Weekend Project: Wreath

After the Christmas decorations came down, I hated that the fireplace in our Family Room looked so bare! I loved how the pretty garland and wreath had looked and I wanted something really natural looking that would be able to transition from winter through spring and maybe in to summer. Saturday we took a little field trip to The Lob - (AKA Hobby Lobby) and I am pretty happy with what I found! I picked out a grapevine wreath and a handful of their floral stems. I could hardly wait to get home and get started! I grabbed my wire clippers and sat down on the floor to create. I cut the stems apart and tucked them in, starting about half-way up on each side and working my way down to the center at the bottom. I had some pretty green wired ribbon, so I tied a bow and stuck that in the middle to cover up any wires showing through the bald spot! What do you think?

Just a suggestion - you might want to throw an old sheet on the floor before you start! The grapevine tends to make a MESS!!

Remember this? I have a BUNCH of these horns that Larry has collected over the years. I need to get some wire (thought I had some - can't find it??!!), and then I am planning on using some of these smaller antlers and wiring them in here and there among the greenery on either side. I hope it looks as cool as it does in my mind!

I'll post the finished product once the roads clear so I can get to the store and get my wire!

Icy Days

Like everyone else in NW Arkansas, we have been iced in for the past two days. We are VERY fortunate, because we still have power! The lights have flickered several times and we hold our breath every time, but our electricity is still hanging in there. We've kept the fireplace roaring, so it's been warm and toasty inside, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the time off.
I love going outside when it snows (or ices, like it has this time) and "listening" to the stillness. It is so awesome to me that you can hear the flakes falling and everything is so clean and beautiful. Here are a few pictures I took yesterday. This is looking out our Living Room window.

You can't see them real well here, but there were three or four little birds on the hay bales. I think they were trying to make a nest to stay warm! I've been nagging Larry to get them off the porch since the day after Thanksgiving. Now he feels justified "because the birds needed it".
Whatever.

These pictures (below) are looking out the kitchen window. We do have a few limbs down now, but we are feeling very fortunate that it doesn't look anything like Springdale and Fayetteville. They have some serious storm damage there.

Hope you are staying warm and toasty!

Tuesday Treats: BLT Dip

I'm going to try to be a little better about staying on track with my "Tuesday Treats" theme!

I was going to have a little get-together last Thursday night, and then woke up with a stomach virus -YUCK! So, I had to reschedule for this Thursday night. I like to keep the snacks very simple, so I'm just doing chips and a couple different dips, and some cookies. This BLT dip from the Southern Living Ultimate book of Appetizers sounded really good, and SIMPLE! I'll let you know how it turns out!

BLT Dip
1 Cup Mayonnaise
1 (8 ounce) sour cream
1 pound bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 large tomatoes, chopped

Combine mayonnaise and sour cream in a medium bowl, whisking until blended. Stir in bacon and tomato. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 cups

For a spicier version, use salsa in place of the tomatoes. For a lighter version, use nonfat mayonnaise, fat-free sour cream, and turkey bacon. You can even enjoy it as a chunky salad dressing!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday!
We had a great weekend - I hope you did too! I did some cleaning and the never-ending laundry on Saturday. We watched the Hog game, and then went out to eat Saturday evening. I was given a gift card as a Christmas gift that was good at either Olive Garden or Red Lobster. The closest ones to us happen to share a parking lot! My choice would ALWAYS be Olive Garden, but Larry was in the mood for some shrimp, and since I wasn't cooking, I didn't care. I figured if one lot was more full than the other, that would be my choice! It was even, so the Lobster won. I had the Parmesan Tilapia - it was YUMMY!!

Sunday afternoon I went to see a movie with most of my family. My Dad and brother were wanting to see Clint Eastwood's latest movie "Gran Torino". Mom and I wanted to take my brothers children along, so we chose "Hotel for Dogs". I thought it was a cute movie. It was a nice distraction and good for several giggles, plus it had a happy ending! It was fun to listen to the kids giggling. Larry stayed home to watch football. My team is done, so my interest is too.

I spent a bunch of time throughout the weekend checking for updates on little Miss Harper Brown Stamps. It fascinates Larry that I don't "know" these people and yet I can be so concerned. It is sort of hard to describe, but I feel like I know them. I know you fellow bloggers feel the same way. Kelly seems like someone I could be friends with - the same as any of the bloggers I read on a regular basis. I was in awe Friday evening when I read the news about Harper, and it was almost a chain reaction - you could see posts going up on every ones blog requesting prayer for this sweet family. And the prayers are WORKING! Isn't God AWESOME?? Please continue to remember this family in your prayers, you can click on the button on the right for the latest on Harper's condition.

I hope you have a GREAT week!

Please PRAY!!!

Before I started my own Blog, I was reading several other blogs on a daily basis and enjoying little glimpses in to other peoples lives. One of my favorite reads is Kelly's Korner . Kelly is a sweet young lady that has prayed for a child and God has blessed her and her husband Scott with a beautiful baby girl! Kelly has been blogging about their journey, and yesterday the entire blog world was giddy with anticipation! Harper Brown Stamps was welcomed last night at 7:03 PM weighing in at 9 LBS 12 OZ! Unfortunately, Harper was having trouble breathing, and the Doctors have flown her to Tulsa to St. Francis where she is in the NICU. For more up to date information, go to Kelly's Dad's Blog , or Kelly's Blog. This family needs our prayers! Please pray for Harper!

There's going to be a party...

And you're invited!
If you live in NW Arkansas, and you are interested in this, then you should come to my house tomorrow night! You are more than welcome to bring a friend. It's supposed to be cold, so I'll have a warm fire and some hot apple cider! I'll have some of the new products, like these in the picture - plus a few others! I'll even have a few ideas for how you could use them at your house!

If you would like to come, leave me a comment with your email address, and I will contact you privately to give you directions!

BUNCO!

A few months ago a friend that I used to work with and hadn't seen in a very long time approached me about Bunco (Bunko?). She had organized some of our neighbors and a few other friends, and they needed one more Hostess. I've heard of the game, but had never played and it sounded like fun so I agreed. I'm so glad I did!
They meet once a month, on the second Thursday. I had prior obligations for the first two months, so last night was the first night that I could attend. How FUN! Have you played? It's very simple, really. Roll the dice and count, I can handle this! I must have had a bit of beginner's luck, because I won a prize! Most Buncos! And Most Baby Buncos. In the spirit of generosity, they had a roll off for the next highest so that someone else could have a prize too.

Here's my loot! M&M's, a heart-shaped picture holder, and a very cool mousepad, that is a calendar!

I had a great time and more importantly, I'm meeting people! I am very shy by nature, and really HATE getting out of my "comfort zone" - what if they don't like me? what if they vote me out? My BEST cheerleader Larry talked me through it - "You'll be fine, go have fun". I knew once I got there I would be fine, it's taking that first step! The bonus was there were a few ladies there I already knew. Whew! Comfort zone! We live in the country, so even though I say neighbors, they aren't right next door. We really only see most of them when we are in our car, driving somewhere. So this will be a fun way to become more acquainted with our neighbors. You can't beat that!

A fish outta water = A Bathroom Re-do!

I hinted at this when I posted some of our Christmas decoration pictures. If you enter our house through the garage (like we always do) you come in to our Laundry room/third bathroom. I have had it painted blue with this fish wall paper and border for about 8 years. It's been fun while it lasted, but it is time for something new!

The shower curtain and other "fishy" accessories were fun to collect. We have souvenirs from some of the cruises we have been on setting about here and there. When I bought the wall paper, I didn't calculate correctly how much we would need (I SO should have paid attention in math class!) so I had to improvise. We cut all the fish we could out of the scraps we had left, and glued them to the two walls that didn't get paper. You kind of get the feeling you are in a fish bowl in here...

Anyway, for Christmas I found some really COOL deer hunting bathroom accessories. I found a new theme for Larry's bathroom! WOO HOO! So I purchased the Shower curtain, soap dish and Tissue box cover and wrapped them up. I so wish that I had taken pictures when he opened this gift. You could just SEE the (lack of) joy on his face!

I remembered that I had purchased this border awhile back when I wanted to make over his "man room". That still isn't done because we can't agree on a color, mostly because he doesn't like to paint. This could explain his lack of enthusiasm with the bath stuff. I think the border may work in here tho! I know this room will get fresh paint, because it is small enough I can do it myself!!

I'm going to get some paint chips this weekend, so I can decide on the new color. I actually don't mind the blue with this, but I'm thinking a shade of brown. I think I'd like Chocolate brown rugs and towels. What do you think? I'd LOVE your opinions/suggestions!!

I'll be sure to post pictures when I finish this project!