Framed Book Page Wreath

As I've stated before, I love using wreaths indoors but find them to be too overpriced!  Luckily, I recently discovered a wonderful blog, The Pleasures of Homemaking, that covers a variety of home decorating and do-it-yourself topics.  The blog's author, Manuela (who is from my home state of Georgia!), created a beautiful wreath using the pages of an old book.  Being a huge bookworm and loving the idea of adding another wreath to my home, I had to try it out.

The best part about this project (besides the beauty of the result!) is that it was so inexpensive.  The cost broke down as follows:  paperback at Goodwill-$1.50:  circular corkboard made to place under a houseplant: 25 CENTS on sale at the Dollar Store. That was it (provided you already have a gluegun which is not very expensive).

I began by tearing pages out of the paperback, folding them several time longways, and taping the ends.

I then glued them in a circle along the edges of the corkboard.  (You can use other material--posterboard, foamboard, etc. for the wreath base.  I made another one of these and used the cardboard from an empty box of file folders.)  Once I completed the outer circle, I began another smaller circle inside the first until I had it nicely filled in.

Once I was done with the book pages, I took tan coffee filters, folded them longways also, and glued them in a circle in the center, making a little flower.  I finished it off with a small plastic pumpkin I had sitting in a

windowsill.

I recently bought a framed flower print on sale for $14 at Steinmart.  I loved the frame, but not the picture.  So, I took off the back and carefully removed it as well as the glass.  I then took the piece of cardboard inside and covered it using a glue gun with two beautiful (and cheap) pieces of cloth from Hobby Lobby and returned the covered cardboard to its frame.

Rush and Amos made the process more "interesting."

The last step was to glue the wreath onto the onto the framed fabric.  I was thrilled with the result!

This are my favorite kind of project--one that is cheap to do but looks more expensive than it really is and not homemade at all! 

Thanks to Manuela for inspiring this lovely wreath.  You can find her blog link at the beginning of this post, and I have also put her button on my sidebar.

More creations to come!

Cats as Decore

Don't my sweet, beautiful little darlings just add so much to the house? 

They simply fit right in with the decore.

Things I've Learned About Marriage

With our wedding date only a little more than four months ago, I barely qualify as "married."  However, we've moved twice and spent an extended period in a hotel out-of-state for Britt's job.  We've driven thousands of miles as we looked for places to live and lugged all our worldly goods to Lawrenceville, Georgia, and then to Mississippi.  We've lived in a casino for twelve days.  We've adopted a (third) cat.  What followed our wedding was more like a series of intense team-building exercises than a cozy married life.  Late nights, hotel laundry, long drives, fast food, homes out of our price range, Penske trucks, new jobs, and airline delays.  I never imagined that these would be the words that would best sum up the start of my marriage.   As we have (finally) settled into our home, it has been easy to overlook the bad and see the insights I gained in the high stress of the first months.

My most humble advice is to:

1. Serve.  People are selfish.  I know I am.  So when you put two selfish people together, you often don't get a lot of serving.  Not to mention, how exactly does one "serve" a husband?  It sounds rather abstract and intimidating. I try not to overthink it and instead just do what I know how.  I make a point to serve Britt in small ways: fix his coffee in the evenings; hang up his clothes after work; pack up his work in the mornings.  My prayer is that my meager attemps will create in me a habit of service that will strengthen our marriage.

2.  Relax.  I spend a lot of time fixated on small, non-pressing tasks around the house during the evening when Britt is home. What's more important, enjoying my husband's company when he comes home from work, or flurrying around to clean up where he's scattered around his shoes...and keys...and the entire contents of his pockets?  Relax, I tell myself.  He always gathers them up himself, anyway.  (Just not always exactly when I want him to....)

3.  Zip it.  During frustrating situations (getting lost, being locked out of the house, losing car keys, etc.), I have caused countless problems by just not zipping it.  I had to say one more thing.  I had to have the last word.  And for what?  To prove I'm right?  To sound smart?  I have to ask myself, are those things really valuable when you are dealing with the one you love and when there is a problem to be solved?  I have to sometimes fight the mindset that it's "Me vs. Him."  In reality, it's the two of us versus whatever issue arises.

4.  Take a look in the mirror.  For every "flaw" I overlook in Britt, he overlooks at least the same number of imperfections in me.  Treating him like a project to complete assumes that I operate from a place of perfection, which I most certainly don't.  He treats his car like a dumpster, and he has to hear me whine about it.  Neither one of those is very desireable.

I'd say we're pretty even.

Empty Spaces and No Money

It's tough for a gal when she moves into a new house.  The first thing she (me) wants to do is go decorating crazy.  All the freshly painted blank walls.  The empty corners.  The vacant countertops.  The bare windows. 

I simply could not overlook this.

But as everyone knows, home decore ain't cheap.  I am not working right now, so a big "design budget" is obviously out of the question, and being a frugal girl myself, large chunks of money on most anything are not my style.  Britt has been very generous as our finances allow in letting me decorate our home.  However, there is only so far you can go without spending a fortune.  So I had to get creative without putting us into debt.  After all, we got cat mouths to feed. 

I managed to really improve the look of the house by using three simple steps:

Step 1.  Using items I already have.

I'm a really big believer in things being beautiful and functional.  I don't like tons and tons of knick-knacks.  A towel hung in this location is useful and pretty. Not only does the hanging towel add interest, but it can be switched out every few days to add a different pop of color, no money needed.

Here is another example of using items around the house to create functional decore.  I used a colandar I already had and filled it with a apples and pomagranates from my tree back home.  You can fill colandars/bowls you already have with colorful folded dishrags, fruit, or other miscellaneous items for instant and useful style.

Step 2. Creating my own decore.

A few dollars of embroidery floss, a little aida cloth, and an old picture frame turned into this little accent for the kitchen.

I've always loved putting wreaths indoors.  However, for whatever reason, wreaths are expensive.  So, I opted to make a few myself.  Keeping them simple and rustic lessened the cost and went along with my "simple, clean" theme (see step 3 below).  I got both wreaths, the embellishments, and a glue gun and glue sticks at Hobby Lobby for around thirty dollars, and I was very pleased with the results.

Step 3. Embracing a simple, clean look.

You always hear that "less is more," but it's always my instinct to "overdecorate" and put too much "stuff" into one area.  I'm always happier with my end result when I add one or two items to a space, and then just stop.

This example falls into the "clean look" category as well as the "use-stuff-I-already-had" category.  Here we have wedding reception decore recycled for a simple bathroom wall hanging.

Oh how I wanted to go nuts and fill this big wall.  In the end, three plain white plates was all I needed.  Simple. Beautiful.

The results of these three steps have been great.  And I can still afford the cat food.

Susan Tuesday

I had hoped to save this Susan recipe for a colder Tuesday, but since it seems like that will never come, we will have to settle for a 70-something degree evening as "cold."

Enjoy!

Pray for the Parkers

Reece's Rainbow is an overseas adoption ministry that aids families in adopting children with Down Syndrome.  The children who are not adopted will face an institution when they reach 4-5 years old. 

The Parker family wished to spare a child from this horrible fate, and they spent this year attempting to adopt two girls from Ukraine.  Bethany is three and Hannah is one.  After an arduous and grueling journey that led them through countless hours of fundraising, paperwork, and prayer, they seemed about to achieve their goal of returning home to Oregon with their sweet new daughters.  They travelled overseas and prepared to take the final few steps.  However, a last-minute protest by a legal prosecutor has blocked the completion of the adoption process. 

Kate Parker, who with her husband Charley has a family that already includes seven children, has chronicled their family's efforts to adopt at her blog, "Room for More." 

Please visit their site to read their story and offer support and prayers to them as well as to all the children waiting for a home on Reece's Rainbow.

Susan Tuesday

Britt has two very sweet and fun aunts.  Several years ago, one of them took pity on poor ol' bachelor Britt and made him a nice recipe notebook full of family favorites and her own personal dishes. 

A few weeks ago, we created "Susan Tuesday" in order not only to enjoy a great meal from the notebook but to celebrate Aunt Susan for being so thoughtful!

Heat oven to 350.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour.  In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter.  Fry chicken until golden brown on each side.  Transfer to a 13x9-inch baking dish.  Discard all but 1 T. butter from skillet.  Return to heat and add lemon juice.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in cream, and add salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer until sauce beins to thicken.  Pour evenly over chicken.  Sprinkle with cheese to taste and bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Do you have any food traditions in your house?