Family Pictures

Since all my babies are home, I decided we needed family pictures.  We headed to the park at the top of our street and had my oldest daughter's boyfriend take some photos for us.

 I'm loving the "tintype" option on befunky.com  :)

 It's incredibly hard to get everyone to look and smile at the camera at the same time.

 
All the kiddos...

All my men....

Us girls...

Me and my love...

Later this afternoon hubby and I went on a date. We stopped at a local state park on the Saco River.  We decided to see what the water was like. It was perfect and hubby was wishing we had our swimsuits on.  I kept telling him to be careful because the rocks were slippery and he kept "almost falling".   Guess what?! About 5 minutes after this picture was taken, I FELL in  the water up to my waist!  Scraped my foot and hurt two fingers too.  Not a fun ride home soaking wet on the back of a motorcycle.  But all is fine. We went home, I changed, and then we headed out again for dinner. A memory to add to our list :)

Have a beautiful day,

Tiff

What I've Been Up To...

We are enjoying having our Marine home for two weeks and I'm dreading when he has to leave.

I've been trying to stay cool in the little heat wave we have been having, but I honestly don't mind the heat as much as I used too(one of the benefits of losing weight I guess).  My sewing machine has been humming with lots of clothing makeovers.  I've altered a number of skirts, made two skirts from a pair of shorts and a pair of pants, changed a few tops, made over a couple dresses, and I still have more to do.  Trying to make a new wardrobe before our vacation :)

 I'm also keeping up with my exercising.  I had to take a few days off from running because of shin splints, but I got on the treadmill today and ran 3.5 miles!!!Holy smokes!! I've never done that in my life.
The pounds are coming off slower now, 53 lbs gone, but I think my overall strength and health are improving.  I'm telling myself I'm in the " slow weight loss/ toning up " phase of things.  I don't think I mentioned it on here before, but I was a size 18/20 I'm now down to a solid 12 and I have a few 10s too!! I really want to be a solid size 8, hopefully by Christmas I will be there.

Have a great weekend everyone!!  It's a grilling night for us, yummy steaks!!! Can't wait.

Tiff

This was Me, last night....

I've been jogging every other day and yesterday was my 5th day of jogging. I jogged for 2 miles straight!! And this wasn't all on flat ground!  I can't believe I made it that far. I know that doesn't seem far to some of you, but that is a huge amount for me(someone who never played sports and hates to sweat). Plus, it was raining, but hubby, Becca, and my self are committed to losing weight and getting in shape, so we went out.

This is how I felt afterward :)

 I was hot and tired and soaking wet, but I feel good today.

Don't worry, Zoe is fine in these pictures, she just likes to sleep in the weirdest positions.

I took down my blog sale and I'm just going to head to the flea market next weekend.

Cameron is coming home from Arizona tonight!!! Yay!!! We pick him up at the airport at 11:30. I can't believe it's been six months since he left for training.

Have a great weekend,

Tif

My New House...

OK, so it's not new and it's a doll house, but it's still mine and I love it!!  I think I have mentioned before that strange phenomenon that happens to me where I just know I need to go to Goodwill ;)  Well, it happened again on Sunday.  So my youngest daughter and I went to town and this was the first thing I saw when I went into the store. I immediately grabbed it and put it in my cart before even looking at the price.  Then I looked at the price tag. I was kind of expecting a big number because their prices have been going up, especially on things they know are old or vintage. However.... I was very pleasantly surprised to see it priced at $9.99 !!!  WOO HOOO!!!  I did good right?  I really know nothing about these houses, other than what I have seen on line and blogs. I've never seen one in person. It's a Key Stone Boston house(that's what it says on the side) and from what I have gathered so far, it is from 1947 or 48.

It's far from perfect condition....missing the chimney, the windows, and the staircase. Plus some chips from the roof and the front door is a replacement. But hey, it's an old house and they always need some work, right?  I think I will fix this little beauty up and may have the beginning of a lovely new collection.

 I love all the detailed graphics...

See, the front door needs some help...

Now, my favorite part... let's take a look inside.

The kitchen.. look at that border.

The front entry...

The family room...love how the whole house is faux wall papered.

Even decor over the fireplace!

An upstairs bedroom...pretty blue.

Upstairs hallway, with doors.

An the other bedroom... a perfect little boy's room or maybe a bathroom.

Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to put it. I don't want to hide it away, but I'm not sure where it will fit.  If you collect doll houses, where do you display them?
Oh, and I found 6 green depression glass sandwich plates too. I'm gathering a hodge podge collection of green glassware that we use on Christmas day. (also found some things for the camper that I will share later)

Have a great day,

Tiff
ps.  Anyone else noticing problems with blogger? It's taking forever for blogger to show a new post, like it isn't recognizing that I posted, even though it is there.

Berry Baskets

Thank you for all the weight loss love :)

This morning hubby and I went to the barn sale right over the hill(she is having it once a month) to see if she found the door to the little white cupboard I bought. She didn't find it, so I will just enjoy the cupboard as is, or maybe I will make a new door for it.

Anyway, I did find some berry baskets she had.  I got 32 of the little baby ones, 5 of the larger ones, and one square(to replace the one that got crushed in the set that goes with my wood basket carrier).  Some of them I will use for craft storage and maybe some I will dress up and sell. They all need a good scrubbing before I can bring them in the house.

 Here is my wood carrier. I used to have wool stored in it, but I have since gotten rid of all my wool so I need to find a new use for it and a new spot for it. It's not little, so finding where to put it isn't easy.

Have a lovely weekend,

Tiff

A Milestone Day...

This morning the scale revealed a huge milestone to me.... 50 lbs shed(not lost, because I don't ever want to find them) !!!

It motivated me to get up and try out my new sports bra this morning. So at 7:10 this morning(before it got too hot), my daughter and I hit the pavement. We made it 3/4 of the way around the neighborhood jogging, but we had to walk the steep hill(I'm not that in shape yet). I think that is the most I have ever jogged in my whole life!  I don't see myself becoming a runner, but I will try to keep up the jogging thing to reach my goal.

Oh, and Cameron called to wish his brother a Happy Birthday last night and said that he should be coming home for leave some time next week!!! Yay!!  And maybe a cross country road trip is in our near future(super excited to think about it).

Have a super fantastic day everyone!!

Tiff

Happy Birthday America and Noah!!!

Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans! I hope you had a moment to reflect on how blessed and fortunate we are to live in this great country.

Happy 10th Birthday to my sweet son, Noah!!  You are a very special little boy who has an amazing future ahead of you.  You are truly brilliant and can do math in your head like a calculator. You are also kind, compassionate, and thoughtful.  You make a great little brother and a terrific big brother.   You are loved by all us and we hope you had a marvelous day!!

(that's another ice cream sandwich cake there, my 3rd one so far, and everyone's new favorite birthday cake... thank you pinterest!.  And this time we had two layers of mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches with one layer of cookie dough ice cream sandwiches. And it was scrumptious!!)

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

Tiff

Pinned It Made It !!

I didn't work on the half bath yesterday, instead I decided to make a pinterest inspired project.

Here is my version of the "places you've been" map art.  Mine consists of places hubby and I lived as children, where we were born, and where we have lived together. It also has places we have traveled to in the camper....

 Here is the pinterest inspired work...

 So you can see that I did mine a bit differently.  I think the one above just has the heart maps tacked down somehow on the paper backboard and then is framed.  I used an old kitchen cabinet cutting board that I picked up at a barn sale. I whitewashed the inside area, leaving the natural wood as a frame. Then I used watered down glue to adhere my map pieces to the wood and then gave it two coats of watered down glue over the whole thing.

 And of course you can see that I didn't use hearts. I used my own house template for the places we have lived and my own camper template for the places we have been with the camper...

 And because my craft supplies can be a bit disorganized, I didn't want to chance losing the templates, so I taped them to the back of the board.

 I left extra space for more camper travels, but I will have to figure out the house thing if we happen to move again.
For now it is just hanging in the bathroom, but I'm not sure where it will end up permanently.

It was a fairly quick project, the longest part was just waiting for the paint and glue to dry.

Have a productive day,

Tiff

More Kitchen...

I've slowly been tweaking my kitchen(actually I never really stop), but anyway, here are some more pictures of how looks at the present time.

I took all my cows out of the kitchen and moved them to family room, this left more room for other things.  Like pretty old jars in the window...

And I moved the old scale from a corner to right over the the sink.

On the other side of the room I kept the baking center but  tweaked the counter top. I made my tea easily accessible and I added a thrifted shelf that I painted and added pegs too. (the cake stand has been empty for awhile now, I don't need the temptations)

 I still want to get a green plant of some sort for the left side of the counter and put it in one of the white enamel pots. It just needs a pop of color, don't you think?

Picnic baskets underneath provide pretty storage and they are actually useful too. The smallest one on the top is missing from this picture because my oldest daughter used it on a picnic for her boyfriend and herself :)

I love this raw honey in my tea, the smell is not the most pleasant thing but the taste is the best.

Over my island, I changed up the wood crib bottom that I have hanging. Gone is all the copper and aluminium ware. I put my egg crates and chicks up there. Simplified and I like it.  There is nothing hanging from below it anymore either.

So all the cows are out and the chickens are back in :)

It's raining here today, maybe I will work on the half bath some more.

Have a grand day,

Tiff

A Light with History...

Happy first day of July everyone!! Have you started working on your Christmas presents yet?  I am determined to start making some this month, because before we know it, it will be December.

On to my new/old kitchen light....   Did I ever tell you about the two lighting fixtures that I found on Craigslist last year?  Well, to tell you or just refresh your memory, they ended up being sold by the owners of my old house! They were MINE to begin with :)  I had bought them from Irvin's tinware but left them with the house when we sold it.  I was so thrilled to get them back, even though I really didn't know where I was going to use them.

Yesterday, I finally decided where to put one of them(the other is a different style that would work with this one). I asked hubby to rewire it(something he is good at) and hang it over our kitchen table instead of the 6 arm chandelier.   I love how it turned out, much more farmhouse.

 There are actually two of these lights, but the homeowner hasn't decided to sell the other one yet. I really want him to, and we even stopped by on Saturday to ask if we could buy it(he said he had my email and would let me know :(  ) Irvins no longer sells this lamp :( :(   Don't you think it would look cute with two hanging over the table? Plus it would give more light(it is a bit dim).

 Another view.  Found a new setting on my camera, it works well for the bad lighting out this morning, gives it a warm antiquey glow.

 Oh, and I don't think I shared this lovely little plant stand that my dear friend Debbie gifted to me.  She saw that I pinned a similar one on pinterest and said she had one in her garage that she wasn't using. She had found it free on the side of the road.  It started out as a very 80's stained and shallaqued wood, so I just painted it white and then roughed it up. Love it now!!

 I found this little cupboard when my parents were here. It was at a farmhouse sale just over the hill from me. Already painted white, I just had to wash it up and hang it.  It is missing a door, but the woman told me she would look for it for me.   My only problem is that I don't know how to dress it. Any thoughts?  What should I put on it?  Child size kitchen things? A plant? Jars?  Any thoughts?

 And just another view of the lamp.  See in the background, the wall hook thingy? I took it down from the halfbath wall(where it had been for the last 6+ years, oh, I'm redoing that room a bit too) and moved it to this spot on the side of the fridge.  It works perfect for hanging my aprons and fills up that big blank space. It's the little details that make me happy, especially when they make a big difference to my eyes.

Have a beautiful day,

Tiff