Beautiful Gulf Shores, Alabama

Gulf Shores 2011

Our oldest son-15

Our youngest son-11

We hadn't been to our favorite family beach spot in almost 2 years, so when my husband and I were awarded summer vacations, we once again took advantage of a trip to Gulf Shores, Alabama. Last year the oil spill kept us away, but this year was as beautiful as ever!

We have our favorite restaurants: Lulu's(Jimmy Buffett's sister's place), The Hangout, Lambert's-"Home of the Throwed Rolls", and my favorite... The Original Oyster House.
They all have good food and I ordered shrimp just about every night that we went out to eat. My husband thinks I am nuts, I say why not since I love it so much?:)

The kids always enjoy playing Putt Putt and we always take a break from the sun at least one day to see a movie and shop at the wonderful outlet mall in Foley.

Our middle son-14

Our only daughter-7

Our daughter posing for me and my new camera

Our 4 children having to endure mandatory beach pictures:)

Our 3 sons

Our 4 little pilgrims:)

We just arrived home last night and we already can't wait to go back! We just wish we could afford a beach house down there to retire in:)

Happy Summer and Safe Travels! :)

Goodwill Letter Holder

The $1.99 sticker from Goodwill. I hadn't been in Goodwill for a few weeks and luckily I got this the same day it was brought in. Most of the time if I don't pick something up right then, I will regret it because it seems the good stuff never sticks around long. Since I forgot to take a "before" picture of the front, this is kind of what it looked like. You can get an idea of the color at least.

Here are the two craft paints that I used to transform this Goodwill find. I first used the ivory and then covered it with the Sandstone. I then sanded the edges to distress it and get the shabby chic look that I love.

Close up of one of the words that was on it originally before being covered up by a decorative wooden piece. No one wants to be reminded of bills, so I covered it up with something way cuter:)

$1.99 Letter & Key Holder from Goodwill before I finished putting all of the wooden pieces over the words. I love gingham ribbon, especially black and white, so I chose a piece that I had in my scrap bag and just hung it by that instead of by two nails. I was just so ready to show it off that I couldn't wait until I was completely done to take an "after" picture:)

Close Up of Finished Letter Holder
I purchased the little wooden shapes for 40% off at Michael's (Hobby Lobby has them also). They also have fleur de lis ones that I have used before on other projects, but the ones I had on hand weren't big enough for this project.

Now, I am sure that this will be filled with all kinds of papers, etc. before I know it, but at least it is hidden away in the pantry:)

Hope you have enjoyed my thrifty makeover for the day!

Little Table Makeover for FREE!

My FREE Shabby Chic Table:

Little Brown Table Before:

Little Blue Table After:

One afternoon I was taking my son to a friends house to play and it just happened to be their trash day. I happened to spot a pile of things and just knew that I HAD to stop. :) Much to my sons dismay and "Oh mom, not again!" HA! They know that if I spot something that looks half way decent that I AM going to stop! I chuckle every time because they are always rolling their eyes at me. One of the joys of motherhood, I guess:)

Anyway, on to the little table that I found sitting on the side of the road... it was dark brown stained solid wood, warped in some places, but that's okay because I knew that I could sand it down, use some wood glue and clamps to fix it enough to make it look just right. I think it turned out so cute and now have it sitting it beside my computer desk. I think it looks adorably shabby chic~ just the look that I LOVE!

First I sanded it down all over, then painted it with a small sponge brush. I just used acrylic craft paint in Folk Art Sky Blue that I purchased at Hobby Lobby. Since the table was so small and I wanted the brown to show through, it only took about an ounce (or half of a bottle of paint). I have yet to seal it with polyurethane, but since I like the distressed look I might just leave it as is for now.

Have you found anything good in the trash lately?

P.S. I am attempting to link up to Rhoda's Thrifty Treasures Party at Southern Hospitality. Not sure if I will be able to figure out how to or not:)

$10 Craigslist Coffee Table Makeover

Who in the world would have thought that I would be able to find a coffee table that I actually liked for $10! I only ended up paying $10 for this old, beat up looking table. The guy was asking $20, but since the glass on top was cracked and one of the drawers didn't line up correctly I offered less and he took it! I didn't care that it wasn't in perfect condition since I knew that all I had to do was sand it down and give it a coat of paint. I even kind of liked it without the glass because I figured my kids would just try to stand on it and break it anyway! :)

Here it is after light sanding and a very light coat of Heirloom White paint by Rustoleum. The drawer on the right is still kind of off track, but it still works and holds a bunch of stuff!

Here is the view from the top. The kids (and cat) like to sit in the middle and stick their head out of the hole in the center.

I just loved the detail in the legs and curve at the bottom. I also sanded the edges a little with my hand sander after a light coat of paint. I love the distressed, shabby chic look.

Maybe you have found as good of a deal as I have at your local thrift store or Craigslist. If you are anything like me, you probably love scouring that site every day just to see what you can find cheap to makeover! Happy Hunting:)

FREE Living Room Mirror Makeover

Here is a mirror that I found lying on the side of the road waiting for the trash man to pick it up. No sense in throwing away a perfectly good mirror just because it had a few scratches on it! I love the shabby chic look anyway.

I just wiped it off and painted over the brown with the trusty Heirloom White that is so popular all over blogland.

Here is the picture of what it looked like before I finished painting it.

Just your basic brown.

I love how it turned out and best of all, it was FREE!!

A Few of My Favorite Signs and Sayings Around the House

I LOVE any kind of handmade signs and sayings.

I have them in just about every room in my house.

Some sayings are to remind me and some are to remind my kids.:)

Here are just a few of the signs and sayings that I enjoy reading each day.

This one below is in our Master Bath.

This "Bless Your Heart" is hanging in the half bath.

This is a staple in any Southern home and the saying itself can mean a plethora of things. :)

My grandparents always had a little sign at their front door with this saying on it. I will always remember it, so I decided to make my own one day. I don't really like my own writing, but I was in a hurry and wanted to get it up on the wall. So this will have to do... for now anyway.

I got this one at a craft show from a lady who paints all kind of sayings on signs.

She is always at each craft fair that I go to in our area. I am ABSOLUTELY SURE that my kids read it and obey it every day! Just like yours do, right?!:)

I am not quite sure where I came up with this saying, but I LOVE it!~ (Pardon the glare on the photo.)

Now, I came up with this when I saw a sign painted by the lady that I mentioned before at a craft fair. Her sign said, "Iced Tea: House Wine of the South". I told her that it would be much cuter if it said "Sweet Tea". She agreed, and the next time that I saw her, she told me that I wouldn't believe how much money I had made her by her changing that! She gave me a free one just for that. Woohoo! I made this one on my own with scrapbook paper and modge podge on a wooden plaque from Hobby Lobby.

This is my favorite saying, because since I am a Flight Attendant I am gone from home way too often for my taste. I ALWAYS LOVE to come home!

I hope you have enjoyed my signs and sayings tour throughout our home. I have a few more that I might post at a later date. (I am not in the mood to go upstairs to the kids rooms to take pictures because I would see their clothes all over the floor!):)

HAPPY EVERYTHING!!

Easy and Cute Memo/Picture Board

I have been trying to work on some more quick and easy projects this past week since I didn't have to end up flying my trip. Yahoo! :)

I have seen these cute wooden painted and distressed picture/memo boards all over blogland reccently (unfortunately I can't remember all of the links to give credit where credit is due.) That's bad blogger etiquette and I apologize. Sorry!:(

First I took a wooden plaque that I already had on hand. I purchased this for less than $1 with a 40% coupon at Hobby Lobby. I drew where I wanted the holes to go and my sweet husband drilled them for me. Yes, I know, I could have done this myself, but I wanted him to feel useful! HA!:)) Afterward, I painted it with acrylic paint, let it dry, then sanded the edges with my beloved Mouse sander. I honestly don't know what I would do without that thing! After I got the distressed look that I love, I glued a bulldog clip(that is their official name I believe, but when I was searching for them at the store I just asked for magnetic clips) between the holes to hold a picture or note, or whatever you want to put there. Then I chose a ribbon and pushed it through the holes with a nail, tied it in a bow and just hung it by the ribbon on the back. You can also sit it on a stand if you have run out of wall space to hang things.

Shown below are the different items that I used. I have made a couple of them now for gifts and actually kept one for myself. These are so easy to make and take no time at all. You can make them in any color combination that matches your decor. Just have fun playing around with different ribbons, twine, raffia, burlap, and jute. I love the texture of three different ones put together.

The was first board that I painted. I chose white, then used glaze to antique it and give it a bit of a faux finish.

This is the black one that I made for myself. I haven't found a place to hang it yet, since I seem to be running out of wall space in my kitchen.


This is one that I made for a gift. I used a wallet size photo on the square ones since a 4x6 is a little too big unless you cut it down a little.

Cute Wooden Valentine Wreath

Goodness, I just can't believe that it has been so long since I actually posted on here! I have been so busy with my 4 kids and flying around the country for my paying job that I haven't gotten to complete as many projects as I have had my *heart* set on!:) This is one that started with a trip to our local Goodwill Store. Yippee, we FINALLY got one here in the town that we live in and I am surprised that the employees don't know me name already! You just never know what you can find, so I MUST check in often (that's what I tell my husband anyway). On this one particular visit I spotted this wooden heart wreath that someone had spent some time and energy on, and I just couldn't let it go unappreciated. I know how much time can be spent on projects, and whomever spent the time cutting out each individual heart and nailing them together deserves to know that their time was well spent. I found this wreath for .99 cents and scooped it up knowing that I could paint it and make it look pretty cute.

Here it is hanging on our front door.

These are basically all of the supplies that I needed: Wood filler, two shades of acrylic paint and a foam brush. Plus the gingham ribbon to hang it by. I didn't even bother sealing it since I like the shabby chic distressed look anyway.

I started off with filling the nail holes with wood filler, then just painted the hearts with two different shades of acrylic paint. After the paint was dry I took my hand sander to the edges and went over them to distress it a bit. Then I just took a ribbon that I already had on hand and hung it on the front door. So easy, cheap and pretty cute if I may say so myself. :) Just the shabby chic, cheerful look that I like on my front door around Valentine's Day, or any day of the year for that matter.

Keep checking your thrift stores around town, you just never know what you will find, and you will probably have so much fun while doing it!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!