smells like roast beef

as i type the house smells like roast beef. it smells like roast because yesterday as i was getting fish out of my freezer to make for dinner {yes, fish! eaten 6x since jan 1.},  i discovered a roast and a ham that my sister," toni bologna full of macaroni," brought us in january. discovering food you didn't know you had in march when gas prices are astronomical is AWESOME.
{thank you, t.b.f.o.m}.

while i am typing, my husband and daughter are hanging this chandelier.

as a gift for my birthday i asked my creative m.i.l., cindy {who the kids use to call "cinderella," because we told them that was her real name}, if she would make me a chandelier for our new entryway.

i didn't give her any suggestions. cindy is very creative and really good at making things.  she made my husband.  'nuf said.

i like the simplicity of the chandy with the burlap shades.  thank you cindy!

 

sometimes i am good at making things too.  i  made her.  

emilie is wearing an apron because before she and michael were hanging my new chandelier they were making foccacia bread to eat with our roast for dinner.

{good thing i walked 4 hilly miles earlier}.  

as you can see, while michael and emilie hung my chandelier, i was being annoying helpful by taking  photos of them.

i snapped this shot immediately after fulfilling my one job of turning on the light.

upon seeing michael's expression on my canon power-shot screen i announced, "i am going to blog that picture!"
to which michael responded,  "no you're not."

as i post the photo, unaware michael, is done hanging my new fancy chandy and is immersed in a game of wii with noah. 

noah had his mop hair cut this week.
against his will.

thankfully, after his locks were abducted a few girls swooned over him and his new do {the girls may or may not be limited to his mother and sisters}.

 

16 weeks of puking, and i made him too.

i made her last.  

josie is pictured with my "grandaughter, elise denise." someday she will make me real grandchildren. hopefully she does not name them "elise denise." 

although i am not as inventive as my m.i.l.,  last week i attempted a bit of creativity and whipped up this pillow.  it took 30 minutes and no puking to make {unlike another pillow which claimed to take 30 minutes, but consumed an entire day}.

 it was so easy to make that another 30 minutes later i had an identical pillow for the other couch.

the striped couches like the pop of red color.

my walls on the other hand are undecided on the pops of color that they would like to have permanently reside on them.

none of these colors is a contender.  they were slathered on two weeks ago and will likely remain here, driving o.c.d.-me crazy, until gas prices go down.

gas prices have made paint purchasing impossible.

gas prices have also made pot-roast purchasing impossible,
which is why i am really thankful for the roast my sister gave us months ago.

which happens to be ready now. 

as well as the homemade foccacia bread. 

while i inhale dinner i'm going to think about how very good my life is, despite unpainted walls and sky rocketing gas prices.  i'm going to think about free roasts, a gifted chandy, a handsome man, and 3 amazing children, which God generously provided for me long before i asked. 

what has God recently provided you with before your asking?

chuckle

michael's grandmother sent me this comic-strip clip 
a dozen years ago.

it still makes me chuckle.  

happy monday!

house tour- the great outdoors {and the dining room}

this is the last day of the house tour.

it's been so nice to have you over this past week plus.

i realized that on the tour i zoomed past the dining room. 

here it is. 

it's kind of uneventful...which is ironic because this is where 

80% of our time is spent. 

not only do we eat all my fine home cooking at this {little} table, 

we also 

school here,

do family devotions here,

craft here, 

and drop here.

it's cozy {cramped}.

the table is the one thing in our home we {want} need to replace.

i'll miss it. 

{especially the spot where 2 yr old emilie took her fork at each meal and jabbed it into the table}

we've made a lot of memories at this table. 

a lot.

praise God for all the laughter, learning, and tears shared here. 

the suitcases to the left of the dining room slider

house wii remotes & games, 

puppets {to the puppet theater},

dress up clothes, and

more dress up clothes.

you're curious about the bear on top of the suitcases? 

i made it. 

from my grandfather's shirt after God took him home. 

i love it.
{there is another bear in our room made from michael's g-pa's shirt...  i wouldn't doubt if in the webster dictionary under 

"sentimental" the definition is  "denise"}

**********************************************************************

from the dining room slider you walk out into the best room of all...
the great outdoors!

i believe  that we are made in the image of the Creator of the earth
{and the heavens, and EVERYTHING}. 
 the desire to create a lovely place to live is a piece of who we are in Him.
that place will be unique to who we are
{and our budget, time, and husband's talents}.  
however, no home we fashion can ever compare with
His masterpiece.

the view from our patio in the spring.
*love*

the patio was built by michael with the help of his parents. 

the side tables were also built by michael.

{with recycled wood from a store in town}

everything else was a given to us seconhand~ 

the bbq {thanks christopher!}

the hutch and bricks {thanks lindsey!}

the swing and adirondack chair {thanks melanie!}

the b/w polka dot pillows {thanks mom!}

the cherry m.e. throw {thanks kelly}.

second hand/free is good. 

we have a garden too...it's kind of a secret.

you'll have to go to this post to see it.

now, tell me...

when do i get to come to your house for a tour?

house tour~ master bedroom

 this is my favorite photo of the master bedroom. 

everything looks  crisp and clean {not dusty...and it is very dusty}

when it is get'n some lamp light love.


i love my bed.
i love it because michael built it.
and when i say "built," i mean
cut down the trees, milled the wood,
mortise & tenon {no nails, no screws} built it.


i'll give you a moment to be insanely jealous of the fact that i am married to
my very own norm abram. 

okay, moment over.

the bedding is from pottery barn- 2005.
{recognize the pattern from the area rug in the family room??}
the striped fabric for the pillows and bed-skirt is from a shower curtain i found at marshalls.


 the window behind the bed is from an old building that back-in-the-day
resided on the main corner of our town.
it is filled with b/w photos of our {much younger} family
i left many windows empty so i could add more photos through the years.


the bed and window are painted black.
the side tables are from target and are a cherry wood.


you may not be able to see it in this photo, but the books in the side tables are all turned around.
{i also did this with the books in the family room amoire}.
i think it looks less cluttery to have the white paged side of the books showing 
{uhhh, someone's a little neurotic?}.
what...
how do i know which book is which? 
i make a list from l-r and tuck it in on the side.

this door is from michael's childhood neighbor's home.


i painted it, michael cut the mattes, we picked our favorite family photos, 
michael printed them,
and vuala!
a masterpiece!
{to me anyway}

finally, this is the corner of the master bedroom which houses
the computer amoire.
uh huh, where all the blogity blogville goodness takes place.


i like the having the computer tucked away.
i DO NOT like having it in my bedroom.

this is what it looks like behind the closed doors...
and this is somewhat organized.


okay, i have to go now.
i have to clean that up...
{or say i'm going to clean it up, but spend the time reading your blog instead}.



Happy Labor Day!

house tour- kids' rooms!

the kids tidied up their rooms for you today!
{i had to bribe them with my secret stash of chocolate, but whatever}

because noah's name is "noah" he acquired an abundance of "noah's ark" items when he was little.  it made sense to keep with the water themed room and give him a beachy room.

guess who helped me sew his duvet... yes, lindsey! 

{i'm telling you i can't do anything on my own}.

the surf board was from uncle christopher {you know the one who moved to maui}.

the desk and bed originally belonged to the in-laws but we swiped 'em and painted them chocolate brown.

the shelves {below} were made by michael.  i painted them the same chocolate brown as the desk & bed.

{to my credit, i do do all most of the painting around here}.

the shelves are great for housing some of noah's books and many of his lego creations.

***************************************************

the girls room
*love*

{this photo is a little out of focus. sorry}

the girls were very young {7.5 years ago} when lindsey and i {yes, lindsey} took apart a queen cherry duvet cover i had from pottery barn and created these 2 twin bed duvet covers for my girls. 

i still love them.

last summer michael and i did this faux board & batten treatment on the girls walls. we were pleased with it.

the puppet theater & doll beds were christmas gifts made by michael.
i sewed the bedding for the doll beds and made the girls' pillows {without lindey's help this time}.

the shelves in the girls room were also made by michael, as well as the silhouette photos of the girls {visit here to see the silhouette's we gave as gifts last christmas}.

the doll house was emilie's 1st birthday present.
the ME table was another trash to treasure gift from my m.i.l. the girls' piggy banks were painted by me, and given to them on their 1st christmas' {see, i share in a bit of the creative process around here}. 

visit tomorrow to see the master bedroom!

when i was young my sister and i shared a strawberry shortcake room. 

what was your childhood room like? 

house tour~ guest bathroom & hallway

when i walk into someones home 

i want to see their personalities 

and stories all over it. 

that can never become out dated 

or go out of style.

this is the spare bathroom.

 today, because you're "visiting,"

it's the guest bathroom. 

i love the robin's egg blue paint in here.
{guess  who gave it to me? lindsey!}

with the b/w checkered floor, b/w toile shower curtain, 

white shaker cabinets, 

and pix of my babies playing in the tub.
{bottom left pic does not accurately display 
the color of the wall. ick}. 

********************************************************

the hallway.

back in the days when our kids were very little and we had more debt that $ {praise God for allowing us to go through that, and then leading us out of it}, michael and i came up with this creative way to display photos of our family.

matte board, clothes line, and clothes pins.

i refer to this wall as

"the wall of mercy,"

because when i am upset with  one  {or all} of my kids who has been sent to their room,

and i'm in route to discipline , i walk by this wall and am reminded of how stink'n cute they were & are,

and of how very blessed i am.

{God must have a looonnnggg "wall of mercy" for me} 

oh, they are just the YUMMIEST kids ever!!

well, next to yours, of course.

do you have photos on display in your hallway?

how & of who?

can you tell which room inspired the color & style of my blog?

house tour~ kitchen & laundry room

welcome to our kitchen!

as usual i've got somethin' cooking in the "rock-pot!"
{cuz i'm too lazy to cook for real}

so you not noticed...

someone loves her some mary engelbrite.

my ME kitchen makes me all kinds of happy
{well, when it is clean anyway. which is rare}

we upgraded the builder's grade  cabinetry in the kitchen and bathrooms 

to shaker style. we painted them white.
we also upgraded the florescent box that comes standard in this model {WHY?!?}
to canned lights.
 

lindsey gave us this black butcher block island

she no longer needed

{it's awesome getting lindsey's "junk"}

it's a tight squeeze, but provides additional storage, 

and prep space. 

this mailbox sits on top of the refrigerator.
it was painted for me by my m.i.l. as a housewarming gift.

i love it big time!
{she's awesome. there is more of her talent to come}
it houses special letters & cards.

********************************************************

the laundry room.

this room makes me happy too,

and that is CRUCIAL!

{God knows i spend plenty of time in here}

unfortunately  fortunately we had a leak that ruined the original builder's grade linoleum

so michael installed these b/w linoleum tiles in a checker board pattern. 

{b/w checkers are my favorite color AFTER b/w polka dots}

this floor never looks dirty. 

never!

{it loves me}

guess who found this broken legged chair in the trash,
fixed it,
ME painted it,
then surprised me!?!
yes,
my mother in law!

she loves me.


do you have a favorite artist/designer?

do you hate me because i have crazy-talented-generous in-laws?


tomorrow i'll take you into the guest bathroom
{should be the kids' bathroom, but for some reason we all use mine}.

house tour~ family room

welcome to our family room
{which is caddy-corner from our living room}

i love suitcases!

{you'll see a few more throughout the house}
they are decorative and so useful at helping me keep things tidy.
individual suitcases store; blankets, dvds, wii games & controllers,  c.d.'s, 

school supplies, dress-up clothes, puppets, 

and hair accessories.

the hope-chest above is josie's {her 1st b-day present. we give lifelong gifts for 1st birthday}

it was made by michael's favorite childhood teacher/principal, mr. shennan. 

it contains baby keepsakes & my wedding dress. 

someday it will house josie's children's baby keepsakes and her wedding dress
{i promise, josie!} 

pictures are my favorite form of artwork. 

seeing our entire family on the family room wall is a daily blessing. 

red phone. oh how i love pops of red!

you'll notice the same print of the family room rug in another room in a few days

{flores, by potter barn}

the amoire was a wedding gift from michael's parents...

it was made by his dad!!

WE LOVE IT.

it stores the t.v. & such, as well as books, family games, and other treasures...

when noah & emilie were little the bottom shelf was filled with their toys,

that is until they shoved them aside and crawled in beside them.
{emilie 9 months old in the amoire. awe, sweet memories}.

the red doll on the bottom left was a gift to me from my dad.

i hope this amoire will be a family heirloom that my children and grandchildren will treasure.

do you have family heirlooms in your home?

what treasures do you have from your childhood?

what pop of color do you have/like in your home?

see you tomorrow in the kitchen!