Gotta share my surprise

As you know, it can be very overwhelming when you are the one doing the decorating choices. I haven't decorated in so long I am not trusting my judgment these days.I know what I want in my head and that is all I have to go on. The Romantic Homes magazines I have hoarded for many years has been my only guide. It is so hard to be at the painting stage and getting the basics in place. I like the decorating part, not the hard labor part :-)
So, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed I headed to the kitchen to sit with a pot of tea and wallow in my woes. I peeked out the front door window and saw a huge box on my porch. The delivery guys never knock on the door. They figure we will eventually see our mail at some point. Thinking it was something DS ordered, I grumbled as I struggled to get it in the door without Angell running out. (She is mad at me because she got a bath and nails clipped last night)

The box was for moi! It was from my sweet friend Terri of CT. Terri somehow has the ability to read my mind. It has happened time and time again, so although she won't reveal this talent, I know she possesses it none the less. Inside the box was this beautiful shabby chic shelf in cream with hand painted roses. Squeal!

 Yes I hung it immediately. It was exactly what was meant to go between the windows. I was searching for something this morning online, and here it was sitting on my front porch! Crazy right? But true! Terri also sent an adorable snowman kit complete with pipe and carrot nose. She also made a beautiful embroidered hanky sachet for me (picture soon..battery low) What a tearful morning I had....happy tears of course.

Please excuse the disaster but here are a few sneak peeks at the redo. My little shabby chandelier for the dining room......

The chandelier in the hall..........

The green walls with cream trim...so glad to be rid of the dark wall paper! Soon the dark green carpet will be gone as well!

So, there you have it. Today I start painting upstairs and next week I must store and move everything in my bathroom, bedroom and hall. Oh help me!

Enjoy your organized homes!

A wonderful giveaway!!!

Stop by Spunbyme for a sweet giveaway. If you love feminine touches, you will enjoy her blog. I'm going back to snoop around a bit more.

Taking a breather

I have been painting for 7 days now. Everything needed two coats of paint. What started out to be a simple task has become a whole house undertaking. DH decided it is a good time to re-carpet the house. I couldn't talk him into hardwood flooring...old house...too cold. Ok, whatever. The carpet guys came yesterday to measure. We order tomorrow, making sure what we chose is the right one. I hope to never carpet again, so this is a tough decision. I haven't put up any decorations, not even a tree. There is no point since most of my furniture is stored until the carpet is installed which won't be until the day after Christmas. What a mess. I have really enjoyed gathering my stored and stashed decor for the new dining room. I finally get to use my grandma's dining set properly. If I can hang in for two more weeks I know it will be worth it. The hall is so much brighter that I can hardly wait to get out of bed and walk downstairs each morning and that is without any decorating. I bought another little shabby chandelier for the dining room. I saw it and it begged to come home with me.

I forgot to post a pic of the last project I worked on. A purple purse with needle felting in the center.

~~~I also wanted to mention the announcement to those of you who haven't seen the post on the Comfort Doll Blog ,the Comfort Doll Project has ended. With managing time and new family events I have made the difficult decision to close the project. It has been amazing to see almost 1000 dolls in just over 2 years pass through my hands and into the hands and hearts of a woman during a rough time. I can't thank you all enough for helping me with this project. It is something I will never forget. Such giving ladies! I will be sending out the last of the collected dolls this week. It has become difficult to find homes for security reasons, but my decision is purely based on personal reasons. I know you all can relate to that. Life just gets busier and I want to enjoy all I can.

I am looking forward to a restful new year and many new projects and adventures to share with you all. My posts will be scarce until I am finished redecorating as you can imagine. I have to admit, I tried to live up to my promise to myself to give up my facebook games however it it is just too tempting to steal a few moments to prepare food, feed animals, clean fish tanks, etc. Therefore until I can shake this need to play, I will still be gifting what I can.

Speaking of gifts, I enjoy sending little gifts to many of you and with this being such a busy time with no studio time at all, gifts will sporadically be made and shipped through Feb. I am looking forward to getting creative again. I feel like I have been on a desert island with no fabrics and embellishments. I walk past my studio and sneak a peek at the threads hanging on the round about and fabrics folded and ready to play with. It is very hard to NOT go in and start gathering for a new project but first things first.

I wish you all a magical Holiday filled with all your favorite things and many blessings. (Just in case I don't make it back here) Warm hugs and whipped cream mustaches!(from hot cocoa)

Busy around here!

I have a lot to catch up on, I should start with the final results from my detox. I weighed in on the doctors scale and I was 8 pounds lighter!!! That was a perk. I have newfound endergy...possibly from toxins being washed away???
Who knows, but that and biking 1 to 2 hours daily certainly had amazing results.

It became pretty busy around here after I caught the cleaning bug from DH. Saturday me and Laney went to Vogue fabrics and the mall. The mall was crazy as was expected. That is the last time I "played", it's been work, work ,work ever since. When I arrived home from my fun day I found DH painting the kitchen ceiling. The next morning I started in cleaning the pantry and laundry room then  BAM! Wave of energy and the need to change my environment.
I now have the downstairs hall and front room painted, a new "shabby" chandelier hanging in the hall with the cutest tear drop crystals hanging from it. The stairway will be re-carpeted either tomorrow or Sat.I will take pics when all is finished. I'm debating if I should continue painting another room or quit until after Christmas. I've got to get my tree up !!!

What a crazy time to paint your home. My little gifties I had planed to make will now be New Year gifts. I just can't stop in the middle of this ordeal.

I hope you all have been keeping creative.......I can't believe Christmas is in two weeks. Does anyone remember "Little Miss No Name"?

Stitching away

After playing in the studio for a few hours this morning I ventured down to the kitchen for a drink and found DH standing on a chair cleaning the cabinet tops, all my display containers had been washed and were drying on the counter. I should have taken a picture because this is a rarity.LOL. Is the man bored? Am I a dirty housekeeper? One thing I clean only twice a year is the top of cabinets. It's where any cooking oils land along with dust. Yuck! Ammonia is the only thing that cuts that grime, and he was prepared for battle.

I grabbed a bottle of water and quietly tiptoed back upstairs to continue playing. I'm no fool! :-)
I am almost finished with my project and have two smaller ones to hopefully finish over the weekend, well, Saturday eve and Sunday.

Detox is almost over. I don't want sugar but I would love a piece of Provolone cheese. I love cheese, almost any kind. I am glad I kept a journal so I can compare with my next detox. I feel like I have a fresh start. I also think I will be giving more thought as to what I consume. Feeding the body more than the cravings. Have you ever noticed when you crave something and don't have it, and you eat something else, the craving is gone. You don't have to have that item, just something to nourish. The body sends signals when it needs nourishment, when we ignore those signals, it fools us into eating by working on our brain. Telling it you want chocolate, or something greasy, just so you will consume anything for it to keep functioning.Although it prefers and needs the correct nutrients, it will settle for whatever it can get.

My changes starting Sunday, yes, I am taking tomorrow off yet I will not blow what I accomplished. I just want a day to not dwell on food consumption.
I will make my breakfast the biggest most calorie filled meal of the day so I can work it off by bed time.
I will snack (healthy) many times during the day to keep my metabolism from dipping.(This is where cravings come in)
I will eat the portion size of weight watcher's because that really works.
I will continue to ride my bike because it clears my mind not to mention tightens my legs and behind while melting away anything that doesn't belong.
I will continue on the vitamin supplements I have been using from this program.
I will frequent the health food store to experiment with healthier food sources and various products. I love the smell of a good health food store. So herbal and fresh!

Again, I must thank Sandy for not leaving me in the dark and enlightening me on the detox process. I would have never tried to detox because a few months ago I caught "The Doctors", which is a group of doctors on TV that cover all topics. They said the body removes it's own toxins and you do not need to use a detox program or product. I thought that made sense then.

All I can say is if you can spend only a few days doing this, than do it. You will feel great afterward. It isn't fun, and is quite boring, sometimes torturous, when you are cooking for family too, but the light feeling you will experience, whether mental or physical, you will agree that is was worth it. Ok, off my soap box.

 Thank you for all the emails and encouragement everyone. They were much appreciated. :-)
Back to stitching! Have a great weekend.

Still kicking!

The past few days have been spent creating....(sneak peek)

....and today I spent it with mom. We went shopping and found ourselves at the theater watching  "The Blind Side". We both loved it. It was really a good movie and I would recommend it.

Yesterday a friend called to ask if I wanted some old rusty rod iron railing. I said yes, rust is in! I picked it up last night and can't wait until spring to arrange it in the garden. It has little finials on each section and could really be a cute backdrop for climbing flowers such as morning glory.

Detox is going smoothly. I will be ending it a day early because I am spending Saturday with my friend Laney and I'm not carrying broth and an ultra shake with me.:-) I will behave though.We never eat bad greasy things when we are out. I'm not really wanting sweets which is good. I feel good, energetic and overall healthy. I had a little headache but that is the only negative symptom but that could be from sewing a lot. Sandy has been very encouraging and I appreciate that. It is nice to exchange thoughts with one who has been through it. I will do this again.

I may put up the Christmas tree tomorrow. I have to decide where to put it now that I have added the dining table to the front room. It will all work out some how I'm sure.

I am tired from shopping with mom, so I think it is bubble bath time.