Westbrooke Drive

I Heart Faces - Sunglasses

2010-08-16T17:33:00.000-07:00

So i heart faces has their weekly contest and I just had to enter...the theme this week is sunglasses. This is a picture of Sarah McLachlan playing the keyboard at the Lilith Fair this summer. In this photo you can see the reflection of her hands playing on the keyboard, very cool.

Marketing Monday Blog Hop

2010-07-26T10:38:00.001-07:00

Lilith Fair 2010 - Detroit

2010-07-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

It's been 15 years since I first heard the angelic voice of Sarah Mclachlan. She is an inspiration and her music has entwined itself into my life. She exudes sensuality, femininity and confidence...all of which I wish I had a bit more of. Best of all she's discovered her true self and what she's good at, not many people can say that. I know I'm still striving to find myself and the only thing I know for sure is that her music belongs in my life.

When my husband told me he had bought us tickets to the Lilith Fair for our anniversary I immediately began counting down the days, for those of you who aren't Sarah fans or at least aren't familiar with her music and such, she's been on a seven year hiatis so I was more then ready for a date night with
~~my husband~~ Sarah.

Her new cd, Laws of Illusion is just as I would have expected, wonderful. The mix of background music makes you want to jiggle in your seat and her vocals amazing as usual. So when it came time to go to the Lilith Fair I never would have expected to catch Sarah playing keyboard and singing backup for Melissa McClelland so thank goodness my husband elbowed me and said "hey, doesn't that look like...." and sure enough there she was right in front of me the whole time on one of the side stages jamming with another act. Nobody realized it, that's how I weaseled my way right up to the front and got these beautiful pics.

Isn't she just lovely?

Some of the other artists there were Vita Chambers, Melissa McClelland, Chantal Kreviazuk, Miranda Lambert, Suzanne Vega and more. Such a wonderful time.

A dedicated fan,

Doin' the hop, the blog hop that is...

2010-07-20T09:32:00.000-07:00

I've entered Trendy Treehouse's blog hop, check it out! This weeks theme is Faces.

i heart faces...above my head

2010-07-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of my all time favorites, I can't believe I was able to capture it.

Childhood Bedroom Set

2010-07-16T06:28:00.001-07:00

This was my childhood bedroom set and one of my first furniture makeovers....

It used to be a cherry finish with brass handles and I distressed it and filled in some of the handle holes with wood filler, then drilled single holes for the oval glass knobs.

I ended up selling it in a garage sale for $30 for both...I was a bit disappointed, at least it covered the money I put into the knobs.

I Heart Pets

2010-06-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Meet Mable, our beloved family member....
I became her foster mom when she was about 2 years old. She had kennel cough, was under weight and had worms. She was a runner, she would bolt out the door if you weren't careful and would be gone in a flash.

Once she got well it was time to take her back to the shelter so she could be put up for adoption. I made a beautiful sign to hang on her kennel door for prospective adoptees but when I got home that night my husband-to-be and I looked at each other and felt lost. It was like we betrayed her by taking her back.

The next day I flew back to the shelter and asked for the paperwork. She was meant to be with us, I became a foster mother flunkie.

We took her to obedience classes to help with the running, nipping and to hopefully help her get along with other dogs. After much work she became our dream dog. She's so tolerant of our children, she's intimidating enough to keep strangers away (if only they knew she'd fall over on her back for them to rub her belly once they got close) and she's kicked all of her bad habits except for getting along with other dogs.

She's about 9 years old now and has mellowed quite a bit with age. Bits of gray are turning up inside her ears and around her muzzle, and her eyes are beginning to cloud. You can see the soreness in her fluffy body after a run in the park or a long walk. I hope that we've given her as much joy as she's given us and pray for many more wonderful years with her.

Craigslist Find

2010-06-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

So I'm working on redecorating my patio. In our family we each get a holiday and since hubby and I are the youngest we pretty much get the easiest of the lot....the 4th. The surrounding cities put on the firework display, there's a water park and lake nearby that we could go to for entertainment and then we have the game of washers, board games, slip and slide, sprinkler and a bbq at our house. Just a good ole' day of summer fun. So to start my patio makeover I found this great chaise on Craigslist, I got it for $20. I'm sooo excited and it's in such great shape.

So the I found this patio set at Home Depot that pretty much matches the chaise and it was on sale...yippie!

This is what my patio looks like now (looking down on it)

And this is the goal:

I'm so open to thoughts and ideas if anyone has any input. :)

Berry Pickin' 2010

2010-06-22T09:26:00.001-07:00

We took the girls strawberry picking for the first time over the weekend. It was a beautiful day and they seemed to have a good time (more so when I told them they could have a donut after!). My husband made freezer jam when we got home. He does most of the cooking around here....mainly because he likes it and he does a better job at it then I do. I do the dishes so it evens out.

2010-06-21T04:29:00.001-07:00

Celebrating Teens

Off White

2010-06-20T14:45:00.000-07:00

So I went with off-white with some distressing. I just popped this one up on Craigslist in hopes of selling it...I'm trying to build a fund for my patio makeover!

(not a very good) Before:

After:

I'm not thrilled with it due to the fact that the center piece is made of particle board but you never know, it might be someone's dream headboard. We'll find out!

Headboard and Footboard Find

2010-06-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was a wonderful day, My hubby took the day off of work so I got to do a little shopping by myself (Bath and Body Works has their antibacterial soaps on sale for $2.25!). My in-laws came over and had dinner with us...they make it a point to come see me on my birthday rain or shine. And for cake, a peanut butter cup ice cream cake adorned my table. Fabulous!

So after the festivities, we loaded into the car and went treasure hunting. That's when I spotted this beauty. Don't know what to do with it yet...either distressed black or off white....but it was the perfect ending to a perfect birthday. :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-06-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

So sweet how my kids think my birthday is so much more of a big deal then I do. They've been making me presents all day, asking what kid of cake I want and wondering where the balloons are. So precious and so thoughtful.....I'm sure part of it has to do with them thinking they get cake and ice cream but I can put that aside for a second and just be thankful they care.

Speaking of cake and ice cream, have you visited the website, Cake Wrecks? It's so funny, browse around on there if you have the time, you'll get some good laughs.

Here's an example of what I WOULDN'T want my cake to be like:

This is what I would pick visually, courtesy of www.nassaulibrary.org:

And this is what I would wish for it to taste like, courtesy of www.bbcgoodfood.com:

Before and After

2010-06-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a before and after of a friend of mine's front door. She did a wonderful job and if I remember correctly she used "van courtland blue" by Benjamin Moore.

Custom Burpies for Babies

2010-06-11T18:00:00.000-07:00

When I had my first daughter I just had to have these adorable burp cloths I found on eBay. I ordered a few and quickly realized that, shoot, I could have done that! So since then I've made a few for baby shower gifts and they turn out pretty good, not to mention they're quick and easy to make.

I just cut a strip of material the length and width of the middle of the burp cloth plus 1/2 in. (they're actually a cloth diaper so they're much more absorbent).

Then I folded the strip of material under 1/4 in. all the way around, pressed, pinned and stitched it to the middle of the burpie. Pretty cool!

So these two in particular are going to my new nephew, Joseph (the parents are 90% positive on the name) who will be joining us in August. :)

Crafting with the kids. Sigh.

2010-06-03T05:35:00.000-07:00

I don't have very successful crafting sessions with the kids. I truly throw caution to the wind, I'm game for having my kitchen trashed and don't mind quick baths after the fact BUT when I go through all of THAT and still don't have the craft turn out I get pretty bummed.

For example, I had the girls pick out a picture on the internet that I printed up to make necklaces with. The cut the picture out, mod podged it to the glass rectangle I had for each of them and then I sealed it with diamond hard and glued on the bail but within 24 hours of them wearing it the next day they fell apart!

So then I saw this idea for making cuff bracelets out of paper towel or toilet paper rolls. Great idea but:

1. The cuff stretched out while painting it and now it won't stay on the girls wrists
2. Beads would not stick so we invited the glitter fairy over
3. she left surprises all over the house and she's still hiding here....somewhere.

So if I were to do this project again I would probably skip the painting and use stickers only. Humph.

A Flower from Miss Heather..

2010-05-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

My lovely neighbor Heather bought down a Peonie for me the other day, it made a very fun photography subject.

I played with my back button autofocus, and I LIKE IT.

I Heart Faces Fix-It Friday

2010-05-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is my first I Heart Faces Fix-It Friday entry. I'm nervous....

Before:

After:

I used Photoshop CS5 along with CoffeeShop's Perfect Portrait and then CoffeeShop's Orton Effect.

My first blog award!

2010-05-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

Pretty cool! I just got my first blog award, thanks to Brittney at Brittneys Budget Crafts!

Here are the rules of receiving this award:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic! (in no particular order...)

4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

Let's see, 7 things about myself (blush)

1. I have an obsession with my toenails, they always have to be painted (no chips) and I refuse to let anyone, other then myself, give me a pedicure....I just have a certain way I like things done when it comes to my toesies.

2. I used to fly a Cessna 150...that's right, a 150...not a 152.

3. ...then I had two children.

4. I was knocked out of the Miss Teen Michigan pageant after saying that volunteer work gave me a "high". Come on people, I was NERVOUS!

5. I'm a dog person.

6. My favorite musician is Sarah Mclachlan.

7. My favorite color is orange.

And now on to the blog awards....

I'm would like to present the Versatile Blog Award to the following sites, in no particular order:

fowlsinglefile
imtopsyturvy
lovinmylovebugs
missbblogs
thecraftinme
mamathompson
madebystephie
madebylex
scrapallday
createanddelegate
alittlelovelyblog
frostedgardner
terelauritsen
team-t-adventures
indietutes

Party Wreath

2010-05-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

An easy way to let your guests know, "hey, the party's here!". I plan on hanging this one on the front door on party days. Very fun and festive, cheap and easy.

Supplies:
Small foam wreath
push pins
balloons
curling ribbon

The result:

Photoshop "before and after"

2010-05-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I killed my PC so of course I needed a new computer and why not go big? I chose a MAC but because I had Photoshop on my PC it wouldn't transfer to a MAC, I needed to get a whole new version (darn ;). So I got CS5 for my Mac and have been playing around with my photographs.

Some of my friends have been asking, "what kind of camera do you use? how do you get such good shots?" Well, the answer isn't really in my camera (which is a Canon Rebel) but it's in the tweaking I do in Photoshop.

See for yourself....

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Garage Sale Treasure

2010-05-22T18:40:00.001-07:00

I found this darling at a garage sale a few weeks ago, how much you say? It was $3.00!

A little TLC and she's smilin'.

Logo Design Winner!!

2010-05-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

I used Random.org (for the first time, it's pretty neat) and the number generated was lucky #7!

Congratulations to Renee at ReneeBeads!

I can't wait to work with you Renee!

More Painted Countertop Pics...

2010-05-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I posted about painting countertops, here are a few more pictures of the 'after'.

After having completed my second kitchen full of countertops I'm officially hanging my hat up with Envirotex. At least for the large projects. It was an extremely difficult product to work with. Don't get me wrong, the result is still beautiful and durable but I don't know if it's possible to get out all of the air bubbles and to get an even pour. For some reason the two inch circumference around the sink was lumpy and in some places the Envirotex didn't even take to. It could very well have been the humidity in that area but still, that's a lot of hard work to not have it turn out.

Also, if you're contemplating painting your countertops let me just tell you....it will (no matter how well you tape off your kitchen) find a way to your floor, your faucet, your stove and your fingers. And it doesn't just wipe up, it smears and turns into a sticky, hair and dust catching mess. Envirotex is better left to the professionals....in a warehouse.

SIDE NOTE:

Funny, I just saw this post on Blue Cricket Design on how to make candy necklaces by Texas Monkey...using Envirotex. This is a great idea and a wonderful way to get the most out of Envirotex. I'd highly recommend sticking with the smaller projects when using this medium.

Snakin' Sinks Girly Style

2010-05-20T04:57:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to enter the logo giveaway while your here!

I couldn't find our snake to clean out the sinks the other day and hubby had no clue as to where it might have been so I fashioned a quick make-do snake to get the job done.

Yup, a bobby pin and dental floss. She worked like a charm.