Tagged

Some info about me you might not know....

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Restaurant Busgirl (it's where I honed my cleaning skills)
2. Administrative Assistant
3. Wedding Planner (still am)
4. Travel Agent (still am)

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. "My Fair Lady"
2. "What About Bob" - random, I know. I just love it.
3. "The Sound of Music"
4. "Roman Holiday"

Four places I have lived:
1. Sugar Creek, Ohio
2. New Holland, Pennsylvania
3. Reamstown, Pennsylvania
4. That's it!

Four TV shows I watch:

1. The Office

2. Seinfeld/Everybody Loves Raymond/I Love Lucy reruns
3. Anything on HGTV & Food Network (well, almost everything)
4. 24

Four Places I have been:
1. Bermuda
2. Paris
3. Vienna
4. Haiti

Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Sheila
2. Jodi
3. Mary
4. Rachel

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Seafood: Shrimp, lobster, scallops, clams, yum!
2. Pretzels
3. Triple Chocolate Cake
4. My mom's Thanksgiving dinner

Four Places I'd rather be right now:
1. Hanging out with our friends Kent & Sheila
2. Shopping with my cousin Miriam
3. Relaxing at my parents' beach house
4. Eating pastries at a little cafe in Paris

Four things I look forward to:
1. Sum, sum, summertime!!
2. Working outside in my flower gardens
3. Adding another baby to our family (hopefully someday)

4. Next year will be our 10 year anniversary and we are taking a trip somewhere...

Now I tag Beth, Kara, & Janelle!

My Latest Finds

I thought I would give you a little tour of all my latest (cheap!) finds for the house.

I had some Christmas money that was burning a hole in my pocket, so I did some shopping this week and came away with some great stuff! (Sheila-I am ITCHING to go shopping with you!!!)

Here we go...

The wall clock - such a great find and made me smile for an entire day! I got it on clearance for $11 at Kirklands Home Outlet. Normal price is $50.

I thought this finial was a fun piece to put in the bookshelf. I got it on clearance at Target for $14.99.
I have been looking for the PERFECT lampshade and I found it!!! I got it at Ross (in Reading, Pa) for $7.99. Ross is one of my favorite stores for unique things at a very low cost. The lamp base was brass (I've had it for years) and I spray painted it black.

Cute little French rooster bookend for $3 at Ross. I use it for my cookbooks in the kitchen island.

I bought another apron from Ross to add to my collection - love the black & white design.

This is a garden sculpture I bought at Ross for - get this - $6!!! It's about 3 feet high and very heavy. I'm not sure where I'm going to put it yet. I think I'll paint it white and put the top piece inside - maybe on the fireplace mantel. When spring arrives, maybe I'll put it out in the flower garden.

Cute little French flower pot from Ross for $4.

I've been looking for pillows for awhile for the couch and I fell in love with these! They are silk feather pillows on clearance for....dun, dun, dun....$6!! Again, from Ross.

Aren't these shoes the cutest?! Again, from Ross for $12.99.
As you can see, you must make a visit to Ross if you have one close by! Bargains just make me all tingly with excitement! And I just have to share them! :)

Happy Friday!

Book Recommendation

If you're like me, putting makeup on is about the lowest thing on your priority list every day. But I came across this book (thanks to my sis) called The 5 Minute Face by Carmindy. She's the beautiful girl who does makeup for the show "What Not To Wear" on TLC.

This book is great if you are a low-maintenance girl who needs a little help in the makeup department. She has loads of helpful tips and explains how to best wear makeup step-by-step. She encourages women show show off their best features and not to cover your face with thick, fake makeup. Sounds great, right?

Here are some of her tips on saving money in the makeup department...

1. If you have a drawer full of half-used lipsticks, don't throw them away and buy more. Take a pillbox and dig out the lipstick colors and put them in each square. You'll have a great carrying case and palette to create new colors like the pros do.

2. You can use a great lipstick color as a cream blush. Choose lighter shades and blend on after foundation but before powder.

3. No need to buy one shimmer highlighter shadow for the eyes and another for the face. A single shade serves both purposes.

4. When your mascara is dry and not applying well, run it under hot water for 5 minutes. Good as new.

5. Brow gel is a waste of money. Use regular hair gel on a brow brush or old toothbrush for the exact same effect.

6. For a whiter smile, brush teeth with a bit of baking soda.

7. Instead of expensive facial scrubs, use a small handful of regular white sugar. Just lather up your face with a cleanser, then scrub in the sugar using your finger tips in small circular motions.

8. Q-tips work just as well as brushes. However, for really good, inexpensive brushes, visit your local art supply store.

9. Vaseline is one of the best eye makeup removers ever.

10. When your favorite shadows or blushes break, don't throw them away. Put the remains in empty film canisters and use them like loose powders.

(taken from www.carmindy.com)

Check it out!

Got a few extra bucks??

Well, if you have an extra $125 MILLION burning a hole in your pocket, you could buy this...

Courtesy of the swan-haired Donald Trump. According to HighStakesLiving.com, here's the house description: ("house" just doesn't really seem glamorous enough to fit the bill)

In 2004 Donald Trump purchased Maison de L’Amitie at a bankruptcy auction for $41 million and after $25 million in renovations has it on the market for $125 million. This custom designed 62,000 square foot oceanfront mansion is built on 6.5 acres and has 17 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, and 8 half baths. Highlights of this Palm Beach super luxury home include incredible ocean views, 100 foot long pool, hot tub, 2 fireplaces, fitness room, home theater, library, wine cellar/grotto, and staff quarters. Maison de L’Amitie also features 3 additional structures that include a 2 bedroom poolside retreat, 2 bedroom guest house and a 4 bedroom coach house, whatever that is. It’s an incredibly nice house but what in the world would you do with 17 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms.

I can't wrap my brain around 62,000 square feet!!! You have got to be a lot more than your average joe millionaire to live in this! Maybe an oil tycoon? Or a Saudi Prince? Or a billionaire businessman?




It's so HOMEY, dontcha think??

Fashion Break

Here's another installment of Oprah's advice on fashion. As you can see, I don't really focus on her shows on medical mysteries, politics, finances, relationships, whatever. Nah, I stick to the REALLY important subjects like CLOTHES, or maybe some CELEBRITIES, or the always lovable NATE and his serious decorating skills.

Her show today was on schlumpadink moms who need some help in the fashion department. (um, yeah, I watched this show as I laid on the couch wearing pjs that I still having changed out of and it 6:30pm. I guess I could use the help too...hey, I'm sure I'm not the only one out there!)

So, here goes...

BEFORE:

AFTER: (my favorite makeover - I thought she looked so cute and fresh)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

BEFORE:

AFTER: (I'm loving that short-sleeved tunic with the drawstring-so cute!)

BEFORE: (please tell me no one else out there wears overalls anymore!)

AFTER:

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Oh, and I just had to tell you - I made HOMEMADE gravy today!! I know, most of you are probably rolling your eyes and thinking that is SO not a big deal. Sorry, it is for me!

My chicken and noodles needed a little something extra tonight, so I called my mom and said, "It's an emergency! I need to know how to make gravy - NOW!" So she quickly told me, with every other word being said in Pennsylvania Dutch (similar to German in case you're not familiar - it's the language I grew up on and my mom uses it when she's in a hurry and can't think of the proper English words).

I'm not much of a cook, but now I can make gravy with my whole chicken!! :)

Nursery Projects & Photo Shoot

I think paint must be fogging my brain, because these days I just can't stop seeing improvements I could be making around the house! It must be a sickness.

Anyway, the latest improvements can be seen in little love's room. All the furniture in the room was either given to us or bought at a yard sale for teeny $. The changing table and crib match, but they are a not-so-attractive color and are a little beat-up.

Here's what the changing table looked like a few days ago. And you MUST excuse the room where I painted it. You can see why we call it the dungeon. However, having an unfinished basement is the perfect painting studio!


And here's the after!
The little cabinet on the right side of the changing table holds a trash can and I bought it at a yard sale last year for a few dollars. I also painted it to match the table. Next I have to work on the crib, which is a bigger project.


And here's a CUTE mirror I found a Pottery Barn Kids outlet (Rockvale Sq.) for $5.99!!! It was painted a yellow-ish cream and I wanted it white, so I spray painted it to match the other furniture. (eeek, I guess I should clean the fingerprints off it!)

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I did a little photo session with Avery on Valentine's Day...

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Soup Kind Of Day

Yesterday morning when I looked out my kitchen window and saw that it was going to be this sort of day
gray, dreary, wet, snowy...I decided it would be a good day to stay inside and make some soup.

So that's what I did. I've never actually bought a whole chicken (am I alone in this?? should I be embarrassed?? I feel like I should be...), but anyway, I bought a chicken and made Chicken Corn Noodle soup.

Here's the big fella...
and here's the end result. I made lots to freeze and although it took a long time to make, it was really easy.
PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH CHICKEN CORN NOODLE SOUP
1 Whole Chicken
4 Stalks of Celery
3 Carrots
2 Med. Onions
12 oz. Package of Frozen Corn
6 oz. Package Noodles
1/8 Cup Dried Parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste

Place chicken in large pot and cover with water; add salt and bring to boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 1-1/2 hrs.
Slice celery and carrots and chop onions.
Remove chicken and set aside to cool.
Add celery, carrots, corn and onions to pot.
Remove chicken meat from bone. Add meat to pot.
Bring back to boil and simmer 20 min.
Add noodles and parsley.
Bring back to boil and simmer for 10 min.
Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 min.
Add water or additional salt if needed.

Enjoy!

Gettin Ready to Run!

Avery loves to run around the house in my big-people shoes and it always makes me laugh! What is it about girls and shoes?? They just seem to be attracted to one another. Maybe she gets it from her mom?

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This old picture is of hub's mom and her brother. I think Avery looks a lot like her when she was a little younger. We can never tell who Avery looks like (although people say she's looking more like me), so it's fun when we find a family picture where we can see similarities.

(Photo taken around 1940)

Brunch With Fellow Bloggers

This morning I had brunch with some of my blogging buddies...Beth, Kara, & Janelle (who I had never before met in real life).

(left to right: Beth, Kara, Janelle (and baby Luke), and me)

We met at Janelle's home and she treated us to a delicious and fun morning! She has an adorable old house that I just love!

Thanks Janelle for a wonderful time! And the rest of you girls! :)

Photo Cubes

Here's a fun little project I did a little while ago. I bought some pre-cut 2" wooden cubes from Michael's (a craft store), painted them white, and decoupaged photos onto the blocks. For two of the blocks, I printed out words and decoupaged them as well.

It's a unique way of displaying fun little photos!

Memo Board Project

This is a memo board I made for my office. I love it and the best part is - it was FREE!!!

I used this gold frame that I had in my attic for years. It's pretty but not my style. So I painted it white.


My mom was going to throw out some cork board and I snatched it up before it hit the trash can (that's what got me thinking about making this).

I used the toile fabric that was leftover from a previous project and wrapped it around the cork board.

And, voila, a handy-dandy memo board!

Nursery Signs & Baby Love

I've been wanting to create a sign to hang in the nursery above Avery's crib for a while, and last week I finally found the perfect sized piece of wood down in our dungeon (the basement).

After begging Hubs to let me have it (he wanted to use it for something practical - what's THAT about??), he finally agreed to let me use it for ANOTHER project. I don't know if it's the weather or the time of year or what, but I am quite literally obsessed with doing projects in the house right now...and they all involve painting...every single one.

So anyway, back to the project at hand. I painted the wood white, then traced the words onto it, then used a highly complicated tool called a Sharpie to fill in the letters.

This was the easiest thing ever! If a project is hard to do, I'm just not interested. Maybe I'm lazy? Or just in a hurry? Oh, well, at least I'm getting stuff done, right?

I think I'm going to add some stars or something to hang around the sign yet. It doesn't look quite complete.



And I just had to show you what I found at Goodwill a few weeks ago. Someone else made it, so I didn't even have to do any work! Just had to hang it on Avery's door and it's done!


(For those of you who get bored by reading about baby stuff, you can tune out now and go visit another blog or go buy yourself a can of paint. I'll give you ideas of what you can use it for.) :)

Avery's favorite time of the day is bathtime...so fun! She started taking a doll into the tub with her (don't worry - the doll's made for water! I'm a good mom, really!). She's learning how to give baby a bath too.

Have a great super-bowl watching weekend girls!