I am embarrassed to say that I have been very sick

AGAIN!

I don't know what the deal is. 

I haven't really been sick for the last couple years.

And I actually bragged about it to my husband,

who has been sick more than usual the past couple years.

Well that will teach me to shut my big mouth.

I actually had to visit the doctor and he said 

it was probably to late for a flu shot,

seeing as I've already had 

all that there is out there to catch!

Ugh!

Enough about that!

Over the summer I was on the hunt for an arbor!

I looked everywhere and I found

"A Rustic Garden"! 

Click HERE to see for yourself!

They also have a blog HERE!

It's located in Mt. Sterling Illinois.

Which sadly is a little far from my home.

But....you can order online! Yay!

 I love it!

I planted bittersweet vine on both sides and

hopefully it will look great by next summer!

I spent a very long time looking at their website!

I have already stored up a few ideas that I might use!

I am thinking that I might put my main Christmas tree in a urn! 

(Now this is a little too country looking for me but I could come up 

with  a urn and a tree that would go with my style!)

Think about it, 

the tree would be up off the floor and you could put

all kinds of wonderfully wrapped gifts underneath! 

Since moving to the new house I could use a taller tree so

putting it in a urn might solve that problem too!

I already have a smaller tree in a urn 

but putting my main tree in a urn had never dawned on me.

So...if you get a chance check them out!

On the mend,

Bittersweetness!!

It's fall and it's BITTERSWEET time!

Now... if you are older you know what I speak of.

But if you are younger you probably don't have a clue.

Bittersweet is a wonderful vine that

produces these bright orange berries!

They are perfect for decorating for fall.

Most years my mom brings me some.

But this year my daughter and I got to go to her secret hiding place.

Several years ago my mom came across

all kinds of bittersweet growing along a farmers fence.

And it's TOP SECRET!

But... I'll let you have a glimpse of our perfect bittersweet day! 

Look at all this lovely bittersweet!

Even my step-dad got in on the fun!

The key to picking bittersweet is to get it at just the right time!

The berries should be very bright orange and 

the leaves still green not dried out and brown.

Perfect!

We packed the car to the top!

And off we went!

The only problem with packing your car 

with a bunch of vines are the BUGS!

OMG!

We had all kinds of bugs crawling and buzzing around in the car!

But...

 we persevered and we even saw all kinds of "wildlife"

on our buggy drive home!


And...my daughter thought she would capture it for all of you!!

~Horse~

~Sheep~

~Jack Ass~

{Really!}

Wild Turkey's

{Ugly!}

And even Bambi!!!

How about it? 

We saw all of these guys on Bittersweet Day!

Once we got home MaryKate and I went to work 

cleaning all the leaves off the bittersweet.

Then after a couple days the bright orange berries POP!

Seriously....they pop open!

And then....

you go to town and splash some bittersweet 

where ever you need a little hint of Fall!

Bittersweetness ~ Don't ya think?

 

Another Project Down ~ A Million More to GO!

Before I show you what I am up to now!

I just want to ask you if you can smell it!

Photo found here!

Not the apples so much but the smell of Fall!

This is my most favorite season of the year!

Our leaves are starting to fall and the nights are getting cooler.

Who doesn't love to put on a pair of sneakers and a hoodie!

Are you as excited as I am about this change of season?

 Now.....

here's what I am up to!

Remember waaaaay back when I showed you this 

awesome slate chalkboard from Viva Terra?  

For $175 big ones!

Click

Here 

to see my old post!

Well.... I finally got around to making my own!

Here's how it went down!  

1. I bought a 4ft.x4ft. piece of board. 

It was smooth on one side and rough on the other.

2. Then my step-dad cut the board to match

the measurements of the model.

He was able to cut 4 regular size.

And he cut one a little bigger because 

he thought the model was to narrow.

It drove him nuts that they were so narrow.

But... that's the thing I liked about this chalkboard. 

Although.... I must admit  the larger one looks really cool too! 

Thanks John!

3. We decided that it needed a little stabilization.

So I cut smaller pieces to go across

the back at the top and bottom.

I then glued them to the back and 

used clamps to hold them in place.

4. My step-dad also cut two pieces of trim 

that I then glued together.

I off set them so that they would make a lip.

A lip so the chalk wouldn't roll off!

Then I stained them the color I liked!

 5. Next....it was time for the paint.

I used some chalk board paint and rolled on 3 coats of paint!

6. Time to attach the trim to the front.

I drilled a couple holes and 

attached the trim for the chalk.

7. Lastly I needed a way to hang them.

So I attached these circle type hangers to the back.

The wood we used to stabilize them with

came in handy to attach the hangers to!

So... for about $20 I have 5 wonderful chalk boards.

 They may not be slate, but they do the trick.

I know...I know...

you are wondering what does a girl do with 5 chalkboards?

I have the perfect spot for one of them. 

My daughter would love one for her future apartment.

And the rest will make a great gift for someone. 

Graduation, shower, birthday, housewarming......

and the list goes on!

It only took me 7 months to finish this project!!

So many ideas ~ So little time!

 Have a great middle of the week day!

Just a Peek!

Hello everyone, I've missed you!

But... have been busy enjoying my break!!

Thought I'd give you a peek of one of the little projects I've been working on!

If you have even been to my house you have probably noticed this in my kitchen.

I have had this little Longaberger recipe basket for forever.

 And it's bursting at the seams.

So I bought this:

And some refill protectors.
And got to work....

Then....
I ran out of space and had to buy a 2nd one.

 Then more protectors...

And yesterday.....
I had to buy a 3rd book and even more protectors!
Who knew I had so many recipes!

I also have tons of recipe books, that I would like to 
copy my favorite recipes and put into my new recipe binders!

(These are just a few of my favs!)

I like this new recipe binder for several reasons.
It has wonderful big 5x7 cards.
And protectors for 5x7's.

Which... I took my old recipes and just inserted them.

Someday I plan to re-write them on the new cards.
(That will be  a great winter project!)

I can also put all my full page recipes in a full page protector.

I love to look up new recipes online.
The best part of online recipes is that other people have already tried them out.
And many write reviews so I don't waste my time on a not-so-good recipe!
I have tons of good one!!

And how about the inside covers!

Measurements, Terms & Techniques
and even Substitutions!

 How helpful is this!

The only thing that I wasn't crazy about was the dividers! 

The categories didn't match up with my old recipe box.

And...they where really hard for these "old" eyes to see.

So I grab my trusty label maker and made new easier to read labels!

And....
as with most of my projects it seemed to 
grow into more than I expected.

But I love my new organized recipe binders!

They grew in to a series ~ I now have
Vol. I ~ Vol. II and Vol. III
Crazy Huh?

Well I best get going...

My guy is taking vacation this week so we are off and running!

Hugs,