French Door "Mistreatments"

A few months ago, I attended a baby shower hosted by a very talented lady who lives in a MILLION DOLLAR HOME. I love the way this woman decorates. And, she makes her own curtains. Of course, only she can afford fabric that costs over $100/yard.
I noticed that she had hung some curtains on both sides of an entryway into her dining room. I loved this idea. So, in typical spontaneous fashion, I went to the local Walmart (yes, I know it's a far cry from designer fabric) and purchased these green faux silk panels.


This was okay. I was happy with it, for a little while... Then I saw this fabric and bought it, hot-glued it, and hung it up. I also added the white plates. It just really brightened things up.

It's not exactly the fabric I wanted, but it will do. For now.

And when the fairies come to clean my kitchen, I'll take more pictures for you. :) Have a great weekend everyone!

What summer?

Does anyone else feel like summer has just come and gone?
Tonight I decided to do a little scrap booking of our trip to the beach, just to reminisce and remind myself of the fun and relaxation that I did have at the beginning of our summer break. It was therapeutic... but I still can't help trying to plan another beach trip before my students come back. We'll see what happens.
On another note, I've re-arranged my living room no less than 20 times this summer. I've had "rug drama," made new mistreatments, and bought a new outdoor seating area for my porch. Here are some pictures...just so that you know even though I was neglecting my blog, it HAS been for good reason.
...OH!...And take a look at my new china cabinet re-do.

Okay, so this is the living room. ...well, this is how it looks for now. New rug, new curtains. I'm happy with it. Looks better in person. Maybe I'll take a better picture of it later.


And I hung this old white window above our entertainment center. It came out of my sister's old house that she and her husband remodeled. I've been trying to add more white/cream-colored accents to the living area.


This is what my entrance looks like. I took the rug out of my living room and put it in the foyer. I moved that antique black piece out of the kitchen and added it too.


And this is the new china cabinet. Wish I had a picture of what it looked like before. Just imagine it looking like really dark mahogany, and a very thick coat of shiny varnish on it. Oh, and doors on the cabinets at the top that resembled something out of an old pirate ship. ...well, at least that's what they always reminded me of.
My mom got tired of this piece, and was ready to remove it from her dining room. She asked me if I wanted it, and I warned her, "I'm going to paint it if you give it to me." I think she loves it more than I do now!

And I did not paint this myself. I had it painted to match my kitchen cabinets. Dixie Cabinets in Springville, AL gets the credit for this. They did a great job!



Well, that's all for now. Next time, I will show you my new out-door furniture and pictures from our trip to Ohio.

The curtains

The before:

After:


...yes...I hot-glued these curtains. Don't hate me.


And I even made my FIRST tassel with some left-over trim and ribbon!!!



More pictures coming soon. There has been some unexpected RUG DRAMA in my life these past few days.

My "lighter" living room-Part 1

I think it was being on vacation, and all of the light that came through our windows...the sunshine, the ocean, and the white sand, that made me feel like the house that I was about to go home to was so DARK.
Anyway, at this wonderful gift shop on the beach, that my mother-in-law would flip over, called "Tallulahs," I found this sign:


Isn't it wonderful? I HAD to have it. And I found the perfect place for it.
When I first saw it, I had no clue as to where I was going to hang it...but I didn't care. I love it. It was perfect for my house. I've learned over time, that if you love something...I mean ABSOLUTELY LOVE SOMETHING...to just go ahead and buy it, because you WILL find a place for it. ...well...that logic works for me.

This was just what I needed to start "lightening up" my home. It has an ivory background, so with just a few more ivory accents, that would be just what I needed for a "lighter-feeling" living room.

Has anyone else felt weighted down by all of the trendy black furniture and dark iron accents that EVERYONE decorates with? Don't get me wrong...I really like a lot of that decor...and I have a lot of it in my home. But, like I said earlier, after being at the beach, and now that summer has arrived, I've just felt like adding "lighter-looking" pieces.

Just wait until you see my new curtains and new living room! Coming soon! Oh-and you are correct...lots of hot-glue was used in the course of this project!!!

My name is Rachel, and I am a "mini-van mom."

DOEHLER DAYS posted this video. You must visit and click on it. TOTALLY HILARIOUS!

Our trip to the beach. Part 2

I've been really bad about updating this blog since I've been on summer vacation. But after a long day, celebrating Father's Day at the pool, I'm now ready to share the rest of our vacation pictures. By the way, Happy Father's Day everyone! :)

We got in the hot tub:

We walked on the beach:

We had blue snow cones at Lulus:

Yes...we know the snow cone was blue...

We got blue, glittery, star tattoos at Lulus. Can you tell that blue is our favorite color?

We ate delicious, fried okra. It was on the appetizer menu!

Wow! What a gorgeous family! He is so handsome. And how does she do her hair? And what a beautiful, well-behaved, little girl!

We had a photo-session on the beach one evening.


And in the middle of our vacation, look what showed up! A big boat with booms in the water. Oil was on the way. It was approximately 5 miles out at that point. We never smelled it and didn't see it until Friday, which was our last day.

We had butterfinger blizzards from Dairy Queen and drank them pool-side. This is the life!

Mommy gave private swimming lessons and we learned how to float on our back.

Pie gave Caroline a bath and washed her hair. This is actually a very funny story. When mom wrapped her hair up in the towel, Caroline looked at herself in the mirror and said, "I look like an ice-cream cone." HA! I asked what kind of ice cream cone she was, and she replied, "Guh-nilla" (vanilla). When the towel fell off of her head, she shouted, "Oh no! I'm melting!" LOL ...I don't want to say she's a creative-genius, but...

We had an assortment of fresh doughnuts for breakfast one morning. NOTE: I said "one" morning. Not every morning that we were on vacation. Pie said someone needed to take a picture of that beautiful sight, so I obliged.

Daddy and Puddin' dug a big hole with a drainage ditch, so that the waves would create a private pool for Caroline. ...Yes, Puddin' is a contractor, home-builder, and entrepreneur. Daddy is a scientist...so what do you expect?

And on our last day, a piece of expandable foam washed up on the beach and it was covered with oil. There was also oil residue on the sand along the beach.

Never fear, Puddin's here!
LOL
In all seriousness, if you know him, he investigated, called the Orange Beach Sheriff's Department, and they came right out. They let him know it was the first sighting of oil on their beach, they collected his evidence, and they were off. Puddin' spent the rest of the day collecting oil covered sand and shells, and patrolling the beaches.

We still had a great time at the beautiful pools!

And the view was spectacular!

And at the end of our vacation, after we had checked-out...we got on the elevator and saw this sign:


We had an amazing time! We will be going back next year. Can't wait!

We've been to the beach!

Sorry it's been so, so long since I've posted. However, for the last several months, I've been counting down to this one particular week...my vacation! And it was wonderful! We just got back June 5. My husband, daughter, and I took my parents along for one relaxing and well-deserved week on Orange Beach. Folks, it is beautiful down there!
Each day, we woke up whenever we felt like it, we ate breakfast whenever we felt like it, we got dressed whenever we felt like it, and we went to the beach whenever we felt like it. We swam...if we wanted to. Laid-out in the sun a lot...and came back oh-so-tan! I never looked at a clock. Didn't even know what day of the week it was. It was h-e-a-v-en.
And it you're thinking "oil," don't be. We saw the first sign of it on Friday, the day before we were scheduled to leave. So, the timing of it all worked out perfectly for us. But, what a tragedy for all of those folks down there...natives, tourists, wildlife, and of course the economy that depends on the tourism. They are in our prayers. My dad found oil on the beach Friday morning, and called the Orange Beach Sheriff's department. They came immediately, and told him it was the first report of oil on their beach. Dad spent the rest of the day scouting the beach and looking for more oil. He collected some tar-balls which were put in Winn-Dixie bags and brought back home with us as "souvenirs." ...Anyway, I don't want to talk too much about that. I'll save it for another post. ...And if I get dad's permission, I can post my photo-documentation of his investigation. LOL
I have so many pictures to share...and stories to share from this trip! But for now, these few pictures will have to do. Hope you enjoy!

I got to play with my new camera! Caroline, Daddy, and I had a photo session Tuesday evening.





And this was the view from my balcony. Do I miss this? YES! You weren't even there, and I bet you miss it too! :)