Cute as a doll house...

Looking thru some of our pictures from summer I thought I would share a few that I took when we went to Frankenmuth for my birthday. Remember those old fashion doll house kits you could buy made out of wood and you could spend hours putting them together and making them your own. Well I thought I would share some of the pics I took of a few that were at a store we visited. I have to say who ever put these together feathered these nests adorable. Now I had one of these kits when I was younger but never did it look like these. I don't think mine was ever finished and it stayed the same color as it did when it came out of the box.

Yummy Treats..

I thought I would share some yummy treats I have made. The chocalte covered strawberries were made for my cousins college graduation party since I know she loves them so much I thought it would be a nice treat. They went over well.

The cheescake pops were made for a family BBQ those also went over really well. The only problem was it was summer and they melted fast. I got the recipe online super easy recipe

-you take frozen cheescake make some balls

-insert cookie sticks

-dip in melted chocalte

-add sprinkles to the top

I then purchased this glass container from our local grocery store and put some rice in the bottom to help the pops stay up worked like a charm.

Summer Flowers

Well with the weather cooling down now and we are well into fall I thought I would give you a little recap of some of the flowers we had blooming in summer. Although going through the pictures I must admit I do not have many pictures of our flowers from summer which kind of bums me out because we had some pretty ones. Here are a few the yellow rose is from our rose garden in the back that my mom came up with and hubby planted. It is just a small little garden with a small retaining wall we have one pink rose bush and two yellow ones. Sadly I do not have a picture of the whole garden and now that we are into fall the garden does not look very pretty so next year I will have to get that shot of the roses blooming. The purple flowers are the million bells we had hanging on a hook by our side porch. I must say those took off and lasted the whole year those are so pretty. Well I will have to take some pics of the fall flowers to show you all. Which I better do that soon and not delay it like I did with the summer flowers....

Roses

For our 8th anniversary hubby came home from work with these beautiful roses for me. I loved the colors and they opened so nicely usually roses don't bloom to big. These ones had nice blooms that opened up and lasted awhile. What a nice surprise that was. I placed them in a crystal vase we received for a wedding gift how time goes by. I can't believe it has been 8 years already!

Vacation Time....

Well me and hubby took a vacation up north to Charlevoix for our 8 year anniversary long over due. Weather was great and had a wonderful time walking the downtown area, walking the pier and along the beach (we even jumped on the swings on the beach like kids). The restaurants were wonderful and the water was beautiful. I love spending time on the Lake Michigan side of the state the water and beaches are so perfect. Here are a few pictures we took while on vacation. The sand and water were so beautiful I had to take a picture pebbles and all I just thought that was a cool pic. The fall colors were pretty there were actually more then this of the changing leaves but this is all I got pretty good in a moving car. The rainbow hubby pointed out on our way home it was huge and it was actually a double rainbow but the other one was a little bit lighter. When we go on vacations I enjoy taking pictures of lighthouses what stories they must tell. While on the beach the seagull insisted we take a photo-op of him he did very well and turned out very handsome if I must say.

Cooler Weather...

Well now with the cooler weather on the way it gives you that homey cozy feeling. To take a minute for yourself and sit back with a nice cup of tea, coffee, or hot cocoa my personal choice and a nice warm sweater or blanket perhaps sitting out on your porch or deck before old man winter arrives. This evening while I was waiting for hubby to arrive home from work I was able to sit out on the porch in our rocker reading a book with the wind blowing the trees it was very relaxing. Lately I have been thinking about the holidays and what gifts to buy. I really would like to do some handmade gifts this year I think that is very special. I have been thinking about taking a knitting class or perhaps a sewing class. I see these projects that people create and I think I want to be more crafty. I feel that it is there for me I just need the extra push (or help) to get it going. Next week I think I will be doing some calling around to check out prices for these classes. Who knows maybe if I get really good I can sell some of my goods on http://www.etsy.com/. If you have not checked out that site yet take a gander when you get a minute. This is where you can take your handmade crafts and sell them on the web there are some very crafty people out there this site gives you a chance to check out their goods and purchase them. I have been seeing people decorate for fall and Halloween. I feel as if I am behind. When do you start putting your pumpkins and corn stalks out?

Almost There...

Well after a few weeks happy to say Trim Work is up. Wallpaper is done expect a few spots we have to fix now just hanging the boarder. Then time to decorate can't wait. We have not really had many decorations in this room so this is kind of like a blank slate. So far I know of a few things we will be hanging in this room. A few years ago my mom got us a history on our last name with the coat of arms. I am going to go to our local craft store and have that professionally framed. I know I want to include some flameless candles in this room as well. So I am on the look out now for some decorations for this newly finished room what fun....I am loving these pocket watch clocks from Pottery Barn I really like the bronze finish. Hmmm ideas.

Wallpapering

Well yesterday we started to finally wallpaper our computer room. I wanted to make it feel like a cozy den and of course somewhat manly for the hubby since that is the only man type room in the house. So far this is what we have done:

-Painted the ceiling and top of the walls navy blue

-Installed new light sconces on the wall

-Installed new ceiling fan

-Made a new half wall coming up the stairs (used to be a very short railing) so hubby and his dad made the new wall last fall

-Tore out the window sill and casing to put some nice new wood up (wood is not up yet but soon)

-Wallpapered almost half the room (with much of my mom's help ok she did it but we cleaned up and helped cut so a family project)

Still so much to do yet but it is looking nice. When it is done we will have the top of the wall navy blue ( I have to get the exact color so I can post that it is from the Benjamin Moore line) then a border with a chair rail and the plaid wallpaper on the bottom. The border we bought at our local grocery store a few years ago. Then my mom and I went in spring to our local paint/wallpaper store and found this pattern from Sunworthy matched up to the border almost perfect. Very excited to get this room done then on to the next always seems like there is something. Once the room is done I will post a picture of the final project. Also this weekend we went to our local grocery store and bought a filing cabinet a nice dark wood. We had so many coupons that we got it for less then half off what a great deal!

Candles

This past weekend hubby and I went to the mall for some much needed shopping. Ok not so much needed as wanted. I was able to find a white summer dress with flowers on it less then half off (have to love the end of season’s bargains). I also found a cute cardigan to go with it and hubby picked out another shirt for me for fall and that was $1.00! Have to love those JC Penny bargains. We also bought some adorable curtains for the backroom. They are a light green with very small pink flowers on it. I will post pictures once we have those up. After that we went to the Yankee Candle store. They have a sale for a few candles of buy one get one half off on select fragrances. We bought the Harvest scent and the Farmers Market scent. I will say this, it is amazing how you can smell a candle at a store yet when you get it home to burn it has little to no smell. I called the store to find out if by chance I could return it since I was unhappy with the smell of the Harvest candle. To my surprise they said yes! They actually have a scent guaranteed policy if you don't like it bring it back. I was surprised even after I burned the candle for a few hours they would still take it back. Well I was very happy to not be stuck with a non smelling candle. What great customer service that is. The Farmers Market candle has a stronger smell then the Harvest still not as strong as I prefer but it is nice. Kind of like a peach smell to it. I enjoy the fruit smells and of course cinnamon makes your home feel warm and inviting. And how can any nesting chick resist the urge to feather her nest with new candles.

Power Washing

Well I wasn't sure that this power washer would pay off, but it defiantly has. With this hot summer it is making sap from the maple trees really drip all over the house, cars, porches pretty much everything. Here hubby is playing with this new toy (we will see how long that lasts). He is power washing the house for the first time and not the last.

New Updates

Well I have been busy trying to spruce up this blog a little to make it look a little more fun. After a few days of trying some new backgrounds, text, etc... I finally found a background and some buttons that I really do enjoy. The best part of this is they are all free! I know right free what a great word. The website I was able to use these goodies from is: http://www.shabbyblogs.com/index.html Check this site out if your are looking for some new items for your own blog. There are so many different cute items on there makes me want to change the look of my blog everyday. Let me know what you think of my new look. I would be interested in knowing what others think. If you like it, dislike it need to change a few things leave me a comment. I know some have been unable to leave comments in the past but I think I have fixed that now that you should be able to leave one. I cannot wait to hear what you all have to say!

Golfing...

Wow I cannot believe summer is about half over. That kind of bums me. Here in Michigan we have such short summers you have to take advantage of all the nice days. Me and hubby went golfing I thought I would share some photos of the golf course we took. Even if you do not like golfing it is nice to just go out to the course and look at the scenery so quiet and peaceful. I would love to hear how everyone is spending their summer days. Maybe some swimming on the beaches, boating, or camping in your own backyard? Send me some of your summer memories you have created with your friends and family or some plans you have yet for summer of 2010.

Nature is so pretty

I took these pics at our local State Park. Nature is so pretty it's nice to just sit back and enjoy it all. We are very lucky to have a park so close to us to use.

Cupcakes YUM!

I call these cupcakes Peanut Butter Smooches. They are kind of like the Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies just bigger so I call them a Smooch.

Doggie Biscuits

Our dogs just love these homemade doggie biscuits.

Pretty Flowers

My mom bought a bag of violas last year they ended up not making it thru the whole season but apparently some seeds blew out and blew in our perennial bed and up against the house. Who knew they could grow in such odd places like the yellow ones did between the crack of the house and cement. These pictures are from spring so pretty. BTW hubby accidently chopped the yellow ones down.

Congrats Katie

My cousin graduated nursing school a big congrats to her for all the hard work!

Fireworks

What a great time seeing the Fireworks

4th of July carnival

This was the view to the carnival from the concert across the river.

Our American Flag

What a wonderful Flag for this wonderful country. Let's make sure we remember those that have served in the armed forces and those that still are.

Joe Diffee in concert

Joe Diffee performing in Wenona Park

Concert

Me and hubby at the Joe Diffee concert at the Friendship Shell. What a nice night out we enjoyed a concert then we were able to see the fireworks and enjoyed a elephant ear!

Cheesecake Pops

I made these cheesecake pops for the 4th of July BBQ we went to. What a hit they were and so easy to make. I got the idea from Nestle Toll House website. In the bottom of the glass jar I put some rice to help the pops stand up.

Finally Pictures

Since I have not been able to upload pictures in the past I thought I would share some that we just were able to download. I hope you enjoy!

Can't wait to try out our new Cricut

Wow another hot day here in mid-Michigan. I just got in from watering flowers and it is to warm to stay outside. I enjoy summer just not this hot. It makes it hard to enjoy the outside it is to hot to even sit out on the rockers on the porch. You go outside for a few minutes and then it's like oh well time to go back in way to hot! Even the dogs cannot stand to be out for more then a few minutes. Since it is to hot to do any outdoor activities me and my mom are going to try out using her new Cricut. Very excited there seems to be lots of projects you can create using this little machine. Once we get good at them I will post some images of some of the projects we created. Does anyone have any project ideas they created using the Cricut? I would love to see some pictures or hear about you created. Well enjoy this hot summer day just make sure you stay cool. What did we ever do without A/C?

Memorial Weekend Plans

Wow it has been a very long time since I posted any new posts. I really need to work on that. I have some pics finally to upload to share with everyone just have to fiqure out how to get them off the digital camera! Well it is almost the end of May soon to be Memorial Weekend. We are planning on working around the house to update some much needed repairs. We have painting to do some staining and hanging some wallpaper and lets not forget the closet door we have to change out. Still out on a mission to find a reasonable priced door that goes with the era of the home 1900's. The one we have has lots of cracks in it and many coats of paint I am sure we could strip it and refinish it however honestly I would rather just replace it. The door we have on there now I was thinking of turning into a table for the garage or painting it and placing it somewhere in the garden we shall see. I will post before and after shots of each project. I will have to admit painting and staining not my favorite things to do however after it is done really does make a difference. What are your plans for this Memorial Weekend?

Just a nice relaxing day!

Well yesterday me and hubby had a date day. After I went to the dentist to get a consultation done for a crown we had a us day which was long overdue. We first went to the Country Sampler store first time there I heard many great things about that store and as a good hubby he was he took me there. What a neat crafty store that is had everything from candles to lamps and curtains so much to look at. We even found some golf towels with names embroided on them with little golfers very cute or macho for the men. We may just go back there for some gifts in the near future. I found a large metal star for our porch that I have been wanting for awhile. I want it to match our blue shutters on the house so I will have to go back out there with a sample of the color to make sure it matches. I can see that hanging on our porch above the glider that just says a country home. They also have some lamps I liked I really enjoy the fabric lamp shades that have florals and plaids to them. After there we went to the mall and bought some tealights from the Yankee store we bought a cinnamon scent and a apple scent makes the home smell cozy and welcoming. We then finished our day with a nice quite lunch at Red Lobster. We really enjoy those days we have to spend with each other. What do you do to enjoy those very few free days you have?

Cleaning your home the Green Way!

Well today is overcast outside the snow is starting to melt and that means lots of mud in the yard. Which then brings in little muddy paw prints on the floors. Everyone who has a dog knows just what I mean. I ordered them boots and can't wait until they arrive. It will help with not only the mud problem but also we can start going on winter walks with the dogs. Since the salt is so bad for their little feet. I just got done steam mopping the kitchen floor. I have the Bissell steam mop I absoluty love that mop no chemicals and gets the floors so clean. No worrying about the pets walking on the floor after and hey aren't we all trying to be a little more green. I try to buy only the GREEN label chemicals for cleaning. They seem to do just as good of a job then the regular cleaners. Plus gives you a little piece of mind that your making your home a little more healthy for your loved ones. How are you trying to make your home more Green?