Wednesday, January 28, 2009

~Where I Blog~

O.k. I am joining in on the fun! It has been so great to see where everyone blogs from! So I thought I would share too. I am a little different because I don't have a certain room that I blog in all the time. My motto is "have laptop will travel". I almost have to be mobile while I am on my computer. There are so many distractions and kiddos that need my attention, I very rarely get to sit down and write a blog all in one block of time! Although if any of you read my very first post I am a night owl! I love night time, always have, always will! This is when I get most of my work done whether it be laundry, unloading the dishwasher etc. or blogging & reading blogs while I watched my favorite shows that I have on my DVR. The first picture is of my kitchen which in my most recent previous post you have all seen. But I stuck my laptop on the counter for the full effect. I have to be honest, I don't blog here as often as I blog in my next spot...............


Yes it is here on my sectional! I sit in this cozy corner spot with my blanket (all folded up neatly just for the picture) and blog away! I am pretty sure my husband would say that my laptop is permently attatched to my lap since I started blogging. He is about ready to buy me some sort of device that I can strap on to my body (sort of like a fanny pack for my computer)...I say sounds great. Just make sure it has some sort of cup holder and maybe a snack pouch and I am good to go! :) Blogging has been so fun. "Meeting" new wonderful people, getting fantastic tips, tricks and ideas. And all of the talented people I have come across that make so many great things! Who wouldn't want to blog!? It's been a great experience for me that's for sure!

Other places I have blogged in my house......standing up in my kitchen while dinner is cooking, in the hallway yes I said hallway.....in my bed all cozied up listening to the wind howl......in the basement on that sectional (hey I'm not picky either sectional works for me).......hmmm I think that's it. I have also become quite addicted to taking pictures of everything just in case it may end up in one of my blogs. The night I took a picture of our dessert my family just giggled! Oh well...I'm having a blast!

In my case thank goodness for wireless routers! Makes you all wonder where I will be when I make my next post doesn't it?? Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A Few Pictures Of My Kitchen

Hello everyone! Whew.... I/We have been busy trying to put this house back together and get organized. Therefore I've been a little absent from blog land! Well absent from writing my own blogs that is...I sure find time to read everyone else's wonderful blogs! There is still much work to be done, but isn't there always!? This last weekend we did dig into our storage room in the basement. Hubby bought a new big industrial strength shelf (one that Tim The Tool Man Taylor Would Be Proud Of) and we got everything organized and put back where it belongs! Big job done! My main project was my kitchen. After I got all of my "new" antique goodies I made it a priority to get that room done. As you can all see I love resin/wood and I love jar lights! Other things I have come to love...kitchen scales, rolling pins and crocks! Future projects for our kitchen include cabinet drawer/door pulls, I think we are going to go with a distressed iron. And in the distant future flooring will be a major decision. I want a wood floor but I am worried it will be too much wood in one room ...so wondering about tile. But want I really want is wood or laminate....see it is going to be a big decision! I wish I could invite you all over for a hot cup of coffee or in my case hot chocolate. I love the smell of coffee but just can't drink it. I want to thank you all for stopping by my blog, I am making so many new friends and it is wonderful! Until next time. Take care. ~Sarah~

Here is a link to my Webshots page if you want to see more photos~~ http://community.webshots.com/user/deeb5





























Monday, January 19, 2009

So.....How Did I Do?

Happy Monday all! My weekend was productive and fun! My friend and I went out this past weekend for lunch and some shopping for our birthdays! We started out at our normal stores.....then I mentioned that I wanted to go somewhere to find some rolling pins, cutting boards and some crocks for my kitchen! And boy did we ever! We had the BEST time together! I cannot tell you how fun it was to go browsing through rows and rows and rows of antique items! The memories that it brought back were incredible. I saw things that my parents had and have and I saw things that my Grandma and Grandpa's had AND I saw toys that I played with when I was little! It was like stepping back in time!



Most of you are probably very familiar with antique shopping and you are most likely shocked that this is my first time experiencing the fun and joy of browsing and "hunting" down these treasures! But I can honestly tell you that I am a complete newbie when it come to antique-ing! Which is precisely why I titled this post...."So How Did I Do"? I am clueless! I took pictures of my goodies and I am going to tell you how much I spent then you are going to let me know if I "done good" OR...."Oh honey.......you have a lot to learn about antique shopping"! Believe me....your criticism and tips are very welcome!




Some things that I observed as a first timer......Wooden bowls are VERY expensive...why? This really bums me out. :( I loved so many of them...but left them at the store. They were all beyond my budget! As were Red Wing crocks...yikes! It appeared that if they were in pristine condition they were very pricey, if you were willing to accept some cracks and imperfections they were more reasonably priced. Kitchen utensils, wooden or metal varied in price like crazy! I couldn't believe it. I really shopped around to find the ones I did get! I didn't pay over $2.00 for any of them, some were a $1.00 (I hope that is good)!




Some goodies I left behind that I surely would have bought if money were no object: An old sled (loved it) a black kitchen scale, a #5 crock with a star on it (loved loved it), wooden bowls and I saw lots of crock bowls that I left behind for someone else to snatch up! Some of those were very pricey as well!




Oh and Linda I saw wooden ironing boards...they made me think of you! :) They are so neat!




I am sure just by reading this you can sense the excitement in my "voice". I had a great time walking down memory lane and finding what I think were some great treasures! I am going to display them around the house when I am done with my blog. Laundry is over rated anyway! I have much more fun things to do!




So....it has come to that time in my post where you can look at my pictures and tell me what you think of my finds. Be honest now....I really want to know what you think, so maybe next time I can be more educated when I go looking! Thanks everybody! Until next time, take care. ~Sarah~
I got all of this for...drum roll please :) $70. Be brutal, be honest...I can take it!













Saturday, January 17, 2009

A Cake Made With Love!

Hello everyone! I have to share this. It touches my heart. My birthday is Wednesday and today I was out running some errands. My kiddos decided to make me a birthday cake! From what I hear it was a good thing that I wasn't here to watch! It sounds like it was an interesting experience! Oh to be a fly on the wall! They made the cake......the boys gladly spoke up and told me that Emily forgot to spray the pans so the cake stuck. Then......after the cake was baked they realized that we had no frosting in the cupboard....so they sprinkled it up pretty and put candles in it....if you will all notice I am 22 again!!! Yay! Bless their little hearts! =) Well 22 candles with some other candles around it...but I am not counting those! Ha ha! They were SO proud and could not wait for me to get home to see and taste their creation! How sweet....this is the moments that I will remember! Just had to put it on my blog...I hope the picture of the cake puts a smile on your faces like it did mine! It's the best cake I have ever had! I don't know all the ingredients that went into this cake (not sure that I want to know) but I know that there is a whole lot of love in it! Have a great weekend everyone! Until next time Take care! ~Sarah~

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Signs Signs Everywhere There Is Signs!

Hello everyone and happy Wednesday to you! I have been MIA for a couple of days....yes folks I was chosen for jury duty! I performed my civic duty and hopefully my name will not come up again for a while. I have been selected twice...my Dad who is 75 has never been selected. I guess it truly is random! It was an interesting experience, so I am glad I did it. But I am also very glad that we can get back to "normal" and my hubby can get back to work etc. It does upset a family's routine. Anyway....


My house is in disarray! Thus the name of my post! I found a sign a while back that said "This Mess Is A Place"! My Mother had this saying hanging in our kitchen for as long as I could remember! I saw it and had to buy it! And right now it couldn't be more true! I am still trying to put Christmas decorations in their proper place. Oh they are taken down I can assure you but now I have to organize everything and get it back on the shelves! I am trying to redecorate the house....change things up a bit. And it is driving me crazy.....some days I can just decorate and be done with it...this is not one of those times. I am re-doing and re-doing constantly! Just can't seem to be happy with the results! Last time I checked decorating was supposed to be fun.....wasn't it?


Which brings me to my second "sign". God grant me the serenity.........I think this saying applies to obviously more than decorating. It applies to life...you have to accept the things you cannot change, change the things you can and know the difference between the two. In my case....decorating the house. I thought to myself today, "I just can't do this.....Am I not in the mood or something". In the big picture does it really matter? Will it eventually get done...yes it will...is it worth the stress? Probably not! I find myself pausing to ask myself these questions quite often these days. I am a perfectionist and I think I have to remind myself that not always perfect is o.k. Easier said than done but I am working on it!




















In our house there is five children. There is five times the toys, shoes, clothes, books etc. Plus mine and my husband's "stuff". I think some days ~ wow I wish I could put something somewhere and it would stay put. I wish that I could put something breakable right where I want it so it would look "perfect". You all know what I am getting at. But really we love all the chaos and we love all the hub bub! And we will miss it when our kids are grown. I guess I can wait for things to be "perfect". So when undecorating and redecorating takes me three times as long as it should....I have to remember that it's o.k. It WILL get done. Here is a saying that I just love...I have a little sign that says this:


This Is A Home Where Children Live

You may not find things all in place, Friend, when you enter here,

But we're a home where children live,

We hold them very dear,

And you may find small fingerprints and smudges on the wall,

When the kids are gone we'll clean them up;

Right now, we're playing ball.

For, there's one thing of which we're sure:

These children are on loan. One day they're always underfoot,

Next thing you know, they're gone.

That's when we'll have a well-kept house,

When they're off on their own.

Right now, this is where children live:

A loved and lived in home.

Author: Judith Bond 1986


I guess Geoff and I really "love" stepping on Legos and Choo Choo trains. And finding our daughter's hairbrush and her slippers all over the house. The big boys hats and baseball gloves and dirty socks. And if our little boys want to lick the frost off the front door well, I guess that's o.k. too. There will come a day when these things don't happen anymore. So I guess it all comes down to this: Be Warm Be Welcome Be At Home. No matter what shape your home may be in.....perfect or not so perfect .....or a complete mess. As long as we have each other that's all that matters! Because remember All Roads Lead Home...whether it's "messy" or "clean"! :)






So I will keep plugging away here at home. And I will take pictures of all the results when I am done! No promises on when that will be though! Hakuna Matata! (No worries) Ha ha! Until next time take care. ~Sarah~

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Valentine's Day!

I have been looking at everyone's blogs and you all seem to be in the mood to re-do and re-decorate! So fun to see what all of you are up to! And I must say every one of your projects look wonderful! I am jealous!

As for me....still taking it slow. I have put up my Valentine tree....... (well, I transformed my Winter/Snowman tree into a Valentine tree) and I spread a few hearts around the house! I don't do too much but the red color goes well in our home and I have a few favorite things! And you know what?...My kids really like it when I decorate for different holidays. I think it is something they will always remember and I hope they will do it in their homes for their own families someday!





I also included a few pictures of my front door, kitchen window and kitchen counter. The prim heart on my front door says "Love Lives Here". It is one of those things I look forward to putting out each year. And there is usually always a wreath hanging in my kitchen window. I just change it out from time to time. I think my wreath with the little bird in it would look much better with wood blinds or shutters...but for now those just remain on my wishlist. Along with a woodfloor, black appliances, the list goes on and on. :)


























We are back into life after the holidays in full swing. I must admit I am looking forward to the weekend. I don't think I am quite ready for all this running around yet. I am really tired in the evenings. I can't wait until I am 100% again and can get back into my yoga and pilates. My nephew got engaged over Christmas and him and his fiance have asked me to be a bridesmaid in their wedding in HAWAII next January so I had better get busy! I have seen the dresses and they are so simple and classy, I would like to do it justice! Hawaii has always been my dream destination so I am hoping that their plans to get married there will all come together!








Geoff and I set a family New Years resolution~To spend more time together. I think whether you have one, two or three kids or five like we do it is SO hard to find that time to spend ALL together. So we declared "What Are We Doing Wednesdays"...a.k.a. Family Night! The kids choose the meal and the activity...it might be a game or a movie, whatever they may dream up. The older kids alternate Wednesdays helping Mom and Dad cook the meal! Happy to report tonight was a great success! On the menu~Mad Dad Omelets (made to order) and Alvin and the Chipmunks started at 7:15! It was so fun and when the kids went to bed they all said thank you for the night! :) Everyone says time goes so fast when they are young...and you never believe it but it does! So we decided to embrace the fact that our kids are still so excited to have family time! It's amazing how good it feels just to stop and take the time for the people you love the most!

Well that is what is going on in my little corner of the world. I can't tell you how much fun it has been to blog and read blogs. You are all inspiring to me to try new things and to get things done! And please be patient with me...All my pictures ended up at the top! I wanted them to be here and there throughout my blog. I have not perfected the art of blog design yet. But I will get it! Take care until next time! ~Sarah~










Monday, January 5, 2009

A Yummy Recipe!


This is just a yummy recipe I wanted to share. I made this dessert last night, it was a big hit! Very yummy~comfort food at it's finest! You can find the recipe for Apple Cake Tatin here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/barefoot-contessa/apple-cake-tatin-recipe/index.html It turned out wonderful, it was easy to make but looks "fancy". We served it with vanilla ice cream. Just thought I would share! Hope everyone is having a great Monday! The kids are back to school and Mom's taxi service is back in business! And one thing we can count on there will be homework tonight....it is getting harder and harder for Mom and Dad to help with homework~they are learning much more much sooner than we ever did when we were in school! Take care~

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Busy visualizing!

Hello all.....We are four days into a new year. Many of us have taken down Christmas decorations and are "re-doing" our homes for the Winter season. Some of you know that I had gallbladder/umbilical hernia surgery last Tuesday. So I am moving slow, no un-decorating for me yet. Thus the reason for the title of my newest blog! I am busy visualizing where everything will go and what I will do when I take down my greens and Christmas wreaths etc. Bless my husband's heart he did get the trees down and ALL of our ornaments put back in their boxes. He also took down (per my direction) all the things that were too undeniably Christmas...things that just cannot be out any longer i.e. prim candy cane on the front door and the mistletoe hanging in the hall doorway & the Merry Christmas Sign above the window in the kitchen. My everyday sign that reads "Eat Drink And Be Merry" is now back up! :)

I am excited to "makeover" the house, give it a new look and put out some new prim goodies that I have gotten recently! All in good time!

Planning is fun too....but I find that when I have an idea I just want to jump up and do it. I think I will make a list so that I don't forget what I want to go where. Although once I am able to rearrange it will get tweaked and tweaked over and over again. My husband will never understand why I will fiddle with one Fall leaf or berry or pine garland for what seems like hours. Or move or turn something a fraction of an inch. He always says "do you really think anyone will notice" and I know that I will notice and that is what matters!

So for now here is a link to my Webshots albums which is mostly Christmas, some Fall & Summer...a little of this and a little of that I guess. http://community.webshots.com/user/deeb5 I hope you enjoy looking at my photos, I had fun taking them and how many of us are thankful the next year when we can pull our decorative pictures out and see what went where! I know I am. Not everything will go back in exactly the same place but it is nice to have an idea.

Projects on the horizon.......I am hoping to re-paint our bedroom in the near future, which has been the same color since we moved in. And also re-paint the living room (which would be a big job). I wanted a neutral color and my husband wanted green....we went with green. Needless to say I now want it neutral. I am hopeful he will agree! Hey I still like my red kitchen...that's a good thing!

When I get my house all "done" I will take new pictures and post them on here and on Webshots! I am excited to get busy! Until then I will keep visualizing and taking notes! lol! I think I will hang my prim Valentine heart on the door and put together my Valentine tree! Fun! Have a great week!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Well...Here Goes!

Hello! This is my first post ever! I am so excited to be blogging! I have spent the last month or so looking at everyone's wonderful blogs and decided I would give this a try! It seems like a wonderful outlet to share ideas and make new friends! :) So all of you "pro" bloggers out there be patient with me, I am a newbie! I thought for a long time......what would I blog about, what do I have to share? And I decided that I have nothing to lose. I am a stay at home Mom of five children. I have been married seventeen years. When my husband and I were first married I worked in a Flower/Gift shop. I learned so much working there... how to arrange both fresh and dried flowers along with so many other skills. When we moved from our hometown I got a wonderful job at a Prim/Country shop in Iowa. From then on I was hooked! I loved working on displays, I loved helping people with their decorating dilemmas and it was so fun to help people find that perfect gift for the special people in their lives.
I used to do a lot of painting back in the day (Santas, snowmen, trees, signs etc.)...I was so fortunate at that time to live in the same town as my Dad who was/is a wonderful woodworker! I would say "Dad, do you think you can you cut this out for me"? And he would and I would paint it, we made a great team...my Mom painted as well so it was great family time!
When my husband and I started our family...I kind of fell off the creative wagon. Five kids later and I have yet to do too much creating. A little here and there but not nearly as much as I would like. I am hoping now that four of our five kids are in school that will begin to change. As all you crafters know, no matter what we do... whether it be painting, sewing, etc. it makes us feel good, it is good for our minds, bodies and souls!
We have now lived in Nebraska for nearly 8 years and 4 of those years I worked evenings at a wonderful prim shop! In 4 years I gained a lot of experience in customer service...real customer service, I truly cared about the people I helped and I made lasting friendships with many of them! I loved working on displays of all kinds for all reasons and all of the seasons! I learned how to work with different styles...traditional, primitive, country, Americana...and I loved them all! I have always enjoyed changing my house from season to season, not everyone in my family does this...so they sometimes think it is strange when I swipe everything clean because it is Fall, Christmas etc. But after so many years they just know that is what I do....some of them comment on how much work it must be to re-do for each season but they know how much I love it..so they enjoy seeing the "makeover" each time!
I guess this blog will be a "journey" for me and all of you are along for the ride! I hope that I can get the creative juices flowing again and I hope that I too have projects to share and ideas to give! I have set some fun goals for myself but have set no time limits...the last thing I need is pressure or stress! This is going to be a fun journey! When I was young my sister-in-law taught me to crochet. You all remember starting with that long long line that just went on forever but you were SO proud of it! Then you worked up to potholders! Anyway I told her thank you this Christmas for teaching me how to do that so many years ago...it is like riding a bike, I have not forgotten how to do it and I hope to make something for her to show my appreciation. I know even if it wasn't straight or perfect it would mean a lot....hmmm maybe a scarf would be easy!? :) I also told her that one of my other goals was to learn how to make some of these wonderful primitive stitcheries that I have seen! I just love them....and she assured me that I could do it! So that is another one of my "to dos"! Lots of personal goals but like I said, no pressure. I will get to them when I can. I am and have always been a night owl, so this is when I do my best work! Wish me luck!
Before I go I wanted to explain my blog name...."All Roads Lead Home". This is my most favorite saying, I have this saying on a sign in my living room. There is nothing more important to me than family. I came from a loving home...My Mom and Dad, two brothers and two sisters. My parents now have 15 grandchildren & two great grandchildren. We all remain very close, we all live in the Midwest, we get together whenever we can. At any of our houses everyone feels welcome, there is always a light on and we all know we are there for each other night or day. This is the way my husband and I want our kids to feel. I just think that "All Roads Lead Home" is so true. No matter where you are in life....there is always a way home. And there is always people at the end of that road that love you. I have already met a lot of great gals from Web shots and by following others blogs AND from ordering some absolutely wonderful items from some very talented and friendly gals! I looked forward to making more friends! Here's to a new year...may it be full of blessings for all of us. And may we all grow a little bit by challenging ourselves and stepping out of our comfort zones. Thanks for stopping by...come visit again!