Friday, April 25, 2014

Storage solution becomes trip down memory lane!


We are back home after a 5 day trip and 700 miles
with lots of stops along the way.

Traveling along Highway 65 along the Arkansas and Missouri
line, you go through

small town USA.

It is a two lane highway with lots of curves, steep hills and dangerous downgrades with escape routes for run-away trucks. At several high points you can see for miles and miles. 

The view is beautiful. 



It was my favorite kind of trip, slow and easy, stopping when we want, curious to make new friends and discover new places. We will make this trip again in June with more plans to stop in and visit with friends along the way.

I found inspiration in the many
“Mom and Pop” shops,
little diners and
remote grocery stores.

Today I have to share some inspiration
I found and was able to fit into my budget.

I fell in love with this.



I am always looking for storage solutions that allow me to display items that I use. I have inherited several sets of dishes and I love them but I don't have the space to keep them on display. So I had to choose one piece from each set, that I use regularly, and that was the platters.

If you can picture me on my hands and knees unloading a china cabinet so that I can reach for that special platter, it isn't pretty, it isn't practical and I avoid it. Well no more, these platters are going to be at my hands reach and displayed with the respect they so deserve.

I remember having a makeup suitcase just like this one when I was young. It held all of my important

“girlie” stuff.

So I bought one, just like the one I had so many years ago, 
ahhhh...
a trip down memory lane feels so good.

And here it is, a quick put together after I got our suitcases unpacked. All of these items, I use often and will be so easy to get to when I want them. 



Now...
onto the 7 loads of laundry
I brought back with us...

Have a Greatfull Day!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I am linking up with Cindy over at


My Romantic Home Blog


and

Megin over at





Hop on over and see all the
talent at these linking parties!

and
Marty

over at


214th Inspire Me Tuesday

Friday, April 18, 2014

Simple and Delicious!


Caramel Drizzle and
Brown Sugar Pound Cake
from





I came across this photo of this
absolutely delicious cake she had posted.
Doesn't this photo make you want one?


It reminded me of when I was a small girl
and I would ask my Mother for a brown sugar sandwich.
Just two slices of bread, buttered, with brown sugar
delicately sprinkled in the middle.
Oh, it was so delicious.



This cake is made with everyday ingredients
we all keep on hand in our pantry,
and went together easy as I followed
her instructions and (yummy) photos.

My photo taken the next morning: I left out the pecans
because my Big Brother doesn't like them.


Here is my review:

I would make this cake again.
It was delicious.
However, I would prefer to serve it warm
with the caramel drizzle icing
poured warm over the cake as you serve it.
We ate our first piece warm and
it was absolutely the greatest cake
I had ever eaten. The next day
the caramel drizzle had set up and gotten hard.
It was still delicious but the frosting's texture
was hard and sugary.


I will be making this cake again
but I will be serving it warm with
large glasses of milk.

If you have a favorite icing recipe that you
think would be delicious
on this cake, please share?

Here are the links for the recipes.




Thank you to the
Lady Behind the Curtain!


Thursday, April 17, 2014

Crafty? Sometimes, Sometimes not...


Welcome to our
redecorating journey!
It has been "So" EXCITING!
Sometimes...
and Sometimes Not...

I have been doing some
Craft Projects
Yes. That's Me, the uncrafty one.
I have been trekking along the
craft aisles at HL, Michaels, and JoAnns.

And our attic.

I am especially proud that this project
only cost about $1.50.

I made some mistakes,
started over a few times, 
but I eventually got there.

I will be sharing my projects
in the weeks to come.

Outside: Spring has finally arrived!
There is a slight breeze and cloudy skies today
with just a slight chill in the air.
A good day for a painting project or two.


I should be calling my projects
EXPERIMENTS!

It has been "So" EXCITING!
Sometimes...
and Sometimes Not...

These pansies were planted last spring and have
wintered well. 

That antique 2-wheeler
was my grandfathers, a quiet man, who drove for
Safeway for 40 years, delivering
groceries to the stores in Los Angeles, CA.


Miss you Grandpa!


I Hope you will stay around
for the reveal.

We got a confirmation date and
the floors will be isntalled on
May 6th.
We have to empty the rooms,
pull the baseboards and
repaint them.



Monday, April 14, 2014

Purple Fields

Purple Fields
in Kansas

We spent last Friday working in Kansas.
About 10 miles northeast of us the land goes flat.
We see field after field of purple flowers
soon to be tilled and turned into fields of corn.



It was a beautiful, short sleeve, kind of day
with sunshine and shadows.



The day was perfect for a long drive
with the windows open,
listening to my one of my favorite playlists
of oldies. Cruising to K.T. Oslin,
Beach Boys, Elvis and Roy Orbison.





A day for meeting up with friends,
to sit outside and enjoy what 
Mother Nature is creating.
And... to climb a tree.

-----------

Saturday, we headed southeast
through the Ozark Mountains to the lake.
It was another gorgeous day, sunny and warm
and windy, very windy.

A day for working outside
with Big Boy toys.



And our little boy
to discover the camera and 
take his first "selfie".
His curiosity is so much fun.



We headed home through wind, 
at times gusting up to 60mph.
Then we hit the edge of the storm 
just 15 minutes from home.

By the time we pulled in our driveway
this was our view to the east.


A double rainbow.

It was still raining.
We were so close to it,
I could only get one corner of the rainbow
in my camera view finder.

Our local newspaper editor
a wonderful photographer,
posted this view on  their facebook page





Mother Nature is presenting a beautiful spring.
I have enjoyed her show these past few days.
But today was another of her unusual days...
it is snowing.




PS: wood for our new floors is supposed to arrive this week!

I can't wait to reveal our redo!


Sneak Peek?

I made it!


Monday, April 7, 2014

Learned What?

I didn't plan on spring cleaning my computer today.
It was just too pretty outside.

But it had been giving me problems
that I had to keep fixing over and over again.
I spent most of my day backing up files and purging.
Somewhere today, in between laundry,
vacuuming, and dusting
I realized this blog was one year old.

As I sat there,
reading and deciding what was to be saved,
I had to laugh a little, cry a little,
even humble myself 
and be proud just a little too.

I noticed a pattern, at least I thought I did.

Maybe I even matured?
Maybe I learned a lot about myself?
Maybe I made some new friends?

All of that and more.

________________________

We are still in working mode here.
The floors are ordered and 
the "floor man" has been out to measure.
I am still finding some new and some not-so-new
treasures to scatter about.

I hope it all
comes together...

A Sneak Peek
at our transformation so far.


This is a brand new color for me.
I think I chose it because I wanted a challenge.



This is what started me in that direction.
I fell in love with this bowl
at HomeGoods in Kansas City.
It had to come home with me so 
twelve dollars later, it was mine.