Home from Illinois

It was quite a week with the three dogs and house hunting. Our dogs were great! The two day car ride was hairy a few times but they did very well. Our oldest dog, Peanut surprised us by being very social in the hotel room. She has bad knees, heart and eyes so she keeps to herself. Little Sweet Pea cried alot on her first big trip but on the way back she finally slept. Poor thing was so nervious! Chloe is just a wonderful dog, perfect in every way! She loved the ride. All were very happy to get home!

I enjoy looking at houses and always have a hard time choosing...... I have to admit I climbed so many stairs that when I can home it took me three days to recover! I looked mainly at newer houses because Mr. Sweetladyelaine is not a fixer upper! He will paint, but that's it! He wanted a three car garage with the walls finished. Listen, as long as he gets a huge garage he really doesn't care what the inside of the house looks like! lol I would never let him pick out a house....it would be a shack with a huge, huge garage!!!!! He is a man with a race car and that is important! He told me when we met "the man with the most toys when he dies, win"! I always ask, wins what??????? There is never a reply!

We did buy a house.. ........

but I didn't downsize like I thought we were! lol  I really tried.....I could not find a house I liked or the price was out of site!

It was a hard choice between two houses.

I think we made the right choice. It seems to have everything we wanted....

I am concerned about storage....you know being a dish collector I need storage! We will see what happens.

This is the reason I bought this house! I loved all the light. It seemed so happy when I walked in.
These are the pictures from the MLS book. I guess I didn't take this view.

I'm not sure what to do with the recessed walls or the wall above the fireplace. The realtor called it a plant something or other. I can't remember!

Here's another view..........

If you have any ideas, let me know.

 I have two Thomas Kincaid pictures I could put in place of the two you see.

I did think of a book shelf on the right side of the fireplace and maybe a cozy corner on the other.

 I think this room is so open that I am  going to need help.

I will put my formal living room furniture in here.

 I am going to have the couches redone when I have time. 

I guess this will be the biggest project in the new house.

Stay tuned to see what I do or don't do! lol

I seem to have alot of ideas but other things get in the way!

I am hoping to keep up with blogging through the move......

so if you don't hear from me, know I am thinking and praying for you all!

Thank you for stopping by....

check back every week to see what's new.

Blessings My Friend,

House Hunting

Since I was house shopping this week, I took a picture of a few things I liked.

This lovely owner set a table for us! I had hoped to join Tablescape Thursday this week but I think we will be traveling!

    

                        

             I love the red runner and little stocking holding the candy cane.

               

                                    Thought her centerpiece was pretty too!

             

                 

A great idea for a hallway.......

The next few pictures are of different houses.

I liked this room, the opposite walls were painted purple in this house!

A cool office with animal printed chairs. It is all done in black & white.

A Basement Bathroom

A Gourmet Kitchen

Another view of the kitchen above.

Another view of the Kitchen above.

I love looking at houses! I should have taken more pictures.....

Can you imagine the morning sun peeking in?

This owner must have a smile on her face every morning.

I could look at houses all day long! I like to see how everyone decorates! I have lots of new ideas for my new house.

Now, I just have to find the money to buy it all!! LOL

Blessings My Friends,

I think I lost all my marbles..

And I probably have!
 I packed up our three dogs and we are off to Illinois to buy a house. We will travel for two days.
Well, before I buy a new house I have to tell you we have SOLD our house in Texas!

This is me in front when we bought it! I was so excited!

I am just as excited to be moving to O'Fallon, Illinois!
I will spend a week looking at houses while Mr Sweetladyelaine works.  Did I tell you that we are downsizing?????? This is a huge step for me. It means getting rid of extra furniture and things that I do not use. I have been getting rid of things for the past two years.....
Why now you ask????? I am tired of cleaning a big house and everything in it! I figure if I can cut the square footage in half that would be great! I still need rooms!!! I need to put all my good stuff somewhere you know!
I will definitely miss my dish closet....what will I do with all my dishes? That is a very good question!! NOT SURE! I told you this was a little scary for me......

I have seen some of your hiding places so I guess I will have to find my own! By the way, this is when I first moved to Houston one year ago and my dishes have grown. I'm not sure how but it is very full now! lol

Stay tuned to what happens next! When I find our new home, I will share the outside with you.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for me throughout this ordeal! Our closing date for our Houston house is January 17th.......this is going to be fast! Wish me luck!


Blessings My Friends,

Lousianna and Texas Christmas Doors

 The first thing I decorated this year was my front door! I was so excited!
 My friend Donna who is living in Louisiana started this whole process. I guess in Louisiana they decorate their front doors every season with geo-mesh. I had no idea what geo-mesh was or what it looked like. Donna loved her neighbors door and asked if she would help her make her front door swag. Donna and I were very curious as to how they create a geo-mesh swag, so we researched and researched. We never found a swag like her neighbors, but we found so many doors, wreaths and other projects that we fell in love with the look of geo-mesh. We watched so many tutorials.
DecoPoly Mesh is 21" in width and comes in 10 yard rolls.The fabric-like material is durable, waterproof and great for outdoor use, but still delicate enough for indoor use. It will eventually fade out in the direct sunlight, but it takes a while.
Meanwhile Donna shopped at Paul Michaels and bought all the stuff she needed and probably more. As we were skying she showed me her finds and of course I got excited! The next thing I did was go hunting for geo-mesh. I found it in Hobby Lobby. It was $10.99 but I got it  for half price, so I bought it! they did not have a huge color selection. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do with this stuff.
In Louisiana they use Geo-mesh, ribbons and a grapevine and somehow make a beautiful work of art over their front doors. Donna sent me pictures so I am going to share with you her beautiful, unique front door.

They add lights and ornaments and whatever they like to the mesh! I just love this idea. You can also see her tree through her front door.

The best part, you can change it from season to season by adding seasonal ornaments. She used two different colors of mesh and a mesh ribbon. So much eye candy to look at!

                                    Beautiful!

So now that you know where my inspiration came from ......



My front door!
It is not as elaborate as Donna's swag but very pretty.

It is simple......I think next year I would use more bulbs. I wasn't sure what I was doing. I was just doing!

It came together rather nicely I think.

I am in the Christmas Spirit! How about you? I love to decorate......hope you will share your door with me. Leave me a comment so I can come and visit!

I will be sharing Front doors in my neighborhood. Our subdivision has a contest so the decorations are beautiful! It seems some neighbors try to out do, one another. Imagine that!

It is always very exciting!

From Our House to Yours, Merry Christmas!

Blessings to you all,

One of My Favorite Things....

Snowmen! I love snowmen! I have collected snowmen for quite some time. In my first house, my kitchen was decorated in snowmen all year round. It made me happy! I wish I had pictures but in those days I really wasn't into taking pictures. Hmmm, I wonder if that's why I still have trouble remembering to take pictures????

Anyhow, today is the first day I am using my snowmen dishes this year! I usually use them from December 1st thru February, but since I am in Texas and moving to Illinois everything is mixed up. I can't seem to find my mojo! lol I bought the dishes and bowls at Goodwill in Buffalo, NY about two years ago. I have a place setting for four. I love them! I wish I had more....

We are in my dining room for a change!

This is the place mat underneath and I have a green one under this one.

The napkin of bright colored faces! I have a matching tablecloth but it looks worn so I tend not to use it.

My ccenterpiece is made with a cake plate with a glass plate on top. I put crystal trees and small white & wine bulbs with silver sparkling garland intertwined. 

A close up of the trees in the centerpiece

A reindeer I bought at Goodwill sits on a quilt made by my cousin from Maine.

A few friends that visited today!

It seems like Sweetladyelaine is ready for Christmas! I am not decorating too much because we are still showing our house. Just enough to get in the spirit! Mr.Sweetladyelaine will be home for Christmas and I can't wait. I am looking forward to making a few cookies and celebrating the birth of Our Savior with my husband!

I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday. I hope you stop by and visit all the beautiful tablescapes!

Looking forward to sharing with you my Christmas front door!

Blessings My Friend,

Thanksgiving Pies

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know its a little late to be writing about my pies but Christmas is coming and you can get creative and make Christmas pies! My neighbor invited us to her house for Thanksgiving and I volunteered to make pies. I saw the Martha Stewart show and she made 10 different pie crusts. I decided that if Martha can do it, so can I.
So, I bought six little cutters at Sur la Table...and began my adventure.
I have to tell you, I hate making pies....the crust never comes out good but I was determined to do this for my neighbor. I made the crust from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. It was a dream.....I rolled it in a rectangle and then cut it into a circle! I wanted it to look professional....lol.
 I think the secret to a good crust is cold butter!

I used an oak leaf for this pie.

          Overlapped them on the crust.

     Finished crust...Martha Stewart has nothing on me!

        Filled it with Libby's pie recipe and baked.

                         

                Beautiful!!!

I made two apple pies but forgot to take a picture. Needless to say, the pies were delicious!
I will be making another apple pie for Christmas and I will take a picture. I know this was a fast post. I just couldn't wait to share.
Well, got to go and decorate....'tis the season you know! I will be decking the halls just a little since we are selling our house! (No our house has not sold) Pictures will be coming......

Blessings My Friends,

Anton Pieck & Sweetladyelaine

I have been quite excited since yesterday!

 While I was on Facebook, The Collectors weekly was showing a picture of a  handmade pocketbook. Well, wouldn't you know I made one for my mother for Christmas years ago. She had just given it back to me last year.
Here are some I found on e-bay.

What I didn't understand.... that the prints are by Anton Pieck!

A little history about Anton......

Anton Pieck was born on April 19, 1895 in Den Helder, Netherlands. His work includes paintings in oil, watercolors, etchings, woodcuts, engravings, lithographs, drawings and travel (book) illustrations.  His works are noted for their nostalgic or fairy tale characters and are widely popular.They appear regularly on cards and calendars.

 When he was six years old, he and his twin brother, Henry apprenticed with JB Mulders in Den Helder. The drawing lessons paid off and in 1906 he won a prize at an exhibition of handicrafts.  As a reward he received five watercolor tubes that started his career. In 1920 he became an art teacher at the Kennemer Lyceum in Overveen.

 In 1922, he married Jo Poelvoorde. They had three children, Elsa, Anneke and Max. His wife died in 1983 and Max three years later.

Anton Pieck designed the De Efteling,  (Fairy Tale Forest) which opened on May 31, 1952.  Initially, the Fairy Tale Forest was home to some ten different fairy tales, all of them brought to life using original drawings by Anton Pieck alongside ingenious movements and lighting and sound effects designed by the Dutch film maker Peter Reijnders. The life-size fairy tales, displayed together in an atmospheric forest, proved to be an enormous success. In 1952 alone Efteling welcomed 240,000 visitors

He retired in 1960 but remained active in the Lyceum. He died on November 24^, 1987 at the age of 92 in Overveen.


I had wondered if my pocketbook had pictures by Anton Pieck on it. I made it in the 70's ! I had no idea even what I was picking out at the time. I did what I was told by a friend and bought pictures to decoupage on my pocketbook.




Here is my decoupaged pocketbook...

Here it is....... a piece of Anton Pieck's name!

I just had to share this with you.....I am so surprised! I have to admit, I think my pocketbook is much prettier than the ones I found on line.


I think it was so much fun to find out about Anton Pieck and my pocketbook. I wondered if anyone else had made a decoupaged pocketbook???
I just remembered being so proud to make it for my mom. I was newly married without much money and I made Christmas gifts. I have fond memories of the items I made and always gave away! It was sheer pleasure for me. I don't do that anymore and maybe I should start again. This has got me thinking ....


Thank you for stopping by...


Blessings to you my friends, 

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!