2013 Posts In Review

Wow, I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. I have been blogging for 10 month and it's been such a blast. The fun people I have meet (even if not in person), the sweet comments I have received and not to mention the inspiration I get every day from all the wonderful blogs I now follow. My house is improving a little at a time and it' because I actually make an effort to improve something each week and blog about it. Your visits and sweetness are what gets me going!!! So let's take a look back at my most popular posts of 2013. Here they are, listed in order of "most viewed"

The absolute winner with over 13,000 views...WOW'sers
Rusty Buckets

 

A little Christmas Tour

Hi and Happy Weekend to all....so before Christmas is over, let me share a little more of our home decorated for the Holidays!

Make Your Own Christmas Card Back Drop

The other day I ran across this cute idea on making your own Christmas Card Back Drop with things you already have laying around the house. The source of the AWESOMENESS was from Carmel over at Our Fifth House
 After being inspired by her post I hung up a large table cloth on the wall, gathered some Christmas Decorations I already had, and plugged in some string lights....

My Replies To Your Sweet Comments

Hello to all of my readers, as most of you know I haven't been blogging for a very long time yet, so everything is still a learning process for me. It just now came to my attention that most of you haven't been getting my replies to your comments. I assumed that by choosing REPLY to your original comment, you would get notified. But it seems that I need to be replying to you directly via email, which can also be difficult since a lot of you are NON-REPLY Bloggers.
So, that being said, please know that you have NOT been ignored if you have not gotten my replies in the past. I have made an effort to reply to each comment no matter how small.
It is Called "Operator Error", what can I say? LOL
So from now on you should be getting my replies unless you are a NON-REPLY Blogger.
Thanks to each one of you for all of your sweet words over these past 10 month.

So here is a little CUTENESS for you today, this should put a smile on your face!

Finally, A Christmas Porch

Hello sweet friends, I have been outside all afternoon working on getting my porch decked out for Christmas. It was a very beautiful but COLD day here in Olympia today. 

I am in a bit of a hurry this evening, still need to catch up on my laundry before it's back to work tomorrow. 

So I will let the pictures do all the talking!

A Little Christmas In The Entry

Hi  there Peeps, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We sure did! I finally threw out all my pumpkins and gourds the day after Thanksgiving, which was a shame since none of them were rotten yet.

 So I got my Christmas boxes out and started decorating the Entry a bit....None of the other Christmas decorations are done. I am moving SLOW this weekend.

Fall in Review

Hi Peeps, first off I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!!!!

After Thanksgiving is over, I will start to get out the Christmas Decor, so I wanted to take a minute and review all of my Fall posts this season for those of you that might have missed some.....

 To see my Front Porch decked out for Fall 

click here A Fall Porch

  

What I've been doing today

Hello friends, unfortunately I don't have any new fun projects to show off this week. But here is what I have been working on today.....MY  MESSY OFFICE!

You know, the bad thing about having a room all to yourself is that you keep throwing everything in it and shut the door behind you (well, at least I do)

Canvas Print to Chalk Board

Hello Friends,

I am working on getting some of the Mediterranean accents out of our Dining and Living room.

A Little Stool Make-Over

Hello and Happy Sunday everyone....Today I am sharing a little stool make-over with you.

Do You Have A Statement Chair In Your Home?

Hello Peeps, I received an email from One Kings Lane the other day . They ask me to help introduce their Decor Resource Center to my blog readers.  I was flattered to be contacted by such a great Company.

They ask me if I have a statement chair in my home I would like to share. As it turns out, I have 2 special chairs I would love to share with you today.

First off is this old wooden stool I found years back at an Antique store. It is one of my favorite furniture pieces. So simple, but it adds so much personality. 

 

Some Fall Touches Inside

Hi Friends, I hope you all had a great weekend. I had a friend over for lunch this Saturday and today I finished adding a little Fall to the inside....

So let the pictures speak for themselves....

This is the kitchen ledge, I stuffed some orange string lights into the lantern

 

And The Winner is......

First off I want to thank everyone who participated in my very first Give-Away for the beautiful lamp from Lamps.com .
Last night I had Robbie pull the WINNERS TICKET out of a bowl.
  

DYI Pillows and a Table Runner

Hi Sweets, today I want to share some home-made pillows and a table runner with you. My Mom was here visiting from Germany a while back and I took full advantage of her and her sewing skills...LOL.....

After she sewed the pillows I decorated them. Here we go.....

 

Showing Off New Finds

Hello and Happy Sunday Everyone, today I want to share some new treasures with you that I found last weekend.

First stop, our formal Dining Room. I found this old wooden butcher block and the little wine barrel last weekend. I used to have a terra-cotta colored table runner here on the Buffet but I am trying to give our Dining room a new look. This is definitely more rustic.
Why not use an old butcher block instead of a fabric runner?

Win this Lamp -- A Give-Away from Lamps.com

I have some exciting news today. I am having my very first Give-away!!!! Yay, now I really feel like  a professional blogger (lol)....just kidding....

Lamps.com  contacted me and they let me pick out a lamp worth $100 from their incredible huge selection. I picked this BEAUTY table lamp below AND YOU CAN WIN IT!

A Fall Porch!

Finally, I got my Front Porch decorated for Fall. And the best part is that we had beautiful weather and blue sky all weekend long. I was able to take some DRY pictures! Can you guys tell I live in Washington State...LOL

Enjoy.....

A Fall Bunny Vignette.......lol

   Hello and Happy Fall Sweets, I wanted to decorate the front porch for Fall today but it is so nasty and wet in the Pacific Northwest, so I didn't get very far.....however I do have a little bit of Eye Candy for you. I managed to take a few adorable shots of Bugsy our American Fuzzy Lop this morning.

So here are some "Sweet Bunny Fall Greetings" to all of you!

 

Decorating with Boxwood

Hello and Happy Sunday to all of you, I had originally planned to do some Fall decorating this weekend, but things got busy and I didn't....well, what else is new? LOL... instead I will share some pictures on how I have boxwood accents all through-out my house. Fall will have to wait another week!

I just love BOXWOOD, fake or real....inside or outside.....so let's get the Boxwood Tour started!

 Here is my little candle chandelier above our kitchen nook. I just put some little fake boxwood balls in between the candles.

Take My Home Tour at "Dorothy Sue & Millie B's" Today

Good morning and Happy Wednesday to all of my sweet readers. Today the awesome Suzie of  http://dorothysueandmillieb.blogspot.com/ Blog is letting me guest post on her fantastic blog. So you can find me and my HOME TOUR over there today!!! Click on the below link and I hope you enjoy the little tour and check out her awesome posts while you are there.
Dorothy Sue and Millie B Blog

Adding some cottage charm to the Family Room

Hi there Lovelies,  I have a quick little new post for you this weekend. I purchased this little grain sack this summer. I wasn't sure on how to decorate with it at first. But this weekend I got to it...

 

Adding Some Detail To Frames and Another Cute Planter Idea

 Hello Lovely's, today I want to show you how I dressed up 2 frames in our little boy's bathroom.

  

Adding Burlap To My Lamp Shades & Some More Little Bits

Hello Peeps, I made a little change to my lamp shades in the Family Room yesterday. I tied some burlap ribbon around the white shades and voila....a nice little refreshing change....

Playing With An Old Crate

Happy Sunday everyone, how has your weekend been?  My Mom flew in for a month long visit from Germany this week. This morning we both had fun putting together several vignettes on an old crate. I have so much stuff stacked away in my spare closet, I really need to find a permanent home for some of it. I hope you all enjoy these different set-ups......

Back From Vacation & Some More Eye Candy From Along The Way

Hello everybody, well I haven't been blogging much in July, because we have been on vacation.
We flew down to Arizona last month to visit my in-laws and while in AZ we purchased a new car. We then went on a big road trip and drove back home from Arizona to Washington State. We visited a lot of relatives along the way including California, Las Vegas and Utah. 

I wanted to share some more eye candy of places we stopped and saw along the way.
First off, while in Phoenix my Mother-In-Law and I went to this cute little store called THE WILLOWS. I have been following their blog http://www.thewillowshomeandgarden.blogspot.com/ for a while now and couldn't wait to go for a snoop while visiting AZ.

How To Get Rid Of Pet Stains On Carpet

Hello Lovelies, how has your weekend been? Mine, not so great. I've been dealing with a stomach bug for about a week now and spend the entire Saturday in bed! YIKES, that's the worse, isn't it? 

 So while we were on vacation our "Senior" Newfoundland Bruce had a diarrhea accident on the carpet in the bonus room. BIG DAWGS, BIG MESSES!!! Our House-Sitter could not get all the stains out, so by the time we got back we had 2 yellow stains the size of  fists right smack in the middle of the room. I shampooed the carpet with my Hoover several times like a mad women, but no luck. The stains had set, being that is was now a good 10 days after the fact. We tried about every carpet cleaner on the shelf including Spot Shot, Proxy Clean, Laundry stain remover.... No Luck!

But here is what did work....GOOD OLE VINEGAR AND BAKING SODA

 So today I want to share this awesome cleaning tip for "pet stains on carpet" that I found on the internet. Yes, yes, I know, I know....very boring stuff ...but pin it now and one day you will be happy you got this info ! LOL...

  

Eye Candy -- Furnished Model Homes in Arizona

 Hello there everyone, I am back from our vacation. Three weeks have come and gone too quickly. While in Arizona, my Mother-In-Law and I went to see some furnished Model Homes. I wanted to share some of those pictures with you. It is always fun to go for a snoop and get inspired by they way they arrange the decor, colors, furniture, landscaping, pools, etc. So here you go guys....enjoy some eye candy!

I am guest posting today at Sweet Parrish Place

Good morning and Happy Monday to all of my readers. Today the awesome Nicki of Sweet Parrish Place is letting me guest post on her fantastic blog. So you can find me and my Potting Bench Make-Over there today!!!
http://sweetparrishplace.blogspot.com/2013/07/potting-bench-makeover-guest-post-by.html
 

 

I am still on vacation -- Guest post from The Adventures of Marlo and Bill

Hello everyone, I am still on our summer vacation so I have been taking a break from blogging. I would love to share a guest post with you  today from my friend Mary of  The Adventures of Marlo and Bill . I just love her master bedroom make over and ask her to share with my readers. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Hello, Little Brags readers!  I'm Mary (aka Marlo) from The Adventures of Marlo & Bill blog, and I am so thrilled and honored to be guest posting for the sweet and talented Christine today while she's having fun with her family vacationing.  I am a Medical Practice Administrator by day, and newbie blogger by night.  Over at my blog you will find posts about Bill and my adventures, recipes, and decorating.  I have recently started painting furniture and taking on some DIY projects, and am having so much fun. I also love, love, love to move things around and re-shop my house.  My latest project was a master bedroom makeover.  So, come on, grab a cup of coffee, and let's go take a peek at what I did in this room.

Guest Post from Sweet Parrish Place - Checkerboard Deck

Hi all!  I am so thrilled to be here today from Sweet Parrish Place!  Christine and I are both new to the blogging world, and we decided to help each other out during our summer vacations by doing a guest post for each other!  I am here today sharing my painted checkerboard deck with all of you!  It is one of my favorite and most popular projects.  I would love it if you would stop by my blog and take a look around!

I have an amazing project to show you today.  This is my new favorite!  I am still madly in love with my painted backsplash, but my checkerboard deck is dreamy!  I have shown you my back deck recently here and here.  I have been planning this project for several weeks, and I was finally able to actually do it.  Here it is, completed.  This is the top level of our deck.

Galvanized Metal Ideas -- curated for Hometalk

As most of you know, I love to decorate with galvanized junk things. Apparently so much, that Hometalk  ask me to put together some pictures of galvanized projects from their site. So here you go....
I hope you find some inspirations here today!

Decorating with a Grain Sack

A while back I found an old grain sack at my favorite store. I've been thinking about what to do with it for a while now. Well, I think I finally had a good idea.

Having Technical Difficulties

This is me today!!!!

MUAHHH

I am Guest Posting today at DIY By Design

Good morning and Happy Monday to all of my readers. Today the awesome Judy of DIY By Design is letting me guest post on her fantastic blog. So you can find me over there today!!!

DIY BY DESIGN

Hi everyone, today I am co-hosting my very first Pinterest Power Party! Yay... I am excited! Please link up your eye candy and Pin Away!
Christine

Happy Wednesday, blog-land friends! Welcome to our Pinterest Power Party - and thanks for coming! If this is your first time, thanks for joining us!! Every Wednesday we host this party in order to focus on YOU - the readers! Do you have a DIY project, frugal gift idea, or delicious recipe you want to share? We want to see them and share them on our Pinterest boards too!!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.sewmuchcrafting.com/search/label/pinterest%20power%20party" title="Pinterest Power Party"><img height="200" width ="200" src="http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u490/ddwood612/Pinterest%20Power%20Party/PartyButton_zps33359b7a.png" alt="Pinterest Power Party" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Cute Planting Ideas

Hi everyone, I want to share some cute ideas on where to plant flowers other than pots. So I threw together a collage for you this evening. All images are mine. No Pinterest Inspirations from other blogs. PIN AWAY PEEPS!!!!

I need your vote please

 Hello everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Fathers Day weekend. Do you remember my Summer Front Porch and a Hanging Lantern post from a while back?


Well, I entered a competition over at MOM 4 REAL's Blog

A Potting Bench Make Over

Hello Sweets, today I am want to share my new Potting Bench with you. My friend Jill gave me her old Potting Bench which she had sitting in her garage for several years without ever using it. 

My Dad's House in Spain

Hola Senioras, today I want to share something a little different with all of you. My Dad's house in Spain. Most of you probably don't know that I am born and raised in Germany. 

Well, Spain is a huge vacation spot for Europeans. My Dad purchased a second home there when I was a little girl so me and my brother grew up spending our summers there.

 

Since I moved half-way across the world as an adult, I don't get to go every summer anymore...boooohooo

Wrought Iron Staircase Dreaming and a Lantern

Hello Peeps, I have been thinking/dreaming about re-doing our staircase for a while now. Our stairway is the first thing you see when you enter. Here is a picture I took today

  My biggest complaint are the white wooden support railings. They actually come off all the time. We've had a Handy man come over more than once to fix it. Can you believe that they are installed with a staple gun????  Isn't that ridiculous? I also don't like the pine wood on a staircase, since it is a really soft wood and dents really easy in such a heavy traffic area.

Pillow Talk

Hi everyone and I hope you all are enjoying a well deserved 3 day Memorial Day Weekend! I am excited to share my new pillows for the Family Room today. It took me a while to find just what I had in mind. Thanks to Pamela Joyce Designs on Etsy I found them

I love the contrast from the white pillows, and the red stripes compliment my ginger red wall

New Chalk Boards from Decor Steals

 Hi Peeps, I've only got a short post for you all today. I am sharing a new purchase from Decor Steals with you. A set of 3 medium chalk boards that arrived this week. I decided to hang them all in different places. The first one offers FREE WINE REFILLS on the side of my kitchen cabinet.

that's right...come on over for free vino

Sneak Peak - Back Patio

Hello Peeps, I've been busy today trying to get my backyard patio looking decent for the summer. It is not finished yet. But here is a little Sneak Peak

It's official, I'm a bucket case!

Happy Weekend Everyone!!! I want to share a couple of new creations with you all

 

Hanging a Lantern and some new Porch Pillows

 Hello Everyone, I've been busy pressure washing my front this weekend. 

I also hung up a Lantern with rope on my front arch.

A Cheap New Marshall's Lantern

Oops, I did it again...

Remember when I spray-painted 2 Lanters I got from Ross a while back? If you missed that post you can check it out here Lantern Transformation. Well I found yet another pretty lantern on "Clearance" at Marshalls, it's good sized and it was only 20 Dollars.

A Few New Treasures & A Dog Bath

Hi Everyone,  I've been to a little Antique Bazaar this weekend and want to share a few new finds with you. First off, a wrought iron heart on a thick chain I hung on my fence gate.

New I Phone - Just Playing

Hi Sweets, I finally got my first I Phone EVER for my Birthday last week..yay...so this afternoon while the sun was shining I took this picture in my front yard playing with the camera. I have yet to figure out Instagram.

While I was playing with my phone, we had 4 hard working Gardners in the backyard, digging more drenches for all the water to drain better. Our lawn is always such a mess after the winter. This is the Pacific Northwest after all. I hope this will help!

Guest Bedroom and Rusty Buckets

Hello Everyone, I've had a pretty busy weekend and really no time to post about anything worth BRAGGING about...lol...so I thought I'd just share some inspirations of how I decorate with old buckets around my house and a cool organizing idea for the Guest/Kids Bathroom. 

So here we go, first off an old flower bucket used as a trashcan. I just wrapped some burlap ribbon around it and it totally dressed it up.

German Mole Cake / Maulwurf Kuchen

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. It was gorgeous here in Olympia. Today I am sharing something other than Décor for the first time. DESSERT...yup....a German Mole Cake. It looks like a mole dirt pile!

I will start out by typing the recipe and add some pictures of the process after that. No worries, it's actually quite simple