A little bit of the past...

My decorating style is rather ecclectic.  I really like to use meaningful things to decorate my home...pictures from a vacation or an interesting item we picked up while traveling, for example.  Recently, I've added some things from the past.

My dad collects antiques and has had this little cast iron stove for many years.  I've always loved it.  My mother always hated it.  So, when we moved into this house and had room for it they gave it to me.  It was in rough, rusty condition at first, but my husband cleaned it up and polished it.  He began doing that without me knowing so I didn't get a chance to take a before picture of it.  Here are the after pictures though.  We are using it as a side table in our library.

Another little project I started last summer was to frame some old black and white family photos from both my family and my husband's.  I went to a local thrift store and bought a bunch of frames.  I think I spent around $12 total!  I brought them home and spray painted them black.  I framed the pictures and hung them in our guest room.  I think they turned out nice.

 

 

Frames before...

and after...



I love that the pictures are relatives...some we knew, some we didn't.  The frames are all very different.  Most were cheap plastic or metal frames, but when you spray paint them all the same color they really work well together.


What's your decorating style?  Do you have any interesting items that have a good story behind them?

Lenten Project

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.  I had a last minute idea...a way to involve our whole family.  We had this cross leftover from a St. Helena costume from All Saints Day a couple years ago.  I nailed 40 nails in it.  We, as a family, are going to try to remove the nails during the 40 days of lent. 

They can only be removed by one of us doing an act of kindness for another person.  The rule is that you can't really be getting anything in return for the act.  For example, my son mows the neighbor lady's yard, but she pays him so that wouldn't count.  Doing things you are supposed to do anyway doesn't count either...daily chores, behaving in school, etc.  We are trying to focus on just being kind to others.

Yesterday, three of us managed to do something kind for another so we have already removed 3 nails!

You can't see the nails very well in the picture, but I used small picture hanging kind of nails and I didn't hammer them in too far so that we'd be able to just pull them out without a hammer.

Catching up!

Wow, I have totally been neglecting my blog this year!!!  We were all sick after Christmas, then I was busy planning the NYE party and then we started school again.  And then there was my birthday and Nathan's birthday.  We are also right in the middle of Claire's gymnastic season...she's already had 2 meets and has another this weekend.  She's doing great on Sr. Team.  She was ranked a Jr. Prep level 4 at her first meet and moved up to a Jr. Prep level 5 at her second meet.  I'm still learning what all of that means!!  In her first real meet she placed in the top 10 in every event and won 1st in beam.  She is still excited about that!!

She's been battling terrible allergies this week so I hope she's feeling better by Saturday for her next meet.  Here are a couple pics from the last meet....

 

And here's my 15 year old!!!!

I do not know where the time has gone.  It seems like just yesterday he was a baby!