family

Garage saleing . . .

by casadeberry4 Comments on Garage saleing . . .

Our neighborhood has a garage sale that we’ve never been to – until this past Saturday. We went with my mother-in-law and her two sisters, and I have to say, my boys scored big time. Gran bought them eight – EIGHT! – Godzilla videos, assorted toys, a book, etc. I left with some cute Halloween candle holders (4 for $2) and this hose hanger ($1):
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Later the same day my husband went to Lowe’s and found the same hanger for $24.97 – score!

We had a lovely breakfast and on the way home we stopped at another garage sale down the street. This was just one family, but they had a great punch bowl set, which I brought home with me for $5. We don’t have one and since we host holiday gatherings, I figured it would be so nice for serving hot apple cider or some other festive drink:
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Then we came home and my oldest watched about 9 hours straight of Godzilla movies 😀

cats, pets

Feline royalty

by casadeberry38 Comments on Feline royalty

A couple of years after I got my first cat, Bernie, my then-boyfriend and I decided to get another cat. To put it mildly, Bernie wanted some company. He’d stand outside our bedroom door all night, meowing as loudly as he could because he was lonely. This is when we started to use earplugs.

I browsed through our local shelter’s website and found an adorable kitty, about 18 months old or so, named Jake. The one thing that stood out, so to speak, was that Jake only had one eye. He was described as loving and cuddly, but when I called the shelter they told me no one wanted to adopt him because he was missing an eye.

What??? Honestly, I’d rather take a sweet kitty missing an eye than a two-eyed cat that is mean or aloof. He came home with us a couple of days later and has been the most loving and snuggly cat I have ever met.
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This is our new kitty the night he came home with us. We gave him a new name – Willie (point if you get the reference), or as I call him, Willie Boo.

He rules the house, or rather, he rules Bernie, who is bigger but definitely not braver. He greets all our visitors with a quick sniff and then plops on the floor so he can be petted.
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He is also very good at being comfortable 😀

Recently, we had some animal show in the background and they began talking about the Egyptian Mau – Mau being the Egyptian word for Cat. Turns out our little Willie-Boo here belongs to a race over 3,000 years old, celebrated in artwork and worshiped by pharaohs. Then we found out that our friends’ cat is also an Egyptian Mau, signaled by the extra flap of skin under their bellies, an M marking on their forehead and a bird-like vocalization. Willie has chirped for years without us knowing it was a clue to his prestigious lineage.

On the downside, Willie is a licker with a sandpapery tongue, so if you come by, please don’t let him lick you for too long. My husband took a nap while Willie was licking his arm and woke up to dots of blood where his skin had worn off – yikes!

Here’s a really good shot of Willie that our friend took a few days ago:
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Last photo courtesy of Hyperfocal Studios

2011, boys, family, july

July 2011

by casadeberry2 Comments on July 2011

Here are some of my favorite moments in the past month:
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My handsome men worked on projects around the house, we saw friends and family and celebrated the Peruvian team’s victory in the America Cup, were happy to have family always nearby, and my youngest turned 5.

birthdays, boys

Happy birthday, Alex!

by casadeberry2 Comments on Happy birthday, Alex!

My youngest turned 5 on Sunday – I can’t believe it, it seems just yesterday I had my sweet new little bundle in my arms, so tiny and pink, peeking out into his new world:
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Now he’s going into kindergarten and is such a joy in our household:
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He adores his big brother, whatever he likes, Alex will like, it’s so sweet.

I wish for my sweet Alexander a life full of joy, may he always wake up smiling and go to bed gently like he does now, and may we be blessed with many years to see him grow and learn much more. I love you, Alexander!!!

boys, office, organizing, paper

My favorite paper goods store

by casadeberry2 Comments on My favorite paper goods store

Every couple of months I try to head up to Paper Source – I am lucky enough to have one 20 minutes away, and I just love their array of delicious papers for all sorts of paper crafts.

I’ve used their peacock paper on the back of my office tower, used it as artwork in my bathroom, and made tons of scrapbook pages and cards with it.

I recently got this notebook for my purse. We keep our calendar online but when we’re out and about and need to schedule something, this will certainly come in handy.

I love everything lavender and these will be great to freshen up with during the hot days of late summer.

I call my youngest my little monkey, and he needs a new backpack for kindergarten 😀

A new water bottle for my oldest to take to school?

I’ll keep you updated on what I end up getting!

nails, orange

Orange crush

by casadeberry2 Comments on Orange crush

Spotted this nail polish at Walgreens the other day and had to have it! It’s a steal at $1.99:
orange nails
I had just Mod Podged some scrapbook paper onto an old oatmeal container when I took the pic.

Have a great Tuesday!

books, boys

Table transformed

by casadeberry11 Comments on Table transformed

I was generously given a coffee table by my dear friend K. She was reconfiguring her living room and I happily took it off her hands. I forgot to take a picture of it before I took off the hardware and started sanding it, but it was pretty close to this one.

Here she is after some sanding:
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As you can see the center drawer is pretty wide and there are drawers on both sides, which I loved for all the storage possibilities.

I gave her a new coat of paint in Valspar’s Meadowlands. One of the knobs was missing so I got a cheap ORB set from Tarjay (it was 14.99 in the store):
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But it didn’t look right.

So I spray painted them Heirloom White:
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But still, I wanted something more vibrant because I knew what I wanted this table for.

So in came my friend Bauhaus Gold et voila!
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It was exactly what I wanted. I added some number stickers in black, to pop off the golden yellow knobs.

My oldest approved:
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And immediately started to set up a Godzilla monsters battle on top:
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My plan, however, was to make this a homework/craft table for the boys – the storage is great for all their workbooks, paints, stencils, crayons, markers, etc.
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And the height is also perfect for them – the table is bright and cheerful, and a great addition to my kids’ playroom.
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I am very happy with the finished result – it is my first time re-doing a piece of furniture and now I have plans for my youngest’s dresser. You know how it is, the first step is the hardest and now I am off, running in search of furniture to paint.

Hope you enjoyed my super-secret project!

Weekend Bloggy Reading Ladybird LnDesigner Garden



dining room, kitchen, past project

Past Projects: Our Kitchen and Dining Room

by casadeberry2 Comments on Past Projects: Our Kitchen and Dining Room

The first project we tackled when we moved in to our home in August 2004, was the kitchen/dining room. The cabinets needed to go, and the general color, although light, was very dingy and dreary. The white appliances probably didn’t help, and the tile wasn’t our favorite either:

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beforekitchen1

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That’s our realtor in the last picture 😀

We decided to go bold and my husband chose a warm red for the walls – Briquette by Behr and honey colored cabinets with a granite top. He and a friend did the demo and my husband’s uncle hooked us up with the cabinets and granite.

Now here is the dining room as you walk in from the living room
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Our hutches are both from IKEA
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The door goes into the laundry room/pantry area and then into the garage
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I found these sweet fleur-de-lis candles on clearance at Pier One – score!
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My fridge is covered in picture magnets as you can see
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I love the hanging pot rack so much that we added another one – saves so much storage space!
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I have a lazy susan to the left of the stove with my oils, vinegars and often-used condiments, some of them I’ve decanted onto glass bottles and labeled with chalkboard labels. On top of the microwave are our Torani syrups. We had a Torani bar at our wedding since it was kind of our signature to offer guests an Italian soda 😀
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Next to the fridge on the counter you can see the most often used ingredients in the house – oatmeal, peanut butter and honey. I recently stopped using the instant packets and now make the less sugary kind, with just a dash of honey. My youngest sure loves his oatmeal!!!

I love my kitchen and dining room, it is warm and inviting with colors that draw you in. I hope you’ve enjoyed look at this Past Project!