Three or More Tuesday

Happy Tuesday everyone!! Tam at the Gypsy’s Corner is hosting "Three or More - Tuesday". If you would like to join in, stop by & visit her for all of the details.

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After looking at Melissa’s (Melissa’s Heart and Home) post on Fleur-De-Lis’ I decided it would be a good theme for me to use today. I seem to have them all throughout my house. Here are a few of them:

Have a wonderful Tuesday......

Nicole~

Outdoor Wednesday

Today is the “Outdoor Wednesday”. If you would like to participate stop by and visit Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for details.

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It seems like an eternity since I have made my last post. A very nasty, nasty virus has gotten a hold on me, and I am beginning to wonder if it will ever let go!! I have been sick since Friday. I have even been to sick to blog which has been complete torture.

At this point I am dreaming of being somewhere, anywhere outside of my house. Since it is outdoor Wednesday, I am going to pretend I am at some beautiful destination such as San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Some friends of mine, Allison & Ben, got married in San Miguel in the summer of 2004. It was such an amazing place. There are cobblestone streets, lush bougainvillea, and the climate is so mild even in the summer. Here is a little peek:

If you have not had the opportunity to visit San Miguel I would highly recommend it. I hope you enjoyed my little trip.

Have a great day.

Nicole~

Butterfly Award & 75% Off

I am so excited, I received an award from Christine at Christine’s Home and Travel Adventures. I am telling you, you must stop by & visit her. She has the most amazing pictures of her travels around the world. And her collectibles are spectacular! Thank you Christine, I really appreciate you sharing this award with me.

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Also, I wanted to share a little something I came across today. It is missing a piece, but it was 75% off so I could not pass it up. It was $4.50 for all five pieces!

Oh, how I love clearance sales….

Nicole~

Three or More Tuesday or Lamp Obsession??

Hello everyone, Tam at the Gypsy’s Corner is hosting "Three or More - Tuesday". If you would like to join in, and post three or more of your favorite items go over & visit her for the Mr.Linky instructions:

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I would like to share a few items that I love to collect. I am not sure why or how, but I always tend to gravitate towards lamps. They come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors. They are so fun, and they really brighten up a dull area.

I have a really good friend that thinks I have an obsession with them! I am not going to give an exact number, but I have over 20………………

That is not so bad, right????

Nicole~

My First Award & Goodwill Finds

The Lemonade Award

This award is from Kristen at Kristen's Creations. What this award is about...

Bloggers who show great attitude and gratitude. What you have to do...

Upon receiving The Lemonade Award, you also pass it on to other bloggers who you think show great attitude and gratitude. Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 4 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Thank you Kristen so much for this sweet award. She is actually one of the reasons I started blogging. I found her home first on RMS, and saw that she had more pictures on her blog. I fell in love with her home, and gained inspiration from her to start my own blog. Kristen, I want to apologize that it has taken me a week to announce it & pass it out. I do not know where the time goes......

I would like to nominate the following sweet, talented ladies for the Lemonade award.

- Melissa at Melissa's Heart and Home

- Tracy at A Comfy Little Place of my Own

- Christine at Christine's Home and Travel Adventures

- Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict


All of these ladies have been so kind and welcoming to me. I just wanted to say thank you for all of you sweet comments.



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Look what I found at Goodwill.......

I had been looking for a small chair to act as a plant holder. When my friend Barbara and I went to Goodwill she spotted this one for me. It is perfect, and it was only $2.99!! I also found this cute little watering can for $1.99. As you can see they both needed a little facelift in the color department.

Here it is...... My new and improved plant stand & plant holder:

Or, is it a chair for Bentley???

I hope everyone has a carefree and laid back Sunday. I know Bentley is!!!

Nicole~

Initial Art

I got this really adorable idea from Shannon at Bless our Nest. She has such a lovely home & so many great ideas. Stop by and visit her blog.

I have been looking for something to hang above my bed about six months now. I cannot find anything that I like, so I thought I would start off with this and add something else later.

I took an old frame and painted it brown to match the furniture in my bedroom. In addition to that all it took was some fabric, scrapbook paper, and a piece of cardboard from a box to glue the fabric on.

It was really easy, and the variations you could go with are endless. Print out your initials in whatever font you like, choose a piece of material or scrapbook paper, and you could even
add a ribbon and bow.

I think I might put some type of horizontal piece above the initial frame. But I do not know what to add to the rest of the wall. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them.

Nicole~

Living Room Swag

For months I have been looking and looking for a valance to go in my living room. I never could find the right style and or color. I could no longer stand how naked the area above my sliding door looked. So, I decided I would just throw something together myself. I went to Hancock Fabrics and picked up 1 1/2 yards of fabric to work with. I did not have pattern to go by, so I just started sewing hems, and came up with a straight valance. I hated it, it was to long & to boring. I got my needle and thread, and started to make some changes. Here is what I came up with:

Here is the before picture, doesn't it look naked to you?

My little handsome boy wanted to help out!

Here it is, it is not perfect, but it will work for now.

The fabric really isn't as shiny as it looks.

It still needs something, so at some point I am going to put some fringe around the top to dress it up. I already had the tassels so I just used them. I would also like to change them with a bolder color.

Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention, the fabric was 1/2 off! I got the material and thread for $20.00.

Nicole~

Metamorphasis Monday

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ is hosting Metamorphasis Monday, stop by & visit her for details. You will also find that she has quite a lovely home!

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When I purchased my home last year it was in desperate need of many updates. My guest bathroom had 80’s wallpaper, 80’s flooring, a nasty vanity that had a moldy type substance under the sink, old hardware and an outdated mirror.

First on my agenda was to rip out that yucky vanity, so that it could be replaced with a pedestal sink. Next was time to take down all of the dated hardware & mirror. With all of that out of the way I could start removing the wallpaper with ease, right? Wrong!!!

I thought that wallpaper was taking revenge on me for what reason, I do not know. It took several trial & error methods, nothing was working it simply did not want to come off. So, I marched down to Lowe’s, one of my 218 visits, and purchased some mud. With the mud, by hand, I thinly coated over the half ripped wallpaper. Once that was dry I sanded it all down (by hand), and repeated the process again. Keep in mind this was all of the walls with the exception of the area around the sink & toilet. After this was done I purchased a texture gun, and sprayed orange peel all over the walls. Next, I primed it all, and then my wonderful friend Barbara painted it for me!! Thank you again Barbara.

I hired someone to tile the bathroom floor. By the way, I found the flooring on clearance at Home Depot for $.59 a square foot!! With all of the labor out of the way, it was time to start decorating it.

Here are the before & after pictures:

I still need to add the 3/4 rounds to to baseboards. After that is done I need to paint the 3/4 rounds and the baseboards. I would love to eventually add crown molding as well!

I hope you all are not to tired after hearing this makeover!

Nicole~

Pink Saturday

This is my first time to participate in Beverly's at How Sweet the Sound Pink Saturday. Here are a few of my favorite pink things:

Bentley laying on this super soft pink blanket.

This would have to be my favorite!

I have this picture of the pink flowers hanging in my bathroom.

The below picture is something I put together a couple of weeks ago. I had purchased this frame at a thrift store for $ .49, and painted it white. I have had this angel ornament probably ten years or so, decided to glue it on to some coordinating scrap book paper, and then place it in this frame. This was a really easy project, and it only cost me $.49!

Have a great weekend...

Nicole~

My First Cloche

Yeah, I am so excited that I finally found a cloche!! I have been seeing so many of them on various blogs, but I have not been able to find one until this past weekend. It came with this cute little pastry stand that it is sitting on.

I cannot wait to fill it with an assortment of items as the seasons and holidays come and go!


Nicole ~