Progress on the Guest House

I have to brag on my very talented husband! He is a banker by day, and a cabinet maker by night. (Or hardwood installer, or tile layer, or light hanger, or plumber, or stair maker…get the picture?)

My man can do it all!

He has made me some beautiful cabinets for our guest house. I want to share some pictures of the process we’ve made so far.

First of all, he went to Lowe’s and got lumber to make two open shelf cabinets. The small cabinet in the middle used to be over our stove in our house until we removed it and put a microwave in its place. It had doors on it, so he took them off and removed the wooden vertical bar down the middle.

He added crown molding on the top of each cabinet.

Then he painted them black.

For our bottom cabinets, we re-used some cabinets from an island we removed from our other kitchen. And my husband bought a cabinet from Lowe’s for the sink to go on. I wanted cottage style doors on the bottom cabinets, so he built me new ones with beadboard and trim.

Then he attached them to the cabinets and painted everything white.

Then for the fun part…it was time to put them up in the guest house!

Oh yeah, I forgot to take a “before” picture of my favorite part…the plate rack! Yes, he made that too! I love the look of a plate rack. (He has made the doors for the rest of the bottom cabinets, but just hasn’t put them on yet.)

One of my favorite blogs is The Lettered Cottage, and I got my inspiration for adding the corbels to the bottom of my black cabinets from that blog. I love the charm it adds to the cabinets. We got them from Home Depot for about $7.00 each. They make a world of difference!

To the left of the sink, I wanted some open cabinets on the bottom to put some wicker baskets in. So my honey made me some!

Those shelves will be painted white as well.

By the way, we picked the sink up at the Habitat Store for $7.00!!!!

It is a white, deep, double sink.

Here’s a different view.

As you can see, he has installed the Hardi backer board on the countertops to lay the tile on. We got a great deal at the Habitat Store on some tile to use in our back splash that I will be showing you soon.

As I am writing this blog, my guy is installing the tile countertops, so I will be sharing those pictures soon too.

I will also be posting pictures of a furniture re-do that I am very excited about too!!! Stay tuned…

Traci

Play Ball!

The baseball season officially started this weekend, and I was loving it. The weather was beautiful…mid 70’s.

I wanted to share a few pictures of the boys. Jonathan pitched his first game (just a couple of innings). He did pretty good, but was a little nervous. Plus, he had a cold. I was proud of him anyway! He played shortstop most of the game.

Jonathan on the mound.

Jonathan at shortstop.

Luke played catcher and pitcher (in the coach-pitch league). He had a great hit past the shortstop into the outfield and had a double!

Eli my 2 year old) is obsessed with baseballs, bats, helmets, and gloves. He thinks he should wear them throughout his brothers’ games. He also made a run for the dugout several times, and I am certain he was heading straight for the field!

I got him a plastic bat at the dollar store so he could take it to the games with him. I was afraid he might hit someone with the metal bat. He has quite a mean swing!

Now I can’t get it away from him. The bat now sleeps with him. He kisses the bat goodnight, and tucks it under the covers. I snuck in his room at nap time and took a picture. I swear he would sleep in the batting helmet if I would let him!

I didn’t get a picture of Adam at the ball field because he spent most of the game with a friend playing in the sand pile. But I do have this sweet picture of my little guy…

Oh, I love that kid!

Well, that’s all for now. I hope to have my goodwill chairs completed soon so I can post the pics!

Blessings!

Traci

bed giveaway at blissful home

For anyone interested... There is a great giveaway worth $1300.00 at Blissful Home. I entered it and I hope I win!
Traci

Name Plates

 

I have seen so many wonderful tablescapes as I have traveled through blogland, and it has gotten me thinking of how I can decorate my tables is special ways too. 

My boys have noticed a difference at dinner time because we have been using our cloth napkins a lot more, and even different glasses to drink from, and new centerpieces.  I’ve learned that it takes very little effort to make something a little more special.

Name plates are something that we usually think of using on special occasions. But I think they could be used for everyday meals with your family.  I think my boys would love to sit down at the table and see on their nameplates “Mama’s Allstar”,  or “Straight A Student”, or “Mr. Tuff Stuff”! 

I found a ton of real cute name plates online and I wanted to share a few.

These little clutch purses would be great for a ladies’ brunch.  (No need to invite that Paul Jones guy!)

                                   (hotref.com)

 

This is a more rustic type of name plate that could be made with circles of wood.

                                        (womansday.com)

And for all you nest lovers out there, this is an adorable name plate holder from MarthaStewart.com.

Now the reason I have been thinking about name plates is because I found the cutest set of 8 Porcelain butterfly nameplates from Goodwill for $5.00.

Here they are…

I just fell in love with these!  They are so dainty and colorful.  There are two of each color of butterflies.  They came in these two little antique looking boxes and are made by Shafford Designs.  I tried to research them online, but could only find that Shafford makes all kinds of beautiful China patterns.

I think they are antique because my mother-in-law, (who owns an adorable little antique shop in Eatonton, Ga.) said that pieces that were made before WWII did not have the words “Made In” on them.  Like “Made in Taiwan”.  And my boxes just say “Taiwan”.  So I don’t know, but I think they may be pretty old.

Here’s a picture of the boxes.

And when I am not using them on the table, I thought they would be cute tucked somewhere in the house with a bible verse or inspirational thought on them.

(This is a picture of Cy and I when we had only been dating a couple of months!)

While I was searching name plates online, I did find some similar porcelain name plates for $9.99 (set of 6) at Target.

You could easily purchase these and hot glue any type of embellishment you want on them, flowers, ladybugs, birds, etc.

Just a thought….

Thanks for letting me share!

Traci

OH, MY GOSH! OH, MY GOSH!

I cannot believe this! I won the $100.00 canvas print giveaway at 4 Reluctant Entertainers!
I wanted to win this so badly because I wanted a picture of my precious, adorable boys! (Yes, I'm a proud mama!)

This blogworld is the coolest thing ever! Thank you, Sandy, for an awesome giveaway! I love your blog and visit it everyday!

Yipee! Now I have to come up with a picture of the boys. I was thinking of something of them outside...

(Can you tell I'm excited? How many exclamation marks did I fit into this short post?)

Easter Fun at Aunt Sue’s

I LOVE my family! I have been blessed to grow up spending many holidays with my extended family. Every year we have an Easter Egg hunt at my Aunt Sue’s house. It’s LOUD, BUSY, and FUN!

My Aunt Sue is the oldest of five children, (four girls and one boy). She has a huge heart and loves creating a wonderful environment for our family gathering. The food is delicious, her house is beautiful, and the atmosphere is LOVE.

Below is a picture of the sisters, (left to right), my mom, Aunt Tassy, Aunt Sue, and Aunt Pat. The four coolest chicks in Kentucky!

I wanted to post some of pictures of her house. I love her decorating style. She has a antique store and always finds the cutest little pieces to decorate with. And since it was Easter, there were bunnies nestled in all sorts of places around her house.

I love the way she placed the red tulips underneath the glass.

All of the men were watching the Masters, of course. And rooting on our Kentucky guy, Kenny Perry.

There were even bunnies hanging outside in the tree!

The butter churners pictured below are Aunt Sue’s best sellers at her antique shop. I love them placed above her kitchen cabinets.

Now for the fun going on outside…

Luke’s basket is definitely filled to overflowing! Now he needs to hunt for his shoes…

(That’s Adam diving for an egg in the background to the right.)

Adam is a little less thrilled to show me his “bounty”.

Oops, Eli! Is it a little sour?

Time to check the eggs for any cash prizes, and waiting for Aunt Sue to come outside with more prizes for everyone.

I won’t even go into the difficulty of trying to get a family picture. Let’s just say it wasn’t easy! We did get this one at my mom’s right after church…not too bad!

IT WAS A WONDERFUL AND BLESSED EASTER!

Traci

P.S. There is a great giveaway at 4 Reluctant Entertainers for a free wall canvas from Online Printing. Check it out! I definitely hope I win this one! I want a big canvas print of my sweet boys!

Remembering…

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

Oh that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
(Refrain)

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.
(Refrain)

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.
(Refrain)

THANK YOU, JESUS!

Goodwill has done it again!

Okay, those of you who know me, know I love a good deal. I’ve been know as a “Garage Sale Goddess” in my past, but the last few years I have lost some of my zeal. First of all, it costs a lot of money in gas to drive around to a bunch of garage sales. Secondly, it’s not easy toting 4 boys around with me. They descend on garage sales like a pack of wolves! Of course they love to go with me because you can get A LOT of toys at a garage sale for a dollar. (Which is the amount I bribe them with if they will promise to be good!)

However, I have been inspired to get back into the “game” after reading so many wonderful decorating blogs with so many wonderful bargain ideas. Yard sale season isn’t in full swing quite yet (bad weather the past few weekends), but I have been enjoying my visits to Goodwill.

I have to show you my Goodwill tablescape!

It started with this pot of artificial grass I bought at Goodwill for $1.50. These are really popular right now, but I didn’t like the black pot. So I painted it white!

Then I found this beautiful Joseph Abboud tablecloth at another Goodwill. It is a tan cotton/linen on top, and the sides are made of white organdy. I fell in love with it, and the best part was it was only $2.00! Cha-ching!

My favorite find was a set of white plates! I have been wanting to find some white plates to put in our guest house, and today I got lucky. I found 7 dinner plates, 6 salad plates, and 6 cups and saucers at Goodwill for $9.50. They are Everyday China from Gibson, and they will look great in the plate rack my husband is making in our new cabinets!

Lastly, I got 5 green Pottery Barn cloth napkins for $1.25! Yes, at Goodwill. I used one for the centerpiece because my bird salt and pepper shakers (from Target) needed some color to sit on!

The stemware was given to me by my mom. I believe she got them at Wal-Mart. The silverware was given to me by my mother-in-law a couple of years back.

And the beautiful orange fruit cups used to belong to my husband’s grandmother. They are simply adorable, and I love whenever I get a chance to pull them out and use them.

So, not too bad, huh? (How’d I do,Mom?) A beautiful tablescape for less than $15.00!

Now I better go get this stuff off the table before one of the boys gets a hold of it in the morning!

Traci