Look What I Got!!!

So I have this wall in my living room that I've absolutely hated since we moved in. I just haven't known what to do with it. I've tried a few things here and there and it just wasn't working for me. Then I decided after seeing some beautiful secretaries out there in bloggy land that it was just what the wall needed. I searched at Round Top. I searched at Canton. I found a lot I loved... but the price tags made me gasp. I was not willing (or able) to spend $400-$500 on one of these babies. Enter CRAIGSLIST! I found this....

Now, I don't like the wharf design on it so that will get covered up (or opened so you can't see it). But I got this for $125 (and it has a lighted hutch). I couldn't believe that it was still available when I called the lady. I am pretty excited... but now I don't know what to do with it and here is where I need YOUR help!!! Do I paint it, do I stain it, do I leave it as is (and fold down the drop desk to hide the wharf?)?

Will you help me, pretty please?? I've got both black and stained furniture in the living room right now. My walls are cream colored. My gut is to go bold and do red with this piece. The sofa is leather, I have a greenish goldish chair that will be close by. If I was on the ball I'd show you pictures of my room... but that requires some advance planning and I just don't have motivation right now! :)

Halloween treats

For simple Halloween treats, I dipped apples and pretzels in caramel and chocolate candy melts and then added some nuts and sprinkles! Yum!

They are super easy & delicious!

Can I claim this as a healthy snack??

They're just apples right??

kid's closet

I'm following in Lindsay's footsteps today... cleaning up & cleaning out! I began to organize my daughter's closet this weekend while I was already in her room painting. Might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone! My biggest hurdle...combining her closet (and everything in it) with my younger daughter's stuff.

Closet #1

Closet #2

I began with organizing all of their bows.

I realize they have a ridiculous amount!! My mom makes and sells them, so they're the lucky beneficiary of every color you can imagine. I simply tacked up 3 rows of ribbon. And I found these unused storage racks in the garage, which worked well for shoes and books.

2 hours and 1 goodwill box later, I ended up with this...

Much better! Now back to decorating...

De-Cluttering my cabinets

Don't you just love seeing how fellow bloggers "really" live? Well I do... I want to know that these lovely ladies aren't perfect and they live real (and sometimes cluttered) lives! If you enjoy knowing and seeing that then you stopped by That Village House on the right day.

This was our junk cabinet in the kitchen. As you can see... it is a total disaster. It houses the kids craft stuff, candles, cookbooks, medicines, lotions, etc. Finally I had had enough. Things weren't fitting like they used to. I am sure it's got nothing at all to do with the fact that there's no organizational tools whatsover, right? :)



And here's the AFTER! I spent an afternoon clearing out everything and figured out what I wanted the cabinet to house (and what it shouldn't!).

Ahhh... Glorious! I moved all the kids arts & crafts supplies to some neat organizational bins that are in our pantry (which is also getting a makeover that will be featured soon). I love that I can see all my cookbooks and that all my Scentsy bars are no longer falling out of the cabinet when I open the doors and I have a place for my camera bag so it doesn't have to live on the counter anymore. So... get after it... clear out your junk and don't live with clutter anymore! It's the little things that sometimes bring me silly happiness!

A new look for the girls

Beadboard. Check! New paint. Check!

What do you think?? At first glance, it looks half-way professional, right? I found that wood putty & caulking can fix just about any flaw. Can you see my mistakes??

I used Morning Fog 401-1 from Pittsburgh paints.

I thought it would be a tad more grey, but I'm still happy with it.

Now for the fun part...decorating!!

Girl's room upgrade

We're under construction here at That Village House.

Or at least my girl's room is!! This will soon be a shared bedroom & before moving furniture around, adding a bed, etc., I wanted to add some character! Like color and beadboard! Lindsay showed up yesterday with power tools. That's right...power tools!! Watch out world. We're armed and dangerous, as Lindsay says. So here we go. Wish us luck!

{Recipe} Group Meal Swap... Taco Soup

Recently a group of ladies from my Sunday school participated in a group meal swap. If you've never done one of these before I highly recommend it!! Here's the lowdown...
Once you know many friends are going to join in on the fun you'll make meals for everyone of them (including or not including yourself... that all depends on YOU!). Example... in the last swap there were 7 of us participating so I made 6 meals. You're going to want to make meals that are easily frozen and reheated, etc. Did you know there are cookbooks for this concept?? Of course you did. :)

Then you just meet up and swap. Bring a laundry basket or something to carry all your meals home in (keeping in mind that they can be HEAVY). The great thing about this swap is that you will have 6 nights of 'mindless' cooking. Just pull something out of the freezer the night before and you're set! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that. All you working moms out there... you really should do this! How great would it be to come home and enjoy your kids, enjoy your couch or enjoy your fantastically decorated home instead of cooking dinner?

Now what you were all waiting for.... MY RECIPE!
TACO SOUP
this is by far the easiest meal I make and has been one of my favorites since college days

2 lb ground beef, browned and drained
3 cans Mexican Stewed Tomatoes (or Ro-Tel)
2 cans Ranch Style beans
1 can corn
2 cups water
1 package Ranch dressing mix
1 package Taco seasoning

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Then serve with Fritos or tortilla chips and top with cheese. Mmmm.... Unfortunately I didn't make one for myself so no picture... Sorry! But trust me... it's delicious and did I mention EASY? So, get your friends together and SWAP your meals.

Linking Here:
Someday Crafts

My revised fall porch

This was my porch earlier today...
I love so much about it. The pumpkins...the make-shift chalkboard... & the hay bale that I store in the garage all year just to bring out during Sept-November for my fall decor. I think this may be the one thing my husband just doesn't get about me... :) I always add mums on one side but I just wasn't loving it this year. Reason number 1: it's too small (sometimes the thrifty side of me makes poor decorating choices) Reason number 2: the ugly black pot. Well I couldn't do anything about the size of the plant since I wasn't willing to buy another one (yet).

Then I had a lightbulb moment when I remembered the stash of burlap I had bought for another project... So here's my simple quick fix. It doesn't magically grow the plant but it does help me love it a little more than I did this morning.

More Canton goodies!

We're showing more goodies from Canton today! One of our friends Amanda found a great desk for $40 that she bought to put in her living room. Can you see it in the back of her trunk?


These photos were taken with her cell phone...but I think you can get the picture. Here's the before.



And here is the lovely after! She painted it black and went back and distressed it. She added a new knob she found at Canton too. It's amazing what a little paint can do to turn around a $40 desk?!


Here she has it in her living room with a cute red stool she also found at Canton. I think it's going to look really cute with some fun accessories up top.

Decoupaged Clothespins

If you have 5 seconds (literally, 5 seconds), grab some scrapbook paper and make your chip clips a little bit cuter. If you have another 5 seconds, add a button or an initial!

This card holder, which I picked up from Canton, & which happens to fit PERFECTLY between my desk & hutch, looks even better with my new clothespins. Can you tell I'm excited?? The quickest project EVER!

I was overzealous & decoupaged too many (an easy mistake), so the girls' art shutter got and upgrade too!

Even my chips in the panty are now adorned with colorful clothespins. But I'll save you the picture of my pantry!

My New "Old" Rocker

This rocker may be one of my favorite finds from our recent trip to Canton. When I spotted this rocker out in the "junking" section I immediately was drawn to it. Ever since we moved into our house I've wanted two rockers to sit out on the front porch. Once we finally painted the house it moved up on my priority list. Last year I spotted a great looking rocker for sale at a home improvement store... for $88. I was willing to shell out the money for two of them but decided to wait until we painted. Imagine my delight when the price for this one was $25. I talked him down to $20 (I'm sure some of you could have gotten him lower...but I'm just beginning to master my negotiating skills....so I am proud of the $5 savings!). It was in great structural shape and I could tell it had even been "fixed" with screws and wood glue. It just needed a good coat of paint.

Here it is after a couple of coats of leftover paint (sorry for the sunlight in the picture...I'm impatient and the picture had to be taken RIGHT THEN!). Maybe on my next Canton or Round Top trip I'll find a suitable mate for it. For now my wicker rocker will work just fine.

I just need to get a new throw pillow for the wicker rocker to add some color and soften the look. Waiting for some good sales... :)