I gotta be me....

I have struggled with how I want my bedroom ever since Hubby passed away and I decided to re-do it. I have had several ideas and even made a couple of attempts to get it how I want it. But the thing is, I was trying to do it based on what I had seen others do or online. But I can't find anything that makes me happy. My daughter pointed out it is because the type of decor I am attempting is not me. Well, you know what, she was right. I can be down to earth and I can be the girl next door or the tomboy that will play in the dirt. But deep down inside, I am nothing but an old fashioned girly girl. I love my floral patterns, I love my baby dolls, my lace, my doilies and my tea pots and tea sets. And I love a variety of colors and patchwork quilts. So when I stumbled on a bedding set yesterday that was under $30 for the entire set, I snatched it up and came home and started working on my bedroom.

Once I got the bed made, I gathered up a couple of my dolls that matched and put them on the bed with my Sunbonnet Sue pillow Mom embroidered for me over 10 years ago. 

At the bottom of the bed, I put the blanket she did with primitive stitchery to match the pillow.

Then on one of the benches, I wanted to set something that had meaning to me as well. So I took the pillow cases my granddaughter,

Alexis, embroidered for me for Christmas and put them on smaller throw pillows instead of bed pillows. I need to do them tighter and iron the wrinkles out but I did this as a test and fell in love with it. I have my Ashton Drake Beth Little Women doll on the bench as well. My daddy made the bench and Mom used to have it at the foot of her bed with a doll and throw pillows until she gave it to me.

And I love when I see books stacked with a teacup on top of a doilie. I did that on the little box that belonged to my hubby.

0n my wall is a picture of me and my sister when we were 2 and 3. I am the two year old on the right of the pic. This has always been my favorite picture. Mom said I was mad because I didn't want shoes and socks on in the picture. So about 20 years ago, I found this doll that has the same curly hair and the same pouty face and had to have it. Now you know why I bought this doll.

I am so happy with my bed. I do need a new lamp and to incorporate a tea set and a few other things, but I am finally felling like I am on the right track for my bedroom. 

Just an update....

A friend knows I am really loving pineapple things and she told me about a great sale at Hobby Lobby. I found the snack dishes I was wanting.

And a pineapple to set in my house (which means Welcome)

This little note/message holder is going on my desk at work.

I have to put this up for summer but they only had one and at 40% off, I had to go ahead and get it.

Then yesterday I went with a friend to Dollar Tree. I finally found the two cup set of drink cups. I was excited for these. They are plastic so therefor washable and reusable.

I have been growing a philodendron from a break off of a friend's plant. I needed to go get a pot and some potting soil. I found this pretty pot at Dollar Tree and believe it or not they are carrying small bags of potting soil. So I got some of that too. Then it got windy and turned cold so I haven't potted my plant yet.

A lady at church was selling some vintage Fire King items. I got this for just $5.00. I was thrilled. Supper tonight will be baked beans with cut up weiners in it in my new pan with a skillet of fried potatoes. I can't wait. This piece was made between the mid 40's to mid 50's. It's called the Swiss Chalet pattern and has been on my wish list awhile. I have never seen one in the wild. So when she offered it up for sale at $5.00, I couldn't resist. 

I did not buy this when I was at Joann's Monday, but now I wish I had. They have a whale one and I loved it for my bathroom...until I saw this little guy and wanted him. I couldn't decide so I may end up going back to get both of them. 

Have a great Wednesday. 

A book and a bible study....

My church, Beech Springs Baptist Church, is beginning a new Women's Ministry. It will be amazing events for our church ladies to attend. They will feature a variety of gatherings from dinners to craft night; from bible studies to women's retreats. It's in the early planning stages and I am excited to see what they decide to plan for us. 

There was a book written called 

5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn't Quit by Nicki Koziarz. She is an author, speaker and writer with Proverbs 31 Ministries. 

She created a bible study by the same name on the premise of the book. The bible study and book is based on the story of Ruth. Our Women's Ministry is kicking off our program by doing the bible study on Ruth.

One of the teasers written about this study is "Many people believe that doing great things for God is going to be a big moment. We need to be inspired by someone who lived out something crazy or unexpected for God with no lights, cameras or academy awards". 

That remark in itself is more than enough to grab my interest. When you add to that the fact we are going to be Women studying about Women from the bible, it just gets better and better. I want to see if I can find the book and read it along with doing the bible study.

One of the things that I have always thought of when I thought of the story of Ruth was that it was a great love story. But I believe through this study, we will find it is much, much more. It is about friendship. It's about closeness. It's about not quitting even though that would be the easy way out.  One review I read said this and it really caught my attention. It said "It’s about hanging in there and seeing the beauty in staying when you feel like bolting. It's about taking a more accurate view of ourselves and what God might do if we didn’t quit." 

I am really looking forward to doing this study. I think it has the possibility to be life changing if you just open your heart and let God point you to the things He wants you to learn from it. 

I know a lot of my readers live far away and can't attend. But if you live within the Kodak, Tennessee area, we would love to have you. You can get more information by visiting the Contact Us page of our church website at:

Beech Springs Baptist Church or visiting us on Facebook. 

We hope to see you there.

Sunday Songs

You know I love Southern Gospel. And I especially loved Kenny Hinson with the Hinsons. He was my favorite all time Southern Gospel singer and still is. His passing in 1995 left a legacy of fine gospel music. This was one of my favorites.

Another one I love is Call Me Gone.

I normally would not put the exact same song on by two different singers, but today I am. Because this next gentleman is Weston Hinson, Kenny's son. The voice is unbelievable at how much he sounds like his Daddy. 

Have a blessed Sunday. 

Why oh why was I not told....

I can't believe what today is....and I can't believe nobody gave me a heads up or let me know it was coming. Today is...

It just doesn't seem fair. Had I known, I could have baked a cake to take to work and we could have eaten chocolate all day. Sad, just sad. So since I am not baking a cake, I thought I would share my chocolate cake recipes so maybe you can make a cake today even if I can't. I would love to do another two layer cake, but I don't have the patience for that as much any more. 

But I make the same cake in a 9 x 13 all the time for work. My cakes are always moist and get rave reviews. They are always moist. But that is nothing I do. I owe it all to Duncan Hines cake mix. I use either the Butter Recipe Fudge or the Devil's Food Chocolate mix. So my cakes are semi-homemade since I use a mix but I do make my icing from scratch. Here is the icing recipe for a standard chocolate cake. 

1 box of confectioner sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick of butter (I always use Parkay)

5 tbsp cocoa

5-6 tbsp milk (whatever it takes to get the consistency of spreadable icing)

Put on cool cake.

The next recipe for my favorite chocolate cake is a cheat on the famous Texas Sheet Cake. If you will recall, the Texas Sheet Cake has cinnamon in the chocolate and a lighter milk chocolate color to the cake. So if you like that cake, but hate the time it takes to make from scratch, you can get the same flavor by using Duncan Hines Swiss Cake Mix.

The only thing you do different to the cake is add 1 or 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the cake mix when you are making it. It's that simple. I use 2 so I can get more of the cinnamon/chocolate taste combo. Then you use the regular recipe for the Texas Sheet Cake frosting. You want to time it so it is ready to pour on the cake while the cake is warm. This is a similar recipe to above but this cooks on the stove first. 

In mixing bowl, pour in 1 box of confectioner sugar and 1 tsp vanilla and sit aside

In small sauce pan, mix:

1 stick of butter

4 tbls cocoa

6 tbls milk

Cook over medium heat until it starts to boil (not full rolling) and pour it over the 10X sugar and vanilla. Beat with mixer and pour on warm cake.  This is one of my favorite ways to have chocolate cake.

If you want, you can chop up walnuts or pecans and sprinkle over the top of the icing or if you prefer, put them in the cake mix. I just do mine with no nuts since not everyone in my family likes nuts. 

Hope this gives you ideas for National Chocolate Cake Day. Have a great one!

Amish Creations & Country Market

There is a shop in my town that I drive by every day. I used to go in there with Hubby because he loved Amish butter, but I haven't been there in a long time. 

I had to run to the office for a few minutes yesterday so my daughter asked me if I could stop in at the Amish store to check out some of the exterior designs they had on their outside wall. She is interested in getting one for her house.

Since you don't have to twist my arm to get me to go shopping (even if it was just window shopping yesterday), I went ahead and stopped in to check it out again since it has been a few years since I had been in there. Oh wow! Just let me say that I definitely am redoing my bedroom in Amish/Primitive style like I was thinking about. Check out some of the lovely things I saw yesterday.

I like this store so much because not only does it have some primitive style, but with the Amish factor there are many things with a farm fresh theme for a county kitchen.

Some of the most unique cutting boards I have ever seen.

Small cabinets that would be perfect for so many things. 

I have always loved the little berry style garlands and wreaths. This store has so many to choose I could have stood there all day and admired them.

That had medium size cabinets for sale as well as the small. I saw larger cabinets and shelving cabinets, but I was so enthralled I forgot to get pictures of those.

Adorable signs with old buildings that I fell in love with.

So many "knick-knack" type things to set around your house.

See what I mean about the items with the berry wreaths. 

I was in love with these cats. Three in a set. I was going to get the picture and then look at the price, but I was so thrilled about everything I was seeing that I forgot to look at the price.

I love the metal stars. I always have. 

Another cute cat product. These were just a couple of bucks if my memory serves me right.

I really want this star for decorating on my porch from May through July.

Tons and tons of unique little signs and things to put in your decor.

They even have window valances.

And table runners. Hmmm. I don't have a theme in my dining room, may have to change some things up.

That was just the tip of the iceberg. That store has so many nooks and crannies that I am going to go back when I don't have anywhere else I need to be because I want to check it out more. And no I didn't forget what my daughter wanted me to look at. They have tons of the metal outside decor. From smaller stars.....

To big round designs.....

To small windmills for your garden. One item I saw was $30 something, but everything else was from $8.99 up to $26.99. The prices were amazingly reasonable.

The staff is so friendly and courteous that they made me feel right at home. I really enjoyed my visit there. I am going back again next week. But in the meantime, when I came home I visited online at Amish Creations on Facebook . They have so many pictures of all their wonderful products. As I was browsing through, I saw quilts. WHAT? I forgot that a friend of mine told me to check there. Somehow I missed seeing them.  I hope they don't mind, but I borrowed a couple of pictures from their Facebook page to show you what I loved. This is so perfect for me. I have to stop back in there now to get prices.

So how did I look at all this splendor and keep from buying anything? Well, I didn't. I couldn't resist picking up this little tray. So many of their things are items that can fit in any decor, whether you decorate in Amish, Primitive or just simply a hodge podge. I am putting this in my bathroom since it is a beach theme and I have lighthouses in there.  

If you are ever up this way, be sure and stop by and see Amish Creations & Country Market. You won't regret it. They are working on their website right now. I can't wait to see it when it gets finished. Check back often at www.AmishCreations.com. 

Pillowcase crafts

I stumbled on something interesting today. Things to make with cute pillow cases. Sometimes I will be at a yard sale and they will have a stack of adorable vintage looking pillowcases in pretty patterns. I look at them and think "I wish I knew something to do with them."  Well now I know thanks to a 5 minute craft post on Facebook. One idea and I headed to Pinterest to see how many more. If I could think of a way to parlay my love of searching Pinterest into a career as a Professional Pinterest Searcher, I could make a fortune.

I admit I have seen this one before. As a matter of fact, I took one of my unused pillow cases last year when I went to the beach and did this very idea. I was able to get my five t-shirts I wanted to keep hanging all under one pillowcase. And because it is snugger than a garment bag and I laid it on top all the luggage, my shirts made it to the beach in great shape and I just removed the pillow case and hung them up. Not to mention using these as a garment bag is easier to clean than a piece of luggage and took up a lot less room.

This one appears like the took an embroidery hoop and a pillow case to create an over the door clothing hamper. Again, you can toss the hamper in the laundry right along with the dirty clothes to always keep it clean and fresh. It looks like they put a draw string, but not sure if you would have to if you aren't carting your dirty laundry anywhere.

A wonderful draw string bag. Not sure what the intention was for this bag, but it is cute. It could hold a kids sleeping bag for camping trips or slumber parties. 

I really like this. They took a couple of pillow cases and made a smaller pillow with a pocket and a strap for carrying. How cool would that be for long road trips. Fill the pocket with books to read or activity books and the child has an automatic pillow while they read.

Here's a picture of several she made.

And if you are lucky enough to find a vintage pillowcase that was hand embroidered, you could always make a valance or tier curtains from it.

Okay, this is just too cute. My only thing is because of the shape, it's going to involve some sewing to make it fit. 

What a wonderful idea for wrapping an odd shaped or oversized gift. Simply gather and tie with ribbon.

They cut this tote bag from an old pillowcase. Cute.

Those were all great ideas. I also saw on the Dollar Tree Crafts site on Facebook this cute idea for a glue gun station. I see these trays all the time and wonder what I could do with one. Well, now I know. I have to go right by a Dollar Tree today. Wonder if I should stop in? Who are we kidding? You know I am going to stop in.

What new things are you finding in your world today?