BEVERLY SANDHILLS

Christmas Cottage in the Sandhills

2011-12-14T16:27:00.005-06:00

It is a beautiful wintery night as I sit here and begin sharing with you our small home dressed for the Christmas season.

The song "Silent Night" has been ringing through my mind for the last couple of weeks, keeping my thoughts on the true reason for the season.

My precious daughter gifted me with this "away in the manger" this season. As a child, she called the nativity away in the mangers. Kinda fitting she chose to buy her momma one. :) I love it so very much! Thanks my sky baby.

Our colors of choice in the living room were turquoise and greens mixed in with silver and gold tones. Too bad my husbands "art of choice" keeps the fireplace from being what I would love it to be..but as stated before, a good marriage requires compromise and he's worth it. :)

On a side table, my daughter filled vintage tins/molds with small ornaments.

Entering from the living room into the kitchen/dining there is a shift in colors to the traditional red and greens.

More vintage ornaments are displayed on crystal candle holders down the burlap runner on our dining table.

At my sons request, this tree is decorated with his antlers that are not mounted on a wall in the mancave and a collection of pheasant feathers. More burlap ties the tree and dining room table together.

Little stocking on the plate will hold the silverware for get togethers.

Our bedroom is dressed for Christmas with the colors that already adorn the room. Silver limbs from a vintage tinsel tree fill the turquoise balls. Three Christmas trees sit on top of the yellow dresser with some crystalized garland hangs from the antique mirror.

Our bed has a simple string of clear lights with pipe cleaner snowflakes cascading from it.

My silver tree needed a base so I placed it in a vintage bread box. I shredded up old sheets of music and placed it around the base of the tree. All of my icicles are draping from the silver branches

Merry Merry Christmas to you all! Hope you.

Blessings

Roxanne

I am linking up to The Nesting Place-Christmas tour of homes
&
Jennifer Rizzo-Christmas Tour of Homes
&
The Inspired Room

Christmas Post # 4

2011-12-11T19:40:00.001-06:00

Our cottage home is a very small simple space but filled with so much love and our kitchen is always a bustle this time of year. I just received my latest edition of Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and it is awesome, as usual.

The window seal holds vintage spice bottles with more of my collection of vintage ornaments.

We just finished making a double batch of whoopie pies for a sale at our local vintage/repurposed store Christmas sale. They were amazing! If you are interested in the recipe, click on my pinterest button on the right and look under Christmas Inspiration. It's a Better Homes & Gardens recipe.

Blessings

Roxanne

Christmas Post # 3

2011-12-11T19:08:00.001-06:00

The kitchen and dining room are ready for family, friends, classmates, and neighbors to join us for celebrating Jesus' birth.

Our dining room table is 120 inches long which makes room for many. My M-i-l purchased the table for us for all of our Sunday dinners that we host. I had found this lime green tablecloth at a store in my daughters college town. I love the color but of course it wasn't long enough for our table. So I layered it with our table cloth that my mom had gifted me three or four Christmases ago and also a burlap runner from my brothers summer wedding. More vintage ornaments are positioned in crystal candle holders and fill up the space nicely. Kinda makes me smile.

Three pitchers are waiting for use on the buffet as well as Christmas plates.

In the center of our island is the silver tree that holds Christmas mugs was a gift this year from a dear friend. It is for holding pictures and cards but thinking outside the box gave me the mug tree I have been searching for.

The precious red feather trees were from my s-i-l as a gift after Christmas from Target.

This tree was at the request of my son. He asked if we could do a tree with all of the deer sheds and pheasant feathers. The perfect match seemed to be a little burlap but in strips as garland and placed in an old tin tub gifted to me by my m-i-l.

Blessings

Roxanne

A Touch of Christmas in the Master Bedroom

2011-12-10T10:06:00.001-06:00

I just finished adding a few touches of Christmas in our bedroom.

Our barn door headboard was the perfect setting for simple clear lights with my pipe cleaner snowflakes cascading down.

My love of vintage ornaments are present in every room decorated for the season.

This vintage tree was a treasure I found just this year. All of the mercury ornaments on the tree have a peace sign in antique glitter. The tree topper was a gift from my daughter Schylar. :)

A few tinsel tree pieces are placed in turquoise ball jars in my vintage tool tray.

This old bread box proved to be the perfect "tree stand" for the silver tree adorned with icycles.

Here's a close up of the peace ornaments.

Blessings to you all!

Roxanne

Christmas Mantel Blog Party

2011-12-07T14:08:00.001-06:00

I try to come up with a different combination of colors each year for different parts of the house. This year the main area of the house was decorated with greens, turquoise, and silver hues. My mantel is never amazing due to what my husband thinks is the main attraction…the t.v……the hangs over the mantel. Yuck…. But I love him and this whole marriage this is about give and take and after 20 years, I think we’re gonna make it!

I absolutely love this vintage print. The condition isn’t the best but I still pull it out every year and wonder about the prior owners if it was purchased as a Christmas gift.

Our oldest daughter graduated from high school this year and her graduation colors were green and black. The bottles are from her graduation centerpices. Thanks so much for stopping by. Blessings and may we all truly enjoy and focus on the reason for this amazing season.

I am linking up to Southern Hospitalities Christmas Mantel Blog party

Roxanne

2011-11-29T18:44:00.001-06:00

I just finished painting this little makeup vanity and I am so happy with how it turned out.

Once again I found my favorite paint of choice was Annie Sloans chalk paint. It is so easy to work with and I love the vintage green color.

I used a damask stencil on the top and then distressed the piece to my liking. I found the hardware at Hobby Lobby.

This ones gonna be hard to let go of.

Blessings
Roxanne.
I am linking up to Miss Mustard Seeds furniture feature friday. .

Creating

2011-11-26T22:26:00.001-06:00

I have been spending the past week creating. Quite some time ago I blogged about one of my favorite stores, Sandhills Sage & Co. and decided to take some re purposed treasures to their store. I apologize for the quality of pics. They were taken on my phone as I had forgotten to take quality pics with my camera.

This is one of my favorites. I used burlap as my medium and stenciled over it.

A table painted with what else but Annie Sloan paint. I believe it is duck egg blue?!?

It is amazing to me how therapeutic designing is to me.

Blessings & thanks for stopping by.

Roxanne

Granny’s Cranberries

2011-11-22T09:54:00.001-06:00

Sometimes the best recipes are shared as we share great fellowship with friends and family. Last November I was blessed to have traveled with the teens of our church to a Dare 2 Share event in Denver Colorado. Being the great driver that I am (NOT) I begged and pleaded for our Pastors wife to drive the burban for me and Amber much abliged. In one of our many conversations we landed on the topic of Thanksgiving and our family favorite recipes. Amber shared this recipe with me and it will forever be a staple for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Granny's Cranberries

4 Cups fresh cranberries

2 Cups sugar

1/3 Cup Brandy or Blackberry Brandy

combine in 8X8 dish and cover and bake @ 350 for 1 hour

As the cranberries are cooling, do not remove the tin foil. I think this is part of the magic as these cranberries are so juicy.

This my friends is the finishing touch to the Thanksgiving meal. I have never been a big cranberry fan but I am now. Thanks Amber:)

Blessings

Roxanne

This Little Light of Mine…or actually my Mommas…

2011-11-21T14:14:00.001-06:00

This past weekend our oldest daughter came home from college for Thanksgiving break. The first thing we did was load up and head to the cabin to spend some special time as a family. It was amazing for all 5 of us to be together. The cabin is located a couple miles away from my parents so we made our way over for an amazing dinner and this is the first thing as I walked in the door.

Mom had seen a chandelier like this one one of our favorite blogs, home stories A to Z, and decided to re create one with an old chandelier we had picked up at a garage sale.

She needed a “medallion” for the chandelier to cover up the workings of the light. Mom has an amazing collection of clocks that I will someday share with you and she took one of the clocks that didn’t work and added it as the medallion. I love it! It looks absolutely amazing.

Here’s a close up of the clock medallion.

Sorry the pics aren’t any better but still wanted to share.

Blessings

Roxanne

It's Fall Y'all!

2011-10-20T15:16:00.000-05:00

Debra over @ Common Ground is having a blog party and I thought I would share my painted pumpkins with you.

I started out by painting my pumpkins in copper, turquoise, and white.

Then I used some glaze to add character to these precious babies.

And what's a pumpkin grouping without a little glitter so I added some glitter to a few of the pumpkins and they sit on my island to add a little fall like atmosphere.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings

Roxanne

Bedroom Reveal

2011-10-14T18:37:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to finally share with y'all our bedroom redo.

We have been wanting a new look for a long time but didn't think we could afford it. I decided to see what I could accomplish with a next to nothing budget and am so glad I did. This picture shows the room as you walk in. There is a small hallway right when you enter it. So on the right side of the pic you can see I made an accent wall. I used my cricket & cut out numbers in all different sizes and fonts. I also then searched for numbers every time I went to the thrift store. The kind you would use for the outside of your house. I will post later in more depth later with more pictures of the number wall. I was very happy with how it turned out.

I have always loved yellow. So as I started searching for inspiration for the room, I noticed all of the yellow and gray rooms and knew that was the direction to head.

In August I posted about the headboard that we found and created out of an old barn door. I am so in love with the statement that it made. It was the perfect backdrop for the yellow, gray, and splash of turquoise.

Here is a close up of the statement wall. The shelves were made from recycled wood. The blue mason jars were a gift from my mom on Mothers day. We have three amazing kids and so she numbered three jars with one single flower in each. Love em...what more can I say. The two mirrors were picked up at different thrift stores for a buck and the crowns were from Hob Lob painted the colors we chose.

The silver vase was in a give away box on the junk jaunt and the other two bottles I picked up at garage sales for a buck or two.

This is my hubbies dresser. I purchased it at an auction many years ago. I pulled out my favorite rust-oleum yellow spray paint and gave it a new look.

These silver boxes were other purchases that worked well on the hubbies dresser. I used a burlap runner that was left over from my brothers wedding. It added a little more texture into the room as well as covering up the imperfections of the $15 dresser.

My hubby always throws his change on his dresser and after 20 years of marriage I have decided there are just some battles I'm not gonna win. Considering he's such an amazing father & such, I'm not gonna lose any sleep over it. So these silver trays catch his spare change and my jewelry from time to time. Again, these were thrift store purchases.

The mirror propped up on the dresser was a garage sale find. The original finish was gold so I used a little silver paint to make it work with the room.

This wall is right across from the bed. I had been saving frames for some time and so the amazing rust-oleum silver spray paint brought them all together. The two wreathes were probably the most expensive part of the bedroom redo. I purchased them at Michaels' when I was out of town. They were two for one in the Martha Stewart line. I love em. The mirror that is in a different finish is a mirror made in Mexico from pop cans with a stamped art. My mom found it on the junk jaunt this year for only $5.00. The back of the mirror is covered in newspaper clippings in spanish. I love it almost as much as the front.

The piece of furniture that holds our t.v. was rescued from an old house that our local fire dept. was burning down. My hubby came home with it in the back of his truck early on in our marriage. See why I forgive him for the change being thrown on the dresser? I added the fabric panels to tie in the bedroom bedskirt.

The top is a piece I purchased for a dollar at an amazing garage sale and the husband attached it for me. It took a plain jane dresser and made it amazing.

Our closet had no door on it when we purchased the home and so I have just always had a curtain hanging over the entrance. I knew I needed to do something different and that's when I remembered the door that we took off of our old garage when we first purchased the home. So with a coat of yellow paint and some fabric stapled on the back, we have a new door to our closet.

As a child my grandma always had statues like these and when I found them on a thrifting outing, I had to have them for the memories. Once again thank you rust-oleum for giving them a new look. Total cost... $2.00. The hubbies side table has a story all of its own. It comes from a country church and was the pastors pulpit. For the longest time it was on my side of the bed. I always bragged that the Lord was on "my side" but now it belongs to the hubster. Not good.

Most of my pillows have been purchased from Target on sale. It took over a year of collecting to have the look that I wanted. The comforter is also from Target. I love the crisp clean white as well as the texture. I believe it is from the Rachel Ashwell collection.

The floral arrangement was purchased with a gift certificate from my girls for my birthday. The old urn was a goodwill find from a couple of years ago.

Here you can see my side of the bed. I saw painted antlers at Z Gallery some time ago and knew I wanted to do something like that in the room. Now getting my husband to allow me to paint some of his shed antlers would have been next to impossible. So I waited until he was gone and quickly began painting. Bad thing happened...he came home early. I don't think he was too upset where they weren't from a deer he had killed. He said as soon as he saw me I had that look that the girls' always had when they were in trouble. He said he had no idea what he was walking into.

For my daughters graduation, my m-i-l gave me a couple of shoe boxes filled with these old bottles. We used them as center pieces for her celebration. I decided to use them to display some of my favorite pieces of vintage and every day jewelry. Nate Berkus is always telling us to display things that mean something to us and so here you go Nate.

This little yellow stool and fan are by the bed. the fan is another treasure my husband brought home for his wife.

The side table on my side of the bed is an old sewing machine cabinet. I purchased this for $4.00 at a garage sale. I primed the piece with gray and planned on painting it with rust-oleum gray only to find that my husband had used it all. I started working with a clear glaze and it took some of the prime paint off and I kinda liked the look. Sometimes our mistakes end up being our favorite pieces. Thanks husband.

Thanks so much for going along for the tour. We are very happy with the results.

When our first daughter was small, she hated to ride in her car seat for long periods of time. We lived 30 minutes from a grocery store and the likes so to keep her happy I would sing "You are my sunshine". It was the only thing that would keep her content. When I look at this room, I am reminded of that song. I love the greys and the yellows so much. So this room has been named the "You Are My Sunshine" room.

Blessings

Roxanne
I am linking up to http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/ blog furniture party.

Junk Jaunt Treasure

2011-10-08T20:04:00.001-05:00

In September, Nebraska hosts an even known as the Nebraska Junk Jaunt. It is our own little miles and miles of Garage Sales. It has been going on now for about 6 years and my mom and I have yet to miss a year. One of the treasures I brought home was this fun bamboo stool.

The stool was structurally sound and oozing potential. Ever since we put the island in our kitchen, we are always in need of more seating.

I have been noticing that the color orange is making it’s way into décor and I have been wanting to add a little into our house so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Rust-oleum ultra cover is my absolute favorite spray paint. The coverage in this product is amazing!

Here is the stool with one coat…yes I said one coat.

After the orange was dry, I painted on a liberal coat of of glaze and began working it into the cracks and crevices the bamboo.

I so love the way it turned out.

I plan on adding to the whimsical look & keeping my eye out for other random stools to recreate. My total cost with paint and purchase was $10.59.

Blessings

Roxanne

The Not Even A Number Clock

2011-09-28T20:38:00.000-05:00

When I began decorating our kitchen redo, I knew that behind the island I needed art that would stand up to 3 kids, all their friends and one bull in a china closet husband. Everything I put on the wall would eventually end up on the floor so that's when I knew I needed to think outside the box.Notice anything "interesting" about the above said picture? The knobs on the kitchen cupboards had clock faces on them & I had seen many large clocks painted on many different mediums. That's when the thought hit me about continuing the clock theme. And so I began painting. So as soon as I had some free time, I started in, inspiration picture in hand. Now this is where my dream of amazing art takes a turn. So as I am looking at the "inspiration picture", I don't continue with my roman numerals in the right direction. And to make matters even better, I didn't even realize it. That's where my son enters the picture, so to speak. He comes home from school, nods at my "art" and makes a comment like, pretty cool mom. Then he smiles that smile that interprets to, "Poor Mom, she's off here decorating rocker again." Then he continued on his merry way. It wasn't until supper that he asked if he could tell me something if I promised not be shoot the messenger. Yes son... That's when he points out that my clock reads one, two, three, six, five, four...not even a number not even a number, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. I wanted to cry. The clock had been painted on a faux finished wall that I no longer had the paint for and I really didn't feel like a re-do. Jayden would walk by the clock and comment about moms not even a number clock. And that's when it hit me. Embrace my mistake and have fun with it. So I went online, and typed in "The not even a number clock" in french and started painting.

Now to finish the story off, last year we had the sweetest exchange student from Switzerland who informed me that I hadn't even written "The not even a number clock" correctly. More laughs at my expense. Oh well if we can't laugh at ourselves.. we have issues.

I love my wall art and the fact that the kiddos no longer have to worry about knocking something off the wall. My son enjoys telling all new guests to our home the story of "The Not Even A Number Clock". Hope you enjoyed it as well.
I Am linking up to Becky at Beyond the Picket Fence.
Blessings

Roxanne

vintage rolling pins

2011-09-07T13:48:00.007-05:00

Sometimes in life it's the simple things that make a statement. This past weekend I attended an auction and purchased these three rolling pins.I wonder how many pie crusts, noodles, doughnuts, and biscuits they have rolled out. I loved the patina on each one and how they were alike but yet different. I had purchased the muffin tin last year during the Nebraska Junk Jaunt. It has held Christmas ornaments at Christmas, miniature pumpkins in the fall and candles whenever. This little chickie was purchased during one of my treasure hunts. I absolutely adore the turquoise color. Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings

Roxanne

Honored

2011-08-24T11:37:00.007-05:00

When I began blogging, one of the first destinations I came to was Beth's blog, Homes Stories A2Z. I was smitten with her "Inspiration file" as well as her "Project Gallery". She is an amazing writer and inspiration to so many of us learning to make a house "Our Home".
So last night when I sat down to unwind and take a peek at some of my favorite places, I was surprised to see my blog featured in a posting under Beth's "Inspiration Files". She is in the process of a redo in her master bedroom and ran across my posting on our barndoor headboard. What an honor. So if you haven't already, stop by http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/ and take a look around. You'll be there all night.
Oh...and as far as "unwinding" last night...I didn't. :)
Blessings.
Roxanne

How To Re.Do. Vintage Velvet "Art"

2011-08-02T15:45:00.016-05:00

You know the "art" I'm talking about. I believe it was big in the 70's?
People would paint on black velvet.. It was quite unique and I am sure in it's day...awesome.
So when I came home from city wide garage sales a couple of weeks ago, you can imagine my husbands surprise that I had purchased a piece of this 70's velvet art. However the frame was solid wood that had been carved to accentuate the picture. So I decided to use this "art" to create my own framed fabric to add to our bedroom re-do that is still in progress. ..Still.....
The first thing I did was take the velvet off of the inside frame and cover it with the same fabric that I used for my bedroom bedskirt. The frame was quickly painted with Krylons beautiful turquoise, robins egg blue color.

Then I pulled my Fiddes and Sons wax that I purchased after reading up on it on "Miss Mustard Seeds" blog. I am really enjoying the ease of us of this wax as well as the price.
Working the wax in the crevaces of the frame aged it just right and allowed it that you could see the carvings on the frame better.
Then I popped in the framed fabric. Fabric is such an inexpensive way to add some color to your walls as well as tie in the fabric already used in the room.
And instant art for my bedroom re-do on a budget.

I am very happy with the contrasts of colors.
Oh and did I mention..total cost of the project....$1.00.
I am linking up today to The Lettered Cottage How To's Day.

Blessings
Roxanne

Barn door headboard

2011-07-22T14:24:00.014-05:00

My husband and I just recently upgraded our queen size mattress for a new plush king mattress. We then began the task of searching for the perfect headboard at the "perfect" price. First we couldnt' decide on the style...then came the price..ouch. So on the weekend of the 4th of July, we went shopping for the perfect headboard.Did I mention we spent the 4th at our cabin in the sandhills? So...anyway we headed out shopping. That's the kids in front of us.. Jayden and Grandma Sandy in the ranger and the girls on the 4-wheeler. We decided to take the pups along for the ride as well. That's Papa bringing up the tail end. Why would we all travel together in one vehicle? :)On to the road that lead us to our "furniture store".And here she is in all her glory.. Husband was just as excited as I was.... or maybe not..Perfect patina... majestic in size...just down right perfect. It was going to be torn down next month and a new barn going in it's place. Lance and Papa attached it together to assure the transportation of our purchase.We took it home and began with giving her a good clorox bath. The husband was still thinking I had completely lost my mind. However the price was right up his alley so he didn't complain too much.. or maybe he did but I didn't tell ya. :)We also did a white wash treatment over the doors with nothing less than the perfect paint of choice..Annie Sloan chalk paint. She fit all of the way to the ceiling which I adored. I would have loved to have had the louvers but no room. The pillows were purchased on clearance from Target and TJ Maxx. Oh and also from my daughters bed.. shh she still doesnt' know.

The window to the barn door was made of plexi glass and in tough shape so I covered it with some fabric I found on ebay and a little ribbon.Just love the patina...This black pillow was made from scraps of fabric and pom poms..When I brought in the chicken warming light to use as my bedside lamp...husband thought I had completely lost what marbles were left.Thanks for stopping by... I am linking up to Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Friday.

Blessings
Roxanne

Pom Poms

2011-06-24T11:37:00.005-05:00

What an amazing graduation celebration we had with friends and family for our Ciara. With a total of 230 plus people passing through our doors, 400 cupcakes, 20 some pom poms, 350 home made croissant sandwiches filled with smoked brisket and blt chicken salad our Saturday was perfect.. Our budget was more focused on good food than decorations. With that being said my mom always told me growing up that when it comes to decorating, It's not what you don't have, but what you do have and do with it that counts. I firmly believe that statement and my oh my did we have fun decorating on a budget.

We had everything backyard ready for the celebration but the day turned out to be rainy and cold. So after throwing a little fit, we decided to still stay at our home and open up the two rooms I had not cleaned for graduation.. the sun room and garage. My garage is used for my trash to treasure shed so you can imagine what we were working with. We borrowed a friends chimanea (sp?) and put it in the sun room. It kept the chill off and was fun to hear the rain coming down.

So all of our pom poms that were meant to be hung in the back yard now were placed wherever we could find a place to put them.My amazing sister in law went to work decorating with what was meant to be in the back yard. Wow did she do an amazing job!

My brothers wedding was this past August. Mindy had used burlap as runners down each table. So we repurposed all of the runners and it added a little sumthin sumthin to the lovely green and black graduation colors. My m-i-l had a bunch of old antique bottles that we decorated for centerpieces. I will post about those soon.

Mindy used some more burlap and a star that was meant for the back yard and spiffed up my old dresser in sun room. We had used small tarts to house mints for the guests as well.
Thanks again Mindy for all of your help. How blessed I am having you as my sister.
Blessings
Roxanne

Graduation Decor Part I

2011-06-07T13:07:00.011-05:00

It's almost been a month now since we celebrated the graduation of our oldest daughter. Wow how time flies. Our daughters are on a vacation of a lifetime now with their Aunt. They are in Italy! So that leaves me with some time to finally sit down and share some of our graduation ideas and decor.
When we began planning our graduation celebration, I went to all of my favorite blog sites and began taking notes. Right away we knew this would be an amazing time to try the beloved "candy bar".

So every time we went out of town, we would purchase one type of green candy.

Sour pear jelly bellies were the favorite! (Thanks Grandma Sandy!)

Large sour apple gumballs........

green licorice

We had friends, coworkers, and family on the "hunt" for green candy. We searched for green rock candy and didn't have a lot of luck. Then I received a call from a gal from my office who was with her mom on a trip through the badlands of South Dakota. They stopped at Wall Drug and guess what they found? ROCK CANDY! Thanks Pat!:)

When we first found out our colors were green and black, I panicked but with the help of Hobby Lobby, I soon realized there were many amazing patterns in black and white. The takeout boxes turned into the perfect container for green suckers. Notice the filling? That would be Easter basket grass purchased on clearance for 20 cents.

Due to inclement weather, we had to move our celebration inside. So the candy bar found its place in the corner of the dining room. It was going to be out on the patio for guests to pick at during the concert Ciara had planned on putting on.

I borrowed apothecary jars from friends and family as well, making the presentation awesome.
More to come tomorrow...
Blessings
Roxanne

Ciara's College Story

2011-05-17T15:13:00.005-05:00

Ciara has known what her plans have been for college for as long as we can remember. I went to college at a christian college in Olathe Kansas, Mid-America Nazarene College. Ciara had planned the same path. Her first visit to Mid America was when she was 5 to visit my brother. Then starting in Junior High we would go every April for an event called MAX- it was an opportunity to compete in music and sports. She began to meet friends and form bonds that she knew would continue into college.

So her junior and senior years when all of her friends were off on college visits, she was relaxed in the fact she knew where she was going....or so she thought.

One Sunday afternoon in December Ciara came upstairs from her room very upset. She was crying and told us she was not supposed to go to Mid America anymore. Now mind you we were set to go to Mid America.. the paperwork and all. We sat down with her and she shared that she just felt released from going there and that she couldn't even explain it. After much thought and prayer, we knew we had no choice but to stand behind our daughter in her choice. So we sat down and began researching colleges. She chose 3 colleges to visit, one being Concordia University in Seward Nebraska. She had auditioned and made an honors choir there in November and loved the professor of music. We soon realized that we just barely made the deadline for auditions for the music scholarships at all three colleges on her list.

Now this is where we realized what an amazing God we serve. The week before we left for her first visit and audition, my brother who still lives in the Olathe area called. He had been dissappointed that Ciara was not coming down there for college. BUT he called to tell us that he had just heard that Mid America was closing their music dept.. Yep you heard right...closing the music department. I was in total shock.

I have since reflected on that Sunday afternoon often. Ciara's prompting by the Lord to give up her chosen college for Him was actually Gods protection on her not being able to pursue her true passion. I have asked myself if God would have shared that with me at the age of 18, would have I listened?

What an amazing God we serve!

Blessings

Roxanne

SHE/we Did It!

2011-05-16T15:10:00.002-05:00

Our first baby graduated yesterday. We are so very blessed by our Ciara! We are so proud. We are sad and happy all at the same time.

She is off to Concordia University in Seward Nebraska to major in Music Education. Her graduation celebration was amazing!
Will share pics soon...
the candy bar was a hit!
Blessings
Roxanne

Shining a little Light on the subject

2011-01-10T15:39:00.005-06:00

For the past few months I have been searching for the perfect lamp for our living room. I love searching for the perfect piece and the excitement you feel when you find the perfect one. I didn't want anything too matchy matchy. We have no over head lighting in the space and so we really rely on our lamps. I picked up this gem a couple of weeks ago when we were out of town at a consignment shop. The price was right. Take a guess?
Here is the before picture. I loved the glass color and it worked well with the new couch. The lamp shade was in great condition but lacked character.
I loved the base. All it needed was a good wash.

As I was washing the base I realized that it had the option of lighting up the red glass with a small 4 watt bulb. It really shows off the beauty of the red cut glass well when lit up. Love it!

So I knew I wanted to add a little something to the shade. Mom gave me the idea to add the french touch with writing on the shade. I love the french look that is popluar right now. My writing on the other hand, not very impressive.

I then remembered I had an old bound letters box that I had found a couple of years ago on the Junk Jaunt that was full of old accounting and western union telegraphs .

I picked out a few of my favorite pieces and pulled out the good ole modge podge.

Here's the end result. Notice the the lit base?

I could have covered the whole lamp shade but I liked it the way it was so I stopped.

It's the perfect light to read with.

Just thought I would add a picture of my favorite book. :)

Oh...I forget to tell you the best part. Total cost of this project. $3.50

Woo Hoo!

Blesssings

Roxanne

Our latest addition

2010-12-30T10:26:00.003-06:00

Well here she is... our latest addition. This year while Christmas shopping my mother in law asked if I would like new furniture for Christmas. With some thought I decided to pass...Jusk kidding! Who would pass up new furniture? We immediately made our way to Nebraska Furniture Mart to start shopping. We finally ended up with Ashley and I love the style! The couch is very long, a pre requisit for our living room which houses many a teens, bible studies, friends, football games, etc. We purchased the set at Schramm's Furniture in Winner South Dakota. We were so happy with their selection and price was unbeatable! The style is one that I can slipcover as well. I have purchased the drop cloths now need to purchase the seamstress! Thanks Mom Karen. I'm in love!

Blessings and Happy New Year!

Roxanne

It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

2010-12-09T13:40:00.021-06:00

I've joined with Coastal Charm and Holiday Home.

I have a passion for CHRISTmas. There is no other season that sings "decorate in my honor" as Christmas does.
Each year I choose a different color theme for the main Christmas tree and living room. This year...is turquoise,red, and silver. The only problem with that is the essentials you need to decorate with...such as a tree skirt can add up when you're changing the colors. So here you can see another use for your favorite quilt. This was a gift from my m-i-l and I love it. It adds so much texture to an area of the tree that you usually aren't even attracted to.

This hand blown glass ornament...amazing...was a gift from a friend at work.

I was unable to find the perfect tree topper...so i improvised and Walmart (and m-i-l) came to my rescue with these amazing glitterly colored swirly twigs make quite an impact, don't you think?

Little nests with more glitz adorn the tree.

We three kings....

Another splash of my three accent colors.

The built in shelves also received a little taste of Christmas....

I had picked my color theme for Christmas in September while on the Nebraska Junk Jaunt and found this mercury silver vase in a giveaway box. I thanked em, and thanked em again. The other two vases were picked up at our local thrift store. Then out came some of my favorite vintage mini ornaments and adorned the tray..

A few more touches of the three colors in the built in alcoves.

So I kind of have this thing with Christmas trees... not really...just kinda.

Just a few touches of Christmas in the kitchen.

The new pendant lights was perfect to add a little touch.

The kitchen and dining room featured authentic Christmas colors.

A small touch of Christmas to the pot rack...just a simple thrift store tree laying on it's side.

Sometimes it's the little touches that make the biggest statement in decorating.

A display of stars from my mom... Love em....

A small collection of boots.

Three baskets of vintage ornaments adorn the dining table. So many of the balls were gifts from friends who know of my passion.

Joy to the World.........

The large joy picture was made from an old bulletin board and the mirror was a gift from my mom from one of my favorite stores.

The tree in the dining room is my husbands. It is covered with pheasant feathers with antlers around the base. For some reason this is the only pic I have of the tree. Will post more later.

My family has blessed me with a bounty of amazing Christmas dishes. Due to a lack of cupboard space, I display them in my cradenza.

A few pics of the mantle. I already posted about it but wanted to include a few pics to tie it all together.

My daughter decorated our bedroom. I would have never thought of hanging the ornaments in the apothecary jars...but I'm a lovin it.

This wreath started out as .99 bargain I purchased at the thrift store. With a can of silver spray paint, glitter, and glam and we have a piece that stands out.

Empty frames become a work of art with some decorations adorning them.

I am also linking up with Kim @ www.savysouthernstyle.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Blessings.

Roxanne

Breaking Bread

2010-12-04T22:07:00.010-06:00

Today was an amazing day. Fifteen sisters in Christ gathered in our home for a Christmas brunch and a time of fellowship.
Before the brunch began, three of us prayed that God would ordain and use this fellowship for His glory and that those that God would have be there would be able to be with us. Each guest brought a special purpose to the morning.
Patty, my co-host for the day made these amazing nutella filled pastries that even the youngest of guests could not leave alone.Notice her "Merry Christmas" on her plate.
And notice the writing I had a friend write on one of my plates before the day began. Sisters in Christ can be more alike than one can ever imagine.:)

We used an old coke crate to put the punch cups.

Cappucino punch and hot cider were served as our guests arrived.

Caden was our entertainment:)

We had a mind engaging devotion that provoked all of us to dig inside of ourselves and the season we are celebrating. Patti plans on posting the devotion on fb and when she does, I will share with you all. We talked about the different relationships that Mary had in her life. Her relationship with God, Joseph, and her cousin Elizabeth during her pregnancy. And those same relationships are just as important to us moms today. I am always touched how God can reveal himself to us in so many ways and how absolutely amazing His word is.

Some brought gift giving ideas that were home made to share with us.

Calendars for grandparents, home made stockings from old sweaters, gratitude boxes...you get the picture. I encourage everyone to spend time with sisters in Christ this season. They have a way of filling you up with passion for God as well as passion for life. They also keep accountable. Which is a good thing:)

Blessings

Roxanne

Christmas Mantel

2010-11-30T13:34:00.010-06:00

Oh how I love Christmas! Layla is having a mantel party and thought I would join in. Make sure and head over to http://theletteredcottage.net/ to see all of the magic. Turquoise, red and silver were my choice of colors this year for my mantel.
I have this fetish with vintage ornaments and so decided to make that the focal point this year on my mantel.
Draping snowflakes and icicles....
A few red poinsettias centered in the middle....

Turquoise glittery swirlies placed randomly about....

This poinsettia tree was a gift from my Grandma 10 plus years ago and I cherish it. It is lighted and is beautiful when the color changes to turquoise as the accent color on the tree.

My s-i-l gave me these trees three years ago from Target. Love them even more being that they are from my sista!!! (Love ya Mindy)

This is my favorite ornament of the wise men in flocking. I pray I am not clumsy when I am putting this one away...which I tend to be.

Our t.v. is right above the mantle and all of the boxes that go with it adorn the mantel which is a sore subject in our house. I think I am gonna have to call Nate for this one and ask for a Nate's Crate to be delivered to my house to fix said boxes on the mantel. I know he would agree with me that they just don't belong there. (Oh and anyone out there knowing Nate, please tell him of my longing for a visit.:)

Hope you have enjoyed the visit. I am hosting a Christmas brunch this weekend for some sisters in Christ so I'll be back with more pics.

Make sure and stop by the lettered cottage. This beautiful lady and her hubby are amazing!

Blessings

Roxanne

Christmas In The Air

2010-11-18T11:15:00.004-06:00

Every Veterans day I begin the process of decorating for the upcoming Christmas season. My attic stores nothing but Christmas. Does that give you an inkling of how much we love the season?

Stay tuned.....

Blessings

Roxanne

Fall centerpiece

2010-11-02T11:43:00.007-05:00

Style Sisters is having centerpiece wednesdays so I thought I would link up with my turquoise pumpkins.

This past weekend instead of cleaning, I painted mini pumpkins. Some I painted turquoise, some I painted pale robins egg blue, and the others were silver. Next year I will paint faux pumpkins cause I loved em that much!

This is my display of all three colors mixed in with leaves from our front yard. I love the combination of colors. We ended up using Martha Stewart glitter on a few and loved how they turned out! Oh thank you Martha for your glitter greatness!

Here they are painted with a coat of glaze in a charcoal color.

This is what they looked like freshly painted.

And here's the end result. Love my spray paint!

Make sure and head over to Style sisters at www.thestylesisters.blogspot.com and see more amazing centerpieces.

Blessings

Roxanne

The Lords on my side...

2010-10-22T20:02:00.008-05:00

I am joining Miss Mustard seed for Furniture Feature Friday.

Every September our state has an event known as the Nebraska Junk Jaunt. My mom and I have gone together every year. It is our birthday gift to each other. The people we meet, the treasures we find, and most importantly the one on one time i get to spend with my best friend is priceless. This year the jaunt fell on our homecoming and my daughter was a candidate (she was crowned queen by the way:) so proud of her!) so our two to three day trip had to be consolidated into five hours...yes only five hours to discover all of the small towns filled with treasures. Sadness people...sadness. But I thought I would share with you a few of the lovelies I found during our 5 hour trip.

I found this rug for .25 and couldn't pass it up. I washed it and am using it as a table runner for my other treasure.
I have been searching for a bed side table for months but didn't have $100 plus to spend. One of our first stops found me an old pulpit from an old church. It was on rollers and even has a place to store my magazines and devotion books.
Okay so having not blogged for 5 months I added the pics in the wrong order....sorry and bear with me. Here is my pulpit primed.
And here it is in its raw form. It started out at $40 but I ended up giving $15 for it! With a little TLC....
Here is the final result. Now ladies, I also like to remind my husband the I have the "Lord" on my side being that this pulpit has probably provided many a sermons. He he. Lance doesn't find it as funny as I do. Now all I need to do is get some cord covers for all of my electrical wiring.

Blessings

Roxanne

Amazing Mothers Day

2010-05-09T20:10:00.009-05:00

I am linking up with Reluctant Entertainer today to share my Mothers day.

What an amazing day it was! My kids came upstairs with these blue jars in hand and wished me a happy mothers day.

Of course my mom had something to do with the 3 jars for my 3 babies. My favorite gift from my favorite people.
I have been trying to figure out what to put on my footstool and waa laa here it is! Thanks Mom and Company!
These flowers came to my work on Thursday from my oldest daughter. She is a junior this year and her card commented on one last year together and how would she do it without her best friend...her mom. What more could a mom ask for for Mothers day?

Then the kids and I spent Saturday afternoon baking for some other special moms in our lives.

Sour cream cupcakes... my downfall.

Schylar covered small boxes with black and white scrapbook paper and put tissue paper in each box.

After we frosted the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, we fanned a strawberry out on top and placed them in their boxes.

The kids gave them to the other moms in their lives that have impacted them, fed them, inspired them, prayed for them...you get the point. I too decided to join in and delivered two to moms I chose to honor. One being a mom to a young man who was very impactful in my life. He passed away our second year in college and so in honor of Bryant, I honored Margarie.

Everyone appreciated them.. even a few tears were shed.

My most treasured part of my day had to be as we sat in church. I began to look around at husbands who usually do not come to church but more than likely they came for Mothers day at the request of their wives and moms. Then I looked down our row and at the end of our three children who love their Lord and Savior was a man who has taught them to love their Lord and Savior. He is there always, he is our rock, and he is there every Sunday being the spiritual leader for his family. That...was the best gift of my day...Thank you Lance. Your are our rock.

Make sure and stop by http://reluctantentertainer.com/ and read about special Mothers Day memories and link up as well.

Hope you all have a memorable day.
Blessings

Roxanne

MIA

2010-03-12T23:10:00.001-06:00

So sorry for not updating on the kitchen… Been a little busy…….

Celebrating hubbies 40th birthday…..

Watching my girls dance @ ballgames

Having the privilege of serving the lunch @ my Dad’s bull sale. God is good and in the midst of our economy, He provided!

We served approximately twice the men as last year. Did I mention God is good?

Making valentines cookies for the “Valentines’.

Celebrating the Super Bowl… See the Saints and Colts cupcakes? Jayden’s idea:)

Watching Jayden’s team win 1st place in Lions club league ball.

And preparing for state speech….. Sorry…. pics are coming soon..

So as you can see we have been busy celebrating life and the kitchen is on hold. We do have running water, stove, microwave, and dishwasher that are in operation so the rest can wait. Thanks for stopping by and I promise… will be posting very soon.

Blessings

Roxanne

Character

2010-01-30T23:54:00.001-06:00

Character is what makes a space your space. Last year i picked these up at a garage sale. They were purple but after a quick coat of paint, they will support the counter on our buffet turned island.

I plan on painting/staining the island black. We have decided to add a platform to the base of the buffet to give it some height and to have something to sit the storage baskets on.

Here are the other character building pieces…courtesy of my mom and goodwill. The bottom of each leg will be cut off and attached to the base of the cabinets to make the cabinets look more like furniture instead of cheap oak cabinets…stained to look like cherry. You get the picture.

Have a great week… We are off to Omaha to search for more knobs for the drawers… Wish us luck.

Blessings

Roxanne

Believe it or not, I’m walking on air…

2010-01-29T08:01:00.002-06:00

Actually… I’m walking on new flooring that is AMAZING!!! And this is the man to thank….

It’s my Dad:-) Sunday afternoon after church and dinner, my dad said let's get busy... and we did!

Lance had worked and worked on the flooring on Saturday and really had some issues laying it. I think he was just flat burned out from already installing some cupboards, cutting some trip so on and so forth.

I have always wanted flooring like this... and might I say my dad and I made a great pair. In fact the next day he called and told me to have the island room ready and he would be in after lunch and help me with it as well! He didn't have to tell me twice.

So this is what I found under the carpet. It was hard to cover it up but I knew I couldn't get it to match the kitchen. I started cutting the laminate and had about half of it cut by the time Dad made it in. We put it down in no time.

We still have some trim to do. Stay posted for the floor reveal...coming soon.

Blessings

Roxanne

Compromise…gotta love it

2010-01-21T22:36:00.001-06:00

This kitchen has taught this wife compromise. Never before in my married life has my husband had an opinion,given advice or input on how I have decorated our home in any way whatsoever. So what do I do when I began this kitchen remodel? Asked his opinion. Guess what? He had one!! Wrong time to ask as now I am learning compromise. Now don’t get me wrong. In many areas of our 18 years of marriage I have compromised but not in my precious design for the home. So what have I compromised on?

I wanted painted heirloom white cabinets with mocha glaze.

He wanted stained wood. Guess what we have?

I wanted white bead board as backsplash and 3/4ths of the way up the wall with a chair rail.

He didn’t. I now once again refer you to the picture above.

Compromise….

BUT do you remember who said, “Hey honey let’s remodel the kitchen with my overtime funds!” ? That would be my baby of 18 years..

Compromise… I hope to live with it for 18 years times 8.

Blessings

Roxanne

Pants to the ground

2010-01-20T22:25:00.002-06:00

Okay so this post has nothing to do with “Pants to the ground, pants to the ground, looking like a fool… but I love American Idol and was so glad to see our Brett Favre sing this now famous song after his big win on Sunday. Go Vikings! We have been Viking fans for way too long and how exciting it would be to make it to the Super bowl.

Okay now back to the pics of the remodel. Last Saturday my oldest daughter had speech in Valentine and my son had basketball games in Valentine so at the break of day I headed out to run back and forth between gyms and this is what i came home to.

Partial installation of some cupboards and my dishwasher in place waiting to be hooked up. oh dear new dishwasher of mine… my new friend. Oh how i can’t wait to hook you up and no longer wash dishes in the tub.

Lance and middle daughter had spent the whole day taking taking out base cabinets and sink and setting up the new cabinets. Thanks you two. What a wonderful surprise.

Somehow i deleted the pictures of the kitchen completely gutted. i hate it when that happens…. So we are a week in and this is all we’ve accomplished..

1. old cupboards out

2. new cupboards stained and polyurethaned

3. walls and ceiling textured

4. walls and ceiling painted

5. base cabinets along west wall installed.

Stay tuned for the next installation where you’ll see a man in cowboy boots and hat installing some amazing new laminate flooring…Compelling i tell ya:)

Blessings

Roxanne

Island Hopping

2010-01-19T23:09:00.001-06:00

So I have been dreaming of an island in the extended part of our kitchen redo. After pricing the purchase of an island or the products to build an island I began to think that I had best give up my dream. And then I was reminded of this piece of furniture in my basement.

10 years ago when we moved to A-town I was helping my G-ma’s sister clean out her basement and there sat this craftsman style buffet. it was covered in paint stains and the likes. Margaret shared that it had been a gift from her students when she retired from teaching in Long Pine Nebraska. The wood class had made it for her. She said that her husband had used it as his workbench. Yes….I said workbench people. So soon after I received a call from M asking me if I would like Ted’s workbench and I brought it to it’s new home. So now I’m thinking, paint it black… maybe like a black glaze or stain, add some wooden wheels, a countertop and waa laaa…. my island. Stay tuned and here we go….

Blessings

Roxanne

This is staying…

2010-01-18T19:24:00.001-06:00

As we begin our kitchen redo… I thought I would show you something that will be staying as part of our kitchen.

Last year for Christmas a dear friend gave this cookbook to me. I love it. In fact if you look close, there’s smudge marks all over it. The pictures, illustrations, recipies, and scripture in this book makes it so original.

Come to the table … it’s a keeper….:-)

Blessings

Roxanne

Good bye my dear friend

2010-01-17T22:30:00.001-06:00

For the past 11 years this has been one of my best friends… yup my kitchen. We moved into my “blue cottage” 11 years ago. With a very small budget I did my best to make it a place my family could gather and make memories in. Hospitality ranks high up there in my list of priorities and this room has suited its purpose well. For Christmas my mother-in-law asked if we would like a new dishwasher and we said uh..yeah!!! Our dishwasher was at the point of rinsing but not washing dishes and considering a family of 5, i was dearly missing my dishwasher. So right before Christmas we went to Omaha and stopped into Nebraska Furniture Mart to look @ Dishwashers.. and emerged with the purchase of a dishwasher, stove, and side-by-side fridge. Did I mention I have a giving Mom-in-law? We were scheduled for delivery on Jan 5th of our new appliances. Then the week of Christmas, a blizzard hit us. My husband ended up working many many hours of overtime (he’s a utility lineman) and he decided we should put his ot into the kitchen and update it for the new appliances. Who was I to disagree? This is a picture of the island we made after tearing out a wall (that’s a story for another post…believe me)) . It was made with plates from my childhood, my husbands childhood and plates we found @ auctions and the likes grouted to make a countertop . I will miss this island and the character it gave my kitchen. Maybe I will use it somewhere else in the home, garden, etc.

Here’s another look at the old cupboards that have been painted and repainted as well as hinges glued and re glued. We learned that gorilla glue was our friend. Is it silly to be this emotional over memories we made in this kitchen?

Curtains were courtesy of my Mom who when we moved into our home made or purchased something for each room in our home.. Did I mention I also have an amazing Mom?

And then there’s this precious Pizza Hut lamp my mom bought when the ph in town updated. When hubby and i were first dating, it was under this light we shared many a dates. So good bye my dear friend. You will soon be given a face lift… Please tune in and see the transformation…

Blessings

Roxanne

The Gift of Giving

2009-12-10T14:08:00.003-06:00

When my girls were little, a teenager from our church would have them over @ Christmas time and they would make Christmas cookies together. My girls loved and admired Mackenzie and this Mom was thankful to have someone like Mackenzie as a role model to her girls.

So this year it was our turn to start the same ritual. We gathered five little anticipating angels and five amazing teens for an evening of cookie and candy wonderland!

The evening began with pizza ,salad and of course....VEGGIE TALES!!. People run out and purchase this years Christmas Veggie Tales . You will not be dissapointed. They base the whole theme around the spirit of giving. First and foremost the kids were excited to be eating in the living room and then to watch Veggie Tales with teenagers. What more could you ask for?? I think Katie and I laughed more than any of the kids though.

Then the creativity began

Katie decorated sugar cookies with Brea. Ciara and Madison whipped up some amazing mini cupcakes with amazing sprinkles.

Haley, Libby, and Emma dipped pretzels and then swapped out for some white chocolate dipped truffles.

Kyndall (sp?), Schylar and Allison made oreo truffles. Now people if you know Kyndall, you would understand why there are three teens helping Kyndall. (Just kidding Laurie:-))

As we decorated, we talked a little about giving and telling others you love them.

When the cookies were done, we packaged up our treats into little boxes.

Then each angel chose someone in their lives that they wanted to give their boxes of goodness to. It was fun to listen to who they were going to share their treats with.

And here you have it folks, the end result. They enjoyed themselves so much and relationships were bonded and mentors gained. If you're reading this blog, thanks Mackenzie for being such an amazing role model for my girls! It was wonderful to see you at Thanksgiving!

Merry Christmas to you all and let's keep the gift of giving alive!

Blessings

Roxanne

Next Up...The Mantle

2009-12-03T15:14:00.003-06:00

Isn't it sad that we have to work for a living?

If I had my way, I would be home for the next couple of days decorating for Christmas instead of WORKING!!

I know, be happy for having a job, right? Right!! I praise the Lord for that! Here are a few glimpses of the beginning of the mantle. My silver deer are from last years after Christmas sales. I think I got them for 90% off.

Be back with more.

Blessings

Roxanne

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-02T14:41:00.008-06:00

La da di da di da da.....

Well the living room tree is complete. I added turquoise this year to the mix of reds and greens and am really happy with how it looks.
Poinsettias are adorned here and there.....

I love these little reindeer! Wish I would have bought more!

All different types of icicles adorn the tree as well.

These turquoise icicles were found in a thrift store @ the bottom of a box of ugly Christmas ornaments. Digging is worth it I tell ya!!

I found these poinsettia leaves @ our local flower shop and thought they too added a pop of color.

I am enjoying every one's Christmas decor and am inspired by them.
Blessings and thanks for stopping by!

Roxanne

1st Christmas Tour

2009-12-01T13:22:00.010-06:00

For the longest time I thought there was something terribly wrong with me. You see I love Christmas. No, really love Christmas. I love decorating all year long actually, but I seriously have a Christmas decorating fettish.
And then I met you, my dear blogging friend, and found out I am not alone. One of those wonderful people that share the same love of artisitc expression is Tracey over @Notes From A Cottage Industry. So come along with me as I share with you a few pics of what is done so far in the Philben Christmassy Home!

I love the mercury red candle holders above and decided this year to try to add turquise to my red and green theme and I think it worked! Right in the middle of the candles you will see one of our "away in the mangers". My middle daughter loved nativity sets as a child and asked for away in the mangers for her Christmas gift. We're talking 2 1/2 years old people. Lucky for me that means that I have a little partner in crime when it comes to decorating.

We found these spools of thread @ the thrift store and once again the ladies at the register just nodded their head at me with bewilderment as to what I was going to "knit with all of the thread". It's too pretty to touch I told them. It will sit in an old basket lined with an old Christmas runner in front of the fireplace. Okay they say. :-)

Forgot to turn the lights on in the greenery. Oops. Thinking I need to add some ribbon up here to to add to the look. So little time....

I purchased these wreaths at a high end department store @ 60% off three years ago and usually line the front windows with them. This year I decided to adorn our game boards with them instead. Too crazy? My husbands coffee buddy thinks so. But what do they know? If they had their way everything would be decorated with pheasant feathers and the likes. Hmmm. Come to think of it, I'll have to try that.

I also have found a liking to Christmas trees and here are the ones I have found so far. Silver and sparkly and green and glittery and blue and .... Can't think of anything to go with blue. Please forgive me.

In our main bath you will find chocolate draped with turquise. Man, now I'm hungry. Chocolate is such a wonderful food.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I promise much more to come.

Make sure to head over to Tracey's blog @ http://acottageindustry.typepad.com/a_cottage_industry/ to see so much more Christmassy goodness.

Blessings

Roxanne

Tis the season

2009-11-30T22:47:00.003-06:00

I love Christmas!!

It is my favorite time of the year. As we celebrate the birth of our savior, I trully go crazy decorating the home and embracing family and friends during this time. I always begin decorating on Veterans day. All of our christmas decor is in the attic and the family makes a line and down come the containers, boxes and trees. This year is no exception. Lance begins to ask @ the beginning of November when it's gonna start smelling like Christmas? I love that they love it as much as i do. So here is the family Christmas photo for our Christmas cards. We took it out @ the ranch I grew up on on top of a hill out in the pasture. I love how it turned out. Hope you all are enjoying the season as much as we are! And make sure and take time to do something unexpected for someone who has touched your life this Christmas season as this is what the season is all about!

Blessings

Roxanne

Tweedle Deedle Dee!!

2009-11-24T13:21:00.003-06:00

Diane over @ http://diane1876.blogspot.com/ is having her 2nd time around party today and i thought I would share my treasures.

Thrifting was good to me this past week. When I was out of town I found this amazing plate that was begging to come home with me. The colors are amazing. It would work in my newly painted dining room, my newly painted bathroom, or my newly painted bedroom. There is a good size chip on the back but I could care less.
It's from Germany and that's about all I know besides I am in love!!
I also found this precious vintage clock. Good day I tell ya!!

Blessings

Roxanne

Where's the 8 ball?

2009-10-08T16:02:00.003-05:00

Another junk jaunt goodie. The old tool box and pool balls.

They're sittin in front of my mantle looking all adorable.

Blessings

Roxanne

Auction Treasures

2009-10-06T14:53:00.003-05:00

My dear Mom in Law invited me to an auction in her town this past Saturday. Between fulfilling our job as booster vp/concession stand on Friday night and getting laundry (well just life in general) caught up, I didn't make it over until about 1:00. She had already purchased a box of antique Christmas ornaments for me! Yay Mom in Law!! Truly sometimes I think there's someting wrong with me with my love of Christmas and making my home Christmassy. But then I heard my hubby on Saturday comment how he couldn't wait to see the house oozing Christmas so I guess if I am blessed to have a hubby that loves it, I will continue to put up my numerous trees and cover the mantle, the window seals, the table, the... well you get it and I will love every minute of it.
Okay, back to the real purpose for this post. (yes I was blond until I had three kids and poof- it was brown:-)) I had to leave by 2:30 to drive on another hour and a half to volleyball games. I didn't even get to bid on one thing. My pretty bid card #152 went to waste and my arm was so sad not have have been exercised @ all! Yeah yeah, play me the little violin. BUT I had a message on my cell ph one when I once again had cell service from my Mom-in-law telling me to stop by on my way through. And here are the beauts that I now own!

I have a fetish with vintage flower pictures and am about to start covering my hallway walls with all of them. Each piece of art that I have acquired has a story and I will have to do a post on my lovelies.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings

Roxanne

More 2009 Nebraska Junk Jaunt

2009-10-05T15:52:00.010-05:00

Most of these pics are from the town of Cairo Nebraska. This town was loaded with vendors, visitors and a feeling in the air of pure enjoyment. Love this robins egg blue food mart sign. I would love to have taken it home for my backyard fence.

This is just a look at a corner of the main street of Cairo. Fun benches, more robins egg blue furniture.

A "cowboy coffee pot" as my husband calls them. Lance has one of these in his garage and makes coffee in an old sock in his enamelware. My son and his friends go crazy when the pot goes on the wood stove and starts to percolate.

Just a few watering cans;-)

Another cowboy coffee pot.

linens galore

See the amazing needle point? I have one @ home that I am deciding how and what to do with it.

Old trunk with beautiful aged stenciling.

The greenery on this antique building is amazing!

Last year this is the piece that Mom and i searched for for Moms garden. We found one in Ord for the perfect price. It's now "planted" in her garden and looks amazing. I'll post a pic soon.

Fun old stools.

My Mom-in-law loves antique yard sticks... so took a pic for her.

Then when you were ready to check out, this antique cash register checked you out. Yes it was for sale as well.

These vendors lined both sides of the railroad tracks in Cairo.

Hope I haven't bored you with more pics of junkin. It is absolutely a trip I am already planning for next year. Precious memories.

Blessings

Roxanne

Sometimes it's the people you meet that makes the Jaunt great!

2009-10-05T14:51:00.004-05:00

This handsome fella and his hat were too good of a photo op to pass up! My Dr. Seuss had been purchased for my son on Husker game days and so when I found someone else enjoying the jaunt as much as we were, we just had to stop.

These junk jaunters were having a blast.
On their trailer they had the name of each jj'er and each all of their purchases under their names. LOVE IT!!

This is my someday sister in law and her amazing family with Mom. We meet up every year on the jaunt. Usually it's for chi tea @ Kay's kitchen but this year it was just a quick hug, see each others treasures, and then back on the road. They always make the jaunt even more "special". Luv ya Mindy:-) and can't wait to see the chair and the fabric pumpkins.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blessings

Roxanne

More Nebraska Junk Jaunt Goodness

2009-10-05T13:50:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's taken so long to post more Junk Jaunt pics. Life has a way of becoming busy. so here are some pics from Berwyn. We pulled into this little town about 8:30 and they were wanting to close but still got a couple pics of the goodness in this old downtown store.

The gentleman said that he worked for an auctioneer out of Broken Bow and that is how he had filled this stop. Anything you wanted he had. Prices were a little high but fun to look around at.
Love this pic of the lineup of high chairs.

This table was amazing! We are talking rows and rows people! So much fun...too little time.

Old church pews...

Old hat boxes. If I would have had more room, these babies would have been in the truck.

Blessings

Roxanne

"P" is for purty amazin husband

2009-09-30T11:47:00.003-05:00

As I was trying to clean up a very messy kitchen after work last night my husband comes into the kitchen and remarks "I would have been home earlier but I had to take a "P" in Newport". I look up from what I'm doing about to announce, is that really neccessary to tell me you had to take a- and that's when I saw this precious piece of treasure in his hands. He and his crew were asked if they could take the time to take down the old letters off of the old Newport gym. And as wonderful as my husband is he thought of his wife and her love of all things old. He said the crew laughed at him and then decided they'd take home the letter that matched their last name as well.

To paint or not to paint... that is the question

Here's the handsome fella..

Blessings

Roxanne

Another Nebraska Junk Jaunt Find

2009-09-29T13:37:00.003-05:00

See the little pumpkins? Another junk jaunt treasure. I found them in Cairo Nebraska for .50.
I also found the fall arrangement on the jaunt as well. Love the candleholder.

Works great on my footstool.

Or maybe I should say works great on my footstool until the football hits it. I'm holding my breath.. Will post more pics of the junk jaunt goodness as the days go by.

Blessings

Roxanne