Betsy's pedicure party

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Betsy's pedicure partyLinking up to Betsy's party

Just paint your nails today, take a selfie of your feet and visit Betsy. 

you are serving cookies, aren't you Betsy?

I'll be back with the rest of my home tour soon........

Home tour- front door and dining room part 3

Welcome back to my home.  This is what you would see if you were at my front door.
I just moved the pots of flowers to the front. They had been in the backyard but the backyard is being cleared of anything that would be in the way of the new safe room that will be built soon.

sometimes using what you have works  and sometimes it is just too eclectic- This is for sure not my favorite arrangement I have ever had the front door but it will be fine for now.

Pots with zinnias and moss rose- Grandson Gavin will not like it when he sees his Tonka dump truck holding a pot of flowers but  I will sure let him play with it when he wants to.  It was in the backyard and I don't want the real concrete truck to mess up this old Tonka truck.


The Dining Room

Just inside the front door is our dining room, and it sits on an angle.  It is hard room to make work.  We first had a big round glass top table in here.  It looked pretty but it never felt too homey.   I think I like this older oval wood table, also set on an angle, in here the best.

New additions during my summer long spruce up- I used these patchwork bandannas bought at Hobby Lobby years ago- to make the window valance and table topper.  I really like the colors- red, sage green, a little pink and neutrals and have been using those colors in most all our rooms.

This buffet was in a hall but was a little deep for that walkway so I moved it to the dining room and like it best here.

The stars of this dining room are my husband's Royal Doulton plate collection.  He got 2 of the plates from his grandmother.  Then he discovered they were part of a set.  We shopped at antique malls and Ebay for a few years until he completed the whole set.  They are called "The Professions" and are 75-100 years old.

these are my 2 favorites- the Falconers because I like clouds and birds on the border
and The Admiral, because my dad was in the Navy (but was not an admiral)

linking up with some of these blogging parties  

In my home this week

We got more great produce from relatives. 

The tomatoes are from my mother in law.

Bell peppers are from my dad- we will enjoy fajitas tonight and stuffed peppers tomorrow night 

My brother grew this whopper watermelon. It if was even a hair longer, it would not fit in our second apartment size fridge.

My shopping at our new Aldi this week. I got all this for $24 after a $5 grand opening coupon was subtracted. My husband liked the grapes so much and ate almost half of them the day I bought them. So I made another trip there and got 2 boxes more.  

My company, while their parents worked this week, were 2 sweet little grandsons. But not at the same time. 

I hope you all have had a good week. 

I changed the font here, any opinions on if it is better or worse?

And I plan to show more rooms in my home tour very soon.  

Home Tour- play room 2nd stop

At the first of the summer,  this bedroom had toys and things in it, and a full size bed too.  That did not leave much floor space for playing so that bed is now gone and a love seat from the living room moved in here.
The love seat works much better for adults to sit on while they read books to the little ones or to just sit on while they watch the little ones play.
The quilt on the wall was one of my doll quilts when I was a little girl and was made by my great grandmother,  a real pioneer woman.
I made the paper banner that goes all around the room with paper I had.  The valance was originally from a thrift store and hung in our breakfast room for several years.

the view if you look in the door

Toddler kitchen (second hand gift to us from a family that had outgrown it)  It is Step 2 brand and very popular with my grands.

changing table- it gets used lots with 3 grands in diapers . I left the trashcan in the photo- there has to be a place to put all those diapers

 

this is where one grand daughter naps but she is in school all day now.  She napped here Sunday and had the triplet dolls lined up there.  My mom crocheted the baby dolls.  I made the patchwork shams a few years ago and I embroidered that wall hanging when I was in high school.  It looks really 70's I think.

this room has a big closet too but I usually keep a safety latch on it to keep the grands from getting out even more things.  It stores clothes, diapers, more toys and an airbed and a cot for over night guests.

Thanks for dropping by- 

linking up with some of these parties.......

Home Tour- 1st stop is the craft room

I had more free time than usual this summer and I spent a lot of it working on my house.  I did quite a bit of organizing, rearranging and a little bit of decorating.

I really enjoy when other bloggers do home tours,  my home does not look like a decorator has been here but I am going to try to do a home tour this week anyway.  no professional photographer either

what you see in the craft room when you walk in the door......
decorators would not approve of our ceiling fans in every room but this is Oklahoma and it gets HOT here,

3 shelving units full of supplies- I used to like to have everything stored neatly away, covered and out of sight but now,  I like things where I can find them easily, as long as they are still neat and organized.

the big desktop computer lives in the computer room too- but I am a bad photographer and can't get a good shot of the new slipcover I made for the office chair.

blinds closed above and blinds closed below- neither picture looks great though

Storage tubs- all full with patterns, plastic canvas and yarn, unfinished quilts and lots of fabric.
Yes,  I know it is a lot,  much was given to me by friends and the majority is from my mom.
I've thought about getting rid of a a lot of it,  but my husband thought that was a bad idea.  He said he has seen me make things with supplies on hand and he does not think I would be happy if I needed things after I got rid of them.  So, for now,  all this stuff is staying.

Paper craft table- the CriCut machine sits on top, papers are stored underneath. But right now,  my rainbow quilt blocks are spread out on it, no paper crafting happening right now.
Rubber stamps on the wall.
My husband and father in law built those stamp frames for me.

Sewing table with the thread rack and more rubber stamps on the wall.
Sewing tools like cutters, scissors and markers are on a tray under the thread rack.
The black and white brocade vinyl is tablecloth material sold by the yard in the fabric department of Walmart.

Ironing board- most all sewing needs some  ironing.
There is a closet in this room, a long closet,  but it was hard to store and then take out sewing things when needed.  So now the closet is used for holiday and baby things and my sewing things are out in the open, easy to use.

The black and white polka dot fabric on the chair and ironing board was bought at parking lot rummage sale, about 3 years ago.  It was a very long and very wide piece of fabric and it just makes me smile when I look at those dots.  Even when ironing :)

My sewing machine, a 4 year old Necchi- I like it a lot.

I used clear containers that 1 pound of salad greens are sold in at the grocer.  They are not the sturdiest of boxes but they are perfect for lightweight sewing supplies.  I learned this thrifty trick from Mary Ann.

This might be my favorite result of organizing.  I put all adhesives into one storage bin- assorted tapes and glues- and it has already been so handy.  When something needs made or fixed,  we all know right where to go for the right adhesive.  

linking to parties at

  Skip to my Lou , 

Craft O Maniac , 

Keeping it Simple, 

Creating Really Awesome Free Things, 

Tweak It Tuesday at Brenda's Cozy Little House