antique jewelry stand

For Christmas this year, I was going to ask for a good old fashioned jewelry box. That is...until I spotted these beauties. I have fallen in love.

The only problem is, they're going for around $80. I have a hard time spending that much when I know I could do it myself for so much cheaper.

So here 's my problem, I know it's possible to make these for much less than $80. However, I'm not quit sure how.

That's where you guys come in. Please comment and let me know any ideas you have in regards to how replicate these fabulous pieces. I am particularly interested in what that piece in the middle is, and where can I find it! Also, I would love to know of any stores that feature unique and antique plates/saucers.


Thanks blogger friends. What would I do without you??

I am a winner

There are no words to describe what you see above. I will say that yes, that is a turkey hat.

Enough said ... check it out here . If you need a good laugh in your life, check out my comment under this post .

Life is good. I am blessed.

I'm dreaming

Of warmer temperatures ... and this kitchen. I have been daydreaming lately about remodeling our kitchen. I would love to add a long table like this one. I love how to table is smack dab in the middle of the room. Something about this seems very comforting and inviting to me.

I simply love it. Unfortunately, today my kitchen dreams are just that ... dreams.

a satchel if you will

A Christmas gift exchange has been a tradition among my closest girlfriends since my high school days. Last year, we switched things up a little bit and added the stipulation that each gift needed to be handmade. Because I adore it so very much, I wanted to share with you the gift I received last year.

Check out the lovely knit bag! I love this bag because it is the prefect size to carry a book and a planner, but small enough to be used simply as a purse {I love huge purses}. My friend knitted the entire purse by hand with a felt like yarn. Then, she stitched piece together and threw it in the washing machine. I added the hounds tooth bow that I found at a local vintage shop.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions about the purse. Unfortunately, I do not have any step by step photos of this project.

My favorite part of the bag, is the side pocket. This convenient little pocket creates the perfect little spot for my cell phone.

and the winner is ...

The lovely teal hairpins go to our giveaway winner of the week Emily!
Thanks again for Carmenesque to sponsoring this lovely giveaway - and a big thanks to all of you who entered.

If you didn't win this week, don't forget, next Monday we will be offering another giveaway.

Don't forget to stop by Carmenesque this holiday season. If you want to get a head start on your holiday shopping, this weekend Carmenesque is offering 15% off every item in the shop!! Just write 'Weekend Deals' in the message to seller area during checkout! Discount will be refunded via paypal.

my therapy

This evening I stopped by Kroger and picked up a little therapy. Cookies and cream goodness. This can fix the stress of any long week. I keep telling myself...it's almost Friday..it's almost Friday...repeat after me...

easy asian

I thought I would spread the love to you all with this yummy recipe my sister n law shared with me. This kung pao chicken recipe is the perfect combo of easy, simple ingredients, healthy, and super delish. I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do.


Here are the things you will need:
3T Soy Sauce
1t ginger
1t sugar
1t corn starch
1/2t crushed red pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2c water
1lb chicken breast (cut into 1in chunks)
3t veggie oil
1 onion
2 sm green peppers
2/3c roasted, unsalted peanuts

Here is what you will need to do:

1. In a small bowl, with a fork, combine the first 7 ingredients.
2. Transfer 2T of sauce into a medium bowl. Add chicken and toss. Marinate at room temp. for 10 min.

Warm 2t oil over heat until very hot. Add chicken and cook all the way through. About 5 min.


Remove chicken to plate.

Add 1t oil and heat until hot. Stir fly onion and bell peppers for about 5 min.

Pour remaining sauce over veggies and bring to a boil. Return chicken to skillet with peanuts and heat through.

Serve with brown rice and enjoy!

As the weather cools down, I think it is about time for chili, pot roast, and as much as I hate to admit it...meatloaf. Yes, I do love a good meatloaf. Classy huh? Don't judge.

home sweet home

I made it. I am alive. No more teensitting. I think the dark cloud has been lifted. I slept in my own bed last night, and I don't think I have ever been more grateful.

Home Sweet Home

Stella is also happy to be back in her home. I hope we can put the bad behaviors behind us.

The kitties are happy that we're home.

Stella torturing Palmer {aka Pom Pom}. Yep, things are back to normal.

who dey

Who dey! Who dey! Who dey think gonna beat dem Bengals?

a friday tune and shout out

Good morning! Happy Friday blogger friends. Another rainy Friday here in the bluegrass state. I feel like I have been noting the Friday rain way too often. I can't complain, I am not ready for the frigid cold.

As it's become a little tradition, here is a Friday tune for your enjoyment.

I don't usually talk about politics on the blog, but today I thought it was only appropriate to recognize President Obama being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. May we all be citizens who advocate for human rights, especially if that person is different than you. If we only advocate for people who look, think, and act like us, then we are only proponents of self. These recent events, made me think of the words of

Micah 6:8

And what does the LORD require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Warning: Sudden change of subject. redone + revived: a kentucky guest bedroom

Another thing I wanted to be sure to mention was a lovely blog, raenovate. Rachel, the author of raenovate and interior designer from New Jersey, contacted me a couple of weeks ago, wanting to write a post about the guest bedroom remodel I shared with you all. Be sure to head on over and check out her blog dedicated to bringing you a glimpse of all things reinvigorated, refreshed, and revived.

ps - only three days left of teensitting.

happy birthday hubs

It is only appropriate that this morning, I would honor my favorite person in the world.
Today, my amazing husband "E" celebrates 27 years of being alive. He is the most wonderful person I have ever met. E is the most considerate and supportive person in my life. He has been such a blessing to have beside me during difficult times and joyous ones as well. Like any other couple on this Earth, we have our things we like to battle out every now and then, but I can honestly say there is no one else I would rather live life with than him. I am beyond thankful for his faithfulness to me and the God we strive to serve together. I look forward to the day when God may bless up with a little baby that is part me and part him. That is amazing to me!

E, you are truly my favorite person in the world.

Tonight, we are going to escape from the teensitting business to get some quality time together at a restaurant here in town, Malones. I am very excited for the delicious food and even more, the time we will spend together.

In honor of E's birthday, I thought I would share a couple pictures of the two of us on our honeymoon.

E made me hike so far, that I became so exhausted, that we had to hitch hike back to our hotel with a carload of people who only spoke French!

Check out the lady in the background

This is not photoshopped, this is a real picture

And, a couple of the scenery, because I couldn't resist!

and the winner is ...

Thanks to everyone who entered the Elle Custom Jewelry giveaway. I plugged away at Random.org and the winner is comment #12...and that would be Jenna G!

Jenna's favorite Elle piece is the red rose ring:
Don't forget to shop by their etsy store this holiday season!

Congrats Jenna! Please email me {rachel.ridd@gmail.com} your mailing address!

To everyone else, don't forget, next Monday we will be offering another giveaway.

so much style, so little space

Who knew taping old photographs above your mantel could be such a statement? There are so many things I love about designer Rita Konig's little 400 sq ft apartment. What do you love the most?

a couple random thoughts

Two post in one day. I know I must be bored. Or maybe procrastinating. Just a couple of things on my mind.

1. I am totally addicted to bejeweled blitz. I know that I am addicted when I say "just one more game...it's only one minute" and I end up playing for 30 minutes. Some people love farmville, I love bejeweled.

2. My sweet Stella has turned in a freaking monster! Ever since we started house sitting she has been a hot mess. Now don't get me wrong Stella is always what some might call hyper, but this is different. I honestly don't know what to do with her. If she is inside like a normal dog she is chasing, wrestling, and play biting the lab that we are staying with. Stella has been very socialized and is very used to playing with other dogs, and in the past she has always gotten tired after while. Not this time. She will chase and wrestle FOREVER! 100lbs + of dog is too much to be running wild through the house after a long day of work and class. So why don't you put her outside you might be thinking to yourself. I have tried and she starts digging holes to China approx. 5 minutes after being outside. So then I thought, I'll just put her in the basement and let her run around and keep the lab upstairs. Nope. She wants to chew on everything....the staircase, carpet, furniture legs, you name it. You is usually so sweet and fairly well behaved....I don't know what has happened. I am praying to God that all of these behaviors reverse when we return home next week.



3. So I need your all's opinion. This is a very serious question. Is Rondell real? Who is Rondell? Click here to find out. Rondell randomly commented here a couple of months ago. Click on her site and let me know if you think she is real. I promise her blog will give you a few good laughs.

4. I am really a little ill today. I have overdosed on birth control. I had to do the take two in one day thing. I am hyper sensitive to estrogen (says a doctor I work with).

5. On a serious note, I have had a couple disappointments lately, but these experiences have truly strengthened my faith that God is totally in control. If I choose to follow and seek His will, I will walk in line with his perfect plan for my life. Matthew 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

6. I have become mildly obsessed with researching how to make jewelry. I think I am going to venture into something new and try to make a couple of pieces as Christmas gifts this year.

7. Tonight I am going to bedazzle my shoes. Remember those metallic flats with jewels. While I do love them, they are a little pricey for my social worker budget. So, I am going to bedazzle an old pair of flats I found in my closet. Oh yes, I will share pictures of the final product.

8. I am super pumped to go out to a Mexican dinner with my dearest girlfriends this evening. We are celebrating my best friend Jen's 24th birthday. Jen and I met when we were 14 as freshman, began to follow God alongside one another, lived together in college, and were the maid of honors in one each others weddings . Happy 10 years of friendship Jen Jen. I am also excited to see my friend Cory tonight. Cory lives in Northern Kentucky and she pregnant with her first child! I have seen pictures of her baby bump, but I have not seen it in person...until tonight!!

Ok, I think that's all. Sorry for the randomness.

under the sea

Spray paint a branch a deep red color and create the same effect without the deep sea dive.

drowning

Ok so I guess this is the point where blogging can be therapeutic. Remember that post where I said this whole teensitting thing would be easy as pie, well I was wrong. Very wrong. I feel like I am drowning. So two days after this misadventure began, one of the girls began to complain about not feeling well. She has been in her bed since Thursday, and it's been determined that she has some strand of the flu.

Maybe its because I work in mental health/substance abuse that it takes a lot to get me worked up. When you see trauma, abuse, and hopelessness everyday, a case of the flu doesn't exactly spike your anxiety. Is this wrong? I feel like people are FREAKING out! In my opinion {call me a conspirator} but I think this whole thing is fear driven by the media. Yeah, I don't want to get the flu, but if I do, it's just not that big of a deal. I do understand the fear if you are a young child or baby or elderly.So I guess my low level of panic has been translated to some as, I don't care, or I'm not a good caretaker. I could continue to rant about this, but it would probably be crossing the line. I am not trying to be negative, I am just trying to vent my exhaustion and frustration. I would LOVE your feedback about what is appropriate care taking techniques for a 16 year old.. please help me out here.

Taking care of kids is tough.

To top everything off, last night around 9:30 the entire electricity in the house goes out. Now, there was no rain, no electricity, no logical reason for this to happen. I later found out that a raccoon had climbed the power lines and blew a transformer - like that happens everyday! So there we were last night, sitting in the car in the dark driveway, with a poor sick kid in the backseat, waiting for the electricity to come back on.

I also need to note that the thing I wanted you to pray about, well I got a letter yesterday, and lets just say it didn't work out. Along with that letter, was our yearly property tax bill.

Are you serious??

Sorry for the rant. I know things are usually pretty and cheerful here at the blog, but today I just had to let it all out. Thanks for your listening ears.

ps - Tomorrow will be the first of many giveaways to come! Get pumped!!

lush

Happy Friday blog stalkers! Today, I thought I would share with you one of my favorite companies, Lush. If you haven't been to their site or a Macy's recently, you're missing out. Not only do they have fabulous products, but they also have core beliefs grounded in justice, health, and sound ethics. Here are a couple of their core beliefs:

We believe in making effective products from fresh, organic* fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics.

We invent our own products and fragrances. We make them fresh by hand using little or no preservative or packaging, using only vegetarian ingredients, and tell you when they were made.

We believe in buying ingredients only from companies that do not commission tests on animals and in testing our products on humans.

We believe in happy people making happy soap, putting our faces on our products and making our mums proud.

We believe in long candlelit baths, sharing showers, massage, filling the world with perfume and in the right to make mistakes, lose everything and start again.

We believe our products are good value, that we should make a profit and that the customer is always right.

My three favorite products of theirs are the bath bombs, bath bars, and the massage bars. Here is a little tutorial on how to use each of them. You may need to click on the photo to be able to read the words.

Massage Bars

Bath Bars

Bath Bombs

The massage bars and bath bars are multiple use. The bath bombs however, are single use only. If you're going to try one of their products out, I would recommend any, EXCEPT ones with glitter. I once bought a bath bomb with glitter ... assuming it would dissolve I guess ... well it did not dissolve. While the aroma was great, the little confetti stars poking me where not!