The Outdoor Patio and Terrace at Bear Lodge

Okay, here are the last of the photo’s that I took a couple of weekends ago of the decorated fundraising house for the Muscular Dystrophy Association called Bear Lodge. This was actually my favorite part of the house! What I wouldn’t give to have an outdoor fireplace and patio just like this one!

This is the covered back porch area. The fireplace is two sided. No matter the weather you can still enjoy the outdoor fireplace. If it is raining, just play under the covered porch area. If it is perfect weather, shift to the other side and enjoy the terrace area.

This is the screened in porch with the slate floor and the door leads you outside to the covered porch and to the outdoor terrace.

Here is the other side of the two sided fireplace. Both sides have stone mantles and a hearth.

Here I am trying to show you the ceiling of the covered porch area. There were a set of fans hanging down to help keep things cool for the outside.

Here I was trying to show you more of the ceiling and some of the beam work…150 year old beams and this interesting chandelier made out of lanterns and antlers.

This view is where the outdoor covered porch and terrace can be accessed from the family room and the lower level master bedroom.

Here we are on the patio/terrace.

Nice patio table with umbrella and seating in front of the fireplace.

Here is the walk way back to the screened in porch and a path that takes you around to the 4 car garage.

That is it. Hope you enjoyed the tour. That is the final Blog Installment of “Bear Lodge” and I hope it raises a large amount of $$$$ for MDA!

More Halloween Stuff and My Witch Shoe Collection

They said it was supposed to be another gray and drizzly day and it has been the exact opposite. Blue skies, warm temperatures, a nice breeze…a perfect Fall day.

I found some more of my Halloween decorations up on a shelf in the garage when I was looking for something else. Happy surprise. Glad I didn’t come across these about a week into November which has happened before. I love these pumpkins and I like to put them at the bottom of the driveway with one on each side. I also finally got around to taking some photos of the Witch’s Shoes I found a few weeks ago at Cracker Barrel. These were so cute and since they only had two I decided to get them both because you know if I went back to get the 2nd one later it would have been gone. Preventative Shopping.

First I tried it in the window which was okay.

Then I tried them in the Dining Room and hung them on the side board and I put one on each side. Perfect.

I think I have started a Witch’s Shoe Collection by accident. Remember my Witch’s Shoe Candle Holder?

So I guess I will keep my eye out for more Witch’s Shoes and see if I can grow this new collection. :)

I Am Joining the “Procrastinator’s Party”!

Click Here when you are ready to see the AFTER PHOTOS.

This is just what I need. I am joining the “Procrastinator’s Party over at The Inspired Room. It is a great idea which requires anyone who wants to participate to publically declare that they will finish a project that they have been putting off and will do so by October 20, 2009. So I have about two weeks to get my project done. Piece of Cake!

Here are the rules if you want to participate and if you want more details head over to The Inspired Room where you can see a list of all the projects that the different participants are publically committing to complete.

So how do you join the Procrastinator Party?

It is easy as 1, 2, 3.
1. Link up a post declaring your project — be sure to show your before photo to the world. Announcing it is part of the deal here ladies. If you don’t put it in black and white we can’t hold you accountable. And if we don’t hold procrastinators accountable, well, we all know what happens. So be bold and post your proclamations on your blog and then link up here — and/or if you don’t have a blog, share in the comments below! EVERYONE is welcome!
2. Then obviously you need to work on your project. Eh hem. Don’t skip this part like SOME OF YOU did (names withheld to protect the guilty) last time. Just sayin’.
3. Then return to The Inspired Room in two weeks (October 20th) to link up your AFTER PHOTOS! We’ll all visit you and praise you for your hard work. And you’ll have the satisfaction of a completed project!
Ready? You can do this. Off you go!

Okay, Here is my project. I will commit to finishing the wood magazine rack that I picked up at the Goodwill for a mere $4.00 a couple of weeks ago AND I will commit to finish this project by October 20, 2009.

It is nicely made….the wood is solid and it does not wobble. There are a few nicks that I will sand out by hand but really….this should be very easy. I just need the push to actually get it done.

The clock is ticking……and I am on the hook!

3 Little Bits of Randomness

I saw a license plate this morning that said: "LatteDa". That made the coffee drinker in me smile.

I saw a "Hoarder" today in the parking lot of the Harris Teeter. It was unbelievable and incredibly sad. She had a nice looking red Jeep Cherokee but it was filled inside top to bottom with garbage and stuff. She had more bags of bags and paper that she was trying to fit in her car. The thing is....even her driver seat was filled. And when I say filled I mean floor to ceiling. I was in the store over an hour and when I came back out she was still there trying to fit more useless stuff in her car. And then I saw later in the day that Oprah is doing a show on Hoarders tomorrow. Made me very sad.

I am starting a list of the funny Southern expressions that I come across. I heard this one yesterday and it made me laugh. "How are you?" "Why I am as fine as hair on a frog!" :)

Metamorphosis Monday and My Goodwill Goodies

Last week I picked up a few more things at the Goodwill after stopping to look for a wood bench or narrow table to refinish for my upstairs hallway. Still looking I am really not having any luck in that department. This will be my first time participating in something called Metamorphisis Monday over at Between Naps on the Porch. It’s fun to see what other kinds of transformations other bloggers come up with from the stuff they find when they are out and about.




So here is my crate of Goodwill Goodies.



I found a copy of one of my favorite books "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Recbecca Wells for only $1.00 along with a few other happy finds at the Goodwill. I loved the book and the movie was good but you know how they say the book is always better than the movie and in this case it as true. My neighbor asked to borrow my copy and inside my head I was screaming "NOoooo, I'll never see it again!" And my conscience said "Lisa......lend it to her...be nice and just lend her the book!" And so I did. And you know what.....I never saw it again. I hate when that happens.



I was happy to find a replacement copy of the book and thought $1.00 was a pretty good deal so I grabbed it and I also found a few other great things like this little cream colored, mini pitcher/creamer for $1.99. The bottom says it was made in England and it has delicate beading around the body of it. Not a chip....it's perfect.



I also found a hammered aluminum flat basket made by Farberware. You can see it in the crate above with the creamer sitting on it. I know nothing about trays like this but liked it very much. I paid $1.99 for it and saw them on EBay for $12.00. I wonder if people collect them? I also picked up two round cardboard boxes with lids and decoupaged them and added a white porcelain knob to the top. My favorite black and white papers to the rescue. And last of all at $2.99 I purchased a solid wooden crate. It has strawberries painted on the sides but I see it painted black or maybe even a shade of aqua blue and plan to keep it on the bottom shelf of the potting bench we have on our deck. I’ll post a photo later when I get it finished.

I thought I would try my hand at redoing these round cardboard boxes just like the square ones I did a few weeks ago. I spray painted the round boxes black and painted the tops with the Heirloom White. I decoupaged the lids and added a porcelain white knob to the tops. For more specific How To Information take a look at my post for the square boxes by clicking here: Black and White Decoupage Box

I picked up another mini watering can for .99 cents and will keep it upstairs for watering my plants. A couple coats of Heirloom White will take care of it.

This is not the same crate as above….it is the tray I finished last week. And of course my candy corn jar and you'll be happy to know that I have replaced the stale corn from last year with a fresh new bag....but shhh.....I haven't told the kids that yet!

So all in all it was a good day at the Goodwill. Nothing a little spray paint and some Mod Podge couldn’t take care of!

Mmmm, Does My House Smell Good Today!

While everbody was still in bed this morning I got busy and made some Pumpkin Streusel Bars. The whole house now smells SPICY! On Friday, I headed over to Chapel Hill to bring the First Year College Student Daughter home for the weekend. Her battery pack has been running low lately and this week we found out why. She has a case of Mono :( and needed to come home for the weekend for some TLC. She is doing much better now that the medicine has kicked in and so now we are focusing on lots of healthy food and lots of sleep before I take her back on Monday. Anyway, I got myself over to Chapel Hill a bit early in the day so I could do some shopping while I waited for her to finish her classes. I got to visit all the stores that they do not have here in Greensboro like Anthropologie, Restoration Hardware, and Pottery Barn among others. I stopped in the Williams Sonoma as soon as I walked in the door I had to ask what that heavenly smell was??? They gave me a sample of the their Pumpkin Streusel Bars with fresh whipped cream. OMG! What do I need to make them? All I needed was a yellow cake mix and a jar of their Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter. I said SOLD!

Pumpkin Streusel Bars

1 box yellow caked mix

8 Tbsp. butter (1stick) melted

4 Tbsp. butter cold

3 large eggs

1 jar of Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter

2 Tbsp. milk

1 Tbsp. flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Serve with fresh whipped cream….Cool Whip works too! :)

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.

Remove 1 cup of the yellow cake mix and set aside for the streusel topping. Stir together the remaining cake mix with the stick of melted butter and 1 of the eggs. Pour into prepared pan.

Stir together the Muirhead Pecan Pumpkin Butter, 2 eggs and the milk. Pour over the cake batter in the pan.

Add the flour, sugar, and cinnamon to the bowl with the reserved 1 cup of cake mix. Add the 4 Tbsp. cold butter. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until pea sized crumbs form and the mixture clumps together. Crumble over the pumpkin butter mixture. Bake until golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool, then cut into squares and serve with fresh whipped cream.

And Here they are. You could even mix in some toasted pecans into the streusel topping and that might even make these better if that is even possible. And whipped cream really makes these even better.

I wish you could smell them!

My Bookmark from Fifi Flowers Arrived

I am the proud owner of a hand painted book mark by Fifi Flowers!  Mine is the third one in this set…the red door, blue chair, and the Bienvenue welcome mat.

So nicely done and there is a painted sketch on the back side with a pretty green ribbon tied at the top.  Je suis tres heureuse!  I am very happy!  Thanks FiFi!  You can visit her blogsite and see for yourself some of her great paintings and she even has more bookmarks left. ( Fifi Flowers)

Now back to the Michigan and Michigan State football game.  My loyalty is torn!