Thanksgiving

Growing up, Thanksgiving meant traveling to see the grandparents. 
My dad's family lived in Mississippi.
My mom's family lived in Arkansas. 
We would alternate where we would go for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year.
But we made sure that we were in Arkansas when the other family would be there. 
This went on for years, but as grandparents passed away, we started having Thanksgiving at home.  There was no tradition for a while, and once my family even traveled to Gatlinburg for the holiday. 

Once my parents bought their own house, (I grew up in church manses), my dad was very adamant about having Thanksgiving at home.  So my sister and family would travel from Collierville to my parents, I would make the short trek from my house, and my brother-in-laws parents would come and join us also.  This has been our tradition since my parents moved.  This year was the same, but we added a few family members. 

My mom's sister and husband joined us from Indiana. 
My cousin Jamie, her husband Eric, and their two kids Lilly and Will came from St. Louis.
Jaime's (brother-in-law) parents and brother and his fiance' joined us.
Lou and Jake joined us.
There were a total of 19 people at Thanksgiving. 
It reminded me of Thanksgivings in Calico Rock, Arkansas.
This is where my mom and her sisters grew up.
We would have Thanksgiving in the house my grandpa built.
There would be 1 bathroom for 14 or so people. (My parents have 2)
We were all together. 

This year we did have a few family members that were unable to make the trip, but it was still so incredibly fun to have many of us back together.
My mom's youngest sister drove down from Kansas City on Friday with her two grandsons. 
It was so good to see my mom and both of her sisters together.  I can't remember the last time they were all together. 

It was just a great weekend, and I have so much to be thankful for. 

That is all :)

Adventures in Cleaning

Pinterest has been absolutely wonderful for helping me find cleaning solutions that were more natural and environmentally friendly.  I am not a maniac when it comes to being completely environmentally friendly, but if I can do something that will not have fumes or is not safe to breathe in or put down the sink, then I am all for it!!

My first project was to clean my washing machine.  I didn't want to take the whole thing apart, and it's pretty old, but I read that filling it up with hot water and adding 2 cups of bleach and putting it on the longest wash would kill the bacteria and other junk that might be lurking in the crevices we cannot see.  All I can say is WOW!!  I like a light smell of bleach, and the smell let me know it was cleaner than before :)  I have decided to do this once a month since the machine is so old.

 

 

 

 

This all started when I wanted to deep clean my towels.  They have had this really musty, mildewy smell after they get wet, so instead of throwing them all away and buying new ones, I tried a method of vinegar and baking soda!  Pinterest to the rescue!!  First I collected EVERY towel I owned.  Even the kitchen towels used for display because you never know when you are going to need them.  It took me a couple of days to do them all, but WELL worth it. 

 

I ran the washer on the hottest wash and longest cycle.  I added a cup of vinegar when it was full, and then waited for the load to finish.  As soon as it was done, I added a half cup of baking soda and ran them again.  Once that was done, I threw them in the dryer.  That was all!  Let me tell you, my towels smelled SO AMAZING!!!!  And...once they got wet in the shower and even a few hours after, they still smelled fresh!!  I was so so happy!!!  It's the little things :)

 

I can't tell you what a difference it truly made, my towels were not fluffy, they wouldn't soak up water as well as in the past, and I've had most of them for 7 years, but I love them.  And now, they are incredibly fluffy, they soak up tons of water (especially with my hair), and now I have decided to deep clean my towels every 6 months.  It is a LONG process, but SO worth it!!

 

Hope this helps you!!

Pictures and Frames

I am tired of the pictures on my wall that really don't reflect my personality at all, so I decided I needed to put up actual pictures of my family - especially of Lou and I, and my nephews!  I have TONS of pictures on my computer, but want to start showing them off!

 

Lately I have been seeing the very trendy, curvy, colorful frames, and I LOVE them, but I don't love the cost, so I thought I would try a few different things to make my own.

 

Hobby Lobby has a great selection of unfinished wood products, but no curvy frames.  But, I like the wood pieces and thought it would be cool to do a stacked frame.   I ran to JoAnn's and they had curvy frames in different sizes!!  Perfect!! 

 

Here is the first frame I made :)

I took a regular piece of decorative wood and painted it black, and then took the fram and painted it white - like you couldn't tell what color I painted them :)

 

I then took a picture I have had of B for a while and placed it in the frame, and then I started to wonder how on earth am I going to get this to stay on the black frame.  What I did next was probably not the smartest idea and I am going to probably regret it later, but pictures are priceless and I really don't anticipate changing them out....I nailed the top frame to the bottom.  Yep, nailed it in and did it good.  So yeah, it's in there, but of course it won't be hard to get it out, but I probably won't be able to use the frame after I do that.

 

This is actually two frames from Hobby Lobby.  These don't come with glass, but I was able to take an old 8x10 frame that I did not like anymore and use the glass and it worked perfectly!!

The glare on the picture was not intentional, but my sister and T got left out :(

 

 

I wanted them both to look a little weathered, so I wasn't perfect with the paint, but when I put it on my blue walls it just popped and looked so good!!!  I also nailed the top frame to the bottom, but I don't know of another way right now.  I added a wall hanger to the back - cheap at Hobby Lobby.

 

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I did buy the yellow curvy frame in this pic at Hobby Lobby, it was 50% off. 

I also LOVE Glory Haus frames!!  A bit expensive, but OH SO CUTE!! 

I have 4 of them, and I just LOVE them!! 

(The people in the "So Happy Together" frame are models.  I wish I was that thin.)

 

The picture in the yellow frame is Lou and his son, Jake, at the beach this summer.

 

Here is my new picture frame wall. 

 

 

I put a small desk on the wall, and it fit perfect because the bar counter area is right next to it. 

I bought the "Welcome" sign years ago at Ross, I think, and had placed it on my TV armoire, but thought it looked good on the wall.  I also had a small canvas a friend of mine painted years ago as a Christmas gift and it looked perfect!  Yep, the lamp is pretty bright, but it's really cute.  The two frames on the desk and the empty one on the wall are all Glory Haus.  I just love walking in the door and looking at the wall!  I have also ordered a few more curvy frames from an online vendor that have excellent, affordable, cute frames!  I am so excited to get them in the mail!! 

 

I have never really jumped on the trendy decor bandwagon, mostly because I know it will go out of style as quickly as it came in, but I just love these frames, and pictures are timeless. 

 

I will post later with the other frames I have in progress and the ones I bought, but here is a pile to work on...also I didn't have to buy all of this at one time.  I like to buy things with the ambition to make cute things and then they sit in my spare room and collect dust, but now I am determined to get them done. 

 

 

Also!!!  I sent my pictures to CVS and when you sign up you get 25 4x6 prints for free!!!!

I was so excited!! 

 

Hope you enjoy!

 

Liz