outside my kitchen window........

One of my favorite "little things" is standing at the kitchen sink doing the dishes (well, not the doing the dishes part), and looking out of the window at all the birds in the backyard. I always throw out a handful of stale bread or crackers and it isn't long before a few birds show up. I caught a few pictures (through the window) last week after the snow.











I used to have a bird feeder right under my kitchen window, but we took it down a few years ago. While I was in Lowes earlier this week, I picked up a hanging feeder. Peter filled it and found a spot for it. I can't wait to see of anything shows up tomorrow!

Kitchen Make-Over Sneak Peek

I'm so excited to finally give the kitchen a little make-over. Here's a sneak peek:


What started out as adding an island to give me a little more work space and finishing the ceiling and trim paint job, has snowballed into a change in color scheme and repainting the entire kitchen! So now, I'm not only adding gray and yellow to our living room, it has now taken over the kitchen as well! LOVE IT!!!

5Q Friday- Jan 25

1. Do you embrace or dread snow/cold weather days? I dedicated an entire post to snow yesterday.....check it out! Snow Day!!!


2. Which game show or reality show could you totally win? I could definitely win big on The Price is Right, even though I'm not a huge fan of the show.

3. What is your preferred climate? Honestly, I enjoy all 4 seasons, but my favorite season is FALL. I love the mild, cooler weather, not too hot and not too cold...perfect!


4. What do you buy every time you walk into the grocery store, no matter what? Um.....Diet Coke...........but not every time....

5. If you see a spider/bug in the house, are you brave enough to kill it, or do you call for your hubby? I'm not afraid of spiders/bugs, so I'd take care of it!

Snow Day!!!!!!!

Nathan had a snow day today, so I decided to take a snow day too!! I did absolutely nothing today (except cook dinner and do some laundry). I put my boots on and went outside with Nathan while he shoveled the walk.
 




Gozzy loved the snow too!!







The snow was so dry...not good for making a snowball.....but perfect for making Snow Cream!!




Nathan and I had lunch and topped it off with a big bowl of Snow Cream!!!!! YUM! While he watched another season of One Tree Hill, I caught up on several episodes of Pioneer Woman. Our lazy kitty Jaxson joined in on the goof-off day too.....but then again, she does this everyday!

A snow day is a perfect day for chili, so I pulled out my Mom's recipe and cooked up a pot of it.


Mom's Chili recipe:
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 lb. can diced tomatoes
1 lb. can light kidney beans-drained
1 can pork & beans
1 8 oz. tomato sauce
1 t. salt
1-2 t. chili powder
1 bay leaf
{I use 1 pkg. chili seasoning mix instead of the chili powder/bay leaf}

In pot, cook meat, onion, & green pepper in about 1 T. olive oil until meat is lightly browned and veggies are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour. Top with grated cheddar cheese when serving. Easy & delicious!

They are calling for more snow tonight......I just might get caught up on the rest of my dvr'd shows tomorrow! :O)

Gray/Yellow/Espresso

I am ready for a change.......while I love the brown and green color scheme I currently have in our living room, I need to perk things up a bit. I really love the espresso brown sofa we bought last year, and the geometric rug,

but other than that, the room needs a facelift. As I was looking for fabric for the cushion I'll be adding to my {filing cabinet} bench,  I kept being drawn to yellow. Then, I saw this picture

source: Pinterest
and I was sold on the yellow/gray/espresso color scheme!! While I've seen lots of gray/yellow combos, I hadn't paid much attention to the third color, dark brown! Love it!!!
I found the perfect fabric choices on amazon.com.........here's the 3 patterns I ordered:






I also picked out a nice dark gray-greige-taupe color paint for accent pieces. The color is Behr Creek Bend.

source: Pinterest
I like it as a wall color too, but I think it might make my room a little too dark, so I'll stick to painting a couple of pieces of furniture. I'm so excited about this little re-do! Pictures to follow....

Craft Storage/Dresser Re-Do

I had the perfect storage idea for my craft room/office/den. I was using this 10-drawer dresser to hold all of my craft/scrapping supplies, until I decided it worked better in Nathan's room.



So, I've been searching for a replacement, and finally decided on this.....



.....an old dresser {think nursery furniture} which was converted to a tv stand when the boys were smaller. It has been in storage for several years, but I pulled it out again and told Dad what it needed to convert it to my new craft cabinet. We added some beadboard, new hardware, a shelf, and a fresh coat of paint......

I love it!!!

I originally planned to buy new baskets, but decided to use a few of my many Longaberger baskets that I don't display any more. I love the natural baskets with the light paint colors.

I bought hardware to match what I had put on my desk drawers.

top shelf: scrapbooks , basket holds camera
bottom shelf: basket on left holds ribbons/wreath supplies, 2 smaller baskets hold scrapbook/craft supplies
drawer: more scrapbook stuff
basket next to cabinet: small sheets of scrapbook paper/stickers/embellishments/etc.

Simple Valentine's Day Wreath

I decided to keep wreath making very simple for Valentine's Day this year. Last year I copied an idea from Pinterest that I really loved:

When I pulled it out this year, I realized that my berry wreath had seen it's better days, so I decided to go with something different. I had planned to copy this idea....

source: Pinterest
.....but the burlap I had was fringed and didn't work for the banner. I have burlap on my list to pick up asap, so maybe I'll get another wreath made for the back door. In the meantime, I came up with this version, using some vintage-looking scrapbook paper for the heart banner.



I think it turned out great! Simple, but cute!!
My mantel is still decorated for winter, which I'll keep out until February comes in. Dad didn't finish the mantel project until after V-day last year, so I get to decorate it for the first time this year. I did make this cute banner last year.




I also need to switch out my chalkboard. Here's last year's look:

and here is my Pinspiration for this year......

<3