Win Win Situation

I've said it before (i think) and I'll say it again.. If I win you win!  I was lucky enough to win (2) giveaways recently.  And everytime I win I get so excited and it just makes my day.  It doesnt have to be some big grand prize either.  It doesnt matter to me.  So If I havent (but I think i have) said it before from now on If I win then so will someone else.  I'll have a giveaway on my blog everytime I win something.  I think its only fair to make someone elses day as great as mine.  Kind of like a pay it forward idea.  So look for a giveaway in the next couple days.  Hopefully I'll have it posted by Saturday.  

Yesterday was the latest giveaway that I won.. I won a set of 24 customized Cupcake flags from Laurenmakes through Kimberlys cupcake carnival going on this week on her blog Attempting Creative.   Be sure to stop by and visit them both, you wont be disappointed.  Arent those flags the cutest things?  They would be great for baby and bridal showers, anniversaries or anything you could think of.   There's another giveaway going on for some of the cutest cards and matching gift tags. You can click here to enter.  

(photo from LaurenMakes )


A few weeks ago I was so lucky to win the Mary Kay giveaway at Jennifers blog, All things Pink and Crafty .  That was also a really great prize,, Sunscreen, lip balm, self tanning lotion and after sun gel.  These will come in handy these next few weeks of this very hot summer we are having. 

( photo from All things Pink and Crafty )




So be watching for my next giveaway and until tomorrow ~  Have a good one!  

Cupcake Carnival.. yum!

I havent been baking much lately but when I came across this blog today, Attempting Creative  and saw the Cupcake carnival going on I thought I'd post some of the cupcake cakes i've done in the past.   Cupcake cakes are so easy, they dont use as much icing, you dont have to worry about icing the sides and instead of cutting the cake you just pull off a cupcake and pass 'em out...Easy! 

This was for my nieces little boy Austin,, my great nephew.. he loved it. 

A cup a cup a cup

**Edited for correction:  although we do love that movie and they do talk about making an easy cobbler recipe,, looking through my cookbook tonight I realized that I actually got this recipe from Shellie@Allthingssouthern.com   .. oops! 

I love that my daughters enjoy watching some of the older movies as much as I do. One of our favorites is Steel Magnolias. And we love the part where she's talking about making a cobbler,, with a cup of this, a cup of that ..etc... Well we adapted/adopted it to our liking and now its our Easy Peach Cobbler recipe,, And it is one of our most favorite desserts, right after Strawberry cheesecake of course.  All you need is a cup of milk, a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, a stick of butter and a can of peaches.  I usually make it in a casserole dish but I used one of my cast iron skillets this time and it turned out great. 

I think we have a theme going..

In the little town that we live close to if you drive down the main part of town there are several little flea market type buildings that just beg you to stop and look around.  And i've wanted to for a while now.  This past weekend Jeff and Tyler were gone fishing so me, Mel and my mama decided it was the perfect time to go.  Turns out it was soooo HOT that we only stopped at two.. but at the 2nd one we stopped at Mel found this really cute little yellow bench sitting outside.  Its very sturdy and has a piece for the seat too.  And it was only $5.   Mel is our future photographer showing lots of promise.  She takes great pictures. (not these pics,, these were taken with cell phone so not so good)  She immediately saw this as being used a photo prop.  She got to work on it as soon as we got home.  I cant wait to see what she decides to do with it.   Looking at this picture of her sanding you'd think she was right handed but she's a lefty.  She always played softball like a righty too. 

Bright and early Sunday morning me, Teena and my mama were in the garden.  I'm talking like 6am.  We picked peas, cucumbers, squash, peppers and tomatoes.  I wished I had taken pictures of all of it.   When I got home Jef and  I cooked some fresh peas, fried green tomatoes, sauteed squash with bell pepper and mexican cornbread muffins.  Oh my goodness and I was no good the rest of the day but it was soooo delicious.  

Summertime Goodness.. Yum! 

Until next time . . .  Y'all have a good one! 

Big wooden spools

When I was younger we used to play on these big wooden spools that cable comes on.  And I've always loved and wanted one for some reason.  I just know they would make a unique coffee table, or an extra seat with a cushiony cushion on it, or a table for plants or a game table.. or just about anything you can dream of.  So I text my husband today and told him that one of the guys at work had one on the forklift headed to the trash bin and I rescued it...

He said  " Oh no you didnt"
I said  " Oh yes I did" 

Stay tuned for what it becomes.. I have several ideas floating around in my head ... or rather fighting for some space in my head with all the other crap up there.  Any ideas?  I'd love to hear them, leave me a comment. 

The bench is finished!

Linking up with the Shanty2Chic sisters  ....

 

Once upon a time we had a railing around our back porch.  And then we dog sit for our daughter a few weeks ago.  I put the dog on the porch for a while, didnt even latch the gate, and she knocked the gate completely off the hinges.. I guess she didnt want to be put on the porch.  Well then!  A few days later we decide to just take the whole railing down, Tyler took it down.  The boards were a grayish/blueish color and old and worn out already.  Jeff piled the wood up with plans to burn it.  I had another idea in mind.  I had just seen a bench that Gail at My repurposed Life made for her daughter and I knew I could use some of the scraps to do something similar.  Believe me mine doesnt compare to hers.  She does some amazing repurposing of all kinds of found items.  

 I  used one of the 2x4 and cut into two equal pieces (40 inches long i think) and two pieces for the end that measured 14 inches.  I removed what seemed like a billion little nails from the slats and cut them into 18 in long pieces.  I wasnt real sure about how to  make sure the thing was square but Jeff checked it for me after I screwed it together and it was only off by 1/8 of an inch,, that sounded good to me.  Experience carpenters everywhere are fainting as they read this.. ha ha.   I'm sure this explanation of my bench is just clear as mud so here are a few pictures to help visualize.. 

Made a box first and then used a little board ( 2x2? maybe) in the center for support. 
BEFORE

Cutting the small boards for the seat. 

Spacing to get somewhat of an even arrangement.. there are small gaps but I think its just adds character.  I used the nail gun to put these on. 

All the small boards are on and ready for a little bit of sanding.  Pay no attention to the pile of trash in the background. 

Tyler helping his mama with the sanding.  He said it was one of the best things I've worked on  and was impressed that I actually finished something. 

I used some 4x4's for the legs that my brother had given me. Thanks Robert.  They were going to be used to make big candle sticks to sit in front of the fire place but I never got  around to it.  And the dresser that the bench is sitting on is another unfinished project.. kind of stuck on what to do next.  But it'll come to me one day. 

Screwing in some more reinforcement.. dont want a wobbly bench. 

And here she is .. ain't she purty?   And she's very sturdy. 

AFTER

If you look closely in these pics you can see several unfinished projects. (dont look closely, ha )

Mothers Day recap.. (a little late)

Yeah, i know its almost Fathers day and I'm just now posting about Mothers Day.. just got the pictures downloaded of that and some other things,, so i'm a little late but I still wanted to put them on here. 

Melanie and Justin going to his senior prom.. Mel had wanted a camo dress for a long time.. and she found one, not my choice but of course she was beautiful!

We started out the day having breakfast with Jeff's mama.  For some reason I didnt get any pictures, I guess it was too early.  I consider myself lucky because I get along very well with my mother-n-law.  I know alot of people that dont.  Jeff and I are very blessed to have wonderful, supportive, loving and all around great Mothers. 

For my mama we had a dinner at mama&daddy's house.  My neice kinda put it all together and everybody just brought their favorite dish instead of a planned menu. 

My babies,, the wonderful reason I get to be called Mama.  They had to hold Tyler for the picture. 

Me and my beautiful mama.  The one who I can always count on, no matter what.  I never knew exactly how or why she did things until I had kids of my own.  And now I know.  Its because we are special enough to be called  mamas.  One of the greatest blessings God gives us. 

Cricket(my neice), me, Teena(sister), Stephanie(sister) and  Susan(sis in law). All the mothers at the dinner other than mama, who was taking the picture.  We had a great time and delicious food.  I cant say enough how much I enjoy family get togethers.  I hope beyond all hope that as all the kids get older and begin their own familys we can still stay close.  

And thats it for the recap,, hopefully tomorrow I will be posting pictures of the bench I made all(mostly) by myself.  Gotta try and get the pictures downloaded.  Until then.. goodnight!

  

Sweet & Sour chicken

I found a recipe for Sweet & Sour chicken that sounded delicious at this blog,, So I decided I wanted to try it out last night since I already had everything to fix it.. but then I remembered the American Idol finale was coming on last night and after stopping at mama/daddys and by sisters there just wasnt a lot of time left before it started and I didnt want to miss any of the show.. which by the way was really good, I'm mad that Crystal didnt win but I liked Lee too so I guess its okay.. Its not like I voted or anything so I cant complain.   But anyway,, I didnt go exactly by the recipe since I didnt have a lot of time,, So I dipped my chicken strips in buttermilk/egg mixture and then in flour, deep fried and tore some of them into little chunks and tossed in the thickened sauce,, and that sauce is reallly good!  Mel didnt care for it but Tyler liked it so we'll definitely be having it again.  Thanks for the recipe Santas Gift Shoppe

I wish the picture was better but it was taken on my phone. 

Daddy in the cucumber patch..

Some of the first cucumbers from this years garden.. freshly picked.  Heavenly!

Mary Kay..Its a giveaway

This week while looking at some of the linky parties I ran across this one from Jennifer that she posted about these super cute book thongs  she made.  The quote on the card is so funny to me.  They would make great gifts.  While I was looking around her blog I saw her picture and thought she looked VERY familiar and was sure I knew her.  Come to find out I was right,  she worked at the Elementary school my kids attended while I was substituting.  Neither of us live in that town anymore, and in fact, she's in a different state so I thought it was kinda cool that I stumbled upon someone that I knew.

And about the giveaway,, She is having a  Mary Kay giveaway over on her blog  ,, All Things Pink and Crafty.. (such a cute blog name too).  It is a great prize package and its really easy to enter.  I hope you'll hop right over there and tell her "Hi" and of course enter to win a great prize.    Good Luck. 

So much to share..

you just might get bored, but I hope you'll hang in there.  This past weekend was soooo long,, It rained, I mean poured down here!!  I think I only left the once on Saturday for just a minute and for just a little while Sunday morning.  I didnt get a lot of housework done but I messed around with some other stuff and other than just being kinda long it was a GREAT weekend doing things that I love to do.

* Started the weekend by stopping by and seeing Mama and Daddy and the beautiful garden they are so proud of.. as they should be!   God has really blessed their garden this year.  They've already gotten radishes and a few baby squash. 

* I worked on organizing some of my magazine cutouts.. still not finished. 

* I painted  a little sign to go outside..

* I tried a Fried Dill Pickle recipe from All Things Southern website ,, and yes I'm not ashamed to say, well maybe a little ashamed,, I ate..every..one .. of .. them with Mel's homemade buttermilk dressing.  Better than Bumpers fried dill pickles. hmmm hmmm good!  Shellie shares lots of southern recipes this is just one of the few I have tried over the past couple years.  I dont always take pictures of food but they are pretty, huh? 

* I sewed key chains for Lethea and Shelle, the winners of my giveaway that I had last week ..  they are in the mail girls!! 

* I baked a cake in my new to me Pampered Chef fluted stoneware cake pan(almost brand new) which by the way I paid 3 bucks for, woo hooo,,  and priced it online for $33.. now thats a deal.  Anyone have directions for this thing?  The cake stuck!  My cakes never stick.  Didnt take a picture of the ugly cake. I also found those greenish glass things at the same sale. 

*  And helped Jeff and Judy pile up a bunch of limbs and stuff to burn.. and the dog ran away with his shoe,, that was funny, but we found it,,,, lucky dog!!  He loves his crocs. 

I participated in a Spring Supply Swap a couple weeks back over at The Shabby Chic Cottage and I was lucky enough to be paired up with Gina herself.. and I rec'd all these goodies in my box.. She even made a cute little handmade notecard .  Now I have to try and figure out something to do with them...???  Thanks Gina,, this was fun.  I forgot to take a picture of what I sent her but I hope she can use it all. 

 

 

And that was my weekend in a nutshell.. Hope everyone has a great week and finds lots of inspiration here in blogland.. I know I do

Giveaway winner.. oh yeah

Well I declare  I won another giveaway,, from Jen over here.. She makes and does some of the cutest things.. She recently had a giveaway for some earrings and I got to choose which pair I'd like. 

She is very clever and makes and does lots of cool things.  Like this dresser she turned into an island.. I really want to do something like that one day. 

I sure hope you'll go over and say Hi and look around.  You won't regret it and you'll

leave her site so inspired.    Have a great weekend. 

Cowgirl up !

I made a baby shower cake for my girls for a shower they were hosting for a friend this past weekend. .. It was a cowgirl theme for a little girl whose name will be "River Grace".. So many people are going with odd and unique names these days.  When I was pregnant with my son, uhmm 15 years ago,, Jeff wanted to name him "Brick" which at the time I thought was crazy but I actually think its kinda cool  now, but,  I love the name Tyler, which is what we chose.  

Linking up with Gina for Transformation Thursday over at The Shabby Chic Cottage.  Please go over and see all the talent on display,, so  many creative projects.  Gotta get busy now,, Have a good one! 

1st giveaway winners

Well for my very first giveaway I think we can call it a success.. I've decided to pull two names for the winners.. And since i'm not all that techno savvy and dont know how to use random generator, I put all the names (numbered) in a bowl and let my husband choose the numbers.  And the winners are ....


Luvdaylilies said...
I'm here & I now follow=)
Love they keychains, crossing my fingers!
Luvdaylilies at bellsouth dot net

&

Shel at Dreamy Nest said
Hi Debilou! I saw a comment you made on another blog and saw "Mississippi" and had to come check you out. I'm from/live in MS, too!
I love your blog!! Very creative! I'm a new follower. Have to keep up with the MS peeps.

Winners email me your address and I'll get these in the mail later in the week. Don't forget to tell me your choice of initial(s). Thanks for entering my giveaway! This was fun .  Have a great week! 

Undone projects and a giveaway..

Hello everybody and Happy Wednesday ..

As promised, I am having a GIVEAWAY ,, Why? Because I am extremely lucky and feel very blessed and want to share the love and because my sweet husband always ask when I am going to give something away. Will anybody come?? Who knows, but it'll be fun to do anyway. All you have to do to enter is be or become a follower and leave a comment on this post letting me know. What am I giving away?


One winner will receive not one but two of these keychains that i've been making recently.. with your choice of initial on them.



So come on, be a follower, go find some friends and invite them too. And if you spread the word through your blog or however you choose,, let me know and I'll enter your name twice.

Giveaway will close Monday May 10th and a winner will be announced on Tuesday. Good luck!

One of my favorite bloggers is also getting ready for an awesome giveaway
party once she hits 2000 followers,,
and believe me it sure won't be long. Donna has an amazing blog and is very generous sharing her talents with us all. So hop on over there and become a follower if you're not already and see what she has planned in the next few days or so. In fact I'm almost certain that her first giveaway is up. So go now! and good luck on that one too.

And to make one post even longer,, here are a few things I'VE been putting off for .. awhile. One of them is a dresser that i got from my brother,, I'm turning it into a TV stand with space for the DVD, stereo and all that stuff..


Another is a bench that i rescued from the dump, (yep,, I like trash, and I cannot lie,, ha ha) anyway,, I've had this for probably over a year,, Jeff recently bought me the boards and I've sanded and stained them and now have to seal them and put it all back together,, and I won't even tell ya how long that could take me,, I get sooo distracted by other things. You see the half painted plastic eggs in the background?? They've been there since before Easter. 'Nuf said!



DON'T FORGET ,,, Giveaway will close Monday May 10th and a winner will be announced on Tuesday. Good luck