Merry Christmas!

It's His birthday.



Invite Him to the party.



I pray that all of you have a blessed and very merry Christmas!

Christmas Mantle {Makeover}

I love decorating my mantle every year for CHRISTMAS.



It just makes me smile.



One of the reasons I enjoy it so much is because it's where I display my favorite nativity scene.



The nativity is the centerpiece of my living room.



And the SEASON.



If you're like me, you have a slight pinning problem. You know, a finger that keeps clicking "pin" on the very addictive website, Pinterest?



Can I get an "amen?"



While obsessively pinning I came across an amazing sign that I thought would be the perfect backdrop to my nativity scene.



So I pinned it.



And then I made it--with a lot of help from the hubs!



Here's the final product:

The hubs built the sign and I painted on the text. Yep, the hubs has got some mad skills. . .

I pinned it.

We made it.

And we love it.

Every time I look at my mantle I'm reminded of the true meaning of Christmas: the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.

The crazy thing is, He gave us the greatest gift ever on HIS birthday.

Wait, aren't we supposed to do the gift-giving when it's someone else's b-day?

Now that's some crazy love He has for us!

Merry CHRISTMAS!



Jazz UP a Soap Dispenser!

I suffer from the curse of the soap dispenser.



You know, the curse that involves one purchasing a gazillion pretty soap dispensers only to find none of the pumps work?



That "one" would be me.



I have a graveyard of beautimous dispensers in my bathroom cabinet.



And do ya think any of 'em work?



Nope.



So I surrendered to the cheapo-looking ones the soap actually comes in.




'Cuz at least they work.




But it just went against my grain.





So I came up with a solution:

Here's how I did it. . .

I gathered my supplies. In addition to the supplies pictured you will need some ribbon, green felt, a hot glue gun and glue sticks, three red beads, and a cute puppy.

Cut a large square of fabric big enough that it comes up at least to the top of the pump when you pull it up on all sides.

Find a cutie patootie puppy to help you tie up the fabric around the soap dispenser.

Cut off the excess fabric using good scissors. Not those sorry ones you use to cut everything from duct tape to floral wire. You know you have some.

Finish it off by tying it up with a pretty ribbon. I cut out a holly leaf from green felt, glued on three red beads, and glued the whole thing to the dispenser with hot glue. Booyah! No more staring at an ugly soap dispenser!

Free Christmas Bunting Printable

Do ya like FREE stuff?


Yeah, me too.


So here's a FREE Christmas bunting printable for you!


It's so easy!


Just print it out, cut out the triangles, punch holes in the tops of them, and string with yarn. Hang this cute bunting on your mantle or across a window. The possibilities are endless!


You can download the printable bunting here.


A big thanks to craftjr.com for providing us with this awesome bunting!


Happy Bunting Making!

Thankful

There are so many things to be THANKFUL for.



Some are seemingly silly things and others are life-changing blessings.



I'll start with the silly things.



I'm thankful for bacon, heat-n-bond, Pintererst, vintage clothing, thrift stores, Cracker Barrel. . . the list goes on and on.



But let's get serious.



I often think to myself, "where would I be if I hadn't been born into a wonderful family who cared enough to point me to Jesus?"



Would I even acknowledge God?



Would I have ever come to know Him without my family's direction?



Here's an extremely short list of the amazing blessings for which I am thankful (in no particular order other than 1 & 2):


1. Salvation through Jesus
2. The Bible (Life's GPS)
3. My Church (People to do life with)
4. My amazing parents
5. My awesome brother
6. Wonderful grandparents
7. The absolute best husband I could have ever asked for
8. My hubby's side of the family
9. My sweet little dachshund, Taz
10. A warm shower/bath
11. A comfy bed
12. Food and clothing
13. A cozy home
14. Transportation
15. Music
16. Peace and contentment
17. My health
18. Godly friends
19. Safety and security
20. Freedom and the honor to live here in the USA



I could go on and on.



But I won't--not here on the blog, at least.



But I do plan to continue my thankfulness to the One who blessed me with all of these things.




I recently came across this picture, and it reminded me of how truly blessed we are:

What are you thankful for?

I pray that you all have a wonderful, blessing-filled Thanksgiving!

Fluffy Pumpkin Cheesecake {Make It, Why Dontcha?}

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It's nutty.


It's crazy.


It's almost here.


THANKSGIVING!!!!!


Okay, wasn't I just scrambling around to put the finishing touches on my Thanksgiving recipes and rushing to get to Grams' house on time last year???? What the what??


If you're like me, you wait to the last minute to do most things.


Look up "procrastination" in the dictionary and there I'll be.


But, I hope you're sitting down, I am ready for Thanksgiving this year!


Yep, a whole whopping 2 days early!! I'm also almost done with my Christmas gifts. I just need to get them wrapped, but that's a different story. . .


Anyway.


Actually, the hubs and I had Thanksgiving this weekend with his side of the fam and we'll spend Thanksgiving day with my crazy side.

I made a couple of dishes this weekend, so I thought I'd share one of my favs with you:

Fluffy Pumpkin Cheesecake!

It's so good and it's so easy!



The recipe comes from this book, which is chock-full of easy-to-do recipes:

I highly recommend it!

Alrighty, let's get movin' with the recipe!

1 package *8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1 canned pumpkin

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed

1 prepared graham cracker crust (6 oz or 9 in)

(I make my own crust because it's cheaper, but a prepared one can save time. Your call.)

Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl with wire whisk or electric mixer on high speed until smooth. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into crust.

Refrigerate 3 hours or until set. Garnish with additional whipped topping.

I garnished my pie with pecans since my wonderful grandparents gave me about 5 lbs of them from their pecan tree! This pie definitely needs some sort of decoration because, on its own, it's rather bland looking. As in, "ewww, that-looks-gross-I'm-not-eating-that" kind of bland looking. The cookbook suggests garnishing with sliced kiwi and curled orange peel. You can also sprinkle the pie with ground cinnamon. Store the remaining cheesecake (if there is any!) in the fridge. Yum!

Ombre. . . Hair, That Is.

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I've been noticing the OMBRE HAIR trend popping up a lot lately.


At first I wasn't sure what to think of it, but it's GROWING ON ME (pun intended).


Well, let me clarify my previous statement. I like it when it's done the RIGHT WAY.


Exhibit A:

I'm diggin' this look. Soft caramel ends over a chocolate base.

Me likeee.

It could have something to do with the fact that I associate this look with the sugary sweets I used to describe it . . .


Moving on.


So far, so good. Ombre is rating high with me.


Oh, wait.

Somebody leaned over and accidentally dipped her hair in the Kool-Aid pitcher.

OOOOHHHHH YEEEAAHHH!

Cruella DeVille's Daughter? Sorry, Drew. Nothin' but love for you, not so much for the hair.

Since becoming acquainted with the while ombre hair thing, I realized that one of my family members has been rocking this look for a while--even before it became a trend.




I'm convinced this little guy is the one who started the ombre craze:

He's a trendsetter. A trendsetter indeed.



So, what do you think of the ombre hair look? Yay or nay?

Gettin' In On the Coupon Craze!

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I've been a casual couponer for a while now.


You know, one of those people who clips a coupon here and there.


But then the tv show "Extreme Couponing" came along.


And then I took a coupon class.


And then I got bitten by the "you-can-save-lots-if-you'd-just-work-the-coupon-system" bug.


I like to save $$, but I'm not by any means "extreme" like this gal:




She'd buy a bigger house to hold her stockpile if she won the lottery???? Hrrrmmmm. . .I think she should use her winnings to invest in some new shelving. Check out 00:58 to see what I mean. . . That shelf ain't long for this world. May it rest in peace.

I will now take a brief moment to discuss my frustrations with the extreme couponing craziness that has swept the Nation. I think it's rather rude to completely wipe out the shelves of the grocery store. Do you really need 55 boxes of cheerios? Seriously. Save some for others. Pre-order the stuff if you really do NEED it. Mmmmkay? I recently encountered an elderly woman during my shopping adventures who was just plain devastated that the shelf had been wiped clean of the original Pam cooking spray. The remaining butter flavor would not do. Nope. I thought she was gonna cry for a minute. She kept staring at the shelf and saying "no original, no original" in a high-pitched, quivering voice. Tragic.

If you're not careful, this extreme couponing tv show can really make you feel overwhelmed and inferior when it comes to the couponing process. But these crazies are doing like 50 transactions at the register and tying up the poor cashier for an hour or more! Come on. There are much more realistic ways to save. I don't want the cashiers at Publix to run the other way when they see me comin' with my tricked-out coupon binder.


That is all about that (stepping down from my soapbox).


I did my grocery shopping yesterday.

And I didn't even pay attention to my savings at the register due to an in-depth conversation with the bag boy regarding the load of Christmas trees being delivered outside and how his family will be having steak for Christmas dinner this year. I told him I'd be joining them.


And the convo with the cashier about Thanksgiving being just one week away. Yowzers!


So when I got home it occurred to me that I didn't even look to see how much I saved.


So I pulled out my receipt.


And I was happy.


I busted a move. You know. . . I did a happy dance.


When I saw a three-digit #:

I'm sure many "extreme couponers" would consider this number to be a drop in the bucket, but it made this couponing novice quite proud! Holla!

There are some really great websites out there to help you save some cash. My personal favorite is Southern Savers. This site is chock-full of info regarding how to get started with couponing. It also lets you choose your favorite stores, shows you sales and coupon matchups for the stores, and lets you print an accompanying shopping list. It makes finding deals super easy. I like easy. Me and easy, we're like BFFs.


Here are some more great links to help you keep cash in your pocket:

Coupon Mom
Coupons.com
Redplum.com
Smartsource.com
Couponsuzy.com
Couponing101.com
Myfrugaladventures.com


Also, my friend Peter has an informative post on his blog regarding more ways to save. Check it out here.


So, what's the most that you've ever saved?? I'd love to hear your comments about your epic savings and money-saving tips that have worked for you guys! Give me a holla!

I Now Bring You Another Depends Moment. . .

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Crazy things can happen on Halloween.


The crazies come out.


And they all showed up at Goodwill this Halloween.


Which doesn't say much for me since I was among them. . .


For months now I've been looking for a busted-up china cabinet or hutch to redo. It had to be shabby & it had to be cheap. So on this particular day I strongly regretted leaving home without my depends when I laid eyes on the piece I'd been dreaming of: a broken-down, grimy china cabinet.


Yep, I peed a little.



Here's a before pic in my junked-up garage. Don't judge:

Like the reflection of the yellow-handled broom in the glass door? Photography at its best.

I gave this beast some TLC, paint, and glaze. Here's the glorious "after" shot:

And then came the funnest (yeppers, I just said "funnest") part of all--packing it full of stuff.

Found these vintage S & P shakers @ a yard sale for 2 buckeroos. Holla!

I used lots of my Great-Grandmother's china to fill the shelves. I love the vintage look it gives my kitchen!

A mason jar full of vintage buttons and the cake topper from my great-grandparents' 50th anniversary cake finishes off the look.

It makes me smile every time I walk in my kitchen. : )

Mantle {Redo}

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I've been staring at my mantle for about 6 years. . .





thinking, "Wow, that thing's really white--like my legs in the wintertime."





And it's taken me THIS LONG to finally do something about it (the mantle, not my legs--the legs are good thanks to my good ole self-tanner) You can safely put your shades away.

I have to say, I'm really proud of this mantle and fireplace surround. The hubs and I designed/built most of it together. Here it is before I got my hands on it:

Then I whipped out my paint and glaze, cuz that's how I roll. . . and here's what I came up with:

By the way, I printed this AWESOME BUNTING from the gals over at Over the Big Moon. They've also got some cool printable "Thanksgivingy" subway art. Just print it and pop it in a frame. Badda bing!

Honoring Those Who Gave of Themselves. . .

Saying "thank you" seems like such a small act of gratitude.




Considering the price paid by those who gave of themselves. . .




to protect and defend The United States of America.





Happy Veteran's Day!

Dapper Dog

I got around to finishing yet another project that I have been putting off.

It's not that the world would end if I didn't do these projects, it's just that thinking about them keeps me (and therefore, my hubs) up at night.

I've been wanting to make Taz (my adopted son) a cute bow tie collar ever since I got him about two months ago. And I finally made it!

Adorbs!



Doggone Cute!

Did you know my husband and I adopted a child?

We had talked about adoption over the years, so when the opportunity arose to take in a sweet little one we took it.

And we're in love.

Without a doubt.

For real.

Seriously.

This is Taz.

He melts my heart and digs belly rubs. Pun totally intended.

He helps me clip coupons.

And he doesn't mind that I shamelessly exploit the "weiner dog thing."

Sweet little Taz inspired part of my latest crafty project.

I was in a crafting mood the other day. Glue gun in hand, I couldn't be stopped. I was like Mario with the star. . . except I wasn't pouncing on mushroom men, but on projects I had been putting off.

Remember the creepy kid picture I scooped up at a yard sale for a buck a while back? If not, reminisce with me here.

Time to put the creepy kid to rest with a little paint.

Back to the Taz.

Inspired by his amazing cuteness (not a proud parent at all, eh?) and this Ballard Designs art. . . 

 I whipped up this puppy. Yep, another pun.

Then I made the mistake of visiting Anthropologie's website. My head almost exploded.

I was inspired by this:

And this:

And this:

All of which manifested in the form of this:

FYI, all of the frames were purchased from yard sales or thrift stores. The "tree art" frame is also mentioned in the "Goodwill Hunting" post linked above.

I love this gossip bench because it belonged to my great-grandmother. The large green glass hobnail vase and the small light green dish were purchased from a thrift store. The small dark green vase was given to my grandmother when she graduated high school in the 50's. Lots of history tucked in this little nook!