Happy Thanksgiving!

{glass from sconces, picture frame, pumpkin....left over from Halloween}

I have so much to be thankful for, remember the little things. But today I'm giving thanks for the most precious and loved thing in my life. My children.


*Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play.

*Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together.

*Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles.

*Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by.

*Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned.

*Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them.

*Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys.

*Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you.

*Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry.

*Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars.

*Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows.

*Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that God has given me the greatest gift ever given.

*I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of
their bedrooms, and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore.

*And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer.. It is then, that I will thank God for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day.............

The Best Dog-gone Party Ever!

I don't know about you, but when I think of a birthday party for a three year old little girl, visions of princesses and Tinkerbell run through my mind...not puppies. However, when given the choice, my little girl wanted a "doggie party". So this is what I did:

Lil smokies hotdogs (served in dog dishes) for dinner
then we watched 101 Dalmations while we munched on dog kibble {muddie buddies mixed with reeses puffs} and dog bones {Pillsbury cinnamon twists- put a knot on each end to make it look like a dog bone}
For her cake we had cupcakes with dog faces- yellow m&m, grasshopper for eyes
fudge graham ears
whopper nose (I used a reese's puff)


This was a party just for our little family, but you could play some fun games like:
*cat, cat, DOG.
*Red Rover
*Feed the dog (turn a cardboard box into a dog, cut a hole where the mouth is, then have the children take turns throwing bean bags).
*If you have the cash, you could buy each child a puppy and put it in the "pound", have them pick out their puppy , making a certificate of adoption for each dog, then set up a vet station and a grooming station.

Then end the party by having the kids bark the "Happy Birthday" song to the birthday girl/boy! Don't forget about the Doggie Bags (filled with dog stickers, a ball, dog whistle, etc.)!

Etsy Find

My friend, Lexi, showed me these really cute blocks on Etsy. I have to say that I think that they would make a perfect Christmas gift for grandma!!Don't want to spend the mula? Then make them! Just paint some wooden blocks (you can also go to home depot, get a 2x4 then cut them to size), Mod Podge the pictures onto blocks (let it dry), place vinyl lettering on top (making sure not to cover the faces!), then distress the edges (you can use an ink pad). Don't know anybody who does vinyl lettering? Then you can buy alphabet rub-ons (in the scrapbook section of Michael's or Joann), or you can buy stamps and emboss the letters on.

Cake Ball Recipe

Watch out cupcakes, there's a new cake in town! These fun little treats are perfect for every occasion. They are incredibly easy and you can change them up to suit any occasion. Halloween-chocolate cake mixed with chocolate frosting, dipped in orange confectioner's coating , put a pretzel stick in and add some green frosting leaves and you've got a pumpkin! Baby shower- strawberry cake mixed with cream cheese frosting, dipped in pink confectioner's coating. Or chocolate cake mixed with chocolate frosting dipped in blue. Christmas- red velvet cake mixed with cream cheese frosting, dipped in green confectioner's coating. The list goes on and on!

{click on recipe card to print out and add to your collection!}

Before & After

I know times are lean for lots of people right now...but that doesn't mean we don't want nice things anymore, it just means we can't have them right now. That's a bummer! But it's life...so... I'm always looking for ways to make my house cute on my budget so that I can take part in the fun now. Bad? Probably. So...unless you are willing to purchase new things on credit {which I don't recommend & have never done} sometimes the only options are to do it yourself or go without. I wanted to do this little post to {1st} show you an example of how you can have nice things with just a tiny bit of $ and {2nd} show you how to do it for yourself if times are lean {and even if they're not}.

If there's one thing I really enjoy, it's re-doing furniture. I love filling my home with cute things, especially cute things I made! That feeling just doesn't compare to purchasing something new! {Don't get me wrong..I LOVE new furniture, too!} My hubby just has to deal with our overflowing garage full of "projects" yet to be done...poor guy....but not really when you think about how much moolah {$} I save him! I know girls, you can go broke on good deals...but seriously...with furniture--this project was a GOOD DEAL!! Whenever you have the opportunity to receive furniture for little or nothing--take it! There's always something that can be done with it. {well, I take that back...sometimes there's not..and sometimes there's no place to put it...} But don't pass up a chance to even just "drive by" that yardsale....you never know what you might see....

Anyways, this is from back in August when it was 110 degrees outside. There was a house being built behind us so all of the workers could see into our backyard where I spent the mornings doing this piece. Other than that, I did it entirely alone. It was that easy!

Here's the furniture before: {it's in my mom's friend's garage}



It's really not my style, but I thought since it was pretty much free I would try my hand in re-doing it to try & fit my house...

Here's my inspiration:

This is a page from the Country Sampler Magazine. I saw this piece a few months before & loved it. I have a thing for that color of green. I think black furniture looks soooo good up against it.
I remembered how much I liked it and thought I could do something sort-of like it with my new found stuff.

Here's the after:

Here's how I did it:

I am in no way a professional. I've refinished some really UGLY things. Just ask my husband. I'm not patient and I have a hard time waiting for paint to dry! I want to do projects that only take an hour. Put the baby to bed, a movie on for the kids and go to work. Never does anything take me an hour....it takes me days. I have high hopes of getting things finished quickly....but being patient is the key. Easier said that done, I know.

This project took me 3 days.

I started by taking off the tack-paper all over the inside of it. I HATE hot weather, but thanks to that heat the tack-paper came off super quick. {The furniture had white tack-paper all over the inside}. I then wiped it down to see how much I needed to sand it. I also dislike sanding things. Takes SO MUCH TIME! But I did sand this baby down. Really good, and too good in a couple of places where the wood veneer was thin. Oops.

I sanded it with a little electric mouse sander with a fine sandpaper. I didn't want to rough it up too much.

Oh...I tore off the top thingy. I have NO idea what those are called, you know..the little curly things on top in the "before" picture. Not a fan of those babies. At all.

I painted it with a sponge brush. I don't know if that's what professionals use, but that's what I used. It's all I had. This went on super smooth, but needed a couple coats. Good thing about this paint....I didn't have to put on a top coat. Yay...less time to wait for paint to dry. I purchased it at Home Depot, but Lowes has it too. Don't look at Walmart..it's not there..

When it was finished and dry, I made my husband drag it in for me. I put the hardware back on inside. I also put the doors back on. {Yes, I actually took them off...usualy I would try to figure out a way to keep them on, but I wanted it to look good and took them off.} Then I sanded the edges. I should have done this step outside--black paint dust everywhere....but, lucky for me the finish underneath was still a little redish! When I sanded it the red shown through. I've found with painting my signs that I can achieve this look with all finishes, all I needed to do was use a little bit of a stain. You can get wood stain in little tins from Walmart.
I love the way it turned out. I put out all my Fall decorations in it. Its funny because this project seriously only cost me about $8. That's how much the paint was. I kept all the hardware. The only crappy thing about the whole project was how HOT it was outside when I did it. Oh well.