Chevron Art Update

     Do you have something around your house like a wall or a piece of art that in and of itself you really like? Then you decide you want to tweek it just a bit but then become terrified that you are going to ruin it once you begin? That was me today.

     Remember that picket fence piece in my kitchen that I added the chevron stripe to?

     I must first confess that I supposed to be helping my son shovel out and reorganize his room today. We got about half way done and decided we needed a break {they have a snow day again today}.

See why I need a break! ;)

     Well in my quest to add more navy to the main floor I decided to add a navy and even a gray stripe to the aqua.....*gulp*. I was a bit terrified, because I love this addition to the kitchen and I didn't want to ruin it!

{To bring the drama down a bit my smart friend reminded me that I could always repaint the whole thing~but who wants to do that!}

     First let me show you how this picket fence was constructed. In its former life it was a fireplace screen!

   
     It was easy to tape off by just eyeballing the current stripe and adding my frog tape. I used craft acrylic paint and a small brush.

     OK, I can breathe.....it turned out better than I expected.

     Now that I took the plunge and altered something I love for the better, what do you have around your house that you can update?

Alright I took a long enough break. Now I'd better get back to Cam's room, unless I can come up with another "break" idea............

Thanks for stopping by!




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No~Fail BBQ Pork Recipe

     Do you have one of those 'go-to' recipes that you haul out for church potlucks, company or for a meal for a sick friend? You know, the kind that everyone raves about and they always ask for the recipe?

     Well, this one is mine and its a good one! {and oh so easy!}

     This one was my daughter's choice for her birthday dinner and today we had it for my hubby's birthday dinner.

     The beauty of this recipe is that it is SO simple!

Here's all you need:

• Pork loin or pork roast
• A bottle of BBQ sauce {Sweet Baby Ray's is our fave}
• A can of apple pie filling

     To make this yummy~ness, just put your pork in the crock pot and pour the sauce and filling over top. That's it! I cook mine on low for the day. And when I say for the day I mean that I start it at 6:30 am and don't get home until 3:45. By then its done and I turn it down to warm until dinner time, about 5:30.

     This recipe works for large or small loins and to be honest when we've done it with the cheaper but larger pork roasts, it tastes just as good. If you are making a small loin 6 hours in the crock pot on low would probably be good enough. You will know its done when it shreds easily with a fork.

This is what mine looked like when I got home today:

     The sauces combine to make a sweeter taste. If you don't want your pork overly sweet don't shred your loin as fine.

     I like to make this with a larger roast because the leftovers are even better. The first night we will have it with rice and green beans but the second night we will have it shredded a bit finer and served on buns for pulled pork sandwiches. Yum!

This one is a family favorite:  {don't mind the casual way its served!}

I know you will enjoy this one! Thanks for stopping by!






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Its Overflowing

Dollar Store Box Redo

     With the snow covering everything and no sign of Spring in sight I decided that a little Spring cleaning was in order. {If I pretend its Spring will it come true? I'm hoping so!} Today I spent my morning shoveling out my bedroom. My kids {who are home on mid-winter break} thought it was great fun to go under our bed and push everything out! Its amazing what a sense of accomplishment is achieved just by finishing that one room! But I'm not here to talk about a clean room, I have a little project to share!

     If you read my last post, I told you I had a few free decorating ideas for your house and promised a few projects by using what I have. So today I am here to make good on that promise! As a disclaimer, you may not have these items on hand~in my defense, I did. If you don't, this whole project can be done for under $5.00.

     I bought the box last spring from Dollar General for $3.00, the paint I had and the paper was purchased from Hobby Lobby some time ago as well. {I couldn't pass up this weathered wood paper even though I didn't know then what I would do with it!}.

     So I started with this box that in and of itself wasn't bad, it just wasn't my style either.

I decided to try and cover it with the scrapbook paper. I figured at $3.00 I couldn't go wrong.

Here's what we are going to do:

1}     You will need craft paint and a brush. {I took off the ribbon}

2}     Start by painting the edges of the box that wouldn't be covered by the paper.

3}     Spay adhesive will keep your paper from looking lumpy as regular glue would, and it sticks really well. {Make sure you do this part in a well-ventilated area and cover any near by surface with something~I used trash bags}

4}     Trace your box lid and sides onto your paper then cut them out and glue on. {I used a light even coat of the adhesive.}


And here's the result: {I can't decide where his home shall be yet}

I love a cheap/free project! 

I'm back to the drawing board on a different project that turned out badly. :(  Does that ever happen to you? I'm hoping that out of the ashes will come something even better.......I'll keep you posted!

No money decorating

     Do you have a lot of great ideas of what you'd like to do to improve your space but are short on cash?  OOOHhhhh let me tell ya! I've been there plenty of times! In fact I'm there right now!

I want to first stress that being content is key, and that's hard to do! There is always going to be someone out there who has more and nicer and better than us. There just will be. And as soon as we get what we think we need something greater is going to come along and suddenly what we have doesn't look so great.

The flip side of that is also true. No matter how little we have there will always be someone with less.

Decorating our homes seems kind of a like a selfish luxury or waste of time in the grand scheme of all things. But lest you feel guilty about this let me assure you that its not!

Our home is the shell of our lives. It is the stage upon which we live our lives. It is our shelter from the harsh realities of this world and a refuge in the time of storm. Of course the foundation of our home is the most important part. My security is in the person of Jesus Christ and a foundation built on him is the only one that will truly last.

If we live in a space of disorganization and disarray our lives may begin to reflect that reality.

from google images

When we have a home that is ordered and calming it is easier to live that kind of a life. The Bible says to do everything "decently and in order". Now that wasn't just referring to how we keep our homes but it certainly can apply there as well.

Please don't assume that if your house is a mess than your life will be too, {because I'd be in trouble!}  but if we allow the mess to control us it becomes self-defeating.

Just to keep it real, here's our house today:

Lets move along, shall we! ;)

So what do we do if we want to create an inviting home but don't have the money to accomplish that?

Here's what you can do:

1}     Clean and organize what you have. This sounds simple enough but there is something truly amazing about getting rid of the clutter, purging what you don't need and neatly arranging what you do have.

2}     Re-purpose and re-imagine what you have. Can you use those old baskets in the attic to organize your kids shoes and boots,  take those cinder blocks out in the garage and layer them with boards to create shelving for your basement, or make a craft table out of the old door in the shed.

3}     Re-arrange. I love this one and I do this all the time! By re-arranging your furniture and accessories it keeps your space feeling refreshed and re-energized. That vase you have on your dresser might look even more amazing on your mantel, moving your sofa a different way might help create better flow in your living space, and grouping together all those individual pictures might make an impressive gallery wall if brought together. 

4}     Use what you have. Case in point, I really want to incorporate more navy into my living room space and I can't just run out and buy some fabulous navy accessories. So I went "shopping" in my basement. I pulled out all of the books we have that have navy spines and used these on my hutch and bookshelves. This added just the touch I was looking for and I didn't have to spend money.

5}     Barter. Talk to a friend who is good at some skill that you might need and offer something you have. For example, a friend who is a tiler might tile your back splash in exchange for you painting his living room. Be creative! You might also offer to watch a friends kids who has a good eye for design and might be able to give you some good ideas for your home.

An investment in your home is never a wasted investment. {Just remember that the people in your home are a more worthy investment!} So start digging in those closets, you never know what you might find!

I have a few more projects that I will share with you coming up that didn't require any money, just using what I have. So stop by again soon!







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Getting Old

     This has been a month for confessions. Today's confession is.......I'm old!

Yesterday I turned 40! I'm not sure why but this has been a hard one! I don't feel like I should be this old. I feel like I have the ideas and the energy of a 25 year old. {But the wrinkles and the aches of someone older}

     I wouldn't change a thing however. I have an amazing husband who gets better with age, and 4 great kids. We have good friends and an ever so forgiving God who for some unknown reason has chosen to be so gracious to me! I am blessed!

     I work in a nursing home and my great {but so much younger} coworkers gifted me with everything I will need as I age: my own set of dentures, hearing aides, a cane, incontinent products, stool softeners, pill sorter,  and supportive undergarments. Where would I be without my friends! ;)

     The social worker in me has been doing a lot of life review this week. And I have to admit that each decade I age has gotten better and better. So I guess I should face the new decade in the face and embrace the journey that lies before me, because there's no going back!

My hubby surprised me by inviting our parents and a few friends over.

Thanks for stopping by!

Color Inspiration: Navy!

     Are you a blue person? According to my mother you either are or you aren't. 

I have always been a fan of blue in one form or another, and my home has always had touches of it throughout. 

But lately I have been really into navy. I have a lot of aqua or robins egg blue and am going to try to mix in some navy with it. 

So to continue our color series what better choice than the ever classic navy!

There is a ton of inspiration out there and here are some of my faves:

Jenna from sas interiors used navy as her wall color in her living room/office redo. She has some amazing pictures and great ideas~go check her out!

I just stumbled upon Farmhouse 38's blog. She has also used navy as the wall color in her master bath redo and then chose yellow as  her accent color. Now that's a color combo my Michigan loving hubby would whole heartedly embrace!

I love this love seat with the wide navy stripe and navy head chair!

Kelly from View Along the Way has an awesome laundry room redo. She combined some of my favorite things, stripes and navy with aqua. I love the stripes she painted on her vinyl floor. Awesome idea!

I LOVE that pillow! I may try to make something like this for our living room. Carmel from Our 5th House shares this beautiful sitting area.

Nursery Notations uses a beautiful mix of green, aqua and navy. Stunning shade!

Now I would be totally remiss if I didn't share this amazing family/playroom from Lindsay at Makely School for Girls. I seriously drool every time I see it. Who wouldn't want to play in this space? Love it!

Here's another great blue and yellow combo this time from Home Stories A to Z.

Shabby Nest has a great boys room reveal as well and she mixes the navy with spring green. 

Abbie from 5 days Five ways mixes navy and aqua with some pops of yellow for her twins nursery {one boy, one girl}. 

Chic Little House shares this photo that is her inspiration for her a living room update.

So are you inspired yet to add some navy to your house?

If you want to pin some of these images please go to their original source so they get the love they deserve!

If you want more color inspiration check out my past color series choices:

Orange

Teal

Gray

Emerald


Thanks for stopping by and I hope you were inspired!

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i should be mopping the floor
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