Chicken on a Stick and More Blue Room

Mister and I made chicken on a stick last night. Oh my goodness! It was dee-lish! I came up with my own recipe and if I must say so it is quite tasty. Onions, thinly sliced red potatoes, dill pickle slices and chunks of boneless chicken on a wooden skewer, marinated in my special marinade and then dredged in flour and fried to a crispy golden brown. SINFUL! Is your mouth watering yet?

I decided to go back and post more of the blue bedroom to show some of the beautiful detail in the ceiling and some more of my favorite accessories. This is a close up of the ceiling and molding:

After searching endlessly for the perfect chandelier this one was actually Mister's idea. We went to the antique consignment store and this was not what I had in mind at all and had actually overlooked it in the store when he said "Hey, what about this one?" He added all the prisms. To me it just pops against the cornslik blue walls.

This is the view facing the closets. I love the new 6 panel doors. It makes a world of difference!This is another picture taken from the doorway. I love the morning light! This is a close-up of the bed. My mom gave me the crocheted bed spread for Christmas a couple of years ago. I made the blue pillows.

Close up of the bedspread detail and throw:

The tapestry pillow in the chair in the corner came from Hobby Lobby! I paid way too much even with 50% off. But is this not gorgeous?

Where have I been......?

For over two months! Obviously I've been too busy to blog! My poor, neglected blog! I guess we were so busy trying to finish the house before Christmas that we didn't have time to do anything else! Speaking of the house....IT'S FINALLY FINISHED! All remodeling is done (for the time being) Ha Ha! I would eventually like to update our kitchen but I'm not sure that my husband shares my sentiments. Now for a little before and after.....this is one of our guest rooms before.....

And more before..........

Now how about a little after......

I wish I had a more detailed picture of the ceiling. It turned out so well! The Mister did a beadboard paneling with trim and it is exquisite! You would never know that there is ugly cottage cheese ceiling under there. Not that I hate cottage cheese because it's in most of the rest of the house.

This collage of vintage portrait prints is one of my favorite parts of the room. I was a little nervous putting nails in the freshly painted wall but it was well worth it! And this little lady....well, her name is Josephine.

I found her at a local consignment shop. I paid around $30 for her. My mom told me I was crazy but how could you not like Josephine?

I found the drapery panels at the thrift store. Both pieces for around $17.00. They retail for around $200.00! Actually I think they have been discontinued. They are Croscill in the Napoleon pattern. I was able to have the ascot valances custom made by woman that sells on eBay. The huge silver mirror above the bed is a Goodwill find. I paid $25 for it. That's more than I would normally pay but when I saw it I new it would look perfect above the bed.

Have I told you lately that I HEART THRIFT STORES?

Today.....

Today would have been my grandmaw Vera's birthday. There are so many things I could write about her life. She was unexpectedly widowed when she was in her early 50s. She loved to travel. She loved holidays. She loved her children and her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was a wonderful cook. Not too long ago I asked mama to make Swiss Steak like Maw Maw used to make. Soo many happy memories! She had a fireball temper that could errupt at the drop of a hat. She had a wonderful Godly heritage but herself waited until several years before she died to give her heart to God. But,when she made the decision, she followed through like she did with everything in her life. She was committed to go the distance, regardless. This picture was taken the Thanksgiving before she died the following May.

Look at all the food on the stove in the background of the picture. That was how it was everytime we went to Maws. Whether is was her big yellow Pyrex bowl full of potato salad or her cornbread dressing, everyting was in abundance and everything was delicious. We miss her so much. We were not ready to let her go. And days like today it's hard all over again. Happy Birthday Maw Maw.

Vacation 2007

We got back today from an almost week long vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains.

We saw the very end of the leaf change but we still saw a lot of color! It was so pretty there. Our vacation was delayed a couple of days because my Uncle Russell died the day we were to leave town. It was a hard decision but we decided to go after his funeral service. He was 68 years old and suffered with diabetes and congestive heart failure, among other things. I still can't believe he's gone. He was always the larger than life uncle, the fun one. Not always the storybook uncle but he was my favorite. I cried most of the way to Tennessee. We got to Gatlinburg around midnight on Monday. On Tuesday we ventured to Cades Cove, a one-way, 11 mile loop around an isolated valley located in the East Tennessee section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We wanted to get there in the late afternoon and finish the loop around dusk. Our timing was near perfect. We saw deer, turkeys and even a bear cub. We had to stop our car to allow this deer to cross in front of us. Since they live in a protected environment they have little fear of humans.

We also played a lot of goofy golf. This particular course was called Davy Crockett. See the master at work....

We had a wonderful time. We packed a lot in to the time we were there enjoyingThe Dixie Stampede and The Comedy Barn along with several great meals. It was good to get away but we were ready to get back home and back to OUR OWN BED! It's rough to sleep in a queen size bed after you're accustomed to sleeping in a roomy king size bed. Well it's back to work for me tomorrow...I'll be daydreaming of the mountains......

Yard Sale 2007

We had a huge yard sale today. We got there before daylight and started setting up our tables. I thought I would die before we got all the boxes and totes unpacked! But when we were finished and ready for customers we had one nice looking sale. I used thrifted vintage sheets and a shabby chic table cloth for the table covers and it added a nice touch. Really only one "dealer" type and she didn't haggle over prices so all in all it was a wonderful day.

I really hated to let go of these lamps but I didn't have anywhere to put them and I was scared they would be broken if I just kept storing them. The "dealer" bought these....

We only really had two early birds (a senior citizen couple). They were not pushy so it was ok. I was a little worried because we were not overrun with customers from the beginning. But, we had a steady stream all day and the ones that stopped were in the mood to buy!

My back is a different story. I think it fell off and is lying on the ground somewhere. We had the sale at our church because it's on a main road and always has good traffic flow.

Today was the first day of a two day sale. I'm a little nervous because most of our "good" stuff sold today. So it may make for a long day tomorrow but we shall see.....

Here is my Mister affirming the old "boys will be boys" thing. He's playing with a Crossfire game. It later sold for $1.00 to a little boy who was thrilled to be the new owner!

Somtimes our wants too

I decided to dedicate this post to one of my very favorite prints! I love old romantic prints, especially ones that involve pianos or other musical instruments. I have loved this print since the first time I saw it which was probably about 20 years ago in the big town of Pine Hill, Alabama. Pine Hill is about 2 hours north of Mobile. Since I was a little girl, at least twice a year, I would be hauled to Pine Hill by my Mama and my Maw Maw to see my Grandpaw's Cousin's wife Barnette. Barnette's house was so cute and quaint and loaded with 40's-50's charm! One day I discovered this print in her house and knew I had to have one just like it. So, I started my quest. I searched eBay until I thought my fingers would fall off. No luck. I looked everywhere that I knew to look. Still no print. I had no information. I didn't know the artist's name, the title of the print or ANYTHING! I had a feeling that it was probably a mass produced print but just really had no clue... well, fast forward until about 2 years ago. I was at a dumpy little auction in a neighboring town. The kind of place where the cigarette smoke is so thick you could cut it with a knife. So I'm previewing all the items and OH MY GOODNESS my heart starts to race. The closer I get to the print my heart is pounding! It was the print that I had searched for! Of course it was one of the very last things they auctioned that night so it was after midnite before it came up. There was an antique dealer that started bidding against me but I was prepared to go the distance. I had decided that print was coming home with me REGARDLESS! Thankfully I only had to bid $38 and it was mine! I was one happy, sleepy, smokey girl! Where is this print you say?

It has so much character. Of course I love the piano but I also love the curved staircase, the gargoyle looking angels on the clock in the background, I could go on and on. And the frame! Oh my gosh. My frame is prettier than Barnette's. Hers was a simple, cherry wooden frame. I knew that it would one day hang proudly in one of our guest rooms. We are finally about to paint the walls in this room and I will be able to hang this beautiful print. God is so mindful of us. Most certainly for what we need but sometimes our wants too.

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart...Psalms 37:4 KJV

Happy Birthday Daddy

Tomorrow is my Daddy's 65th birthday. We celebrated this past Sunday with a cake, presents and the whole deal! The cake was made in a thrifted Wilton horseshoe cake pan. I think I paid a whopping $1.48 for the pan that still had the original J C Penney price tag on the side. He loves horses so this was the perfect cake for him. Off-the-chain Jacob did the baking honors. As he said, he wanted to go old school with the "number candles". Resistance was futile so we got old school candles! I guess that was better than 65 little candles that could have set off the fire alarm!

Here's daddy with the cake: and doing what he loves....

His horses are named Bonnie & Clyde. Cute, huh? My dad is a good man and has always been a wonderful provider for his family. He's retired now and I hope he is able to enjoy retirement for many years to come.

The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.

Proverbs 20: 7 KJV