The Tuscan Trio

I cant stress enough how many deals I find on Craigslist! Not only just in Louisville but, I do a search all over the country for items! Check out these little cuties I found today on Cincinatti Craigslist! They should look great in my kitchen! They are from Southern Living at Home (of course) and are called The Tuscan Trio by artist Janet Beaver! These canvas paintings are retired but will be working wonderfully in my home and at only 25.00 for the set of 3 paintings (regularly 99.00 I believe) I just couldnt pass it up!

Summer-time Honey Chicken Salad!!!

So, I went to The Cheddar Box the other day with my mom for lunch and fell in love with their honey chicken salad!! I wasnt able to get the recipe online so I did some digging and found this fabulous recipe from Southern Living...it had all the ingredients that The Cheddar Box had! I cant wait to make it!

Ingredients
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 celery ribs, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup cranrasins (Ocean Spray)
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Garnish: chopped toasted pecans
Preparation
1. Combine first 4 ingredients.
2. Whisk together mayonnaise and next 3 ingredients. Add to chicken mixture, stirring gently until combined. Garnish, if desired.


Teresa Mosher, Bradenton, Florida, Southern Living Our Readers' Top-Rated Recipes, Southern Living, JUNE 2006

Im all hung UP!

Grants Room

Gavins Room

Today, I decided to take on the challenge (and I mean challenge) of hanging window treatments in my boys rooms! I think this time I have finally learned my lesson to HIRE this job out!!! My husband would probably laugh hysterically if he were a fly on the wall watching this! I am the type person, when I want something done....Iwantitdonerightthenandthereandnothingornooneisgoingtostopme!!! LOL!! Today the potty words were flyin! *thank goodness the boys were at summer camp* I really do hate this job but somebody has to do it! They did turn out cute in the end and I am now ready to put the final touches on the rooms! Whew!!

Junk Party!!!!

Kennesha at Me n My House is having a Junk Party. Check it out and join in on the party!

So my weekend consumed of shopping and yardsales which are 2 of my favorite things to do! I made some awesome purchases I must say! I wanted to share with you some of the deals I came across! My theory is, why pay department store prices for furniture and accessories when you can find better quality and much better prices 2nd hand!

Distressed wooden night stand 20.00 for my sons room!



Distressed all wood book shelf/night stand for my oldest sons room...29.00
Pottery Barn Medina Lamp 20.00(regularly 150.00), World Market chair 40.00 (this chair was regularly 200.00)and my 6.00 pillow!

How cute is this wooden upholstered bench...15.00

and this cute message board for my mud room/laundry room...12.00 (even included the chalk)

6 Years and Counting....

Yesterday (June 6th) marked our 6 year ~Wedding Anniversary~ We had such a great evening, having dinner and being able to have one-on-one time to spend together, which as most of you understand with kids, those moments are few and far between! My mom kept the boys while we had a night out! We had dinner at Stoney River (if you have never eaten there before, I HIGHLY recommend it! Its FAN-TAB-U-LOUS!!!) Then, we met up with friends at Brendons for a few drinks and conversation (Imagine that, I was able to have a dinner without sharing AND have a conversation without being interupted...WOW!)

Thanks honey for a wonderful time, Happy Anniversary! I look forward to many years to come! XOXXO

And the winner is.....ME!!!

Ok, so whoever says ~no one ever wins at those things~ I am here to tell you, its NOT true!! I am all about freebies and prizes! I received the biggest surprise at my door this morning and I was so excited I had to share it with all of my blogging friends! Last month, I entered into a contest hosted by Nanci Burt, a Southern Living at Home consultant, on her blog http://southernlivingathomemom.blogspot.com/

even though I was the only one to enter this contest, Nanci was nice enough to send me the prize anyway! I had NO IDEA it was going to be the platter that I have been drooling over since it came out! This beautiful platter is part of the Cottage Garden collection, hand-painted by Gail Pittman (a designer for SLAH) If you would like to host a party or purchase any items from Southern Living at Home, contact Nanci Burt at Southerndecor@gmail.com! Thanks Nanci!!!!

Check it out....

While I am new at this whole blogging thing, I was introduced to this awesome blog ~The Inspired Room~
Melissa Michaels, the author, created a blog that is a happy mix of realistic interior decorating,simple homemaking, & inspiration for authentic living. I invite all of my blogging friends to check out her blog at
http://theinspiredroom.net/ I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I do! Happy Blogging!

Joys of Summer!!!

These are some of lifes little pleasures.....

After a wonderful weekend with friends, its nice to come home and relax....but to relax AND be entertained with hot air balloons soaring over our house, who would have guessed! My boys were so excited to sit on the porch and take it all in! I wish I had thought to grab my camera sooner but, I was able to capture a couple of pics! Ahhh, the joys of summer!

Summer, summer, SUMMERTIME with the Taylors!!!!

Rhonda and I, 4 1/2 hours at the pool with drinks and a bottle of wine later.....

I scream, you scream we all scream for ICE CREAM!!!

Grant and Carson, BEST of buds!

Baby face!

Our crew of BOYS!!!!!

How quickly time seems to be flying by....I cant believe we have already been in our house 3 weeks! WOW!! Summertime is quickly approaching us! This weekend we will be taking a little road trip up north to visit our very good friends The Taylors!! Rhonda, Chad, Carson and Cole! They just moved to Northern Ky. from Louisville! I will have to post pics of our weekend! We will be relaxing in THEIR new house and soaking in the sun by the pool! If youre reading Rhonda, cant wait to see you guys!

Good-bye Preschool....Hello Kindergarten!

Well, today has been a mixture of emotions for me as my precious boy Gavin, graduated preschool today! As I sat in the church pew, my eyes welled up with tears when I started to reminisce of all the milestones he has reached in such a short amount of time! I cant believe we have a son getting ready for kindergarten in the fall! Where has the time gone! We are so proud of the accomplishments he has achieved and we look forward to many more! Good job Gav, Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more happier and proud of our little (big) boy! (wink, wink)

XOXOXOX

Artist in the making...

I must say, we are a very talented family...from music to art we have been very blessed to have been given the gift of creativity! I HAVE to brag a bit on my younger brother (Cameron) he is not only one of the best musicians (he plays drums) in my opinion. You have to see it to believe it, he truly is amazing! He also has the ability to draw (wonder where he gets it...hmmm...there really is no comparison, LOL) he is WAY more talented than I could ever dream! He gave me one of the best gifts this past Christmas and I have the pleasure of sharing it with you! You be the judge....

Original Photo

Masterpiece

I just recently had it framed! I couldnt wait to get it on the wall! I will cherish it forever! Thanks Cam!

For more info on getting your very own drawing, email me! hollywood0977@aol.com

The Three Ps!!!!!!!!!!

Busy, busy is my new middle name as we are still unpacking and PUTTING away! I really am trying to declutter and get rid of all things we just dont need or use. Whats the rule, if you havent used it or worn it in a year....toss it! Thats my new motto, it seems to be working pretty well!

In the mist of all the chaos, I am in the beginning stages of PLANNING for our 1st House-warming party set for some time in July! I figure that should give us enough time to get our house in order instead of it looking like you stepped in a UPS warehouse! LOL!! While digging deep, looking for my cookbooks and recipes, I gave finally gave up and searched the web for some great party ideas! I think we are going to do a "Tapas" Theme party with Cuban flair! Mojitos here we come! I will sift through some recipes or if anyone has any recipes to share feel free to leave me a comment! I love trying new things!

I cant wait to P-A-R-T-Y!!!!!!!!!

More Pics....

Here is Gavin and Grants bathroom, I couldnt decide which theme to go with and I wanted something that would grow with them....so, beach theme seemed perfect with that PBK green! I guess you could say the Blockers have gone GREEN so to speak! LOL!!!

Here is the little nook in our entryway, as you know I have been on the hunt for the perfect bench, instead I decided to go practical and went with the storage bench! A nice place to hide all of those shoes!

G & G

Room by room...NEW PICS!!

Taking it day by day and room by room.....

We finally have room to breathe in our new open kitchen! My fave part of the house!

My attempt at a floral arrangement for our front door! Not too bad, right....