For all you Frugal Fashionistas!

Homecoming 2010

Last week was Homecoming at my children's school, so it was a flurry of activity all week. One of the biggest highlights was that DD was on Homecoming Court, which was so much fun for her.

During the Homecoming game pep rally she was escorted by her little brothers! I don't know that they appreciated the experience like they should have!

During the Walk-Out for the Homecoming festivities, she was escorted by her handsome Daddy!

It was another one of those bitter sweet nights for a Mom. She is a Senior and our time of sharing events like this with her is ebbing away...the countdown is on ,and I hear the ticking of the clock much louder than I would like. Only one or two more formal occasions in her High School career and after that, well...I will be lucky if I see photos on Facebook. Sigh....

Since we all love the shoes!

She and her handsome date getting ready to catch a limo with friends to the Homecoming Dance.

Aren't' they cute?

Ahhh, to be young again.............

Baby steps and Monday Motivation!

Wow, I am showing y'all my mess (or at least ONE of them...there are plenty more). You may be asking why I am showing you the deep dark secrets that my kitchen cabinets hide; well, it is part of my New Years Resolution to pare down and simplify (Year 2!). Once-upon-a-time this was a well oiled and organized cabinet - one that provided much support and help in my times of need...Now? Not so much! Over the last couple of, gulp, years I have let it become a jumbled mess of stick-anything-that-doesn't-have-a-place-in-that-cabinet (think: that scary kitchen junk drawer - on steroids!) So today I tasked myself with tackling this cabinet, just this one as to not overwhelm or scare the natives...baby steps!

This is the cabinet that holds all my lunch making supplies and left over paper products from various parties and such. One thing I really dislike is being wasteful and by letting this cabinet become disorganized, I was very wasteful because many things that could have been used over the years were forgotten or became damaged and had to be discarded. THAT really bothers me!

Removing everything was where I started and deciding what things needed to find a better home was the 1st step to progress. Also, deciding what things needed to find the trash can was another important step! The collection of flower vases found a lovely home in the basement, neatly placed on a shelf!

Now things are back in and organized! We can now make use of the left over paper products as the need arises AND I can easily find the right dish without having to "unstack" the world.

FINISHED!

Gosh, I feel almost giddy!

Painting Product that we LOVE!

Do you have one of these? If not, you NEED (yep...NEED) one if you are a homeowner! DH and I have done our fair share of decorating and remodeling over the years and, truly, this product is probably what kept DH willing to go along with all my "ideas". It is the Wagner Power Roller. This cool gadget makes painting a snap, snap, snap (well, at least to my DH it does!!!!).

It is pretty cool because you actually attach the roller to your paint can an it keeps a steady flow of paint going and prevents you from wearing yourself out going back and forth to the paint pan. We have also found that it applies a really nice, consistent coat of paint and cuts down on the number of coats required. It is also surprisingly easy to clean up.

This is my adorable DH (in his painting clothes!), just last Saturday repainting our master bedroom (after I announced late on Friday night that I wanted to change the color!) Yep, he is good!!!. He is applying the color to the walls after having used the Power Roller to cover the previous paint (a deep wine color) with primer. Trust me, the Power Roller is the bomb!

http://www.wagnerspraytech.com/portal/wagner_990_spray,43310,747.html

***Note: Because of some new law or some such, I must tell you that I have NOT received one iota of compensation for this product recommendation!

Please pray for Haiti...

I don't talk much about current events here on Southern Somedays, but the massive earthquake that has devastated Haiti has touched the heart of our family. My DD spent time in Haiti last Summer as part of a group working with New Missions http://newmissions.org/ so there has been much concern here for those dear, sweet people she worked with. The group DD went with spent a lot of time working and teaching VBS to children at the New Mission School and also doing rice feedings (which can feed a family for up to 2 months) and medical missions. If you have a moment please pray for all the citizens of Haiti and also for the relief workers that are hard at work. If you feel led to give or want to volunteer, New Missions can show you how: http://newmissions.org/

Decorating Delimmas Party...Round 5!

Today I am not going to be tardy to the Party! I am participating in Amanda's Decorating Dilemmas (or in my case, Solution) Party:

http://serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/2010/01/decorating-dilemmas-partyround-5.html

NEW HOPE for this CHEST!

Isn't this delightful? In an 80's kind of way? This isn't a photo of my actual Hope Chest (do people still call them that?), as I got all caught up in my project and forgot to take a before photo, but this is very similar to what I started with...except this sad fabric is way, way better than what I actually started with ~ yes, it was THAT bad. The oak finish is the same, and the lovely handles are identical as well, so work with me here.

You may even be wondering why I would bother to redo this chest, but it really does have a deep sentimental value to me as my DH bought it for me one Christmas when we were dating. It is a cedar lined Lane Hope Chest. It currently holds all kinds of memories from our life together and I don't think I could ever bring myself to get rid of it. Although I can't part with it, I was for sure convinced it needed a face lift.

So, I grabbed some fabric, light grained sand paper, wood filler, tack cloth, black paint, natural cherry stain, new knobs, and in 8 easy steps I had a "new" chest.

1. First, I removed the upholstered top and recovered with fabric using a staple gun
2. Next, removed original handles and filled holes with wood filler/Spackle and let dry (the original handles had 2 screws but the new ones only had 1)
3. Lightly sanded the original oak finish to make it adhere to the paint better and to smooth out where I had filled the handle screw holes
4. Wiped it all down with a tack cloth to remove any sanding residue
5. Painted with fast drying black latex paint (2 coats) - let dry
6. Brushed on 1 coat of Minwax Polyshades (stain & solyurethane in 1) of natural cherry satin stain on the lip below where the upholster top, which I wanted to leave wood grain but needed it to be redder than the original oak finish to coordinate with my new knobs - let dry
7. Re-attached upholstered top
8. Drilled holes for new knobs and attached!
   

TAAAAAHDAAAAH!

Cost of project, less than $20! Time, less than 1 day depending on drying time!

Old Men Clothes...

I used to think that lots of old men wore the clothes that they had worn 30-40 years ago that had been fashionable back in the day. I was actually really impressed with how well things held up and how much care they took in keeping their "old" clothes in good repair. USED to think, that is until I saw Manny's:

Yep, last month, when DH and I were in Naples we ran across Manny's...apparently this is the place to aquire the official old man clothes....NEW old man clothes....or maybe that is NEW clothes for the old man?

So there you have it, complete with high-waisted, baby blue, polyester slacks with a white patent belt, no less....I just never knew!

Chic...moi?

Well, even if I am not all that Chic, I still was tickled pink and green to get this cute, cute and soooo Chic Award! Sweet and very stylish Cherish at http://www.cherishanna.blogspot.com/ awarded me this today and just made my day! Y'all head over and check out her wonderful blog and her drop-dead gorgeous header photo...

I also want to pass along this Chic Blogger Award to a few of my other Chic-O-licious bloggy friends:

Julie @ http://www.browneyedbellejulie.blogspot.com/

Preppy 101 @ http://www.southernandpreppy.blogspot.com/

Amanda @ http://www.serenitynow4amanda.blogspot.com/

PrincessFreckles @ http://www.princessfreckles.blogspot.com/

How could I forget?

I was reminded by a little birdy this morning that I hadn't posted anything about our exciting visit from a Washington, DC VIP in December. I don't know how I forgot to blog about it, as it seemed to consume a week of our very limited December (which is probably why I felt a huge crunch in getting ready for Christmas this year and why I blogged very little about Christmas happenings around the Southern Somedays homestead!!!).

Anyway, I did post about our great anniversary trip but didn't include how the afterglow of that trip quickly dissipated when we arrived back home. When our plane touched down in Atlanta, DH immediately received a call telling him he needed to meet with the Secret Service 1st thing on Monday mornings....WHAT? Well, his plant (he is the Director of Operations) was going to be hosting the Vice President of the...ah....United States for a press conference later in the week. Talk about something out of left field. No, that was NOT a veiled political comment!

So, on the day of the press conference DD and I managed to be cleared to be there. We apparently are NOT (thanks Hiedi! :0) on any "bad people" list. DD even got to tag along with the official White House Photog on the private tour to take pictures! What a hoot for a high school senior.

DD, Vice President Joe Biden, DH and me!DH, Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (we love Sonny!), DD

We didn't see much of DH that week as it seemed there was always something to deal with in preparation. DH refers to it as the week he hung out with 20 of his newest, best friends (the kind that know EVERYTHING about you). It was really interesting seeing how something like this comes together and all the folks that make it happen. The logistics would leave you in awe!

So, no matter where you fall politically, I have to say it was a pretty cool day!

Give Away Fun at Julie's!

Look at this cute, cute, cute give away package. Julie (Brown Eyed Belle) over at http://browneyedbellejulie.blogspot.com/ is sponsoring this give away. Y'all check it out!!!!

Fun in the Georgia Snow!

My boys trying to make snow angels in our tiny amount of snow.
brothers....

brotherly love...

He has been wearing this same hat since K5!

My boys

what??????????

DS2 is the less experienced in this snow stuff. He is the only one of my children who hasn't really had to cope and live in the snow, as he was too young to play in it when we lived up north.

Walks in the woods are best when it snows.

Snow in the Southland!

Would have been nice before Christmas...but

at last we got a dusting of snow last night.

Fun Friends Friday!

This is a little cabinet given to me by my dear friend Cathy (over at http://cathysoutjunkinagain.blogspot.com/), on her last "I am cleaning out MY stuff!" day ~ along with a gorgeous wardrobe for my DD's room. Cathy is one of those amazingly talented souls that finds treasure everywhere, in stuff and in people. I have tagged along with her during one of her frequent yard sale hunts and let me tell you, she has an eye that can't be beat...she finds gold. I am not only blessed by her friendship but also love getting to take advantage of her cast-offs!

Anyway, she gave me this little cabinet and suggested that I paint it and use it to store nail polish or little toiletries. Well, I finally got it done and I love it! It now hangs in our Master bath and it works perfectly for all those little bottles of color.

Gosh, it is wonderful to have creative and inspiring friends!!!!

13!

Yep, we now have 2 teenagers in our house. DS1 morphed into a teenager over night. I can't believe it. I found myself looking at him, now that he is getting taller than I am, and wondering what the next season of his life will bring him and our family. On his birthday, he and I took some rare Mom/Son time and went to see a great movie, The Blind Side (if you haven't seen it GO, GO, GO!). I hope that I can learn to be a good mom to a young man and we can navigate the challenges ahead with God as our guide. I can't begin to express what a blessing he has been to me. He has stretched my life and shown me a side of God I never knew. I am so blessed.

My DS1 is a wonderful young man with a sensitive spirit that I think he battles hiding in this world. I am proud of him and hope that he never loses his concern for others. I love this young man so much (young man....wow).

So, how did you ring in the New Year?

Did you go out and party the night away? Did you have a quiet dinner with someone special? Did you go to bed early and skip the hoopla? We, here at the Southern Somedays house, rang in 2010 in a new way this year! It was the 1st time in many years that we had all 3 children home with us (in the last few years the boys have spent the night with my parents and our daughter has been out of town with a group of her friends). It was also the 1st year that they were all old enough to be excited about New Years, so they wanted to do something special. DH and I decided we would have our 1st Annual Family New Years and it was a blast. We went out to dinner (BBQ - not fancy, but yummy and fun) then we came back and the boys played a game of Risk , then we laided out a little mid-night spread complete with sparkling grape juice. We then danced a bit, and took part in Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years Eve from the WARM comfort of home. It was different but really fun and I think we may have the makings of a new tradition.

Also, of course, the arrival of 2010 brings me to my yearly resolution (yes, I make them and really, really try to keep them). I love the new year and the chance to mentally wipe the slate clean and re-evaluate what/how I am living my life and what I would like to change. Just like our celebration on New Year's Eve was different, my resolution is a bit different in the fact that it isn't different. It is the VERY same resolution I made last year,"to pare down and simplify my life. I want to rid myself mentally and physically of all the clutter that has gathered in the corners of my life." I made this resolution last year and it has served me well. I still have a ways to go, and want to continue the refining and decluttering my mental and spiritual life and also declutter my physical life. So...not original, but I am committing to continuing this process. What was your resolution?

Happy New Year, blogland!