Holiday with Matthew Mead

 You may be thinking that it's a bit early to be thinking of Christmas.  I know that I am SO looking forward to some warm, spring-like weather.  However,  a magazine or in this case, book-azine, must start work over 6 months ahead of its expected release date to reach its deadline.  If you know who Matthew Mead is, you will definitely want to get in on this new release.  

 

{Hint: he has alot to do with the newest magazine called Flea Market Style.}

So, if you haven't heard...run on over to Matthew Mead's blog and read about the following:

 

Head over to Holiday with Matthew Mead to find out how you can win the opportunity to have your blog or online shop mentioned in the magazine. Holiday with Matthew Mead is a  "book-azine" celebrating and offering inspiration for the Christmas holiday season. To be released in October 2010, Holiday is offered via online orders only - in limited quantities - and will not be sold on newsstands. But, by simply following the BUY HOLIDAY MAGAZINE link below their banner, you can reserve your own copy of this beautiful magazine, with guaranteed delivery of the magazine straight to your mailbox!  Holiday with Matthew Mead is144 pages of holiday inspiration with well-known and admired designers, bloggers and top-notch features, printed on beautiful paper and not drowning in ads!

Now, head on over for your chance to win!

Have a good week,

judi ;)

chocolat anyone?

something I've been working on....

a lap quilt for our bed...

it's been several years since I bought the fabric...

i had to search the internet to find more for the backing...

as it had since been discontinued...

but i found some...

so i am a happy girl!

isn't it just yummy?

moda fabric
chocolat by 3 Sisters

HaPpY SpRiNg!

Every year we know that Spring is right around the corner when these little beauties push their little sleepy heads up through the ground.  It shows me how resilient the daffodil can be.  Can you tell where these spring bulbs are growing?  

That's right, they're growing in the driveway along the foundation of the house.  They have been popping their pretty little heads up through the pavement for many years.   The pavement buckles & the soil is pushed up when the daffodil pops through the surface.  That is amazing!

We can learn much from God's creation.  When life is hard (like rocky soil or pavement), we can be like the resilient daffodil...pushing through the tough days, never giving in to the obstacles, always persevering.  We all know first hand what that is like.  How much do you appreciate and are blessed by that spirit of tenacity?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

Have a great Sunday!

CoMpAred to WhAt?

I was over at The Lettered Cottage (scroll way down) taking a stroll around several posts back and came upon the link for the Country Living/Hudson Goods giveaway.  Oh my!  Have you ever checked out Hudson Goods????  Their stuff is so amazing...industrial, rusty, vintage...love it!   And then.  oh my.   I saw.   THE light.   at Hudson Goods.  oh my.  it was so.  so. unique!   

Ok....reality check...it is $149 and basically it is rusty wire on a single bulb pendant with cloth covered wire.  Could this not possibly be made for practically peanuts compared to their cost?  Nothing against Hudson Goods but a girl's gotta do what a thrifty, bargain hunter, junk-lovin' girl's gotta do and that is make it yourself!  I just need to "find" all the components, which may be as close as my own house & Home Depot.  

Of course, I'll just add this to my LONG list of to do's   ;)

Besides this incredible light, I perused the website and found this stool

(Hudson Goods $259)

which looks very similar to this stool

(the1829farmhouse  $15) 

Don't you just LOVE it when you find that you have the latest, greatest in home decor and spent hardly anything on it?!   The above stool was found at a moving sale last summer from a couple who were heading south.  I also found a beautiful Boston rocker in gorgeous condition for a mere $25...woohoo!

What have you found in your possession that has been featured on a website, magazine or catalog??

Kitchen Remodel Part 3

Here is Part 3 of The 1829 Farmhouse kitchen project.   This project was started in October 2008 and finished December 2009 (well almost).  Go here for Part 1 and Part 2

So on with the journey...

To recap, the water disaster was actually a cloud with a silver lining in that we HAD to remove the linoleum flooring (boo hoo).  It ONLY took 6 months to get to the ripping up of the floor, but for now I'm getting ahead of myself.  After the water mess was cleaned & dried up (took about 3 days with commercial dryers & fans), we were back on track.  

Our contractor, Ed, returned the next week and worked on installing the following: 

• Ikea countertop (drove 3 hrs and back in one day as it was cheaper than shipping)
• E-granite composition sink (ebay store)
• Price Pfister orb faucet/sprayer combo (ebay store:faucets.com) (a bargain at $28 and it was new!)
• wood beadboard (Home Depot)

He also removed part of an upper cupboard so that we could move the fridge over into the kitchen area to complete that wonderful item called the "work triangle".  This really opened up the dining area and the light from the french door to the deck.
   
The image below isn't exactly our layout but its fairly close.  There is a deck door to the immediate left of the stove, sink is centered under the window, fridge is directly across from stove and the countertop shown is how it use to be.  Now the countertop is a straight run with a rolling cabinet to the right of the stove.

Before and After  of the upper cabinets revamping:

Above you see where the Ikea counter is set to be cut to fit and below is the other end of counter.

Here is the kitchen as it was in December 2008.  Still lacking cupboard doors and paint but functional for the holidays. 

Around about April we had our carpenter, Darrin, step in to make the cupboard doors, two drawers and the trash/recycle bin (my fav).  He is an excellent finish carpenter and knows my likes & dislikes...which translates that he's great to work with.  He converted what was 3 deep drawers on each side of sink to a drawer and cupboard on left, and a drawer and trash bin on right.  To make it appealing to the eye, he also made a false drawer front for center cupboard (below sink) that tilts out to hold my scrubbers and sponge.

Below are the cupboard doors in the raw (before tung oil).  This first pic is a cupboard that was longer and we cut the divider out to make an area for the microwave.  You can see that the beadboard was not finished.  The back wall of the cupboard (you can see through the window) had beadboard applied later as well.  
The glass for the window portion of the door are reclaimed old bubble/wavy window glass.  I had ordered some online and then found I had some old windows in the shed.  Oh well, it worked out since 1 of the panes that I ordered didn't exactly suit the "old" look so I used my own for that opening.

In July 2009 we (my hubby & crew) removed the 2 layers of linoleum flooring.  He then spent two weeks (of vacation) trying to remove the mastic.  He basically used Goo Gone & Citrus Stripper in large quantities to cut through the yuk.  It did the trick.  We lived with the floor like this until November when we had it refinished.  You can see the Before & After here.

Below you can see that the old white multi-layered paint was finally removed from upper cupboards, base cupboards revamped, beadboard installed & walls painted.  The base cupboards still awaiting their topcoat of black paint..  This pic below was taken during the floor refinishing, thus the fan in window removing stinky smell from room...it was bad!

There was still much to do from the point we were at in the above pic, but we could see the end in sight.  If we learned anything from this remodel, it was how to be patient, steadfast and to not give up!

Beautiful Blogger Award

I participated in a fun game with Amy over at Whisper Wood Cottage about whose blog inspired me the most.  I chose Layla at The Lettered Cottage and you can read my comment along with the others' here.

Amy has asked that we list 7 things about ourselves and then pass the award onto 15 more Beautiful Bloggers.

So without further ado here are some random musings about my life...

     1.  My favorite color in decor is red, whether it be a dash of it here and there or a whole painted room.

     2.  White/black enamelware is one of my largest collections along with some colored speckled pieces thrown in for good measure.

    3. In 5th grade, I won my school's spelling bee.  My mom tested me for months and the hard work paid off.

    4.  I enjoy traveling, road trips and weekend excursions.

    5. In April of 2006, I traveled with my family to Maui, HI.  It was the best vacation by far!

    6.  I eat mostly organic food, pasture-fed meats, and wild-caught fish.

    7. My favorite scripture verse: Philippians 4:6

I nominate the following blogs & not in any particular order: 

(I follow so many...this was a very hard task. If I follow- I like your stuff!)

1. Midge @ Havin' fun with Junk
2. Maryann @ Domestically Speaking
3. Janis @ junkdreams
4. Candy @ Junk Sophisticate
5. Lani @ Cottage Elements
6. Kim @ Twice Remembered
7. Susie @ From My Home to Yours
8. Linda @ 52 Flea
9. Sweet Melissa @ JunkFest
10. Linda @ Itsy Bits and Pieces
11. Donna @ Funky Junk Interiors
12. Rue @ Rue's peanut butter and jelly life 
13. Jessica @ Life As I See It
14. Karla @ It's the little things
15. Gail @ My Repurposed Life

Please check out these wonderful blogs...they each have their own expertise but most love to make something beautiful from junk, thrift store finds, forgotten antiques, vintage items, and other miscellaneous items...be still my heart!