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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas Eve my Dear Friends!!....


Updated to add Christmas morning coming down the stairs....


As we wait for the kids to fall asleep, I thought I would make a quick post to wish you all a very Merry Christmas :) Here are a few pics of the house, mostly the kitchen....






This was my vintage retro tree...




All in their matching jammies right before bed...
OOPS, look who I just caught!!!!
Merry Christmas!!!!

Love,
Tiff



Monday, December 19, 2011

Around the house...

We spent a lovely and much needed weekend away in northern New Hampshire visiting my nephew and his fiance'. We stayed in a beautiful old farmhouse that I found through a vacation rental site, sorry no pics of the weekend, I didn't use my camera once! But I might steal some from my daughter's camera if I get a chance.

Before we left, I did start to take some pics of the Christmas decor around the house. Each year I do things a little different, depending on the mood I am in. For the kitchen window, I used some red gingham fabric and made a scalloped edge for the shelf and hung some pinecones in the window. It came out simple and sweet and fit in with the rest of the kitchen theme.

Burlap seems to be very popular lately and I had some upholstery webbing burlap, so I made a big bow for one of the wreaths in the kitchen and hung it on the hutch by the table.
Mason's nap time is usually in the afternoon and since I moved my sewing area to my bedroom, I was in need of a way to entertain him for a bit so I could get some sewing done. I popped in his favorite movie(Lilo and Stitch is this weeks pick) on my lap and put him on my bed. Within minutes of me starting to sew, I looked over my shoulder and this is what I saw :)While he slept, I sewed a wool scrap blanket.
Have a productive Monday,

Tiff

Friday, December 9, 2011

Thank You

I'm extremely happy to report that Mason is fine and doing well. Everything went smoothly, other than the normal screaming from an almost 2 yr old who has major mommyitis, and even that wasn't too bad, he just wanted the IV out as soon as he woke up. Thank you all for your prayers, they really meant a lot to me. I am so glad this is behind us and it is one less stress on my mind.
Hopefully I will have some sort of Internet back on Monday and I can share some pics with you. Thank you again all my wonderful blog friends.

Have a lvoely weekend,
Tiff

Thursday, December 8, 2011

keep Mason in your Prayers, please....

We are in between Internet providers, so I am using hubby's iPad, which is incredibly slow and awkward to use, so please ignore typing errors. As I mentioned in previous posts, we are going through some very stressful times, which is part of why I haven't been posting, I just don't have the gumption. But I am making this post to ask you all to keep Mason in your prayers. He is going in tomorrow morning(Friday) for dental surgery. It is in the hospital and he has to have general anethesia. Thank goodness he is to young to be stressing, but hubby and I sure am. Please pray that all goes well and he doesn't have any pain. I am one very nervous mommy.

I'll try to update later tomorrow.

Thank you,
Tiff

Friday, November 11, 2011

Happy 11th Birthday Gavin!!



What could be more awesome than turning 11 on 11-11-11?!?!!! My 4th baby has that special honor today :) We made treats for him to take to school yesterday(quadruple stuffed oreos dipped in white chocolate and covered with sprinkles on a popcickle stick, huge hit!). I'll share the rest of our day later, we are headed out to enjoy the day with the birthday boy!!

Have a lovely long weekend,


Tiff

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Simplifying...Life and Home...

Added Cameron's Birthday pic from Halloween...


Purging... that is my word for the next 6 months. I'm clearing and cleaning out the house. I can't believe all the stuff I have accumulated in almost 19 years of marriage, despite having yearly yard sales!! But really, enough is enough and I'm tired of "Stuff". I want a more simple home and simple life, not ruled things and clutter.


I want the lines of the house to show and to use paint to add character and interest....

No unnecessary furniture or nic nacs to get in the way.....
I was going to have a huge fall yard sale, but there just wasn't enough time in the day to get everything ready. So come Spring, I'm having a massive, clear the house out, yard sale!!! I already got rid of 11 storage tubs of stuff in the basement that went to the yard sale pile. And 50x that is still waiting to be let go.

I know that this will not only simplify my home but also my life. It's not an easy task though, as some things I have had for years, but I am letting go and I'm trying to just have antiques and handmade items as decor. You should see the pile of halloween stuff I got rid of after I took it all down this weekend!!

And I know I have really let this blog fall to the way side, but to tell you the truth, my heart just hasn't been in it. I have too many stresses going on. But don't worry, I haven't abandoned it completely, it may just be once weekly that I post, until life gets more certain. I'll leave you today with a pic of some of the kids on Halloween... we had a bumble bee, Patriot soldier(made completely from wool from my stash), a mobster, a dragon, and a scary monster who sat and scared the trick or treaters. I think the was the first year that I didn't spend a dime on costumes, we used ones we already had or made from stuff around the house:)
Have a lovely weekend,

Tiff

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Card Winners....

I'm working on a different computer so I can't share any photos(like the 50th Anniversary quilt or my front porch) but I can tell you the winners of the the Shutterfly card giveaway....


CONGRATS to Gayle, Karen, and Vanessa!!!! Email me and I will email you back the codes.


I'm looking forward to this snowstorm so I can get our Christmas card pictures done :) and I just plain LIKE snow :)


Life is still busy and hectic and in turmoil and limboland, but I'm slowly cleaning and simplifying the house(starting with our closets). I wanted to have a massive yard sale next weekend, but that isn't likely anymore as there is just no way I will be ready for it. So it may have to wait until Spring. I was thinking about making a selling blog to let go of some of my prim and vintage items, but I hate dealing with the shipping thing, but then again, I may go ahead and do it. I'm so wishy washy lately, I just want my life back to normal.


Have great weekend,



Tiff

Friday, October 21, 2011

Shutterfly 2011 Holiday Card GiveAway!!

Do you use Shutterfly? If you don't, you should! You can customize greeting cards, labels, hang tags, mugs, key chains, magnets, and so much more . I used them last year to make our Christmas cards(as seen above) and present hang tags. The quality of the cards is superb and all your creations come in their own box for easy storage and to keep them protected. Plus there are so many creative designs to choose from, all you have to do is pick what picture(s) you want to use and the rest is easy peasy. Create professional quality cards in just minutes!


Worried about getting the perfect group shot? No stress, there are plenty of cards that let you choose multiple photos so that you can get that "just right" picture of each person in your family on the card. That's what I did with mine. Trying to get 7 kids to look just so for a picture, I was exhausted! So I just went with individual ones and I loved the result.


So make your own one of a kind Holiday cards this year with Shutterfly!!! You won't be disappointed. And to add some sweetness to all this.. If you are a blogger, and want a chance to get 25 free cards this holiday season, register here.... http://goo.gl/DDw7Q


And for my readers, leave a comment with this post and I will draw THREE winners who will each receive a code for 25 FREE holiday cards generously donated by Shutterfly!!!!



I can't wait to get started on my Christmas cards this year, enjoy making yours!!



Have a most lovely and creative day,

Tiff

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Giveaway Winner....

Where to start? First, an apology, I'm sorry for taking months(totally unbelievable) to post a winner and for not blogging for so long. Why? you ask. It started with just being super busy with the beginning of the school year(homeschooling and public schooling is more work than I thought it would be), then my old laptop started to misbehave and fall apart at my fingertips, it's hard to write a full post without a space bar! Yes, I could have used hubby's computer, but all my stuff and photos are on mine, lame excuse I know. Then as time passed, more things kept me busy and I just could not bring myself to even look at my blog or anyone else's for that matter. Kind of out of sight out of mind thing.
And for the last month I have been under the most stress I have ever been in my entire life. I can't go into details at this point in time, but it's not health related, we are all for the most part healthy, thank the Lord. Let's just say, there are going to some major changes happening in the next year and none of it will be easy but hopefully in the end we will all be better off and our stress level will at a more manageble level.
And along when the above stress hit home, we lost one of the bunnies, Honey, and some other minor little nightmare hit our house, so it's been a miserable few weeks. BUT, I think I can see a speck of light at the end of the tunnel, I just have too walk, crawl, drag myself a few miles to get to it.


Now for the winner of my giveaway, it's Lynn !! Congratulations! Email me with your address and I will get your package out to you.

I have a very cool Shutterfly giveaway to share with you all, so if you come back tomorrow(I'm not joking) you can see what it is.


Thank you all for your patience with me and for the emails you sent, I'm sorry for not responding sooner. All prayers of strength, peace, and guidance would be so very greatly appreciated.


With love,


Tiff

Friday, August 19, 2011

Ugh, Stuff....and Giveawy ends tonight...

I know I haven't posted all week and I'm sorry, it's not that I haven't wanted to, I actually have a ton to share! Like all my yard sale finds and my sewing room/school progress. BUT, unfortunately, blogger has not been friendly to me this week and I haven't had luck with downloading pictures. Not to mention, that my sidebar keeps updating and then unupdating(I know, not a word) itself, so I can't even tell who is posting to their blog. And add to the blog issues, that I haven't been feeling well, though I have found out what has been wrong with me for the last 4 months or so(which is a huge relief because I really was beginning to fear the worst), I just haven't been on the computer much this week.
Right now I am scrambling to finish up some blueberry pies, fight off a headache, and avoid the heat outside(it got nasty and humid here) and later on tonight I will draw the winner of my giveaway, so stay tuned!

have a lovely evening,

Tiff


Friday, August 12, 2011

"Fall is in The Air" GiveAway....

I've been pretty fortunate lately by winning two lovely giveaways, so I thought I would pass along some of the kindness. I'm calling this "Fall is in the Air" because Fall is my favorite season and I'm really looking forward to the cool crisp days that just have a certain feeling to them that you can't describe with words.

What I'm giving away is not Fall themed by the traditional sense, but more so because of what they are... a small tin accent light because the daylight hours are getting shorter and it's nice to have fun little lights to turn on.... a handmade doll because it's nice to have a friend to hang out with when the weather turns chilly.... and a iron on transfer kit because it's fun to have a chilly weather project to stitch on by the fire.

This gal was made by Erika of Erika's cupboard, she is no longer making dolls but was a fantastic artist and her dolls are well made. This one is from my collection.
Now if you would like to enter for a chance to win these items, all you have to do is be a follower of my blog or become one and leave a comment on this post. That's it! You are welcome to share this giveaway and use any of the pics above but it is not necessary to enter. One piece of bad news is that I'm going to have to keep this to US residents only as I just looked up international shipping costs(yikes), sorry about that to all my international readers.
I'll draw the winner on August 19th at 9pm et.


Have lovely weekend,

Tiff

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Thursday Thoughts... Thank you for the idea!

Yes, I know I skipped "Wednesday's Work", but the day just kind of slipped away from me, at least we got our school supply shopping done though.

I've been working in my sewing room, tweaking the family room, still doing the redwork blocks, and working in the garden.

My thoughts have been scattered and all over the place lately, and I have way too many projects mulling around in my head. I did decide on the spur of the moment today to do an easy one that I couldn't stop thinking about since Kimberly of Camp and Cottage Living mentioned it in a comment about my last post.

The old mixer was pretty grungy and I had to scrub it so much that some of the paint came off with the grunge. And I got some water in parts of it,so I figured I was never going to use it for food preparation, so I cut off the cord and spray painted it. It was a pretty quick project and I like the way it came out. Thank You Kimberly for the potted plant idea!!

I dug the lemon balm plant up from my garden(it keeps sprouting everywhere!) and thought it would make a nice fragrant plant for the kitchen.

The spray paint was just basic black and antique white(which was quite close to the original color).
I like that it is now functional instead of just sitting in the kitchen as a decorative object.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's Friday Fun, I'm going to announce a giveaway!

Have a fantastic day,

Tiff

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Tuesday's Treasures... Craigslist Freebies!

I was up late on Sunday night and happened to be browsing craigslist. I always check the Free section first and then move on to my town and then anything else I might be looking for. I spotted an add in the free section for an end table, I clicked on it and saw a small gateleg table. I immediately emailed them and in the morning I got an email back, I was the first to reply, yay! When I went to go pick it up, I wasn't expecting this perfect little(smaller than I thought, and I LOVE it) antique table. Isn't it cute?! I have it sitting in front of my medium size gateleg table so you can see the size comparison.

I have no idea where I am going to put it, but for now I'm just so excited to have found such a sweet little table for free! Have you ever seen such a small gateleg?
The older gentleman had just sold his house and he was clearing things out. He offered me this old(like 1940's old) mixmaster mixer by sunbeam. The thing needs a good scrubbing and I probably would have passed on it if I hadn't seen him pull out the two milk glass mixing bowls!! The mixer itself has all the parts, the booklet, and a cool glass juicer mixer that attaches to the side. And this was all free too!
So there are my treasures for the week. I'm skipping GW this week because the huge lions club yardsale is on Saturday and I'm hoping to bring enough home from that! Not that I need anything anyway, but maybe I'll find treasures for my etsy shop that I just won a Makeover for!!! **** Jumping up and down ***** I'm so excited! I'll share more of that tomorrow.


Have a wonderful day,

Tiff

Monday, August 8, 2011

Miscellaneous Monday...

I thought I would share some highlights from our weekend for Misc. Monday.... We made and canned blueberry syrup on Saturday...
And on Sunday, after the kids driving lessons, we were invited to a lovely friend's camp. We brought along some syrup and relish to share...
The kids loved the boat ride. Highland lake is about 5 miles long, but is a quiet lake because the only boat traffic on it is from the residents. As you can see, my 5yr old was enjoying the ride....

Mason was terrified at first, but soon calmed down and began to enjoy it too....

Lots of Loons on the lake...


My 10 yr old made a zucchini canoe(have you heard the song "Cucumber Canoe"?) and brought it along. The waves overwhelmed it, but it lasted quite awhile and was totally edible, so no harm to the fish.

I love this photo... credit to my 16 yr old daughter who took it with her much better camera :)
Ate dinner outside...
All tuckered out....
A big THANK YOU to our hosts, we had a lovely time!!


Stay tuned for tomorrow's Tuesday's Treasures, I can't wait to show you what I got for free today from Craigslist!!

Have a happy day,

Tiff