Stairs and blinds...

Well, it's been cold here. REALLY, REALLY cold. 5 degrees on Friday morning. I'm ready for Spring! Needless to say, I don't feel we've been very productive the last couple of weekends...much more interested in hibernating. But, I do have a couple of shots below to show that we've done a LITTLE work.

Here are the stairs (going from the mudroom up to the kitchen) that have been unfinished since last Summer. This project did actually take quite some time---I helped with the mitre saw and we had to get exact cuts to make the handrail fit just right. More work than one would think!

Drilling the holes for the spindles.

And, the finished product! Well, a bit of touch up paint and staining, and finishing out the back of the stairs. But, at least we now have a rail!

And, here was the most rewarding project of the weekend---these are the curtains that have hung in our bathroom since we moved in. They look like old sheets with these tacky flower holders on top. Seriously, I'd like to burn these in the backyard. UGH! So, this is the before...

And, here's the after! YEA! We put up the same blinds that we now have in the guestroom and downstairs bathroom. Oh so much better! It's the little things that make me happy. :)

For Trey...

No, I didn't take this picture of my husband's rear for the blog. This was a special request posting by Brooke for his friend Trey. He wants to make sure Trey knows that he's working ALL Winter to get into shape for Springtime cycling. So, from Brooke, here ya go Trey!

La-Z-Boy

Happy New Year, everyone! Is this really the beginning of the end? I've let my husband buy a RECLINER! We needed another chair in our living room and both agreed that a nice leather chair would be great. I did concede a recliner, as long as it looked modern and not like a puffy-armed, oversized monster with a cup holder and magazine flap. Granted, I'm sure those are extremely convienent and comfy, it's just not my taste. So, after looking for several months, we actually really did find one at the La-Z-Boy store. Fantastic deal and just what we wanted.

Here's Brooke in the new chair...doing what guys do best!

And, an up-close of the new purchase. Not too bad for a recliner, huh? Oh, and we finally hung the prints above the chair...only a year and a half after moving, but hey, it got done! :)

And, the other project this weekend was FINALLY getting the chandelier hung in the breakfast room. I purchased this chandelier at the Ballard Designs Outlet store in Atlanta...probably 6 months ago! It just hadn't been a project that we'd gotten done. It retails for $140, got it for $60. Great deals if you have the time to get there. Above is the old chandelier.

And, here's the new one. I might get one of those chandelier chain covers for the chain, just haven't decided yet.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

Joy to you and yours!

Ladies luncheon

Mom and Grandmother came into town Friday afternoon and I had a small luncheon at our house on Saturday with some great old friends and family. As most of you know, Grandmother grew up in Chattanooga and graduated high school (GPS) here. She's still close with her very best friend from high school, Sara Lee. So, we had Sara Lee, Aunt Kitty, and one of Mom's "summer friends," Ann up for lunch. It was a nice gathering and I think everyone enjoyed the visit!
I wasn't so good taking pictures once everyone arrived, but here's a picture before the luncheon with Grandmother.

And, the table. I had fun with the floral ring around the Christmas tree. I put it on a cake stand and then just filled it in with greenery and roses.

A more up close shot of the flowers.

And, looking down...

And, for place settings, I decorated cookies with their initials. Of course, drawing on cookies is much more difficult than it seems. I have a new respect for cookie decorators! :)

a bit of Christmas decor...

Well, I'm finally finished decorating (almost!). We're done with the guestroom paint and have hung blinds in there (thanks, Brooke!), but I'll have to take the "after" pics when the room gets back in order. For now, I thought I'd post a few shots of our Christmas decorations. EBTS came out a bit today. For my friends that might not know about EBTS, it stands for "Everything but the Silver." One day I'd love to have my own business---doing tabletop decor for small parties and gatherings. I love setting a table and as all of you know, I love decorating in general. I'm having some of my Grandmother's friends over for lunch next Saturday, so I'll have to take some more pictures before the luncheon. I've got a few ideas ready for the centerpiece.

Here's my gold "stick tree." I bought a terracotta pot and sprayed it gold, and then gathered limbs from the yard, spraying them gold, also. I found these cute mini ornaments at Hobby Lobby and hung them on the branches. Easy to do! The hardest part was finding the coral ribbon. I still didn't find an exact match, so it's now my mission to find the perfect coral ribbon for that room!

A bit more up close.

And, here's our front door wreath. It's not exactly the best picture in the dark, but it's just an evergreen wreath with ribbons and then a bell (cheap plastic bell from Wal-Mart) that I covered with reindeer moss. Gotta love glue guns!

Here's a better shot of the reindeer moss bell. I also made another one that I've hung on our mailbox.

And, here's the manger scene that I decided to place in my rice bowl this year. I really like how it looks in there.

This is a very fuzzy shot of the tree, but there it is! We moved it this year to this corner and I like its new spot.

And, the mantle. I still have some more work to do on this, but it's Saturday night and I'm stopping! Notice the new shades for the lamps. They FINALLY came in after a month of waiting! I ordered them from this custom lampshade shop that can do any style, size, and fabric. I think the black shades look good.

And, sadly, the last item from Stray Dog for this year (because the warehouse sale is over!). I got this paper maiche mirror frame from them for $15. I can buy a mirror at a wholesale mirror place here in town for $20. The price on the Stray Dog site: $450! I think this mirror will go over the sink in the downstairs bathroom once we renovate it.