Entertaining Ourselves Update

I have corrected the misspelled words (my proof reader was a little slack, you know good help is so hard to find) and Buck is a Cockapoo for those who asked.Great dog for families with allergies. 

 This is how my kids are entertaining themselves over Christmas break...dressing the dog in their clothes. Oh, did I tell y'all we got a dog? I totally meant to. Did you know it is almost as much work as having a new baby?

 OMG! Is that not the cutest face? I really like him now. I was a little shaky in the beginning, but he has settled down and so have I. 

We are also making jewelry out of money. This is a great last minute gift idea for nieces, nephews, babysitters etc. You can watch this video on YouTube to make one yourself.  

Lots of fun at Casa Hydrangea.

Hope your holidays are merry and bright!!

xo Sissy

Pantry Heaven

Did your mom ever tell you money can't buy happiness? 

Well, she is probably right but a fabulous new pantry can!!

Another sneak peak of my kitchen...

The pantry.

 This from a girl who only had two small cabinets to store food for a family of 5 hungry pigs. This girl had a dream, a dream of pull out drawers, shelves and mirrored doors. 

Joy to the world, I'm one happy girl.

Star Light Star bright

Did you ever in all your whole life see such a fabulous star?

Because of the reflection of the 1 million sequins it was really hard to get a good photo. Or maybe my star is just not very photogenic, it runs in the family. I am sure it is not my photography skills. Here I took it off the tree and tried it on my new cowhide hide because dang! that rug looks good with everything.

Then I tried it sitting on my new counter tops against my new back splash. 

Still not showing off it's true beauty. 

Final thoughts? I am filled with joy every time I see this star sitting on the top of my fat, fluffy Christmas tree. My kids had a ball working  on it as did most of the neighbor kids and even some of my friends. It definitely took a village and we still have to finish the back...next year. 

Kitchen Update

 Still not finished, hoping to have most of the kitchen completed by Thursday. 

Today the cabinets guys are coming to put knobs and pulls on my cabinets and drawers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to open cabinets without hardware? 

My hardworking tile guys were here until 9:00 last night putting up the back splash behind the range. Good times. World's best picture? No. But at least it gives you an idea of where all my money is going. White carrera tile in a herringbone pattern. 

For some reason Bill thinks that the new fancy range equals more, better cooking. I say crazy talk, everyone knows they are there to look pretty. 

And a special thank you to Luci. Your comment on Monday made my day!!!

Tree Topper

I've been looking for the perfect tree topper for ages!! You know, the one that's going to change my life and bring me joy forever. Is that too much to ask?

I considered this one from Anthrolpologie, whimsical and inexpensive.

Or should I go traditional? Fabulous but predicitable. Ballards here.

I just need something that shouts "Look at me! I'm shiny and bright!!"

Then I remembered...

Our little holiday craft from last year...the homemade sequin ball. Big hit at our house, hours of holiday entertainment. 

So now there's some of this...

And a whole lot of this going on at my house...can't wait to show you my                                      new tree topper. I am sure it will bring me all kinds of joy.

Good News Bad News

Good news!! I got my sequin pants...

Bad news...they fit and I LOVE them. They feel like sweatpants. And it's not really bad news for me but for all those who e-mailed me to say how much they hated them (I am not going to mention any names-Heather). If you see me wearing them with a big grin on my face just look away, let me enjoy my bubble of happiness while it last. 

I

Vintage Palette

While looking around the web I saw this wonderful piece of art by Nicole Cohen of Sketch 42. 

Close up in all its glory.

Other great art here.

It got me thinking about this...

Vintage artist palette. Isn't it great?

I don't think I ever told you I was collecting these. And by collecting I mean I found two, Ebay and Etsy. Sadly I sold one, the better one, in that damn booth of mine. And I probably didn't tell you I no longer have my booth. Another casualty of my creative stroke. Plus, I seem to miss the things I sold too much!! I love the texture and mix of colors on these plus it's a little unexpected, don't you think?

Gobble, Gobble, Bracelet, Joy

Happy Thanksgiving!!

 I wasn't going to post today, but then I saw this over at Birds of a Feather. 

Warning...you might cry. But in a good way and it will make you less likely to yell at your kids today. 

And best of all this fabulous bracelet can be yours!!

I have already ordered mine!!

So read the post here. 

You will laugh, you will cry, you will hug your family, you will buy a bracelet and be filled with joy and isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about???

PS I am very thankful for all of you!! Especially since I was a slacker for 8 months and didn't post at all. 

XOSissy

Gobber Gobber

 If you are new to my blog you probably think I misspelled gobble gobble. 

  

 If you are an old friend you know I am talking about Butterball's gobbers: his lobster bathing suit he wore everyday for 8 months straight then off and on for almost 2 years (and yes, I let him). As you can see from the above picture he treated them like a neutral and really got into pattern mixing. I have had several people ask if he is still wearing them and the answer is...

Yes, yes he is. Not every day and not the exact pair that saw so much action. Sadly he finally outgrew the original gobber seaboot (lobster bathing suit). 

Just when I thought they were gone for good Old Navy rolled out a new and improved pair. Am I a lucky girl or what??!! This time I bought two pairs so I could at least wash one while he was sleeping. 

Good times.

Have a great weekend and many thanks for all your comments and e-mails. It feels good to be back after my creative stroke. I am taking things easy, don't want to over do it since I am still a little shaky. 

Would you still love me if....

I wore sequin harem pants?

I'm thinking white shirt, gray sweatshirt and 

These boots.

What? What are you thinking? Cute or crazy?

Here they are on my new style hero from 

Target Does It Again and Ascot Friday

Now I should mention that they only come in girl's sizes (meaning children's) so don't get too excited. The chance of them actually fitting is pretty slim, still it's worth a try right?

Check back and I'll let you know how it goes.

MIA

Hey!! I've missed you!!! Many thanks to all who e-mailed and left comments checking on me in my absence. I don't have a good excuse; I just lost all my creativity...it was scary. I think it is slowly coming back. Or at least I hope so. Anyway I wanted to pop in and show you a few things that have been going on around here....

Kitchen before we moved in. 

We did change it a little but not much.

Kitchen Remodel!!!

Can you believe it? Finally!!! 

I am sure I have a better before picture around here somewhere, but this gives you a rough idea of where we started.

During...scary

Almost finished and what is that I see? Mirrored cabinet doors? Yes ma'am!!

Does it give you chills? I know! Me too!!!

There's lots more fun to share...stay tuned!!

Do you like it so far?

Guilty Pleasures

The first step towards recovery is admitting you have a problem...
Hi, my name is Sissy and I am addicted to Hollywood reality shows..
The sun, the stars, the clothes...hours of enjoyment.

Love, love, love Tori and Dean
(And Liam, Stella and baby Hattie)

And I can't forget Joan & Melissa
What about you? Anything you want to confess?

Found it!

OK. Saw this, loved it but couldn't remember where I had seen the whole fab article on Ashley Longshore. Recently I was rereading Matchbook and there it was...

In all it's giant glory. Need to see more? Here (page 83)
There is also a new issue out that is bright and happy and really good.

DIY and Drugs...

I have a chandelier almost identical to this except it is brown. I know, sad, sad color. I am thinking about giving it some bling and spraying it gold like this fab light...thoughts?

In other lighting news I think I could do this...with a lot of patience and maybe one of Clay's left over ADHD patches. Don't judge, DIY is not always pretty.

pictures here

And the Winner is...

Houndstooth and Nail!!

Ingrid has won the adorable gingham checked Overboard dress from
Shabby Apple!! I know you are going to love it!!

Thanks to everyone who entered!!
Sissy

Hey Little Boy

Is it wrong to dress like your 11 year old son?

I got Clay this super cute checked shirt at Target. I know, it looks just like Crewcuts. I liked it so much I went back a few days later and got one for myself. We are very happy together. Doesn't it remind you of the Shabby Apple dress from my giveaway?

I might have also gotten myself a boys flannel shirt.

Next time you are in Target stop by the boy's department. I will probably be there checking out new items for my spring wardrobe.

Love and Not So Much

Thoughts on the Golden Globes

Love, love, love Reece's hair. Just perfect!!

This? Not so much.
Am I the only person in America who did NOT like this dress?

It's all sharp and pointy and pale.

Gingham for You

Shabby Apple.

Are you familiar? If not you are in for a treat!! They have clothing, jewelry, gifts and more. But today we are all about women's dresses. Here are couple I am loving!!

Walk the Plank

Freshwater Pearl

I was lucky enough to be able to pick out my favorite dress for a giveaway for my fabulous readers. And I picked...

Overboard
Just in time for spring. Can you stand it? Does it get any better than blue and white gingham?

You have 3 chances to win:
1. Follow Shabby Apple on Facebook: Here
2. Follow this blog.
3. Leave a comment and tell me which dress is your favorite.
That's it, easy!
(leave a separate comment for each entry. Contest is for the gingham Overbaord dress only)

And Shabby Apple is offering Blue Hydrangea readers 10% off!!
Enter: bluehydrangea10off" at check out!!
Winner announced Monday January 23

Wicked Good...

I like big checks and I can not lie
(You other brothers can't deny...)

Atlantic-Pacific
And I hope you do to because I have a killer giveaway next week!!

And my helpful hint of the day: it is cold here today...really cold. May I suggest, Wicked Good Slippers from LL Bean? My favorite Christmas gift this year (keep in mind they were competing with a frying pan). If you are like me, afraid of the cold, this pair of slippers will become your new best friend. They are like a warm hug for your feet.

Happy Weekend!!

Around here...

Things are a little messy around here. There was a light I didn't like in our kitchen. Truthfully, there is not much I do like in my 1980's kitchen, but the lights are particularly bad. I told Bill we needed to change the fixtures or at least get a plan. He didn't want to talk about it. 30 minutes later he decided to rip the giant fluorescent fixture out of the ceiling.

Then he started to try and fix it. The hole just got bigger and bigger.

We have now called in professionals. Sigh...

On another note...

I saw this fabulous painting by Ashley Longshore recently and I can't remember where. Have you seen it? It might have been a feature on her home or work, but I have got to find it!! It could have been on a blog or in a magazine. Got any ideas? Do share.

P.S. Cricket wanted me to tell you that Anna Katherine and Davis were the first ones to make duct tape shoes.

Duck Tape DIY

Happy New Year. Trying to get back in the swing...I am taking baby steps. So what's next? How about another DIY? Clay is not the only crafty one around here.

Cricket, and her friend Finch, got hold of some colored duck tape and created...

Shoes!! Aren't they fabulous??!!

Cricket actually wore them yesterday.

I love the colors and the orange and purple shoe laces. Now I want to use them as an accessory on my bookshelf.

Why didn't I think of colored and patterned duct tape?