Memorial Day

I hope everyone had a good and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Memorial Day is a time to pay your respects to our fallen soldiers, veterans, and those still in service. The men and women that sacrifice themselves to bring us safety should not go unnoticed.

I decided to make strawberry, blueberry shortcakes! Red, white and blue :) The shortcakes were extremely simple to put together, and they were delicious! I bought the shortcake dessert shells, cut up fresh strawberries, topped with whipped cream and fresh blueberries!

The weather was absolutely terrific, so Nathan and I stopped at the UT Arboretum to walk around the trails.

As you know, I love chalk paint!

I went to a thrift store and found a couple items that I thought would be great for home decor after they were painted!

At JoAnn Fabrics, I found the Americana Decor paint in the color "refreshing." There were other brands that have the chalky finish, but I've had good experiences with Americana Decor, so I stuck with that brand!

I found this nautical painted tea pot and decided that I love the size and shape of it. The only thing I didn't care for, was the design on it. So, a couple coats of chalk paint solved that problem! :)

The teapot isn't completed yet, I'm still thinking of different designs to paint on!

These two frames are outdated, but instead of donating them, I just gave them each a couple coats of the chalk paint.

At JoAnn Fabrics, I also found these cool burlap sheets! I figured they would be perfect to cover up a cardboard box and use it for storage!

With the burlap sheets, chalk paint, and a cute fleur-de-lis stencil, I made an adorable storage box!

* How did you celebrate the Memorial Day weekend?

Happy Thursday!

Hey y'all! Happy Thursday!

Who else watches Game of Thrones? I cannot lie, this past week, I have been re-watching all of the old episodes of Game of Thrones to catch back up before watching the new season!
I'm glad I have re-watched it, because there is so much that I forgot about, and/or missed previously!

I'm thrilled that my order of essential oils was delivered today! I know I've mentioned the purification and lemon oils before, and I order them more frequently because I use them for so many things!
The grapefruit essential oil is going to be perfect to add flavor in my water and help curb my appetite!
The lemongrass essential oil is going to be used in a DIY bug spray project coming up soon!   :)

The last time I was in Charleston, I found this cute "W" monogrammed pineapple door sign. The sign only came in black, but I figured I could paint it with some chalk paint that I had left over. Our front door is a dark blue, so the sign needed to be painted a lighter color to stand out.

I absolutely love the way it turned out! The door sign perfect for Spring and Summer months!

In my Nashville post ( A Weekend in Nashville ), I mentioned a unique and beautiful piece of art I acquired from the artist Terry Anderson (Anderson Art & Accessories)! 

The piece has a "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" feel to it, which is one of the many reasons I was drawn to it. 

Check out Terry Anderson's website here: Anderson Art & Accessories

I also mentioned the gorgeous necklace I purchased from WHS Designs by Whitney Stewart! 

I am obsessed with crystals/gemstones, so when I saw Whitney's jewelry, I was mesmerized! After admiring all of the jewelry, I reluctantly picked out just one necklace to bring back home with me (I wanted them all)!! 

Check out WHS Designs Facebook page: WHS Designs

QUESTION TIME:

* Do you watch Game of Thrones?

* Which flavor do you prefer to add to drinking water?

* Do you have a favorite piece of artwork or favorite artist?

Spring is Coming!

Happy March 1st everyone!! 

Did you have a good extra day of February yesterday?! I am thrilled that it is finally March! I'm pretty certain that Spring is beginning! Flowers are beginning to rise and bloom!

St. Patrick's Day is coming up and I cannot wait! My bestie will be in town to celebrate with me! I have always enjoyed celebrating St. Patty's Day, but since I found out that my Great, Great Grandfather was born in Belfast, Ireland, it makes the holiday much more meaningful! I can actually say I have Irish blood (even if it's a tiny bit)!

With every holiday comes the holiday decorations! I found this adorable Shamrock Welcome wooden sign (at JoAnn Fabrics) to paint and hang on the door:

The Dollar Tree has some cute St. Patty's Day decorations too! Last year I got some necklaces, tiny hats, headband, scarf, shamrock trinket dish, and a bowtie! This year I ran in and bought some green flowers to put in our vases by the door. I found the most adorable St. Patrick's Day flag from Hallmark!

I am also a fan of the shamrock shake from McDonalds, although, I am not a fan of the amount of calories that are included! I have been doing some pinning, and soon I'll be trying to make a healthier version of the shamrock shake! I'll have that in another post, so keep an eye out! :)

Speaking of green, and healthy, I received a few free samples of Green Superfood by Amazing Grass!

So far, I have tried out the Goji & Acai berry flavor. It definitely was GREEN! I barely tasted the berry flavor though. It wasn't a bad taste at all, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I think it would be better in a smoothie with more fruit to enhance the flavor. The fact that it plant based and packed with alkaline is the whole point. It is meant to bring more nutrients to your body. 

"Our Amazing Grass Green Food Blend includes a proprietary combination of organic, non-GMO wheat grass, barley grass, alfalfa, spirulina, spinach, chlorella, and broccoli." (https://www.amazinggrass.com/store/green-superfood-berry.html).

I know that I don't get nearly enough nutrients throughout the day, so a bottle of this superfood is a good supplement! 

Check out their website for more information: Amazing Grass

I received this product for free/discounted however this in no way influenced my review. I only write honest reviews regardless of whether I purchased a product at full price, at a discount, or received it free.

Question Time:

* Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

* What are you looking forward to the most this Spring?

* Would you try the green superfood supplement by Amazing Grass?

First Snow Recap!

Wednesday was the first snow day of 2016 in Knoxville! It feels like it has been forever since we have had snow here, so it was a pleasant surprise! Watching the snow fall with a hot cup of coffee (usually with a cat on my lap) is one of my favorite relaxing things to do. It snowed quite a bit, but unfortunately did not take long to melt away on Thursday.

First snowfall on Wednesday:

After playing around in the snow for a little bit this week, I came inside to work on another chalk paint project. My jewelry armoire!

Before:

I used the Americana Decor brand again. I chose the color "Yesteryear," which is a beautiful light grey with some blue tint in it. 

I wanted to show you how you want the first coat to look - very streaky. A little paint goes a long way!

After:

The jewelry armoire turned out perfect, but blends in a little too much with my blue walls. I'll have to place it in front of my accent wall (dark grey) so it pops out better!

Thursday, the hubby and I both had the day off, so we grabbed some Starbucks and ventured up toward Tellico Plains and Cherohala Skyway.  We're always ready for an adventure!

Our first Starbucks of 2016!! 

Bald River Falls is one of my favorite places to go in that area, so we stopped to take some pictures.

Isn't it gorgeous?!

The sun came out for a second!

Cherohala Skyway is such a fun scenic drive, no matter what season it is!

Today we woke up to a little bit of snow on the ground - maybe half an inch or so. Looks like the "blizzard" missed Knoxville this time. 

Even though it wasn't a ton of snow, I went outside to play around and to build a tiny snowman. 

I had on about 4 layers to keep myself warm! I would be lost without my Columbia jacket!! It's the best!

Our patio heater puts out some good heat! It was nice having it on so I could sit and not freeze to death!

I grabbed my Canon 60d to take some pictures of the birds in our backyard. I love sitting out there (even in the cold) watching the birds. The bluejays are my favorite!

Finally, I decided to hang out with Riley for a while inside, WITH my heated blanket on & coffee in hand! Tonight will probably be dedicated to marathoning shows on our Amazon Prime TV. Nathan and I have become addicted to watching the show "Orphan Black." We have binge watched the first two seasons already! Orphan Black seriously is amazing, and the acting is phenomenal! I HIGHLY recommend checking it out!

Riley sure enjoys the little heater! He just lays in front of it, soaking in all the warmth! We're pretty spoiled!    :)

I hope ya'll are staying warm and safe in this weather!

Is it snowing where you are? 

Do you have cabin fever?

Do you like to go outside in the snow?

Post Chalk Paint Project!!

My project with chalk paint has been completed!! I am thrilled with the results! The dresser looks fantastic. I love the vintage look of it.

The Americana Decor brand of paint did a great job covering a lot of space with just a little bit of paint. It also dried very quickly, which was awesome because I didn't have to wait around for it to dry before doing a second coat. I ended up only painting two coats on the dresser, and the 8 oz. container of paint was the perfect amount! I am pleased with how well it turned out!

Now all I need to do is head over to Hobby Lobby and grab some new dresser knobs and handles to put on the drawers!

I cannot wait to go back to Home Depot to buy more paint, paint other pieces of furniture, as well as my wingback chairs!

In my other spare time, I ended up making my first beaded bracelet! I collected all the tools necessary to make the bracelet and turned to YouTube for a video tutorial. 

The extremely helpful tutorial I watched on YouTube can be found at this link:

https://youtu.be/CNMB0A5ZVmY

The bracelet was surprisingly easy to make! Mine turned out a little big, but that can easily be fixed. 

:)