Dinning Room

Hey there!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday and lots of yummy food!  If you're like me, you dig into the Christmas decor as soon as the Thanksgiving meal dishes are cleaned and put away.  It's festive and fun.  Decorating for Christmas with my family is something I look forward to each year.  I've been stocking up on decor items that I've gathered here and there for this season and wanted to give you a little sneak peek of our dining room table decor for the holidays. I've picked up some fun things on Etsy and have had so much fun putting everything together.  I can't wait to share it all.  I love this time of year.  Spending time with family and friends, baking goodies and, of course, watching Christmas Vacation.....puts a big smile on my face. I also wanted to let you know that I've listed more walnut bread boards in my shop just in time for Christmas.  If you will be ordering these for gifts, now is the time to do so in order for them to

Several months ago, a sweet little cat showed up on our doorstep and we were all completely smitten with her.  I blogged about her here .  But after about a month, she just disappeared.  We looked for her and posted flyers with the help of our neighbors but we never could find her, which left us all sad.  But I realized that for the short while that she was with us, we realized that we were ready for a pet. My older boys have ALWAYS wanted a dog from the time they were small.  Especially our oldest.  But with kids with allergies and asthma, having pets has been something we couldn't do for most of their childhood.  However, as they've grown older, they have outgrown their pet dander allergies and I've been thinking that maybe it was time.  I grew up with a dog that I adored and I wanted them to have that same experience. Occasionally, I would look through our local animal shelter for just the right dog, but the dog they had in mind was never there....until this past week. M

We've spent months looking around for the perfect desk for our oldest son's room.  We really wanted to find just the right one without having to spend a lot of money and since hubby is always going to storage auctions, we figured that was the best place to keep our eyes open for one. We finally hit the jackpot but it took me awhile to finally decide that it was indeed the jackpot.  This is what he brought home. Neither one of us were a fan of the way it looked but it was solid wood and heavy.  Plus, I liked the modern lines and knew I could do something with it.  I just wasn't sure what, yet. I went through a bunch of ideas in my head and kept going back and forth on painting it or not painting it until I finally decided to completely sand it down to the raw wood.  I really had my heart set on a wood desk for his room and I knew the wood could be really pretty if I gave it a makeover. I hate using stripper so I tried to sand the orangey varnish off the top first.  Surprisin

Hey there!  Happy Monday!  A couple of months ago, I was contacted by Melaine Thompson , the Market Editor for Souvenir Lifestyle Magazine , and she told me that my bread boards had been selected to be in the magazine as a gift idea.  Well, to say I was excited is definitely an understatement.  I was so honored.  If you have read our blog for very long, you know how important my bread boards are to me as they are a tribute to my Dad.   I was so thrilled to have them included and I know he would be, too. I am a HUGE fan of the magazine, as well as, a huge fan of all the contributors and of course, its creator, Heather Bullard .  Getting to look through this magazine when it comes out each season is something I really look forward to as the photos and content are always gorgeous and inspiring.  And this Holiday issue certainly doesn't disappoint.  If you are looking for some Holiday inspiration, here it is.  You can purchase an online digital version of Souvenir Lifestyle from the w

One day this past week a kind elderly lady was visiting our shop.  She was quietly sifting through a crate of old Christmas ornaments, taking such care in each one that she picked up.  After a few minutes, I noticed she was smiling, with tears in her eyes, and she seemed quite taken with one of the ornaments she had picked up. Softly, she told me that the ornament was just like one that she had as a child and it recalled for her such wonderful memories of Christmas with her family.  It brought her such happiness...  It also made me realize that the happiness on her face and in her heart from finding that tiny little ornament is really what makes this journey of ours so meaningful and not just a business venture. I really hope everyone that visits our shop is able to experience that happiness.....memories of kinder, gentler times are something to be treasured in our hearts and recalled often.  Have a wonderful weekend.  :) Diana

Hey there!  We've been so busy lately that I almost forgot about the Reader Redo Series we were planning on starting.  So, I'm gonna get right to it.... I was really inspired by this redo from Kat over at Maple Leaves and Sycamore Trees .  It really turned out beautifully. She bought a table at Goodwill for only 10 bucks but then realized it was damaged.  Instead of throwing it out, she completely transformed it into a gorgeous functional ottoman.  Here's a pic of the table as she bought it... Pretty cute little table, huh?  But then she noticed one of the back legs was a little crooked.... So, she decided to turn it into something more functional for her family, which is awesome. She removed half of the legs and spray painted them black. Some foam, batting, pretty fabric and a LOT of work later, she transformed it into this.... Amazing!  I absolutely love it, don't you?!  And I'm loving that fabric.  You can find out her exact step by step process and see more pho

Hey there!  This past weekend our local downtown area had their Holiday Open House.  All of the amazing businesses participated and we were thrilled to be a part of that since our shop is now located in this beautiful area. I don't know about you but I absolutely love decorating for Christmas and decorating our shop was just as much fun as decorating our home.  I really wanted the Holiday decor to reflect who we are and what our shop is so I put a lot of thought into it. I really wanted to create a Christmas tree that was unique but vintage and industrial so I told my hubby to keep his eyes open on his picking trips for something that we could repurpose into a tree. He definitely didn't disappoint, though he never does.  I woke up one Saturday morning to find this sitting in the back yard. At first I thought to myself  'what the heck is that doing in the back yard?'  So, I asked him what it was for and he told me he thought it was the perfect Christmas tree shape.  Perf