Year in Review

I haven’t been on the computer too much this last week.   First there was Christmas, then a niece’s wedding, then a Montana trip to visit my parents (and take down Mom’s Christmas decorations!)…anyway, not a lot of time for blogging!

But while the New Year’s Eve movie-of-choice is on (Unknown with Liam Neeson), I thought I’d follow a blogging tradition and pick a favorite project from each month to share

Hope you enjoy the journey!

January

The cabinet at the top of the stairs got a much-needed facelift!  (However, it got replaced in favor of something with a little more pizzazz in September, but I enjoyed the change until then!)

 

February

A friend and I threw a baby shower for a neighbor!  It was fun to decorate with ‘boy’ things.

March

My love of red came out in this cute numbered chest of drawers.

 

April

I shared how to replace a cane seat on a chair with kitchen utensils.

May

I knocked off an Anthropologie dresser, but in reverse!

June

Without a doubt, my most popular project EVER has been my French Chocolate table!  That’s OK, because it’s one of my favorites too!  It even inspired my to sell my sectional and buy a couch so I could keep it.

July

I was on a bit of a coffee table kick for a while!  This postcard table is another favorite; my little sister claimed this one!

 

August

I experimented with a little “Steampunk” in August.  I used old water valve handles as drawer knobs on this chest of drawers (it was claimed by another sister)!

 

September

I experimented with DIY chalk paint in September.

 

October

I dressed up the entrance to my home with vintage suitcase shelves.

And I’ll cheat a little in October, because there are two more projects that I just loved…

my Ballard Designs theater room knock-offs

and the TV armoire I converted to a sewing armoire.

November

I “discovered” a simple way to do image transfers using a home printer and an overhead transparency sheet.

December

And just two weeks before Christmas, I refinished my kitchen counter tops using a Giani Granite painting kit!

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Thank you for all the support, kind comments, and helpful suggestions you have offered over the past year!  I feel very lucky in my community of Internet friends.  You inspire me and motivate me.

I hope the New Year will be a fun and productive one for all of us!

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Giani Granite Review part 2 & Winner!

In case you  missed it…my review of the Giani Granite counter top refinishing kit is here. 

As I mentioned, I was NOT enjoying the whole wait-14-days-for-the-polyurethane-to-cure aspect! 

Well, guess what…

…I didn’t have to.

I e-mailed the link to my review to the Giani representative I had been working with, and she assured me that I really COULD start using my counter tops!  Sure, it takes 14 days to fully cure, but I could start putting my small items back on.

I was so delighted…and relieved!

So although I ended up waiting about a week before I used  my counters, by last Wednesday night we were pretty much back in business, as follows:

• Wednesday I spread a tablecloth on the peninsula, but then we used it for a pot-luck dinner for eleven friends. 
• Thursday I baked 25 loaves of bread for neighbor gifts, and assembled about 15 bags of almond roca, pecan crunch, and white chocolate macadamia popcorn.
• Saturday I made two pans of Potatoes Benson, Christmas Jell-o (my kids love it), Hawaiian haystacks, two pumpkin pies, one cherry pie, and one raspberry brownie torte.
• Sunday I made bacon, eggs, Bubble bread, hot spinach-artichoke dip, ham, rolls, and spinach salad.

So I would say the counters have gotten quite the work-out in the past week!  And guess what?  No chips, no scratches! 

I’m hoping they will continue to hold up as well after they are fully cured!

So without further ado, the winner of the Giani Granite giveaway is:

Anne from Creative Southern Home, who said:

Congratulations, Anne!  I will be e-mailing you.

This Christmas…

This Christmas:

Mend a quarrel.

Seek out a forgotten friend.

Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust.

Write a letter.

Give a soft answer.

Encourage youth.

Manifest your loyalty in word and deed.

Keep a promise.

Forgo a grudge.

Forgive an enemy.

Apologize.

Try to understand.

Examine your demands on others.

Think first of someone else.

Be kind.

Be gentle.

Laugh a little more.

Express your gratitude.

Welcome a stranger.

Gladden the heart of a child.

Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.

Speak your love and then speak it again.

 Howard W. Hunter

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May you keep the Spirit of Christmas in your heart all the year!

Love,

Korrie

The Day Before the Night Before Christmas

We used to listen to this song over and over each December 23…

….now I torture my children with it!

Just remember:  It’s no good being good for a day!

Christmas Table

For the past three years, I have been part of a “Dinner Group.”  Twelve women get together for a pot-luck supper on the 3rd Wednesday of each month, rotating so each gets the chance to play hostess.

Last night, it was my turn!

It’s not too fancy, but I thought I’d show you my holiday table.

Someday I hope to have a beautiful farmhouse table and lots of pretty dishes…(or maybe not…I don’t look forward to figuring out how to store them)…

…but for now my every day dishes, cups, and silverware work just fine. They just get dressed up a little for Christmas!  I used miniature glittery Christmas balls for napkin rings.  I have NEVER used napkin rings before!  This is super fancy for me!

My “12 Days of Christmas” tablecloth and napkins (purchased after Christmas several years ago) get pressed into service often during the holidays because I love them so much(mostly I ignore niceties like tablecloths).  I dressed up the center of the table with ribbons running the length of the table, and a gathered strip of tulle in the middle.

One of my lovely poinsettias that I showed here was dying (no, I don’t know what I did to it), so I clipped off the good blooms and placed them in a few old bottles.  If you don’t know the trick to preserving poinsettia blooms, here it is:  you have to burn the ends of the stems right after cutting.  Who knew? 

Then I added a few glittery Christmas ornaments and lots of snowflakes and stars around everything.

It was strangely satisfying to set a pretty table!  Maybe I’ll be hooked now!

Don’t count on it.

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Don’t forget to enter the Giani Granite Giveaway!  Ends 12/26.