Verses

I saw these on a friends Facebook and loved them! The Word as a photograph is so beautiful to me!

1 Peter












1 Peter 1

Bird Feeder

We placed a bird feeder in our backyard near the kitchen and I love it! I find myself watching the precious little birds out the window throughout the day and am reminded of the verse Matt 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

I cant help but marvel at our Lords deep care and love for all his creation. The depth of his knowledge of each of his beings is something I know I will never fully comprehend. I stand in awe of is love, grace and power. Our God is truly an awesome God!!

A Passion for Musicals

I am a sucker for a good musical. I have seen some on stage, but most on television or at the movies.

My mom is to thank for my total ability to lose myself in a show like Oklahoma!. I remember when I was little she would call me with the most excited tone in her voice 'Rachael, hurry, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is on!!'. At 10 yrs old (and younger) I never had the slightest idea what she was talking about, but I would willingly sit and watch in entertained awe as these beautiful heros and heroins sang their way through the lows and highs of life. I have been hooked ever since!

Tonight, I decided to make myself a Bucket List of musicals. There are many that I would love to see in my life. I also made a list of musicals I have seen, but be advised I have left off most Elvis, Doris Day, Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers, and Shirley Temple shows. Those wouldve simply made the list terribly long. Just know I have seen most of them!

My top 5 favorite musicals (in no particular order):
My Fair Lady

















Fiddler on the Roof

















Les Miserables


















Annie


















Yentl



















If you have a recommendation that I don't have listed please let me know!

Musicals I’ve seen:
Oklahoma
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
The Sound of Music
Phantom of the Opera
Chicago
West Side Story
Yentl
The King & I
Annie
Grease
Annie Get Your Gun
Les Miserables
Fiddler on the Roof
Singing in the Rain
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Mary Poppins
Wizard of Oz
Bugsy Malone
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
My Fair Lady
Calamity Jane
The King and I
Evita
Little Shop of Horrors
White Christmas
Carmen Jones
Funny Girl
An American in Paris
Hello Dolly
Scrooge
Gigi
Funny Face
A Star is Born
Yanky Doodle Dandy
Moulin Rouge
Do any of the Monty Python movies count??? Ahahaha!

Musicals still to be seen:
Kiss Me Kate
Easter Parade
A Star is Born
Hair
Guys and Dolls
Cabaret
Miss Saigon
Fame (Sorry Fame die-hards, I only remember seeing the TV show.)
Cats
Oliver (I have seen this, but it was so long ago I cant really remember much)
Cats
Joseph & His Dreamcoat (How dare I?! I am even from Utah!!! Sorry Donny Osmond)
Mama Mia
South Pacific
Buddy
Blood Brothers
Cats
The Music Man
Wicked
Once

Praise Him! For He is Risen!

Colin's Room

Here are some adorable pictures of my nephews new room. I think Heather did such a cute job! Look at the cute outlet covers. She did mention they pull off fairly easily so she is going to make one that has double plugs attached to see if it makes it more difficult to remove. She is still waiting for her 2nd valance to arrive, but you can see what a perfect match it is for the space.

So precious!!! ...and the room is darn tootin' cute, too!

Branches and blossoms

I think I am addicted to painted on our walls. I must stop. I am not kidding when I say I would be very happy to add a different touch to every room in the house. This has to end before I become known as the crazy lady with the obsession with murals. BUT, this was my last decal. I promise. Well, maybe promise is too strong of a word. Lets me say, my intentions are to stop with this last design. He he he.

So this was my first attempt. When I was finished I stepped back and it really scared me. No joking, I felt like it was a branch out of scary movie. In particular, it reminded me of the movie Something Wicked This Way Comes. (We were the only ones who watched that in terror as kids?!) Oh, when that wind blew through town and there was all those looming shadowee trees everywhere! Do you remember that??? ...that's this branch! I was afraid I would wake one day to find Mr. Dark in my bathroom; I had to paint over it and start fresh.















For the new, non-freaky branch, this is was my inspiration sticker decal from Dali Decals ($40, not including shipping).

















This is my impression of the design. Its far from perfect. Trying to paint on textured walls is nearly impossible as the paint leaks into the indentations making each thing a blob! lol















Just for kicks and giggles.... I hope this takes you back!

Bathroom Updated

We just finished updating our bathroom. Boy, it took alot of time, but it was really worth it. We painted the walls, ceiling, cabinets, removed the old mirror and added a framed one with paint matching the cabinets, added hardware to the cabinet doors and drawers, replaced the lights and replaced the faucet. Phwoooeeeeeee.

I am so sad that I some how deleted my before pictures. Sigh, I will include on photo that shows the fixture and old cabinet color. There is also a photo that clearly shows the new wall color.

I wish I hadnt deleted the pics. You will have to take my word for it; its QUITE a change.

Bedroom (before and after)

I decided to paint the birch trees (I prefer thinking of them as Aspens, lol) in our bedroom. I added 2 little blue birds perched on the branches. I am keeping my eye out for material in the perfect shade of blue that I will use to make pillow shams and a decorative pillow for the glider. It takes a little time to make the decorative changes that I want, but it's so much fun!

BEFORE


AFTER

I want your opinion!

Ok, so I have this wild hair driving me to paint a tree(s) in our bedroom. Ms Sassy Jackie recommended I keep the tree silhouette a similar, but lighter color, than the rest of our room (I am leaning towards a desert sand).

That in mind, if you were a tree painting person, which style would you choose?? (it will be similar to the silhouette, but not the same color)


A.





















B.























C.

Lamp Shade Recovered

BEFORE

While dusting our bedroom yesterday I was so irritated with the accumulation of dust on the lamp shade. Since we use a ceiling fan and humidifier, the dust builds up at alarming rates. This brought me to wish I could wash the shade.

With my remnant material (from the Roman Shades) I made a removable shade 'slip cover' that can be washed. I am sure someone else likely has had this same idea, but to me its new and novel!

The last two projects for our bedroom will be matching pillow shams (I need to pick up more material) and finally a warm splash of paint on the walls. After those are complete I can move on to the next room! Woohoo!


AFTER (completed shade)

A Recipe for Sunday Mornings

This is an absolutely delicious recipe for Baked French Toast. I hope you give it a shot this Saturday night and throw it in the oven first thing Sunday morning. Yum!

This first recipe is a simpler version of the second.
1 Loaf French Toast
4 Tablespoon Butter (2 T for egg mixture, 2 T to drizzle after baking)
8 Large Eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 1/2 T Vanilla
Cinnamon to your taste

Rip up bread and set aside.
Beat eggs. Combine eggs with 2 T melted butter, milk, salt, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon.
Place bread in 9x13 dish.
Pour egg mixture over bread.
Refrigerate overnight.
Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
Melt remaining 2 T butter and drizzle over the French Toast. Let sit 5 min. before cutting.

Now here is Mrs Paula Deans take on the dish.
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

Make baby stuff!

Now who out there isnt in need of some fresh ideas for baby things as gifts or for their own kids??? I for one never seem to get tired of looking for new challenges. Some I keep, some I give away, but I love making them all.

Here is a great site that offers free patterns and lots of them! Now go get crafty, girl!

Girls Hair Flowers

Ok, now I am tempted to show these off simply because the are produced by my fabulous sister Heather, even with that fact aside, I still must do it for the sake of these precious little hair flowers. She just started selling the multi-flowers and I adore them!! She coordinates her flowers colors with the current lines being carried by Gymboree, Childrens Place and more. Her supply is always updating so check her current stock! Tooooo cute!!! Lillybugs05 http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/lillybugs05_W0QQ_dmdZ1


Dont you love them? I love that the multi means they can be worn with more than one outfit! Yea!(In the past, I never had enough colors for all the girls clothes.)







Just PRECIOUS!

Craft Ideas

I wanted to share my top 3 favorite websites for craft, sewing and decorating ideas. I could spend hours looking through pictures for inspiration.

They might be new to you. I hope that you feel spurred on too!

http://www.bhg.com/
http://www.marthastewart.com/
http://www.etsy.com/

Whats your design style?

My personal style is a mix of 3 specific styles:
50% Classic
25% Wine Country Style
25% Cottage Chic

I ran into this fun quiz and loved it. It was right on. Putting names on my style is helpful, knowing what to search for on the net or magazines when looking for my next design inspirations will be great!

www.sproost.com/StyleEngine

Classic
What's old is new again! The beauty of Classic style is how well it takes all of the beautiful forms, colors and textures of the past and reinvents them in a way that feels both fresh and inspired.

The style itself is a mix of European influences and French, English and Italian antiques and replicas are often used together. Furniture is well proportioned and comfortable and the rooms give off an air of sophistication and grace. Oil paintings depicting still-life or nature scenes and emphasizing symmetry of pairs helps maintain the traditional nature of the room. Windows are often covered with opulent fabric shades and/or drapery.

Traditional rooms give off an air of history that seems to say "I was here long before you, and will remain long after you've gone." And yet, even with this level of sophistication, the rooms are soft and inviting.

Wine Country Style
Tuscan sun, here we come! The Wine Country style reflects the feelings evoked by the seaside regions of Europe such as the South of France, Spain, Italy and Greece. The style manages to be both refined and casual, such that you can mix beautiful antiques with more rustic wrought iron or wood and the result is both sophisticated and cozy.

Furniture is large and comfortable, colors are bright and cheery, and regardless of the color palette the spaces almost always feel warm. You can easily translate the style into the perfect family environment but you can just as easily emphasize the more formal pieces and make your room the perfect adult getaway.

Cottage Chic
Who says that cottages can't be modern and chic? Who says that they have to be floral and cheesy? Not you!

You love the carefree spirit that the cottage interior inspires, but you are also serious about your appreciation for modern art and hip treasures. You love old and new alike, and love to highlight them all to expose the uniqueness of each. What better way to show off these treasures than with a light background?