a little green

I love, love Mrs. Meyer's "Clean Day" hand soap for the kitchen. My fav scent is Basil. It says it offers an aromatherapeutic (big girl word) scent - to revive the senses. I just think it smells yummy. All of their household cleaners have cute labels and colors on their packaging. That's what first attracted me to it.


I have been drinking green tea for the past year. I especially enjoy it iced. I brew a pitcher of it (using 5 bags) and put it in the fridge. I've tried lots of different brands. My fav is Celestial Seasonings with the Antioxidant Supplement. I understand why it's my fav as it was my Mom's too. She always had a cup of hot herbal tea in the evenings. Green tea has so many wonderful benefits.


I made cupcakes for my sweet 1st - 3rd grade Sunday School class tomorrow morning. Since Easter is next week (already!) I thought I'd decorate our classroom a little bit and bring them some goodies. Of course I made enough to have extra for the family. I left one out for our oldest son, Brandon (aka "B"). I like to have a treat for him to come home to - he works the night shift at Shakey's Pizza. He's the fry cook - makes all that delicious fried chicken and mojo potatoes! His fav color is green...so out came the green sprinkles.


Pic of the Day - Emma Joy at our friend's baseball game this morning. She had so much fun. She cracks me up! Last night she asked me "Mama? Does Jesus live in Mexico?" Out of the mouths of babes.

frames and hooks

When you run out of things to do with a frame, try this...I found the frames at Kohl's on clearance for $2.49 each. I've had the little hooks for years. Cute, huh! Emma likes to hang her hats on them.



Pic of the Day - Emma loves to surprise me with pretty flowers from our backyard. These were especially colorful! Maybe someday she'll understand just how much her sweet surprises mean to me.

brownies and a 4-year old

The mind of a 4-year old. My dear mentor friend came by for dinner and some chat time. She brought with her some samples of her latest creation - Samoa Girl Scout Cookie Brownies. Can I just say YUM! She outdid herself this time. Chocolate, caramel, coconut...oh my stars, so good.


Enter in...Emma Joy...from her play date with her girlfriend next door. Our convo went something like this.
Mama - "Emma, how was your play time?"
Emma - "Fun. Mama, can I have a brownie (as she stares at the plate)?"
Mama - "After you eat dinner."
Emma - "Oh, I ate at Cierra's house."
Mama - "Really...what did you have?"
Emma - "I had a hot dog and peaches."
Mama - before I spoke, I thought hmmm...Cierra's mom always calls me first if Emma is invited to join them for a meal. But Emma was so convincing - and those big brown eyes. "Yes, you may have a brownie."
Emma - "Thanks Mama!"

Some time had passed when I began probing a little more about the supposed dinner she had with her little friend. The menu suddenly got quite long and no longer convincing. Come to find out she fibbed. She didn't have hot dogs and peaches with them. The moment she came in and saw that plate of yummy brownies she came up with a story - wait until after dinner - no way! And how does a Mama discipline her after she's already had dessert?

Lesson learned.

pop of color

Now that I have a fresh, clean slate in my white kitchen how great would it be to play with a pop of color? That's the fun part of adding accessories to a room. I'm falling in love with turquoise lately.

For instance, my little turquoise chubby chickie from Target...



Or this oh so fab turquoise mixer from the Martha Stewart line at Macy's...


Oh wait, I already have a white one. Too bad these mixers have a lifespan of FOREVER! Hmmm...I might just have to hand mine down to my sweet little Sis to make room for a new one. A girl can dream can't she?

Candles are a fun inexpensive way to add color to a room. I saw some pretty votive holders at Cost Plus. Just change out the candles for different seasons/moods!

Pic of the Day - I adore chocolate. Especially cupcakes like this one. Home made frosting on anything and I'm in heaven. Chocolate frosting on fudgey brownies - ooh la la. When I was a little girl, we lived down the street from the "Hostess Man" - he was awesome. Knowing we had two little girls in our house, Hostess Man would leave little presents on our doorstep. Bags of miscellaneous treats. I loved opening up my lunchbox and finding a Ding Dong for dessert. I was the envy of the 1st grade lunch table.

a little bit of spring and kitchen re-do

Spring is in the air! I love this time of year. Birds singing and flowers blooming, fresh crisp air. I've just begun the Easter decorating around our house. Yesterday I went on the hunt for some cute things to add to our little home. Target has an abundance of plastic eggs, grass, and decorative bunnies. I picked up this cute little turquoise chubby chickie. Couldn't leave the store without him...he jumped in my cart. And the little nest with tiny eggs was sent to me by my SWEET friend in Oregon. Chickie found his home next to the nest. He seems to be saying "Mama, are you up there?" The white bird cage was a Good Will find for $4.99. Didn't need a paint job, just cleaned her up a bit. For now, she's sitting on top of the fridge.





Kitchen re-do. Well, we bit the bullet and decided to paint the kitchen cabinets. Being that we rent this house, we had to first pass it by our landlord. I thought she would be against it, but to my surprise told me I could "do what I want with them." Yippee! To Home Depot I flew to find the right shade of white. Yes, there are lots of shades of white. I ended up choosing Behr Antique White (eggshell). We applied 2 coats. On the walls I went just a shade darker and chose Behr Cottage White (satin). What a beautiful difference fresh paint made on our once very small dark kitchen. It instantly brightened the room up and made it look bigger. After the painting was done, something was missing. Hmmm...ah ha! The cabs looked bare. For some reason, the designers of the kitchens in our development decided not to put hardware on the cabs/drawers. This makes it difficult to open them and leaves grimey finger prints on them. Solution? New hardware! Back to Home Depot to browse the handle and drawer pull isle. I found the perfect match. Dark brushed brass handles for the cupboards and knobs for the drawers. Wow! Love it.





Pic of the Day - Long-haired middle son's 14th birthday celebration this month. Where does the time go? Seems like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital. What a sweetheart he is. So sensitive. My drama king. Our daily entertainment. He loves to make us laugh. Thank you, Lord, for blessing us with our son.

furniture face lift

Okay, so I've had the "painting" wild hair lately. I've been painting everything in sight. Once you jump on the painting merry-go-round, it's hard to get off. Not that I can't, it's just that I'm having so much fun watching the transformation without having to buy new furniture!

Hutch re-do. The hutch was handed down to me from my Mom. She had it for what seems like forever. I have memories of the hutch holding all of her pretties...and decorated to the hilt at holidays. I was so excited the day she called asking me if I wanted it. Want it? Of course! The problem? Mom lives 75 miles away and we do not own a truck. What's a girl to do now? DH saved the day - he and his trusty friend drove up and rescued the "green beast" (what he called it because it weighs a ton). Mr. hutch found his place in our dining room. No longer green, he sits proudly in all his black glory (used primer first. Then 2 coats of Behr Satin Black).


Entertainment Center re-do. This piece was originally in DH's house growing up. It's a mighty piece and VERY heavy, good quality dark brown wood. It has 4 sections of shelving. His parents probably paid a pretty penny for it. Well, DH's Mom moved into a condo and was downsizing. Finding out that she was getting rid of it, I quickly raised my hand and asked if I could have it. Thankful it could stay in the family Mom was delighted for us to adopt it. Our living room wall is not long enough for all 4 pieces, so we use 3 and the other one has been stored for some kind of future use. I decided to experiment with Behr Matte Black paint and went back over it and distressed it with a fine grit sand paper. Love the way it turned out.


Dining room Set re-do. Again...another piece handed down by family. This time I decided to try spray paint. Pleasantly surprised that it was so easy! Used Painter's Touch Black Satin. Primed first of course. Waited about an hour in between primer coats (very important step). The next project will be to recover the cushions. Would love to do them in an animal print!


Pic of the Day - meet "PJ" - our Maltese-Poodle puppy friend! He comes to stay with us when his family goes out of town. He's adorable. Always a gentleman and has good manners.

I heart zebra

I enjoy bringing a little zebra print into my life. It makes a great accent color to any room!

For instance, while perusing the isles at Home Goods (my fav store) I fell in love with this zebra chair. Unfortunately, after seeing the $299.00 price tag I had to keep walking. But then it dawned on me that I have two chairs sitting in my living room that I could re-cover. Hmmm...a project for the near future! (to be continued)

Speaking of zebra, I want to share a fabulous website with you - www.kraftology.com. My very bestest girlfriend Keri (also a Mom of 4) designs all kinds of cute stuff like journals, little note books, conversation albums, note cards, etc. She has blessed me with a few of her creations.

Like these two zebra print cuties...


The one on the left is the "Save the Dates" purse-size 2009 Planner and on the right is the adorably hip "Jungle Queen" Journal. You need to pop over to her site and take a look at her gallery - and treat yourself to one of her very unique goodies. Enjoy!