Opinions please!

I just cannot leave good enough alone some times.....  The burning question is  Blue or White??? Which one should I go with?



How do you like the "B" in the wreath?

 And if you just think the whole thing is plain corny????   ummm maybe I don't want to know if it is corny..... Opinions please!

Another peak at my decorating progress....

While I know that not everyone will like the style or color.... I LOVE IT!!  I was going for vintage/shabby chic and I think I am getting the look I want!  It is getting there! So far I am happy with it!

See the monogrammed initials?

in case you are curious.....

What have I been up to?  Well I am knee deep in boxes.....  just to keep it real... here is what I am looking at...

And this is just the hallway upstairs!  I will take a pic of the downstairs on another day!  I have been busy putting up Rubbermaid Fast Track closet solutions the last couple of days.....  Give a girl a pair of these and look out!  They are much larger than they look!

Oh these babies are awesome you could cut just about anything off with these puppies!!   These have been around since my late husband and I put up the same kind of stuff in our home in Moline!  I will not part with these!!!  OOOP you just got a glimpse of my floor!!!! YESSIREE I love it!  WE sanded it then I put several coats of watererd down paint and sealer on the wood floors of our bedroom!  I had seen it done on another blog  http://laurieannas.blogspot.com/2010/04/bedroom-makeover-at-5th-place-and.html  I have always wanted to try this and why not?  It certainly fit in with the scheme of things!

While I was busy putting clothes away into our newly organized closets that are awaiting installation of bifold doors.... to hopefully be installed this weekend... here is what I have been up to.....



Mark's closet




My closet.... ummm yes that is a tub of shoes, I left my shoe organizer at my "other" house and will get it when I go get the stuff that wouldn't  fit into the u-haul!  The closet is a little deeper to the right that what you can see....


Yes, sorry but this is a long post.... then I have been dying to get a little bit of decorating done, so I decided after seeing the bragfest  http://www.bobbypinsboardwalk.com/2010/10/welcome-to-boardwalk-bragfest.html yesterday to make a wreath...... or two out of these flowers that I have been addicted to since the beginning of summer....







I think I will make another 50 flowers and go all the way around the wreath!

 

Did I mention I love this chandelier???

Nope, I am not near done decorating I have just begun, and have lots of ideas going through my head!



Terrific Tuesday....

It is a Terrific Tuesday except for the wind..... wow is it ever windy here!   I have been on the road a lot the last few weeks... (actually sometimes I feel like my whole life is spent on the highway) ;)   but in doing that as long as I am not driving I get a lot of knitting done!  So here are my latest road creations!!!  I love to knit, too bad I cannot drive and knit (no comments Kaye! hahaha) or wow would I get a lot done!  But... I do enjoy the times I am the passenger and can just get lost in my knitting!

Jaxton's baby blanket!



A neck scarf



AND FINALLY Jilane's purple hat!  She loves to wear hats and I have made her many of them as well as my other grandaughters, I normally put strings on the ear pieces but she likes to chew on them, and yes the hat is lined with fleece!  Since I have been making so many flowers and such for the little one's hair I thought I would put a fleece flower on her hat!

 Now I hope my battery charges up soon to my drill so I can finish putting up closet racks and such!!!!  Pictures will start appearing soon of our bedroom!

Sneak peak of our bedroom!

It has been crazy here.... Got moved last weekend then spent Monday and Tuesday finishing up painting our room... left Wednesday for a 4 day trip.... so to say the least we have not gotten any unpacking done! Here is a sneak peak of our room....How do you like the lighting??? I love it!

You can really see the ceiling texture in this picture!

Deep Breath!!!!

It was moving time this past weekend! I thought I had gotten rid of a lot of stuff.... but I think it grows when in storage!! We are trying to find places to put everything! Thankfully we had awesome help on both ends of our trip... Now I need to take a deep breath and know it WILL get done.... It Will!!! It will just take a little time to get it unpacked and find a new home for it all!

The U-Haul is almost empty.....

Thanks to all who found the time to help us out!

Master Bedroom Update

Mark has been working evenings this week so he can help out with crunch time.... we wanted the bedroom done so we can move my furniture in it when I move this weekend!  ( I have been helping Mark in the evenings folding for him at the shop)

I used beadboard wallpaper on the inside of the closets.... no one is ever going to see them but they will look better anyway.....

I think the ceiling looks great with the paintable wallpaper! The wall paint is blue mist from Valspar!  The floor is going to be a white stain! So here you go.... a peek at what we are doing.... anxious to get the woodwork painted that will make it pop!  Wait till you see what I am putting in for a light!!!

Thanking God for Wonderful Memories!

Today Gary and I would of been married 36 years! We had a wonderful life together and raised a couple of awesome daughters! I love this picture of us - it was taken at a family reunion at Riverside Park in Murphysboro, Illinois two months before we got married!

wallpapering the master bedroom ceiling

Don't get dizzy looking at this but we started wallpapering the ceiling with old fashioned looking ceiling tin wallpaper and it is going amazingly well!  Mark is helping me do this project as it would be rather difficult to do alone!

the big adventure

That is pretty much what Mark says life is like, a big adventure!  I am sure this remodeling thing has been a big adventure!  I spent last week in Robinson, thought I would include a shot of the front of my home there, my knock out roses were gorgeous!

I spent the week packing all my belongings..... it was tough because I also wanted to spend time with Amber and her family.... but I did manage to get a lot done! It was also tough because I loved my house there and when I moved into it I certainly never dreamed I would leave it so it was an emotional week!  I also loved being near Amber and my grandbabies!  I am closer to Jala and her family where I am at now... Too bad we cannot be two places at one time!

Sometimes life can take a turn when we are not expecting it and I am certainly glad that God put Mark into my life! 

Webster's describes loneliness aslone·ly adj \ˈlōn-lē\lone·li·erlone·li·est
Definition of LONELY
1a : being without company : lone b : cut off from others : solitary
2: not frequented by human beings : desolate
3: sad from being alone : lonesome
4: producing a feeling of bleakness or desolation

— lone·li·ness\ˈlōn-lē-nəs\ noun

 Loneliness is certainly not a fun thing to experience..... I had been alone for 6 years, 9 months and 22 days,   I could relate to all of the above at some time or other and wouldn't wish what Mark or I either one have been through on anyone!!

I don't think God intends for you to be alone.... if he did  he wouldn't have provided the sanctity of marriage.... and Mark and I were both true to our late spouses and know that in a heart beat we would bring them back if we could!

Ok now off of my soapbox.....Amber climbed up and got everything off the tops of my cabinets, Jo Jones came one afternoon and helped me pack and Julie Nye came and helped me fill some nail holes!  Thanks to all of you! 

I did make it home late Saturday afternoon and the wood floors downstairs are complete and boy are they beautiful!!! so I took a few shots of the three rooms with the wood floors!  The paint is all silver/gray tones from Valspar and the ceiling is Silver leaf, the walls in the two front rooms are Voyager, and the family room is drizzling mist..

While we were not neccesarily pleased with Joe's work ethics with a few minor issues the floors are just beautiful!

And while I was gone Mark worked on our bedroom!   The floor guy did sand our bedroom floor also!  I am so excited to start painting it tomorrow!  We are putting a ceiling tin looking wall paper on the ceiling and the walls will be a pale blue....

Where are we at with the remodeling???

The million dollar question.

Well it is Saturday and the floor guys are here working.. if they had worked this hard all week they would have been finished by now!  I know we had a couple of repairs and some fill in work to be done towards the kitchen but these wonderful clowns guys spent so much time driving to and fro that they spent more time on the road than they did here.... when you take a job 30 minutes outside of town you need to make sure you have everything you need when you come to work!   Some days they were here 3 different times but most of the days it was not for a long period of time because they would stop and run to town to pick up something..... So an hour here and an hour there sure takes away from a good day of work and when you don't start your day till 9:30 or 10:30 it really hurts.....  I know it seems that I have complained a lot.  What I have complained about is the lack of dependability........    But thankfully is seems to be coming together even if it isn't at the speed I wish!

Halloween Humor

I went down to Jala's today to help out with the kiddo's so John could go help with the harvesting.... Every time I go through the little town of Maquon, Illinois I have to laugh at this silly half of a mannequin in someone's landscaping in front of their home... They seem to be retaliating at the neighbors who have a concrete goose that they dress for the seasons.... Well these people have this lower half of a mannequin that they dress for the seasons.... I have vowed to keep my camera with me and take pictures every time I go through so I can share this scene with you!

Yes this witch appears to be riding a broom!

Robert this is for you!