So before Thanksgiving I got an itch. I wanted to change the window treatments in the family room, but I had a small problem - I didn't know how I wanted to change them. I knew I wanted something casual and relaxed, but I also wanted it to still be a little formal. Not totally formal, but a little eensy bit formal. So I took a couple of months to think about it.

Then on a trip to Hancock I found the 'perfect' fabric. Only it wasn't as perfect as I thought it was. I mean it is perfect because it has all of the right colors but the background was the color of a natural linen. The fabric was more perfect for summer curtains (do you see the foreshadowing of a future post here?), and it would not match the curtains I wanted to alter. The curtains that were up in the family room were originally from our master bedroom. They're just a woven chocolate brown. Really nothing to write home, but oh the potential of these panels.

The winter mantle is still up in these pictures. Kind of tells you how long ago I took everything down.

So on another trip to Hancock I found even more perfect fabric. This fabric has all of the right colors, but its background is a terracotta color. Now both fabrics were paisleys but the lighter fabric was more spaced out and a bit more modern, whereas the new winter fabric is a bit more traditionally spaced for a paisley. Either way I love them both. 

So now that I have my new winter fabric, it was time to take down the curtains in the family room and get them washed. I also took down the valences. I did have a wee bit of trouble with the drill and the said taking down of window treatments. It might have had something to do with the fact that I decided to do this task after midnight. Ooops. I wish I could say this was the end of our problems, but alas...its not.

 Of course hanging my new curtains couldn't be easy. I had originally intended to have these curtains hang just above the floor because I did not want dogs and small children furring them up and playing with them. Only when we went to hang the curtains (3" down from the ceiling) we discovered that there was a metal beam in the wall that ran the length of the room and there was no getting any hardware mounted there. Le sigh. So We ended up having to move everything down 3-1/2" and dealing with the fact that the curtains will puddle slightly. Not such a big deal, but the 3-1/2 hours it took to get these curtains up was a pain. The curtains are up now and looking oh so lovely, and completely all the work put into them and the wall. There were a lot of holes to patch.

 I am loving how sweet and simple these curtains are looking. I'm also looking forward to altering the summer curtains, but I have some time before I need to do that. :) I hope you guys enjoyed today's tute and have a terrific day! Tomorrow I'm going to share just exactly how I altered these curtains. I hope  to see you tomorrow!
 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: There's a fine line between laziness and creative genius, and I like to think I walk that line every day. This week is no exception. This week was all about quick fixes and simple tricks. You know what the best part is? These will save you money! I wish I knew how to make that last sentence flash green and gold because that's something we all want, right? To save where we can without sacrificing too much time or energy. Can I get an amen from all the moms out there?



Simple Trick #1: Charity Hot Chocolate

Who likes supporting local schools? Who likes chocolate? If you said no to either of those questions...well...I wouldn't go fessin' that up to anyone if I were you. Anyhoo, one of my co-workers brought a huge box of chocolate bars into work a while back. The bars cost $1 each and the proceeds went to her daughter's school. Who can really say no to that? No one apparently because I ended up with three bars, not all of which I bought. I bought one for me and one for Mike. Then one of our sales guys bought all of us girls (my whole department is female) a bar. Here's the issue: I don't really eat chocolate bars. Not because I don't like them or because they're not amazing, but I;m just not really a candy person. I may have candied myself out as a kid. So the bars have sat on the half-wall next to the kitchen for a while until I had an epiphany this week. If I made all those little chocolate spoons, why couldn't I just use hot milk to melt down the candy bars? So I heated up some milk, broke off some chocolate, and let my little chocolate pieces go for a swim. They melted down really nicely with a little stirring and it was delicious and rich. This works for my next simple trick too.

I started with a dark chocolate and almond bar (you'd be surprised by how much bits of crunchy almond improve regular hot chocolate) and still have these two plus a Toblerone.

Simple Trick #2: Choffee

People, don't misunderstand me, I looooooooooooove me some Starbucks and Fido's and Frothy Monkey and Portland Brew and all those other great coffee places. I am not conveniently located near any of those places, though, so I have to get my fix on my own. My parents actually created this concoction. Basically you mix hot chocolate with coffee in whatever porportions you prefer. Instant mocha! And it doesn't cost you five bucks.

Don't you love my mug? It snowed here again, so the little snowman is really appropriate. I just use instant coffee, but you can use espresso or whatever type of java you prefer.

Simple Trick #3: Frozen Leftovers

Remember that pumpkin oatmeal from last week? I mentioned that Mike wasn't really a fan of the pumpkiny oatmeal extravaganza. That left me a lot of pumpkin oatmeal. Time to bust out the plastic wrap and break into the freezer.

The thing to remember with freezing is shape and portioning. You can freeze a lot of something at once if it's flat (no well-protected inner middle) or you can freeze little portions. I went with little portions for my oatmeal. When I want a bowl, I just pick one out of the freezer and heat it up.

I used this little leftover container to portion out my...portions.

Then it went onto a piece of plastic wrap...

...and into the fridge. I now have about ten, little pumpkiny pucks in there just waiting to be eaten.

Simple Trick #4: Brinner

Many thanks to Zach Braff and the writers of Scrubs for this fabulous concept. Breakfast for dinner is a great way to save money and a really fun way to mix up your dinner routine. Plus, you can do brinner however you want. Pancakes, eggs and bacon, cereal, whatever. We just did brinner tonight, which used a recipe I will feature next week. Till then, make use of simple tricks and save some time and money.

So remember yesterday's tablescape and I had warmed up to the heart shape. Well.....I think I've warmed up a bit more. :)

What do you think? Would you like a closer look?
Yep, those would be two hearts. I finally got my double wreath too! These wreaths were simple enough to make. I just glued some of the same flowers from the mantle to opposite sides of the top of the hearts and then took some fabric that I had and used that to tie the wreaths together and add a small bow to the top of the wreaths. What's funny about this fabric is that I made a banner out of it as well and then decided that I didn't like it. :) I still have the banner. I made it too long as well. It's like 9 ft long. Maybe I should give the banner away...hmm...I feel an idea brewing. Would you guys be interested in my banner?
 Here are just some artsy shots of the wreaths. I do love all of those flowers. :) I also love how simple and pretty the wreaths are. I promise this is the last of my V-Day decor. :) I hope you guys have enjoyed it!

On Monday I'll introduce you guys to my new curtains, and if you were paying attention to Monday's post then you'll have already gotten a sneak peak. How many of you are now going to go back and look at Monday's pictures? ;-)

Anyways, have a great day guys and tomorrow I'm sure Dana will be bringing us some more scrumptiousness from her kitchen! See y'all later!

I have something to confess. Hearts aren't all bad. I mean I still don't like them, but they're a bit more tolerable, and I'm coming to grips with that very startling new revelation. Bear with me.....this is big for me. I have felt the same way about hearts for as long as I can remember. I have to admit though....part of this change of heart {har har har} was because of this post, Paper Hearts by SmileMonsters. How can I not love those hearts. I love paper crafts of all sorts, and these were super duper quick and easy. Even better! So without any further digression let me introduce you to the Dining Room. :)

 Here's an all over view of the table. I just can't catch a break with the lighting. The sun is at the back of the house in these pictures, but you'd never guess with how much is streaming in from the front windows. I do so love all the pink. Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink!
 Here's a close up of those paper hearts. I have a dingbat font of the sweethearts candy so I printed some of my favorite ones out and then glued them to the paper hearts. I love the effect. :)
 Here's the table....kind of. I must've been drinking or something. Maybe some Creme de Menthe snuck into my coffee or something :) The mercury glass bowls and the flowers in them are recycled from my Mother's Day table scape last year. Yay for reusing. :)
 I printed out enough of those candy hearts to stick some on some skewers and then add to my flower arrangement. Cute, huh? I think so. What's funny about all the flowers in both the mantle-scape and the table-scape is that I bought them all several years apart, but yet there are Peonies in both, and a lot of the same hues of pinks. I don't deviate much. Just ask my barista. We're so friendly that she knows what my 'usual' order is and doesn't even have to ask. She only asks if I'm doing a triple or not. Love her!
So here's the table again, I love how romantically elegant it feels. I also love the fact the the pinks play oh so nicely off of my denim table runner. I made that table runner close to 5 years ago now, and it still looks good. :)

Have a terrific day guys. Tomorrow I get to unveil my new curtains, and if you were paying attention to Monday's post then you'll have already gotten a sneak peak. :) See y'all tomorrow! Oh and Monday I'm unveiling a new wreath....or maybe two. :) I'm so excited about it all! **I'm changing this. The wreaths will be shown tomorrow and the curtains on Monday. I'm also going to feature Bet's curtain that she made me next week. :) Yay!

About a week ago, Deana from Country by Marriage awarded me the super stylish blogger award. I must say I was surprised and humbled. If you guys haven't seen her blog then you must go over and check it out. I'll wait while you visit. I just heated up some hot cocoa so I don't mind waiting. ;-) BTW....congratulate her on #3!

I'm so glad that you guys stopped back by. Its ok. You guys can absolutely tell me what a smartass I am. I'll probably thank you for it. Sorry...in that kind of mood. My head started hurting while I was taking my prescribed Mom-time bath. What is up with that? Ugh. So I digress {again}so without further ado here's the skinny on the award:


You're supposed to thank the person who awarded you. Thank You Deana! Share 7 items about yourself and then award 15 other super awesomely amazing blogs. Pretty easy....so lets get this motor going. :)

1. On Tuesdays, I think I'd like to have 3 kids. I flip flop on this. Some days I'd like to return the two I have. Other days they are pure sunshine and angels. :) 
2. I've been really bad about taking pictures about things I'd like to blog about. We've been organizing our kitchen and I have not taken one picture. Bad me.
3. I have so many projects on my plate that I have trouble deciding which one to start next. 
4. I am really really annoyed at my dogs right now. For some reason they are being uber-annoying and just won't sit and be. Their nails are clicking non-stop on the hardwoods and I can't hear anything else. I know this is not their fault, but the car is clean and I don't want to fur it up again by taking them to get their nails clipped.
5. We may {may} have decided on a tile for the backsplash. I don't want to jinx it, but I'm very hopeful! 
6. My master bathroom is still really bugging me, but I hung up two pretty candle holders today and now its not completely awful. 
7. Dev and Harrison are going to their Great-Grandmother's this weekend and I cannot be more excited. I know I'm going to be working on organization projects, but still. I can sleep in!

Okay so here are the other terrific blogs that I'm sharing this award with! No these are not in any particular order. :)

1. Saturday Mornings
2. Sunshine and Chaucer
3. The Antique Texan
4. AliLilly
5. Ashley Creations
6. Boogieboard Cottage
7. Dittle Dattle
8. DIY by Design
9. [Frame Fanatic]
10. Frugal with a Flourish
11. Helping Little Hands
12. JanDee Crafts
13. Katrinka Jane
14. Ladybug Blessings
15. My Yellow Sandbox

I hope you guys go check out all these lovely blogs! They really are worth a read.

I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of my V-Day decor! I may have turned a  corner with my 'heart' issue. :)  Have a great day guys!

I am so impressed/excited with myself. Do you want to know why? Well I'm going to tell you why. I am excited/impressed with myself because this is the third month in a row where I've had an official 'theme' for my mantle!   Yay me!

Ok, please hold your applause to the end. I'm gonna start off by saying that I'm not really a fan of hearts. No, not the organ - the shape. I don't really care for them. Of all the shapes out there, hearts are my least favorite. I don't even know why I feel this way about hearts. I roll my eyes when I see a heart covered valentine. I laugh at those overly sappy heart-filled valentines day cards {or any card for that matter}. I don't do sappy. Let me clarify I don't do overly sensitive, guys crying while pouring their hearts out sappy. I will laugh. A lot. I may even point at you while doing it.

Suffice to say that I am not a sappy heart-loving person, which is why I did not include many hearts in the mantle display. There are three in this display, and I covered them in moss to make the more palatable for me. :) I'm awful aren't I? But eh....its my quirk and its my mantle......so there. :-P


I did include my favorite flowers {I say favorite like I only have one...I really love all flowers}. Those 'favorite' flowers are in shades of shocking pink, spicy red and princess pink! I finally added some pink to the house! Woot! So without further ado.......Let's get this party started!

Here's the view from the walkway. I even added some azaleas to my black vase. Look at me....bringing the color off the mantle. :)

Here's a closer shot! BTW...I really hate trying to take pictures of the mantle in the morning, because the back of the house gets FULL morning sun. Can we say difficult?

Here's that paper cone wreath that I'm still in love with. I added magnets to the back of   all the pieces up there so I can change them out easily. The flowers in the display are dahlias, peonies, roses and dogwood. Love!

I forget where I found that printable, but thank you to whomever made it. I love it! Devlin was quite put out with me when I moved that butterfly to this side of the mantle he liked where it had been. Oh and the little silver jar is from my Mother's Day Tablescape last year. They are a little more distressed than they had been because of some small fry I know. :)

The other side of the mantle. Love that pewter vase with the dogwoods! The art in that frame is from moi! Oh and those two little golden hued frames are from a whole stash of frames like that that I scored for $2 at a yard sale 2 years ago.

In order to pacify Dev's ire at me. I let him move some pieces around to add his touch to the mantle. He told me to put the spray in the white vase after I placed the other two, and then group those three together. Its scary how good of an eye he has. I am so very proud. Harrison had to get in on the action. Luckily all I had to do was pick him up so he could get a closer look at what I was working on. :)

I made this art too. I got the eye from the Graphics Fairy.

Well I hope that you guys enjoyed my mantle tribute to Valentine's day. I am thoroughly enjoying having the playful colors up there, and even though I really liked my winter mantle I am glad that we're slowly creeping closer to Spring. Have a terrific day guys!


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