Hall Tree

I have a very narrow hallway and not much of a foyer. Sadly I didn't have much of a foyer in my last house either. This was what I came up with so I would have something by the door that wouldn't take up a lot of room. Tall and slender. Oh, if only I were the same. It got a little beat up on the trip down here. Hey, people pay good money for these dents and dings. They blend nicely with the old crackled and chipped corbels.

I used an old louvered bifold door and some corbels that my sister had given me. I attached a shelf on top and hubby added the crown and base molding. Then I just got a couple of hooks and added the antique mirror. The mirror is hung on screws and the ribbon is just added to a knob for looks, it has no weight on it. And I can switch it out whenever. It is a very hard space to photograph. Not much light so the colors are tad bit off.



I am still working on painting the trim in the house. As you can see I have filled the knot holes on the doorways but they still need paint. Also, the mantel is currently in line for some paint!

I am going to attempt to do my very first link up over at Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday. Someone tell me if it doesn't work!

I am also linking up to Funky Junk Saturday Nite Special and The DIY Show Off.


I'm linking up with Saturday Nite Special's Door Themed Party. So many great door projects to see!

The Perfect Food

I haven't been getting my projects done due to having house guests. Well, they are old friends here to fish with hubby. So, I've been making a few things to keep them fed. I thought I'd share a recipe for some marinated black eye pea dip that my hubby and my sister have dubbed "the perfect food". Because you can gobble it up with just some chips or put it over grilled chicken or mix it in with some rice. Pretty much whatever you want.



It's pretty simple. I took the photos after I had made the dip so I had to improvise for the staged photos! I did use a green bell pepper even though there is a red one in the pic. I think you can stick whichever you like in there and it would be just as good. Oh, and I didn't have fresh cilantro so I used what was in my cabinet but really, fresh is always better. One more thing, I only used 1 can of peas and 1/2 the pepper. I wanted a smaller batch. You really can't mess this up. The recipe makes a good sized batch. Enjoy!

2 cans black eye peas, rinsed and drained
1 can of shoe peg corn, drained
1 green pepper chopped
4 green onions chopped
1 tomato chopped
2 cloves of garlic pressed or chopped
1 c fresh parsley chopped (I don't think I use that much!)
1 T fresh cilantro chopped
1 bottle of Italian dressing (I eyeball it. You want enough so that it will absorb it while it's being chilled)
Always better to make ahead but digging in right away is allowed!

Linking up to Funk Junk's Saturday Nite Special!

It's only a number....

Age is a funny thing. Are we ever really happy with the age that we are? At first we want to be older than what we are. Things always seems better in the future don't they? I think it's the unknown. The excitement of what it will be like. You get to do more when you are older. Go places, do things, buy things.

Then the future comes. Hey wait, I think it was supposed to be better than this. Maybe getting older wasn't such a great idea. So,we start looking backwards. Oh to be young again! To be carefree. Nothing to tie you down. It was so much easier back then wasn't it? Or was it just different? We rationalize.

While I know I don't look like them.....

I certainly don't look like her either...

We get to the point in our lives when we are okay with our age. Life is good. There are still issues. Ups and downs. But we deal with things differently. We are more self assured. We may not be the young, firm (ok, I was never firm) easy going person of our youth. But we are confident. We like who we have become and what we have accomplished. Yes, we have aged ever so slightly. But that's okay. I'm okay. It's okay! Have I convinced you its okay?

Then the day comes. A bright and beautiful day. Clear skies, cool breezes. You are out shopping. You are happy because you find so many of the thing you were out looking for. Glorious! Then you go to check out and the cashier asks you....."oh, can you use the senior discount?" WHAAAAT?? Everything goes into slow motion. I am leaping over the counter, arms out, reaching for her neck. Okay, so in my mind I was doing that. She tried to back track and said, "oh, oh, well, it's only 55 for the discount so I thought I'd ask" Hold the phone lady. (who happened to look like a very tired 35 year old) Just the other day I had someone telling me they couldn't believe I had a kid in college. Did I age that much in a week? What the heck just happened here? This can't be. I have to say I was crushed. I told my sister. She got a good laugh. I go to the store later that night for some wine and Coronas. I couldn't decide. I might need both okay? Yes, need. I go to check out. I get ma'amed to death by the bag boy. While very respectful, it does make me feel old. Then, to top it all off, I don't even get asked for my id. I thought it was the law people??

Cheers!

Stinky starfish

So, I bought some starfish. Yes, I live in Florida and yes I bought starfish off the internet. I may live near emerald green water and snow white sand but pretty shells and starfish we do not have. Unless you count this little guy. I came across one lonely little starfish. He was in our shrimp that we bought for bait. He looks like this.

Adorable, no? Not really much to decorate with. So, I found these online. Much more sizable! Just one thing. They came rather stinky. I had let them air out for a couple of weeks. Gave them a few shots of fabreeze and they are smelling much better. Now I just need to fiddle with where they will go.

I thought I was going to get some snide remarks from hubby about buying these pretty starfish but alas the only remark I got was that the fat orange one looks like Patrick. You know, from Spongebob. That was the one show that my boys, hubby included, watched that got on my nerves. His voice was like nails on a chalkboard. So now when I see it, I will forever think of Spongebob. Wonderful!

Getting my feet wet

Guess I'm just going to have to take the jump and go for it! It's sort of like jumping into the pool for the first time. You know that first jump is going to be cold but you hope that it will warm up the longer you're in there.

I've been following so many blogs the last few months. I've read a lot of inspiring words and have been amazed at so many great projects. I thought it was time I tried this thing called blogging for myself. I tend to ramble on sometimes. I'll try to stay focused. No promises. I welcome comments. I love to hear critiques on things I'm working on. I believe that is how people grow and learn. I will be posting about living back in my home state of Florida. Same coast but totally different area. Trying to make this new house feel more like us. Laid back, casual and a little lighter and brighter. Not that we're too bright. I came across Sandra's blog, Sawdust and Paper Scraps and saw how she laid out all her projects in hopes of finishing them. I thought,yes, this is what I need. Pressure, pressure to get going and not just read about others. Reading blogs can be quite the obsession!

Oh and if you see any technical issues on my blog. Links not working or what not. Please let me know as I am still learning and the water is still a bit chilly! Thanks!