spring cleaning. . . . .

spring cleaning

two words that either get you excited to

freshen and clean your home or

totally freak you out at the massive job ahead of you.

i think i'm pretty much in the latter category,

although i do like a house all freshened up:)

i know it may still be a bit wintry up north,

but down south, it looks a lot like spring.

which means i better get it in gear and start scrubbing something!;)

hopefully along the way, 

i'll find some stuff i've been missing lately.

or even better, maybe i'll find things i forgot i had!

either way, i think i've gotta tackle this.

better yet, maybe i will finally get rid of shrunken/broken/downright ugly stuff

that i've kept because. . . . .

well, i don't know why i've kept it:)

maybe i'm a hoarder and don't know it.

hahaha

personally, i think this list made by thehappierhomemaker

is gonna help me a lot.

i'll break down the house by rooms and start shoveling.

i'm not sure i'll do everything on the list, 

but it helps to have someone tell me what to do these days.

because if it were up to me,

i'd say forget it:)

and here are a few great tips on "decluttering". . . .

so what about you,

do you tackle spring cleaning or just keep up with a regular schedule?

do tell your secrets:)

Suzanne

Sanity Projects...

Yes...sanity projects...

as in "if I don't stay busy this month, I'll go crazy."

The only problem is that in my rush to do something,
I forgot to take "before" pictures:-)

Can't think of everything, right?

Okay, the first sanity project was actually done at the end of Feb.
but since I haven't shown it yet, here you go...

Jordie had a loft/bunk bed...very cool...but she was ready for a regular bed.

Thanks to Google, she found exactly what she wanted...
and the price was sooooo right!!!

Only problem...it was black...
and she wanted cream.

So once again, we open the box to a brand new bed...
and paint it before it ever gets in the house.



Will I ever learn?
Nah...

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Sanity Project #2...
if I have to stay in this house...
(and don't get me wrong, it's a nice house)
then I have to somehow bring it around
to the shabby,flea marketish, white look that I love.

First step...my verandah/balcony.
The furniture was brown with turquoise cushions
but thanks to paint (and plenty of help from Miss J)
it is now antique white.



I had a chest that I painted aqua and it is now the coffee table.
A few new cushions and voila...



As my handy assistant said while painting...
"Mom...I'll always remember doing projects like this with you.
Some people would go buy new furniture but we repaint furniture that we love
and it's just like new"

That's my girl!
Someday her husband will thank me for making her so thrifty...
I think.

Unless he's like mine and wants to know why we always
have projects going on and I can't park my car in the garage.
He just doesn't get it!!!

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Project #3
I was at a thrift store recently and found a great oval frame
with a tacky poster-like print in it.

The frame was brown-ish...
if that's what you call it.

Basically it was UGLY.
But it was dirt cheap.

So I bought it...
Removed the print.
Painted it cream.
Stapled a piece of screen to the back.
And Taylor now has a new jewelry holder!!!



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Project #4...
Spring Tutu's.
We needed to add a few to our shop...
they turned out pretty cute, at least we think so:-)
And they do add to the decor, don't you think?



But more on these pretties tomorrow!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm hoping to find some "me" time today.
A few moments to relax and read one of my favorite magazines.


I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE Flea Market Finds!!!

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Last but not least,
my sweet Maui,
or as we now call him "Sneezy".
would like to thank you
for your kind words and advice on his sneezing problem.


He sems a little better during the day and last night
was almost his same mischeivous self...
but he's not eating much...
and believe me, this guy can eat...
so we are off to the vet today!

Hope your Friday is wonderful!
See you tomorrow for Pink Saturday!

The Old Red Barn...

So my daughter had to read a book for school called Animal Farm and she then had a bunch of projects to do for her grade. One was to find a picture of a farm that resembled (to her) the one in the book. She had a hard time finding the right one until we quit searching for "farms" and started searching for "barn." Bingo! The pictures started rolling in then.




Then it got me thinking about how much I love driving along and seeing barns...especially old red ones.






I especially love the old weathered barns with the chippy red paint...



A light came on in my head and I realized that THIS is where I want to live when I grow up...and I want an old red barn:-) If I believed in a "next life", I would say that this is where it would take place.

Since I don't, I can only think that maybe this is my "mansion" in heaven since I would love an old farmhouse more than a shiny new mansion anyway. Seems like a simple request, huh?:-)


Well, maybe with not so much snow...but I would like a few flurries on Christmas, thank you very much!


And if I were lucky enough to have a sweet cow too, then I would be very lucky indeed:-)



And I can tell you this, she might give us milk but I could never send her off to be a cheeseburger...no way, no how!!!





Of course, we would definitely need a few of these cuties to play with.

Notice how I already have names picked out? hahaha



And I know I am meant to go to a pretty little church like this...



My husband knows this is my dream. (well, one of them:-) He once looked at a job in horse country and to get me interested, he told me we could buy a small horse farm. I was so excited, until he told me we were NOT getting horses but at least I would have fields to run around with my dogs. Hmmm...nice, but not quite there.

Did you know there are companies that will convert an old barn into a magnificent farmhouse?

How's this for a place to enjoy your morning coffee...




Even I wouldn't mind cooking in this kitchen...




And Thanksgiving dinner around this table...

Heck, it might even get me to eat a bite of turkey...but then again, probably not:-)

Well, there you go...another of my many daydreams.

I know what you're thinking...enough with the barns already, right?
Not so fast. Check back for Part II of The Old Red Barn...or What I Want to do When I Grow Up!

Have a wonderful week...
Suzanne