Valentine Decor at Home

February 10, 2016February 9, 2016 RefreshHer2 Comments

Valentines 1

I’m so thankful for holidays and seasons that allow us to change or add decor to our homes. I think adding a decorative touch for the little holidays like Valentine’s Day tells our family that they’re special. School classrooms get decorated, store windows are embellished, and magazines are filled with special touches. Home should be the most special place, and one way to do that is to add decorative embellishments.

I thought I’d share my simple Valentine touches with you today. With my love for Shabby Chic, the pink and white, the roses and the feminine pieces are perfect!

Of course the first place I love to start is my chalkboard. The picture below was my inspiration found on PInterest :

Valentine's Chalkboard Art:

Here’s the drawing on my chalkboard: Valentines 1.jpg

My mantle is red and white – a heart=shaped box, a book that says. “Love” on the cover and other red and white books, roses and a red candle.

We have our kitchen table pulled up to the fireside for the cold months, which is a cozy touch for Valentine’s Day, too! I love the painted mason jar that’s holding my pink daisies.

Valentines 2c

My bookcase has lots of red-covered books – I DO sometimes buy a book for it’s cover, though I’d never judge it because of it! =)

Valentiines 4a

The paper and lace doily banner hanging below was found in Target’s dollar section. I made the red and white toile chair covers several years ago, and their color is perfect for February decor!

Valentines 3

My entry way just has a simple red berry and gingham wreath and a heart hanging from my old window. Red M&M’s are the chocolate treat in the dish. Kisses would be perfect, too!

Valentines 5.jpg

I hope you’ve added some fun touches to your home for Valentine’s Day (I’d love to hear about it!), and if you haven’t that these simple pictures might inspire you to do so!

With love,

Favorite Things

January 22, 2016January 21, 2016 RefreshHer6 Comments

Julie Andrew likes raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens – I like home decor and utensils that make life easier! Today I thought I’d share two things that I purchased quite some time ago, that have become some of my favorite things!

The first is my artificial Boxwood Wreath.

I love it because it can be hung at any season. After Christmas it seems hard to know what to hang on the front door – it’s too early for Valentine’s decor or spring-y wreaths, so what to do? The boxwood is perfect. I embellished mine with a chevron bow and our monogram for my winter door.

I’ve also used this wreath inside and it looks great, adding just a little touch of green and life in the house.

I found this one at Tuesday Mornings a couple years ago and I paid $20 for it, which is a great price. Even if you have to pay more, it’s really a super investment!

Another favorite item that’s a kitchen tool is the Pampered Chef Micro Cooker. It is obviously used in the microwave, and it’s great at warming and cooking things! I melt butter in mine when I’m baking and the lid keeps it from splattering all over the microwave. It’s also great for heating up soups or leftovers.

But one really great use for this cooker is browning hamburger.

Put the hamburger in the cooker and break it up with a spoon. Cook for a minute. Stir and break up the meat. Keep doing this at one minute intervals until the meat is cooked. It only takes about 5 minutes for a pound of hamburger! Then you simply pour the fat off through the strainer/lid!

I love to use this method to brown meat and have it in the freezer to use for future meals like tacos, pizza toppings or quesadillas.

I hope you’ve been inspired to purchase a boxwood wreath or a Pampered chef cooker! I don’t think you’ll be sorry!

What item have you purchased that has become a favorite thing?

Stay refreshed,

home · Home decor

My Favorite Photos of the Week

January 6, 2016January 5, 2016 RefreshHer8 Comments

Here’s the camera roll for the last week:

In the morniing chalkboard

I’ve changed some decor around after taking the Christmas beauty down. Why can’t I just scribble and draw on my chalkboards every day? It’s a favorite past time. This saying is so true – Jesus…He’s what I need every. single.day.

bedroom mantle

This is my bedroom mantle. I love the painting of the skaters. My talented mom painted this – it’s only one of many she’s done. Yeah, I scribble – she paints! I usually hang this over my piano for the winter months, but the aquas look so pretty in my bedroom, I decided to leave it in there.

paper box

My organized daughter, Whitney challenged me to get my wrapping box in order after the rush of Christmas caused it to be ~~a disaster~~ in disarray. All the gift bags are stacked according to size and holiday, the ribbons are in one place and the tissue is on top. She approved. =)

winter mornings

I love winter mornings. When we get up, it’s still plenty dark outside. Inside it’s cozy with candles flickering and soft lights glowing. I came downstairs for a second cup of coffee this week and found my husband reading his Bible on his phone and Liza Jane ~~waiting for a treat~~ bowing in prayer beside him. =^..^=

latte

My daughter, Alli and I met in Jonesborough on Monday morning to catch up and chat at the cutest little coffee shop that’s recently opened in town. I had my first Chai Latte. It was delicious! I hope it won’t be my last!

As I look back on these six photos, I see a thread –

~The joy of making the most of each day.

~Organizing to make tasks easier and more fun.

~Decorating, crafting and embellishing to create an inviting environment in our home.

~Simplicity that brings delight.

God is so good, so generous, and loving to allow eyes to see, hands to work, and hearts to love at home, my favorite place.

What have you enjoyed about home this week?

With love from my country home,

Home decor

After-Christmas Refreshment in the Kitchen

December 28, 2015December 28, 2015 RefreshHer2 Comments

Let me be really honest – this can be a kind of blah time of the year for me. All the festivities are over and the celebrations are completed. The decorations come down and the world is wintery and gray. The house can look really plain after the undecorating is completed, can’t it?

So for me, when Christmas is done and I walk into my house – particularly my kitchen, I want to smile at what I see. I like to refresh things in my menu and my decor so it won’t be bleak looking once all the tinsel and garlands have been removed from walls and windows.

Since food is essential, I’ll start with refreshng the menu. All the rich foods and decadent desserts are great, but now we’re always ready for something a lot more simple. If fixing dinner this week is stumping you, why not just silmplify? Need some suggestions?

Baked potatoes with toppings –
- Bacon bits
- Chives
- Sour Cream
- Grated Cheddar Cheese
Waffles or Pancakes for Dinner
Quiche or Vegetable Fritatta & Tossed Salad
Soup Beans and Corn Bread
Homemade soup, made from the ham bone or chicken stock you enjoyed at Christmas.

After Christmas is over and the decorations come down is also a good time to freshen up the kitchen decor. Your bowls and baking supplies have had lots of use and may have gotten displaced. While putting things back into order, consider changing things around a bit. Display pretty bowls or canisters on your counter, as seen in the pictures above (from Cottage Jounal Magazine).

Did you get new dishes for Christmas? Don’t hide them! Find a pretty way to display them in your cabinets or a way to make them really shine when you set the table. Placemats can be changed out for pretty chargers. They’ll add texture and color to your table.

I love the plate display on the wall above, minus the wine bottle on the table . Pretty platters and special dishes would be beautiful hung on plate hangers and displayed in the kitchen or dining area.

One other area of your kitchen that needs to be remembered in your attempt to refresh is your table. With the Christmas candles gone, don’t just shirk your shoulders and sigh – find a winter candle arrangement like the one pictured above to warm up that space and invite your family and guests to gather ’round.

Another touch that I love in the above picture is the chandelier. This is another picture from The Cottage Journal Magazine. They added a string of beads to embellish the lighting with sparkle. I love this touch and hope to copy it! What the evergreen garland and white lights did at Christmas time, the beads will do in January!

Keep your kitchen and your menu from getting the blah’s at this time of year by refreshing both with these simple ideas!

Refresh your kitchen and you’ll refresh your home!

Toodles Friends,

Home decor · Uncategorized

Adding Fragrance and Light To Your Home

November 20, 2015November 19, 2015 RefreshHer8 Comments

When anyone walks into our homes, their senses give them a quick survey of the atmosphere. If it’s dark, gloomy, and smells of moth balls they may turn and run! However, if there’s a warm glow with light, and it smells fragrant and fresh, they’ll feel welcome.

I told you earlier this week about my sweet friend who keeps me supplied in the latest Yankee Candle products – well, this week she brought me a tart warmer. I love it, because its ceramic base is pretty, but it doesn’t jump out at you. There’s a little toggle plug on it that lights up (see below) to remind you it’s on, and the tart melts inside a plastic container, so you don’t have to mess with the melted wax in order to get it out.

The scent that is burning in mine is a pumpkin something-or-other, and it smells heavenly! No flames, or dangers that way. I have it sitting on my desk and it fills the house with its fragrance. I highly recommend these!

Here’s what it looks like with the melted wax.

The tart melts into a plastic cup; no scraping the wax out!

I have told you all before that I have to have lots of light in my home. Curtains are opened first thing in the morning, as well as the front door so the sunshine can spill inside!

Now that it gets dark so early in the evening, I have lots of little lights burning all over the house. I had one dark spot that was a problem, and that was my foyer. There’s no outlet there, so I can’t plug in a lamp. I have burned candles on my foyer table when I have guests, but I don’t want to burn one all the time. I needed some kind of light. THEN IT HIT ME! LED lights that are on sale for Christmas will be perfect!

These candles are really bright. They are what I have in the front windows of my house. I burn them all year long to light our house up on our country road. Whatever time you put the batteries in is when they’ll turn on each day and will burn for many hours – perfect for daylight savings time! I love how it brightened up the foyer.

If you need a light in a place where there’s no outlet, grab an LED candle now while the Christmas decor is out. It seems they sell out quickly, so grab them while you can! I got mine for $4 at Big Lots.

I’m a fanatic about light and smell in my home. What’s important to you about your home?

With love,

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