Just some frosting on the flower buds

Happy Saturday!

Yesterday I posted some pictures of the ice storm that I had taken in the morning.  I ventured back out into the yard in the late afternoon and the ice had accumulated even more.

The bushes and trees in the yard look like they're encrusted in glass.  Just thought I'd share what I saw.

I hope the ice doesn't completely kill the tender flower buds on this dogwood tree.

I used to dislike these nandina bushes.  But I've grown to really like them.  They're great to decorate with around the holidays and they photograph beautifully.

When Mother Nature gives you lemons...or an ice storm

We're in middle of an ice storm here in the ridge.  Not to worry, the Mr. and the kids plus one extra are all home safe and sound.

We've got bread.

We've got milk.

We've got firewood ready in case the ice causes any power outages.

Most people would see this as a major inconvenience, which it is, no doubt.  I see it as an opportunity.  To take some really cool pictures.  Seriously...how often do you get an ice storm??

I ventured out to the front porch and under the eaves earlier today and snapped what I could safely get to.  I tweaked them a tad and thought I would share the images with those of you who aren't lucky enough to be experiencing an ice storm today.

The drops are frozen.  I think they look beautiful.

Our lived-in Living Room

Welcome to our living room.  It's the first room you see when you enter our home.  It's nothing fancy or formal.  And it's quite eclectic.  Most of the items in here are vintage and were found at estate sales, thrift shops, or antique shops.

Since this house doesn't have an official dining room due to a previous remodel that combined the former kitchen and dining room, we use this room to eat in when we have a large group over for dinner.  It takes some major furniture rearranging, but it works.  And now you also know why we have our china cabinet in here.  You just have to work with what you have!

The living room is blessed/cursed with a 15' wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking our covered deck and back yard.  Blessed because I love the open feeling it gives the room.  Cursed because it's so hard to arrange furniture in here.

It's also completely open to our entry, which is small, around 8' x 6'.  The spaces are physically separated by a built-in, 2.5' tall, brick planter and visually separated by the different floors in each space.

Scrappy, crafty Valentine's banner

Happy Saturday, friends!  We've got some gorgeous sunshine here in the ridge today.  Many areas around us got snow on Thursday, but we got nothin' here except some disappointed kids.

I've been seeing some of the cutest Valentine's banners on the web lately and thought I'd try my hand at making one for us.  I'm not usually the crafty type, but I really wanted to do this one.

I have a collection of fabric sample books at work with the prettiest swatches in them.  Many of these books are discontinued, but I can't seem to part with them.  My hoarder tendencies just won't let me purge them.

For this project, I actually used a few of the pages from one of these sample books.  I showed some of the swatches on my facebook page a couple of days ago, so you might have seen them already if you follow me there.

2013 Bucket List

Happy New Year, friends!  I hope 2013 brings you health and happiness.

I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions because they always seem to be a disappointment to me.  Sure, I have goals both personally and professionally, but a list of resolutions always seems to linger over me like a weight on my shoulders.

This year I thought I would try a different approach and call it a bucket list.  I can't explain why, but it just sounds so much more positive a do-able than a list of resolutions. Hopefully at the end of the year I'll have a good list of completed projects similar to the list of my 2012 favorites.

~Bucket List~

*PURGE.  This is my biggest one.  We have a storage room and a couple of storage closets in the basement that have been ignored for the last few years and it's time to tackle them and get them under control.  I don't expect overnight results because it took them a while to get this bad.  It's definitely at the top of our list.