Writing On The Wall

The chalkboard wall project is complete and is already getting a lot of use. We added another element to the board by priming it with a magnetic paint before painting over it with chalkboard paint. 

Before

After

Linking here at Domestically Speaking
and Sixty-Fifth Avenue

Chalkboard Wall Coming Soon!

Stay tuned for the final result!

Good Food, Good Company

Dinner Before

Hubby sneaking an olive!

Dinner After

On the menu: 

Asparagus with Tortellini topped with a Carrot and Cheddar Cheese sauce (aka: Ferrer Carrot soup).

Hubby enjoying the olive!  

(sorry honey, I could not resist! ha! Love you.)

Story Time with Gigi

Elise and I took a trip to our local Christian bookstore after school, for a special present. We are in the midst of potty training. Today at school she used the potty twice! This may not seem like a highly sucessful potty day, but for our sweet girl it was big. She had a hard time adjusting to her new school, especially with the potty training being done at school too. Today was cause for celebration and for her potty present she picked out lamb stickers and a wonderful little book called "Gigi, God's Little Princess".

If you have not been introduced to this lovely book, you are missing out! We read it tonight and Elise loved it! It kept her attention and she enjoyed the illustration. 

Here is the summary from Sheila Walsh's website. "Parents and children alike will be won over by the lovable innocence of Gigi, a little girl who just knew she was a princess. But where were the castle and royal jewels? With a little help from Mommy and Daddy, Gigi realizes that she is not just any old princess—she is the daughter of the greatest King of all" 

Gigi is a keeper in our house! Happy reading.

Dining Room Wall Makeover

See how I used these five items shown below to create a new look for our dining room.

 By using the needle, thread and small paint brush, I was able to create the large circles on the wall. Thread the needle and find where you want the center of the circle to be. Once you pick the spot, push the pin into the wall, just enough so it is secure. Extend the thread out to the desired width of the circle and tie the small paint brush to the end of the thread. 

Next is the tricky part. (It helps to have a partner holding the paint can)

Dip the brush into the paint. Stretch the string out straight and close to the wall. Hold the paint brush perpendicular to the wall and draw the circle. You will need to reload the brush several times, this is why it helps to have a partner holding the can. Repeat until you have all the circles you want on the wall.

I wanted the lines to be thicker than the results I saw from the small paint brush, so I went back over all the lines with a 2" angle brush.

Last I wanted to add a few small circles and did this by using the red charger plate shown above. Simply trace the plate on the wall and go back over the lines with the 2" angle brush.

 Not having internet at home for the past two weeks got my creative juices flowing. Happy painting!


linking here

I'm Back!

Hello dear friends!
I have been out of pocket lately, but I am back and have so much to blog about.
First, you may be wondering where I have been. Well for nearly two weeks now, our little family has been trying to get our house back in order, after a near miss at our home. Monday, July 26th my sweet girl and I arrived home, to find our neighborhood without power. It had been storming all day with harsh lightening. The garage door would obviously not work, so we parked in the driveway and made our way to the front door. We open the door to a powerless house and the alarm on it's back up battery. I disarmed the alarm and we proceed to walk further into the house. It was a few seconds after we got into the house, when I noticed an odor. The smell was distinct and it was everywhere, it was natural gas! Remembering that one should leave the house to call for help, we quickly went back outside. As we waited outside for the fire department, the power came back on in the house. I was so worried that any moment the house would blow. I have never had anything like this happen before and have to admit, aside from knowing to leave the house to call for help, I did not know how else to handle the situation. Meanwhile Husband arrived home along with the fire department. We could smell the gas as we stood on the neighbors front porch. The firemen enter the house and quickly turned around for more gear. They located the problem and put an end to the looming tension. So what happened? Lightening hit our house! Due to the builder using an electrical contractor, that obviously did not know what they were doing, the so called grounding feature to the home was compromised. When lightening struck, the gas line leading to our stove top was hit causing a hole in the line, resulting in the gas leak. Most all the electrical, including the AC components were fried as well. Angels were watching over us on that day. I still get emotional thinking about what could have been, then overwhelmed with how protected we were. It has been a difficult few weeks. So glad to be getting back to normal.

I hope all is well with you!

All best,
April

Reflect

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,

Live in me from day to day,

By his love and power controlling

All I do and say.

May the word of God dwell richly 

in my heart from hour to hour,

So that all may see I triumph

Only through his power.

May the peace of God, my Father,

Rule my life in everything,

That I may be calm to comfort

Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me

As the waters fill the sea.

Him exalting self abasing:

This is victory.

Kate B. Wilkinson

Ephesians 3: 14-21

Yummy Kitchens

1. Rustic Romance

2. Turquoise Kitchen

3. ABC

4. Merged Spaces

Keep Calm

Our sweet girl loves her princess bandages, but how about these for mommy! 

Keep Calm and Carry On Bandages from Paper-Source.

Barn Owl Primitives, Keep Calm and Carry On, hand painted on pine board.

Something About Silver has a lot of pretty pieces including this cute Keep Calm and Carry On necklace.

Want to know more about the slogan? Click here.

I Spy

I have been home sick for the past two days, and believe it or not, just cracked open the old lap top!

Let's play a game of I Spy.

First, I spy a great party game and conversation starter from MSweddings. 

A photographic scavenger hunt for little wedding guests! This could be used as a fun game at a kid or adult party as well.

 I knew you when... This will get party guests talking, as they pin point the year they first met the honored guest(s).

 Next, I spy Ginger the Dollie at I Sew Lucky.

I just love the pink and green polka dots!

I spy these wonderfully charming Family Rules over at Signs of Vintage

Last, I spy this peculiar house via Design Sponge.

I hope you all enjoyed playing I Spy.

"Mommy, that is not good for my mouth!"

I have been so very convicted this week about keeping on track with my goal for healthy weight. The holiday weekend was killer for the diet, but Monday brought renewed motivation as I read the bible lesson for this coming Sunday. (As many of you know, hubby and I teach Sunday School to an awesome group of three year olds). The Lesson is on Daniel 1: 1-20, "I can make choices". Here is the basic breakdown for the kids.

• God loved Daniel and took care of him. God helped Daniel grow and learn.
• Daniel learned to do the things God told him to do.
• Daniel chose to eat foods that would help him grow.
• This was Daniel's way to show he loved God.

We are supposed to talk about taking care of ourselves, making good choices, while this past weekend was packed with cupcakes and Nutella! To top it all off, our sweet girl thankfully does not share in my love of sweets, as she turns her nose up at most everything loaded with sugar. She hit me with this lovely quote when offered a cupcake..."Mommy, that is not good for my mouth!". Oh, that hurts! hahaha. You have to love the honesty of a toddler.

America The Beautiful

The origins of July 4th & Independence Day

This is a very special post written by my hubby! He is the biggest history buff you will ever meet, and has put together a little history lesson on "The origins of July 4th and Independence Day". Thank you sweetie!

The origins of July 4^th and Independence Day:

April 19^th, 1775 the first battle at Lexington, VA “the shot heard round the world” and at Concord, MA; begins six years of war for Independence from Britain.

June 11, Congress appoints a committee to draft a declaration of Independence. Committee members are Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Livingston and Roger Sherman. Jefferson is chosen by the committee to prepare the first draft of the declaration, which he completes in one day.

July 1, 1776 one representative, Caesar Rodney despite being ill and bad weather, rode 80 miles by horseback from Dover, Delaware to reach Philadelphia.

July 2, 1776 Caesar Rodney voted with McKean and thereby allowed Delaware to join eleven other states in voting in favor of the resolution of Independence. Twelve of thirteen colonial delegations (New York abstains) vote in support of Richard Henry Lee, a Virginia delegate on his resolution for Independence.

On July 4, 1776 the Congress formally endorses Jefferson's Declaration. Copies of the Declaration to be sent to all of the colonies, the actual signing of the document occurs on August 2, 1776 as most of the 55 members of Congress place their names on the parchment copy. This is declaring Independence from Britain; we have not won our Independence yet.

The war would effectively end at Yorktown, VA. British troops under Gen. Charles Cornwallis had been driven out of the Carolinas and into Virginia. The French fleet under Admiral Francois de Grasse bottled up the British fleet in Chesapeake Bay while an American and French army under Washington marched south to confront Cornwallis. For Cornwallis, surrounded and outnumbered, he had no choice on Oct. 19, 1781 he surrendered.

The fighting was over, and the rebellion was successful. It would take two more years to get a peace treaty signed in Paris, but long before that, the British began making plans to evacuate America.

The Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War and was signed on September 3, 1783; those 13 colonies have now gained its Independence from Britain and those United States of America became one Nation under God.

So on July 4th we not only celebrate our Independence we celebrate the Declaration of it and we declare our Independence from tyranny, Government monopoly, and our freedom as a Nation under God.

The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life (Genesis 2:7), Liberty ( II Corinthians 3:17), and the Pursuit of Happiness (Ecclesiastes 3:3)".

The coin representing Delaware, "The First State," shows Caesar Rodney on horseback.

Independence Day was not declared a legal holiday until 1870.

For a free copy of the Declaration of Independence / The Constitution of the United States.

http://www.askheritage.org/

To Purchase a parchment replica.

http://store.ushistory.org/showcat.asp?cid=36

Tie The Knot

My dear friend is getting married soon and I am having a blast helping her plan for the big day. I am also co-hosting a couples shower for her that is going to be full of tropical glitz! I will have to share details for this after the party, as I don't want to give away the surprise.

While playing wedding, I came across these fun finds on Etsy. 

Perfectly preppy for a summer wedding. I love this save the date from 'I do' it yourself

Tie it together with this adorable wedding cake topper from Together Forever!

Send thanks to the guests via message in a bottle from Miniature Rhino.