At Last, the Perfect Mirror

Another garage sale score! I found this great mirror at a garage sale in our neighborhood. The people were moving and they had several new mirrors for sale. This one still had a sticker on the front with the designer's name so I don't think they ever even hung it. It is big, 39"x51", and just what I've been searching for. I snagged it for $35.00! Woo Hoo!! My friend said she saw something similar for $160.00.

It has great texture and patina on the embossed metal.

I have been looking for just the right thing to hang over the couch in our living room for awhile now. I did have an interesting two tiered antique shelf there for a long time but when I gave the room a fresh coat of red I wanted something that would make more of a statement. The room has been red for quite some time but I changed the color just a bit. I used Eddie Bauer Cabin Red from Lowe's. It doesn't look as bright in real life as it does in the picture, I need to get a new camera if I am going to keep doing this. I really like the red especially at night, it feels cozy.

I have several antiques in this room and I wanted something more bold with straight lines to mix it up a little.

Now I would like to find one long, or two square ottomans to put in front of the couch. Which do you think?

The couch was a thrift store find that I had recovered, it was a mustard gold in its previous life. I made the pillows and curtains.

       In decorating, one thing always seems to lead to another but that is what keeps it fun!                 

                                                             Jodie
It is party day! Today I am joining in on Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home and
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday.
                                                          
     Join us every Friday...

A Favorite Cookie Recipe to Share

This oatmeal cookie recipe is one of my favorites. It is actually a recipe from Crisco but I added my own little twist. It is a yummy moist cookie and always comes out perfect. It is one of the cookie recipes my guys always ask me to make for them to take on their hunting trips, and who knows cookies better than hungry men!

Here is the twist. Instead of using raisins, like the recipe calls for, I substitute dried cranberries. I use 1 Cup and soak them in orange juice for about 20 minutes. Be sure to drain them well before adding to your dough.

I also substituted pecans for the walnuts.

 One tip for making your cookies all the same size is to use an ice cream scoop to measure out the dough.

Chewy Oatmeal Cookies

3/4 cup Butter Flavor Crisco Shortening
1-1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups quick oats, uncooked
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins,  I substitute dried cranberries soaked in orange juice, be sure to drain well before adding to the
    dough.
1 cup chopped walnuts,  I substitute pecans

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease baking sheets. Place sheets of foil on counter top for cooling cookies.
2. Combine Butter Flavor Crisco, brown sugar, egg, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed
    until well blended.
3. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix into creamed mixture at low speed just until     
    blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts.
4. Drop rounded tablespoons ( I use an ice cream scoop with dough leveled off) of dough onto baking sheet.
5. Bake one baking sheet at a time at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool 2
    minutes on baking sheet. Remove cookies to foil to cool completely.
Makes about 2-1/2 dozen.

Recipe from Crisco and adapted by me. Enjoy!
                     
                                                              Jodie

Dreaming of Spring and Happy Valentine's Day

We have had snow on the ground for several weeks now and don't get me wrong, I love snow but the gardener in me can't help dreaming of spring. I found these pictures of my hardy hibiscus from last year.

 The flowers are the size of dinner plates and they always make me smile. They are so big they almost don't seem like a real flower. We will finally be getting some warmer days this week so our snow will be melting. Don't know about you, but I am really looking forward to a little sun!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jodie

Craig's List Buffet

Once I started the laundry room make over I knew exactly the kind of piece I wanted along one of the walls for storage. Usually when I am looking for something specific it can take forever to find it. I have a lot of patience and can wait a long time until I find just the right thing that fits my vision. I don't think that is always a good thing because it tends to drag some projects on way too long. Lucky for me I didn't have to wait this time. I found exactly the piece I had in mind on Craig's List. I think it was born some time in the 70's because it was sporting that tell tale yellow color of that era. It is really heavy and has ton's of great detail. I love detail! I paid $80.00 for it and thought that was a fair price considering it was in great condition and a well made piece.

Notice the bamboo trim on the doors. You just don't see things made like this anymore, that is why I like old furniture so much. Most things back then were heavy duty and made of quality materials. This baby will last forever.

Someone had tried to glaze it with flat paint to tone down the gold and didn't put a finish over it so it wasn't that hard to prepare for painting, except for the all the little details. Now I am cursing the details.

I have a new paint sprayer that I used when I redid our leather couches. Yes, you can refinish leather and now I know how but that is yet another story. Evidently, I didn't get the thing perfectly cleaned out because I couldn't get it to spray right and after an hour and a half messing around with it, I decided to just get out a brush and dig in. I think it turned out pretty cute, what do ya think? Now I am on my way to a fun laundry room!

 I just love to transform things with paint. It is like giving a piece a new lease on life.
                       
                                                           Joyfully,
                                                              Jodie
I am joining two of my favorite blogs, Cindy, over at My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday http://myromantichome.blogspot.com/
and Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/

Not So Pretty Laundry Room

Here is my dirty little secret, I have a scary laundry room! When we built our house 16 years ago, a beautiful, state of the art laundry area was not a priority for me. We considered putting a big laundry /sewing room upstairs when we built the house but decided to make the space an office so, the laundry was delegated to the basement. I never thought too much about the space and the way it looked until a few years ago when laundry rooms became showplaces, all fancy and glittery with appliance bling. Our laundry had become a dark dreary catchall. I've thought about fixing it up for awhile but didn't take action until I found the little roadside rescue table that I painted. Who knew a free table would inspire an entire room makeover. Kind of like a $1,000.00 free kitten. But I didn't spend near that much for the redo. Ok, fasten your seat belts here is the scary before.

Open shelves for storing extra canned goods, I like to be prepared. This was a good idea except for the fact the cans get coated with dryer lint, and I have enough dusting as it is.

Ugly yellow wall I painted with some undercoat paint I had left over from a faux finish, hoping to brighten up the space. An old catch- all table and my Halloween birdcage with the crow inside.

Yuck, Yuck, and more yuck. I wanted light, bright and airy.

 My first step was to finish painting the open ceiling white, a project I had started awhile back but never finished. Next I chose a color for the ugly yellow wall. Oddly enough I went with a color called Cloudy Day by Bher but it looked great in the light of the room.

We purchased a pantry cabinet from Lowe's to corral all the canned goods. Now they are safe from dryer lint. We screwed the pantry to the wall and I put up finishing trim around it to make it look built in. Then I added some baseboard.

Here is a sneak peak at the fabulous buffet I found on Craig's List that will go on this wall. I am really excited about it, the piece has so much character. I will post the after pictures of it later in the week.

                             

                                                   Joyfully,

                                                      Jodie

Keeping It Real

I have a plaque I recieved as a gift that serves as a great reminder to me to find something to enjoy and appreciate in each day. It says, "The time to be happy is now, the place to be happy is here."

Over at  Miss Mustard Seed's blog, she was commenting on the entries in her Copy Me Challenge, how great they looked, and how she felt like she was behind on things she wanted to do with her home due to her business. She seemed worried we thought her home was always perfect and photo op ready. Well I am here to tell you girls if there is one thing I have learned in my 47 years it is that life is messy and nothing is perfect!

When I was in my 20's there were people I was amazed by and a little jealous of because their lives appeared to be so perfect.  Over the years I have come to realize no one's life or home or is always perfect, even though in blog land it might appear to be. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. When we visit someones home we are usually seeing it at its best, all shiny, clean and  picked up. That is what I like to call the "Faux House", that is not real life. Many times before company comes, I make a swing around the house with a big basket and gather all the loose paper and things that are laying around, then stash the basket in the basement. I guess that is one good thing about getting older, you learn the truth about life and start to care less about what other people think.

I really admire Miss Mustard Seed, she is so creative, is great at what she does and is an inspiration to many others. I know she lit a fire under me to create! Thanks Marian, we love what you do.
                                                               Joyfully,
                                                                 Jodie

Blood, Sweat, and Tears Slipcover

Below is the before of a chair that my sweet sister- in- law gave me for my daughters room. Her room is green with some purple in it but the chair was a little faded and the color of purple was off. So for the second time in my life I decided to make a slipcover. My first attempt at one turned out alright but not exactly what I was hoping for. I did learn a lot from my mistakes on the first chair so I figured what the hey. If at first you don't succeed try, try again!

 Like Miss Mustard Seed, I layed the fabric with the right side facing the chair and then pinned the pieces together. That way you can baste your seems, turn it right side out to check the fit, and make adjustments before stitching. Unlike Miss Mustard Seed, my slipcover did not take a matter of hours but several days working on it here and there. I was getting a little impatient. I'm a pretty good seamstress; even if I do say so myself; and I make curtains, bedding and pillows all the time, but slipcovers are a different animal. It's a project you just have to dive into and give it a shot. I have to admit that a few tears were shed shed at one point out of frustration.

 I used the old cushion cover as a pattern for the new cover. I even ripped out the old zipper and used it. How is that for recycling?

I used a white cotton quilted fabric in a diamond pattern. To clean, all I have to do is take it off and toss it in the wash. I am really happy with this one and now that I've had success, will definitely try it again.

 

If you have a chair you don't love anymore hanging around, I say, "go for it!"    

  Joyfully, Jodie

Today I am joining in on Miss Mustard Seed's Copy Me Challenge

http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/ and

Cindy's Show and Tell Friday at http://myromantichome.blogspot.com/

and http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/ for Before and After Party

Sorry I reposted but I was having trouble figuring out the permalink thing, think I've got it now!