Thanksgiving Planning

My husband and I are hosting his family at our home this year.  I'm really excited but having begun the planning, I'm looking at a l-o-n-g list of things to do.  I love entertaining...the festive dishes, decorations, spending time with family and friends but my biggest concern (actually it's more of a freak-out moment) is cleaning my house.  I'm not a great housekeeper.  I love having a clean house.  I just don't know exactly how people get it all done and maintain it!  I'm domestically challenged in that area.  I mean how do you keep your silverware drawer clean and organized??  It's a mystery to me...honestly.  I cleaned mine the other day.  Took everything out, washed the silverware tray, put them all back in an organized manner and there, just a couple of days later...debris (for lack of a better word) in the silverware tray AGAIN!  That's just one small example of the many!  Spots on the faucets, dust on the baseboards, crumbs on the counters, fingerprints on windows, smudges on doors, oh! and dog hair (but that's my fault 'cause I love my dogs) and on and on and on....it's mind-numbing to me. 

I'm a perfectionist that's a terrible housekeeper....the two DON'T mix : /   Can the two ever live at peace with each other?  How?  Do you have this trouble?  Is my house really not as bad as I see it?  How do you know when clean is clean enough for company?  I want to be able to enjoy my company and not feel the dust bunnies taunting me behind the backs of my family and friends. 

Well...I have chosen a safe but somewhat expensive fix to my disorder, problem, situation...hire someone!  Ahhh...now I like the sound of that.  How is it that I'm more confident in a strangers housecleaning skills than my own?  I don't know.  Refer back to the crossed-out words above...it's a disorder. 

SO, back to the main reason of my post.  I'm going to be blogging about my plans, recipes, and decorations as we get closer to time.  I actually prepare Thanksgiving dinner for my husband's employees every year.  I've done so for the past 6-7 years and I love it!  I prepare most dishes at home before (where I don't have to worry about my house being clean and I can enjoy the cooking process) then finish everything else at the office which has a full kitchen.  It's a little Sandra Lee, a little Paula Deen, and a whole lot of southern.  No holds barred on this meal...no calorie, cholesterol, fat gram, or sugar counting here!  Yep, it's all about eating until you're full, kicking back in your chair afterwards and loosening the button on the waistband.  Does a heart good to see people enjoying your food like that. 

Between the two meals, one for my husband's work (the Thursday before Thanksgiving) and my in-laws on Thanksgiving Day, I should be able to do alot of cooking at one time and freeze some dishes for the second meal.  I'll let you know how it's going.

Have you begun your holiday planning yet?  What's some of your favorite recipes?  Check back for one of mine....super easy, guaranteed crowd pleasing dish!

It Takes a Village...

Okay, I'm not really going "there" with this post but it does involve a village!  I purchased these at the thrift store.

There are seven buildings in all.  They are made from plaster or chalkware??  I spent a grand total of $2.99 for the set!  I loved the details...hated the way they were painted.  It was super glossy spray paint, poorly done.  So...out comes the oyster white spray paint.  I tried to take them back to a blank canvas.  However, I can't decide how I want to paint them.  I started with antiquing the off white and got this:

Hmmm....not sure I like it.  So, on to the next attempt of painting all of the details as they would appear in real life (okay, really I copied a Dept. 56 village building) and got this:

I like this better but it was a-l-o-t of work getting all of the detail painted.  (Not a great pic as the top of the building seems washed out...sorry).  But, then I kept looking at the remaining five buildings sitting there in their creamy white beauty and sort of liked them too.  Just think of these charming cottages nestled among some ironstone dishes in a holiday vignette : )

So, fellow villagers...hehehe, I know there's only like 8 of you but that's okay : ) ....which do you like best??

In Honor of the Last Days of Summer...

I know I've already posted about my fall decorating that's going on in my home, but I've been seeing so many blogs posting some pictures of the final days of summer.  I wanted to share some I took.  While we visited the gulf coast this past June, I snapped these of the condo's lobby.  It's beautifully decorated in, of course, sea shells, painting of boats and piers, and serene shades of blue and coral. 



love the huge piece of coral



beautiful cabinet...it's actually blue but appears gray
love the shells, they are huge!

coral again!!



this picture doesn't do the lamp justice.  just couldn't capture it's beauty.



close up of the lamp base

and, the final goodbye to the beach for the season.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  The lobby was beautiful.  I could have taken the furnishing home with me...but I think they would notice me leaving the parking lot with everything strapped to my car.  And, it's stealing.  But, I could have : )

Talk to you again soon!

50% Savings at CSN Lighting Store

I don't know if any of you are familiar with Eversave but it's a group you join, FOR FREE, and they send you daily deals for things in your area.  Today's deal is to purchase $30 worth of lighting at CSN for only $15!!!  What a deal!  Here's a link if you want to check it out:

Pay $15 for $30 worth of lighting products from CSNLighting.com. http://eversave.com/share/hBh7
 
(This is a link that gives me credit for sharing the deal with you.  If you wish to go to Eversave directly for the deal, you can also check them out at their website   http://eversave.com/  and sign up for the emails about daily deals.  Like I said, there is no charge to join and you are not obligated to ever purchase one of the deals.  It's similar to Groupon.)
 
So, if you haven't looked at the lighting from CSN, let's check some out:
 

And these are just of few of the hundres of light fixtures they have available.  Oh, did I mention that they have  FREE SHIPPING!   Love free shipping!! 

CSN Stores offer more than just lighting as well.  You can go to their website at http://www.csnstores.com/.  Even if you don't purchase anything, it's a great place to get ideas!!

Enjoy your day!

The Cabin Adventure

Hi all!  Well, we're back from our cabin camping adventure.  It was great fun as always.  We spent Friday to Sunday with my siblings and their families and friends.  There were about 25 of us in all.  This was our 5th year spending the 2nd weekend of September at the same campground on the river in the quaint little are of Townsend, Tennessee.  The weather this year was not as nice as it has been in years past...thanks to the remains of Tropical Storm Hermine.  So, what do you do when it's raining and you're in a cute, little town??  Go to the antique stores, of course!  That's exactly what we (the girls) did Saturday morning during the rain.  The men stayed at the campground pavilion and "manned" the smoker with the barbecue on it...oh, and watched football on a big screen...yep, they brought one with them, lol!  My daughter coined a new (at least to us) term..."glamping" that's glamour camping.  I won't lie...when the Volunteers began playing that evening, I was right there! 

Anyway, with the not-so-pleasant weather, I didn't decorate like I wanted.  So, instead of showing you our cabin, I've found a few cabins of others that are decorated very nicely.  Ya know, the new thing is to ditch the McMansions and live in the smallest amount of home that you possibly can.  It's funny how things cycle through life, isn't it?  So, here's some of the awesome, tiny homes that I found.

from Tiny House Blog...LOVE the garden!

from REDFIN Seattle Sweet Digs

from The Alternative Consumer

And the last one...my favorite and I know you'll love it too.  Be sure to check out her blog here

from Tiny Shabby Cottage at Shabby Chic Home blog

beautiful living room

salvaged window as is most of the construction

And, the beautiful sleeping loft!

Well, I hope you enjoyed these tiny homes.  I think I could live in one.  Our life would definitely have to change but we once lived in a tiny rental home between selling and purchasing a new house.  It was one of the best times in our family's life.  You really pare down to those things that are truly necessary that's for sure!