Patience is a Virtue

Patience is a virtue...that was an important part of our Brownie investiture ceremony every year as we told the Brownie story. And now, oh so many, many years later, I have learned the true meaning of this statement!

I don't know about you, but once I decide to do something-and the deciding process may take me awhile-I want to do it. Now! Yesterday if possible...lol. In any case, that is how it was with those darn snowmen ornaments I saw everyone making. I truly don't know what about them spoke to me, but something did and I was off to get supplies.

If you are a regular to this blog, you will remember that even after searching all of my local Dollar Trees, these snowmen were NOWHERE to be found. And that is how it seemed to continue as so many people went online bemoaning the fact that try as they might, they could find nary a one.

I had a few other errands to run today, as well as an award ceremony to attend, so I thought while I was out and about I would give it another go.

I hit two of my local stores with no luck but I just had a feeling...and, sure enough, in store #3, there they were. While I was there, I gathered up some other goodies to help me finish them up. I am heading out of town soon and will be gone for awhile but when I return, I will waste no time getting going on these cuties. Can't wait to see how they turn out. I have seen them done primitive style, vintage style and traditional. Not sure which way I will go. So many options...so little time. I should have bought more. Lol Stay tuned.

Finishing Up

I'm heading out of town next week and I'm not sure how long I will be gone-definitely through Halloween-so, I thought we'd better get this decor tour finished up. There's just a bit left. The sunroom has a few things but, again, since the kids and I use this room so much, I have been keeping it less decorated so there is less to move when "life happens".

This is one of my few new Halloween treasures this year. It is a pillow cover on a down-filled form. The fabric is kind of nubby and, for some reason, it just spoke to me. I am only buying decorative pillows with covers these days as then, when a holiday is over, all I have to store is the cover and the pillow form can move on to the next holiday's group of covers. And, I am trying to only use down filled forms-they are so much cozier!

I also like to decorate the guest bath.

And, just because I love holidays so much, I always give at least a nod to the current one in my bathroom. Not a lot but just enough to make me smile when I walk in.

I usually go all out in decorating our three guest rooms but, since this year we aren't doing the big, family Halloween party weekend at my house, I decided to just put out a few little things for when the kids are here.

So that is it for Halloween 2019 decor. I'm not sure what I will be doing to stay busy before I leave but if I get into anything fun and want to share, I will be back. If not, I know there will be tons of photos I will want to share when I return of my wonderful time in St. Pete. They really know how to do Halloween in the Old Northeast where daughter #1 lives. It is a magical place to be on this holiday. Can't wait to share! Stay tuned.

Not All Ideas Are a Success!

It is only Wednesday and this week has been a bit of a failure in the world of crafts and decorating. Nothing major, mind you, but not totally successful...at least so far.

Every year I try to make a handmade ornament to give as a gift to family and friends. I probably over think this every year but I am a bit fussy about what I chose. I have seen a particular snowman tutorial popping up all over the internet and I finally thought of a way to do them that I would enjoy. And so, excited about the prospect, I headed off to buy the supplies.

Wow, did I under estimate the power of the internet...and crafters! This idea has been on many, many sites and in every case, the crafters have mentioned where the supplies were bought. A lot were from the Dollar Tree. I have four stores relatively close to my home and was sure I would find what I needed in one of them...I was wrong! And, of course, the one thing missing was the snowman form itself so, no ornament without that. Guess its back to the drawing board. An employee did tell me to keep checking because they are continuously restocking so we shall see where that goes.

My other possible fail is happening today. I have wanted to have some open shelving in my kitchen for awhile. I actually thought of having a set of cabinets removed and shelving added. Unfortunately, with the way my kitchen is configured and the how moldings and decorative trim flow together, this would have been a bigger project than I could handle myself-which also means a much more expensive project than I was willing to do at this time.

But, somehow, that idea would not leave my brain and I was constantly on the lookout for metal brackets that would fill the bill. But, unfortunately again, the only place I could do this would be at the end of the kitchen and all of the brackets I could find had too large a projection.

But, I guess I tucked that idea back in the corner of my brain...and, to my surprise, somehow an ad for a wood shelf with metal brackets scrolled across FB or Yahoo yesterday. And, when I checked the measurements, it was EXACTLY perfect. I failed to mention that is also a very narrow space.

In any case, the shelf was from Hobby Lobby and, since they were on my list of stops yesterday, I decided to see if the store had them in stock...which they did.

I will admit, it is not the "classiest" shelf I have ever seen but the size was perfect...as was the price. It was $24.99 but I had my 40% off coupon so I grabbed one. Since I put a lot of seasonal signs in this area, I thought I should keep it at one shelf leaving a tall space to prop the signs when needed. This is the shelf I saw online...and I loved it.

In person, the color was a lot more gray white washed and they were all pretty nicked up. But, that never bothers me as I know I can simply put on a coat of stain and that will change the color as well as fill in the nicks.

The thing I love the most about this shelf is that even though it looks like it has those separate brackets, it really doesn't, so hanging is simply a matter of putting in two nails or screws and hanging the shelf on them. That in itself is so much less work than mounting the brackets and then mounting the shelf to them.

When I held the shelf up, I did realize that it will cut off the light to the top of the wall coming from the lamp on the desk. Right now, I think I will be OK with that but we will see. Quite honestly, if I hate it, I can take it down and will only have two small holes to fill in.

And so, I got ready to start. As I looked for the stain, I could not find my favorite dark walnut. I knew it was in the garage somewhere but I couldn't find it. And so, being the very patient person that I am (wink wink), I grabbed the pecan stain. I knew it really wasn't what I wanted, but, oh well. Of course, as soon as I was finished re-staining and went to the garage to put away the pecan, what is sitting right in front of me but the dark walnut.

I was ready to re-stain but decided to see how the pecan looked knowing I just have to slip the shelf off of two nails if I want to darken it at a later time.

Once the stain was dry, I couldn't wait for my "easy" assembly. But, as soon as I went to hold it up to determine height, I realized there would be at least one issue. The right side screw would probably be going into the metal trim that protects the corners on sheetrock. I got out my drill and got through the metal fairly easily but then ran into something that I could not get through. Because I'm not sure what all will sit on this shelf over the years, I decided to use anchors and screws. Of course, the anchors I have are the screw in type and now too long to fit into the very shallow hole I am left with. No problem, I simply snipped off the tip and got it in. The screw on the other side was just a bit difficult because it sat so close to the edge of the cabinet but I prevailed.

The shelf is now up...and level...so I am happy. I'm not sure I hung it low enough but, if I decide to lower it in the future, at least I now know all of the tricks. And, I got a pleasant surprise when I hung the shelf. Because the bracket holders sit out a bit from the wall, the light actually has a spot that it can shine through and the wall isn't as dark as I anticipated.

If you're still here, I am in awe of you. Even I got bored reading this loonnnggg post about one tiny shelf and a failed craft idea. But, this blog is mostly a journal of my life. I do it so I can remember the good, the bad and the ugly. Sometimes, it all comes together...sometimes, not so much. Such is life. Stay tuned-I dare you. Lol


 

Halloween Family Room

I actually have a bit of time today after my very busy but very fun weekend. Since we have a little of the tour left, I thought I would take you to one of my favorite rooms in the house today-the family room. I think I love this room so much because it is where I sit in the evenings so the candle glow is just so calming and, maybe most of all, it is where the majority of my family Halloween photos are. I do have pictures all over the house but the ones in here really take me down memory lane as I see the kiddos growing up right before my eyes and I remember all of the costumes I have made for them. I seem to spend a lot of time looking at these pictures several times a day.

I'm not sure why orange/rust colored battery candles are so hard to find. I found some last year at Lowes and headed straight back there this year to buy more only to find my stores don't have them. And then, somehow, I saw a FB ad for a set of my favorite Luminara candles. Even though these candles are a bit lot expensive, they are truly the ones that look the most real. I wasted no time ordering a set of six and as soon as they got here, I knew I wanted more. I headed right back to QVC and they were sold out...as well as some orange candles from Martha Stewart-which, I have never tried but since anything with her brand that I have purchased over the years always is very well made, I suspect these would be as well.

And so, it looks like I am out of luck this year but I will be the first one purchasing them if they get more next year! I can seriously sit and stare at these candles at night forever! And, no, I am not getting compensated by Luminara to say that. Lol

Do you see what keeps me so busy in this room? Not only are both sides of the entertainment center full of family photos but the corner shelf and the shelves next to the fireplace as well. So many memories...and every year we are still making more so that means more pictures and more frames. I am seriously running out of room. Guess I'll just have to build more shelves.

I don't know why I love that witch hat photo holder so much but it is truly one of my all time favorite crafts. I don't even know if you can still buy the supplies. The girls and I shaped the hats out of black, air dry clay. Before it hardened, we twisted up some copper wire and stuck it into the hat. When it was all dry, we added the ribbon band and star. It was just that easy but I love it!

 

This is my view at night. I truly never get enough of it!

 

So, that is this year's family room. Thanks for coming along! Just a bit more to share so stay tuned for the next post.

More Memories Made!

Another Halloween weekend at Nana's is in the books. We have been doing these holiday weekends ever since our first grand child was about 2...so, 21 years! The grand kids-and we now have 7-come for all sorts of crafting, baking, cooking and game playing fun. For many years, it was all seven of them but, alas, as the four oldest are off to college, new careers and relationships, etc., it gets harder and harder to get them all here-especially if we are going to all get together for the "real" day. And so, I am happy with what I can get. Luckily, the three youngest live in the same town, so they have been the ones coming the last few years. I will say, I am not taking for granted that Harrison, who is 14 1/2 and in H.S., is still willing to come and add to the excitement.

This year, we had to fit in a football game right in the middle of the day, so I chose our activities and meals accordingly. And, daughter #2 came down to add an extra set of much needed hands.

Every one of these weekends has started with the witch pictures. I love to look back and see how they have gone from babes in arms to almost being too tall to fit under the arch.

Since the boys had to be at the football field early, Presley came over to get a head start on dessert. She is a good little baker and truly did this cake all on her own with her aunt and Nana as her sous chefs.

And, as usual, she had to give it the old quality control test.

After the cakes came out of the oven, the girls headed to the field. It was a picture perfect autumn football day...and, the Wildcats got another win, so a good day all around.

After getting everyone cleaned up, we were off to our first craft-the reverse tie dye that I last posted about. The kids really got into this and it worked perfectly!

 The hardest part of this whole thing was deciding when to "call" it and plunge the shirt into the water to stop the bleaching progress. They all chose pretty well and we ended up with orange instead of the "mud" color I read it could go to so quickly. 

Once the shirts were done and soaking in the vinegar rinse, each of the kids was assigned a task for our dinner prep. Presley, of course, was going to finish up her cake.

Hudson stayed busy making the eyeballs for all of our mummy and spaghetti concoctions.

This one is feeling pretty good about herself-and, rightly so. She did a fabulous job.

Harrison was in charge of making our salad spooky.

Our dinner consisted of meatball mummies...and I use that word loosely. Lol...

...spooky salad...

...eyeball spaghetti...

...and, cheesy garlic bread mummies and spooky trees (broccoli).

I think Presley may grow up to be a food stylist. Here is her very balanced plate.

She could hardly wait for the big moment.

Three, two, one...

Ta-da! We did swap out milk for water, melted butter for oil and added a splash of vanilla to the box mix. And, I will have to say, there was none of that box mix after taste that makes me never want to use the boxes. This is definitely a hack I will use again.

After dinner, we always love our Minute-to-Win-It games. This year we added a few new ones as well. This one is called Cookie Face and requires one to start with a cookie on his/her forehead and maneuver it to his/her mouth without benefit of hands...or anything else.
 

It definitely provided Aunt Key with some questionable photo ops. Lol

Oh my!!! With my big mouth, one would assume I would win...and I almost did. I got that Oreo right to the corner of my mouth when I just started laughing and Harrison took the win!

We also strung ziti pasta on spaghetti strands held in our mouths...not as easy as one would think. And, again, some silly pictures.

I'm not sure what was going on on that side of the table. While the rest of us were lucky to have three or four, Becky got almost every one of her candy corns standing on end-with none of the fudging that may or may not have gone on next to me. Lol

The kids were pretty happy with their shirts and even Harrison said he would wear it...IF, I didn't get upset if he cut off the sleeves so his arms (I think to be interpreted as "muscles) could show. Ha ha.

Since Presley was off to an overnight at the beach with a friend, we kept Sunday breakfast fast and simple...Halloween pancakes with black syrup and whipped cream ghosts.

Our last craft was an easy favorite-painted mugs.

We got quite a wonderful variety of designs.

This was the last one Presley made-totally out of her imagination. Kind of put the rest of us to shame. Since her name and the date are on the bottom, I'm guessing that is her hint that this one will go home with her.

This is always one of my favorite weekends of the year-although I think I just might say that about every holiday weekend at Nana's. Never-the-less, we made it through and now have even more wonderful family memories.

I have more decor to share so stay tuned.