September Acres

until LM starts school. Fourth grade. Seems like yesterday she was starting pre-school. Guess we all say that, don't we? The summer has flown by just like it always does. So we'll be spending the next 2 weeks just enjoying the days, trying to stay cool & finishing up back to school shopping. I also need to try to fit in a visit to the eye doctor. So I will take a blogging break for the next few weeks to enjoy everything and try to be productive. But I am sure I will take some time to read my favorite blogs at some point. See you in a few weeks!! The pictures were taken last year at the Fourth Ward School in Virginia City, Nevada.

It's been a while since I switched up my mantle so I thought I needed to do it today. It's a quick way to make a big change. I do wish I could do something in place of the tv but that's the one thing that needs to stay. I wanted to add in some summery touches with shells and blues & whites. This is what I came up with: I placed white votives in some jars I had to make DIY candle holders. I put sugar in the bottom but I really think salt or sand would be preferable . But as with much of my decorating I like to use what I have. You may remember the silver vase from my DIY Mercury Glass post. Although it doesn't really look like mercury glass I still love it and use the heck out of it. This shell print was printed from the Graphics Fairy . If you haven't been there you need to check it out. Karen has a wonderful array of graphics available for download. The tiny blue vase is a new purchase from our vacation. I couldn't resist it! I love the apothecary jar...

I am sure a lot you have read Rhonda's blog, Blue Creek Home and enjoyed it. She lost her domain name over the weekend. She has posted a letter on her blog and I am re-posting it for her to spread the word to others that she has a new address. Here's her letter: Some of you may have heard that I lost my blog over the weekend. Thankfully, I had started it at blogspot .com before I purchased the domain and changed it to .com. This allowed me to continue to access the blog at the blogspot address with all of the contents intact. The problem is that any links you guys have do not come to me now and most of my internal links are broken. The man who bought my domain (fair and square, I might add) has set up house at my old blog address ( bluecreekhome .com) For the first few days when you visited, you were redirected to GoDadddy . Today, he suddenly has six or seven posts - a new header - some talk about interior design and decorating, and google adds. Please if you go over, don...

When we got our new bed we no longer had space for this chest in our bedroom so I moved it into LM's room. Almost a year later (I work fast, don't I?) I have made it over to match her room. You can see the before here . In the 'true confessions' department I will admit that I don't love it and it's a little sloppy. My original plan was to paint the stripe pink but I ran out of paint and didn't want to stop working and move everything back into the garage (hubby was out of town) so we could run to Ace and buy another can. So I went to plan B - the brown paint I already had. I redid the wooden knobs I had on another dresser using this idea from the Vintage Pinecone. I LOVE the way the knobs turned out. The resin finish was the perfect finishing touch although I didn't enjoy using it very much. Even so it was worth the end result. They look almost like ceramic close up. Really neat. For now this dresser looks so cute in LM's room a...

Image from marthastewart .com LM informed last night that she will be decluttering this week. Sounds good to me. I have been thinking about my closet since I read this post and saw pictures of Sarah's closet. I am amazed how streamlined her closet is. Like most of us, I have lots of clothes that don't fit me in my closet. Things I will wear as soon as I lose 10, 15, 20 pounds or (heaven forbid) I gain a few pounds. I cleaned out the closet in the spring, kind of. While I purged a bit and straightened things up I didn't really get rid of everything that doesn't fit. I think I might like the results better if I did. We have heard over and over again that most of us only wear a small percentage of our clothes. So do we really need everything we have anyway? If you're looking for me I'll be in the closet....

We spent a day at Donner Lake (as in the Donner party ) in California last week. The weather was perfect. Warm and sunny. At the west end beach there is a little area marked off for swimming and lifeguards for the area. There are a couple of playgrounds, picnic tables and volleyball. The perfect way to spend a day. We came prepared with some beach toys for LM . She spent hours building a moat and a little pool area for the ducks. The water was a bit chilly but quite refreshing when it got too hot on the sand. I loved the fact that we were standing in the water, in our bathing suits looking up at a mountain that still had snow on it. Some of the ski resorts in the area were actually open on July 4 th . I think I prefer the beach to the slopes this time of year. They had paddle boards and kayaks and pedal boats for rent. LM insisted on renting a pedal boat. I gave in. She cried because she was afraid and she didn't want to go out too far. I was horrible at driving it. I found it ...

We went to the July 4th parade in my sister's town on Monday. A small town parade that draws big crowds. Crazy big crowds from near and far. There were some great floats. The traditional horse drawn carriage. The not so traditional snowboarder on a trampoline. My favorite by far. The local Michael's had a float. Unfortunately they were not throwing out any 40% off coupons! The ski patrol had their own fun float. We decided that this guy definitely had the best seat in the house! I have no earthly idea what this float was or who sponsored it but it was neat looking and the float riders were having a ball. See the house on the right hand side of the above photo, #1203? It's for sale! Wouldn't that be a great house to have on July 4th every year? We got to the parade a bit early and staked out a spot for us so we could have a good view. I think we did a good job. After the parade the city put on a big party with food and beer and bouncy houses and cotton candy. But it ...

My sister got this cake plate as a birthday gift. Cute, isn't it? A lady in town makes them from vintage dinner plates and glassware. She sells them at the farmer's market. Of course, when I saw this lovely I thought "I can do that!" I love the idea of using found items to make something useful. I am headed out to the thrift store tomorrow to find some plates and glasses. I am sure many of us also have some stray dinnerware and glassware in our cabinets. You know, that one piece of great grandma's china that hasn't broken yet. I think this cake plate idea is a great way to honor that lone piece. I think a smaller glass and a salad plate would make a fun way to serve cookies at a tea. You could use casual dinnerware and an everyday glass. So many options. I have often seen one plate for sale somewhere but wonder 'what can I do with just one plate?'. I think this is one great way to use it. I really love the glass that is used on this particular plate...

We cooked out tonight and my sister made a yummy potato salad. Red, White & Blue Potato Salad Bag of small red, white and blue (purple) potatoes (about 2 lbs) 4 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled 1/2 red onion, sliced 2-3 Green onions, sliced Red Pepper, sliced 1/2 bottle of ranch dressing (add more or less depending on your taste) salt & pepper to taste Boil potatoes until soft, drain & cut potatoes into quarters. Leave peel on -so you can see the colors! In mixing bowl add potatoes, bacon, red onion, green onion & red pepper. Add ranch dressing and salt & pepper. Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate 2-3 hours. Linking up to Rook No. 17 4th of July Craft & Recipe Roundup , Metamorphosis Monday @ Between Naps on the Porch & the Red, White & Blue Linky party @ ItsyBitsyPaperBlog. Enjoy!