Bloggy Giveaway!

Hop on over to and take a look at La Vie de Laurie and leave a comment to win this fabulous brand new COACH SOHO MULTI PRINT HOBO that retails for $298. There is nothing I like more than going to the mall and drooling over the eye candy in the Coach store. Someday I'll even get one. Hey maybe it will be sooner than I think and I'll win this giveaway. Have a great day.

The house tour will continue in a couple of days. I have a meeting at my house tonight and an adoption shower on Thursday. I stayed up late last night making these. You can get intructions here to make your own.

I'll post a pic when I get mine hung up tomorrow.

House Tour - Dining Room

I've been working on the dining room for the last week. Everytime I have an event here I try to get a room painted and window treatments done. This week I am hosting an adoption shower. Well this room got painted twice last week. The first color was a pretty blue, but it was just too pretty. It looked like it belonged in a little boy's room. I will probably use the remaining half gallon for a project in my son's room. I have a friend who is an interior designer and she helped me pick out a better color. We went with Sherwin Williams Uncertain Grey. I was a little UNCERTAIN :) as I was rolling it onto the wall. Why does it always look really bad at night when it's being rolled on? I decided to wait until the next day to make a final decision. I didn't want to paint it a third time. Everything always looks better in the morning.

Pay no attention to the legs in the mirror:)

The wall with the mirror looks a little bare so I will be taking the advice of fellow bloggers here. And then hanging the plates like Susie Harris from Bienvenue did here in her bedroom. I'll show you that project when I do it in the next couple of weeks.

I've has this window treatment in the works for quite a while, but the paying customers always come first. What do they say? "The cobbler's children have no shoes." Well the seamstress' windows have no coverings. I am glad I finished it. It still needs some rosettes that I ordered for the swags. I'll post another picture when I get them. This room is not quite complete. I still need to paint the ceiling and do a few little projects, but I like the way things evolve over time. The end result is nice, but I enjoy the process much more. Stay tuned for the next room. It may take a couple of days to get a room photo ready.

House Tour

I thought I would give a house tour. We have only lived in this house about a year. We weren't really looking to move although we were starting to bust out of our old home. With mom, dad, 3 very active boys and grandpa, it was getting crowded.

Here is a picture of our old house.

Oh how I miss the old neighborhood. I loved my neighbors and had formed some great friendships there. I still see my friends, but it's not the same as walking over to say hello. But, nothing lasts forever. This neighborhood is not quite the same. We haven't lived here long enough yet. I do have wonderful neighbors on one side that have been very kind to us. People tend to keep to themselves more here. I guess everyone is just so busy.





So here is the story of how we came to move. My husband and I like to go driving around and looking at new homes. I even like to drive through neighborhoods at night so I can see inside houses. I like to see how people have decorated their homes. I wouldn't call myself a Peeping Tom (well maybe I would):) We were driving through this neighborhood with new construction and got out and looked at a few. Well, I fell in love with THIS house.

When my husband said he loved it too and maybe it would be doable I got very excited. Three months later we were moving in. One of the things we love about this house is it is very close to our church. Since we are very involved in the ministry there it makes it very convenient. Here you have it. The exterior. Stay tuned for the dining room tomorrow.

One of the Best Purchases I've Ever Made!

Early this summer My mother and sister were visiting. Well, when the 3 of us are together we shop till we drop. Maybe it's we shop till I drop. They are marathon shoppers and I just tag along. I must put a disclaimer in here, because they don't shop all the time. My sister lives in a remote part of Canada and the nearest big city is 5 hours away. So when visiting Atlanta or anywhere else where there is such variety, what is one to do except stock up? My mother has always been a marathon shopper. Sorry mom, your secret is out:)

So on this particular day of the week long shopping extravaganza we headed to the North Georgia Premium Outlets. These are my favorite outlets because there is a Pottery Barn Outlet there. I cannot say how happy this place makes me!! We are happily meandering through the aisles of candles, lamps and pillows. Then I spot it. At first I'm not sure what it is, but I feel drawn to this object. When I get closer I realize it is a huge flat basket almost 5 feet in diameter. The original price said $219, but it was marked down to $39. No, it couldn't be. I had to have it. My mom and sister asked what I was going to do with. I said I thought I was going to hang it on the wall. They looked perplexed, but I had a vision. I have a two story entry with a large wall above the dining room. I thought it would fit the space nicely.

We jammed it into the van and drove home. When I brought the basket into the house my husband asked what I was going to do with it. When I told him my plan he thought I was crazy!!! I had to do some convincing to get him to hang it. He didn't see my vision, but bless his heart he put it up anyway with the help of his dad. I think he gets it now, cause it looks so good hangin on the wall. See for yourself.

The dining room is being painted as we speak. Not sure about the color yet. I'll post more about that when it's done. Happy Monday everyone!

MOO Said the Cow!

Today we had field trip to Mayfield Dairy with some of our friends from church. It's an interesting little place that offers free tours of the milk plant where they process milk. We learned a couple of tidbits about milk on the tour.

1. The date on the milk container is the sell by date.


2. Milk is good 5 to 10 days after this date depending on how it is stored.


3. You should store your milk in the back of the refrigerator to keep it at a constant cold temp.


4. If you store it on the door, everytime you open the door the temp can change.


5. If you're unsure about milk, just pour some and smell. The nose always knows:)
   

We had to all wear hairnets while we on the tour. The kids looked so cute.

Here are 2 of the 3 boys.

Here's my little on trying to look goofy.

Why can't they just smile nice when you want them to?

The best part of the tour is the ice cream at the end. Mayfield makes delicious ice cream. Here the kids are eating with all of their friends. And of course we had to get a group shot in front of Bessie. I'm not sure that is her real name.

MOO said the cow!! We had a great time.

You Gotta Love a Good Gusher!

Well they are finally DONE. I feel like I have been sewing these cushions for years. Not really, but almost. It is the summer and all the kids are home from school, so finding time to sew without interruptions is almost impossible. But, I did it.

My client was thrilled. I guess she couldn't picture what they were going to look like. She told me she thought they would look like any old seat cushion you get at a large discount store. I told her CUSTOM is just that, CUSTOM. No one else will have the exact one. They were made to fit her chairs specifically. I love it when a client gushes over how lovely everything is. Not really because I like the praise, but because I truly want them to enjoy what is in their home. I have had people not like the final result even though they had a picture of what it would look like. It is not a good feeling . And then there are the times when you just don't know if they like it or not. So for all of you who ever have any kind of work done, be is design or just a good haircut, go ahead and gush. Tell them you love it. It will make someone's day to know you are going to enjoy what was done for you. This is the whole look. Custom valances and Cushions.

Beach Fun @ Hilton Head

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I thought I would give digital scrapbooking a chance. Not bad for my first try.

Bye Bye Pink RAZR, HELLO iPhone!!!

Well I can't believe I did it. I survived a 3 hour wait with 3 boys in line and got my iPhone! Even though at times I thought I was going to have to tape their mouths and tie them up, it was worth it. Usually my husband has all the latest tech gadgets. He does have an iTouch, but MY iPhone is much cooler. I think he may be a little jealous. He would have one himself but his employer needs him to have a Blackberry and 2 phones are not necessary.

I haven't played with everything yet, but I plan to use this gadget to the fullest of its abilities. I really only used my last phone as a phone and nothing else, so I am a bit excited about all the features of my new phone.
Bye Pink RAZR you have served me well

iPhone

I have been waiting ever since the iPhone first came out to get one. I just couldn't justify the $600 price tag. Well today I am finally going to get it. The price has come down by half, and they have been redesigned to be better. I am so excited. The only thing is, that I have to get up super early w/ 3 boys to stand in line at the apple store. I am not looking forward to occupying them for 2 hours or more. It should be interesting. Here is a pic of my new phone.

Welcome to the world of blogging.

So I thought I should start a blog because I'm not a good scrapbooker. I have all the scrapbooking supplies and albums. I had great intentions when my first son was born 9 years ago, but I still have not completed his baby book. It just takes too long to get everything out just to put it all back since I do not have a room I can dedicate to just scrapping.

I want to remember the little things in life about my children growing up, about our family and our home. What better way to do this than by blogging. So here I am with my first blog post.

A rare picture of the the whole clan.