A FEW CHANGES

While away on the marriage retreat the hubby and I hit a few of the shops and stores in Branson.  One of those stores was Kirklands.  I have to admit I had never been in a Kirklands before, but can I just say...I LOVE KIRKLANDS!!!  Even my hubby said "hmmm, I like this store.  They have a lot of nice stuff and very reasonable prices."....I almost FELL OVER!  My husband does NOT like home decor stores and as miserly budget oriented as he is, has never said that any of them "had reasonable prices".  I leaned toward him and kissed his forehead just to make sure he didn't have a fever...LOL...I think maybe he was just playing into the being all sweet and romantic to your spouse thingie because we were at marriage retreat. HA

Anyway, I found a few things there that made it home with me.  They were having a sale on their sconces so I got a pair for the dining room (which I will show you later) and one for my bedroom.  I also found a beautiful piece of scroll work for over my bed for $14.00.

What do you think?  Did I do well?

I have to say "Thank God for Kirklands" because it was there that I finally found these few things I was looking for over my bed.  I still need a candle for the sconce and of course I still have a few other things to do to finish this master bedroom redo, but I'm almost done.  Of course, making the bed better would probably be a good start, but I'm getting there.  Really, I AM getting there!  I never intended for this room to take me so long to complete, but someday...Yes SOMEDAY...I will finally be done...only to start all over again. LOL!

Now I want to show you a little something I got from Hob Lob for the dining room. 

A vinyl wall decal.  I LOVE IT, don't you?  The written word makes such a HUGE statement!

When I visited my niece this past Christmas she had a few different vinyl decals on her walls and I just fell in love with them.  I knew then that I HAD to have one.  This one, like I said, is from Hobby Lobby and was $19.95 (I forgot to use my 40% off coupon)...I know, I know, I'm such a ditz sometimes...but enough about me...Hob Lob has a fairly good selection of these vinyl decals and I have seen some at other stores as well.  There is also a vast selection online if you can't find what you like in your local stores.  The best part is they are pretty inexpensive, they are easy to apply and they don't leave any pesky little holes in the wall that needs repaired later.  Just my little sales pitch for vinyl wall decals (you know, in case you want one for yourself).

Anyway there you have it, just a few of the things I have been working on around the house.  I have been working on more changes in the dining room and will be back soon to share those with you.  Until then, be good, stay out of trouble and, as mom would say, "please make sure you leave the house wearing clean underwear" (one never knows).  Ciao!!

Sharing at:  Between Naps on the Porch, Mrs. Hines Class, The Shady Porch, No Minimalist Here, Coastal Charm, A Stroll Thru Life, Savvy Southern Style, At the Picket Fence, The Thrifty Groove

A LOOK AT MARRIAGE RETREAT

Marriage Retreat 2012 was here and is now gone.  We sure did have a wonderful time spending a long weekend in Branson, Missouri, the hubby and I.   We stayed at Honeysuckle Inn and Suites, where the retreat was held and we shopped at Branson Landing...I found several things at Kirklands that I just couldn't leave without and also found a few things at CJ Banks...I will let you in on all my bargains in a few days...for right now how about a few pics of the banquet room I decorated...I was so hurried that I only have two pictures of the whole event on my camera, but don't worry I will be getting some pics that my friends took soon, I hope....

I set up two vignettes for this room plus each table was decorated with a centerpiece.  (Let me just say, these photos are NOT GOOD.  When I took these shots the room was full of people and very poor lighting.  Not to mention I didn't have time to take multiple shots to get a good photo of either display...I hope to have some better shots from my friends)

This first vignette was situated beside the podium.  The chair was not originally there but a lot of couples wanted their pictures taken beside it.  One of the ladies ask if I would sell her my bird statues...I had to decline, I just could not part with them.

Everyone LOVED this second vignette...my homemade framed "Mr. & Mrs." prints stole the show...as a matter of fact I had several offers to sell the entire vignette...I have to admit I never thought I would have so many people asking to purchase these things.  After all the prints were homemade and the rest of the items were second hand finds, but everything did turn out so beautifully. 

One couple asked if I would come to their home and set it up in their bedroom for them...However, I finally agreed to sell it to the retreats guest speaker and his wife...and then agreed to make the other couple their very own special set of prints and come set up a vignette for them at their home since they live close to me...so now the hunt is on to gather the items I need for their vignette.

I hope to be back soon with some more pics of the retreat and some of my purchases from Kirklands.  Ciao!!

PREPARING FOR MARRIAGE RETREAT

Hey y'all, hows your day goin'? I've missed ya terribly...again, I haven't had much time for posting lately...it seems LIFE has been happening and keeps taking me away from getting very many chances to even get on the internet, let alone do any blogging, but things should slow down soon...

The marriage retreat is less than two weeks away now and I have been working feverishly to get everything together to decorate for the event...I've been up to my elbows in making and hemming table scarves and flower arrangements for the tables...since the conference room is in creams and browns and since I want a somewhat feminine and masculine feel, I decided to go with browns and reds for my color scheme...The theme is "Marriage, It's Forever"...I've been playing around trying to come up with some vignettes to set up in the conference room as well...

I found a couple matching frames, added some leopard print fabric and "Mr." & "Mrs"...threw them together with a candle, fringed tablescarf and some roses...I am working on the floral for behind the prints...most likely will be adding some roses...

I have also put together a little vignette with the cutest picture my pastor's wife found at a local thrift shop...

Sorry for the glare on the glass.  Taking pictures at night is a BAD idea!!! 

It has helped to take pictures though...it has helped me to see what I still need and also to see some tweaking I need to do...isn't it funny how when you look at a photograph you see things that you miss when things are in plain sight...doing this little experiment at home is going to help me big time when it's time to set these up for the conference.  I can see now the things I need to tweak and yes, I have a LOT of tweaking to do!!!...Plunking a few roses and grasses into a vase will never do, and neither will an empty glass vase...of course I knew that but those are the things I had on hand at the time...I will be fixing up a much better floral and I need SOMETHING to fill the glass vase...

Empty vase, NO GOOD!!!  That brings me to the question, what should I fill it with? Faux diamonds, candy hearts, red hots, coffee beans? What would you do? What would you fill it with? What other changes would you make to these vignettes? Should I add a bow or embellishment to the vase?  I would love your input and hear your ideas.

Sharing at:

Tabletop Tuesday @ A Stroll Thru Life
Wow US Wednesday @ Savvy Southern Style
Rock N Share @ The Shady Porch
Show & Tell @ Mrs. Hines Class
Open House Party @ No Minimalist Here

WE HEART IT...

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, what could be more fitting than to share some information about an up and coming site with all you PIN loving fools out there.  WE HEART IT.COM.....We Heart It is a site similar to Pinterest with one exception...it doesn't REQUIRE you to have a Facebook account to join.  I LOVE We Heart It for that reason alone and I like the fact that Pinterest and Facebook now have a little competition on the web.

If you are like me and do not have a Pinterest account simply because you DO NOT WANT a Facebook account then WE HEART IT is the site for you.  Although there is a place when creating an account with We Heart It to join friends from Facebook, Twitter or GMail, you can bypass that step and you can begin creating your own inspiration galleries with ease and there is never any fear that Facebook will be getting a hold of or publishing your personal galleries or information.  However, this is limited to hearting images within the We Heart It site.  You cannot (unless you have a Facebook or Twitter account) heart images from other sites, so there is some limitations, but We Heart It has hundreds of thousands of images you can heart within their site. 

I would like to thank Sandra (a reader of my "I Guess No Pinterest for Me" post for sharing WE HEART IT with me.  Thanks Sandra!!! According to the responses I have gotten to that particular post I believe there are a number of people out there who will benefit from this information....so today I say to you....HAPPY HEARTING!!

I am linking this post to my "I Guess No Pinterest for Me" post so that I can pass this information along to others who would like to have their own inspiration galleries but DO NOT WANT facebook...and (since this is not an exclusionary site), those who do have Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter accounts can join We Heart It as well.  This is NOT a paid advertisement!!!