mantel :: before and after

I thought I took a before picture of our living room fireplace mantel before I took everything down, but I guess I didn't. Or at least I can't find it if I did. Which is the case in most instances. Like my brain. I haven't been able to locate that darn thing for at least a month now.

This picture was taken from the craft closet take-over. I had piled everything from a self onto the fireplace which is not how we've lived with the fireplace to date. But it gives you some idea of the mishmash-up like how the clock was not centered on the wall because I simply hung it on an existing nail. I had a few glass jars here and there. Sometimes they had things in them and something they did not. I wasn't in love with the look, but I didn't hate it either.

Then, one day a local craft store had a warehouse sale. I went to check it out having the thought firmly planted in my front lobe that I would not buy a bunch of "stuff" no matter how cheap it was. And I was successful in that until I was preparing to leave, empty handed. That was when I walked passed a huge mirror for....gulp....39 bucks. I've always wanted a big mirror and this deal was just too darn good to pass up.

So I bought that sucker and precariously loaded it into my minivan and brought it home.

BEFORE:

This weekend Mr. Hawthorne hung it on the wall over the fireplace mantel, all centered and everything. I am extremely pleased. I also purchased that lovely vase you see there for a whopping two dollars. I added some branches from the backyard and Voila! Instant makeover!

Next up, we need to get some paint on these walls.

AFTER:

May 18, 1980

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. I was five years old and this picture was taken by my mother from our front yard. I don't remember the event aside from always knowing we had this photo and how it resembled a horse head.

farm girls are us

The girls and I spent some time down on the farm this past weekend. We fed the herd, brush a few ponies, had a few rides and got very, very dirty as any good farm girl should.

mr hawthorne runs

My Mr. Hawthorne ran his very first marathon this weekend and I'm happy to report he didn't die from doing so. Actually he did quite swell and I believe he is very pleased with his accomplishment, as he should be.

three things

I’ve subjected myself to a hailstorm of doctor visits recently not by my choosing, but rather, because I had a brilliant plan to get myself healthy (and lose weight) by signing up for a half marathon in June. A plan so brilliant which led to aches and pains; Some I accounted for and some I didn’t. I expected to be sore but I didn’t expect plantar fasciitis. That was my first hurdle, and I still struggle with it. Besides the normal pain and tribulations with starting a workout routine, I discovered three little known facts about myself along the way. This, by the way, got me no closer to my original goal in any way. Oh no, in fact, I feel further away from said goal than I ever did.

First up: breathing. I planned on running the half marathon as much as I could. That meant I would have to go out running and build myself up. I set my bar very low however. I thought if I could run at least five miles without stopping I would be very pleased with myself. Very pleased indeed. In order to run for that distance one needs the assistance of their lungs to be successful. Mine weren’t in the mood to cooperate in the slightest. I felt like I was trying to breathe through a straw. After visits with my regular medical doctor, earning herself a failing grade, I decided I would call in a specialist. I took some tests, got some meds and followed the plan. The test results showed that my lungs are small most likely caused by my weight. The pressure from the extra weight acts like compression on the lungs, therefore causing them to be smaller according to the pulmonary specialist. Small lungs…who knew. The medicines he prescribed are helping mucho grande however, losing extra poundage would be better. I get it Mr. Doctor. And, I know. This was why I was trying to start a running program for myself in the first place. Catch 22.

Second: fatty liver. Just typing those two little words about myself makes me shiver. It doesn’t sound very cute does it?

“Fatty liver ma’am?”

“Ahhh, no thanks.”

Spying my cute fatty liver in the first place was a not-so-happy accident. I’ve been having tummy troubles and since it’s impossible to have a 24 hour flu bug every other day, I suspected my gallbladder as the culprit. After another doctor visit plus an ultrasound, we discovered my gallbladder was doing just fine but my liver….it is fatty. What that even means I’m not sure except that losing weight would help tremendously. You don’t have to hit me over the head twice.

However, my weird flu bug ailments coupled with intense pain was not alleviated by the discovery of my fatty liver. All we did was rule out my very happy gallbladder as the instigator. Which leads us number three: IBS. Yes, that’s right…Irritable bowel syndrome. Has a lovely ring to it, doesn’t it?

I can’t believe I just wrote that about myself on the world wide web. But, since we are close buds ... two peas in a pod ... the Internet and me ... I can share right? What's a little IBS between friends anyway?! I sort of feel like I just revealed a dirty little secret while flashing on scenes from Along Came Polly.

“Oh don’t worry” my doctor told me, “It’s very common.”

Phew, that’s a relief! (Not!)

The good thing is I started with a medicine that is supposed to help relieve the symptoms. However, my RN friend warned me that IBS is a blanket diagnoses when doctors don’t know what the hell is wrong with you. And, then she told me to request a CT scan of my belly stat. I heed her warning, I do, but I’m going to try these meds for a bit first. I've had my fair share of doctor offices lately and I’m not in a rush to get into another one anytime soon.

So there you go. The three things I’ve recently discovered about myself are I have small lungs, a fatty liver and a cranky pooper. Aren’t I fun to be around!

cocoa butter balm :: working title

Tonight I had myself a little experiment. I made chocolate lip balm. Just like that. And you know what? It was pretty darn easy. A little messy, but easy none the less. Not even kidding.

Recently, I've been enlisted to procure myself a set of skills to help my friend, Erin, take flight with her passion. A chocolate passion. And, since I never turn my nose up to chocolate, I am doing my very best not to fail.

Therefore, I decided to do a little test run using chocolate by-product from Erin's chocolate company plus some coconut oil from Belize mixed with some key ingredients for lip balm and voila. To my complete surprise, it worked. It actually worked. I am so excited. Not only did it work, but I can actually put it on my lips and it feels like honest to goodness real lip balm. I'm serious!!! I don't mean to go on tooting my horn, but, *toot*!

Coconut Oil from Belize. Cool huh!

I also added olive oil.

Beeswax and Shea Butter.

Chocolate by-product from Belize.

Melt and mix.

Pour into very cool lip balm tray.

Let cool and harden.

Pull from tray and cap. Awesome!!

rock on

I think I'm forming a little love affair with Picasa. It is so fun cropping and making collages and playing! Plus it's pretty easy to use which is totally up my alley. I caught the kids rockin' out to Rock Band the other day. El Fuego was concentrating very hard, Miss Divine just wanted to make sure she looked good.

today's challenge:: miss divine's room

This weekend I had one goal. Organize and clean Miss Divine's room. She had too many pieces of furniture and although her room is large, it has an interesting footprint. The chimney downstairs goes right up the middle of her room which is flanked by two windows. The wall her bed is on jets into her room which is adorable for her bed, but it makes it challenging to give Miss Divine spaces to play and keep her things organized. She has our old TV armoire in the corner (which I love but want to paint it white some day) and I took out a little dollhouse shaped shelf. I want to put in a little desk in it's place but I'm waiting until I find that perfect piece. Her room is also the only room in the house with wallpaper and although I'm not a fan of 80s floral wallpaper, this particular paper is not offensive. It also matches her horsey motif so it's low on the list of things to get done.

After going through and organizing (and throwing away) little misplaced treasures I put Miss Divine's little bits and doodads into a shoe organizer. It hangs on the back of her door, tucked away where no one can see it. It's easy for her to find her goodies and easy for her to clean up. She also has a smaller jewelry hanger in her closet for little things. I think I read about this trick in a magazine ages ago and finally put it into use. And, I must say, it's pretty handy. Barbies fit perfectly too so if you have a Barbie collector in your house, this would be a super way to store those special dolls.

This is the smaller hanging organizer. It hangs in Miss Divine's closet and takes up very little room. It also has front and back pockets. It's a good thing.

back it up mama

Petite Artiste's preschool class had a sweet little gathering in honor of Mother's day. Us mother's were presented with cookies and juice as well as a musical of sorts, ending with this little dance-off. Miss P can shake her groove thang. Enjoy!

kickin' it old skool

The big kids' school had a PTSA fundraiser at the local roller rink. Everything from the smell to the skates to the mushroom sized seats to the lights and to the concession stand was all as I remembered it back in my day. It was totally awesome! The best part is the kids love it. El Fuego and Miss Divine took their in-line skates. We rented a pair of roller skates for Petite Artiste. She was wobbly at first and cried a little, but then she got the hang of it. So much so that after our roller derby adventure, we stopped the sporting good store and picked up a brand new pair for her to practice with.

See all those specs around Miss D and her friend? That's magic dust for awesome-ness!!

living the farm life

You know when spy something so pleasing to the eye that you just can't stop staring? Gaining inspiration and admiring at the same time. A Country Farmhouse is that for me. I love this blog. I love the transformation to their lovely farmhouse. And, I love the before and after pictures. It gives me hope about our newly acquired "fixer-upper". We don't exactly live in the country and our place isn't on a farm but we do have a little slice of goodness in the heart of suburbia. Every morning when I wake up to take the dogs outside, it feels like we are camping. I am quite fond of how the morning light trickles through the trees with the birds chirping and the quiet neighborhood. I cannot wait to get started on our home transformation.

goody gumdrop

I had this really ugly, cheap-o frame sitting around and I wasn't really sure what to do with it. I didn't like it as it was...ugly, fake wood and brown. I debated about putting in the garage sale pile but then I flashed on this somewhat newish trend of painting old frames really bright colors. Mostly I see just a collection of frames without framing anything and without the glass.

After cleaning out the cabinet under the kitchen sink due to a big old leak, I found this can of gumdrop purple glossy paint I had used for a project a long time ago. Light bulb! I painted that old frame more as an experiment really which is why I didn't take a before picture. I didn't know how it would turn out. I thought I would just be throwing it away really.

However, I'm actually pleased with the result. Instead of just hanging the frame, I added a hand print of Miss Divine's from school and added it to the walls of our new playhouse right above the eat-in kitchen. Perfecto! I think I have a new favorite craft.

nanny mcphee, no more

Can you see the excitement and relief in this girl's face?

She was so happy to finally lose her Nanny McPhee teeth that hung on and on and on and on by barely anything at all for at least a good month. She even changed the way she ate just so we wouldn't upset the delicate balance of her two front teeth and their precarious situation.

Daddy saved the day by simply plucking it out to the amazed relief of Miss Divine.

Her new trick?

Drinking out of her water bottle without opening her mouth.

Ahhh, to be six again.

playhouse for lasses

Happy Saturday to you!

My two lassies are pretty happy with their brand new playhouse which is a small room above the garage. I've had a major nesting bug this past two weeks. I form plans for organizing and revamping our living spaces to make life feel more relaxed and fun.

After cleaning out the little room I took cues from my nearest Swedish designer friend and painted the walls and ceiling ultra white. The room is little and without windows so I wanted to brighten it up as much as possible.

The girls and I had fun deciding where to put the kitchen and the table and chairs. We couldn't forget the high chairs and baby dolls too. The crib was mine as a little girl. One of those things I couldn't let go and I'm so glad I packed it around all these years. The pink high chair was found at a garage sale and the other high chair was purchased at an antique mall.
We added a storage shelf for all the cooking bits and bobs & pots and pans.
My Grandma Donna crochet the adorable rainbow table cover. Actually I'm not sure what her plan was for this when she gave it to me when I was young, but I've always had it on a table or dresser top. The colors are festive and bright...perfect for a playhouse.
I adore this little treat stand. I bought it at K-Mart in Michigan. Sometimes you find the best things at the oddest places.
Because the walls are white and the angles of the walls & ceiling are odd, I repurposed some old canvases to add some pops of color. These three turned out way different than I had planned but I'm happy with the results.
I sort of love this one and it's simplicity.

chatter of a crazy woman

Half way through emptying the "stuff" from the small room on the second floor, at the end of the hallway for yesterday's 'Today's Challenge', I thought .... "I am crazy! Bona fide crazy person! Commit me now!!" I was amazed just how much we had crammed in that room from floor to ceiling. I lined the hallway with boxes and crates into organized piles then proceeded not to look at them for the rest of the afternoon because just looking at them gave me wee panic attacks and that sinking overwhelming feeling. I almost just put everything back and scrapped my idea so I could go on pretending we didn't have a small room full of "stuff". But then I flashed on the TLC reality series: Hoarders and decided to forge on because the first step is admitting you have a problem. Not that I have a problem. *cough* No, no, no...more like I'm trying to prevent a problem. In fact, I've emptied three boxes and either put things away or tossed it. Yay me!

Anyway, back to yesterday's challenge. I'm happy to report our teeny playhouse is complete. *happy dance* The girls love it and have played pretty much the entire afternoon.

Next post: pictures!