What Keeps Me Sane

Enjoying this group everyday is what keeps me sane and hacking away at work and life everyday.  My wonderful husband, two sweet daughters and their precious husbands and my four over the moon Grandbabes. 

Thank you God for My Blessings.

Great Family Movie - Mr Hobbs Takes a Vacation

If you love classic movies, Jimmy Stewart, family movies, a good laugh or all of the above, you need to rent or purchase Mr Hobbs Takes A Vacation.  This movie is about Mr. Hobbs (Jimmy Stewart) who just wants to take a restful, uneventful vacation and get out of the city.  His wife (Maureen O'Hara) wants to take the entire family to the seashore and what ensues is the typical family vacation that we can all relate to with lots of fun but also loads of drama (mostly of the teenage variety).  The Steve Martin movie Cheaper By The Dozen 2, is a nod towards this classic movie. 



This movie is from the early 60's and it is funny to see that the problems parents deal with today with their family are the same problems Mr. Hobbs dealt with in 1962.




Let me know if you have seen this movie and if you enjoyed it.  If you haven't seen it, I think it would be worth your time to pop some popcorn, snuggle under a fluffy blanket on the couch and turn on this movie. 

Lanterns Light My Way

Lanterns in decorating are a big hit.  I love them tall, short, chunky, round, square and on and on.  There are so many options.  Lanterns are extremely versatile and can be used indoors or out.

Here we have three differant styles and sizes of lanterns to create a gorgeous vignette.  For the larger lantern in the back, the topiary in the terra cotta pot is highlighted with the tea candles surrounding the base. 

Allhomedecors

Beautiful grouping displayed with natural materials and creamy white candles.  Simple but elegant. 

Homedesigndecorates

I found a great selection of lanterns at Old Time Pottery.  So many styles and I can imagine them decorated with candles and fillers. The prices were extremely reasonable with the largest size being 29.99.  The galvanized would be gorgeous on a screened porch or sunroom. 

This idea from Nell Hill takes my breath away.  She placed lanterns outside so that they sparkled through the windows.  Wouldn't this be gorgeous on a cold, snowy night.  Does that woman ever have a bad idea???

Nell Hill

I'm crazy about this idea - again from Nell Hill - for placing an urn on a garden planter and dressing up with ribbon and greens.  This is stunning and could be easily duplicated for maximum appeal. 

Nell Hills

I'll be making a trip back to Old Time Pottery soon...I'm trying to decide which style and sizes I want.  I think you will agree that I can't go wrong with any choice I make. 

Kindle Wonderfulness and a Free Diet Book

One present that Santa brought me for Christmas, was a Kindle Fire.  You rock Santa!!!  I thought I would love it and have found that it is loved by my whole family. My daughters visited several times during the holidays which is not at all unusual, but they somehow always ended up with my Kindle, playing Words with Friends.  It's like, "Hello Mom.  Where's your Kindle?"  My Grandbabes want to play Angry Birds all the time and they pass the Kindle back and forth based on set time limits so there is no fighting....15 mins each and it goes to the next GB and then back around again.  I'm teaching them time management, so it's all educational !

This photo might make you think that Alden is not enjoying his time with Angry Birds.  He's not disappointed, or angry, it's just his normal 7 year old picture face.   He turns 8 later this month, so maybe I'll start seeing a picture face other than the mean face...either way, I'll take it. 

I'm a huge entertainment nut so the Kindle Fire serves my needs by allowing me to watch movies, read books and listen to Audio books...in addition, I can surf the Web via my WiFi connection.  This is a great little product and I am loving it.  I often take my iPod to listen to audio books as I go to bed and very often fall asleep and have to wake up and turn it off.  My Kindle has a sleep timer that I can set starting at 15 mins, so I don't have to wake up to turn it off, if I drift off to sleep. 

Today, Amazon has a free Kindle download for The Perfect 10 Diet.  This is another great thing about any of the Kindles as Amazon frequently has free downloads for anything from fiction, romance, cookooks etc.  Since it is the New Year and we are kind of obligated to make an 'eat more healthy' resolution, this would be the perfect way to start.  I have not read this yet, so have no feedback at this time to share but wanted to pass this along as the free download won't last long. 

Anyone else get a Kindle for Christmas or have one already.  How do you use your Kindle??

When The Lightbulb Doesn't Go Off...I'm Left In The Dark

I love this lamp.  In my typical fashion, I purchased one to make sure it would work in my space and that it looked it person like it looked in the ad.  I received it via my trusty UPS man and did the necedssary assembly...added my bulbs and fell deeply in love, the moment the electric current fired.  I waited a week to make sure that I was not just dazzled by the light and decided that the love was true and I needed a pair for my upcoming Family room redo.  You can probably hear the shoe fall from where  you are sitting....SOLD OUT.  Will they be back in stock? Can I find another one somewhere? ....not so far. 
Note to self....Order what you want the next time and send them back if they aren't what you expected.  Anyone else cause themselves unnecessary stress like this?  I'm hoping that I'm not the only one who runs into these problems. 
Joining Marty at a Stroll Thru Life for her Tabletop Tuesday party.

Christmas Memories Recalled

I love Christmas presents....untying the shiny ribbons and tearing through the beautiful paper to see what is hidden inside, is just a heck of a lot of fun.  Closing my eyes, I can draw in the memory of the tearing paper, the many voices raised in happy discussion and the shouts of joy as a favorite toy or item is uncovered to the wondering eyes of the recipient.   This memory is stored with many others that I can pull out and examine anytime I want.  They never cease to make me smile and know that my life has been blessed with wonderful family and friends. 

One of the gifts that Mike and I received this year was a pottery plate with the handprints of my second and fourth Grandbabes.  These precious hands are now forever captured and frozen in time.  This tangible memory will be displayed and treasured and will bring a smile to our faces whenever we pass by it. 

I am so fortunate to have a wonderful husband who shares my love of family and that I can truly call my best friend.  God blessed me with two gorgeous daughters who found their soulmates and have shared four of the most beautiful and precious children in the world with us. 

Family and memories are true presents that can be held dear for the rest of our lives.  I hope you all were able to make many during the Holiday Season. 

Despicable Me Blu Ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo

Amazon has a great deal right now on Despicable Me (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) for only $10.49 with free shipping for Amazon Prime members.   My Grandbabes love this movie and this is a fantasic deal because you get the Blu Ray as well as a DVD disc.....and the digital copy that can be loaded to iTunes or directly to your computer. 

Pick this up soon as the price could change quickly.  I am not being compensated in any way for this notification.  Just passing on a good deal that will give hours of enjoyment. 

Happy New Year. Welcome 2012

Goodbye 2011.  You were a really good year and I will miss you.  Thanks for all the good memories and I really appreciate how busy we were for the last quarter which prevented me from blogging....at all. 

Hello 2012...please be as kind as your sibling (except for the last quarter). 

Happy New Year everyone!!

Easy Arrange Your Outdoor Planters

This week, I'd like to share a tutorial for an easy arranger that I made for my outdoor planters. This insert makes arranging greenry in the planters quick and easy and holds everything securely in place. 
The first step is to measure the inside of the planter to determine what size the arranger insert should be.....Using a planter with sloped sides, take a measurement towards the top of the planter, where the size is the largest and this will give you the 'ledge' to hold the arranger insert in place. After you have your measurement, you need to go in search of a container matching the measurement to use as a mold.



Materials you will need - A box of Plaster of Paris, disposable gloves, measuring tape, container to use as a mold that fits the measurement of the planter, 6 PVC pipe connectors (you can purchase at Lowes for 5 cents each), garbage bag cut in half with seams removed, a container for mixing.





Line the bottom of the container being used as a mold with the opened garbage bag and place your PVC connectors in the bottom, one in the middle and the other 5 evenly spaced approximately halfway between the edge and the middle. Mix the Plaster of Paris using the package directions. Because of the size needed, my mold was 13.5 inches wide, I had to use the entire box. I mixed half the box and poured in and then decided to use the entire box contents so that my insert would be about 1.5 inches thick. I was going for an insert no thicker than 2 inches so this worked out well for me...you will need to experiment with the amount of plaster to mix based upon the measurements of your container. Before pouring the mix in your mold, be sure and spray your garbage bag with water to help release after dried.

I let my insert cure overnight before I removed from the mold and carefully pulled away the garbage bag. As you can see, the edges are not perfect, but that is not an issue as the insert will be under your greenry or flowers and will not be seen.

Next, I turned the mold over and used a hammer to gently tap out the PVC connectors. Once I tapped them loose, I turned the mold back over and gently used a clockwise motion to remove the connectors.

Place the insert in your planter, here you can see how it rests on the sloping sides.

You then just insert your greenry anywhere in the 6 holes ...you can use any combination, or all of them to complete your arrangement.

If you want, you can cover the insert with moss or it could easily be spray painted a dark color to help it blend into the planter.



Now that I have my insert in each planter, it will be very simple to remove the current arrangement and replace whenever I want. If you live in an area where your have really windy weather, you can use a wadded up plastic bag or paper to stuff in each hole with your greenry stem, to make sure it fits securely. (Repost from 2009)

Linking to the following parties.  Please be sure and click the links to visit each one.

Anything Related
Just Something I Whipped Up
Home Sweet Home Party
Feathered Nest Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Hooking Up With HOH
The Idea Room

All the best,

Kitchen Sideboard

A vignette on my kitchen sideboard, bringing in a deep red in the florals with a rustic basket.  I matched a group of silver candlesticks, because silver looks good with anything and I like to keep a little bling in the mix. 

As I continue to finish the small jobs and detail on my kitchen remodel, this wall will have a flat screen TV for viewing from the breakfast area.  For now, the wall is blank so you can just let your eye wander past the empty space.

Joining Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday.