WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES!!! ( And 30 bucks! )

YES!!! ONE DAY LATER... AND MY FIREPLACE LOOKS LIKE THIS....!!!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE....DID I SAY IT ENOUGH???????

INSTEAD OF THIS PLAIN JANE LOOK THAT IT HAD YESTERDAY !!!  

YAY! Love it!

AND IT COST JUST UNDER 30 BUCKS!!!  And let me tell ya...

By the Sea...by the sea.

North End Pier

Every time I go down to the ocean, God shows up! I live about 1 mile from the ocean. ( although I have to drive 5 miles to get access!). That's one of the reasons we moved from cold Northeast Ohio here to the beautiful ocean side city of Wilmington, North Carolina. We love it here! We've been here now just over 6 years. You can read about that journey here.
But back to the ocean. It is simply inspiring. I go there and I am truly amazed how blessed I am to live here. Every time. The city of Wilmington is surrounded by water and I am a water person. I don't mean for swimming or surfing. I mean it quiets my spirit. It is peaceful to me. And it reminds me

My New Curtains!

Impressions Curtains 

I LOVE these curtains I bought from Wayfair. Overstock carries them too. They're called Impressions and I love them! A lot! Only sad point is my daughter Jessica (we usually like the same) hates them! So am I wrong about how beautiful they are???? haha...
And why does my wall look so aqua-ish blue? Its not an aqua color hue at all it's actually a deep darker blue...hmmm...but it sure makes my beautiful curtains stand out!!  :)

Fireplace Mantel Surround

I can't wait! Tonight I am starting on my new fireplace "surround". My fireplace is very bland with just the wall above it. None of that beautiful white moulding. My daughter has an amazing white surround and crown moulding around hers and it looks beautiful. I always wanted mine to look like what I saw it pictures and then when she bought her house it definitely made me want it more! So, thanks to the internet and Pinterest ideas...... It starts tonight. :)

HERE'S THE BEFORE....

STAY TUNED FOR THE AFTERS TO BE PUT UP HOPEFULLY TOMORROW.... 

AND YOU CAN SEE THE AFTER HERE

RE: A SEASON IN TIME

I follow a lot of blogs. Mostly lots of DIY blogs and a few that aren't. One that I follow is called "Right on the Mark". I love how he writes about the Lord. I thought this particular blog was worth passing on to y'all to read. :)
Please enjoy!

http://right-onthemark.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-season-in-time.html

Transitions....

SO THIS IS WHAT MY FAMILY ROOM LOOKS LIKE NOW.....

When we bought the house back in October 2007 the walls were barren white and the floor was ugly  uh..not very pretty. Sorry just not my cup of tea! And the furniture was just a mish mosh of different things. It's a good size house so I am still working on it. This room has gone through so many transitions and different looks but here is the beginning and then.... 


 AND THEN WE DID THE FLOORS.....

WELL MICHAEL WITH MAD HOME IMPROVEMENTS DID......

 AND THEN WE HAD NEW FLOORS....AND IT LOOKED LIKE THIS!!!

THIS IS HOW IT LOOKS NOW! I LOVE MY NEW DRAPES, NEW FLOORING AND THE COLORS....IT STILL NEEDS LOTS OF TWEEKING BUT IT IS NOW A ROOM THAT FEELS COMFORTABLE AND INVITING...

THE ONE THING I DESPERATELY NEED IN THIS ROOM IS A RUG AND I CAN'T MAKE UP MY MIND ON WHAT I WANT SO THAT'S IN THE WORKS. DO I GO BLACK? DARK CHARCOAL GREY? LIGHT GREY? YELLOW WOULD BE GREAT BUT I HAVE DOGS SO..........

A CLOSE UP OF MY NEW "IMPRESSIONS" DRAPES (that I spent way to much on- but then I found them on overstock for a good price too) AND THE FIREPLACE THAT WAS IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP. :(

BUT WE FIXED IT!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SEE HOW WE DID IT...HERE   STILL HAVE WORK TO DO ON IT. I REALLY NEED TO FIGURE OUT THE DECOR FOR THE MANTLE.  THATS IT FOR NOW. I WOULD LIKE TO EVENTUALLY DO SOME CHAIR RAIL AROUND THE ROOM.....

HILARIOUS VIDEO - HAUNTED HOUSE AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

Ok this is time appropriate with Halloween coming and I have to admit....yes I love the Walking Dead show! I never thought I would like a show about Zombies. It's really not something I usually would but I watched with my husband and I got swept up. The Zombies are secondary to this group of close knit people who are just trying to survive in a crazy world that's been turned upside down. Again, I just love it! And although I don't watch Ellen, (no TV during the day is my rule!) I really think she's funny. So with her humor and the theme of the Walking Dead, this video is hilarious. I laughed till I cried. Seriously, and then I watched it again and again and laughed and laughed! HILARIOUS!!! And you don't have to be a fan of the Walking Dead or Ellen to watch this. The guy trying to not to be scared in a haunted house at Disney is just HILARIOUS!!!!!

Take a look!  I put 2 links because this is so funny that in case one doesn't work I want you to be able to get to it! Make sure ya hit your back button afterwards and come on back!

http://www.today.com/entertainment/ellen-degeneres-freaks-out-staffers-sending-them-walking-dead-haunted-8C11451970

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=208728115975710&set=vb.100005155690229&type=2&theater

You are beautiful!!!

To all the ladies out there....just in case you didn't know or if you have forgotten how amazing you are.......please click on the link below and watch this video as a reminder.  :)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151596857991831&set=vb.110153655727666&type=2&theater

Misleading online pictures...

So......how accurate are pictures online? Not very! lol...
I am still tweeking my new kitchen redo. Adding some grey and yellow accessories. So I ordered a rug online from Overstock.com  (I love that site!). But as with anything online it appears different on your screen than in person. The picture online of the rug could only be enlarged so much, so it didn't show the detail of it. Overstock has a great return policy and they make it very simple so I can return it if I chose to. What I have come to learn is read the reviews!!! If you take the time to read several of the reviews you will find that most people will comment on the color or design enough so that you can gather from what the true look of the product is.
So here's what I saw online and ordered.... (pic to the left)

and then here's a close up of what it actually looks like....

Look at all that detail. Which in most cases in great. But I kinda liked the "muted" grey look of it online. I thought it was more of a grey checker board but its VERY defined and has a somewhat charcoal grey color to it. And each square has lots of detail in it. 

Here's another view..

Alas, even my picture is a great example of how "off" colors can look. My cabinets look white here when in fact they are a much darker blueish blue grey. You can see them here.  Definitely not white. So just a lesson learned. But I like the rug regardless and I think it's staying. Because actually the rug I liked (the one in the first  picture) doesn't really exist as it looks in the picture so.... :)

Garlic Chicken and Pasta Casserole

So check out my Garlic Chicken and Pasta Casserole under the Recipes page above! This was made for a large group of 40 or more but I downsized it for ya here! lol...

September 11, 2001

I was gonna write a blog today about my feelings and memories of that horrible day so long ago...
but no words come to me....

A day in the life of a bee..... :)

IT'S A BEE!!!

Those three little words from your child that can spark terror and chaos in a car driving 50 mph down the road.

IT'S GONNA STING ME!!

Just ignore it. We'll stop in a minute.

I CAN'T! ITS GONNA STING ME!

Well then just smack it!

I CAN'T- IT'LL STING ME!

Well it won't if ya smack it. It'll be dead.

STOP THE CAR!!!

Stop yelling! Just kill it or ignore it.

NO!!!! STOP THE CAR!

I can't stop the car, we're in the middle of traffic!

IT'S GONNA STING ME!!!

It won't if ya stop swinging at it....roll your window down.

I CAN'T....IT'S GONNA STING ME!

Oh for pete's sake, roll your window down.....
Did it go out? 
Where'd it go? Where'd it go? 

Wh..there it is! Stop! Don't fling it at me!!! I'm driving! JUST KILL IT!

NO! IT'LL STING ME!

Stop it! Stop flinging it at me- I'm driving! Stop it!

Oh my gosh, I'm pulling over. Don't swat at it! Stop swatting at it! Stop it! Ok, Get out of the car!

NOW WHAT!?

I don't know. It's just flying around in there. Shoo it out.

YOU SHOO IT OUT!

Where'd it go?

OH LOOK, IT FLEW OUT! I THINK IT FLEW OUT...YEAH I'M SURE IT DID

Get in the car! Quick!
DID IT FLY OUT FOR SURE? WHAT WAS THAT!!???!
.

Life without them....

I grew up in a small town in Northeast Ohio. Right on lake Erie called North Madison, Ohio. After graduation I moved away.  A whole 2 or 3 miles from the edge of Madison to our football rival's town right next door in the small town of Geneva. Lol...that's as far as I went. All my life was spent within a 5 mile radius of Madison and Geneva. I grew up there, married there, divorced, remarried. My kids were all born there. They grew up there. My first grandchild was born there. My mom, my sister and my brother and his wife live there and all their kids and grandkids live there. We all stayed. Until 2007, when I moved over 700 miles away and started a new life.

Who is that woman in the mirror? Reflecting....

The other evening I was putzing around the house straightening up before bed. I like getting up to a clean house, so I go around the house in the evening and clean up the days mess, load the dishwasher if there is anything to load, etc. I was at my entrance table putting things away (it seems to be the place where things get dumped) when I glanced up.

I have a mirror there. Its about 6 foot high by 4 foot wide (hung vertically instead of the usual horizontal view). Its huge and extremely heavy. It belonged to my mom. I can remember it from my childhood back at least 30 some odd years ago. It was much bigger then and I had it resized years ago. Something I regret now. ;) My mom gave it to me long ago and I had it framed and its beautiful.

The light was dim, with only my Scentsy warmer burning on the table under the mirror, so there was a glow in the mirror with soft lighting flowing from it and bouncing off the sides, reflecting back and forth off itself. My front door behind me was open and although it was night time, some light was also coming through the door behind me. It made the mirror look even more beautiful. It was like the illusion of looking into water with only moonlight shining down on you. The tree leaves blowing in the breeze outside reflected through the door and made the light move. -Kind of surreal.

The odd thing is the reflection I saw.....

A DECORATING "FIND"

OH MY GOSH! Did you ever see something in a magazine like Pottery Barn, or Pier 1 that you just loved and then looked at the price and........whoa!! Ridiculous! Well I found a website that teaches you how to DIY all those great things we see and want at the pricey stores. All for about penny of the cost. And it's actually a lot easier than you think. And some of the people sell there "knock offs" a lot cheaper. This site tells you how to do it or directs you to another blog that does. I love it! Check it out...
http://knockoffdecor.com/