An obsession

I have an announcement to make... I have an obsession with tablecloths.

It all began over a year ago when I attended an amish auction with my soon-to-be in-laws. A very large amish family were moving to Wisconsin and were auctioning off everything in their home. Apparently, when the amish move they sell everything they own and start fresh once they move.

AMAZING.

Anyway, here we were perusing the yard of this amish home when I set my sights on a beautiful amish-made round table. I drewled over it, petted it and never left its side.

I should also mention that I've never been to an auction before. So when the auctioneer made his way to the table my heart began to race, my palms began to sweat and my father-in-law jumped in to make my bid. 

Thanks to his help I then became the proud owner of my round table.

Due to this I feel that I must dress it for every season, and this Christmas what did I get? Tablecloths. I love them. I can't have enough of them.

My best friend gave me a tablecloth AND matching napkins. I love her.

Thank you for helping me feed my addiction.

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Our starter child

After getting married, many people like to ask Chris and I when we're going to have children. The answer is, we have one already, his name is Spud.

Spud is like our starter child. I figure if we can remember to feed, bathe and walk our little guy, well, we might make it as parents. So far, so good. 

When we first got him I used to get little panic attacks such as: "Am I really going to be able to take care of a dog?" and "What if I forget to feed him?" 

A little over a year later here he is, spoiled beyond belief. I still think we'll keep him an only child, for now.

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A Christmas Eve birthday

After work on Christmas Eve, my hubby and I drove to my parent's house for the biggest little birthday. My nephew, Nathan, turned one-years-old on Chrismas Day and to keep the birthday celebrations seperate we decided to throw him a party on Christmas Eve.

I can't believe how quickly this year went. It feels like just yesterday that Chris and I sat impatiently in a waiting room waiting for Nathan's arrival.

Now here we are wearing birthday hats at Christmas! He's just non-stop fun.

I have to say he wasn't too sure about the whole present and cake thing but I betcha next year he'll be digging into the gifts with frosting on his face.

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Four wheel drive, ha.

Three days until Christmas and I have a job that prevents me from staying at home with my husband, who gets quite a few days off for the holiday.  Of course a winter storm blew in over the weekend and then the wind blew all of our snow into our driveway. 

As I ran around the house doing my normal routine of running late and rushing, my husband sat on the couch and looked out toward our driveway. In the words of a man who knows, "You're going to get stuck," he said.

"No, I'm not!" I said... "I have four wheel drive!"

He kind of giggled and gave me a kiss goodbye.

Five minutes later I gave him a call. I didn't get far, and I had to admit, he was right.

Thankfully, my husband loves me and shoveled me out. 

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A future project

I have a project for 2009, something that is going to revolutionalize my little home. I want to put french doors into a bedroom from a long boring hallway. 

When you walk into the house you can either go right, into the living room or you can go straight through a strange little hallway into the dining room. The hallway is between the stairway down into the basement or a small bedroom.

This is what the hallway looked like when we first looked at the house. Isn't it fantastic? They pulled the carpet up hoping it would help the house look better. How bad was the carpet then? yuck. Straight through is the dining room and kitchen. (Where they should have pulled the carpet up.) I would love to put french doors in that wall on the left. Yes, if you're wondering I did take the mirrored tiles off of the wall on the right. It wasn't easy, but I did it.

I think the mirrored tiles were the old homeowner's way of opening up the space. I would like to do something a little more radical. That's going to have to be a 2009 project though.

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Snowy Sundays

While my dear sweet husband is engrossed in football and big puffy white snowflakes are swirling around the house like we're in our own personal snowglobe, I'm in heaven.

I love days where I can just hang around the house and do the things that I've really wanted to do. Yesterday's project was a blackboard in the kitchen.

Thanks to my ever-so-crafty mom, I've discovered blackboard paint. Yes, paint that you can use anywhere and it becomes a blackboard. What will they think of next? Magnetic paint? Too late! I saw that too while I was picking up my blackboard paint. 

So while my husband was soaking in as much football as he could, I was painting a section of a wall black. Normally I think he would have hovered or tried to help but this time he just shouted a few words of encouragement from the living room. Or maybe he was talking to the football players. Either way, I got my blackboard painted. I hung a frame up around it and I had my new creative outlet. I can't wait to draw on it and leave little messages. Unfortunately the can said I have to wait three days... I think I might wait until Tuesday. That's as long as I can give them.

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'Tis the season

I love the holidays. I love the lights, the smells, the getting together with family and I love the decorating. This year, being that money is a little scarce I've decided to create as many of my decorations as possible.

Crazy? maybe. 

So last night was my first attempt at wreath building. It is not easy. My hands look like I lost a fight with a cat, but I did really enjoy myself and I now have $1.50 into a wreath hanging on my front door.

I just took an old wire hanger, bent it into a circle with plyers, cut off the hook and took a walk outside with my scissors. I bought some florist wire and went to town. I found some ribbon and a few other things in my basement and tada! 

I feel pretty good about the outcome, I'd like to add a few more items to it, but I do know next time... I'm going to wear gloves.

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Ah, the disapearing sink trick

I've been trying to think of ideas to spice up my little master bathroom that's the size of a small closet, and I came across this photo.
I just never though of putting a sink in a drawer. Isn't that an interesting idea? I have a small pedestal sink in my bathroom, and it does a pretty good job of opening up the space, but a drawer would have really given more room.
The only downside is, wouldn't the faucet seem a little strange hanging out all by itself? Knowing my clumsy self I would be running into that at night. Just a thought though.

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Something Different

Thanks to my mom, my home design guru, she sent me this fun little inspiration picture. It's something a little different to spice up the candle holder. I'm going to give this one a try later and see how it goes. Thanks mom!

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A stomach ache just waiting to happen

Here it is. The goods.
This is a whole Saturday worth of labor with my mother-in-law, slaving over mounds of almond bark.
What started as a holiday tradition years ago with the women in my mother-in-law's family, turned into a huge production. My mother-in-law was blessed to be one in a family of 9 children, making anything her side of the family does into a huge production. So, when the sisters of the family had children, and the daughters and daughter-in-laws came into the mix, wow, you're talking about a kitchen full of women.
This year, to scale the event back a little, the sisters decided to break up the growing group and each family work on a selection of goodies. Then, meet and distribute.
That sounded good to me, baking days could work out to be 12 hours or more.
But to be honest, it was nice to spend time with the women in the family. It was a great way to catch up and find out embarrassing stories of your significant others. I think I'm going to miss spending time with them, other than at a wedding or other family function when the guys were with us.
But it was still a great time with my mother-in-law, and as soon as I can feel my stirring arm I'll be good to bake some more!

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The spirit of Halloween

Nothing brings out the spirit of Halloween like having kids around. My little nephew Nathan is only 10 months old, but still old enough to be subjected to the ins and outs of this fun holiday. Throughout the month of October my brother and sister-in-law routinely dressed him up in outfits like this.

Someday he might care, but until then, we're loving every minute of it. That is why, while my brother and sister-in-law are away on a second honeymoon to the Bahamas, my mom and I have plans to dress the little guy up in something a little like this.

We can't wait!

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16 days and counting

I may only have one full time paying job, but I have another one that doesn't pay at all. Really, it's more like I pay everyone else. It's called wedding planning.
I go to work, normally from 8 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. and then my other job starts. That's how it's been feeling lately, but I really can't complain. I'm actually really very excited about it all.
I had one really nervous night, thinking about how all of this was going to come together and I completely rearranged my home. It's just a little nervous habit I have. I'll have to post the pictures soon.
Until then, I'll be working job #1.

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Going to the dogs

I love it when animals become a big part in peoples lives. Especially dogs. You can't help but love their little faces. They are just so earnest.
After a long hard day at work, I swore off cooking and pulled into to the Little Caesars parking lot. Looking over I laughed out loud when I saw who was parked next to me.
With the top down, these little guys were cruising in their red Mustang convertible.
The best part was their owner was a big burly guy.

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It's good the be the bride

Up until yesterday, Chris and I have been having some bad luck with reception halls. First, we thought our ideal wedding would be up at the tip of the thumb, right on the water. Then I started getting a bad feeling about our hall, which eventually came in the form of a phone call letting us know they had closed their doors.
I guess that's the Michigan economy for ya.
So onward we went, we decided to move the location to Davison, thanks to my sister-in-law Jenny, who found us this little gem.
I think we were a little jaded about the reception hall process. The owners of the last hall were rude and pretty much told us what we were going to do. That might be the reason they closed...
Anyway, we stepped into this hall yesterday to talk about the wedding and I enjoyed every minute of it. They treated us like royalty and asked what we want out of our day.
Next week we get to go back and taste test their food!
It's good to be the bride.

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The power of prayer

So after discovering Sunday that I had absolutely no clean clothes, I decided to declare the day "laundry day" and I set out to do a massive amount of laundry. Things were going great, I was cleaning up the house after my cookout on Saturday and I felt like I was actually getting things accomplished.
After about the fourth load of laundry, my ancient washer decided it had worked just a little too hard that day. I already have trouble with it spinning out, but this time it just didn't want to fill up with water anymore.
I stared at it for a moment and decided not to let it give up that easy. I unplugged it, I turned the dial over and over until my wrist hurt and at one point I was even on top of the washer pushing all the buttons. I was trying any little thing I could think of.
I even gave the machine a little "technical tap." Frustrated, I stomped up the stairs and a voice yelled out at me from the garage.
My neighbor Carolyn is a really very nice lady who has the most beautiful house I've ever seen. She is an amazing cook, has the greenest thumb and has decided to take her young neighbor under her wing.
I explained to her my laundry debacle, and she stomped down my basement steps and decided to try her luck at the evil machine.
After a few different tries at the nob with no avail, she looks and me and said "I'm going to lay my hands on it and pray."
Within seconds she pressed the button and TADA! The washer worked.
I've never seen anything like it. Not only did it work, the thing spun out without me forcing it. I guess Sunday I learned first hand the power of prayer.

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What a year

There are few things that you can't do as long as you are willing to apply yourself.
-Greg LaMond

A year ago I started a project. Not a little project mind you, but a whole-house, never-ending project I thought could be completed in a few months. While looking at the pictures I had just taken of the new patio, I thought about what the house looked like when I first signed my life away at the bank. It was during the month of July when I first laid eyes on this harvest gold beauty of a 70's ranch home.


Now it's not even close to being completely fnished. I think owning a house means you'll always have a project to do waiting around the corner, but as I stroll in through the front door after work I can't help but feel like this place really has become a home.

When I first mentioned buying the house to my then boyfriend Chris, I think he turned a little green. Actually, maybe many shades of green. It was hard to see the potential through the dust and age, but I think it's really come around. It's going to be fun to see what the next year holds in store for it.

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Brick by brick

"A good laugh is sunshine in the house."
-William Makepeace Thackeray

There's nothing like getting family together to work on a house project. There was good food, good fun and a lot of laughs.
As a wedding gift, my parents gave my fiance and I patio for the house. Chris's parents stopped in to give a hand and we had one big patio building party.

My dad is an endless book of house fixing up knowledge. The man can tell you how to build a patio, roof a home and even move a toilet in the bathroom to different location. It's amazing.


Having family around a house has this magical way of making it feel like home. With food cooking in the kitchen, sunlight streaming in the windows, that's what great memories are made of.
My future hubby and I are looking forward to many great evenings out on the patio, and lots of family to enjoy it with!

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The wedding nightmare

To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.
-Lao Tzu

So here I am, traveling to the church to get married to Chris, sometimes I'm driving and sometimes someone else is. I get to the church, and I'm just beside myself with excitement. I go to get ready and...I can't find my dress. There will be a pile of dresses at the church, but mine isn't there. This is a dream that I've had more than once over the past couple of months and during the day I can't seem to shake it.
I've come to realize that planning a wedding isn't the breeze I thought it would be. Not only is there always a little something to stress out over, you're taking a very big step in your life.
I can't listen to certain songs anymore without getting teary-eyed. I've just about sworn off country music because of songs like, "You can let go now daddy." Are you serious? A song about a girl growing up and getting married? It'll make me cry every time.
Father's day card shopping? Let's not even talk about that.
Planning a wedding isn't easy for me, but when you find the man that you can love with all of your heart, that love can give you the strength to overcome any obstacle, let that be planning a wedding or just showing up at the church with your dress.

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Spud-muffin

So here he is. The one and only, Spud. The man of the house, well... for a few more months anyway.
Before there was Spud, life was empty. I had matching socks, furniture without puppy teeth marks and shoes without holes.
I don't remember what life was like before I had to pick up kibble around my kitchen every morning.


I came by this little tater-tot when I bought my house. Everyone in my family thought it was time to join the group and own a dog. Chris and I scoured petfinder until this cute little face appeared on the screen with the name "Spud."
I laughed out loud and as I read the description found they were having a sale on the little guy during the week, but he was all the way across the state.
Luckily, all the way across the state meant five minutes away from my brother and sister-in-law. Those two declared the day "Spud day" and drove to the town over and picked up my pride and joy.
Nine months later, he's eating my shoes and running off with my socks, but I couldn't be happier. He's certainly a keeper.

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Girls night out

You know you're getting older when a friend asks if you want to play shuffleboard and you get excited. We played a few rounds with these lovely ladies last night and I realized how much fun pushing a "puck" around with a "cue" could be.
Shuffleboard leagues just started and as Chris headed out to play in his softball league, I gave him a big smile and told him I was going to try my hand at shuffleboard. My athletic fiance gave a little giggle, made a quick comment about my age, gave me a kiss on the forehead and headed out the door.
I think he really does appreciate my non-athletic abilities, my love for a fun game and a good conversation.
These ladies (and a few gentlemen) were a complete hoot. We had a fantastic time, and if they don't mind putting up with us again I would love to go back sometime.

One thing I would like to point out is the fact that there is a fence around the shuffleboard lanes. Is this in case shuffle boarders get out of hand?

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Tea for Twenty

Last Saturday was filled with tea, sandwiches and fun. Friends and family gathered at my parents house over the weekend for my bridal shower. We ate, we laughed and I was a nervous wreck.


Thanks to these girls, including Lisa's mom, my friend Giovanna, my wonderful sister-in-law, my mom, dad and my brother, the shower was a great time. We had a tea party theme, and everyone wore a hat and drank from tea cups, it was absolutely beautiful. A big thanks to the girl in the floppy wool hat! You're the best Lisa Lu!


We played a few fantastic games, including this one with my fiance, Chris. They put him on the hot seat and asked him a couple questions to see how well he knew me. The sweet man got 9 out of 10. (I knew I was marrying him for a reason.)


Despite a heat wave that hit Michigan over the weekend, it was all-in-all a wonderful day. Thank you everyone for coming to the shower and throwing it for me, I will always cherish the memories!

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Little Surprises

My 70's ranch fixer-upper is one endless surprise.
When I purchased the house last August, I didn't think anything outside was worth keeping. The house hadn't been lived in for years and had been neglected toward the end.
I had to pull out the large, overgrown bushes and clear everything from around the house.
So here I am thinking I have to start from scratch with flowers around the house and I keep finding these little surprises around every corner.
Here is an iris I found growing out in the middle of my yard.
It's going to be interesting to see what other little surprises my yard is holding in store for me.

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From the beginning

My name is Stacey, and in a few short months I'll be walking down an aisle and into a new last name. I am the owner of a 1970's ranch in need of some TLC, and an eight month-old Schnauzer who loves to chew on my shoes.
In order to give myself an outlet for all the thoughts running around in my head, I've decided to jump on the blog bandwagon and start one of my own. Before I get into everything, let me get you up to date on my life.
Up until last August, my life was pretty usual. I worked, spent time with my friends and family when I could and was dating the man I'm going to marry. Life was uncomplicated. That was until I found this house. It was a 1970s ranch that needed to be cleaned up and polished.



Yep, this floor covering is exactly what you think it is. Carpet in the kitchen is one of the worse things ever. This carpet was just one mess that needed to be worked on. It was worn in some places all the way down to the rubber glue, which had to be scrapped up.



Talk about disgusting carpet. This carpet in the basement had pulled in moisture leaving one of the worst smells I have ever encountered.



The living room was actually one of the best rooms in the house. It definitely wasn't the beauty of the house I fell in love with, but it's potential. Oh yeah, and the plaid furniture came with the house.



Not long after the house came the schnauzer. His name is Spud. His loves are milk bone treats, chasing sticks outside and my black work shoes.
After the puppy came a ring, and my life all of a sudden became a little more interesting. For the next few months I'll be working on the house, planning a wedding and hiding my work shoes. It's going to be a fun journey.

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