Silhouette Giveaways....

WOWEE!!! OK, so I rarely enter contests because I swear I cannot ever win anything....BUT this machine is AMAZING and I really want one.....so here goes...wish me luck!! I have my fingers, toes, arms, legs & eyes crossed ;)

Here are some of the sites offering a FREE, yes totally FREE Silhouette machine!!!!

Grosgrain Fabulous

Kara's Blog Party

The Shabby Nest

Under the table & dreaming

Meet my new nephew......

So incredibly pleased to announce my newest nephew.........

Brody David Barilla - Thursday 8/26/2010 @ 10:24am (AZ time) 7lbs. 1 oz 19.25" long!! Born to Dave's brother Bill & his wife Heather!!


Happy Birthday Brody!! I cannot wait to meet you in October and until then I will have to be satisfied with the multitude of pictures I will be demanding from my brother and sister in law!! :) Prepare to be spoiled by Auntie Ice cream little man!!!

We ♥ you so much already! Uncle Dave, Aunt Nichole, Savannah & Emmie!

Bouckville Treasures.....

Ok, I am usually bursting @ the seams to post about my thrifty finds but I have been holding out for a few days now....Bouckville Antique Show was last weekend & since moving to CNY in 2002 I have wanted to go but never have....several months ago I made my oldest sister Paula promise to come visit & go with me!! A fun sister weekend since she loves the oldies as much as me! She came and we had a great time! I really do miss my sisters, since we tormented each other growing up (I am the baby & always got picked on!!) now are the times where we would actually enjoy being around each other and everyone kiddos too!

As you will see in a previous post while hitting garage sales with my friend Janine I think I have a thing for mannequins!! Kidding, I found out my nieces LOVED the handsome stranger so when we saw these we couldn't disappoint!

I bought a few really cool vintage items, wishing I had WAY more $$ and Paula wishing she had driven a truck instead of hopped a plane with a small suitcase! I am holding out on a few items until I am done converting them into the picture in my mind (hubby says that is a VERY dangerous place to be!!) BUT I just couldn't stand not blogging about some of my treasures & showing you silly sisters having a GREAT Saturday!! :)

Great set of old milk bottles w/ holder!

All these bottles got was a good long soak & scrub..the carrier is a little rusty & dingy but I like it that way!

Bread box BEFORE

Bread box AFTER a much needed face lift :)

Few coats of cream spray paint, stenciled on BREAD with black and added a cute little handle on the top!! Now its & home in the corner of my kitchen & I am thrilled with it!

Happy 2nd Birthday Emerson Ann!!!!!

WOW! My little baby girl turns 2 today, amazing how time flies! Seems like just yesterday we were here........

Now you are a crazy energetic (that's a nice way of saying exhausting) little girl who makes me laugh everyday and your mommy, daddy & big sister cannot imagine life without you in it!

Happy 2nd birthday to my sweet little Emmie!

Dollar Tree ROCKS my world!?!?!?

Seriously....who doesn't love the Dollar Tree..one of the few Dollar Stores that everything is actually only 1 single dollar!!!!!! Sometimes even 2 for $1!!! WAAAHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was inspired by this project & knowing we were going to the beach for our vacation I knew I would have free sand, shells & pebbles so even cheaper project!!! Literally only $2 each hurricane!!! I ran to the store & bought these items before we left town just in case some CNY'ers got crafty after watching the same blogs I stalk ;)

So, here are the $6 worth of goodies fresh from the Dollar Tree here they are after the help of some Gorilla Glue!

Now, here is my post vacation masterpiece ;) Currently they are sitting on my ugly mantle...and soon (hint hint hubby) they will be sitting on my beautiful vintage mantle...hopefully before summer is totally over and I have packed them away to bring out my glorious fall decor! I have a feeling that won't be happening but I will have them for next summer when surely it will be complete along with the other hundreds of projects we have going on around here.

Seriously though, what a super cheap yet beautiful way to have reminders of our family beach vacation displayed!

The Cape!

Soooooo, we are back from a week in beautiful Cape Cod, MA! We stayed in the oldest town on the Cape, East Sandwich. Such a cute & quaint little town, here is our little (I should say TEENY TINY!!)cottage just a short walk to the beach!


We have NEVER taken an actual family vacation, we have really not taken a vacation since our honeymoon in March, 2002 so we were super excited for this getaway! No schedules, no work, no house projects, no plans...just enjoy family time, the beach, little treasures this beautiful part of the country has to offer!


Knowing nothing about the Cape we got a little input from friends and just booked a place based on price mainly! The water was VERY cold since we were on the bay side and the beaches in Sandwich are really rocky as you get over the dunes and close to the water..The girls liked to dig in the sand and play on the shore though...
We soon learned about low tide times which are truly AMAZING! These sand bars that go for miles and the critters you can find much to Savannah's delight! Starfish, hermit crabs, clams, crabs, sand dollars...AMAZING! We brought home buckets of sand and stones and shells for a project I had planned before our vacation (coming in a post soon I hope!) Here are pictures of us on our last night on one of the sand bars.

We went to Peter Rabbit Day at the Thornton Burgess museum. They had tons of rabbits to see & cute crafts for the kids to do, this is a big event for the local people each year.

We did spend one day at Craigsville beach in the town of Barnstable which is on the ocean side. The water was much warmer and we were all able to get in and play! Beaches were sandy & what I was used to living in AZ and spending time @ California & Mexico beaches growing up, but super crowded too! Not to mention the helicopter that kept flying over to watch for sharks and scare them back out into deeper waters!?!?!

While in that area we HAD to check out Centerville Pie Company, since its recommended by Oprah herself :) Let me tell you....WOWEEE I don't care if Oprah liked it or not...its AMAZING!!!! We had a banana creme pie and Dave & I ate it in the car on the way back to our cottage!!! Not the whole pie but I swear I could have!!! We brought home a peach pie to take for a dinner with friends and that was amazing as well! I wish that place was closer & am so thankful they ship pies :)

The town of Sandwich has this AMAZING boardwalk that was rebuilt by residents after being destroyed by a hurricane in the early 90's.

We did take 1 day and drive up the cape all the way to Provincetown. Stopped along the way at a few little spots, the drive was not at all like I hoped. I thought it would be a drive along the coast or be where you could see water on both sides of you but its just a main highway in the middle of the cape so you only see villages and woods :( Still was nice to travel the whole Cape and check out bits & pieces so we could plan another trip sometime!

All in all it was truly a wonderful week and quality family time with lots of sunshine and fun! Who could ask for a better summer vacation? Now to get ready for Fall (my most FAVORITE season!) and back to school for Savannah next month, 1st grade here we come!!!!

Vacation starts tomorrow!!!!!!!

Aaaaaahhh...I can almost hear the ocean and see the Cape!!! We are so excited to be taking our first ever family vacation!!! Heading to Cape Cod, MA tomorrow morning for the week! We have rented a little cottage within walking distance to the water & cannot wait!

Dreading the 6 hour drive with 2 girls that cannot get from home to Target without snacks, drinks & complaining!! Hopefully the dvds and books and fun $ store goodies I have stashed will help make it easier!

See you all in a week.............after a much needed break and family time away from home!!!!

yet another project?!?!?

Ok, so I just blogged 2 days ago preaching how I was not going to start any new projects until I wrap up the current in progress ones I have going......THEN while trolling craigslist I come across this amazing vintage mantle for FREE!!!! I have always hated our fireplace since the day we moved in...It is brick which I am not a huge fan of & especially when its not all that pretty to begin with or taken care of over the years....then there is this ENORMOUS mantle with no details whatsoever...just a plain hunk of wood...I never did anything to it since I didn't know exactly what I wanted and mantles are not cheap?!?! So...I talked hubby into picking this up for me (and let me not forget to mention that its 1.5 drive, I am so gonna owe for this one!!) To my defense we will not be starting this project anytime soon and it will most likely fall into the Fall/Winter project pile since its an indoor redo and we have plenty of outdoor projects to complete before the snow starts flying here in CNY!

Here is our current situation, ugly stained brick & all!!!!

Our plan is to either take down the huge mantle (MY vote!!) but this will not be an easy task since the sheet rock and pretty much the entire fireplace is built around this mammoth piece of wood & sheet rock over the brick, leaving only the woodstove, then plop this new lovely mantle in its place and thats it......Or we might have to somehow try to incorporate at least part of the existing mantle into the new one painting it all to match but I am really hoping for the 1st option!!! I realize it wont be that easy or quick of a project and birds will not be singing when rainbows appear BUT I am so excited nevertheless even knowing the grief and growling I will be receiving from Dave!!!!!

Here is a peek @ the new mantle we picked up yesterday

Taaa Daaa.......

The ever so lovely BEFORE shot!!!

Here it is...finally in Emmie's room and an amazing transformation is complete, well almost since I have no cushion on top yet but found out the quilt that came with our crib bedding folded in 1/2 is a perfect fit!! SCORE, I don't have to shell out $$ for fabric! I have some foam already and hopefully can figure out how to sew the quilt around it like a pillowcase or my wonderful lovely neighbor (hint hint Janine!!) will help me out!!! Savannah truly did EAT HER WORDS!!!!!!!!!!! She is already wanting a window seat for her own room and I quote "Mom I didn't know it would look like that & be so pretty when you were done!!" Music to my ears & an important life lesson learned for my almost 6 year old...don't just a book by its cover, first impressions are not everything!!

The much improved AFTER shot!!!

I was in LOVE with one of the other knobs I had posted but could not justify spending close to $40 for 4 knobs I would be putting on a roadside freebie ;) So I found these for under $15 for all 4 & they were the winner!

Our kitty seems to approve of this new spot too!

A million & one half done projects......

Do you ever feel like that? I swear my life is in a constant state of 1/2 complete, almost finished, just about there......I am surrounded by incomplete projects inside and outside of our home....I have made it my mission lately to finish what I already have started before jumping into something else....I tried unsuccessfully to explain to Dave that doesn't mean I am not going to be bringing home new treasures that will need work but he didn't get it...Oh well!?!?

Finally I have gotten around to making the bulletin board that I have been planning forevah and a day! I have wanted a nice large bulletin board for beside my desk but couldn't ever find one that I liked or for a price I agreed with :) Found this super big frame @ a garage sale for only $2!

It was actually really quick & easy, not sure why I put if off for sooooo long! I just took the paper backing off the frame, popped the painting out to paint the frame, I finally broke down & bought one of those handles for the spray paint cans, let me tell you, best $2.79 I ever spent!!! The frame was already gold but a little too shiny 70s for my taste (I used Rustoleum Hammered Gold, I love that vintage goldtone on anything & everything), I used the 12x12 cork squares from a package @ Walmart, just stuck them right onto the painting with the little sticky squares in the pack. The fabric was on clearance @ JoAnns for $6 a yard, I wrapped it around the painting on top of the cork & grabbed hubbies staple gun to attach it to the back, popped it back in the frame & voila.......

Now if I can just get hubby to hang it up for me....I always forget until he either A. is not home or B. the kids are asleep & no way are we hammering into the wall steps from their bedrooms! My whole "If you wake her you take her" motto will come back to bite me in the butt since I would be the one waking her!?!?!? I might just take it upon myself to hang it today, get that checkmark on my "To Do" list!!...much to hubby's dismay I am becoming more independent with his tools that he cares for! HaHa!