Sah-weet

Pioneer Woman cookbook on Amazon $15.00

Dinner at Cafe' Bronte-$11.00

Hanging with Kristi AND meeting Pioneer Woman, Betsy & Hyacinth-Priceless!!

An old bench prettied up

This bench goes with a bedroom suite that has been in my family for at least 60 years. The other pieces have gone on to their reward throughout the years. I re-covered the top 10 yrs ago but the legs were pretty banged up. Since I now think that everything needs to be painted, I decided to re-cover it and paint it another color. I guess because it is so old, the paint just soaked in and I never could get it to cover completely. I was too lazy to go get more paint so I stood back and looked at it and decided that it looked like I had tried to distress it! What do you think?

And yes, I know that my floors need to be cleaned.

Sweater re-do

I have had this sweater for several years now and it has always fit funny. Since I nothing to lose, I cut this sucker right up the middle and sewed some lime green knit material around the neckline to see if being transformed into a cardigan will make it fit any better. It's a little cuter that's for sure!

Jack, the dog

Jack enjoys a Sunday afternoon nap.

Hey, who woke me up?

Candlestick redo's

I bought these candlesticks a couple of years ago on clearance for about $20 at The French Shoppe in Hendersonville. This is a lovely little boutique whose clothes are made for tall skinny women. At that time they carried quite a collection of home accessories. They did fine in our new house up until a few months ago when I became bitten with the decorating bug. As a result, there was no way they were going to stay the same color. I am ashamed to say but, I THINK they were silver plated. I don't even really know! Anyhoo...I gave them a couple of coats of Heriloom White and dressed them up with ribbon, scrapbook paper (I didn't cut the lines straight, but it's ok right?),

and some homemade jute rosettes.
I liked them before, but I like them better now!

Thrift store finds

Look at these cuties that I got today at the Hendersonville Samaratin Center. All 3 for $5.00!

Window Mistreatments-the final product

I will tease you with this photo....

I got these two 80 inch Waverly panels at Goodwill for $3.99. They are a beautiful black and cream toille print. I added a little black fabric that I had at the bottom to give them a little more length. Aren't they pretty?

Redo of a redo

Hello Mr. Lauren!

After reading about this product, I had to redo something that I had re-done about a month ago.

Almost there......I am loving jute these days.

What do you think about the redo of the redo?

Beautiful Fall wreath

My friend Debbie made me this wreath. Everything that was used came from Goodwill outlet! Seriously, I don't have $5 in the whole arrangement.

Another window mistreatment

I took a little bit of fabric and a little bit of jute and made this little bitty valance for my master bathroom.

Before

After!

More spray paint transformations

I got these vases at Goodwill. They might be ok for a tropical theme party but I thought they would look better painted a different color.

Remember Peachy decor ?

I got these little fellas at the Hendersonville Samaritan Center for .50 each. They were begging to be let out of the 80's!







Now they are all dressed up for Halloween!

Window Mistreatments

I bought the fabric on clearance at Jo-Ann's and made these with not one stitch of sewing. Glue & pins baby, glue & pins.

Fall Foyer

I made these super easy apothecary jars yesterday afternoon. They are so pretty! I still need to fill them with goodies, etc, but this is how they look on my entry table.

Recent thrift store finds

These are a couple of things I have bought recently. I am not sure what I will do with these cute little things ($1.49 ea.) , but I do have plans for the shelf!

The Ballards Pear

Up until a couple of months ago I had never heard of "Ballards". I kept reading so many people talking about copying their designs and blogging about the "Ballards Pear". I pretty much decided that I had to have one so I had been on the lookout while Goodwill shopping. Much to my pleasure, I found a similar item a couple of weeks ago for $2.99. I also picked up a couple of white shelves ($4.00 for both) with the tops painted red. I spray painted the shelves and added the pear and some other items to create what I think is a pretty nice looking vignette (I didn't know this word as it applied to decorating either!). We were at the beach last week for a couple of days and I found a thrift store where I got the cute little basket for $.25 and the teeny tiny oil painting for $1.50. The basket is really good quality and it was A QUARTER!!

I laid the shelves on the floor to take this picture!

The finished look!

Any critique on the placement of the items??

I apologize for the blurry picture, and our walls are not orange, they are "Baked Clay" from Sherwin Williams.

In case you didn't know, our last name is Hicks

I got this idea from something that a friend of mine had made at a fancy boo-tique. Her letters were all in one frame, but I like mine too. I got the frames at -you guessed-Goodwill Outlet and painted them black. I downloaded the picture sof the letters on the internet and printed them on my photo printer. They just fit on a wall in our hallway.

Heirloom party

I am joining this party! http://emmacallsmemama.com/2009/09/celebrating-traditions-series-part-two/

These are not exactly family heirloom pieces but are a couple of things I picked up at the Goodwill outlet in Nashville.

These pin tins are from a company in Maine http://www.tabletalkpie.com/home.htm

This other art piece is drawn on a piece of plywood with what looks like a #2 pencil. It is so cool! This picture doesn't come close to doing it justice. It is signed, but no other information is on it.

Are you tired of looking at these?

I saw this on another blog and have been on the lookout for a cabinet door. I got this at the goodwill outlet also.

I sprayed the door with a couple of coats of white spray paint and printed the name & year on a piece of vellum with a pretty font.

More before and afters...

I bought this chair for $2 at the goodwill outlet. A little spray paint and fabric turned this:

into this:

Before and After

I have recently become obsessed with Goodwill . To thank for this, I have a bunch of decorating blogs that I have been reading for a few weeks now. My favorite is the Goodwill outlet store where the items that do not sell in the retail store are taken. Most everything is sold by the pound except larger items which are priced individually. Here is a before and after of a really ugly picture that I bought last week for $6. With just a little pit of paint, some burlap and a 1.99 letter "M" from Hobby Lobby, I transformed it into a cool art piece for my son's room.

Decorating

I have been inspired to decorate our house by reading some great blogs. I got this idea for a curtain from http://www.thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/

This is the laundry room before and after.

Kris Allen singing one of my favorite songs

This was sent to me by a co-worker in our office in Conway Arkansas.

". . . let us strip off every weight that slows us down . . . and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us." Hebrews 12:1
Hey, guys. If you have seen this, sorry! If you haven't, you will be blessed. This is Kris Allen singing at the dedication of New Life Church in Little Rock; he attends the church in Conway but they have opened a new building in LR as well. It is called "God of this City". He did it and along the way has captured the heart of America through his humility and "quiet spirit". Now, it is our turn to remain faithful in praying for him and his wife as they embark on this path that God has set forth for them. It will bless your heart!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/0803/joart/?action=view&current=KrisAllen-
GodofThisCity.flv

PW strikes again

I think I will make this for our small group on Sunday. www.thepioneerwoman.com/cooking

Incredibly good cheesecake

This recipe is from my neighbor Shannon Budd. Kevin said he thought this was the best thing that I had ever made.


First Step: Graham cracker crust: 20 squares graham crackers crushed with rolling pin. Combine crushed crumbs with 1/3 cup melted butter 3 tablespoons sugar. Press into "spring form" pan (the kind where the sides come off). Bake 10 minutes @ 350.
In another bowl mix 3 eight ounce softened cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups sugar, 5 eggs, and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla Place mix in baked graham cracker crust for approx. 100 minutes (depending on oven). (Note- I only cooked mine for 90 minutes ph)
Topping: Mix pint of sour cream, teaspoon vanilla, and 2 cups powdered sugar. Once cheesecake is done baking, pour topping over top. Cheesecake will fall slightly (don't panic!) and bake additional 10 minutes. Let cool down then place in fridge. Call us when its ready and we'll be right over!

Easy Breezy Curtains

I found a great blog that has a lot of home decorating ideas. What do you think?

The green is in our guest room and the yellow is the kitchen window.

http://www.livingwithlindsay.com/2009/03/glue-and-pin-your-way-to-new-window.html