The Antique Market was this Sunday near my home so the my husband and I took a ride.  Glad we did. It ended up being a nice day and all my fav shops were at this market.

I got this chippy little birdhouse for my dining room table.

It was so chippy and sweet and only $10 so that came home with me.

Just loved it shape and chippiness.

Found some sweet little jars with vintage bling and some old mason jars with the flower tops for sweet little vases.

My biggest score was this beach bungalow sign for the guest room.

It got this sweet sign from Mary at Urban Farm Girl. http://urbanfarmgirlandco.blogspot.com/ I wish I would have taken more pictures of the booths but I did not have my camera :( 
Mary's booth was adorable. It was all decked out in Americana.  I think she said she would be posting on her blog some pictures so check it out.  The girls from Tattered Tiques had a really cute booth at the show too.

I am loving my new beach bungalow sign.

Just a fun little sign to hang on my old chippy shutters.  It was a great show with lots of great vendors.  It was super hot but there was a breeze and everyone was under tents so it was really nice to shop.

Just a short little post on my found treasures from Sunday. Hope your week is going great.
Kris
:)

I have always wanted a pretty cottage front door. After pinning many beautiful painted cottage front doors off pinterest I took the plunge!!!!!

I debated and could not make up my mind on two colors.  I had a teal blue picked out and a sunny yellow.  My gut was telling me go with the sunny yellow.  I have always wanted a yellow front door and the practical side of me was saying go with the teal blue.  It will match all my cottage summer decor on the porch and it will be better looking for the door in winter.

So the hubby and I went to Home Depot and while he was off looking for a few things I still had some time to ponder the color.  Let me say the hubby was not real thrilled about painting the wood door since it matched the garage door.  He reluctantly agreed to go ahead and paint the door. 

So while I was walking around Home Depot trying to decide on my color choice for the door I happened upon a front door in the clearance aisle at Home Depot. 

Hmmmm I thought I think I may just have a solution to my delima that will make the hubby happy too.  So I thought hey this clearance door looks really cottage and is cheap and I could paint that the yellow to give me a great little summer cottage door and then I would not have to paint the wood door and could re hang that in the winter.  Brilliant!!!! So I was feeling better about painting a cottage front door.

When I still was debating on the color for the new front door.   I asked anyone that would give me an opinion and of course everyone was torn between the two colors too. Not much help there. 

It actually was pretty funny because I hung the two colors on my door and stood out on the grass and stared at them like they would some how talk to me.  About three sets of walkers came by and pretty soon there were six of us standing on the front grass staring at the two colors I had hanging on the door. Half the walkers were saying definitely the yellow with the flowers and it will pop more and of course 50% saying no go with the teal to match the decor!!!! So no help there I was still stuck!!!! That is when we went to Home Depot!

So I just went with my gut on this and chose the yellow.  I wanted a summer yellow door since I saw this on a really cute lake home last summer.  I wanted a more cottage welcome at the front door!  So here is the process we did and the finish look.
Here is my front door and I put up my two picks to see which one I might like better.

Do you see where the teal was so great with all the decor but I still was liking the way the yellow was brighter and popped a little more. It also was a cloudy rain filled day so I think I was liking the soft and bright color of sunny yellow!!! So I let that sway me a little bit too.

Clearance Door!!!!!

Here's a little DIY tip.  Add this stuff to your paint and you will never get brush marks.  Helps the paint to seal to the door too.

I love Behr paint won't use anything else.  This is their exterior paint with primer.  Even though it has primer in it we still primed the door just so the paint would really take to the fiberglass door.

New black door accessories.



Now I have my cottage yellow front door and the wood door is stored to go back up in the winter.  I love having this clearance door so I can change up the color whenever I want.  Next year if I go with another color theme on my porch I can always change up the color on the door.  For now I like the summer sunny yellow.
Have a great week.
Kris
:)

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Just a quick little DIY post today.

I am having a girlfriend Favorites Party coming up next month.  This party is where each girlfriend brings one gift nicely wrapped that is their favorite item.  Then we do a gift exchange.  It is a lot of fun and we always have a theme to the party.  This summer's party is flip flops and tropical pleasures.

Each girlfriend will also bring one small favorite thing like their favorite candy bar or chap stick or makeup, nail polish etc. one for each guest.  I am making cute favorite gift bags and each guest will put their small favorite thing in each bag and everyone goes home with a favorite favor bag full of fun things.

I will post more on this party as I get closer.  I have prizes for different things.  Each person brings a new and fun summer time appetizer and the one that brings the best new appetizer will win a prize.  We also will have a prize for the cutest flip flops worn to the party.  Then we usually do a few fun games.  It is a great night for us all together and have some girls night out fun.

So for two of the prizes I made these chalk paint wine glasses.  I saw this on pinterest and thought "Hey" I have chalkboard paint and I got some pretty wine glasses to paint.

So I got two sets of cute wine glasses (6) in a set at HomeGoods.

Got out my paint brushes.


Painted the bases of the wine glasses with chalk board paint.  About 3 coats did the trick.

Will tie off a little package of white chalk with each set of wine glasses.  For very little money you have a cute hostess gift or prize in my case to give at the Girlfriend Get Together.  These are super cute and each person then can put their name on their wine glass or you could write a cute saying for the party.  I hope who ever wins these sets as a prize loves them.
Well have a great week end.  It is humid and rainy here so I am doing some inside projects.
Kris
:)

Happy First Day of Summer!!!!
It is official and summer has started.  This is my favorite time of year.  Sunshine, birds singing and every beautiful flower in full bloom.

I am so happy my blooms are doing so well this year.  Everything is doubling in size with the rain, sunshine and Miracle Grow.

Thought I would share an update on my garden. To wish you Happy Official Start of Summer.
The summer house is in full bloom.

My bike is over flowing with blooms and it is only June!!!!

The potting bench is over flowing too!!!!

My bag of petunias that are hanging on the old vintage door are doing great .  They love the late afternoon sun.

My old cottage door that I added the chippy flower box is loving all the sun it gets.

Loving my chippy old door potting table.  Love to pot new flowers on that old table.

My other bike is really loving where it is at this summer.  I normally put impatiens in this flower bed but with the mold scare I debuted on what to put in the beds and I chose the petunias and I am glad I did they are doing great.  I love my impatiens and how they would mound in my flower beds but the petunias are doing a good job of filling in nicely.

I have had this old potting shed door for years and I just love to put it in the garden each year.

Just says Summer.

Back yard watering cans ready for action!!!!

This was my angel water feature that no longer would pump water so I could not bear to part with her so I just planted her too.

Ha! my husband's shed.  With him being a fire chief have to have something to reflect that near the shed!!!!!

This is the party tree!!!! My apple tree that I have many bird feeders in her branches.  The many different birds, squirrels and bunnies love to party under this tree.  I cannot put flowers in these beds as the bunnies eat everything!!!!!  I wish I  could capture a time when the squirrels and bunnies and different birds are all together eating.  It is the cutest thing to watch.

This is my family of sparrows summer home.  They love this home each spring and summer to start their family.

Gotta have a little romance in the garden with candles.


OMG!!!!! My petunia's are so full of bloom and color.  At this rate of growing I will soon not be seeing my garden gate.


The lovely  Carol from Art and Sand blog was so sweet and offered to make me a pillow for my old chippy bench.  I told her she will have to hold on that sweet thought because this plant has taken the bench hostage for now!!!!!

Well my friends hope your official start to summer is giving you beautiful and sunny days.  I just love the lazy days of summer.
My chair is calling to me!!!!
Kris

:)
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Happy Wednesday Everyone. The lovely and talented Becky at Time Washed hosts her party Blissful Whites Wednesday each week.  It is always so inspiring to see what talent is going on at the party.  Well my follow bloggers this week she is throwing in a little extra with the party.  Yep! she is having a giveaway on her blog.  If you have not been to Becky's blog or her Etsy site it is a must.  Please jump over to check them both out.  Her giveaway is amazing.



I have been skirting around the house!!!!
It is another rain filled day here in Chicago Land. Ughhh!!!!

I decided to make some skirts for a few places in my home.  I liked the idea of a skirt under my farmhouse sink.

As many of you know I do not sew. Ok a straight line on the sewing machine but that is about it.  So I found some black and cream tiers on line and just sewed them across the top to make them fit under my sink.  Then I put up a curtain rod and I had a skirt under my kitchen sink!!!!


Simple kitchen sink skirt and little sewing for me!!




On to project number 2. I had an old bench under this window in my laundry room which was cute but not very useful.  So I asked my husband if he would make me a laundry folding table.  It is so much more useful. So as he usually does he went to work on this table for me.

He just took some stock wood and half stair posts for the legs and a pine board for the table.  We then painted it white.  Then I thought hmmmm it needed something else.  So I had some drapes with a great ruffle on them and decided to make it into a skirt for the table.  

All the sewing done for me already.  All I had to do is measure and cut and sew a new rod pocket which was just a straight stitch on the sewing machine and I had myself a skirt for the laundry room fold table.

I am always in awe of the bloggers that can sew. Something I never learned so I get excited when I can actually re love something already sewn into something new and exciting.
So there you have it.  A couple of new skirts with some  re purposing and very little sewing.
Love it!!!!!
I am thinking about skirting my vanity in one of my bathrooms next.
Hope you are having a great week end.  Raining here but I feel like I am getting a few indoor projects done.
Kris
:)


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I would like to briefly interrupt my decor blog to bring you a super delicious cookie recipe I made tonight and want to share.  It has a secret ingredient in it that makes the cookies taste like Mrs. Fields.

We are getting bad storms here in Chicago tonight so I figured I would bake these cookies since I have the air on.  My hubby is watching his beloved Black Hawks tonight going for the Stanley Cup.  So I thought I would treat him to some yummo cookies while he watches the game.

Here is the recipe:


Whoops,  I forgot to take a picture of the chocolate chips and the vanilla and butter.  I made two batches.  One with milk Chocolate Chips and the other with white chocolate chips and cherries.

3/4 Cup Butter
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup White Sugar
1 Egg
2 Tsp. Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
2 Tsp. Corn Starch (Secret Ingredient)
l Tbs. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1 12 oz bag Chocolate Chips
or
I bag of White Chocolate Chips
1 bag dried cherries

Cream butter, brown sugar, white sugar, egg, vanilla and salt together.  Add Flour, Cornstarch, baking soda to the mix.

Add your chocolate chips and cherries or nuts or what ever you want to add.

 I put them on parchment paper on the cookie sheet. About 1 inch scoops.
Bake at 350 degree oven.  I used my convection oven so I set it at 320.  Bake until they are golden brown.  

The secret ingredient of corn starch is what keeps them crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside.  The cornstarch keeps them from flattening out. So you get this perfect looking cookie.


Here's the hubby enjoying the chocolate chip cookies while reclining in his fav chair and wearing his lucky jersey.

There you have it.  Yummy tasting cookies.
Hope you are having a wonderful week.  I have a decor post in the next day or so on something I have been working on in my Laundry Room so stay tuned.
Kris
:)

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