I Hate Cars

OK, I don't really hate cars.......... I just get very annoyed with them. I actually love cars..... maybe too much! I have always been very into cars and the mechanics that go into them. I am a girly girl in every sense of the word but you can also catch me alongside any man in the garage wearing coveralls, covered from head to toe in grease and oil, climbing under the hood- or under the car- and loving every minute of it. Of course that was before when we actually had a place to work on our vehicle. Or should I say could work on our vehicles. We haven't had a lot of luck with our last three vehicles. Here's a little history:
We bought a used Cadillac STS a couple of years ago and it was my dream car! My Christmas gift from my husband! I called her the "Baby Caddy" and took care of her like a third child. My husband and I went out for our anniversary and the car was vandalized- badly! Never understood why someone would do that to a car just for the fun of it. So, I called around to several body shops and finally found one that would work on her for us. Apparently not every shop wants to work on vehicles that carry a certain stigma because they feel the owners are overly particular snobs. Whatever. So we had the work done and a few months later I popped the trunk to put something inside and literally freaked out. The entire trunk area was covered in mold! How did this happen? Well, apparently the body shop failed to put the seal back in around the tail light, water leaked in and since I never used my trunk I didn't realize until it was infested with this furry fungus ick. Called the insurance company and they sent someone out..... and after the man had completely taken the insides apart-literally- he determined that the mold was clear through the car and even in the HVAC system. He told me he hadn't seen a car that bad since hurricane Katrina and that the car was a total loss. BUT he was not going to total it because they couldn't prove that we didn't take the seal out ourselves. So, knowing that this car is not safe for my children to be in I did what any honest (and probably stupid) person would do. I called dealerships, explained the situation and asked if they would take it as a trade-in. Found one that said yes and drove down to see what they had. Pulled on the lot, fell in love with a Cadillac SRX crossover. Brought it home that night. A month later we started having weird things go wrong with this car but I didn't think anything about them. One day I was driving my daughter and son to a doctor's appointment, it was raining, a car merged in front of me and I went to hit the brakes but the brakes wouldn't work! Panic!!! Shortly after that other funky stuff started happening that made me think my car was possessed by an evil spirit of some sort. The moon roof would open and close whenever it wanted to, the stereo would change channels or volume whenever it wanted to, if you turned a corner while applying the brakes the whole back end would kick out and throw you into the wrong lane of traffic, the car would lock you inside after you shut the car off and then you couldn't turn the ignition back on- causing me to climb out of the moon roof on more than one occasion. Weird stuff. Stuff you don't expect after paying that much for a vehicle. We kept trying to contact the dealership we purchased it from for three months but they would not return our phone call. And we had since moved over 3 hours away. So I took it to the dealership we bought our first Cadillac from because I love them. After four days there they came back with the news..........the very bad news. We bought a lemon. The computer was bad. The entire computer- which operates every single component in our car- was bad. And since the computer had failed, many other systems had been damaged because of it. $10,000 for all repairs. HUH!!?!!??!!??!! OUCH! That's gotta hurt. We finally threatened the dealership we purchased it from within an inch of their reputation (This redneck woman came out in a BIG way) and got them to do an exchange of collateral as approved and suggested by our bank. Well, we ended up with a newer Chrysler Town and Country minivan that had less miles and a full factory warranty. Sounds perfect huh? He he he Yeah. No! We have had it in the shop quite a few times for numerous things. No biggie- we have a warranty! It's covered!
Which brings us to today. My husband is still remodeling a bathroom for a family member so I decided to pop in and see him and then go visit my friend Krissie. On the way to see him my ABS light comes on. Hmmm....... that's odd. Popped the hood when we reached our destination, look around, every thing appears fine. Go on my way............try and stop at a busy intersection and guess what! No brakes! And dead in front of me stopped at the light is a brand new Lexus SUV with temporary tags still on! AHHHHHHH! I slammed on the emergency brake and.........stop.........just...........in.......time. Phew! That was close. After this happening a few more times I drove it to my trusted dealership that was a loooooooooong mile away from where I was, pulled right into the garage, gave them my sob story and talked them into hooking it up to their little computer diagnostic machine even though they were officially closed. As I stood by the technician I kept seeing a blinking "FAILED" come up on the screen........... many times. I asked him what exactly that meant and when they told me the news, I knew I wouldn't be driving my babies home in the van. So I left the keys and headed home in the rental. So, you see, we don't have a lot of luck with vehicles. Especially not with breaks. My husband and I have always purchased used vehicles (preferred to) and never had a problem until recently. And with all of the computer technology in vehicles now- we can not work on them ourselves. I can't even change my own oil anymore which is actually very disappointing for me. I think I would rather have the Baby Caddy back moldy at this point. At least the brakes were good! All of these car troubles have been within the last 11 months............ I am starting to think Fred Flintstone was a very smart man.
I spent the entire afternoon frustrated and feeling sorry for myself because of my broken car and ruined plans. And then I had to remind myself of the silver lining. The kids and I are safe, we have a full warranty (Praise God! Because I doubt this work will be cheap) And I got a free rental out of the deal so I get to suck up someone else's gas for a week! Hey! This positive attitude thing is working!

~Heather :)

A Little Tour

I honestly did not know what to do for a post today. And for anyone who knows me- Me-Speechless never happens! I never shut up- whether I am talking out loud, writing, or even letting thoughts spin through my head. I have been talking about my to do list and everything I am accompishing. More items checked off today but now I am pooped, so I decided to take you on a little tour of my home. A snippits tour.......... no room is completely done- yet- so I will just show you little bits and pieces until the rooms are done.
!!!!!!!!!!!!CAUTION!!!!!!!! Approaching Visual Overload. The proceeding message contains a truck load of pictures.

First, my bedroom. Not one of my favorite places. In fact, at this point probably my least favorite. But I am working on that!
This chair came from my Grandmother. I have three. They have velvet seats on them now but at one time were cane. The dolls sitting on this chair were made by my incredibly talented sister A.K.A "O Sister Gorgeous One" Aren't they cute?

This picture frame came from an elderly tenant in one of my husband's apartment buildings. He was always doing little things to help her out so she gave it to him because she knew I would love it. She was right! It holds one of my favorite wedding pictures and sits on my dresser.............

This is my husband's dresser. I am debating whether or not to paint these dressers white. I am going for the cottage look remember! I am painting our 80's flashback headboard white so what do you think? Paint them or no?

This is my little hankie wreath. I made this out of part of my hankie collection that I got from Evelyn after she passed away. I really like how it turned out!

This is my dresser. I know! I need a shade for my little lamp! Forgot about that until I posted this picture. Oops! So- paint it or leave it??

This is my night table. It is actually a filing cabinet! Pretty and multifunctional! I love that!

Here is one of my favorite pieces. My dressing vanity. I also got this piece from Evelyn. If you remember Evelyn is the one that left me the beautiful red and white china in my china cabinet. See the little lamp on the left? That is the shade I am missing on the lamp on my dresser. I love it because it is so fru fru!

Here is a cute little dish I picked up at Wally World a couple weeks ago for $6! I filled it with some shells from my lifelong collection. Most were handpicked from the beaches of Florida where we would visit my Grandpa every year. The blue starfish was purchased. This is in my hall bathroom which I am decorating in a cottage/beachy theme..................

These wicker chairs I love! My husband worked as a chief engineer at a hotel for awhile and they were going to throw these in the trash!!! So he brought them home to me! He is the best husband!!! They are way oversized but very comfy! They sit in our living room across from our sofa.

Some of my vintage/antique book collection and our quilts from family..............

This artwork is hanging above our sofa but I need a better arrangement for them. I still have 3 more pieces to hang. All of these paintings were done by Marc's late Grandfather. Any suggestions on arrangement???

A little nook in our dining room...................

See that little white bowl with the candle in it? Yeah....... up until today that little bowl was full of shells but for some reason they have come up missing............. hmmm............. My kids do like to rearrange things from time to time.

And finally, my almost complete dining room. I still need little shades for the chandy and the perfect red rug for under the table. Light beige carpet under a dining room table with two small kids............ not a good idea.

Well, that completes our tour for today. Just some little "snippits" from around my house. It is coming along nicely and overall I am very please with how it looks. I just wish I could snap my fingers and have everything be done! But, that wouldn't really be all that fun now would it?

Have a Great Weekend!

~Heather :)

Prayer Request For Our Soldiers

I read an article from Yahoo this morning and it has been bothering me all day. The article is about the climbing rate of suicides amongst American soldiers. In an excerpt from the article it says :

"Since the beginning of the global war on terror, the Army has lost over 580 soldiers to suicide, an equivalent of an entire infantry battalion task force," the Army said in a suicide prevention guide to installations and units that was posted in mid-March on the site.

An "EQUIVALENT OF AN ENTIRE INFANTRY BATTALION TASK FORCE"!?!?!?!

The number of documented suicides for 2007, according to the article, is up from previous years with 115 suicides!

These are our men and women! The protectors of our freedoms. You often hear people asking for prayer or praying for our service men and women- for their safety, for their strength, for their skills and success in their missions, and of course- their safe return home.

Can you imagine what this war must be like for them? We are disturbed by pictures we see on the news- but our soldiers are there- in those pictures-seeing this violence first hand! I have family members who went off to previous wars and returned safely- but they were never the same. I can not imagine being away from family and friends, away from my country, my town-all the while fighting a war against terror in order to protect your own- even people you have never met. Some people who don't even agree with what you do! Our soldiers are taking their own lives as opposed to spending one more day living in the hell of fighting a war. Whether you believe in this war or not- these men and women are fighting for our freedoms and our country- our safety!!!!!!! They NEED our prayers.

I THINK WE ALL NEED TO TAKE THE TIME TO PRAY FOR OUR MILITARY'S MENTAL WELL-BEING AND EMOTIONAL STRENGTH!!!!!!!! I think that is the very least we can do.

If you would like to read the full article you can go to:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/military_suicides

~Heather

* the photo used for this post is from www.september11news.com

Bragging Rights- My Talented Family

I cherish every member of my family. We have always been very close knit. Every holiday and birthday is a huge celebration in which we all get together and celebrate with good fun and good food. Every person in my family has their own special talent. I am sure this is common in most every family- but I am proud of every one in our family. Some are talented in construction and carpentry, some are talented in art and sewing, some have special talents in decorating and painting, fixing cars, singing and playing an instrument- you name it- The LORD has blessed each and every one of them with a special gift.Today I want to introduce you to two of the most talented family members I have. My Uncle Dick is at every family get together with his camera attached to his hand. It's been so long since I have seen him without his camera that I am beginning to wonder if he hasn't had it surgically attached to his hand! He is the most amazing photographer that I know. He captures moments that most of us don't even think about taking a picture of. In fact, when we get pictures of a family get together afterwards we usually sit there saying "I didn't see that happen!" Uncle Dick has an eye for photography. It is like he has the ability to look through that lens and see things most people would not. He captures moments and beauty that most of us take for granted. He is also very talented in "fixing" pictures. He has taken so many old family pictures that may have been out of focus, torn or tattered and repaired them to like new. He is preserving and documenting our family history from decades ago, and for decades to come.My Aunt Debbie is a soul like no other. She has a spirit to her that makes you joyful just being around her. She has such a love for, and a strong belief in , God that makes you strive to be a better Christian yourself. As a child I remember being at her house playing with my cousins and she would just be working in the house or in her garden and humming away- she is always humming. She is a good, honest woman that will tell you like it is- and I adore that about her. Debbie, literally, has talent oozing from her fingertips........ there is nothing this woman doesn't touch that ends up looking anything but beautiful. She sews, she quilts, she knits, she paints, she decorates, she crafts- She amazes me. She can take scraps of fabric and turn them into beautiful pieces of art. Recently Dick and Deb have opened up an online Etsy store called FRUIT OF MY HANDS . It is full of their handmade items and photography. Dick now makes greeting cards from his pictures and they sell them in their store as well. Here is just a little sample of some of their items.......Some of Dick's greeting cards and photography.......

Debbie knits beautiful scarves/shaws......................

And ponchos.......................

She makes "wearable art" in the form of handbags and clothing...................

Check out this cool paper mosaic key holder...........................

Children's items................................ (my daughter has one of these and it is one of her favorite things!)....................

Mini quilts, wall hanging quilts........................

And my personal favorite- the wearable shoulder art- totes and handbags!!!!!!

These bags are well made, lined, unique, and beautiful- and they get a lot of attention out in public!!!

You can see how much time and love goes into each one of these items............

Dick and Deb are truly artists. Some of these items are made with recycled materials too which is great for the environment! They do accept custom orders (with certain stipulations). So, there you have it! I just had to brag. I was thrilled when I found out they were starting their own shop because they have so much talent and create such beautiful things that I am glad they are finally getting them out there to share! If you would like to visit Dick and Debbie's Etsy store you can go to:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5780138 or click here and go see all of the fantastic items in their store. They will be adding items regularly as well. You can also link to their store by their name on the sidebar "Fruit of My Hands" under Places I Love to Visit. Tell them I sent ya!

~Heather :)

A Bittersweet Celebration

Tonight was the night! I finished painting the china cabinet (with help from my wonderful husband) and Marc made shelves today to put inside. When he got home this evening I attached lace to the front edges of the shelves and installed them! Now remember my photography skills aren't that great- it really does look better than it does in this photo.....


Ta DA!!! And here is a straight on view of it........

I am SO excited it is finally done! What was supposed to take 2 weeks ended up taking 7 weeks... wow!

I ran into the office and carted out the big cardboard boxes that have been holding my dishes and teapots (my "lovelies") for way too long now. I was so excited and so emotional. I finally have a home for all of my precious things! My heart was racing, I was breathing hard, my palms were sweaty......... I opened the box and carefully started unwrapping each piece and stacking them in piles. Kyle and Bella by my side "Ooh-ing and "Ah-ing" with every piece I unwrapped. And then it happened. The first casualty of the night. As soon as I picked the next piece up I knew what it was. As I started to unwrap it though something didn't feel right. The more I unwrapped the louder the sound of broken china rung in my ear. I stood there looking at my broken gravy boat. I covered my face and broke down. This china is very special to me. It belonged to someone I loved very dearly- her name was Evelyn. She was not a blood relative but I had grown up knowing Evelyn and in her later years took care of her as she was failing. It was like losing an Aunt or a Grandmother to me when she passed away. She left me these dishes and countless other things that I hold very dear to my heart. The dishes were given to her from her mother-in-law when she got married and her mother-in-law had gotten them from her mother-in-law when she was married. So I really have no idea how old these things are. Evelyn always had beautiful things.......and they were always out in her home. She used to tell me "You should never pack your lovelies away- leave them out where you can see them and enjoy them every day. Your lovelies don't belong in a box." I couldn't help but think that if I had found a home for these dishes sooner that this gravy boat would not have been broken...

Sigh....... It hurts to even look at it. When I started crying, Kyle (not even 4 yet) says "It's okay mommy, we can fix it. I'll go get the tape and the band-aids." When one of his toys gets broken or a book gets ripped we always put band-aids on them to make them and Kyle feel better. I wish a band-aid would work for mommy's hurt. Bless his heart.

I pulled myself together and kept going through the box, holding my breath almost the entire time. Again, I unwrapped another broken piece. This time a bread plate. Sigh....

Fortunately for my sanity- and my husband's (poor thing hates to see me upset) these were the only casualties of the evening. I am going to get some super glue and do my best with these pieces. If they can not be "fixed" I will put them in a little box and stash them away.

Everything made it in the cabinet safely and after a bit of arranging and rearranging it was done! Here is a little peak inside.........

My red and white china set. I LOVE this set. Number one it came from a very special person, number two- it's red, and number three, it is old and has so many stories.
Here is a close up shot.......

And here is a picture of a serving bowl. Look at that beautiful pattern................

And this is so neat. You can see in this picture the color variation in these dishes. I am not sure what causes them to do this but some are still brightly colored while other pieces are showing their age and have a very yellowed/tan look to them............

Here is one of my teapot sets. My parents got me this set for my sweet sixteenth birthday.

All of my teapots have a story and came from a special trip or were given to me for a special occasion.

Here is a view of the right side of the cabinet...........

And the left side.............

And finally the bottom shelf..............

More teapots, my McCoy smiley mug (that my son has now claimed as his), and a full (huge) set of red dishes. I just got them for Christmas as a gift from my husband's Grandmother. She is such a darling and she knows I love red! Bless her.
So, other than a couple of casualties and a lot of tears, tonight was a great evening. It was a special night because I finally have a place to put all of my lovelies and display them so that I can see them every day- whenever I want. I am thrilled because that big- honkin' china cabinet can FINALLY be scratched off my to-do list and I can move on to other projects.

Can you believe I am actually thinking about painting my bedroom dressers now??? You would think I would learn............. but I am addicted to the paintbrush.

Have a great day!

~Heather :)

My Little Oasis

As I have mentioned before we live in an apartment. One major drawback for me with living in an apartment is that we do not have a yard of our own. I love gardening so this hurts a little. We do, however, have a balcony. A very nice balcony. On warmer days this is my spot. I love to sit outside and just enjoy some quiet time. I have lots of flowers out there and an antique set of wicker that belonged to Marc's great-great-grandmother. We can leave it out there in the warmer months because we have a roof on our balcony that keeps it- and us- out of the elements.
I have been looking out at my balcony and feel like something is missing though. My flowers are planted in their little pots, my hanging baskets are up and looking lovely but the "room" just doesn't feel complete. I am an avid fabric collector. Uh huh. A weakness bordering obsession actually. If I am out and see a fabric that strikes my fancy I buy it and bring it home and stash it away in a labeled bin until I find a use for it. Awhile back I hit the mother load of estate sales. The woman used to be a "buyer" for a big furniture manufacturing company and had gobs and gobs of fabric. Mostly samples, but some nice pieces with yardage. I filled a garbage bag, paid my dues and came home and packed it away. Today, I dug it all out, including fabric I purchased this past Saturday at the Goodwill. I set up my sewing machine in my project room- a.k.a. The kitchen, and went to town.............


I really need a better place to sew though, let me tell ya! I made these cute little pillows for the wicker furniture! Here is the chair......

And the settee................

Aren't they fun? I recovered the seat cushion using the blue and white stripe fabric and all the pillows came from samples I had picked up at that estate sale. I have contemplated painting the wicker white.............. but this is the way it came from Marc's family so I think we should keep it this way. See my cute little chippy "coffee table" in front of the settee? That belonged to an old family friend of my family. It was her toy box as a child.

So there you have it! A peak at my little oasis......... and in the warmer months probably my favorite "room" in my entire apartment! And with today's sewing project it just became that much more enjoyable!

Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

~Heather :)

Making Progress In My Mind

What a crazy couple of days. My husband worked on a side job for a relative ALL weekend long which meant I had to find ways to keep myself busy. I think I was pretty successful and managed to mark about 9 more things off of my To-Do list along with some things that weren't on the list. I made this cute little centerpiece for my table. I wanted something cute and simple that we could leave on the table even during meals. I think it is pretty kid proof too (if there is such a thing). It's much cuter in person than it is here in the picture....

I have had these topiaries laying around for quite some time. I picked them up at Goodwill for $4 for the set. They had black pots before and I thought they needed a little more color so I painted the pots red. (Please ignore the counter top clutter. My kitchen is my project and craft room!)

I put the FINAL coat of paint on the outside of the china cabinet and painted the inside back panel red- the same red as my kitchen walls...........

I think the red backdrop will really make the pattern in my china pop! The inside of the hutch needs one more coat of white and then it will be done. The entire cabinet- WILL BE DONE! Oh I will party that day! While I was doing all of my crafting and painting I was thinking about what to do with my master bedroom. As I mentioned in an earlier post- this room is really giving me fits. I want to carry the cozy cottage look into our bedroom that we are creating in the rest of our home............ but it isn't easy. The master bedroom has always been the hardest room for me to do. Therefore, one of the reasons it is always the last room completed. I keep seeing cottage bedrooms and they are blue and white and have toile wallpaper and cute accessories but I just can't take that plunge. Up until today I couldn't figure out why. As I was looking around my apartment I noticed a pattern...................... a very obvious pattern. I love red!!!! With the exception of my daughter's room I have red in every room! My kitchen walls, curtains, rugs, dishes are red.............. dining room hutch and chair cushions are red, accents all over the place are red, throw pillows and living room curtains are red, towels, bathmats and shower curtain- you guessed it! RED!

I remember a couple of years ago I was walking my friend through a house that we were moving into. Throughout the tour I would go room to room and tell her what color the walls would be and how it would be decorated. She turned and looked at me and asked "What room is going to be red? Where are you putting red?" I looked at her and said "Hmmm..... I hadn't thought about it."

"You haven't thought about it!?! You can not be serious! Red is your signature color! People come to your house and they know they are going to see red somewhere!"

Today that conversation popped into my head........... she is right. Red is my signature color. Since I moved out of my parents house and out onto my own I have always used red in my decor. Red is my color. It is romantic, happy, cheerful, energetic, calming and cozy all at the same time- for me anyways. And then it donned on me- that is why I haven't been able to pull the trigger on that blue and white toile wallpaper! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
So in between coats of paint today I hopped online and went to all of the home stores I could think of. I ended up on Target.com last. I assumed they wouldn't have anything because I was just at the store Saturday and didn't see anything that sparked my interest. Boy was I wrong! I stumbled across this beautiful bedding set............

ISN'T IT GORGEOUS!?!?!?! I am in LOVE with this bedding! It is so me! I literally lost my breath when I saw it which sounds crazy but I did. How exciting. I sat at the computer starring at this picture and suddenly my entire master bedroom came together in my mind. I grabbed a pen and paper and started jotting ideas down as fast as they were coming to me. Finally some headway............. even if it is just in my mind for now. :) So, I will order this set with all the fixins' and as soon as I finish some of my other projects I will get the master done. Or maybe I will squeeze the master in between some of the other projects!!!! he he he

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!!

GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!

~Heather :)

Fun Day At The Flea Market

OH what a day! My friend Krissie and I hit our local flea market for a girls day out. We took the kids and had a ball! So much eye candy! So many bargains! We walked through the doors and I was in another world and completely lost my head. Overload! Here is my friend Krissie holding one of our treasures for the day! A new (old) lamp for my bedroom! Woohoo!!!!!! Score!

We were at the flea market for over 3 hours and stayed until they were literally turning off the lights and closing the doors! The kids did great but as you can see from this picture- Bella literally shopped til she dropped! We tried to move her to make her more comfortable but she was insistent in sleeping like this.........

Yup! She is sleeping! Bless her heart. Kyle on the other hand is too much like his mommy: Too much to see! Can't go to sleep! I really love this............ HEY! What's that over there?

Here are some of the bargains I came home with.................

Candlesticks, candles, a piggy bank for the new baby, bubble gum machine (It's red and I have always wanted one), a wire teapot picture frames and a mirror, a cool bowl for some shells and a beautiful scarf from Krissie!

BUT there's more...........

LAMPS!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!! I have lamps! And pretty chotchkes. The ruffled shade is so fun and handmade!

Next we went to the Goodwill! Another great shopping trip. I got these fun little guys. Well, they aren't little but I love them!

And I got all of this stuff too..............

Ball jars, a cute little dish with a lid (yes it matches the stuff I got at the flea market), some decorative hooks and some fabric........ although I am not sure what I am going to do with it yet.

After we left the Goodwill we went and got dinner and everyone was rejuvenated and refueled......... so we hit Target too!!

At Target I got the cutest lamps and shades for our living room............

LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very proud of myself today. I have not purchased lamps for the almost 5 years that my husband and I have been married because I can never decided on ones I like, and if I find something I like I always chicken out before I get to the check-out. Lamps and accessories are and always have been the hardest part of decorating for me. Since I decided to decorate in a more relaxed cottage style I too, have become more relaxed. Obviously! I think I bought 5 lamps today!! LOL!!! I am on my way to recovery apparently!
What a wonderful way to spend a day........... shopping and spending time with a great friend and my kids.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISSIE! LOVE YA!!!

Have a great weekend everybody!!

~Heather :)