Hello Blog World!

So - it has been one crazy-busy summer, full of unexpected trips, scheduled trips, and lots and lots of every day, hum drum work.  I have been MIA in blogging and now that my totally spirited toddler is going back to Pre-school, I have deicided to pick up where I left off.

My 3 year old is heading back to school tomorrow for 2 days a week and will hopefully give me an opportunity to get some things done.  We have decided to place him in a Montessori program, to see if he is able to perform better.  His regular pre-school, that he enjoyed, was a difficult fit.  The schedule was some what unpredictable and he grew bored very easily.  So, we are hopeful that Montessori will give him an opportunity to learn and make new friends.  His old school, he was pretty much the class favorite and had 2 girlfriends... We had to have a talk.  :-)  He was also the class leader.  His teacher told me that he would either grow up to be a preacher or the president because he was in such command of the classroom.  

So, if you get a chance pray for us!

Here is a new sign that I painted and placed in my booth space at Meadows. 

And my favorite summer find - how great is this picnic basket?  It's in great condition, but the paint is a little faded.  I just loved the basket, but had to take it to the shop! 

I hope that you all have had wonderful summers and accomplished more than I have!  

Good Night! XOXO 

Faith and Hope!

To me there is nothing sweeter than family... Especially children.  A while ago I posted a short note about a dear cousin battling Cancer.  She has passed away and her children are left, sort of in limbo.  With a deep and empty place in thier hearts.  I pray for them daily and think of them constantly.  I know what it is like to lose a mom.  ( My grandmother was my Mother and she passed when I was 17) I know the sense of being lost, the desire to pick up the phone to talk to the most trusted person you know.  My heart breaks thinking about the kids and what they will be going through for the rest of thier lives.  I take comfort in knowing my cousin knows the Lord and is in his presence now.  I know she is comforting her children the best she can, but those left here on earth can only feel glimmers of that comfort and will continue on in greif for years.

I have Faith that the Lord will comfort my dear family while they greive for thier Mother, Sister, Cousin, Wife, and Aunt and I have Hope that their greif will not linger and that they will carry on with the warmth of the memories my cousin has left us with.  

In Loving Memory of Wendy. 

Gone and Home again

I haven't been able to post in several weeks and this is why:

My Husband and I went on our first trip, by ourselves, in about 3 years!

We traveled to a small Mediterranean Island, Malta, for 5 days and then spent another 4 days in Rome. 

It was wonderfule and hard all at the same time.  I missed my children so very much, but I really enjoyed the time I had with my husband.   Malta was very rugged and beautiful, but every single building was white or cream colored!  The architecture was amazing.

But Rome was just so wonderful, words can not describe and pictures can do very little to account for the history and all of the amazing buildings!

Our first day in Rome, every corner we turned we were awed by some beautiful structure, even some of the basic buildings, by the 3rd day we basically ignored everything, ecept what we were in that location to see.

The trip was partly the reason I haven't been able to post.  The amount of time required to get ready for the trip and to finish up my work projects.  Work was my other reason.  We have been working so much since the begining of the year and between the trip, work, and my booth space at Meadows of Memories and Momentos in Argyle, I have spent the remainder of my time with my children, Mom and Niece.  So, I am home now and I will be updating my blog again.

I hope everyone else is having an amazing spring.  Our trip was so very wonderful and such a blessing to our marriage.  With so much going on in life it is so easy to neglect the ones you love.

Well, now I am off to finish some work!  and to try and get my home in order.  Which is not easy with two monsters!

Give Away Winner!!!

Thank you ALL for participating in my very first Give Away!

I used Randomizer.org to determine the winner and

Congradulations to....

Ahrisha @ JOYOUSLY LIVING LIFE

Thank you Ahrisha!  I hope you enjoy the plate.  I will contact you about shipping!

Rachelle!

Show & Tell Friday and A Cottage Down the Layne's Very First Give Away!

Happy Friday everyone!  And thank you for stopping by to check out my very first Give Away!

Friday, April 9th is a special day for me, because my neice was born today 13 years ago!

I thought I would celebrate by hosting the very first give away from this blog!

I am also entering the Show & Tell Friday hosted by http://romantichome.blogspot.com/!
If you have a moment pop on over to Cindy's and take a look at her adorable Show & Tell and browse through the other beautiful items others have posted to Show!

This is my beautiful Tea Set!  It was given to me by a very dear friend Katie.  I have been looking, searching for a Tea Set ( I didn't have one) and I could never find one I just loved or that was in my price range.... Miniscule Price Range.  This Christmas, my dear friend, suprised me with this gorgeous tea set at our annual Christmas party. 

Would you care for a cup of Constant Comet?

Let me pour you a cup or two!

Thank you for checking out my Show & Tell Friday entry.  I absolutely love this Tea Set and I look for any occassion to use it!

Be Sure to check out my give away below!!!

Up for grabs is this very beautiful Limoges plate.  Covered in pink and cream roses, this is my very last Limoges dinner plate.  I had a set for sell on my website ( all but this one is gone).

To enter the give away, please leave a comment below.  I will announce the winner on Monday, April 12th!  The cut off to enter will be Sunday, April 11th at midnight!

This is a close up of the detail on the plate!

For a second chance to win, just mention this Give Away on your blog.  Be sure to let me know in your comment if you are mentioning this Give Away on your blog, so that I will know to enter your name twice! 

Good Luck and Have a wonderful weekend!  ~Rachelle

Easter Tablescpe and odds & ends

I hope everyone had a blessed and happy Easter!  I can tell you mine was wonderful, busy, and stressful all in one day!

This is my Easter table.  I did Yellow and Blue to brighten up the day!  Birds, Eggs, and Bunnies!  Perfect for a cheery Easter dinner.  We actually all went to Church that morning, rushed home and I apparantly didn't plan as well as I usually do, because I spent the next two hours scrambling to get things done!  My dear Mom helped me in the kitchen and we soon had dinner ready. 

This was the Mommy and Kiddie table!  I sat with my boy and a friend who has two little boys.  We sat here to keep the chaos away from the main table!

Now - onto a wonderful TJ Max find!  I got this beautiful 3 teir basket for 10$!  The item was badly bent and the screws would not tighten, so I asked for a discount!  I was ECSTATIC when she told me should would put it at 50% off!  My sweet Husband fixed her right up and it made the cutest little display for our plastic eggs!  I am debating on painting the whole thing in an antique white, with a bit of the brown showing through here and there! 

Ok - so this Friday I plan to announce my Very First Give-Away!  Check back soon for Details!

Ok, just a quick update on my cousin I mention with cancer.  She has been given just a week to live and if you would continue to keep her family in your prayers I am sure it would uplift them all.  She was actually doing well on Easter and spent some restful time with her kids.  She is not very cognizant of what is going on, but does not seem to be in pain.  _ Thank you!

Chair fufify project!

Who would have ever thought refinishing a chair could be so much fun!

I found this chair at a garage sale for 5 dollars.  It was navy blue with a gold and red checkered fabric. (Wish I had taken a before picture)  I followed instructions from My Romantic Home for painting furniture and it turned out beautifully!

I sanded the color down as much as I could ( I didn't have any paint stripper and was too excited to wait to get it)

I primed the chair and painted.  It took around 3 total coats, I lightly sanded, and glazed the chair with a nutmeg color.  I actually had this pretty peice of toile, so in total I spent about 12 dollars! 

I think it looks pretty good and I would love to have more projects just like this! 

This little lovely will be heading down to my booth space tomorrow and I plan - I say plan, because my 18 month old will be with me - to take some snap shots of my booth space and of my favorite booth.

Well, I hope all of you are having as much success with your projects as I am!

*** I am editing this post, because I had not read My Romantic Home, before posting.   I just read it and if you have a few minutes so should you.  It is super insperational and a testament to what we all should be doing!

A little Zebra goes a LOONG way

So, we made it to the big 13th birthday party I have been planning for my neice.  The theme was Zebra and Hot Pink ( I will be re-using this theme for my daughters 2nd bday)

Here are a few pictures to have some fun with!

Lets start with our Yummy yum table.  Hot pink satin with a zebra table runner.  And who doesn't love S'mores!?  We had a smore box with Graham Crackers, Chocolate and a bucket of Marshmellows. We roasted these over a small firepit, along with dinner - HOT DOGS!  Now isn't that the best way to feed some teenagers - have them make thier own meal. 

Here is my Momma - makin my hot dawg! What a good Momma!

Here is the Deliscious cake my mom madea nd we decorated together... about 2 hours before the party!

Not too bad for first time fondant users!

This was the craft area - the girls made coke bottle cap necklaces and got to bling out their cell phones with gems. 

We built this little Photo booth for the girls - They all LOVE pictures right now and we thought it would be fun and unique!  You can find tons of inspiration online for photo booths.  Notice the hot guys - Taylor Lautner and the other one ( Yes I know his name, but I am on Team Jacob) Ok, is it sad I watch the Twilight films? 

To celebrate the Bday girl, I created a Photo area of Angela and her friends.  It was a big hit - again all these teenie boppers are picture obsessed. 

And what is a party with out some yummy candy?  We had a candy bar set up with Popcorn bags to indulge in some sweet and salty snacks for movie time - We watched Twilight - New Moon! 

This girls slept over and as funny as it sounds, the old timers ( my mom and I) out lasted the girls by at least a few minutes.  We were up untill four and then up around 9am making waffles for Breakfast before the parents arrived to take the girls home!  I didn't get a picture of it, but we had a sweet little pink bag with zebra paper  filled with a zebra lanyard (for school ids), a manicure set, mini nail polish, and sleep masks!  It was alot of fun to create and I hope alot of fun for the girls!  I might just have them over for another slumber party in the future! (Just may have to go to bed earlier!

So, I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed some good food and company! 

Between Naps on the Porch Give-A-Way

It must be that season, because there are some awesome!  And I mean awesome give-a-ways going on.

50$ to Homegoods from Between Naps on the Porch!

http://betweennapsontheporchreviews.blogspot.com/

Also, BNOTP Announced that Homegoods is hosting 6 weeks of contest.

To get the details check out BNOTP or Homegoods website!

Good Luck to everyone!

Notes from a Cottage Industry First Day of Spring Give-Away

http://acottageindustry.typepad.com/a_cottage_industry/2010/03/first-day-of-spring-givaway.html

Notes from a Cottage Industry is hosting a give-away this Saturday in celebration of the first day of spring!

If you comment on her blog you are entered into a chance to win a Beautiful apron, one of her nests with eggs, and a spring cleaning book!  All really lovely items and from her own home!

If you haven't had a chance to read her blog, you might stop by for a bit and take a look around.  She has some really beautiful and creative ideas and a wonderful vintage booth space.

A little crafting goes a long way!

This is a sign I made for one of my fellow vendors at Meadows of Memories and Momentos.  She has the most beautiful booth space at our Antique shop.  The next time I am in there I will get a picture of it.

Her house is done in Coral, Yellow, Green, and White!  I love all of those colors, they are not your usual shabby chic choices, but absolutely beautiful together. I have to say, I really enjoy making these signs, they give me a bit of a creative outlet and stress relief! There are countless ways to create beautiful, one of a kind decor for your home, in any color and with any saying you like.  I also decoupaged the Rose on.  I hope it isn't too "pink".  I found a lovely shade of Coral at Lowe's and matched my paint to the paint swatch.  Well, we shall see!  If it isn't quite the right color - I may just keep it for my Kitchen nook!  What kind of creative outlet do y'all have?  I am always on the look out for new ways to express myself and release some stress!  I used to color when I worked in a office building.  I worked in a call center and always had crayola's and coloring books!  Now, I get to find fun things to do at home!   

We are enjoying some wonderful, warm weather here in Texas ( not too warm)! 

 

Livie was enjoying the day out on our deck.  She decided to be a little artist and doodle in my notebook.

We had lots of yard work to do and of course Olivia was the supervisor!

And plenty of plain ol fun!

Well, I hope ya'll are having a great week too!  Here is one last picture of my find for the week for my booth space. 

I just love baskets right now!  Maybe it's the time of year.  The little glass bowl has a slightly green color to it and the box is just so pretty!

Ya'll have a wonderful Day!

Great Garage Sale Batman!

Ok... It's Friday and I am feelin like being pretty goofy.  I found a great garage sale to visit today - Thanks to my Pal Katie!  And here are my finds!

These beautiful little McCoy planters for 5$ a peice

This fantastic Radish pitcher.

Such a unique Gaudy teacup and suacer!

And!

This set - Cream & Sugar dishes and 3 matching cups.

I also purchased a 3 tier table to refinish, but I did not have time to take pictures.

Well, I hope everyone has a funtastic weekend!  Full of good Food, great Finds, and lots of loved ones.

I will be visiting my cousin, her mom(my first cousin) was just told her cancer has spread and that they can no longer treat her (chemo).  She has 3 children two of which are closer to my age and an 8 year old daughter.  Plus 5 grandchildren.  The family is pretty heart broke, so if you all have a moment to say a prayer for strength it would be much appreciated.

God bless to all!

Antique and Vintage Furnitre

Hello everyone! I hope your Thursday is great!

I have this fun little China hutch, Art Deco Style, I will be adding to my soon to be larger booth space at Meadows of Memories and Momentos in Argyle this weekend and I can not seem to find any identifying markers to establish an age for the peice.  I think the hutch is probably from the 20's, but I know the 30's and even into the 40's continued with the Art Deco style.  Anyway,  My husband and I purchased this at an Antique shop in Denton, TX, but it just doesn't fit my Dining room any longer.  I would just love to see some fun dishes peeking through the glass!

Curved Footboard

Also, going into the atique shop will be this beautiful bed from the 18th? Early 19th Century.  I could find only one number on this bed:

I am not sure if the number is the Patent number or what else it might be.  The bed is currently my soon to be 3 year olds bed and as you can imagine he is a little too RAMBUNCTIONS for such a beautiful piece.  My husband doesn't really want to part with it, but frankly, I want a bed I can move out of the way and vaccum under.  Right now, the bed is a bit too heavy to move, a bit too large for the room, and just a bit to old to move often to vaccum under.

I apologize for the pictures.  There was not a convenient place to take pictures and my little boy was clammering for the camera!

I am on the Hunt for something Fun and Beautiful for my very first give-a-way.  I plan to have the give-a-way in April.  Not sure if it will be the begining or end of the Month.  Maybe the Middle.  My son will turn 3 in April and it seems like a great month to celebrate!

Have a Great weekend!!! I will be busy moving my booth!

Flea Market Find

Mama Camera Drama

You read that right.  I have had more Camera drama.  This time, my sweet little angels, took off with my battery charger and it conveniently disappeared!  After much coaxing and a bit of threatening and then what seemed to be a long hunt through out my house, I found the charger in the far corner of my closet, hidden behind the bottom clothes rack.  The moral of this story.... Never leave anything within the reach of an almost 3 year old and his sidekick sister.

So, on to some fun stuff.  I finally moved to my new tiny booth space:

I have not gotten a chance to do a theme to my space and I am actually moving to one of the large booth spaces - I have some funiture peices I plan to put into my space and I am working on the headboard project I mentioned in my last post.  On to a few Flea Market err Garage Sale finds for this past weekend!

Who doesn't love a creamy white pitcher?  Especially, when it has such a wonderful floral design!

 

I should have taken a before picture of this basket.  It was a cheap silver look, peeling, with spots of rust on it.  I prettied it up and now it looks like a wonderful little Egg Basket!

This antique milk crate is actually my favorite find!  I got it at a steal of a deal for 5$ and cleaned it up a bit, while keeping the beautiful patina.  I stopped at a garage sale around 6pm, just a last minute stop and I spotted this in the garage (not for sale) and asked what they wanted for it!  WOO, I was almost giddy when she said 5$... 

And my other favorite find, was this gorgeous, creamy crochet bed cover.  I have not measured it, but it was large enough to cover my 6foot long dinning table.  It has a few places in need of repair, but no major tears. It was marked for 30$, but when I was checking out she asked if I wanted it for 20$ (I had told her I was down to my last 4$)  My wonderful and tolerant husband out junking with me had 15$ and she took that!  I was very suprised.   I also think this find may have found a new home with me! 

I have been hoping that my big girl day job would start to wind down, but we have had a co-worker go out for medical leave and now we are all trying to cover his work.  I am also working with my son, he has been having a tough time at preschool with aggression and is a bit behind in language, so we are going to put him in speech therapy.  Even through the parent/teacher conference (OM Goodness he is only almost 3 and already called to the school) the teachers told me he is either going to be a preacher or the president, because he is such a leader.  He also helps with out being asked and is very loving... When he is not biting or hitting...  So, we have had a bit of that kind of drama too!

OK, So I was negligent in joining Foodie Friday last week!  I actually had a dish and life/work got in the way again!  I made a Pot Roast from Pioneer Woman.  I am sure most of you foodies out there know about the Pioneer Woman.  She has such a story and just seems so down to earth!   I have to get a cookbook!!! 

I will be planning a Give Away in the month of April.  Check back for more details! 

Have a great week Chickees!  I will post more pics after I move into the larger booth space.

La ti da~ Making changes

Howdy everyone!  I am in a wonderful mood today and working on changes to my online shop and getting ready to move into a new booth space at Meadows of Memories & Momentos in Argyle, Tx.

I have changed the design on my shop website and I will be adding a new category called Vintage Home.  I will be adding some of my Vintage and French inspired wares to my website.  I am also moving into a new booth space at the Antique shop in town.  The new space is a bit more visible and has slightly more space.  The antique shop is not very large, but there are so many charming things to see. Right across the street, there is another shop and little bistro in an old bank called The General Store.  It is filled with wonderful home accessories and the old bank vault is a wine cellar.  I am drooling over a painted door, I would just love for my formal room, next time I stop in I will try to get a picture! 

On top of all the web store and booth space changes, I am working on a birthday party for my neice.  she will be turning 13 and we will be having a zebra and hot pink themed sleep over.  I am including a few pictures of the work in progress.  Nothing shown is completely finish, but just an idea of what we will be setting up.

The girls will be watching movies, along with many other games and activities, so I am going to setup a Candy bar in front of the TV for the girls to enjoy.  We will have many different types of candy, plus Cupcake pops.  As seen on http://www.bakerella.com/

Teenagers are all about pictures right now and to have some fun I will be setting up a photo booth for the girls.  This is my inspiration!

And to go along with the photo booth, I will be creating a photo montag of Angela and her friends above the fire place!

I have one craft activity planned for the girls... Did I say we will have a total of 11 teenagers?!  My main rule - don't talk to me.  Just kidding!  The girls will get to make Bottle Cap necklaces with Zebra print images and ribbon for the necklace. 

And the Evening festivities will be roasting Marshemellows and Hot Dogs over a fire pit!  As long as the weather cooperates.  I trully want to create a fun and memorable evening for all the girls coming.  I plan to send them home with their very own Zebra photo album, sleep masks, bath stuff, hot pink chinese lanterns for thier rooms, and lots of other goodies.  (Plus the leftover Candy Bar yummies!)

I love part planning.  It allows me to be creative and have fun and it's even better when it is for someone else and I get to suprise them with so many fun things.

Well, this is my week and I hope everyone has a Blessed and wonderful weekend!

 

My Oh SOoo Boring Bathroom

So, I promised some pics of my Oh sooo boring bathroom.  This is looking into the Bath through the door.  I hate the blue and want to change out the cabinets for dark wood and a nice Vanity and add some nice crown moulding.  I guess it has to do with having two toddlers, but I really want a romantic bathroom and Master bedroom (the bedroom is pretty blah too!)  Does anyone have any suggestions on paint color?  The space is not large and I like to change accessories and things like that ever so often. 

I also want to keep my Bedroom a color I can change out bedding.  I get way too bored with one specific bedding or colors or decorations.  I want to set a mood and I am just stuck.  I equate it to writers block.  

 

When we purchased our house, it had carpet in the bathroom.  We did a few minor things to update, but being newlyweds we didn't have alot of money to invest in our Bathroom.  We plan to re-tile the shower and I want a new "white" bathtub.  We also plan to change the tile on the floor.  I love all colors, but I really want something clean, french vintage, and beautifully romantic.

This is the closet entry area.   It is just so blah. 

Well on a lighter note here is a picture of my two wonderful babies "doing the dishes" for mommy!

The kitchen, like the master bath and bedroom, is another future project, but I at least have some ideas for the area!

Thanks for any ideas you guys may have!