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.

That's MY BOY

ok, so he's not a boy but to me he will always be my little boy, my first born, the one who made my dream of being a mom come true. He is also my computer guy. Today he updated my blog for me. I hope you like my new look. The picture is of my fireplace that I got at the junk shop and painted. I am so blessed to have a family that allows me to live the shabby, romantic life! With a house full of men and boys they have been such good sports. I am hoping their wives will thank me some day when some of this romance rubs off on them.

Gardening Apron

My sister came over this past weekend and wanted to work on a craft project. She brought with her some fabric samples that she picked up dirt cheap at a flea market. Her idea was to make a gardening apron out of some material she had and the fabric samples. She had the idea but since she does not sew, it was up to me to put it all together. I love the way it came out. I enjoyed picking the trim and jewlery to go on it. Click on the pictures for a closer view.

This is the side of the apron. It is a little deceiving because I put the apron on top of a full body apron that was already on the mannequin. The Gardening apron starts at the pom-pom trim around the waist and ends at the pockets on the bottom. There are 6 pockets on this apron. You can put your gardening tools in the pockets or whatever else you may want to carry around with you when you are in the garden.

Hoosier Cabinet

A few months ago, I decided to create a baking center in my kitchen. Unfortunately, Isabella's little play kitchen would have to find a new home but I thought it would be nice for her and I to have a place were we could go and be creative in the kitchen. This past weekend my dream of a baking center came true when my sister offered me her Hoosier Cabinet! I brought it home along with a dry sink (more on the dry sink in another post) She had stripped the antique piece and stained it with a light stain (looks like paint but it is stain) This is the picture of it before I put all of my stuff in it. Here it is with all of my Longerberger pottery. I love it. I still have to fill the drawers with all my baking supplies. the left hand cabinet is were the built in flour sifter is. Notice the hand towel that my aunt gave me! It has a great new home now. The open area on the bottom right is where the metal bread box was. It is no longer with the piece so, I decided to put a basket there for now. There is a door that goes over the hole but I have to re-attach it.

Hoosier cabinets were popular up until the 1920's. Kitchen's did not have built in cabinets therefore storage was an issue and the Hoosier cabinet was born. Most had built in flour containers and sifters. They also would have had a place to store bread and sugar. The table was important because that is the area in which you would roll out dough. My cabinet also has a cutting board that slides out but we have to re-glue it because it fell out and came apart at the joints. I also came home with a dry sink but that is being re-purposed and stripped of the paint because it is way to dark for my light kitchen. It will go to the left of the Hoosier cabinet under my big window.