I WON!…and the “Fun Friends” Giveaway

See, I told you that I would be back today! :) A little late maybe, but I’m here.  Well, after finding out only yesterday that I had made the Top Ten over at the DIY Club, today I found out that I WON for March!!! Woo-Hoo!!! It was for my Solar Street Lamp:

I get a DIY Charm:

And an amazing prize package from the DIY Club Sponors! I  can’t wait til it gets here so I can show  it to you all!! If you can’t wait (I couldn’t! lol) click on the link above and check out all the goodies! Thank you for the honor DIY Club!!

Get your projects ready to enter for April!

I celebrated my one year “blogiversary” with a coffee theme. If you are wondering  “why coffee?” and even if you aren’t , I’m going to tell you. I LOVE coffee!!! I love to drink it alone but I especially enjoy a good cup of coffee with friends! I thought it would be a great way to celebrate with my blog friends but since we couldn’t get together for a cup of coffee, I did the next best thing and gave away the Starbucks card! I also made some coffee printables.  To celebrate reaching over 400 friends, I figured I would carry on the coffee theme and add a friend printable.   My super creative friend Bretta created this cute coffee cozy from cashmere that she felted herself! Keep your coffee hot and your hands comfortable in this adorable cup cozy! Works with tea too! :-)

I’ve been seeing these cute knitted headbands all over the internet! Now you can have one of your own, complete with a coordinating ceramic flower button.

You’ll look fashionable when you go out for coffee!

Bretta made this too…told you she’s creative!

My other friend Nichole, wants to share some of her K-cups in 3 delicious flavors!

Green Mountain Coffee’s Hazlenut, Kahlua’s original Kahlua flavor and Tully’s French Roast. These are intended for a Keurig one cup brewer, but could possibly be used in other machines…or open the cups, pour into your coffee pot and enjoy! How about a box of 24?

Bretta and Nichole, thank you  for helping us celebrate with these  wonderful gifts and thank you for being such sweet, generous and encouraging friends!

I have little something to share too. It’s my way of saying thank you to all of my blog friends for your support and encouragement.  I did the definition of friend:

It is about 5.5”x5.5” so that it can fit on one of those 6” tiles I seem to be putting everything on these days! The definition is downloadable by clicking and then right clicking to save on the larger image. If you want a different size, email me and let me know. I should be able to adjust it.  If you download, please let me know by leaving a comment. That’s all you have to do to enter the giveaway as well. Just leave a comment! Easy enough??

Tomorrow I have another BIG announcement!!! I can’t wait to share it!!

Stay Inspired!

Winners, Giveway, Apologies and Exciting News!!!

Just because I’ve been silent here doesn’t mean that I haven’t had anything going on! ;-) There has been so much going on that two days of not blogging has turned into two weeks?!?!? Just how does that happen??? I have so much to say and to share that I hardly know where to start! I am going to try to do something that is extremely difficult for me…I’m going to get right to the point on a few things and not share every little detail….So here goes:
1. Why I’ve Been “Blog Silent”- First, we had some sickness in the family, followed by work for me (yay!) and then an exciting work opportunity for hubby! Throw in the start of baseball season for two boys, orthodontist appointments and other appointments and that doesn’t leave much time or energy to write! It has been doubly hard because I have had things going on behind the scenes that I really want to write about! Look for lots of posts in the upcoming weeks! Hubby’s new opportunity is taking him out of town and so I hope to fill my “spare time” sharing here! :-)
2. Apologies to Make- I owe a few apologies for dropping the ball. The first one is to Michelle, the winner of my Starbucks GC!

Michelle, thank you  for your patience with me. Your card is going out in tomorrow’s mail. I am so sorry for the delay. It is not intentional but I’m sorry I let it get pushed down my list of “to-do’s”.  I also have two items to mail out to two other bloggers (you know who you are) and they are going out tomorrow as well. I didn’t want your addresses for stalking purposes! Really!! :-)
Secondly I want to apologize to all who entered my Pampered Chef Giveaway. I have had a winner drawn and saved with a snap shot of random.org’s pick. I just haven’t posted for the same reasons I haven’t done anything else here! You have all been very patient, thank you! Sooooo, without any further delay, the winner is comment # 47 left by Taleah!

Taleah said:
Congratulations Taleah!!  I will be sending your information to Kim!
And last, but not least, I dropped the ball big time with this one! Amy from A Latte with Ott A. invited my to participate in her Iron Chef blogging challenges. So far, she has had a challenge for cooking with duck, lamb and  March’s theme was tomatoes and the sponsor was Red Gold Tomatoes. I missed the linky party deadline to get my recipe in! :( Amy, I am so sorry! I completely let the time get away from me. I was actually very excited about this challenge too! I had a recipe picked out right from the beginning of the whole challenge. It is a family favorite, thrifty and easy to prepare! I will be cooking it tonight and sharing the recipe here. My apologies also to Red Gold. They are amazing sponsors! I received this huge box in the mail stuffed with goodies!!! I couldn’t wait to blog about the goodie box and then one day turned into another…and here I am. :( Thank you Red Gold for sponsoring the challenge! You can check out  Red Gold on facebook and twitter for lots of other great tips and recipes. Click on the badge below to check out all of the delicious recipes that entered the challenge!

I don’t think the winner has been announced yet! April’s challenge will be baking powder, sponsored by Clabber Girl! Don’t miss it!  ;-)
3. Exciting News!- First, my DIY Solar Street Light

made the Top Ten at The DIY Club!

And I almost missed it!!! I wasn’t writing on my blog and I also wasn’t really reading much either! They announce the finalist tomorrow! You bet I’ll be reading then!!!!

I’ve reached (and passed) and awesome milestone…while I AWOL!!!! It’s amazing! I knew that I was getting close to 400 Friends/Followers before I went AWOL. I was very excited and planning a special fun giveaway from some of my real life friends to my online friends. I noticed that I had reached the BIG 400 and took a snapshot of it:

I was sooo excited!! I was all set to try and squeeze in time to post about this and when I logged back in later I had  399 followers?!?!? Made no sense at the time, but since I no longer had 400 followers, I couldn’t celebrate 400 could I??? So I went AWOL and when I came back, look what I found:

WOW!  How’s that for a reason to celebrate?!?!? So, in honor of my milestone, tomorrow (yes, I will back tomorrow) I will be having a simple and fun, easy to enter giveaway!

Last but certainly NOT least….I am very excited to announce that I have been accepted as a contestant in a very exciting blog and lifestyle challenge!!! I’m not sure that I can announce the specifics yet, as it hasn’t been announced on the host blog, but it is probably one of the most exciting things that I have been able to participate in since I started blogging! I can’t wait to share all the details as soon as I get the go ahead!!!

That’s all for now, but look forward to much more to come!

Spring Is Here!!

This post brought to you by Pier 1. All opinions are 100% mine.
I have been so ready for spring  this year. It officially arrived on March 20th!! Spring has also arrived at Pier 1!  I love Pier 1 for affordable indoor and outdoor decor! Right now they are helping us take advantage of the longer sunny days with some gorgeous outdoor furniture! After working in the garden you can relax and get cozy with someone special in the Coco Cove Outdoor Wicker Settee!

I usually like to start cooking  and eating  outside as soon as possible. I'd love to have this bright Hammered Metal Beverage Server  keep my drinks ice cold and ready to drink!

Since our house, and indoor rooms  aren't  finished yet, I can't start on the outdoor room that I plan to have some day but I can create a temporary room with an umbrella and table

 
Over a gorgeous indoor/oudoor rug!

Living in our basement, I could use one of these inside too! I could have durability without sacrificing style!
Mention Pier 1 and  almost immediately the image of a Papasan Chair comes to mind. They have been selling these awesome chairs  since they opened their business in 1962. The Papasan has come alooong way over the last 49 years! The Papasan of today is "not your mama's Papasan!"  You can now get an indoor/outdoor Papasan for  your porch, deck or pool area crafted out of iron: 
 and them customize them to your fit your decor with some of the many cushion choices available. How about "fuzzy chocolate"?

Sounds good to me!! Or maybe something a little brighter?

 
Or something a little more grown up and stylish?

 There are choices for many decorating styles! Check the out the choices here.
I love a more natural, earthy look in my decorating both inside and out, so I've always struggled a little with Easter Decor being a little to bright and plastic looking. This problem was solved when I found  Pier 's Easter Decor! Its colorful and yet true to nature! I fell in love with this wreath immediately!
 
The matching basket would look great on table as a center piece.

There is a lot more to see, so check out Pier 's online catalog here:

If you are in the Atlanta or NYC area, then you have a special opportunity with   Pier 1 Tweetups!  Check out the link for details and dates.

You can also sign up for the  Pier 1 Outdoor newsletter here.

Have fun and Happy Spring!!

Look What Came in the Mail…

This…

and this…

Woo Hoo! My stuff from CSN stores!! I won a $75  CSN Stores Gift Card from Gail over at My Repurposed Life! Thank you Gail and thank you CSN Stores! I had entered a few CSN giveaways over the last month or so in the hopes of getting a new crock pot. Specifically one with a lid that would lock on and seal tight! I’m tired of chili and baked beans spilling over in my van. Ever had that happen? We attend a lot of family get togethers  and church functions where food is involved and  I really needed a new crockpot!!! This one is so sleek and shiny! I’m not even going to show the old one, yes, it’s that bad.
 
I love the book plate label! Not the most important part of a crock pot but it  looks good! :-)

After picking out my crock pot, I still had money to spend! So I shopped for some flatware.
Forks and spoons have a way of walking away from here when no one’s looking. I’d love to know where they all end up! Probably the same place all the socks go when they disappear from the washer….
I’m looking forward to trying these out, but first I want to take a minute and brag about CSN Stores. I’ve worked with them on the giveaway end several times and my contact, Alexandra, has always been professional but friendly and very helpful. This is the first time I’ve been on the receiving end and I am SUPER impressed! I checked out their prices and they were some of the lowest that I found on the same items at other places. Shipping was FREE!! Can’t beat that! Shipping was also extremely fast!! Like less than four days from order to arrival! I know that I will be using them again!
Oh, this was my opinion, given freely…no compensation involved unless you count winning Gail’s giveaway! ;-)
So go check them out!

Outdoor Basket Light, Dollar Store Style!

I had a lot of fun making my Solar Street Lamp

and I’m glad to have the light when I pull up in the evenings!  I’ve got plans for making more big ones and some small ones for the garden. Part of the reason I was inspired to “go solar” with my light is that I am married to an electrician and am experiencing the whole “shoemaker’s children go barefoot” thing! I don’t have any outside outlets or underground wiring for anything to be hooked up away from the house. So solar is the way to go for me! It’s easy…it goes on and off all by itself, no wires and it doesn’t cost me anything extra on my light bill! :)
When I saw Cheri’s post on basket and cage lighting, I was hooked! I’m not so much into the industrial look, but I like the basket style, especially the repurposed look with the antique and metal basket type. Like this

and this

and these.

I would prefer this style of lighting on a porch or deck rather than inside my house and the only way for me to get it  outside would be with more solar lights! So I started thinking of how to make solar lights work with a basket and was rewarded with a little inspiration after a trip to the Dollar Tree!

Baskets!

 

and Solar Lights!

 

That are the same color and  just happen to fit together almost perfectly!

Let’s make it a perfect fit!

I started by taking the chain off and reattaching it to the “bottom” of the basket…which is now the “top”.

Then I took the solar light apart and used a hack saw to saw the small end of the plastic globe off. It took away the
“where’s the rest of the light?” look.


Then I wrapped some Gorilla tape around the upper edge of the solar light so that it would fit snugly inside the hole in the basket. I ended up trimming the tape so that only a half an inch of the light was covered.

I added Gorilla Glue between the taped edge and the wire edges that poked into the tape to make it a permanent fit.
 

And that’s really all there is to it!

  

DIY Solar Basket Light…Dollar Store Style!

A close up:

Working:

 

My “smart” camera kept lighting everything up so I  couldn’t get a good shot of it lit up…and those little white things?… snow flurries!!!! I guess spring isn’t here just yet.

As I look at the pictures, I see the little “eyes” where the chain used to attach to the basket. Another basket could be turned “up” and attached here to make a “ball” style light or if you are the blingy type, all kinds of things could be wound through or hung from them. Lots of possibilities to dress this up!

This the second easiest project that I’ve ever done…second to my “stone look” planter”.

This light took about 10 minutes to put together not including glue drying time! How’s that for a fast and easy project?!?!? Oh, I almost for got thrifty! If you’ve got glue and tape on hand, the total out-of-pocket cost for this…a whopping $2.00!!!!If you have any ideas for dressing this up/changing it up, I’d love to see them!

My Solar Street Lamp received several features this week! I am so proud! :-)

 

My Family Definition Printable was “caught” by Gail

And my Door Restore was featured at

It was an exciting week!  The Pampered Chef giveaway will be up til Wednesday night as will the opportunity for the FREE shipping and cookbook!
Looking forward to an awesome but busy week again this week!

Linking up to some of these amazing parties!


   

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Fridays

    

Weekends