Grapevine Garland

I happened upon this grapevine garland at Michaels a few weeks ago for between $2 and $3.

Imagine the possibilities! I strung it above our dining room window, and I am using mini-clothespins to hang our Christmas cards on it.
I love things that are functional and that can be used all year.

What would you use this grapevine garland for?

Refrigerator Clutter

This is what the outside of my refrigerator looks like on a REALLY good day.

(I just de-cluttered it yesterday!)

It drives me crazy, but it is a vital part of keeping our family on track.

I just need more space to put coupons, photos, invitations, prayer requests, to-do lists, etcI found this worn grate at a thrift store last week for $1. The cashier actually asked, "What on earth are you going to do with this?" I responded, "I have no idea!"

I realized that it was magnetic and the plan came to me.

I hung it on the wall by the phone.

Now...I need to find at least 2 more to fill the wall.

My mother-in-law bought me these cute magnets at a craft fair a few months ago.

I love them, and I am thinking about making a few more!

It is the simple things!

Life-Changing Night

If you know my family well, you probably have heard about the frightful night in April 2007.....the night I carried my 2 babies out of our burning home in their footed pj's. Anyhoo....I ran across these photos yesterday, and I decided to share them. Very few people have actually seen them because they have always brought back awful memories. However, I can stand before you and say that God protects, restores, heals, and provides. This is the front of our house the week after the fire.
Garage
Our dining room.

Above the back door

Kitchen

Thank you God for teaching us in this way!

This life-changing night was a true gift from God.

We now have a new view of "stuff".

Thank you to all of our friends who prayed for us, cried with us, and just listened.
Would you like to see the "after" pictures?

If you are anything like me, you are interested in how people make a house their own. I believe that our home speaks a lot about who we are as people. Here are a few non-traditional things that are hanging on the walls in our home.

A few years ago, I found myself searching for the perfect thing to hang above our couch. What better than an old bar door. Isn't it lovely! I wanted to display some old photos (of people that we don't even know) in a creative way. I especially love old wedding photos because everyone appears down-right miserable. I found this old fence picket at an antique store for $2. I then convinced my mom into trading her old clothespins for new ones. I hot glued the clothespins to the picket and .......
I hand stitched this many years ago. In fact, it was on our mantle the night our house burned. The glass in the frame broke, and the stitching was soiled and smelly. However, it really adds to the character. The fire is a part of our life story, and this wall hanging is always a reminder to me of God's protection.

Anyhoo....that is what is hanging on my walls.
Do you have anything that tells a story hanging on your walls?

The Shelf

Today I decided to tackle the room that has been driving me C-R-A-Z-Y!

It is teeny tiny-9'X10', and stuffed to the gills.

I woke up this morning wanting a white shelf that would accommodate baskets of toys. However, I am on a budget, not to mention trying to save for Disney. So, I decided to check at a local thrift store, and this is what I found for $16.99.

I have plans to dress it up a little.

With the shelf purchased, I jumped head first into the chaos!How can a room filled with such adorable things look so awful?

After 2 hours of intense labor, this is how it looked at 2:16 on Wednesday afternoon. I wanted to pass out in the middle of the room and take a nap!

How sweet is this purple and pink room?

I have read countless articles about labeling toy baskets with photos.

Well, I will let you know how that works out at our home.

The photos are printed and ready to go on the baskets.

Can you read the sarcasm?

Linen Closet

Check out this super-de-dooper organized linen closet!

I didn't plan on spending the majority of one beautiful morning organizing this particular closet.

Let me explain.

I was in the basement trying to conquer the never-ending pile of dirty laundry. In order to accomplish the task at hand, I decided to enlist some help. I asked my A to bring down all of the towels and washcloths.

I stepped into the storage room (my next organizing project), and upon re-entering the laundry room I spotted it...a pile of clean, folded towels and washcloths resting upon my dirty laundry. He had emptied the lined closet!

I was horrified for a second or two or three. I yelled up at A and asked, "Hey buddy! Were all of these towels dirty?"

He quickly pushed open the laundry shoot, peered down at me, and replied, "You didn't say anything about dirty!"

I wish that I had a photo of my clean linens lying on the dirty laundry or a photo of my face when I realized what had happened.

What can I say..he takes everything literal, and it is one of the many things that I love about him.

Thanks A for the initiative to organize the linen closet!