dreamy white christmas...

I know many of you are not from the Midwest, so probably miss out on seeing one of my favorite magazines...Midwest Living.

I cannot tell you how crazy I am about this magazine!! It has everything I love. Gorgeous home photos, yummy midwest comfort-food recipes and some of the greatest travel info for long weekends and day trips I have every seen between the pages of a magazine!

This month featured a home in Kansas that I find to be amazing...so I had to share.



Deserae & Derek renovated this 1870s schoolhouse with their own hands...isn't that awesome!?

The armoire stopped me in my tracks. I have one very similar to this in my warehouse. Hmmm..I feel a project coming on!

* sigh *

It is just so beautiful.

Deserae found it on Craigslist and painted it herself!

LOVE the flocked tree! I never thought I would, to be honest. But I have to admit, this one is fantastic, and fits the personality of this home perfectly!

Those gorgeous hardwood floors were salvaged from the gym in an old school.

I can totally relate since I just spent a lot of time (and got a lot of slivers) salvaging the wide-planked oak floors out of an old barn. So much work to do get the job done, but they look so amazing when given new life!

Loving those urns...and that mirror...is gorgeous, isn't it??

I am soooo wrapping a few gifts this way...simple and so beautiful!

I love how the accesories and not traditional Christmas colors. They are so subtle and soft with an element of nature.

Heeelllo gorgeous grandfather clock!! Would you like to come home with me?? I have the perfect spot for you!

And I leave you with the kitchen.

Isn't it beautiful??

Can you believe the cabinets were a Craigslist find they fitted and painted themselves??

I love the power of DIY.

So there you have it girls, a little slice of the Midwest.

In all its beauty.

I am feeling a little inspired, how about you??

wishing you....

A warm, cozy and happy Thanksgiving!

 I am off to spend a little time with the chickens and the horses at my brother's farm in Wisconsin! (Oh yes, and family, too!) I know I have been scarce this last week, but I have been a busy bee getting things photographed for my Etsy shop and completing a little project in my sunroom. I somehow came up with this crazy idea to turn an unused doorway into a built-in bookcase! Its almost done, but time for projects is so rare around here these days, so I have to squeeze it in when I can!

So here's to a day of eating too much, laughing too much and just good old fashioned relaxing!

Have a wonderful day, and if you are traveling...be safe and stay warm!



faded plains...and the PB giveaway winner!!

One of my very favorite friends is having a giveaway this week!

Andrea, from Faded Plains

One lucky reader is going to take home a soft & cozy scarf made with lots of love by Miss Faded Plains herself! Isn't that the best gift ever...to keep a friend warm on the coldest of winter days??

This year, she is making her Christmas a 'handmade christmas'....and she has inspired me to do the same! By the time I was done talking to her the other day, she had inspired plans for me to make my sisters-in-law gifts this year. Isn't that a fantastic idea? It really brings you back to the spirit of giving, and I know they are going to love something handmade so much more than anything else I could buy them.

But, I know not all of us are crafty, or we just simply don't have the time to make the things we love so I am going to mention this, too. Shhhhh....I didn't tell Andrea I was going to pass this on to you guys...but she has an Etsy shop AND a website that is worth telling the world about! If you, or someone you love, LOVES vintage...you just have to see her shops. They are AMAZING!!

So, if you have not done it yet...pop over to Andrea's blog...get your name in her giveaway and take a little peek at her Etsy shop and website while you are there!

Oh, and I am sure everyone is wondering who the lucky winner of the $50 Pottery Barn giftcard giveaway was. So, without further adieu...

CONGRATULATIONS, DENISE...from PINK POSTCARD!

Email me, Denise! And get out your Pottery Barn catalog and start circling things!

THANK YOU to everyone that entered! 840 comments...I seriously could not believe it! I wish I had a giftcard to give to each and every one of you! Thank you for taking time out of your life to visit my little blog even when I am not having a giveaway and I am rambling on about daily life! It means so much...you have no idea!

Happy Weekend, everyone!

woohoo!!...it's POTTERY BARN giveaway time!

Ok, ok so I know I just did a Pottery Barn gift card giveaway a few months ago...but my hubs says I like to repeat myself..a lot...so I say lets do it again, shall we???

'Tis the season for nesting...making our homes cozy and organized...happy and warm and so much of my inspiration comes from one of my very favorite stores..Pottery Barn. 

If you have been reading my recent posts, you know last week was a little stressful for me. My Mom had surgery, and when I need to escape the hospital for a while I would go to my "happy place"...aka...the mall. I just need to get lost in "ideas" sometimes to clear my head. (Does that make any sense at all??) So, I would march through that mall entrance and straight to the wing with the Pottery Barn store.

I just love to soak it all in. The fabrics, the books, the displays...oh, and especially the furniture. I draw a lot of inspiration for my works from their beautiful pieces. Currently, I am obsessed with the lockers below...

 (a set of these are being constructed in my studio, as I type this. I am sooo stinkin' excited! Thank you, hubs!)

I admit, I am a handmade...vintage-loving....junk-hunting...build and paint my own furniture...kind of girl, but who doesn't love a little PB in their life??? So many great ideas and inspirations...I get lost in their stores and catalogs for hours!

So to say "thank you" to Pottery Barn for bringing me a little bit of 'happy' last week when I need it most...I am going to give one lucky reader a little bit of 'happy', too!

A $50 gift card to POTTERY BARN!

Here's what you gotta do to get your name in...I'll even give you a chance for extra credit, too!

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. For a second entry, become a follower of my blog. (leave me a separate comment telling me you did.)

3. For a third entry, spread the love and blog about my giveaway or post it on your sidebar! (leave me a separate comment letting me know you did!)

Giveaway will close at midnight (central time zone) on Thursday Nov. 18th. Winner will be announced on Friday morning!

Good luck...and happy shopping!

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED.

thank you...thank you...THANK YOU!!



Whew! What a week it has been! I have to start this post off saying THANK YOU as loud as I can to all of my wonderful blog friends out there. I know all of your well-wishes and prayers for my sweet Mom helped her get through a tough time after her surgery.

I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me that so many of you left well-wishes for her last week. I just know a 'certain someone' was listening...because she is home. And happy. And on her way to recovery. That, my friends, makes me a happy girl!

We had a scary couple of days right after the surgery, but thankfully all turned out ok thanks to the all her wonderful doctors and nurses. I think I may have a few more gray hairs but things like this really put life in perspective and as strange as it may sound, I think a little reality check like this may be good for a person now and then. I need a little reminder now and then of how quickly time goes by.

(via Country Living)

So today, I am focused. I am going to accomplish some things on my to-do list. I think its going to go something like this.

- Finish painting a white nightstand for a client.

- Finish a black buffet for a client.

- Finish a black bookshelf for a client.

- Finish a white wall mirror for a client.

(...do you see a trend here?? I am a little behind.)

- Deliver said nightstand, bookshelf and mirror.

- Photograph some more things so I can FINALLY get my Etsy shop open for the season.

- Clean bathrooms.

- Do laundry.

- Figure out what the heck is for dinner.

- Finish building out the bookcase we are installing where a doorway used to be.

- Start priming said bookcase.

- Take my auction finds from the weekend to my warehouse.

- Catch up on all my favorite blogs.

- Finalize details for a giveaway I am going to host this week.

- Breathe.


Happy Monday, all. I am off to get to work! This is what my 'to-do' list looks like every day. It explains the lack of before-and-after photos and the fact that I am yet to get my online selling underway now that show season is over. But, I am working that way...slowly!

And did you catch the part about the giveaway?? Coming this week, so don't miss it! 

Speaking of giveaways...have you seen what Jen Rizzo's blog today? Her new Etsy shop...Found and Made is open and stocked with some of the most gorgeous handmade items I have ever seen! Check it out! She is having a giveaway, too! Go on...click over and take a peek!