So Sorry!

Hi all, sorry for my absence this week!  My parents are coming for a visit, and around here that means a mad rush to get unscheduled projects done, and clean my house.

 That is what I've been doing all week.  I'll have lots to show you next week, but for now, I must adhere to the cleaning/project schedule for the week, which didn't leave time for blogging!  Next week I will have two tutorials for you, and several fun finds among other things.  I hope you are having a great week!

Melissa

Small Town Life.......

I don't know if I've told you all, but I live in a pretty small town.  I absolutely love it!  I grew up in a small farming community in Southern California, (yes, there are small farm towns in SoCal) then when I was 16 I moved to the city.  So, I am a small town country girl at heart.  Here is one of the things I love about small towns, parades! Yesterday we had our 3rd annual Veteran's Day Parade.  Hope you all enjoy the photos.
Melissa

Local Vets from various wars.

Marines from various wars.

Oldest Vet, he was in his 90's fought in WWII

The original first firetruck for our community, does not go over 20 mph.

Orange High School marching band

Orange County Twirlers

for all you Harley fans, Waugh Enterprises, one of the largest Harley dealers around, plus, there were about 50 guys and gals riding Harley's in the parade

Orange High School ROTC

WWII Vet in an old jeep

Beautiful right? There were 8 old Chevy Corvair's in the parade, this one was the prettiest. 

Truck and Veteran from Vietnam war

Another beauty, not sure what type this truck is, but it sure was pretty. It had an ooga horn! Loved it!

Guess Where I am Today!?!

Wow, I feel so honored today.  Cassity from Remodelaholic and Polly Want a Crafter contacted me earlier this week to let me know that one of my projects was going to be featured!  This is a first for me, I'm so excited.  She featured my Mod Podged Map Decor Balls on Polly Want a Crafter today.  You can go here to see!

Thanks so much Cassity!

Melissa

Thank You For Your Service.....

Did you remember what today is?  Today is Veteran's Day.  A day to be thankful and show thankfulness to the soldiers who have served and are currently serving our country.  I have found that I have many things to be thankful for, things that those soldiers past and present fought for and still fight for, here are just a few.

Wall of Stars at the World War II Memorial, Washington, D.C.

I am thankful that I have the freedom to worship God openly, without fear of death or retribution.

Korean War Memorial, Washington D.C. (one of the most moving memorials you will see)

I am thankful that they are willing to serve and give their lives in my place.

Vietnam War Memorial, Washington DC  (photo by Lee S. Girard)

I am thankful that I live in a country that has so much, I have never wanted for food, or shelter, or clothing.

Desert Storm Memorial, Pennsylvania

Remember their sacrifice.

Afghanistan and Iraq War

Remember also their families sacrifice.

Arlington National Cemetery, (photo by cstein96)

Remember that "freedom is not free."  If you see a soldier, stop him, and thank him or her for their service.  You cannot believe how much this means to them.  To all Veterans, thank you for your sacrifice and service.
Melissa

Living Room Update and A Winner

We have a winner in our first giveaway and you won't believe what happened!  But more about that in a minute!

Well, after tons of looking, and searching in stores, and online, I finally have curtains in my living room!  I LOVE them, really, really LOVE them.  My friend H happened to see them in the World Market circular a few weeks ago.  She brought it by and told me she thought they'd be perfect for my living room.  I agreed, they were exactly what I was looking for, I wanted something somewhat floral, but not overly so, maybe with some geometric shapes, and they had to have fall colors, and a bit of blue if possible.  So, did we hit the nail on the head?

Don't have the tie back holders yet, have to wait a bit to get those, for now this works!

scuse' the messy table please.

 

Fall colors, not too floral, has circles, even has the Ball canning jar blue! Truly, I love the splash of color they add to my living room and dinning room.  Perfect!  Now, to be honest, Hubby, he's not so crazy about them, but after some discussion he decided that we would go with these, and live with them for the next 10 years.     : )  Not really, well, maybe, anyway, I told Hubby if we found something he liked better, and we both like it, we could change them out.  Hubby found the curtain rods, and after looking at lots of options, I agreed that I really liked them.  Good ole' Lowe's for those, they were not cheap, but...when you find what you want you gotta just get it.  My total cost for this project is $ 178. 98.  I don't think that's too terrible, considering the curtains we liked best were from PB and would have cost $500 for just the curtains.  Yikes!

Now, on to our winner!  The winner of the four Map Covered Balls as chosen by Random Number generator is number 1!!  (can you believe it?).  Number one just happened to be my sister, Lois the Frugal Decor Mom, when I called to tell her, she said she felt kinda bad that she was winning my first giveaway, so she asked me to draw another number.  So, the new WINNER is..... Rebekah from All Thingz Related!!
 If you haven't stopped to see these ladies blogs, please stop in and have a look, they are both lots of fun!
Hope you all are having a great week!  I've got several projects in the works that I will hopefully be showing you soon!
Melissa

Gitter Done Inspired Project and Sweetness

Wednesday I was reading a post by Donna of Funky Junk Interiors about her horror of a mess in her garage and how she was inspired to Gitter Done!  For those who don't know Donna, she hosts the Gitter Done Party once a month.  I was chuckling as I read her post, then I shut the computer down, and it was time to get on with my day and clean up the kitchen.  That's when it happened.  I found my own horror of a mess.  In my kitchen cabinets, 3 of them to be exact.  I was trying to find room to put things up, and realized it just all needed to come out and be reorganized.  Here is the mess in all its horror:

Who could find anything in this mess? The sad part, some of it is already on the counter!

I use dry erase markers to label things so I don't forget what is in the containers

Much better right, look at all that space!

So much more organized!

Now my favorite mixing bowls are much easier to get to!

 I picked up this basket last week for $1 at Goodwill.  I wasn't sure what to use it for, but I quickly found a use!  I had several boxes of crackers, cookies, and other snack items that were almost gone, but not quite.  So I picked up a box of snack size zip lock bags, and divided them up into portions I deem okay for my Little Monkey to eat as a snack.  These are special occasion snacks, something I can throw in my bag and go, not every day snacks.  It really cleared out a lot of space by doing this. 
So, thanks to Donna for the kick in the pants to get all this done!

On another note, Thursday was my first day having 3 infants in addition to my Monkey, crazy? Certifiable!  They are 12 weeks, 6 months, and as of Thursday, 1 year.  It wasn't bad, except for the fact that Little Monkey got sick.  She and I got up at 3:30 am, she finally was able to get back to sleep around 7, by then the one year old was here already, and the other two were to show up soon.  It just made for a long day.  In the afternoon I had to have Hubby come home and take Little Monkey to the doc, it was harder than I expected, I am always the one who takes her.  This was Hubby's first time, of course it went fine, I worried for nothing.  Afterward they stopped and picked a few things for me.  Hubby knew it had been a rough day, so he brought home flowers, and knowing my love of maps, stopped by Kirkland's and found this decor ball.

Sorry, not the greatest picture, it was late, and I was tired.

He gave them to Little Monkey, and she proudly handed them to me with a hug and a kiss.  It made everything okay again.  I was still tired out of my mind, and it had still been a rough day, and Little Monkey was still sick, but there was a smile on my face, and a good attitude, and all was well.  It is really amazing how something little like this can just make the difference on a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day (to borrow from a favorite childrens book).  I hope you all are having a good week, and if not, I hope someone turns your horrible day upside down and makes it good again!
Melissa
Parties I'm Linking to:
Gitter' Done @ Funky Junk Interiors

See What We Can Do With Maps and Mod Podge!

Yep, I'm at it again!  I'm playing with Mod Podge and vintage maps!  I've been trying to get more organized lately, which seems like a never ending task.  We had a stack of magazines, you know the type, all the ones that have all these great ideas that you want to try "someday".  I was tired of the stack.  It never stayed stacked.  It was always sliding around and making more of a mess!  So the other day while I was at Michael's, looking to see if there was anything I "needed", since of course you can't let a 50% off coupon go to waste!  When I spotted these magazine holders in the unfinished wood section.  They would be perfect for that stack!  I picked up 2, then later had to go back for one more.  I forgot to take a picture before, sorry.  They were just unfinished pine, but they did come with the hardware already attached.

this one has maps of Canada, primarily Newfoundland, where several good friends live.

This box has maps of cities I've lived in, or would love to visit! This one has Los Angelos County, and primarily Long Beach, where I lived before I married.

Map of Virginia, where I live now!

map of Texas, where my family now lives!  It is fun to use maps that have meaning!

I simply painted the box with Mod Podge, and then the map pieces.  Then you press them together.  I use a Pampered Chef scraper (the kind you use to clean your stoneware) to smooth out any air bubbles or extra glue.  Then I used an Exacto knife to trim the edges.  Painted on two coats of poly acrylic, on the inside and outside, and I was done! This project cost me about $3 each, since I did use 50% off coupons for each box.  I really love how they turned out!  Don't they look so nice and interesting on the book shelf?

sorry, not the best picture, it was the best I could do for now.

Makes me wish I had more magazines so I need more holders......wait, scratch that, I'm supposed to be organized, and getting rid of stuff, not collecting more....right?
Hope you all have a great week!
Melissa
Parties I'm linking to:
Under $100 Party @ Beyond The Picket Fence
Thrilling Thursdays @ Paisley Passions
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Time Travel Thursday @ Brambleberry Cottage
Transformation Thursdays @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
We Can Do It Cheaper @ The Virginia House
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholics Anonymous@Remodelaholic
Maptastic Party@ The Country Chic Cottage
SNS @ Funky Junk Interiors 
Boardwalk Bragfest@Bobbypins Boardwalk 
Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm