Pocketful of Blue

I have wanted to make some small changes to our powder room for awhile now and I finally did it. This is how it looked before the changes - - - ( It is really hard to take pictures of a room with a mirror in it without getting yourself in the picture!) The bathroom is right off of our entry which is painted a soft blue/green (of course).  I thought the paint color looked really pretty with the green wallpaper in the powder room so I wanted to add some touches of that color to the room.  This is what I came up with. First I painted and lightly distressed this mirror that used to be in my daughter's room.   It went from this...  to this... I was able to pop off the floral piece at the top to give it a cleaner look. The harder part was removing the globs of glue that were under it! Then I used some of the same paint on the frame of this picture and did some sanding to give it a weathered look. And even added some blue to this little guy. With the

                                                    On this chilly, rainy day, I am dreaming of flowers.                                                              All of the beautiful colors and delicate petals.                                                                                                                                                            So pretty and feminine. This little girl is just so sweet - I could just scoop her up!! The nice thing about the rain is that it will bring us the flowers I'm dreaming of.....eventually! ~ ~ JoAnne                                                                                                                            All from Microsoft Images

     I have changed our family room a couple of times since we moved to this house.  I think I finally have it the way it will stay for a while (well, at least a little while : ).      This is what it looked like when we were looking at the house:   After we moved in I painted the walls a yellow/gold color and used the furniture we already had. The light colored furniture was very hard to keep clean with a family so we eventually replaced it with a brown leather sofa and loveseat.  It took a long time to decide on a wall color but I finally chose a soft aqua blue and I also painted the fireplace white.  I would still like to get rid of the funky little ledges on the fireplace and add a mantle.   With the leather furniture, I wanted to create kind of a cozy cottage/cabin look.  What do you think?  I would love to hear your comments or suggestions on anything I could change or add to give it more of that feeling.  I really appreciat

                Sometimes I think we tend to forget the importance of our role as women, wives, and mothers.  I know I do.  Every once in a while I stop and remember that I am "the glue" that holds my family together.  I am the one who holds it all together and keeps everything running smoothly ( we all know that everything would just fall apart if we were gone for even 1 day - right?).  And just as importantly, I am the emotional "glue" of the family.   Of course my hubby is just as important but he would be the first to admit that if things are not okay with "Mom" then things are not okay!  When I do think about it, I get such a good feeling inside because being a wife and mother is the most important thing in the world to me.   I think this is true of all of us women and we tend to underestimate our value and importance.            Think about it - it makes all the cleaning up messes, cooking meals, etc., etc., etc. - worth every minute! Have a w

     Hi Everyone - I'd like to show you a few up close pictures from our kitchen.  One of my most favorite things to do is accessorize and make things look pretty - or at least try to.  So here are a few of my favorites from our kitchen: I keep vitamins and such in the little tin                                            Love the sweet little girl on this label                                  Our kitty has his own little spot  ~ ~ ~      Because he is of course . . .      Here's the little guy now ! ! !      Bon Appetit! Thanks so much for stopping by! JoAnne                                                                 

We had our kitchen remodeled about a year after we moved in. It had not been updated other than some cosmetic changes since the house was built in 1959.   We used our basement laundry room as a make shift kitchen and ate our share of sawdust during that time but it sure was worth it. We've been loving it ever since. Take a look! Here is the before - YIKES! after everything has been torn out And after - YEAH! this is from the same angle as the first "before" photo from the opposite angle the wall opposite the stove      The kitchen is at the front of the house with a lot of windows.  It's really nice to be able to see everything that is going on and it's easy to watch for the school bus in the mornings.      Let me know what you think.  I chose everything myself so you can imagine the anxiety and nail biting that was done hoping it would all come together.  **I would LOVE to hear from!**  Yo

    ********************************************************************************          What happens when a girl from Southern Ohio marries a boy from Pittsburgh???       I grew up in a family of girls in a small town and never followed football.  Even my very small high school did not have a football   team.  It was like a foreign language to me. Then along comes this guy from Pittsburgh and of course he is all about the Pittsburgh Steelers - no surprise there!  Very slowly I started learning about football - I think it just started seeping into my head without me even knowing.  Then by the time our son was about 5 or 6, he was all about football. Must be in his blood.  That drew me into the game even more. The nice thing was, I could ask my son questions that I would feel stupid or silly asking an adult!      Almost 20 years later, I can say I am a full fledged Steelers Fan.  As my MIL put it, "I knew we would get to you eventually"!      So needless to say,