Thursday, December 26, 2013

THE HIGHLIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS...

Merry day after Christmas everyone!

Christmas was somewhat of a blur at our house.  The bubs unwrapped his gifts so fast that I barely had time to snap a few shots...





































































Yeah, he likes to wear his dad's painting shirt to bed.  Didn't think anything about having to take pictures of him Christmas morning with this on...oops, my bad...

But he wasn't concerned with what he was wearing...He was just SUPER HERO EXCITED!

And well...Sis didn't have but just a few gifts to open, although one of them was REALLLLLLY BIG...

I think the key confused her a little...

























but she soon figured out what it was for...




Do you think she liked it?

























Vroooom, Varooom...HONK, HONK...taking dad for a ride...I think that's the biggest smile I've ever seen.

Ahhhh, the highlights of Christmas!!!  This is one we won't soon forget.



Monday, December 23, 2013

2013...A YEAR IN REVIEW

Hello and a very Happy Holiday season to all of you.  With Christmas nearly here and the New Year quickly approaching I thought it fitting to do a year in review post.  Let's take a look at everything that has happened at the Rodgers mansion my humble abode this year shall we...

Warning, this is a picture laden post so sit back and relax, okay...

At the beginning of the year I started with my daughter Kayla's room.  We had traded spaces.  She got the master bedroom on first floor and the hubs and I took her room upstairs.  Of course both rooms needed a complete makeover so we tackled hers first...(ours is yet to be touched but that job is on next years' bucket list).  Everything in sis's room got a fresh coat of paint...the walls, windows, doors and trim.  Even some of her furniture got a makeover with a little help from some orange oops paint...here are the results...












There have been a few minor changes to this room since that time, but nothing worth showing.  Besides her room NEVER stays clean enough to take any follow up pics...she is a huge slob but I still love her. Hahaha

Next I tackled the upstairs bath.  It was VERY UGLY to say the least so it got a fresh new paint job as well.

Here's the hideous before...


























Take a look at the beautiful after...
























































I guess I never took a straight on shot after the bath was done, but this is the same bath.  There were no costly renovations or remodeling to this bath at all.  The entire makeover was done with just paint. Just goes to show you that a little paint can work wonders.  I still love the almost black color that I chose for the upper walls in here (Valspar's Rugged Suede).  I never thought I would ever use such a dark color for a small room but every time I walk past this room it makes me smile.  It's simply gorgeous.

Once the weather had turned warm in the spring we focused most of our attention to the outside of the house.  We started with the addition of a cute little fountain where big oak had once stood...




Then we added a new roof and carport to the garage...the hubby needed a place to park his boat after all...LOL...





























And then after much patience the roofers showed up and put a new roof on the house...






























We also got a new front door (which you can see above), shutters and glass storm door.

































That's pretty much it for the outside this year but those few things really made a HUGE difference in the appearance of our home.

In the fall I moved my attention back indoors and painted the doors, windows and trim in the living room, dining room and two small main floor hallways...now all the trim on the main floor is finished...yay!




























Yeah boring I know but I am still psyched to finally have this tedious chore finished.

Moving on...I started redoing the kitchen.  I got rid of the red and lightened everything up.





I still have lots to do in there including painting the ceiling and cabinets but it's looking better already.

Now I can't leave out my favorite DIY project this year...my round table makeover...


































and last but not least I cannot forget the living room furniture.  We went from off-white (our old stuff which had seen better days for sure)




and replaced it with something a lot brighter and REDDER...





























but low and behold the sofa broke...and just when I was getting used to that bolder, brighter stuff! It's all good though because in the end I got something way better and more my style...




Well that's it.  I hope you enjoyed this little year in review.  We really did work hard and accomplished a lot this year.

We still have a lot to do but the end is in sight.  We are going to keep plugging away at beautifying this old house of ours and maybe by the end of 2014 we will have most of the major stuff done.  I will be back after the first of the year with our 2014 bucket list.

Until then, have a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years.



Tuesday, December 17, 2013

A LITTLE PEEK AT THE NEW FURNITURE...AND LAMPS

Happy Tuesday everyone.  How was your weekend?  Mine was great.  I took an extra long weekend off for my birthday as I had some vacation time I needed to use up before the end of the year.  I'm super glad to be back though because I missed you guys soooo much...really!

Anyway, my new furniture finally arrived Thursday evening and I totally love it.  It was a lot lighter in color than any of us were expecting though.  Instead of a medium smoky gray it's a light silvery gray but I can't complain.  It's beautiful and looks fabulous with everything.  Here's a little peek...

























Sorry for the odd stuff on the end tables, the fact that things are kind of positioned weird (to accommodate the Christmas decor) and the fact that it is dark out, but I just couldn't wait to snap a shot of it after I got home from work Thursday night.


























I love the rounded rolled arms and how curvy it is.  It's so graceful and elegant.  I also love the pillows. They are just the right size and the french script works great in here.  It looks great with my new curtains too which I will give you all the details on soon...I promise.


























I also got a new pair of lamps for my birthday...here's a little peek...




I might be taking the shades back because I'm not sure I like them (which is why I haven't taken the plastic off them yet) but the lamps are just what I have been looking for...

I have been looking for a shapely clear glass lamp for a while. I wanted something elegant and sophisticated and less traditional in style than my old lamps.  These fill the bill perfectly and were pretty reasonably priced at only $40.00.  They are from Lowes but I don't think all the stores carry them.  I found mine in Rolla, Missouri but the Sullivan store didn't have them.  I also did not see them online, but who knows. Anyway, I'm glad I found these and my hunt is now over.

I'm now on the hunt for some different end tables.  I can't afford new so I hope I find what I'm looking for at Goodwill or a local thrift store.  Of course you will be the first to know if I do.

Until next time, have a fabulous day!!!  Ciao



Thursday, December 12, 2013

DECKING THE HALLS IN THE DINING ROOM...

Hello.  Are you all frozen solid yet?  I think I am....teeth chattering...Last night was the coldest night of the year so far, only 7 degrees out, and it's not even officially winter yet.  Burrrrrrrr!!!

Anyway, it's nice and cozy inside where I have been decking the halls for Christmas.  Other than hanging some stockings in the living room, I am pretty much done there.  You can take a look HERE.  I think I am pretty much done with the dining room too.

In keeping with my "real" theme this year, I found a cute, yet scraggly, little cedar for the buffet which I nestled down into an old thrift store ice bucket and then wrapped in a cute little crocheted winter scarf to keep her all nice and warm.  I topped her with a sweet little glittery bow and added some miniature candy canes just for a little extra sweetness...


Sorry for my arm getting into the shot...ooops...

Anyway, I threw in a couple cake plates and serving pieces and then added in some of my homemade fresh pine garland (from the fallen branch I stole helped myself to from the Catholic church yard), sprinkled in some lights and a few red and green ornaments to finish it all off...


























Did you spot my new curtains in the mirror?  I am soooo excited about them and thankful to have finally found the right ones for this space.  I will give you all the details soon...I promise.

The large ornament candy jar in front of the tree was a cute little thrift store find a few weeks ago.  It was only $2.00 so I couldn't pass it up and it's just perfect for my little buffet arrangement...

























Let's see her all lit up, shall we...




Can you tell that the kitty has been playing with the tassel on the runner?  Yeah, I probably should've edited that out...but hey, just keeping it real here.  We live in our home and we like it that way, just sayin'...

Anyway, I didn't add any lights to the tree itself because they would be too heavy, besides I think it looks better without them, don't you?

I didn't go too crazy on top of the china cabinet on the other side of the room.  I simply used what I already had there and just added a few Christmasy touches...





Sorry for the bad pic.  It's so hard to get good pics in the early morning hours here, which in the winter months is the only time I am home when it's actually light out.

I think my Christmas decorations this year are my favorite out of all my decor from years past.  I love the fresh greenery and tree.  It's just so much more rich, beautiful and elegant than even the best faux out there.

I love that I have kept things simpler this year and did not move around a lot of my everyday decorations to achieve a festive feel.  That means there will be less to put away and store too.  That's always a good thing!

One more thing before I go...MY NEW FURNITURE IS ARRIVING TODAY...and just in time for my birthday....which happens to be today...Yayyy, I am soooo excited!!!  I will be back soon to share...promise...

Until then have a fabulous day!!! Ciao



Tuesday, December 10, 2013

HOW-TO'S TO DECORATING FOR THE HOLIDAYS...

It's that time of year again when everyone is decorating for the holidays.  Many of us are decorating fools right now.  Everything that gets in our way gets decorated.  I have to admit though that my Christmas decorations are FAR from being magazine worthy. Of course you know that if you have spied any of my posts lately, but hey, at least the tree is up, right!

Truth is I have been wanting to learn the secret of how to get that perfectly decorated tree, wreath and garland for ages now and I figured that maybe I'm not the only one.  Now I know that most of you already know how to get your Christmas decor looking showroom perfect, because I have spied some of your work.  If that's the case, this post is not for you.  However, if you are like me and your Christmas decor just doesn't measure up, keep reading...or should I say watching these wonderful instruction videos from Trees n Trends.

Kevin will show you everything you need to know from how to make a basic bow to decorating a mailbox for the season.  This is good stuff.  I learned lots and I know you will too so...ENJOY!!!















These are not the only online instructional courses that Trees n Trends has so if you are interested in learning more, go to www.treesntrends.com or search Trees n Trends on Youtube.com.

You're Welcome and have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!






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Monday, December 9, 2013

WE GOT "THE" TREE...

Happy Monday everyone!  How was your weekend? Did the inclement weather keep you in or did you venture out into the winter wonder land any?  Mine was a mix.  We mostly stayed home but we did venture out a little too. We headed over to Lowes Friday evening, the worst night of all, to pick up a few things.

While we were there we spotted "the" tree.  It was the first one we saw...a 7 1/2 foot Douglas Fir.  It was the right height and the right shape. It was all around perfect and was only $34.95 with our Lowes discount. The hubs thought we should go ahead and get it, you know so he wouldn't have to traipse out into the woods at dad's house on Saturday.  The only thing that was not perfect was that we hadn't brought the van or the truck to Lowes...we were driving the PT Cruiser which is a wee bit small for hauling a tree,...but we did it...and everything worked out fine...

























I think the kids had more fun watching their dad tie it onto the car than anything...they were totally excited even though it was blustery cold out.

We got it home, put it in the stand, gave it a big drink of water and let it sit overnight before decorating.  We decorated on Saturday.  Usually I am the only one to decorate the tree for Christmas but this year everyone was so excited to have a real live tree that I got help.  Here's one of my little helpers now...



Isn't he a cutie?  Of course our tree isn't magazine worthy but I think it turned out pretty good and, do you know what the best part was, we got to spend some quality family time together, laughing and singing Christmas carols while hanging our special family ornaments on our beautiful real live Douglas Fir.

I spent a part of my day on Sunday making homemade garland for the mantel from a large fallen White Pine branch that we cobbed from the Catholic church yard around the block from the house. I saw the branch on my way home from work Thursday evening. It couldn't have been more perfect and it was there for the taking... so I talked the hubs into going with me to get it after dinner. Yes, we must have looked liked criminals to the passers by as we loaded it into the van.  It was super cold, the snow was falling and it was dark out but it was perfectly good greens that I wasn't about to let go to waste, especially since I had decided that were going to have a "real" Christmas this year with fresh greenery and everything.  We laughed all the way home about our little "robbery". Good times, I tell you, good times...

So far this has been the best Christmas ever!!!  So now without further ado let me show you how everything is looking...

















So what do you think of my homemade pine garland, from the "stolen" branch, is it gorgeous or what?  It was really easy to do too!  I just taped twigs together with florist tape until I got the length I wanted.  The best part it's fresh and it didn't take much longer to make than it takes to fluff up the fake stuff.   Super easy!!!

Did you spot the little fluffy owls I got from my visit to Sybills Saint James?  Aren't they so cute?


















































Well that's it so far but it's really beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. I hope to get the dining room decorated this week.  Just have to pick up a few more red and green ornaments...until then...




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