Milestones

I am really happy, excited, thrilled because I have reached two milestones this week! They may not seem like much to some, but to me they are HUGE.

First, yesterday I finished painting the trim on our main floor. I began the long tiring journey of painting all our brown trim to white about six months ago. I went room to room with breaks in between. I finished the last room yesterday which was our main floor half bath. Can I just add that trying to squeeze behind the toilet in a tiny bath to paint trim isn't easy!

I shared my bathroom makeover HERE if you want to check it out.

Here it is with the original trim.

Now with the freshly painted white trim.

Milestone 1 complete

It feels soooo good to be done with all the trim on the main level. Now it's time to move on to the upstairs trim, ugh.

Milestone 2 makes me all warm and fuzzy.

This week I have reached the 200 followers mark!

I know it might seem small to some, but to me it means the world. When I began blogging I didn't even know if anyone would ever see or read this blog let alone follow it. I remember jumping up and down with excitement when I got my very first follower. I heart my followers and am grateful for every single one of them.

So there you have it, my milestones this week!

Have you reached any milestones lately? No matter how big or small I would love to hear about it so please feel free to leave me a comment. 

                                                                                                Amy

A girls best friend

Today I would like to introduce you to someone very special in my life.

{You may have already guessed by my oh so clever title.}

My dog, Shadow.

He is cute beyond words and has tons of energy. He likes taking rides in the mini van with me and going for walks around the neighborhood. He is extremely patient and lets my daughter dress him up in her old dance costumes and push him around in her doll stroller.

So in honor of my bestest buddy Shadow also known as my 4th child I am going to share some of my favorite doggy related items!

I totally want to order this...so true!

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A chevron patterned dog bed.

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What dog wouldn't love their very own personalized dog dish?

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How about a doggy castle

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or a dog cabin

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This is a great idea...a built in dog house under the stairs.

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Built in dog den

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pull out drawer for dog food

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pet shower in the garage or mudroom would be convenient.

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So many great ideas out there when it comes to our pets. They are like a part of our family so it's no surprise that there are tons of products and ideas out there.

Thanks for stopping by today!

                                                                                          Amy

A new fall wreath

I cannot believe it is already Friday! This week has flown by and I feel like I didn't get much accomplished in the way of projects. I did however whip up a new wreath for our front door!

I already had the grapevine wreath and the letter so I just stopped in at Michael's and purchased some flowers and greenery {it was half off this week, YES}.

I arranged everything on the wreath how I wanted and then secured it with my hot glue gun. I even used some burlap to cover the plain wreath hanger.

Now I just need a new doormat! Always something right?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

                                                                                          Amy

linking up this week to...

lizmarie, frenchcountrycottage, shabbyartboutique, raisingoranges, serenitynow, herecomesthesun

twoyellowbirdsdecor, jedandivy, to-sew-with-love, tatertotsandjello, cheeriosandlattes, cherishedtreasures

shabbynest, itsoverflowing, classyclutter, thededicatedhouse, polishthestars, craft-0-maniac, diyshowoff

ourdelightfulhome, apinchofjoy, kraftykat, cherishedbliss, myuncommonsliceofsuburbia, adventuresofadiymom, elizabethandco, thewinthropchronicles, notjustahousewife, abowlfulloflemons

sugarbeecrafts, romanceonadime, homastyle

Country Living Fair

Last Friday my mom and I made the two hour drive to Columbus for the Country Living Fair.

We only had a few hours to look around before heading home since it is quite the drive and I needed to be home before my kids got off the bus.

I didn't get any good photos because the place was a zoo and all of the really cool tents and booths were packed. I thought I would share some of the top trends and items that I saw there.

As a pinaholic myself I encourage pinning inspiration when you see it, however please head to the source link below photo before pinning. Now onto the photos!

Numbered bottles

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book page wreaths

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burlap

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Jewelry

scrabble tile necklaces

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typewriter key jewelry

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Here are some stock photos I was able to find online of some of the vendors and event itself.

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If you have a country living fair coming near you I would suggest checking it out.  I would also suggest getting there before they open to avoid parking chaos and lines.

Thanks for coming by! I hope you will consider become a follower and checking out some of my projects from the gallery above!

Have a wonderful day!

                                                                                     Amy

trash to treasure art

A few months ago I picked up this round picture frame at a thrift store. It was UGLY but I loved the shape and knew it would look wonderful after a quick makeover.

Here she is before...

For this quick little makeover I just removed the backing and took everything apart.

The frame got a few coats of white spray paint

The cardboard insert was covered in fabric

For letters I used some chipboard babies from my scrapbook supplies {you can find these at any craft store in tons of colors}.

To make sure the letters stayed put I used a little hot glue to attach them.

Under an hour project! Love that!

I had to go outdoors to get a clear picture.

I'm planning on using this in a gallery wall in our master bedroom. Haven't even painted our room yet, but I'm already working on the gallery wall {yeah I'm like that sometimes}.

Happy Thursday!


                                                                                           Amy



Linking up this week to...
houseofhepworths, theshabbycreekcottage, twoyellowbirdsdecor, livelaughrowe
michellestastycreations, 2805, frenchcountrycottage, lizmarie, indesignerjeans, craftyscrappyhappy
shabbyartboutique, mysimplehomelife, raisingoranges, lovelycraftyhome, fingerprintsonthefridge
serenitynow, herecomesthesun, tatertotsandjello, shabbynest, diyshowoff, thededicatedhouse
adiamondinthestuff, cherishedbliss, myuncommonsliceofsuburbia, adventuresofadiymom
elizabethandco, thewinthropchronicles, notjustahousewife, abowlfulloflemons
allstarblockparty, primp, cleanandscentsible, nymelrosefamily, mygirlishwhims, handymancraftywoman
polkadotsonparade, somedaycrafts

Pinterest challenge Texas Roadhouse butter

I did it again!

Another Pinterest challenge. Whoo hoo!

With the help of my lovely kitchen assistant we whipped up a batch of Texas Roadhouse butter.

Yummy!

Originally pinned via FLY THROUGH OUR WINDOW.  This recipe was super easy to make. My nine year old daughter basically made this on her own.

Start by whipping two sticks of butter {room temp}.
Then add in 1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup honey
and 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.

Just mix it all together and your done!


Our family did enjoy this, but we all agreed the cinnamon was a little too strong. If I make this again I would only add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon {can always add in more later}.

Have a great day!


                                                                        Amy


Linking up this week...
elizabethandco, thewinthropchronicles, abowlfulloflemons, adventuresofadiymom

lunch note paper bag album

This week I've been working on a little project for my youngest daughter. For the past few years I've been slipping little notes into her school lunches. Before the new school year started she showed me the little pocket on the front of her lunch box, inside were all the notes I had sent her for the last two years. It was almost like a time capsule and neither of us could bear to throw them out.

We knew we wanted to preserve them and I came up with the idea of putting them all in a special scrapbook. So this week I've been making a paper bag album made with brown lunch sacks for all the special notes.

I left some of the pages blank so we can add the notes from this year as well.

Of course every note couldn't go on a page, but the great thing about using bags are the little openings on the ends of some pages. These are perfect for slipping in more notes.

Happy Friday!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

                                                                                             Amy

Linking up this week to...

serenitynow, embracingchange, thediydreamer, crystalandcompany

2805, mysimplehomelife, frenchcountrycottage, shabbyartboutique, raisingoranges

lovelycraftyhome, herecomesthesun, houseofhepworths, shabbynest

cheeriosandlattes, practicallyfunctional, tatertotsandjello, craft-0-maniac

Pinterest challenge

You know how you sit at your computer and pin stuff to Pinterest thinking to yourself "someday I'm going to try that".

I do that WAY too often and never get around to it.

Yesterday I challenged myself to just do it!

There was one pin in particular that I was in desperate need to try.

How to clean your glass cook top. 

This tip is from Jayna at BEHIND THE STUDIO. She has step by step instructions with pictures. You sprinkle baking soda on stove burners and then lay a dishcloth with hot soapy water on top and leave for 15 minutes. Then you come back and scrub scrub scrub until your hand feels like it is going to fall off. Just kidding, my stove is probably worse off then most.

I can't believe I'm showing you my nasty dirty stove top but here it is.

I know it's gross! I blame my husband.

Here is the after.





Not perfect, but what an improvement.

I will probably try it again today, but yesterday my arms and hands hurt from so much scrubbing.

One item checked off my list!

For dinner I decided to try a recipe I pinned for enchiladas with white sauce.

This recipe is from JOYFUL MOMMA'S KITCHEN and was so easy to make. It also received a thumbs up from all family members which is quite the accomplishment {we are known to have an extremely picky eater among us}. Hop on over to her blog for the recipe.





Hopefully you feel inspired to tackle something you've pinned.

I am hoping to keep doing these Pinterest challenges and keeping you up to date on how they turn out! Thanks for stopping by today.

                                                                                          Amy

Right now

What I heart right now.

I thought I would give you just a little sneak peek into my life.

I've heard a lot about this PBS drama DOWNTOWN ABBEY and I finally decided to see what it was all about.

I got the first season dvd set at the library and quickly watched them all. Yes, I fell in love. Can't wait to get my hands on the second season!

I'm not embarrassed to admit that I am a HUGE reality television junky. My summer is not complete without Big Brother. Sad Britney is no longer around, but I'm still cheering on Ian and Dan.

I just finished reading this last night. Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz. I've been a fan for as long as I can remember, and really enjoy his books even if they are a little "out there" sometimes.

 One of my all time favorites; Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

Another one of my favorite reads is Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. 

Now you are caught up on what I'm loving right now.

I'd love to hear what you heart right now.

                                                                                     Amy