Around My House~ the fireplaces

When we first walked through the vintage home we now live in I immediately fell in love. It wasn't the vintage claw foot tub ~ that was my husband's love, nor the dark natural wood trim ~ that was my son's favorite. No... for me it was the two vintage fireplaces on the first floor. I simply adored them. Each appeared in it's original mahogany stain with cast iron details and they won my heart.

So for this week's Around My House I've selected to share the living room fireplace. Do you have a favorite aspect of your home you simply love? Let me know and share a photo, I'll come a-visiting~

On a side note ~ I see quite a few have joined in the giveaway for Return to Oz ~ thanks so much for participating! If you haven't had a chance to enter yet, just visit the posting below for more details. Here's wishing you all a wonderful beginning to the week~

Enjoy,

Around My House ~ week 2

Last week I was grasping for new material to post about and this little summer series "Around my House" was born. This week I've added a Mr Linky gadget so you can join in and share your own images from around the house.

This past week has been so hot that I wanted to share one of my favorite places to escape the sun. When we first moved into our home a little over a year ago there wasn't a railing around the front porch and so we came up with this natural barrier to block out our urban neighbors that seemed to be right on top of us.

My husband built the trellises and we planted Morning Glories and Sweet Peas from seeds his mom had gifted us before moving. The end result was a wonderfully lush spot to sit and admire a passing hummingbird or bees. I simply couldn't be happier with how it provided a nature barrier between us and... well a block of about 25 screaming children. *sigh*

So how about you? Do have a special place you like to sit and admire nature's beauty (or hide from the neighbors)? I'd love to see what you have to share so go ahead and post something on your own blog and then return here to leave the link ~ Can't wait to see what you share!

Update: We had a few issues with Mr Linky (poor guy) but he's all fixed now so go ahead and join in if you'd like. If you have any trouble just contact me and I'll get your link posted.

Enjoy~

Around My House ~

I don't know about you but I'm always trying to come up with new things to blog about. School is one of my go-to subjects but it's been simply boring lately with the "Strategies for Online Learning" class I'm taking. *yawn* So I thought it might be nice to do a summer series called "Around My House".

Summer is a great time for sharing ~ the sunshine makes everything look and feel more alive and I love all the different activity in our yard; from new blooms to colorful birds and fresh veggies growing, there's loads of playful beauty to admire.

To kick things off I'm sharing... my front door. I know, it's not the most exciting part of the house but it does hold one of my favorite pieces. I picked up this twig star in a quaint country shop a few years back and added some "Paper Daisies" grown in my garden. Originally I tried tying the flowers on with wire but found that using a hot glue gun worked best.

Each week I'll add something new, a sort of "peek into" the world that surrounds me. I'd love for you to join me so let me know if you're interested. Do you have anything dressing up your front door? A favorite symbol or wreath with some home grown touches? Leave a comment if you post about it and I'll visit ~ or maybe we all will, whoot!

Update:
Oh and I'm so excited... other bloggers have decide to join in so here are some other wonderful participants to visit!

An Artful Mom

Bon's Front Porch

If you'd like to join in just leave me a comment with a link to your posting!

Enjoy~

Oh Nuts...

This was the scene from our kitchen window this morning...

Now those of you who frequent my blog know that I seldom (ok, never) post random happenings but honestly... how often can someone stand in their own kitchen (urban living mind you), look out their back window and capture a neighborhood squirrel going-to-town on a discarded peanut butter jar??

I've spent a lot of time in the country, even lived on a dairy farm for a few years but I've never seen this...

Yes, that's the little guy playing can-opener with the lid ~ I didn't realize they could even do that!

And to have actually caught the whole thing on film was absolutely priceless!

The comedy doesn't stop there though... it wasn't until I began posting these that I noticed the second little guy in the background ~ can you see him there in the second photo, looking on as though he'd missed the lottery? He almost looks stuffed doesn't he?!?

Honestly if it weren't for the actual photos I would have chalked the whole thing up to a delusional moment from having just pulled an all-nighter, finishing up a customer's dual banner order (think tent size), but here they are for all to see. This brought us so many smiles and laughs this morning and I sure hope it does to you too!

Enjoy~

While We Wait ~ a recipe

My husband's had some promising leads for work already this week and so we're currently playing the waiting game. To take a break from the stress I like to play in the kitchen sometimes, plus it helps save money and keeps us eating healthy too.

My husband used to have a bit of a weight problem, probably brought on by those 'hearty' farm meals he grew up with and the high school job he held at a local pizzeria. Whatever the case, he's managed to loose a good bit of weight over the past few years and one of his favorite weight loss tools has been my homemade salsa. He loves it because he can eat loads of it with a few tortilla chips and gain little weight.

Here's the recipe which I've created as an image so you can easily click to enlarge and either save it to your computer or print it out.

Personally I can't eat super spicy foods since I had my gallbladder out a few year back, so the basic recipe works great for me. The nice thing is it can be easily altered for hotter taste buds by simply adding more chili powder, garlic, or even a few hot peppers for a really spicy version. During the holidays I like making it look a bit festive by substituting green peppers for red. You can really have some fun playing with the recipe so I hope it brings a little spicy enjoyment to your day!

Enjoy~

Customer Shout Out & Home Sweet Home

Well, we're finally getting settled into our new home ~ have I mentioned how much I dislike moving?? Truth is we're exhausted and I'd love nothing more than to join my feline companion for a little cat nap. Honestly though, the entire experience went rather smoothly and I'm happy to know that most of the journey behind us now ~ just a few loose ends to finish up with.

As an icebreaker for getting back into the swing of things I thought a little shout-out for one of the recent custom order jobs I worked on might be nice. So here is a peek at Suburban Retreat's new blog theme.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with the hostess, Lisa, and just love how the eclectic French shabby chic theme turned out. Lisa possesses such a fabulous eye for chic decor and it's always such a pleasure visiting her blog.

I have a few new goodies coming soon too ~ some new blog backgrounds and themes so look for those in the coming days and in the meantime...

Enjoy!