Home Tour

I already told you about visiting my friend Julie, one of my Betties.

(Me, Julie, Jackie and Kathy)

I thought I would share a tour of her amazing home.

To start with, this is her backyard.

This is what it looks like in the early fall when the fog is coming up with the sun.

I am going to start with her guestroom.

   

Don’t you want to snuggle right in? 

The sun was so bright this morning when I took this.  Technically, I should have pulled the shade down to take it, but it was just so welcoming.

If you are wondering what the large frame is on the floor.  That was something I was suppose to help her hang and we never got to it.

It is to go around what is painted by her incredibly talented step-daughter directly on the wall.  Look familiar?

It hangs over her faux mantle and is fun and unique.

Stayed tuned for Julie’s master bedroom and living room.  Both are stunning.

Have a great one!  Laura

Who’s Your Betty?

I referred last week to my Betties.  I was able to get away for a few days and spend some time with them.

This a picture of me and my Betties.

(me, Julie, Jackie and Kathy) 

Julie turned 40 yesterday.  We all reach 40 this year.  Julie was first. I am next.

Why Betty?

I don’t know, it started in college.  Julie just started calling us all Betty and it stuck.  No we refer to ourselves collectively as “Betties”.

What makes a Betty a Betty?

Someone who…

has your back, no matter what.

makes you laugh until it hurts.

will clean your house and care for your children.

will keep your secrets.

who will tell your children stories about you.

will not tell your children most of the good stories until they are much older.

has a sixth sense when you need a call or a note to cheer you up or calm you down.

will listen to you rant and rave and get it out of your system.

will be there in whatever way you need them to be.

That is what we call it.  But I know we all have Betties, just of another name.

So, I ask you.

Who’s your Betty?

Life is short, surround yourself with people you love well and who love you well.

I didn’t get to Blissdom, but I certainly found some bliss.

A Little Love for the Tin Man

So, I decided to have a little fun since I was so restrained with my Valentine Mantel.

So I decided to help the Tin Man find his heart for Valentine’s Day.

I loved the riveted pieces of venting pipe and they fit together to make a wreath shape.

 

I found these “elbows” in Lowe’s, I think it was for venting.  I picked up four of the them.

  

In order to make the wreath, you need to join two set of two, and then join them to each other.  If you join three and try to add the fourth, it doesn’t really work.

I got the frame design for the tag from the Graphics Fairy.

I rotated the image, added the oil can clip art and the text.  I am old school and not trained in much graphic software.  I actually use Power Point because it allows me to layer text and pictures / images.

I pulled the hearts off of a garland that I had but was not using.

That is it!

I will be sharing at the CSI Project for their Valentine party and some of the other parties on my sidebar.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great one!

The Key to My Heart Mantel

I am joining Beth’s Valentine mantel party over at The Stories of A to Z

I really wasn’t planning on doing a mantel, but then I realized in the back of my I already had been planning one.  The best part of doing this mantel was that I didn’t destroy my family room in the process.  My family was at a sports activity, so I took my time, watched some American Pickers, and didn’t get myself too crazy like I sometimes do.  I was really not feeling the red and pink thing, so I went for a more subtle, still wintery, rustic and a little bit of bling.

I found the piece of fence at an auction this weekend and I loved how it fit right into the mirror.

I had picked up this beautiful brown wool yarn recently and knew I wanted to use it.  I made a garland with some chandelier crystals and wrapped some hearts cut out of cardboard.  The centers are symmetrical, but I liked how they are kind of wonky.

I hung my key I found in Paris from a milk glass plate that actually has heart cutouts, a milk glass vase and two candlesticks.  I placed yarn balls on the candlesticks and added a few more crystals.

I loved this small key because the opening is a heart.

It is a little difficult to tell from the picture, but the birds are in an actual birds nest, placed inside the bowl, backed with an ironstone dish with some more keys hanging.  I added a few pinecones as well.  I placed the whole vignette in an old champagne crate to contrast the white and to give it all a little more presence and height.

I really love the contrast of the rustic fence with the mirror and the chandelier crystals.

It is a little difficult to see in the picture, but the fireplace surround is slate so I added a little love note to my family.

“You are so loved”

I feel very loved because my husband has a fire all staged for me in case I get cold!

There are two milk glass candle holders filled with crystal door knobs.  The bingo style letters are from a set I found a while ago at Marshalls.  I had been wanting the ones I had seen in catalogs, but they were so expensive.  I leaped at the chance to get these on clearance.

And what would a Valentine display be without some love birds.  These were randomly in a box from an auction box lot and they made a nice addition.

I will be sharing at some of the parties in my sidebar, stop by and see what everyone else is sharing.

Off to a busy day, I hope you are all well!

Take care,

Laura

My Name is Laura and I am an Auction Addict!

Seriously, this one was just too good to pass up.

I know, it seems like I have a problem, but you know how the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot! 

I really don’t think I will be going to another one in the near future, so I figure I would do one more “share” with you of my treasure finds.  None of the pictures are great.  They were either taken freezing in the garage or at night in my dining room, sorry.  Below zero makes it harder to do “pretty photo shoots”.

Two more tool boxes, love the chippy white paint.

4 stools, 3 shoes and an egg crate.

Some really old ice skates.

A crate.

A wash bin on a stand.  Can’t you see this on the deck this summer filled with beer lemonade?

A neat old metal folding chair.

A great old painted table.  Sorry for the wonky photo, it was crazy cold when we got it home and this was the quickest place we could put it and I could not move it by myself.  Wonky photo and all, it is still cool.

Blondie counted for me.  There are 72 old zinc mason jar covers.  Life is good.

Fun old camera.

I am not sure if these are cute or creepy?

Some lamp making kits.

No idea what I will do with these, but neat old photography bulbs.

These are cool.  Two boxes of slide blinders.  I am not exactly sure, but I am some ideas brewing here.

More sheet music, no one else bid, couldn’t pass it up.

An enamelware box with lid.

A bunch of colored mason jar covers.  I have an idea here too.  Not sure if it will work, we will have to see.

This auction was fun to go to for two reasons. 

One, they went in number order and all the stuff I was interested in came up in two hours.  Second, my husband and girls came with me.  This was fun to share with them, plus, I won’t deny it was awesome to have my husband drive the truck with the trailer, load it all up and be on our way.

Second, then we went to dinner at old fashion drive up burger joint.  We didn’t drive up (too cold) and I didn’t have a burger (just wasn’t feeling it) but I did have a yummy shake!

And for those of you who are wondering, I have everything but Photoshop set up on my new computer.  Even this posting was written on the old computer and I was able to save it!

Thanks for all of your kind words and encouragement!

Have a great night!

Laura

Oops, Did I Do That?

Hello All.

So as if this whole blog thing hasn’t been challenging enough for me, I decided it would be a good idea to poor water on my computer last night, and to quote the Geek Squad, I fried the “mother board”.

 

This is the kind of thing I would have a fit if my one of kid’s did, but no, it was me.  Do I need to give myself a consequence befitting my crime?

As I have said in the past, each step of this blog has been technically challenging for me.  So, now, with a new computer in hand, I am starting over.

At least I was able to save my hard drive, I just have to figure out how to get everything from there to here.

But, as I told my daughter this evening as we worked on multiplication tables, the only way to do it is to “Do the Work”.

So, be patient with me.  I am getting better at all this stuff.

So, I am pulling myself up by my bootstraps, licking my financial wounds of the new computer purchase, and pushing through.

Brighter Days Ahead..

The Key to My Heart Mantel

I am joining Beth’s Valentine mantel party over at The Stories of A to Z

I really wasn’t planning on doing a mantel, but then I realized in the back of my I already had been planning one.  The best part of doing this mantel was that I didn’t destroy my family room in the process.  My family was at a sports activity, so I took my time, watched some American Pickers, and didn’t get myself too crazy like I sometimes do.  I was really not feeling the red and pink thing, so I went for a more subtle, still wintery, rustic and a little bit of bling.

I found the piece of fence at an auction this weekend and I loved how it fit right into the mirror.

I had picked up this beautiful brown wool yarn recently and knew I wanted to use it.  I made a garland with some chandelier crystals and wrapped some hearts cut out of cardboard.  The centers are symmetrical, but I liked how they are kind of wonky.

I hung my key I found in Paris from a milk glass plate that actually has heart cutouts, a milk glass vase and two candlesticks.  I placed yarn balls on the candlesticks and added a few more crystals.

I loved this small key because the opening is a heart.

It is a little difficult to tell from the picture, but the birds are in an actual birds nest, placed inside the bowl, backed with an ironstone dish with some more keys hanging.  I added a few pinecones as well.  I placed the whole vignette in an old champagne crate to contrast the white and to give it all a little more presence and height.

I really love the contrast of the rustic fence with the mirror and the chandelier crystals.

It is a little difficult to see in the picture, but the fireplace surround is slate so I added a little love note to my family.

“You are so loved”

I feel very loved because my husband has a fire all staged for me in case I get cold!

There are two milk glass candle holders filled with crystal door knobs.  The bingo style letters are from a set I found a while ago at Marshalls.  I had been wanting the ones I had seen in catalogs, but they were so expensive.  I leaped at the chance to get these on clearance.

And what would a Valentine display be without some love birds.  These were randomly in a box from an auction box lot and they made a nice addition.

I will be sharing at some of the parties on my sidebar, stop by and see what everyone else is sharing!

Off to a busy day, I hope you are all well!

Take care,

Laura