Knock Off Wood

I'm so excited! While visiting Shanty2chic I found Ana @ Knock Off Wood. She is awesome! She makes awesome stuff and with her help I'm going to make some awesome stuff! Go visit all the awesomeness now!

I got problems.

So I have had several posts I've been trying to get posted for several days, but I'm having server problems. We store all our photos on our own server here at home and it's down right now. I'm unable to get to half the photos that I need to post. Boo!!

So instead I'll send you to some of the fun blog parties some of the fabulous ladies are having right now. Some people are sooo creative.

I hope to be back soon, like tomorrow maybe, I hope.

The duo at Shanty2Chic just had a I made it without my hubby party, and I'm getting so many ideas!

Frugal Home Ideas will be having a Paint Color Party and Giveaway on Jan. 22nd. I'm there, hopefully if my sever is working.

Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chic just had a Before and After party and will be hosting several more parties soon. She's one of my favs, calls her followers squeezies and makes me laugh.

These are only a few. If you follow some of the links you will find more parties. I LOVE parties how about you!

Home Is Where My Animals Are.

I'm a huge animal lover, always have been, always will be. About five years ago, before I had my kiddos, I worked at a veterianain clinic for five years. I LOVED that job, but had to leave due to office politics or lack there of. Basically, it was just chaos there and that's how the owners wanted it even after they were told by several employees that it was just awful. I mourned that job like crazy for a month or more. Sounds silly I know, but I learned so much there. Of course I brought home the sick and injured animals that no one wanted and they have made some of the best pets.

Pogo and Slinky

I know everyone's not an animal lover, my husband for one likes them but could live without them, like that's going to happen. Anyway, there are some draw backs, of course they shed, and there is the occasional  "accident" on the carpet, though those are few and far between here, because I will NOT tolerate that. I think they just make a home feel homier. I am more of a cat person, but I have dogs too. I love to enter someones home and see there big fluffy kitties resting in their favorite spot in the house. I love it when they saunter up to me for a head rub or plop in my lap.

Pogo my three legged wonder cat. He was a rescue from when I worked at the Vet clinic.

Click to enlarge

So to me when I think of home I think of fluffy kitties, or doggies that are happy to see you. A nice soft blanket to share with your pet. After a long or hard day the sound of my kitty purring on my lap comforts me.

What makes your house a home to you? Do you share your home with a furry family member? Do tell!

Foyer Makeover

It's actually not a full makeover, I still have a few things I want to do, but I want to show it to you anyway. As I have already said in a previous post, we bought our house new a year and a half ago. We were not necessarily looking for a new home, but when we saw this one it had almost every thing we were looking for. A contract had just fallen through and the builder was ready to get rid of it, we had to act fast because another couple had placed an offer as well.

With all that said I love our house, however there are some things that I didn't and don't love. One of those being pretty much all the light fixtures in the house and the wall color. Unlike the fixtures which I do hate, I don't hate the wall color but it's really colorless, if that's a word. I believe it's referred to as builders beige and in such a large home it was blah.

They foyer is pretty big. I think it's very nice, but could have been smaller, however I suppose because of the layout of the house it had to be this big because there is a bedroom on the other side of one of it's wall and a dining room we turned into a family room on the other.

This is the foyer in May 2008 a month or so before we moved in. Sorry about the darkness of the picture.

 The ceiling and the oh so lovely light fixtures. These nasty brass light fixtures are all over the house. Nice huh!

Here's a before picture of the table before I painted the walls.

 After

The new light fixtures look so good. They were my 13th anniversary gift. I couldn't think of anything that I wanted more. How romantic right!

I love the new look, but still have plans for it. I am going to move the large picture over the table to the side of the wall where the tin star is and get some sort of mirror for above the table. Probably add some other type of wall art as well. Of course, once that's done I will be sure to take more pictures. I hate to paint but love the results.

Christmas Letter Craft

My intentions have been update this site more regulary, however, as you can tell that has not happened. Life has gotten me all busy and stuff so I do what I can when I can and that's not been a whole lot lately. Here it is the day before Christmas Eve and I'm just now posting about this craft that I did at the beginning of December. Oh well, if you like it maybe you can get the materials during the after Christmas sales and make your own version next year.

I went to hobby lobby and got these paper mache letters. I think they were 2.99 each.

I had some white craft paint, so I painted the sides of the letters with that.

I then went to the scrapbook paper area and spent way too much time looking through all the papers. I selected my paper and used my letters to trace on the back side of the paper.

I did not make the tracing dotted, that's just how the picture turned out.

My paper was 59 cents each and I bought 6 sheets for the fronts of the letters only since the backs of mine would be hidden. You most certainly can do both sides though.

 I then cut out my letters, got out my Mod Podge and glued the paper to the letters.

 

Here's the end result.

Nester Holiday Tour 2009

Man have I been busy! We've had sick kiddos, sewer issues, I been painting and a whole slew of other things going on.

I'm back now and I'm ready to show you my holiday decor.

I would love to go all out for the holidays and decorate every square inch of my home, but several things prevent me from doing so. First, I have two three year old's who still want to touch everything. Second, it cost money and I know you can get super cheap, cute stuff at the dollar store, but that takes time which I don't really have because I have two three year old's. So until they are older I do the minimum, that makes me happy and that makes them happy.

So welcome to my home, come in and enjoy!

The front door, with my too short and slightly uneven garland. Next year I hope to get a longer garland and two light up trees or topiary for the front porch.

Just inside the door in the foyer or entryway, is this table.This room is also the room I painted last week. More on that in a later post.

 Just to the left of the front door is our family room. I'll also be showing you this room in a later post, it used to be a dining room. This is where out Christmas tree is.

I like that while sitting on the couch you can see the reflection of the tree in the glass doors.

At the end of the foyer is the living room. The fireplace book shelves have been a work in progress for as long as we have lived here, which is a little over a year. I didn't do much in the shelves this year, but I did dress up the mantel a little.

I did have the stalkings hanging down lower and I will move them there again probably on Christmas Eve. I didn't want the stalking hangers to fall on my kids heads, they are heavy and sharp, also we can't light the fire if they are lower.

To the right in the living room is the hallway to the boys' bedrooms.

This is Son#2's tree.

Here is Son #1's tree.

Thank you all for stopping by. Click over to the Nester to see many, many more beautiful homes.

Thanksgiving Day Hit

This year I didn't have to cook the full on meal for Thanksgiving. Instead we went to my Mother in laws and she cooked everything, but requested that I bring a dessert. I didn't want to bring a pumpkin pie or a pecan pie, though I love both, I knew both would probably already be there.

That's when I though of chocolate! Everyone loves chocolate right? I know I sure do! Anyway, I made a Chocolate Thunder Cake. It was a HUGE hit! The whole thing was gone and the only thing I brought home was the empty pan.

So I would like to share the recipe with you. It's very, very yummy.



Chocolate Thunder Cake

1 box German Chocolate cake mix
1 14 oz. Eagle Brand Low Fat Sweetened condensed milk
1 16 oz. Cool whip(can use low fat or no fat, it's still good)
2 8oz. Heath or Hershey Candy bars crushed
1 8oz. jar fudge ice cream topping

Bake cake in 9x13 pan as directed on the package. Let cool 25-30 mins. Poke hole in cake with wooden spoon handle. Pour sweetened condensed milk: spread evenly. Wait 5 mins. Spread fudge topping over that. Wait 5 mins. Spread cool whip over the cake then sprinkle with crushed candy bars. Chill thoroughly before serving

Makes 16 servings.

P.S. I've been digging out my Christmas stuff and will start doing post on those soon. I LOVE Christmas and decorating for it so I can't wait to show you some stuff.