Headin' to the Hills

We are heading out of town for the weekend.  Destination: Jasper, Arkansas.  It's about a 5 hour drive from here - going to visit my grandmother.  Gran-gran will be 85 in January. She's great!  I was looking through old photos, trying to find some pictures from Jasper and ran across these.

My dad passed away 5 years ago this November 1. He was 62.  He died from a Glioblastoma Multiformae--a brain tumor. yuck.  I was very fortunate that we lived close by them through everything.  He was a wonderful man and I miss him very much.

He was buried at what I consider one of the prettiest places on this earth: Low Gap, Arkansas.  We'll be visiting there over the weekend.  It's just a few miles from where Gran-gran lives.

My pictures don't do it justice. 

 This is the entrance to the cemetary.   My Great-great-great grandparents are buried here, too.

The Low Gap church, across the road.  At one time this was the church and a one-room schoolhouse.  My mom went to school here in the early '50s, I believe.  (Don't worry! She'll correct me if I'm wrong. :-D)

The kids goofing off on a pile of dirt after the funeral.  It was a beautiful day. wow! Look how little they are.

My MIL is going on this trip with us, and I'm really looking forward to showing her all the sights of the Ozarks!  



Where's the Fire?

I'm all about the outdoor posts lately!

Last weekend we had a fire in our backyard.  In a good way.

You know the leftover Pavestones from under the deck - HERE?  When we poured the patios and sidewalk, Ryan piled them up in the backyard. Can you say "White Trash Hillbilly"?  Ryan, of course, wanted to haul them to the dump. No, really, he did.

Then, the inspiration came.  He turned this

Into this!

And all in one afternoon.

But we needed a better way to get up and down the slope - especially after it got dark and after a few beers.

So, he built this.

And last Saturday, we did this!

It was a ton of fun. We laughed, talked, sang, did skits, told stories...a really great time.

And all FREE!  Or, as Ryan likes to say, Free, except for his Chiropractic Bill.

Linked to Remodelaholics were we were just featured - HERE! Thanks!

Sewing some Custom Curtains

There are gorgeous windows on the back of the house, especially in the Living Room. But they MUST have curtains to block the sun during the hottest part of the day. Luckily, there are enough trees to provide some shade, as I have no clue how I would cover the really big windows on top.

Here's the windows and curtains before we moved in.



I was lucky enough to find THESE curtains at JC Penney Outlet. They were having a 75% off sale on curtains AND I was shopping with my mom. She, of course, had coupons for an additional 15% OFF. Love HER! Thanks, mom! So, we got these curtains for about $50!



While I really love these curtains, Ryan and I both felt the room needed more...Something?

AGAIN, I get to turn to my fabulous SIL at Modus Operandi Designs, and she suggested something "beefier" and also suggested raising the curtains to just below the big Palladian windows. (I pay her back in wine and Chiefs tickets. I wonder how that's working out for her, because it's working out GREAT for me!)

The don't make "off the rack" curtains in the length I needed: about 105". Custom was going to cost me a minimum of $3500. Another option is "made-to-length" curtains, which would cost a minimum of $1800 for what we want. (These prices ONLY include the curtains, not the hardware)

SEW, I get out the sewing room, which consists of me dragging my sewing machine and ironing board out into the middle of the Family Room (which, you KNOW Ryan just LOVES.)

Pluses to working in the Family Room?

1. It encourages me to finish up the project quickly, since all my crap is in the way.
2. I get to iron while I am watching TV!

We waited until Jo-Ann Fabric had their 54" Decorator Fabric on sale. We got the fabric at 65% off: bringing our total spent to just under $300. Still a lot, but a significant savings over full price and a HUGE savings over having someone else make them. I also asked the clerk at Jo-Ann to cut my fabric into four equal pieces, which saves me time AND they cut very straight at Jo-Ann. Me...? Not so straight.

First, I ironed in double hems on the tops and sides and then stitched them. This could also be done with double sided Ironing tape with no problem. In fact, that could have saved some time, as I was ironing anyway. The ironing process would take a bit longer to get everything heated well enough to bond, but there would be no sewing.

We bought some nice, heavy wood rods and rings and installed those. (Cost: about $150) Then, after the top and side hems were complete on the curtains, at my mom's suggestion (still loving her!), I hung each panel and pinned the bottom hem in place. Since we open and close these curtains daily, I didn't want any puddling on the floor.

After pinning, I ironed in the double hem and stitched again! And then hung them all.

The LONG TIME Before:

The Middle Before:

And the AFTER:

And then just one more picture with them open!

Raising the curtains makes the room feel more substantial and raises your eye up, where before it stopped at the top of the old curtains. And the heavier rods make more of a statement, too. AND, we were able to reuse the OLD curtains downstairs in the Family Room! YAY! I'll post that pic soon!

Funny side note: Ry and I thought we were really going out there on the color of the curtains. They have ORANGES and GREENS and even TURQUOISE BLUE in them! Once hung??.......they look pretty BROWN...HAH!

Dining Room ReDo

The Dining Room.

One of the first rooms you see when you walk in the house. Wasn't completely horrible, thus, it was one of the best looking rooms in the whole place. Here she is BEFORE. Note 1: this picture was taken when we were spending all of our spare time here so the kids were setting up games and such in the room. What you can't see are the brown stains on the curtains and the threadbare carpet around the floor vent. We think some previous owners may have had a dog that liked scratching at the vents when the air came on? Note 2: Notice the beginning of my Brown Period, circa 2008.

First, we replaced carpet and then painted the room. We were, of course, looking at browns, and my fabulous S-I-L at Modus Operandi Designs selected this one for us.
Next we got furniture from NFM.

Then we got Plantation Shutters and I made curtains.
Then we accessorized! Are we done? NO! The next thing is to replace this light with the one that was in the Entry and center it on the niche where the buffet sits. The light is currently centered on the room and just doesn't work for me. And, you know, we were able to swag the light in the Hearth Room over the Kitchen table, but do you think that would work here?

Also, we tried painting the inside of the niche a different color and it just didn't work. So I went over the same brown with a couple coats of polyurethane. I like the contrast, but still feel like this room needs something?
Lastly, check out these lovelies we got from Cameron's, and the TASSLE!