* F * R * E * E *, that spells free....

I dedicate this post to my husband, who is always singing that annoying jingle. Ay Carumba!!! OK, I can't exactly say the following makeovers were 100% free, but I can say I did NOT buy any new supplies - I only used fabric from my stash and paint already on hand.

I finally tackled the toss pillows on the living room couch and love seat, the lamps and the even the mirror.
For the pillows I used the fabric below...
The two prints on the right are from a king size comforter I bought on clearance sale a couple of years ago. I trimmed it down to make a queen, and had a bit of excess fabric that I have been hanging on to. The floral ticking is from the $2 rack at at Walmart - it's also been around for a while. The large scale floral print on the right is from a new Laura Ashley bed skirt I picked up at a thrift store for $2 a couple of months ago...just in case you were wondering.Here's the (tired) before...
And the after...
For the mirror and lamp makeovers, I used the following...
The lamps (there are 2) before...
And after...
Didn't even spend money on new shades - just swapped the shades in the living room, for the ones in the family room.
Here's a corner of the gaudy (you know it's true) mirror before...
And after...
Getting a good picture of the mirror was NOT easy, especially since I didn't want to see my cheesy mug in the reflection!
I'm kind of liking the new beachy, shabby, cottage (whatever you want to call it) look. You can see some before pictures a few posts down if you want to compare. I am pretty sure doing it all for the price of free-fifty, is one of the reasons I'm happy with the way it all turned out. Gotta love a bargain!
And to the person who kindly asked me to post these blurry pictures last week (hi, mom)...sorry - life's been a little CrAzY. Better late than never, right?

A little TGIF Action

My husband had a few extra days off this past weekend (Father's Day was also his birthday). We spent Friday taking the kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House - very beautiful.

Then we headed east, up through the canyon, past Park City and Kamas, to this 70 year old cabin...

On the banks of the beautiful Provo River.

And roughly 50 yards away from this smaller river which feeds into the Provo...

There were peaceful places to tread...

An abundance of foliage...

And cabins to admire. I LOVE this one (I am sure it has been around since the 1930's as well)...

Since we were there last summer, one of the older cabins has been demolished and this flashy new one is being built in its place. It will be beautiful, that's for sure, but not as charming...

The messages on the community bulletin board were entertaining...

BEAR sighting!

My oldest, and a few of his cousins, fished for small fry (they called them tadpoles, I think of them as trout-lets) ALL afternoon...

They ended up with at least 20, which were divided up and came home with us...

We also saw evidence of beaver activity in the area. Check out these tree trunks...

And pretty scenery all the way home...

Fridays are a good thing - especially when part of a five day weekend. Today we are off to the zoo.

Monsoon Magic

Brace yourselves for another exciting gardening post…

I was talking to my mom about blogging the other day (pretty silly) and I was telling her that some of my all time favorite blog posts are the ones I get the fewest comments on. I am totally cool with that – I kind of think it’s funny. This blog is supposed to be representative of the things that make me happy, and the truth is most of those things are not exactly exciting.

For the past couple of weeks, this is what I see when I look out the window...

Rain. Lots of rain. We have been experiencing a monsoon weather pattern with rain blowing in almost every afternoon. I love it. The air is cool and clean and everything green and lush...

When I am outside working in the yard, I feel alive. My head is clearer, breathing feels like a treat (especially after the rain) and all of my senses seem to be in better working order. I've noticed my kids are happier when they are outside as well. I love seeing their interest in nature grow. Love seeing them with potato bugs and worms in their hands. Love seeing them keeping tabs on certain plants or the baby robins who are just learning to fly. So not exactly exciting, but real.

*When blogger quits giving me fits I'll tell you the names of all the above plants

Quilting Kismet

Confession time...I am one of those stubborn people who think they can figure everything out on their own (in other words - I make a lot of mistakes). I have NEVER bought a quilt pattern. I took geometry, and I have graph paper so I think I'm good to go. That was until I saw all of the awesome patterns by Heather Mulder Peterson. Her quilts are beautiful. The first time I hopped on her blog, I stayed and read the whole thing. Very talented, and an amazing house....colorful with a view. Two of my favorite things. WELL, I have really loved her latest pattern collection involving 60 degree triangles and hexagons...something I am not so sure my geometry skills (after all, it's been a while) and graph paper can handle. Loved the Simply Sixties pattern so much I tracked it down online at the Fat Quarter Shop...
And YESTERDAY, I put the pattern in my shopping cart...

Today I just happened by her lovely blog again, and GUESS WHAT? I won that exact pattern!!! I NEVER win anything! The stars must be aligned just right for me today.

And, what could be more perfect for the Simply Sixties pattern than sheets from the sixties?

Now I have no more excuses to keep putting off that Vintage Sheet Quilt. The quilting gods have spoken, and I must answer.

My BFF and then some...

This is a little bit of a stretch, but I think maybe, JUST MAYBE, it might have worked.

We had a pair of cute, and very comfy Pediped toddler shoes, but they were starting to look like they had seen better days. OK, they were looking pretty hammered...

BUT, how to polish these up and restore them to their former glory was eluding me. Then I had a lightbulb moment...the kind of lightbulb moment only a spray paint addict could have.

If Julia Roberts can polish up a pair of slinky, black boots with a Sharpie, then why not?

So far, so good. I'll let you know how they hold up.

Wanderlust

Tonight I’ve been sorting through the slew of photos building up and bogging down our hard-drive, and I came across a few from our lake trip a couple of weekends ago. I have what my husband probably considers a really annoying habit - I make him pull over when we are on road trips so I can snap still pictures of the scenery when it is just too beautiful to pass by unacknowledged. And this time of year everything is just so green & pretty. Even this plain old field was simply stunning.

This mountain stream, beckoning.

The lake below, serene

And this tree, absolutely beautiful. Trees are my weakness. It was a long ride home for the kids.

Some days I just want to get in my car (ok, minivan) and drive, I don’t even care where.

The lure of open spaces, the sirens of vistas unseen and of roads less traveled call out to me, haunting me with possibility unrealized. There are so many things to see, and I just want to GO.
I especially wouldn't mind a road trip here...

(Oregon Coast found on Google Images)

Now why can't I get this excited about Disneyland?