I AM: a tease, a daddy's girl and a pushover.

I THINK this is going to be the final "TEASER" photo of the nook before the reveal. I'm so excited about it that I have a hard time not showing you! (BTW, I'm really not showing you very good photos with the proper perspective and all that on purpose (you know so it's fun when you see the final project and you go Ohhhh, it's deeper than I thought, and look at the detail!). I do know how to use my camera a bit. On occasion. Okay, so let me give you some visuals 'cause otherwise you are probably like, "what's the freak excited about? a mess in her family room?" Just go along for the ride for a moment my friends...

This is an itsy bitsy "teeny weeny nook" off of our family room. Years ago we had a vision of taking a tad of space from the garage and making ourselves a built in entertainment center. You know like  a million years ago when TVs were like 4 feet deep and not the depth of a sheet of loose leaf? Then we had book shelves on either side. It was perfect. For like a million years. Then the paper thin TV is introduced making this space completely obsolete. YAY for me! This HOLE in our family room set here since Christmas because we couldn't decide (well, we couldn't agree) on what to do with it. Finally, handy Husband handed me a drawing (It was like the sixth one but shhhh) and we both went "AHA!" The NOOK was born!

Let me give you an itty bitty tour. And to our left we have a corner desk that shall house our computer keyboard and monitor. Below, the CPU shall be hidden from prying eyes as well as the snakes of cords that come with a computer, a wireless modem and all that other stuff I'm not really sure is but goes with it. A sweet old chair will be nestled in that corner. To the above left, notice shelving with bead board backing and some sweet little cubbies that handy handsome hubby insisted on having. Everyone glance now to the right (come on PEOPLE, it's not that hard, it's like 2 inches away). An additional bookshelf that still will get a shelf. This one is higher because there is a STORAGE BENCH THERE BELOW that people will sit on and read or text or something. It will be EVENTUALLY covered with a washable custom slip covered cushion and have fun toss pillows. These cabinets will have under cabinet lighting too. ALSO to the right, that fabulous MERCURY GLASS PENDANT I showed you the other day, will be hanging. We are going for the asymmetrical yet balanced look. I hope it's working. Further to the right do you see that peek of green? THAT my friends will be A NOOK WITHIN A NOOK! It's going to be a BUILT IN shelved area within the built in. Clever. Yes, you can say it. Crazy, yes you can say that too. We are hoping this all comes together (in my mind it is, but I'm on pain medication so what do I know?). The wall area will have a fun collage of mix matched items that we like, have meaning or are for decorative purposes only. I ordered one super awesome coooool thing from my professional photo lab that I am ULTRA excited about, to put in the space as well...on the wall.

So now everyone forget you saw this little teaser and then act all surprised and stuff when you get the final reveal, okay?! Thanks. I heart you.
Hmmmm,what was next...oh yeah, Daddy's girl. Now remember, I MIGHT still be playing the "I just had surgery trump card.  Okay, I've shared stories about my father on here many times (remember the Joe Pesci reference?). If there is one thing my Dad loves in addition to his family, it's FLORIDA and the SOUTH. I can't tell you HOW MANY times over the years he's called (we talk everyday, sometimes 3 times) and  he just happened to be in New Orleans or Key West or St. Augustine with a couple pairs of shorts and shirts thrown in the back of his car and no notice to the family! The man has WANDERLUST and the compass only points south! However, this time we were given a weeks notice. Before he left, he popped by on his way out. He asked me if while he was in FL, if I wanted him to look for anything. Within moments, I whipped out a list of vintage goodies for him to look for. I had to explain a few things to him ('cause he said at one point, and excuse my French, "WHAT THE HELL IS A FLOWER FROG?") Then he asked what to get my delightful sister and I told him any of those same things...we have similar taste! ;-) He might or he might not come back with something exciting.  I just don't want a t-shirt. Been there. Done that.

Here's the pushover part. When I came down to the family room this morning, a familiar scene met my eyes. The names of these boys shall remain anonymous to protect any popularity they may have in school. There is a very similar scene in Callie's room but with girls and a whole lotta estrogen. "CAN we have a sleepover?"  "of course!" I'm a pushover!

Bar stool Magic?

As I mentioned in THIS post, the other evening, I had an epiphany about the counter height stools in the kitchen that were getting a bit old and tired.  If you enlarge the photo by clicking it you can see the rush seats are falling apart. In fact our little one was SO happy to see them go because she said that the falling apart rush seats gave her splinters on her little tush. Splinters in your little tush HAVE to be the WORST!  PLUS the space really isn't large enough for 3 stools but we really did need a bit more room there.

If the stools had been a bit larger scaled I definitely would have made the space between them a tad larger. At least now we can fit one extra little tush at the island! I think eventually we'll paint the actual SEAT grey like the island to give it some definition. But in the meantime, here is the new BENCH my Dad made from 2 ratty bar stools, in about a half hour and 12.00 worth of wood! WOO HOO!

If I was going to buy new stools, I'd DEFINITELY check out this fabulous shop, Regency Shop , they have an incredible selection!

EDIT!!!: Matt came home early to take me to a Dr. Appt. and he's putting a coat of the FRENCH SILVER  that's on the island on the seats right NOW!  Come back later to see.  OHHH I think it's pretty!

Yucky  and boring before -

OKAY, here they are after one QUICK coat of Behr's FRENCH SILVER, on the seat which is the same color as the island.  I think that's going to be the perfect touch!

Here's some link parties, check 'em out! 

The Inspired Room and Extreme Personal Measures

Mercury Glass and a little magic up my sleeve. I. Hope!

The MAGNIFICENT Mercury glass pendant and votive my father ordered me came in the mail yesterday from COTTAGE SIMPLE along with a sweet little nylon reusable shopping bag as a free gift! I totally puffy heart this pendant and votive. They are both pleasantly gently distressed like they've been love worn treasures. See how the candle is gently glowing through the votive. L.O.V.E. Can't wait to get them all set in our secret little nook and I can't WAIT to reveal it to you!!! My cutie buttotie husband has been working so hard on it when he gets him at night. The shelves have lovely bead board backs and the crown molding he put inside on top of the shelves looks great!

While I'm sitting home laying around waiting for some bone to grow in my vertebrae I've been twiddling my thumbs a lot. NOT! I read a ton and look at magazines and do my physical therapy and look at blogs on one of the kids itouch. I think about all the stuff we'd like to do to the house and all the money we don't have to do it with.

These bar stools have been bugging us for a WHILE. They were VERY inexpensive and have served their purpose. However, the rush seats are falling apart, as you can see and we are down to plywood in one section. The REAL bar stools are up at my friend BOB'S but he won't sell them to me or anyone else for that matter so don't go try to get them. They are FABULOUS OLD shop stools with beat up metal legs and a fat round wood seat. They even have a little pull down foot rest. I totally LOVE bits and pieces of industrial design mixed in with the everyday and these are the EPITOME of that! Doesn't really matter however, 'cause that's the one design style Matt and I do NOT agree upon! So 2 days ago I had a epiphany about these bar stools that I currently have. Since Matt's up to his NECK in projects, I can't BEND LIFT OR TWIST who am I going to call to make the project in my minds eye a reality? MY DAD! My Dad definitely has a good eye for design although he occasionally gets a little to "out there" for me. When I mentioned my idea to Dad he was TOTALLY into it and loved it. Matt on the other hand just wasn't seeing it. Oh well, we'll either going to LOVE it or HATE it but I haven't seen anything quite like this out there in design land so I'm excited to see what we end up with. HOPEFULLY I love it not HATE it! ;-) So come back and see...he's working on them RIGHT NOW!!!

FALLING INTO PLACE

Tonight our twins are going to their first dance. It's the Eight Grade sendoff kind off thing. Talk about making you feel OLD! Actually, picking out Callie's first DRESS with her will probably be one of my forever favorite moments. There are times in our lives but especially our lives as parents that you want to hold onto, put into a little locket and never open again. Just have it there knowing it's with you always. I think it's important when one of these moments is happening to RECOGNIZE it and cherish it for what it is.

Recently, like almost every other night, I tip toe into each of the kids rooms to check on them before I go to bed. I crept into Cole's room and very carefully got down to brush a whisper of a goodnight kiss on the corner of his lips and realized he had a little bit of a 5'oclock shadow thing going on. Oh. MY.

Matt took Cole out to get his dress pants, shirt and tie since I can't go in a car yet. It was so exciting when he came home and I made him try on the pants and the shirt but separately because I want to be surprised this evening with the whole package. I'm so excited I can't wait! Callie's dress is CHARTREUSE and with her coloring she can really pull it off. I had hoped that they'd pick a tie that had chartreuse and khaki but alas, that was NOT meant to be. When I mentioned it this morning, of course they both looked at me like I had sprouted an extra head. I can be the corny photographer mom who forgets that her twins aren't 14 months anymore but 14 years OLD (Just this past weekend) and wants her babies to wear coordinating outfits. I was semi-weepy with Callie trying on the dresses (she didn't know and I am SO NOT A CRIER), so wish me luck tonight! ;-)

I've been coveting these pendant lights FOREVER from www.mothology.com but they were  always sold out. ;-( THEN I found them at COTTAGE SIMPLE plus this SAAAWEEEET little matching votive holder. They have some FABULOUS AND FUNKY lighting you MUST check out! My DAD was kind enough to order BOTH the light and the votive holder for me yesterday for the built in reading nook/desk area. I ordered the hobnail one in the middle. LOVE IT! Can't wait to get it!

I have a sweet little story that involves my delightful sister Brandy.  I'll share it with you in a moment. My friend BOB (you remember BOB, of the fantastic store full of incredible goodness fame?), has known about my idea for the built in and has been scouring his antique/flea/auction haunts for the perfect things for me. I called the other day to get an update knowing full well it was going to KILL me if he had any goodies hidden for me because I don't even KNOW how many more weeks I'm not allowed in a car because of this doggone surgery recovery. AND YES, he tempted me with his talk of the goods he's found for me so much that I had a fleeting thought of taking my walker and trying to make the trip. (If you are my surgeon or physical therapist reading this, please know it was a FLEETING little thought) WHEN the time comes for the nook reveal, I'm going to have some FUN and FUNKY schtuffff to show off!  I CAN'T WAIT!  You may know if you read my blog that I've got a "thing" for dogs.  Most especially a "THING" for smooshy faced doggies with pouty lips.  This OCD riddled chick for some reason does NOT have one qualm about planting a kiss on any POUTY PUDGY PROTRUDING doggie lip.  I'm just sayin'.

By this point you are wondering where the delightful sister comes into play. WELL, this delightful sister LIVES in Delaware but works here in Maryland 2 days a week and happens to have to DRIVE RIGHT PAST the alluring goodness that is Bob's store. Knowing I'm on a tight budget (one income here people, plus doctors bills out the WAZOO), she had an antique bench that she brought along today and traded it with Bob for my DOUBLE WONDERFUL SMOOSHY FACED brass drawer pull that he had picked up for me. Apparently it's from a sewing cabinet. I'm in LOVE with it and I can't wait till the built in is done to be able to pull it all together! So here's to the love of sisters...and sweet doggie lips and the bittersweet feeling of your babies growing up!

Linking to Cindy's SHOW AND TELL,  under the tabel and dreaming  

<center><a href="http://www.remodelaholic.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab229/remodelaholic/RemodelaholicfeaturedonSmall125x125.jpg" /></a></center></P> <P><BR></P> <P><BR></P> <P><BR></P> <P>Read more: http://www.remodelaholic.com/#ixzz0og3sOaP0</P> <P><BR></P> <P><A href="http://thehillsarelivin.blogspot.com/">The Hills</A>, <A href="http://www.lovinmylovebugs.blogspot.com/">fingerprints on the fridge</A> <A href="http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/" target=_blank border="0"><IMG alt="Join us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!" src="http://hadfield.smugmug.com/photos/825895175_xmTVA-O.jpg"></A>  <P><BR></P> <P><BR></P> <P> <CENTER><A href="http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/" target=_blank><IMG border=0 alt="Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special" src="http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b243/signmakergirl/satnitenew150w-1.jpg"></A></CENTER> <P></P>

Hello everybody

Hello everybody!

My friend Robyn kindly asked me to guest blogging.

She's recovering from a hard surgery so I'm very happy to be here and wish her a fast recovering.

She's a strong girl and I admire her very much for her courage.

You are in my heart girl!!

I first met Robyn a short time ago, just a few months.

We both started blogging recently and met via Dreamy Whites.

We shared a feeling and wrote some mails.

She asked me today to entertain you, so I thought what could I write about

and decided to tell you something about myself.

My name is Zaira

I write on a blog called

Little Emma English Home

I'm a 33 years old girl with many thoughts and dreams.

I'm Italian, I live in a small sleeping town south Milan,

but  I constantly dream that someday I will be able to pack my things

and run away to some other exciting place

like Paris

or London

I love travelling and discovering new places. There's so

much to see and learn, I'm never fed up. In summer

I satisfy this thirst for life by travelling.

I choose a place and for 3 weeks I'm 

"The girl with a luggage"

I never sleep in the same place for more than one night.

Each day a different sky, each night the same exciting feeling that tomorrow

will be a new adventure.

I'm lucky enough to share those precious moments with my

wonderful friends

Friendship is to me the greatest thing in life.

It's so amazing to find people who care for you more than a family,

those are the persons you choose and

when they choose you too it's a huge blessing.

They never make you feel lonely

I have a passion for books

My secret ambition is to become a famous writer

and live upon words

I like to name things with their proper name.

Maybe, that's why I'm a person who speaks clearly

and people don't usually like it.....

I'm not a flattering person, I live for the Truth.

I'm a sincere girl, maybe too much.

I'm also a strong and independent girl but

 I'm still waiting for the right man who has

the key to my heart

Sometimes I sit and look behind me at my past

But I usually prefer to look ahead and wait for

my personal fairytale

{all pictures from This is glamorous, Home, The bottom of ironinhg basket}

But this is a new chapter and a new.....post!

Thank you again dear Robyn for hosting me in your blog

A great hug for you and your lovely readers.

Zaira xx

I'm ALIVE! I'm now officially ROBOTIC ROBYN! AKA: Spinal Fusion Revision Surgery

Hey, did you miss me? Huh? Maybe a little? Come ON don't crush an ill woman's ego, okay? How about I tell you ALL ABOUT the exciting stuff going on in our home THEN I'll tell you about the surgery junk. That way you don't have to slop through guts, blood and gore to get to some decorating fun stuff. (I promise, it won't be gory...at least I don't think).

I have to share this photo of Cosmo's sweet white paws (they are a bit dirty right now and grass stained but that's okay). I was spending some time laying on the floor instead of the bed or the couch or sitting in a chair. You know, just a change of scenery. I had someone hand me my camera so I could get some shots in because even with all this titanium in my back, my shutter finger is working nicely, thankyouverymuch. Both Macy and Cosmo were so sweet keeping their Momma company there on the floor.

Years back, Matt and I noticed this fun piece of "furniture" in his grandparents garage. We ooohhhhhed and aaahhhed over it while his grandparents looked at us as if we had two heads. It was just a hand made tool box made from scraps of wood and crates, how could we think it was so cool? Fast forward to before my surgery, Matt's Nana wanted to clean out some of the junk from the basement/garage. Of course THIS piece called our name! It needs some sanding maybe a little refinishing only on the top, a board for it to sit on and then maybe some bun feet. Are you seeing it? Are you loving it? Unfortunately the RED KNOB is having to go bye bye but the rest will stay and I plan to mix them up and have all the other drawers EACH have a DIFFERENT knob. You know, for funks sake. This baby needs a tad funkification! Can't wait to show you when it's done, of course remember I'm not moving anywhere near top speed so you'll (me TOO) have to be patient!  Hey, and does it remind you a bit of this piece? delicious, yet expensive PB goodness

Okay, about the built in I've mentioned a few times. Well, she's on her way to GLORY! Matt's been working his cutie buttotie off on it and it's coming along soooooo nicely. That left side is a little desk and the right side is going to be a bench (that lifts for storage) that will be covered with a fun washable slipcover. On the right wall there will be INDENTED shelving. WE plan to have it all painted white with lovely trim and crown moulding and under cabinet lights. AND a FUNKY pendant light hanging on the reading nook side. SQUEEEEEL! I'm so excited about this project, and sooo happy my man is handy and handsome! I'd show you more pictures to give you more dimension but I want it to be a surprise!

Here's the surgery part so feel free to turn around now.  I'm going to come back later and tell you all about it 'cause now I'm too tired and I need to lay down....I'll be back!


Okay, I'm back....
Ready for the guts and gore?  Just kidding!  This time I happen to have had my surgery at a Catholic hospital.  I'm Catholic so that kinda went together well.  Before my surgery a Priest walks in (this almost sounds like the beginning of a bad joke) to give me communion and do the sacrament of anointing the sick.  He had a pretty strong Slavic accent, so my father asked him where his accent was from.  He said Poland! Well, I'm half Polish (the good, pretty half my Dad says) and my father is 100%  My Dad started speaking to the Father in Polish and they had a seemingly sweet little conversation.  Up until this point I only thought my Dad could speak Polish words that Polish sailors typically use not ones you speak to a Priest.  He proves me wrong.  Again.  It was very pleasant to have had that time with the Father and it definitely sent me off to surgery with a lighter heart.  Before I was whisked away, I got hugs and kisses all around from my father, my father in law and Matt.  Double from Matt for good luck.  Then it was off to the OR.  Then I suddenly woke up in recovery, which is always incredibly pleasant.  Your eyes feel like they are made of lead and when you muster the strength to open them they decide not to focus.  The nurses mentioned that I had to have a transfusion in surgery.   As I'm the only one in recovery, the nursers are chit chatting about decorating.  Finally I yelled over to them and asked if they could wheel me closer so I could get in on the conversation!  LOL  I told them about www.houzz.com  and they all wrote it down.   A bit later the anesthesia started wearing off and I did NOT feel like chatting then!  They moved me to my room, continually monitoring my BP because it wanted to stay LOW.  Then Matt and my Dad and his Dad showed up for a mini visit.  Of course they gave me the morphine self pump which sounds awesome in theory when in reality it actually sucks.  Think about it, you can administer your own morphine every 6 minutes, after several doses of that you drift off to dream land where you are NOT self medicating.  So when you wake up you've got a grizzly bear of pain laying on your body and you can't shake the sucker off until you pump that little pumping thing about 20 times, then you doze off and repeat.  Fun.  Unfortunately, the next day my blood pressure continued to go down eventually the last time they took it it was 53/40.  Which I'm assuming isn't great because she immediately called my surgeon and over the next 7 hours gave me 2 MEGA transfusions.  I hope the blood came from a nice person. I'm just sayin'.  Anyway, several nights in the hospital later, I'm home and trying to rest.  So don't expect much blogging from me ;-)  Although I have asked a few more girls to help out but everyone is so busy so we'll have to see.


Prognosis:  After the surgery the Dr. came out and told my family that he definitely finished some "unfinished business".  He felt VERY confident that I will do much better now.  The next day when he spoke with me, he actually seemed a bit sad and disappointed in my past surgeon.  Saying that he could still visualize in his head my spine and believed that there was no way that my past surgeon closed me up knowing that I was NOT DECOMPRESSED.  All I know is that I may now have an 11 inch scar but I have feeling coming back in my left leg that I have not had for almost the past 2 years.  Thank you Lord.


I want to thank you from the VERY bottom of my heart for you prayers, well wishes, happy thoughts, healing vibes, cards, baked goodies, and complete dinners.  We appreciate every SINGLE thing.  I really believe that your positive energy has lifted me up and sped my healing!


blogspot.com/">linking to Southern Hospitality

Vintage Window Makeover from Guest Blogger, My Cottage Charm

First let me say I am very honored that Robyn asked me to be a guest blogger for her while she's re-cooping from her surgery, can't wait to dig right in and get started and I'm so glad to hear she's doing ok!

I'm Melissa from My Cottage Charm and I've been married to my high school sweetheart for 25 wonderful years.  We have three beautiful boys that bring us joy everyday and make our lives VERY interesting, to say the least. :) I love to blog and have made so many amazing friends in such a short period of time. (and Robyn is at the top of the list!)  My blog is all about bringing the passion for decorating into reality by using inexpensive ideas and LOTS of paint to achieve the look and feel you LOVE.  (occasionally I do gush about my children and hubs, or give you a new recipe, I'm just like that!)  :-)  Here are a few things you can find on my blog:

      Cozy Cottage Kitchen    

 

Goodwill light makeover

  Laminate to Lovely armoire

You're more than welcome to come visit me anytime!

Now lets get to the makeover! 

My mom was going to throw away this old vintage window and asked me if I had any use for it.....

As you can see, it was in REALLY poor condition, but I decided to take on the job and make something great out of it!  It had quite a bit of rotted wood and issues around the panes of glass, even some missing panes.  First I cleaned out all the rotted wood areas and filled it with wood putty.  I let it dry and sanded it down smooth.   I removed the broken panes of glass and had some new panes cut.  I cleaned out all the old putty and put in the new pieces of glass with glazing points.  (those are little pointy pieces of metal that hold the new glass in place...easily picked up at Lowes or any hardware store)  I used some window putty to hold the new panes in place.  You just roll out a piece like a snake and put it around the panes of glass and use a putty knife, at an angle, to remove the rest.  (maybe you'll be blessed to find an old window with all the glass and you can skip all those steps!)

I decided I wanted to be able to hang coats along the top edge, so I purchased some glass door knobs.  I actually found these at Walmart....they were supposed to be used to change out existing door knobs, but I had other ideas for them! (you could use vintage ones if you have them) To attach them to the window, I used wood dowels the same size as the holes in the back, and then drilled that same size hole in the window and then glued the dowels in.......like this.....

After I got it all cleaned up etc, I gave it a good coat of crisp white paint! AND THEN...this is what I used it for!

I printed out my pictures in black and white and backed them with some black art paper, just so you don't see the wall color behind it.  You could have your pictures printed to the exact size of the panes, but my panes were bigger than what my printer would print out, so I just  backed them with the paper to make it easier. I just love how it turned out!  I have it hanging in my foyer and have a shelf underneath it with hooks.  I decided to use those hooks for coats and use the glass door knobs for something pretty.  I chose pretty over practicality.....surprise, surprise! :)  I still have one pane of glass to fill with a picture....I just can't seem to figure out which one I want, but it'll get there eventually!

I hope you've enjoyed looking over my window makeover, I know I've enjoyed putting this post together for you.  Again, I would like to thank Robyn for letting me visit with all you guys today and I hope she's recovering nicely and resting at home!

Love ya Robyn!

Blessings

MELISSA

Hello everyone! This is Julie, Robyn's neighbor and friend. I am so excited to be helping her out with her blog posting while she is recovering from her surgery. I talked to Matt (her hubby) this morning at the bus stop and he said she is on her way to recovery...the doctor had only really positive thoughts about the surgery and its success. She does however have some bed rest and down time ahead of her for a proper recovery! I am beyond happy about the news and am wishing her back to normal asap (along with many of her other friends and family).

O.K., so I do not blog regularly but I do read other blogs (including Robyn's) and visit many websites for inspiration, ideas and yes, recipes too! I am going to mention a few of my favorites and hopefully you can find some time this weekend to check them out. 

So if you have not visited The Pioneer Woman you need to. I know this is one of Robyn's faves too because she told me about it years ago. Ree is an amazing woman who lives on a huge ranch with 4 children and her husband (along with many pets too) with lots of stories to tell, beautiful photography and yummy recipes...she also has a cookbook out called The Pioneer Woman Cooks...a nice Mother's Day gift if you need to give a little hint to anyone?

Now, my sister lives across the country from me in Portland, Oregon. She just happens to have a fabulous shop called NOUN (a persons place for things). I so wish we lived closer or she lived here or that she would trust me to open an East Coast Noun but I am just dreaming. I want one of everything in there. I am not just saying it because she is my sister either...she just has a great eye. Now, it just happens that the wonderful Mrs. French from the blog Bliss knows my sister and wrote an awesome blog about her stores redo with tons of pics...so read here and get inspired!

So, in ending, I have one more sight to share with you Saint Cupcake. I have a major sweet tooth (I am pretty sure Robyn does too). Anyhow, this great little bakery has the BEST cupcakes. Get this, you can order them and have them delivered to you or anyone else (hint: Mother's Day). My favorite is the toasted coconut and the pumpkin with cream cheese. Check it out...you will not be disappointed.

To all you moms out there...Have a great weekend! P.S. Robyn is suppose to come home Sunday...keep your fingers crossed!

Corned Beef and a Transfusion or two

Hello there, its Brandy(Robyn's sister) and I have just a tiny little update for you all. Robyn is still in a lot of pain but is managing to stay positive. I guess it had helped that our father has brought his infamous Corned Beef delivery. For those of you who are not aware, Dad brings this awesome Deli delight with all the fixins when ever one of us is sick or hospitalized. Its the one thing we look forward to when we are not well!
Robyn did have to have one blood transfusion during surgery yesterday due to a lot of blood loss. Another transfusion is on the horizon because she has low blood pressure. I don't know what to say except to please keep my wonderful sister in all of your thoughts and prayers. She is truly an amazing person and deserves for all of this to be over a quickly as possible.  I'll let you all know if I hear anything else.  God Bless and happiness,    Brandy

WELCOME Cassity from Remodelaholics, she's GUEST BLOGGING!

Cassity is such a sweet lady and if you haven't become addicted to her blog yet then what are you waiting for?  It's FABULOUS and she's awesome and FULL of ideas!  Thanks Cassity for guest blogging!
I am happy to be visiting here at Whimages.  Robyn was kind enough to let me show off her awesome kitchen a little while ago, so I am here to show off a little project I have recently finished.

By way of introduction,

My name is Cassity,

and I am a Remodelaholic...

(this picture is like H.O.T..... I couldn't stop myself!)

...well at least I have a blog called Remodelaholic.  

I am a wife, a mother and an Interior Designer by degree.  

My husband Justin is a Landscape Architect and a "honey do" list genius!


My daughter is the light of our lives.  She is often the reason and perfect excuse for


leaving my projects sitting around unfinished for as long as I want!

Halloween 2009 The Three Amigos

I love working on projects and the satisfaction it brings to see a job well done.  We do a lot of re-purpose, reuse, recycle projects and we try to make them as accessible as possible so that you too can make them.

We are remodeling our third house.  The thing is, we don't like to spend a lot of money to get the look we want... Can I get an Amen?   So, we are always trying new creative solutions.  Then, we share them with you, with complete tutorials to make it as easy to recreate as possible.

On my blog you will find:

Tutorials, Design Plans and Ideas, Remodeling Ideas, Before and After, Holiday Ideas,


Recipes (and a linky party just for recipes), Weekly Linky Parties (Fridays),


Guest House Tours (Mondays), Featured Guest Projects



Click on the image to see the post.


 


 


  


 


 
Today I am going to show you how to make faux roman shades.  I made these out of 1 twin sheet I bought on clearance for $2.00, old ribbon I have had for a while, left over Velcro and scrap wood from another project.  It only took a few hours.

Anyway, this project has been done before in the blog-o-sphere.  But I think that pretty much anyone who has made their own drapes has done this before including myself in this project back in 2005, before I even knew what a blog was... so there, I am not just a copy cat! Although I do love my cats, and my chickens.. and well you get the picture, moving on.
Here is a before:

The whole house has these 2" faux blinds, and they are brand new and perfectly functional so,

I decided to keep them, but I didn't necessarily want to look at them all the time.


( apparently that means I would rather stare at the blank brick wall that is my neighbor's house...)

After:




Here are the instructions if you would like to try it out. 


Collect your supplies:
fabric
Ribbon (if desired)
Heat bond adhesive strip
Velcro, adhesive backing
1 x 2 (x window width+) pine board
Measuring tape or ruler
Iron
(drill and screws or small "L" brackets)
This project can be sewn or not, it is up to you.
Measure your window, decide the width you would like and cut your 1 x 2 to the proper length.cut the fabric to width of finished blind plus at least 2 inches and the finished length plus at least 8 1/2+ inches.  (technically since theses blinds do not operate,
you don't have to have the full length and it would be fine)
Finish all four edges, by folding the top and two sides over 1/2 inch, 
then 1/2 inch again and either sew or heat bond the seam in place. 
On the bottom fold it over 1/2 inch and then 3 inches and sew or bond in place.
Now move on to the tutorial images.

 








Any questions? ... Bueller? ... Bueller?

What do you think?

Thanks Robyn for letting me guest post!