Chocolate Bunny Mantle...

My fireplace mantle is always a struggle for me, I know the look I want, but I just can't seem to make it work. After leaving it kind of blank for a week or so, I finally came up with a Spring/Easter look that I'm happy with. It's very simple, just a mirror with a wreath on it(I need to lower the wreath to the middle of the mirror still), my five faux chocoloate bunnies(best ever goodwill find last year!), and a mustard/tan berry vine.

Simple and easy and I'm happy with it.

I had a dentist appointment this morning, which I was not looking forward too. I had to get an upper and lower(on the same side) molar repaired...drill out old silver fillings, take away the majority of the tooth, and build up two new teeth. She is great dentist and managed to do all this to avoid the crowns for now. But I was so numb(more than I have ever been), and now that I'm not, the upper tooth is throbbing. I have two more lower molars to get fixed in April and then I will finally be free of the ugly silver molars which now look almost black. I was blessed with soft teeth unfortunately.

I've been in the mood to paint some prim animal pictures, so I'm going to give that a whirl this afternoon. If they come out decent I'll share them with you.

Have a great Monday,

Tiff

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my oldest daughter's 17th birthday :) We celebrated with her requested dinner(homemade orange chicken),a "portal" cake(it's a cake from a video game)(and I saved my points to eat it with some mint chocolate chip icecream!), and presents. I thought this was a sweet picture of her with a cheeky little smile on her face.

Happy Birthday Samantha! We love you and you make us so proud.

Today is my WW weigh in, and I'm down another 2 lbs!!! Yay!! Hubby is doing awesome too and can already see a difference in how his clothes fit.

Have a lovely Sunday,

Tiff

Prayers for a Fellow Blogger...

My heart ached for our fellow blogger, Sue as I read This. Please keep Sue and her family in your prayers and most importantly, pray for Richards safe return.

Tiff

Do you Hear Treasures Calling?

I know I can't be the only this happens to, right? You are driving or at home or anywhere, and all of sudden you get the urge in your head to go to goodwill( or where ever you thrift shop) because you just know there is something there for you? I get this every so often and I'm never disappointed, something special is just there waiting for me:)

Yesterday afternoon I was heading to pick one of my daughters up from play practice at the middle school and while I was driving, I "heard" goodwill calling me, LOL! I've really been trying to avoid that place because I don't need more things, but I couldn't resist this time. So after I picked her up I said we are going to swing by GW and just do a real quick walk through.

Walked by the furniture... nothing, by the linens....nothing, onto the crafts, baskets, and wood...nothing, then... there on the lamp shelf I saw this beauty.....

$4.99 and not a chip or crack in it. I have been collecting(slowly) oil lamps for awhile now but didn't have a pedestal one, so I knew this is what was calling me:) I figured it was a little old because I haven't seen brand new ones like it, but I still have no idea how old it is. I went home and looked for it on the computer. The only one I could find that is exactly like it is on Ebay for $59.99!! Here is a close up.... (it's marked Eagle on the brass part)(anyone know anything about oil lamps?) Oh, and that is ALL I bought, I was a very good girl;)
And I forgot to share with this feather tree I got about a month ago at the same antique store I bought Mason's doll bed from. It's not old(maybe 10 or 15yrs), but for $10 I couldn't pass it up...
It's hard to tell in the picture, but it is almost a lime green color and has some flocking on it. It's perfect as a Valentine or Easter tree.
So, have you heard any treasures calling you?

Have a nice day,

Tiff

Brighter Day...

I know we have all said it at one time or another, but I'll say it again, I wish all us bloggers lived in one spot and could all be neighbors. Could you imagine the trouble we would get into?

I truly thank you all for the responses you left for me on yesterday's post. I think I may have come across a bit more sad than I intended. Even my hubby came home from work and said he read my post and felt so bad for me. I am not depressed, trust me, I know that black hole feeling and I am not there. This is just more of a frustrated, stress kind of feeling. And it's not coming out of the blue, there are definite stressful things going on that are out of my control.... and I like to be in control! And having a friendship or crafting outlet would just be such a lovely escape, but I know that I can't(or it will be difficult) to find it here. Maybe I just need to change my expectations and put myself out there...again, while we wait for the path of our near future to be laid out. Thank you all for letting me know that I am not alone, even if we can't be neighbors, it's nice to know that you are all out there and we can share our lives together through words and pictures. I really do appreciate all of you.

So yesterday afternoon I called a friend. We don't talk often, but when we do, it is usually a good conversation. She too is struggling here, lack of family and friends, and not fitting in. We talked a long time and realized we are part of the few who don't run with the "normal" crowd, we aren't followers, we are like many of you blog friends, different in a good way. There just aren't that many of us out there in one spot, we are spread out far and wide.

We decided that we are going to try and do a local big craft show in April! We will split a booth, which will cut down on the cost and the pressure of trying to fill it by ourselves. Plus, we can sit and chat the whole day. I think it will be a nice day out of the house and something to look forward too, whether we make money or not. We both vowed to only use the supplies we have at hand, so as not to acrew any more costs(we both have plenty of supplies). She does beautiful filet crochet edging , sewing, and quilting. Our booth will be mostly textile goods for the home. Now I just need to decide what I am going to make. Any suggestions? What would you buy at a craft show? I'll keep you posted on the details of the show for anyone local who wants to come.

For Valentine's day, I bought myself some flowering plants for the house that I thought would look nice for Easter and Spring. I scrubbed down the kitchen this morning and placed my pretty plants in their new homes. Here is the calla lilly on my kitchen table....

A pink hyacinth in the family room...
And a purple hyacinth in the kitchen.
Today is a brighter day and I'm thankful for that, I'm thankful for my family, and I'm thankful for all of you.

With love,

Tiff

Mid Winter Blahs?

Maybe it's the February Blahs or maybe it's all that is going on, but I'm just feeling "Bleh" right now. Just a warning, this post is probably going to be full of a bunch of questions and whines and all over the place ramblings and maybe some self pity(and very bad grammar!), just so you know.

The pictures have nothing to do with this post, they are just random shots around the house, because a post needs pics in my opinion :)

I'm really struggling with blogging right now, but have been forcing myself to do it because I really do enjoy the experience as a whole and don't want to lose it. But my love for antiquing and decorating is choked at this particular period in my life. We are kind of in limbo at the moment and I really don't know what the next year is going to be like. As I mentioned before, we are 99% likely moving in the summer, so that puts wanting to do anything in this house at a halt for me. I still will do small rearranging and stuff, but it's kind of lack luster and just for practical purposes.

Winter has been really strange here, warm, cold, snow, rain, but no true winter, no huge snowstorms and our large lakes aren't even frozen. With that, just give me Spring, as much as I like winter, if it isn't going to be real, let's just move on to the next season. Plus, I am planning a Major yard sale. Everyday I mentally say to myself that I can't wait to get rid of all this stuff and lighten up the load that I feel is on my shoulders. I am cutting down on toys, clothes, craft supplies, and all my knick knacks and furniture. My basement is overflowing waiting for the sale. But I can't do it until at least May, unless we have a really nice April.

I want a more simplified prim farmhouse look, but then when I see homes arranged just right that are full of "stuff", I like that look too. My problem is that I'm not a purist in any one genre, the only thing that runs similar is that I like OLD things. I guess that's ok, because it is my home, and maybe I just need to stop looking at pinterest photos!

Another thing I realized with a lot of blogs that I love and the homes within them is that most don't have a bunch of munchkins living at home. So if they stage a room, the room will stay that way. My kids are great and for the most part are not destructive, but if I place a prim child's rocking chair with an old doll in it in front of the fireplace, do you think a 2 yr old will not be tempted to play with it? Like my hubby always reminds me, this is our home it's not a showroom, we actually live here(with children). So I really need to let that go, the fact that I can keep my home nice and have an homey antique feel is great, but for now it won't and can't be staged. Why is decorating so important to me? Why do my eyes have to see perfect vignettes and I'm not happy till it is arranged just right? I know that not everyone is like this.
Then there is this place where we live. I just don't fit in here and I feel like there is nothing here for me. We have no family here. No friends that we get together with. Yes, I do have some friends, but nothing real close. A lot of people "know" us but they really don't want to "get to know" us. Does that make sense? We are one of the largest families in town and people know my children through the schools(they are well behaved and polite) and people know me as the crafty mom or the throw the class party or make the costumes mom. They talk to others as if they are friends with me. But have they ever come over to my house for tea or me to theirs? No. My definition of a real life friend is not the same as others.

I don't drink and I'm not a workout mom, so the margarita parties and the gym are not places for me to make friends(most of the women in my age range fall into these two categories).

I tried to start a craft group at the library(neutral ground) and gave it 5 months, but nothing, no one showed(other than the two friends). We were hoping to meet some women with common interests. I really don't know what is up with this town. It is very "keep up with the Jone's" and I hate that.

I look and look for things to join, craft wise, but I can't find anything and feel so lonely. I do know that I tend to have greater ambitions than I have time and I always say that I'm full of good intentions but don't always bring them to fruition, but I just wish I could find a nice group of women to get together with. One where if I miss a week, the group still goes on but when I'm there I feel at home, and they feel the same way. Oh how I envy those of you when I read about your hooking or quilting groups or the ladies you get together with to go junking.
And it doesn't help that we haven't been able to find a church either, I'm sure that would fill my need for fellowship. It's not that we haven't tried, trust me, we have, but that is a whole other story for maybe one day in the long distant future.

It just always feels like it is hubby and me against the world and we can be nice, follow the rules, and share but in the end we get pooped on. I feel like I'm constantly seeing the witches of the world reap all the rewards. Oh, I know that sounds awful and I'm not talking about just material things. I was shown this over Christmas with my own extended family and that we were not as important as others and blatantly told so(again, another story for another day).

Ok, I really don't know where I was going with this post, I guess like I said, maybe it's the winter blahs and I'm just feeling sorry for myself. I do thank the Lord for my children, hubby, and all that he has blessed us with, I suppose my mind just does not do well with living in limbo land and not knowing what is going on with our immediate future.

It probably also doesn't help that my hormones are wrecking havoc on me and I am having a severe case of baby fever. Yes, I DO want another baby. I would have 10 more if I could, but in reality, I would be thrilled with just one more blessing.

If you got through all that, bravo to you, lol. I guess I'm off to take down the Valentine decorations and clean the kitchen, do laundry and squeeze in some sewing.

Thank you for listening,

Tiff

A Sweet For You