I ended up putting a ribbon hanger in the middle of it so that I could secure it better to the wall. It probably needed to be a bit smaller but then what would I have done with all the extra???

Here is a picture of it looking into my bathroom. This BR is tiny, so talking pictures is not easy.

Another view. Taken without flash because if i took it with flash it made it look to stark

While I was at it and the glue gun was still hot, I fixed my toilet tissue holder. It had a blue and white picture on it which matched the old bathroom. I took some leftover paper from the swag and glued it on. Then I took a sticker and put it in the middle. It still looked unfinished so I glued some cord around the edges and used glitter to frame the sticker! Easy and FREE!

Here is a close up picture of the middle.

New Craft Area!

It took most of the day but I have my craft room back in order. This picture is of a shelf that I got from a friend. I painted it and store most of my ribbon and some fat quarters on it. Here is my new shelf that I got for FREE! It is really sturdy and fits a lot of things.

Here is a front view of it. I thought I would just store my fabric on it but then I thought that would be to messy. The top shelf has some pretty things that I enjoy looking at and some of my new Christmas items that I am planning to decorate with.

This is my desk area. I got this solid oak desk at a second hand shop for 5.00! I hope to never part with it.

Here is another veiw of the rack. I filled almost every inch of it. I better get to crafting!

This is the other corner of my area. I share the space with my husband so I have about 1/2 of the room and he has the other half.

Another shot- from a different angle.

ScOrE!

I just love this Nativity (creche) that I found at Home Goods. I was looking for something else (isn't that always the case) and when I came across this beauty for 16.99- I almost fainted! I knew instantly that it was coming home.

It is really hard to tell from this picture all the detail that is in this piece. The top of the roof is really sparkly. The baby Jesus and the crib is soooooooooo sweet!

Antique bubble gum machine makeover!

My sister gave me this antique bubble gum machine. I thought is was so sweet but really wasnt sure what I would do with it. It really needed a good cleaning and I was surprised how much of it came apart. I washed it really well and then put it back together. The next picture shows what I put inside. I decided it would look pretty with some of my lace collection inside of it. I can't put gum in it because the rod that holds it all together was really rusted. It was missing the finial on top so I improvised and glued a glass knob on top, added a little jewlery bling,and now it is my favorite piece. I really need to learn to take better pictures not to mention get a better camera because this post really does not give it justice.

Dry Sink Reveal

Originally, I had planned to paint this dry sink white. I had some appliques that I was going to add to it to make it fit the Shabby Chic look of my kitchen but when I put the paint remover on it and scrapped off some of the stain everyone loved the antique/primitive look that it now had. My family and friends begged me not to paint it so I moved it out of the kitchen and into my entrance hallway. I love how it came out. Maybe, some day I will end up painting it but for now it is safe. Here is the "sink" part of it. It is really deep and I have been playing around with the decorations on it. I actually ended up taking that big candle out and re- placing it with a simple bowl and pitcher. I also put a lighted electric candle on the back splash. Guess I should have waited to take the picture.

Here is a side view of it. It is hard to take a picture of it because it is in a tight spot in my entrance hall.

A quick lamp makeover

I had this rooster lamp that I love but it had a red and white checkered lamp shade which used to match my family room. I changed the family room over to a blue, tan and white theme so, that meant the lamp had to go. I really did not want to get rid of the lamp and knew that finding a lamp shade could take a long time, so I improvised. I took a lace runner ( I collect them) and wrapped it around the shade and pinned it in the back. NO MONEY AND SO FAST!

This is what the back looks like. I used a pretty pin to hold it together. I like the way it came out and can change it back if I want to or keep changing the lace to match any room.

Little Isabella's room makeover

I had to move Isabella's little kitchen up in her room (which is pretty small) I thought I had taken a before picture of the huge mess it was before I moved everything but I didn't so these are all after pictures. Unfortunately, I had to move her book shlef out to make room for the pink kitchen. (I put the book shelf in my room) Here is the "pink kitchen" I miss having it downstairs but maybe some day we will be able to move it into a play house in the back yard.

I love this vanity. I got it from Genevieve. I would love to have it in my room some day but right now it wont fit, so Isabella gets to have it in hers.

I am hoping to paint the walls this winter and get her some new bedding.

She has a cute chandalier over her bed but I cut it out of the picture. Some day I will do a post on that little chandalier. It has a cute story behind it.