It's The "REAL" Kitchen Bar

In December I started a designated bar area in our house.  During the holidays it's always necessary to have an easy access area to locate your adult beverages.  It is a work in progress, and almost done, minus the wine cooler.   Here it is so far! 

This was our kitchen desk area!  It is directly across from the office which is located off the kitchen.  So it is never used as a desk, previously only as a catch all for junk!

While clearing all the clutter, I decided I would set up the bar here for the holidays!  Why not?  It's in a very central location in our kitchen.  I also noticed the size of the space for our desk chair is about the same size as a wine cooler.  Well, after searching around, I found out the size is wide enough but just a bit short.  I am thinking we will need to raise the desk top some and loose the drawer.  The Mr. just mentioned last night perhaps we may only need to loose the drawer, so as I said it's still a work in progress, but a very exciting one none the less.  Stay tuned for that part, it may be a bit longer on that, but will be worth the wait!

Meanwhile, last week had me stopping by Goodwill to see what I could find and I came across this for $1.50.  I snapped it right up! Wasn't crazy about the silver metal look, but I knew I would paint it and use it at various times and could add floral or ribbons and such to spruce it up.

So, I sanded it a bit and spray painted it white!  Turned out pretty good!  Question was, did I really want to stick it in a cabinet to wait on company?  No!  I left it sitting on the "bar" and then it hit me, why not a bar caddy?

 So, I pulled out a few of my bar extras and then added a few more, like these stirrers from the dollar tree!  Too cute!  I even remembered the wine markers I had, a gift from my sister in law a few years ago.  They make the perfect jewelry for the caddy while waiting on a glass.  Don't you think?

Well, this finally got my husband inspired enough to hang the acrylic wine rack I bought a month or so ago from Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Trouble was we had a light under the cabinet that was holding us back until I noticed we had enough room to shift it over and still hang the rack.  So, he got right to it!  Now I get to keep my everyday wine glasses secured and within easy reach.  I'm lovin it!

 Eventually, I hope to add the perfect ice bucket when I find it.  And I suppose some more liquor wouldn't be a bad idea either. 

 Since I'm a wine and beer girl, I  really don't drink much liquor, so I'm not even sure what all I should keep on hand here, and what is essential.  Feel free to leave a comment on that one too! Whew, it's late!  Time for a nightcap, thanks for dropping by!

I'm joining the following parties below, be sure and check more fun blogs at:
http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/ for Tabletop Tuesday
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/ for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
http://www.reinventedkb.com/ for Trash to Treasure Reinvented

As always I love to hear from you, leave me a comment if you please!

Bench Buddy

Just a few changes this past week.  They are small but go along way in getting towards where I wanna be!   It all started when I saw these bench's in the Ballard's Catalog!  Nice Right???

 I love this bench, but I am not about to pay that amount of money for a bench when I knew I would come across something eventually that fit the bill.   These little bench's have a variety of uses and that's the appeal to me!   Worse comes to worse and I would beg the Mr. to make one and I'd ONLY have to listen to him complain about it the whole time.  But, that didn't happen because I found this one!

 I purchased this little bench some time ago from a consignment store for about $18.00.  Again, the Mr. thought it was absurd, but I loved this bench and had been looking for one for some time.  As I've showed you in a previous post it really comes in handy for keeping my laptop and favorite book handy next to my best chair.

 Anyway, while I have loved this bench, I did not love the stained finish.  I wanted a black bench!  Finally after a year or two of procrastinating here is my transformed little bench!  How do you like me now???

I think it's pretty sweet now!  It even already had a built in distressed look!  LOL!

That's it for today folks! One down, a zillion to go!  How about you? 

 Have you ever gotten on on the bench kick too?  They really are great little things to have around and are so easily available in all shapes and sizes to fit any space.

I am linking up for Met Monday today, please check out more wonderful transformations here:

                                     http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Leave me a note if you stop by, love to hear from ya!

Need Technical Blogging Advice

So today I switched to a new template.  I am using Minima Stretch but am having a very difficult time getting my collage pic to (fit to size) in the header.  It is either too small if I choose shrink to fit and too large if I don't shrink to fit.


I am using Picasa and cannot figure out how to shrink original photo to appropriate size, any advice would be greatly appreciated.  I would like for my collage photo to fit in my header parameters.  If anyone else out there has switched to this template and knows how to make your photos fit this header size, please let me know how.  I'm hoping to stay w/this template as I really love larger photos!  Please help.

Thanks for your help!

Blooming Bird Feeder

Yesterday I learned of a special friends husbands passing.  He and she are both near and dear to my heart because of their simple and strong examples of faith.  My friend is outstanding in her service to our community to the less fortunate.  He was a leader of youth and service in his church.  They shared a love that was genuine and pure and evident to all.  Their love for each other was only rivaled by their love and commitment to Jesus!  In September of 2009 he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and after a hard fought battle, the lord took him home on April 28, 2010.


I am sharing this with you because I cannot write today w/out writing what is on my mind and heart.   Like me,  they also shared a love of birds!  She and I had many talks about how they loved to sit on their porch together and watch the birds.   One of her many favorite scriptures is posted on my blog.   She is a spiritual mentor to many and myself as well.   We have discussed this scripture, from Matthew 6:26, about how God provides.

I believe God uses all of us to provide in many ways!  So, today in honor of my friend and the loss of her dear sweet husband I am sharing my latest bird feeder.  In my last post I mentioned I wasn't quite finished with my outdoor vignette.  Well the truth was, I thought something needed to sit on the little chair.  I had been thinking of potted plant or a lovely teacup feeder as our blogging  friend Debbie showed us here.

http://debbie-debbiedoos.blogspot.com/

 

But then I was out and about this week and came across this at T.J. Maxx for $1.50.  Don't you know the wheels started spinning in my head as I gazed at this, I'd bet lots of you would have done the same.  Yes, this is a potted plant with a metal flower that has lost it's bloom!

Luckily, I remember I had something here at home that would work perfectly with this.  I've had this candle holder for some time and used it outside quite a bit as you can see it was starting to loose it's luster.   Trouble was how to get it to adhere w/out putting a whole in it and risk breaking the glass.

Then while rummaging in the drawer to retrieve this old candle holder I came across this old lid from a jar candle that I no longer have.  I picked it up and was thrilled to see it was just the size I needed to make a perfect base for the glass.

So I got out my husbands tools, shhh, don't tell him and tapped a whole in the top and attached to the top of my metal flower with some crazy glue.  Then I pulled out my craft paints and added some iridescent green to the leaves and stem and the jar lid.

Then after lightly painting a little white on the pot I glued the glass on the top w/the crazy glue.

And there it stands, ready for the finishing touch.

And for the final touch, I moved this little metal flower that has regained it's bloom plus a whole lot more.  I added a little bird seed and it was done!

It now serves a purpose as a new bird feeder in my yard and has claimed it's spot beautifully in my outdoor vignette.  Isn't it just the sweetest flower ever?  I love it!

I hope you will forgive me for arriving a little late to the parties, but real life has it's priorities.

  I am linking with the following parties today, please see these sites for more great finds.

http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/ for Frugal Friday

http://decormamma.blogspot.com/ for Frugalicious Friday

Thanks for sharing my world and let me know you stopped by.

Have a great weekend everybody!

It's Curb Appealing!

Improving the curb appeal of my front entrance has been quite a job!  It started several months back with the removal of several very large shrubs in the front of my house. This is how our entrance looked last summer.   I really don't know what these shrubs are but they are some of the hardiest shrubs ever!

 They continue to grow like crazy and require regular clippings  all year long to keep them from totally blocking the front porch.  Please note how tall they have to get to do that.  It's Amazing!  They also have small peculiar smelling blooms that are not the most appealing to me.  It's always hard for me to remove a thriving plant, but with a little help from my DH we finally did it. 

We removed just enough on each side to add several of my favorite shrubs, Gardenias!  Can you imagine just how wonderful this will be when these babies are blooming?  I can!  I have several in my backyard already and had them all around our other house.  There is nothing sweeter then Gardenia's in bloom!

With the removal of those very large shrubs my poor little bird bath needed some company.  I found this sweet little wrought iron chair at Tuesday Morning, then the Foxglove and the Coreopsis at Walmart. 

  All this blogging has me thinking vignettes everywhere.  So this is my lovely little outdoor vignette.  I think I want to add something more and am working on that, stay tuned.

 There are two very large light purple lantana that will fill in nicely before too long on each side of the steps but you will have to wait on those also.  Every year they come back even larger then before.

I also moved around these pots from the back deck with the ones I had here previously.  My larger clay pots eventually gave way to chipping so I retired them to backyard and moved these forward.  I just love the bright pink and orange geraniums!

And finally one more thing you will have to come back for, these lovely window box planters.

  I found these at Tuesday Morning also, but they only had one in this size so I am still waiting to see if another one turns up.  I really hope so since they are the size and shape I prefer.  We have (3) Tuesday Morning's here w/in easy driving distance for me so I know I find another eventually with a little patience.  I plan to hang these on the railing on each side of the stairs, here.

Did you notice I have these lovely PVC railings that pose a dilemma?  Ordinary planter brackets are not going to work here.  I do have a solution I am saving for later.  However,  I would love to hear your solution ideas or if you know of an inexpensive supplier of PVC planter brackets if there is such a thing.

Well, that's a sneak peek into the makeover of my front entrance.  I'm not all there yet but a whole lot closer and I am loving it.  I am almost ready to move on to the front porch.  Come back for that one too, K?

Leave me a message if you please, I love hearing from you!

I am linking with the following parties today, please go by these sites for more wonderful stories and pics!

http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ for Outdoor Wednesday

http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/ for Ready,set, Vignette

http://alwaysnesting.blogspot.com/ for Woohoo Wednesday

Foyer Vignette Update

Hi!  Yes, I am a little obsessed with perfecting this space.  Sometimes a picture is what you need to see balance a little better.  I kept thinking I love those Hydrangeas there, but they really need to be a bit bigger.  Well, while I'm contemplating getting a larger Hydrangea display I did a little swap-a-roo!  I moved my vase of Iris's off the table in den and added a few more.

Wow!  What a difference that makes to me!  I am much more satisfied with this. 

What do you think? Much better, huh?  And don't worry I just moved the smaller hydrangeas here.

  Sorry, Marty!  Not sure if I should be re-entering again today but sometime inspiration hits a little late. 

Also I had a request to see my stairwell stenciling so I've decided to share that today and join another party too.   Of course that would be the Nifty Thrifty party because I did this because I was being thrifty.

My stairway is pretty as it was but has a very simple design.  I love all types of moulding and had considered adding decorative wood trim but didn't want to pay for what I would love to do.  Sometimes, you have to prioritize your projects with your budget.  This just was not high on my spending list.  So I actually stamped these out on the wood with paint to get the look I wanted.

As you can see I am not very picky and didn't worry with getting thick coverage.   I wanted a subtle look so I chose a neutral beige color and stamped away.  I am very happy with the outcome and since I already had the stamp and paint on hand it didn't cost me a dime.

I think it adds just that little bit extra surprise that grabs your attention and makes you smile.  Hope you like the changes and updated blog, man, am I on a roll.  I've been drinking lots of water today from our blog friend Liz's suggestion here @  http://lizssavvyseasons.blogspot.com/ .  I've also added drops of lemon to help rev up the metabolism and it seems to be working.  I am getting so much done today!  Linking up with Marty again, and with Linda today as well at the following;

http://astrollthrulife.blogspot.com/
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/



Well, gotta go, the screen porch needs cleaning again.  The oak pollen is still high around here and leaving me with another mess.  Have a great day!  Thanks for stopping by AGAIN!  :))