A Place to Relax

Independence day in America...loud and busy. I'm not sure what most people's neighborhoods are like but in ours you can easily imagine what it's like to be in a war torn country. It makes me thankful for all the soldiers and vets that protect our country! Lee works with a guy that served 4 tours in Iraq and he has a hard time listening to the fireworks this time of year, they sure are beautiful at night though. To all those that have or are serving in military service, no matter the country, thank you for all you do!

We had a quiet holiday at our house, filled with some house work and then relaxing. We were more looking forward to our weekend camping trip with friends. It was a blast to have great company while relaxing this weekend. The weather was perfect, the company was better, and the toasted marshmallows were excellent! We joined my good friends Cristy and Drew and their wonderful kiddos.

Penny had a blast but did not enjoy her post-camping bath today.

While snapping this photo I thought I would take a few shots of our recent bathroom makeover to share with you. This was one of my many crafts I worked on during my break from blogging: a new shower curtain and decor for our bathroom.

I made this shower curtain using a flat sheet I got on sale at Target a long time ago, some rectangle cuts from my Flea Market Fancy stash, and some large eyelets. I recommend browsing clearance sections for flat sheets, they come in handy for these kind of projects! I didn't have to worry about large seams here, just one large cut of the sheet then hem the sides. I stitched the pieced stripes of focal fabric over the white sheet so that when I wash it I won't have to worry about any fraying. 

It came together in a matter of hours, then I worked on new shelves, artwork and decor for the much needed bathroom makeover. I'm working on a shaggy rag rug for next to the sink, all other decor was simple and cheap. Like the owl, yellow pitcher, and jars, all under $10! I used a mason jar to make a soap dispenser too. :)

For the artwork I framed a few scraps of Flea Market Fancy to go with photography prints I got at our local craft store: hot/cold tub handles. One of my favorite features are the photos of Lee and I as kids in the tub. A "Bath Time" theme. :)

We will be printing and framing the one I took of Penny today, then when we have a future child he/she will be added to the wall too. I really want to add bath toys to a wire basket by the tub, but we don't really have a need for them yet. I also want to get more decorative frames for the bath time photos. Oh, I almost forgot; for some light reading I placed one of my favorite picture books out, The Tub People. If you have kids, check out this cute story, it was one of my childhood favorites. Now this bathroom is a place to relax....or play. :)

Oh, Tannenbaum

The Christmas season has began. We finally got our tree decorated Thursday night, it only sat out without ornaments for a week until we had time to finish it. Lee and I are both at the end of fall semester and very busy finishing papers, projects and studying for finals.

Today we had our first winter snow. Penny has been enjoying it, the malamute in her really comes through when snow is on the ground!

I wanted to share with you my office/quilt room tree. We have two little table top trees that we decorate in our house, one has a popcorn string and ribbon with a few little ornaments, the other I changed up this year. I dug through my scrap bin (I save everything) and tied little pieces of fabric onto the tree. It turned out pretty cute, colorful and was very resourceful. I finished it up with a little tinsel and placed it next to my quilting table. What do you think?

 

My husband loves this time of year. For me it is the runner up to fall. But there definitely is a magically feeling in the air during a peaceful snowfall like today. Happy Holidays!