Dining Room Set

We sold all of our furniture in California when we moved out east.  Our new home is mostly empty but because of that ugly "B" word, BUDGET, we have to prioritize the furniture most needed.  My mom told me about Damaged Transit Freight, a large furniture warehouse where furniture has been discontinued or slightly dinged or scratched in transit.  Most of it is designer and high end but there are some deals if you pop in often.  We found this gorgeous dining table that came with two leafs for $200!!!!!!  It has a few scratches on top that I filled in with a dark brown Sharpie and I dare you to try to find them in low light.  We also found these gorgeous chairs by Hooker Furniture and were thrilled when we were told that we could purchase them separately from the table they were paired with.  The chairs were a great deal too.  I just love the nickel studs, I'm really into studded furniture right now.  North Carolina really is the furniture capital of the world. (Oh, and on a side note, we just celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary and the modern gift for year 17 is: furniture, and the travel destination: North Carolina!  Coincidence?  I think not.)

The material is a graphite linen, looks warmer in this photograph than in person.  Did I mention how much I love the nickel studs?  I think the chairs were $85 each.

Bouncy House Fun

Years ago Gracie entered her first bouncy house at our church's harvest festival party and had a blast!  The next day Rob came home with our very own bouncy house, a $225 purchase that he didn't want to run by me because he loves the "surprise" factor.  He does that a lot.  Anyway, it really was one of the best purchases ever (we've had it almost 3 years so that breaks down to about $75 a year).  Gracie has had countless hours of bounce and many playdates involving the BH. Yesterday she had her best friend Conner over and his twin brother Grant and I truly think it was the most fun Gracie has ever had in the BH.  I snapped this shot of the craziness.  Ah, to be a kid again.

Now she wants one of those HUGE inflatable water slides for her birthday party; she REALLY wants it.  I think we're in trouble.

My Best Salsa EVER

Growing up in Southern California there is one thing we take for granted and that is you can find good Mexican food anywhere.   I am a salsa and pico de gallo LOVER but never had to make it myself because I had so many choices available to me.  Cut to North Carolina, and while the mexican population is growing, not many have opened restaurants (good ones at least) or sell fresh salsa.  Fortunately for me, my new friend Vicki, a native NC gal who married a mexican man, made the BEST pico de gallo I've ever tasted in my life!  Seriously, I would order it for my last meal.  She shared with me how she made it and 1 hour and a big backache later, I made a large batch myself last week.  It is easy yet time consuming, so much chopping.  I've been dreaming of it each day but not ready to go back to the chopping block.  Yesterday, I received an email from Pioneer Women with a recipe for "Restaurant Style Salsa" that had me salivating and eager to try it.  Very little chopping involved.  I dusted off my Cuisinart Food Processor and dumped in the ingredients and GOAL!!!!  This salsa tastes exactly like the fancy mexican restaurant salsa back home (yes, we have fancy mexican where meals run from $15-30 a plate and SO worth it).  It is marinating now in my frig as we speak.  It was remarkable tonight but will be mind-blowing tomorrow.  I will be dreaming about it all night.  I haven't even told Rob that I made it, I might hoard it for myself.  It's so easy to make, I can let him in on the second batch, right?

Confederate Star

Many homes in the south display a star on their exterior.  I love them and knew if I ever moved here that I wanted one too.  I found this beauty at Habitat For Humanity Restore for $18.  It's about 24" high and I planned on hanging it over the garage but hubby never got around to it, and growing tired of it leaning against my fireplace, I spotted a nail on my covered patio and hung it there.  It looks perfect out there.  I tried to find the meaning of the star and the best I could come up with is it's a Confederate Star.  The star was a symbol in the south of independence from Europe.  I love what it represents.  Not until the mid 1800s did the south adopt the "stars and bars" flag which represented the south's independence from the north, ie: slavery.  You still see many trucks and homes out here proudly displaying their Confederate Stars and Bars flag.  I don't get it.  I personally hate what that flag represents, but I love the history out here, and look forward to learning so much more.

Our Pooh Tree: Before and After

So our front yard tree which intercepts our front walkway had to come down today.  It was hollow from bottom to top.  Our first tip off was the Pooh Bear opening at the base.  A tree service surveyed it and it was hollow throughout.  One bad storm and it could've snapped, or not, we'll never know for sure.  We are sad to lose a lovely tree which provided lovely shade but we now have peace of mind that it won't come down on our house.  

 See the Pooh Bear opening.  Or maybe Piglet.  We always wondered why we never saw a critter living in there, or hiding, or storing nuts, now we know.  Diseased and full of carpenter ants and beetles.

  I think the house looks great without the tree, better curb appeal.  We may, however, plant a Japanese Maple.  What do you think?

Piper

This is Piper.  Isn't she just the sweetest?  At life group the other night I brought my camera and snapped away.  These were just impromptu shots but I really loved this one.  Her eyes are amazing!

Gracie's Dresser Project

As we moved into our home I realized that Gracie needed a dresser.  Back in California her dresser was built into her closet.  I didn't want to purchase a new one for budgetary reasons and also because it's very hard to find "real wood" any more, everything is MDF now.  I headed to the Habitat For Humanity Restore and within minutes found a large, 6 drawer, white dresser in REAL wood for only $55.  It was painted white but had hand painted wavy blue stripes all over the top and ugly ceramic white knobs with painted blue stars (sorry, no before shots, but trust me, it was 90s UGLY).  I saw great potential!  We loaded it up (it was SO heavy) and took it home for a good vacuuming to remove spider eggs sacs and years of dust.  Then I sanded it and gave it a good TSP bath.  Thanks to my mom-in-law, I'm a HUGE TSP fan.  I then painted it a creamy white (paint I already had) and painted the inside drawers a light aqua.  Now I needed knobs.  Knobs are expensive, and I wanted vintage glass knobs.  After much searching, I resorted to online shopping and found glass knobs on Amazon.  Usually glass knobs are about $5-6 each, and I needed 12.  I found a company called Knobs and More selling vintage glass knobs at $29.95 for a dozen.  Perfect!  They just arrived yesterday and I think they look adorable.  Voila!  The dresser is complete and cost under $100.  What do you think?  

Aren't these sweet?  They are clear glass flowers.  Gracie just loves opening and closing her drawers.

My Hydrangeas

Well, my gardenias have pretty much died out but now my Hydrangeas are blooming and they are spectacular!  They are my favorite flower and are blooming in colors of blue, pink, and purple.  I love them so much I have them in almost every room of the house.  Each room I walk into makes me smile.  I only wish I had MORE vases! I gave most of my vases away back in California, but tomorrow I am attending one of the biggest yard sales of the year, benefitting Cystic Fibrosis, am I'm sure to come away with plenty of inexpensive vases.  If I find any special treasures I'll be sure to post them.  Stay tuned....

Gracie's Preschool Graduation

Today my baby graduates Pre-K.  How did THAT happen?  She is growing up too fast but I can honestly say that I have loved every stage, from infant until now, more than the last.  She is a precious little girl and has the sweetest heart imaginable.  She even won the "Most Friendly" award of the year, granted by her teachers who say that she loves to play equally, and well,  with all the children in her class.  She's been practicing a song all week which the kids will sing today that I know will have me in tears, it's called "We Have the Whole World Ahead of Us."  I know she will miss school and her friends so much this summer, but selfishly I'm so glad she'll be home with me, our last summer together before her K-12 scholastic years begin.  I love you Grace Elizabeth!  You will ALWAYS be my baby. 

Gracie, age 4

Lazy 5

A few weeks ago I went with Gracie's preschool class on a field trip to Lazy 5 Ranch.  For you California folk, it's kind of like Lion Country Safari but without the lions.  We rode in large wagons pulled by two horses and got to feed many of the animals while riding.  My favorite was feeding the giraffes!  Yes, we have giraffes in North Carolina.  It's the most surreal feeling, like being on safari, only in America.  They also have a Rhino!  I love this shot I got of the giraffe we fed.  How do I get my lashes to look like that?  What a magnificent creature!

This is a shot I took of Gracie's best friend, Conner.  I just love it!  Other than cropping and B&W, I didn't edit it.  I'm sure I could Photoshop it a bit but I'm happy with how it turned out.

And this is sweet Sophia!  She felt so comfortable with me that she posed herself while up on the playground.  Other than cropping, I did no editing at all.  I love how organic it turned out.  Again, I could tweak it a bit on Photoshop but why?  It is a beautiful shot considering it was noon and the harshest lighting of the day.

Office View

I love the view from my desk in the sunroom.  It's so enjoyable to sit down and email, blog, pay bills (it at least lessens the hurt) and learn spanish for the umpteenth time.  I never had a proper desk back in California so when we bought this house, a desk was one of the first orders of business.  I headed to Habitat For Humanity Restore and bought a sweet little antique desk/vanity for only $45!  All I need to do now is change the knobs and give the inside drawers a fresh coat of aqua paint for an updated modern look.  I'll post photos once it's complete.  I also got an antique chair with a cane seat which didn't come with the desk but looks adorable with it.  It's so lady like.  Check out the Habitat For Humanity Restore; they have great finds at great prices and it's such a worthy cause.

Sweet Gardenias

I LOVE Spring!  The sad part of the spring season is most flowers bloom about a week, maybe two, and then you have to wait an entire year to enjoy them again.  This seems too short to me.  Spring kicked off with azaleas all over my back yard which lasted maybe two weeks, then the rhododendrons bloomed and lasted a week and a half, and now my gardenias are blooming and they are glorious!  I have 14 gardenia bushes out my front door and the fragrance is heaven!  I have made tiny bouquets in my bathrooms and kitchen.  They make me so happy.  Unfortunately they too are dying out which seems so unfair to have to wait an entire year to smell their fragrance again.  At least my hydrangeas are blooming and right under my kitchen window.  They are my very favorite flower so I'm hoping to enjoy them longer than 2 weeks.  Spring is just going by too fast.  What are you enjoying about spring right now?

Beauty From Every Window

Last year while praying for a new living environment, I asked God to put us in a home where I could see His beauty from every window.  I never dreamed that would take us to North Carolina.  We have been here over 6 months now and are adjusting nicely.  This blog is mainly for our West Coast family and friends and to display my photography.  I hope you will subscribe so you can keep up to date on the Spielers because often via phone or email I forget all the little details of our days and weeks.  Oh, and to answer your question: Yes, we are keeping our home this crazy green!  It's an authentic colonial color.