The ramblings of a rooster collecting, cowboy lovin', country girl with a little renovating and crafting thrown in too!



Saturday, February 27, 2010

Bathroom redo...extended!!

Today was the first time hubby and I were able to get back at the wallpapering in the bathroom I have been TRYING to redo for a month or more now! With him in school and both of us working besides time is limited. So today we got back to it ...or as you can see I was the assistant and he did the real work.(I hate wallpapering!) I dont know if you can see the ugly green barkerboard -like tiles showing there or not but thats what we are covering. The paper is just green with a little texture and what a huge difference it has made already.
Now....when this project started we were only papering one wall and I redid the cupboards painting them black. Minor stuff. But we liked the paper so much we decided to do the whole room even though the long term goal is to eventually tear the whole bathroom apart and re-arrange the entire thing. Since that is a few years off I needed to be able to live with how it looks now. To date the project has cost us less than $100 including a new sink that is going in as well. Okay...that was until today. Below is a pic of the tub surround and yes ladies that is a lovely(not) flower on the wall of it! Its textured and an off white color and always looks dirty. So when my hubby said gee this room is looking good with the wall paper except for the ugly tub wall I jumped at the chance to replace it.
So off to the hardware store we went to check prices because Hubby didnt want to go any further with the paper until we decided about the tub wall. Less than 10 minutes and $91 later I had a new tub surround and all the adhesive to put it on!!! WOOHOO!You have no idea how excited I am about this. When we bought this old house that bathroom almost made me say no!
Since it was late in the day we didnt start that project and probably wont until next weekend. It will be a little labor intensive and require the shower area to be dry for a day or two. So we will have to plan for that.
Needless to say there are no finished pics to show you yet but I promise lots when its all done!! Otherwise a quiet weekend just trying to do a little spring cleaning so I can move some things around. Cant wait until the weather is nice enough to get outside. Hope you have all had a great day.
Holli

Friday, February 26, 2010

Roosters,more roosters....& a few other goodies!

Happy Friday everyone! I am feeling a little better than I was the first of the week and I even have some pics to show you. I managed to consume enough chocolate to keep me going thru the week and I made a trip to my moms and spent a couple days working in the area where she was so I could justify flying the coop at home! It was nice to see her and of course we hit a couple prim shops and she also sent me home with some goodies she had collected for me! I bought these little pillow tucks all in a little bag for $4!! I couldnt resist at that price and they found a home for now. I may move them yet. That little can sits in my diningroom at the moment.


And you all know how I am with the crows and roosters. Well this little guy NEEDED to come home with me!! He has the cutest expression on his face. and cheesecloth around his neck. LOVE him!
Here he is again with my newest prim roosters rocky and henny! I havent quite decided where their home will be yet but I couldnt resist any of them.
Rocky and Henny again...on my kitchen table in front of my old wooden dough bowl. I will leave them here for now. I may display them in the bowl which is now full of my collection of old and new cookies cutters. Not that I make alot of cookies....just love the old cutters!
Mom also sent me home with all these rooster ornaments. They are just cheap little ones but she thought they might look cute in my diningroom windows. I will decide if I want to keep them or maybe someone else will have a use for them.

Lastly I have a new project to take on. I had been looking for a cabinet for on my bathroom wall. A family friend gave this one to mom. He was going to throw it out! So now I have to decide what to do with it. The bathroom I am redoing I have done the cupboards in black....do I leave this one antique white? Or do it black too?Another color? Suggestions please!! This is the inside....
And with the door closed...

Its just the perfect size for a medicine type cabinet in a small bathroom. I am excited to get it finished...and free is such a good price. I hope you all have a great friday and that the weekend brings you lots of relaxing time!
Holli







Monday, February 22, 2010

The Good,the bad and the ugly!!

Well its been an interesting few days to say the least! Friday I took my son to an open house at the university here that he is hoping to attend in September. He went with transcripts in hand and.... they accepted him on the spot with a $3500 scholarship! I am very proud of him...and if he can bring his GPA up 5 points by the end of this semester they will double that! WOOHOO! That was good news!

Then the bad news..... Sunday morning at 5am I woke up with pains in my chest and my left arm. Needless to say off to the emergency room we went. I spent the day looked to heart monitors and had a bigillion blood tests and x rays and I dont even know what else. They could find nothing. I did not have a heart attack and it didnt appear there was a blockage anywhere. It was a long stressful boring day but I guess I should be thankful they found nothing.

The ugly....oh thats me!! I am soooo cranky today I dont think I even like myself! I dont know if it was all the meds they gave me yesterday or what but Im just in a terrible mood. The hospital called and I had to go in for a stress test which I passed so again that was good,but Im still cranky...I think some chocolate is in order...ALOT of it!!

I hope everyone else is having a good day! Sorry for the pic-free post hopefully I will have some things to show you soon.

Holli

P.S. If you are in the mood to see something good....check out Debbie at Goat Creek she has some awesome purses she made for only $10!!!

Friday, February 19, 2010

And the Winner is.....

See below pics...lol...I tried adding them after and they all went out of order and are annoying me....but you all get the idea anyways!! I might have fixed it ....its late and Im tired now. thanks again everyone for joining my blog!



Aidan writing the number 12.....




Ok I know its early....but its 7am here and I just cant wait any longer!! I checked for new followers, added them to the list, got my son out of bed and asked him to randomly give me a number between one and 97 and he picked..... 12!

Ok I know there arent any pictures....should I have had him write it down?? hehe....He did! I was just in such a hurry to do this cause Im so excited I havent taken a pic to post. I will do that when we get home from work later. Oh yeah and number 12 in case you are wondering was.... hmmm should I tell you or wait til later?? Okok...It is Donna from One Simple Country girl!!! Yay Donna!

Then since everyone liked the little boxes so much I decided to give away a second set of them so I asked my hubby to pick a number and he said...... 64. That number in my list belongs to Tammy~ A Primitive Place!

Congrats to both of you! Please email me your mailing info and I will get those out to you in the next few days! jtslady@hotmail.com

Thank you to everyone who posted and followed and I am so excited to have you all as followers now! I will try to keep up with things and not bore you all too much! Pics to come a little later today!

Holli

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Last Chance!!

...... to get your name in for my giveaway!!!
Just a little reminder... giveaway draw is tomorrow!! Im so excited! I will probably do it in the morning so watch for that winning post! Thank you so much to everyone for joining my blog.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

SNOW DAY!!!

Finally we got some snow and of course it closed schools and left me home from work. I was supposed to do a trip for work today that is 2 hours away...nope not on bad roads! Im a terrible photographer and just have a cheap camera...but this is my son,Aidan and my super duper bestest friend Pearse! Yes I love my golden retriever! He also loves the snow and it was up to his belly. he will chase snowballs for as long as you will throw them.
Here he is digging for a snowball which of course has disappeared! The snow is heavy and wet and has packed down alot already. It doesnt look like we have much but I would say about 7 inches fell over night with another 2-4 expected today. The area Aidan and Pearse are in is to the side of my house and in the summer is all patio stones and gardens around the fence. It looks so barren now!
And of course Harley needed his picture taken too. Harley is an indoor cat who never goes outside. Aidan put him in the snow and he was looking at me like please get me back inside!!! It was so cute.
Well I am off to see what I can get done around here since it is an unexpected day off! I see some wallpaper in my husbands future...Im dying to finish my bathroom make over and since he is home...hmmm! Gotta keep those men busy! Hope you all have a great day. Only 2 days til I draw for my giveaway!!

Holli

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentines Day and another giveaway entry!

Valentines day is kind of special in a bittersweet way for me. This is a picture of me and my dad at my first wedding(I know but its the only one I have of me and him).

Dad would have been 70 today if he were still with us. He was a Valentines baby that left us way too early in 2001. Miss you dad!

My hubby and I went in different directions today...me to work and him on a hockey road trip with my son. We will go out to dinner another day when there is more time and money! Hope you all had a great day.

Now....since my giveaway draw is this friday I thought in honor of Valentines day I would give you an opportunity to get an extra entry. Same rules apply as in first post so all of you who have posted there who want an extra entry...tell me briefly in a comment how you met the love of your life!! Happy Valentines!

Holli

A couple make overs and THANK YOU!!

I finally got busy today and finished up a couple projects! This little box I found awhile back and today I finally got it painted black and primmed up too. I am going to put some mason jars in it and use it on my counter for tea bags and things I think. I ALMOST forgot to take a before pic...here it is partially painted.
Next project wasnt intended to be a project. I was looking for a little shelf or something for in my bathroom I am redoing. I found this one and thought it was perfect! Until I got it outside the store and realised it was blue and not black!! Again I forgot to take a before pic but here it is as I am painting it.
And the drawers that go in it......

And here they both are all finished! It looks green there but it really is black. I love it and cant wait to get that bathroom finished so I can hang it in there.
And the little box..... it will look great with the jars in it!
I also want to thank all of my new followers for joining my blog! I am overwhelmed every day to see a few more added! I will get around to each of your blogs for a little read in the next week or so. Thank you so much for joining and I wish everyone good luck in my giveaway!! The draw is friday the 19th so you still have a few days to join!




Wednesday, February 10, 2010

I love......

Cowboys! Yeah I know.....Ya'll can laugh but seriously look at that calendar!! Is he...I mean it not a work of art?? Ok I just had to get that out there...yup I love love love cowboys! My mom always tells me I was born in the wrong generation. I am enthralled with a time long ago when cowboys and their herds roamed the land. I love to do things by hand and have a garden and cook from scratch and preserve things. All things that people had to do years ago to survive but I choose to do them now. I read everything I can get my hands on about cowboys.
I love The Pioneer Woman ....such a great website. I know some of you out there own ranches and farms and this is still a way of life for you. Some days I wish I could be doing that with my very own cowboy! I like to watch how they work with their hands and horses as one. I know things have been modernized thru the years and its perhaps easier than it used to be...but one thing sure hasnt changed. And that is how dedicated they are to their animals and land and the career they chose.
Oh yes maybe there is two things that havent changed.....the second being just how dang sexy a cowboy is!!!! Yup....I love cowboys :)
P.S. Dont forget to go back a post and sign up for my giveaway if you havent already!!

Holli

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Its almost time....

....for my 1 year blogiversary!! So in keeping with blogger tradition I am going to have my very first giveaway! Ten days from today will be one year since I starting sharing all my ramblings with you. It has been a year of ups and downs and I didnt make as much progress on the house as I had hoped but I would like to thank each and every one of you for following me along the way. So on February 19th,2010 I will draw for the goodies below!

There is a set of 7 round herb boxes,6 coasters in a primitive country pattern,a cinnamon heart flavored homemade bath bomb, a pin keep tied with a purdy smelling heart,a chunky block with a star and of course chocolate!
Over the next 10 days I may add another thing or two or maybe keep it a surprise. You never know what you may find in the package since I work as a sales rep for a company that sells all kinds of girly things like purses and wallets and expensive creams and lotions!
Now for a few rules...
1. Please be a follower of my blog and feel free to join if you are not already a follower!
2.Since this is my first giveaway it will be open to anyone,anywhere as long as you are a follower!
3.You must comment on this post to be entered.
4. If you post this on your blog I will give you an extra entry!
5. Lastly...stay tuned I may decide to add items and give you extra chances to win!
Good luck everyone and thanks again for following and making my first year so much fun!
Holli

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Help a Sista out!!

As most of you know Debbie at Goat Creek (<-- Link)and I have been the best of friends for years. We call each other sisters and share all the ups and downs life has sent our way. Since Deb is trying to get a selling blog up and running I thought I would post it on my page to help her generate some interest. I have added some pics I *borrowed* from her blog of the cute salt dough ornies she is making. Arent they great??
Easter ones and spring ones,the cutest lady bug ever and she has so many other ideas as well.


Oh look there is the Easter ones again....lol

And my personal favorites...the crow and sunflowers!
Debbie will even make them to order if you have an idea you would like her to try just ask. She is a very talented lady! She hasnt posted alot of the things I have seen her make in the past and I am going to mention them so then she will have to tell you all about them! She made some great purses awhile ago and I am still carrying one around with my stitchery project and thread inside. Also some cute baby bibs and burp pads that she stitched with cute sayings. Let me see....if anyone lives close to her she is a great cook and her dream is to own a little deli/bakery/tea room....or even a bed and breakfast. Debbie does make and decorate cakes for all occassions and sells those as well.
Each of us has our own lives and lately with all that is going on around the world like Haiti and Afghanistan,etc. it makes me think more about the people around me. Lots of people have a daily struggle to keep food on the table and a roof over their head. My husband lost his job 3 years ago and ended up going back to school. I went from having it all and working when I wanted to being the main bread winner. We use our blogs as an outlet to share the good and the bad. I love losing myself in prim pics of all your homes and getting ideas for the slow process of renovating mine. I am hoping today I can help my sister get something started to supliment her income and help her to take care of herself and husband who has MS. So please pass this along to anyone who might be interested and if there is anything you need made just ask Deb...she can do it!!!
Have a great day.... and for all you football fans out there...GO COLTS!
Holli




Thursday, February 4, 2010

Will Work for Seed

Now isnt that just the cutest sign ever? We feed the birds every day here and I enjoy watching them come to the feeder by the back porch. Harley of course loves watching them and Im sure he wishes he could get outside! I found this sign at a yard sale last summer and had sort of filed it away. When I was moving things around I found it today and I think I will put it outside on the house. It will be under the covered porch so it should be ok out there and it will honor all my little feathered friends.

I hope everyone is having a great day. I have worked so much this week I am drained....I cant seem to get anything done and I am feeling a little stressed and overwhelmed right now. I should have been like this before Christmas when I was busier...but for some reason it seems to be catching up to me now. Im so disorganised and with my job I cant be like that! Plus it doesnt help at home either.

Im off to watch some tv....I just need to unwind!

Holli