Our treasure hunt is a success!!

Susan and I made the trip to Warrenton Antique Fair today and enjoyed it so much!! The weather was wonderful, we ran into some friends and Homespun customers and everyone seemed to be finding some treasures....I was not left behind. Found a silver tray for my new bathroom redo, some old glass lamps that I am going to have remade into the hanging lights for our new bedroom (whenever it is my turn on the remodel list) a really cute necklace and cute top made from antique lace that I am really thinking hard about becoming my Easter outfit, a cute chick in a wire cage, pottpouri and wooden buckets and some new magnets for my redone kitchen wall....see told you I did good don't you think?? The show goes on through this weekend all next week and through Saturday of the first weekend of April so if you have some time grab a friend, hubby or neighbor and get out there!! The drive is full of bluebonnets and full tanks on the road side which is a glorious site to see after our dry summer...and let me know what you find!

Did you think I got lost?

I can't say I have been doing anything exciting just dove back into my cleaning spree and have been able to get a handle on most of it. I have one more room to do and just a few cabinets to go through then I will be done....well after I get some boxes and pack away the things for our garage sale hopefully next month...the good news is I have lots of empty shelves and closets just in time for THE ROUND TOP ANTIQUE FAIR!!! Susan and I traditionally go to the Werrington show the week before but have not been able to do so the last couple of years so we are making a solid date for Thursday to head that way. If you have never been you are missing alot of fun, great food and lots of hidden treasures!! Here is a link to the Round Top show...it starts the first weekend in April..do you think I could talk hubby into going back with me then??? hummmm

http://www.roundtoptexasantiques.com/

The end of spring break

Spring break is over and we are spending today getting back on target. Cleaning house, putting up gutters on the back of the house hopefully before the rains hit again and getting prepared for our week. With each marble that I find out of place and block that is uncovered hiding under the coffee table I have to smile at the fun we had this past week. It was filled with showing Carson his big boy bed that "Da" made. Any time Peyton gets to spend the day and night with us it is always full of giggles and fun. They had fun learning how to shuck an oyster and even tried one (their faces were priceless!!) But the tradition we look forward to the most is the Rodeo!! They ride the ponies,feed and pet the animals, ride the rides and most of all get to eat the coolest things...like pizza on a stick!! We all decided next year we would try going to the night time rodeo and see all the races and bull riding...they were all for that. I hope you guys had as nice a spring break at your house, I would love to hear what went on...now it is on to planning for Easter and the Easter bunny...I love being a kid again how about you?

Weekend project...magnetize!!

For those of you who know me you know I don't like clutter of any kind. I like things orderly, neat and in it's place, displayed and not "stuck". It really kept me hopping at the shop because of course when people look, feel and buy out of a display it MUST be redone to look good again, at least to my eye. So that led me to this weekends project....CLEANING OFF MY REFRIGERATOR! I love all the pictures art work etc just not there...so here was my solution...

I had seen this product used on TV and remembered they made a wall magnetized so I had to try it. I put it on hubby's Home Depot list, he found it easily and so my project was off to a good start.

First we used blue tape to mask off the area of the wall we wanted our magnet board. Then we put three to four thin layers of the magnet paint on the wall. We sanded the wall a little before painting because our wall had a satin paint on it so we wanted to have a good surface. Each coat takes about 30 minutes to dry so it doesn't take long. Hint...if you will wrap your roller in a plastic grocery bag between coats you don't have to clean it and it will stay wet between coatsThe instructions suggest no more than two coats of top coat should go on top of the magnetic paint so we used Kilnz for our first coat since our walls are so light in color I was afraid it wouldn't cover the black of the magnetic paint. This may have been a mistake I think it blocked a little too much but it still worked out okay, but I would not do it this way again.....just sayin'The last step was to paint with the wall color paint and then put the trim up that Hubby had painted for me to frame it out...so what do you think? Much better than a messy fridge door
and a lot more room for our budding artist!!

and you know I couldn't stop there, with the left over paint I did a small closet door in the kids room, now they have a special place for their art work in progress. Hint #2 the magnetic paint is hard to clean up so cover things and if you are messy like I am..nail polish remover will take it off your hands, I am still working on the sleeve of my shirt!! Happy painting!

Let's decorate some eggs!!

Don't you love these eggs!! I can see them in a rustic bowl with some moss or natural straw or surrounding a candle or bunny in a centerpiece. You could even attach a ribbon or raffia and tie them to a tree branch that you have trimmed the ideas are endless. I think with extra time on my hands this year I might try decorating some eggs...if you like the look of these you can find the directions HERE or is this more your style?? Don't you love the tea dyed colored eggs along with the blue?? The are easy to do too....you can find those HERE Do you have any other ideas or easy way to make our eggs extra special this year? Let me know and HAPPY DECORATING!!

The Scents of Homespun

I have had several emails about where you might find some of the wonderful candles and diffusers that we carried. So here is the contact information for our top sellers. Mc Calls country candles were our top selling candles they are clean burning and a really strong scent, they do have a website that you can order from but remember that your shipping will be better if you will order several at a time. They also have the cottage cups that you all loved in lots of yummy scents. You can contact them HERE



Our other most requested item was the diffusers we carried. They are from The Scent Shop. You can order them HERE, again remember about the shipping cost and get you a good supply...they make great gifts too....I love this companies diffusers, they last longer and smell stronger than any other I have ever found, I stocked up on them myself before closing the shop.

Rainy Days are coming..Need something fun?

If you need something fun to do during the next few rainy days I highly recommend the movie The Lorax. It is adorable, lots of bright colors, dancing singing and fun characters, but what else would you expect from Dr Seuss. I will admit I had never read this book but was totally mesmerized by the story and found myself singing the songs all afternoon long. So take in a matinee and save room in your diet plan for popcorn you will be glad you did!

A good day for an Adventure

Lots of fun today, Susan and I ventured out for the first time together since we closed the shop. We were both going through a little withdrawal and I have not been able to drive my car all month cause hubby likes that job so I really felt liberated!! We decided to eat lunch HERE, what a fun place. It was like going back in time to an old soda fountain diner, the parking was a little tricky but well worth the trip and while we were on 38th we decided to visit Sweet Charity. I had never been to this gift shop sponsored by Seton Hospital but Susan had told me about it and what cute unusual things that had and she was right! They had alot of the things that we saw and recognized but also lots of different things too....I really
liked the children's area....Mike had been looking for
a set of marbles and they had one with a cute draw
string bag to hold them and I got an Old Maid card
game for the kids to play!! I used to love to play this
when I was little, hope they do too. Next we went
to Tipler Antique Lamp Shop. Mike told me about this several months ago...Oh my they have some wonderful lights and lamps, and they will custom make lamps for you too! I am still looking for
what I want to put in our bedroom and I think now I
will be able to find or design the perfect one, I will keep you posted, but if you are interested you can
find them HERE another great locally owned small
business that appreciates our support and such nice helpful people to boot!

Perfect Day for Flying a Kite

If you have never experienced the Zilker Park
Kite festival you really need to. We have been in Austin almost 35 years and this is the first time we have ventured out and it is amazing! You can't imagine all the kites from big and fancy to the smallest ones that can be held in the palm of your hand!!
We started out at Burger Center thinking we would catch the shuttle and found out the wait in line was at 1 hour...no way with a four year old in tow, so we got brave and decided we would to try to find a parking place down by the park. Shannon dropped us off at one of the paths and went to park to meet up with us down the walk. It took us probably 30 minutes or so to finally get to the soccer fields where there were millions (well maybe not millions but ALOT of people and kites) We found an empty space for our quilt, guys went of too get us some must have kettle corn and strawberry lemonade and we laid back and took it all in! SO much fun!! We then hiked over to the play scape and found out we could cut through the pool area and cut about 20 minutes off our walk back to the car.... which by that time was a blessing for sure....what a fun afternoon!! so if you get the chance mark your calendar for next spring and venture out...hey we might run into you there and share a blanket!

March 1st !!!

March 1st can you believe it?? Where was our winter?? We have had 80-90 degrees most days most didn't even feel like that much of a break from summer except those temps were in the 110's and we have had some wonderful rain, but I miss the cold cold days and nights when soups and stews simmer all day and make the house smell yummy...so since this might be our last chance I fixed chili today and I must say I LOVE this recipe! I got it off my new favorite place Pintrest and this is the second time I have made it. It is so easy and lots of flavor good in a bowl with cornbread or crackers or our favorite as a frito pie, but anyway you have it I think you will like it...and let's give credit where it is due this recipe was "pinned" from HERE, which is a great place to bookmark she has great recipes!!
1 lb ground beef - browned
2 16oz cans of Bush's Chili Beans ( I used one)
1 14.5 can beef broth
1 can rotel tomatoes
2 tsp minced onions
1 garlic clove
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup ketchup

Pour it all into a crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours. When serving top with cheese and green onions if you want. Enjoy!!

Another thing I am trying since I am trying to get back into fighting shape (or at least in to my summer jeans!) Is Sassy Water...but more about that tomorrow.