And the Lucky Number is...

79!

Which means Mel is the winner! I hope you enjoy the white dishes as much as I do. E-mail me and I'll get them in the mail or possibly make a personal delivery. :) Surprisingly, there were quite a few of you that got really close. But I promise you there'll be more great giveaways!

(P.S. Be sure to check out the sale this week- lots of items comin'!)

A Day of Teeth

I took Clay bright and early this morning to the dentist for his baby root canal (yes, I'm a terrible mother and hardly ever help the kids brush- things are gonna change!).

My b-i-l Chris did a little drilling only to find out that the cavity went so far that the only option was to pull the tooth.

He was a trooper, and didn't even shed a tear! We headed back to my mom's to pick up the girls and Clara was waiting to show me this:

She let my mom pull her tooth that has been loose for months!

Tonight there'll be 2 kids getting visits from the tooth fairy!

Friday Finds

I didn't have a whole lot of time this week as I'm trying to get my house back in order, but here are the few things I found. The frames are for the girls' room (probably with different pictures) and I just had to have the blue dish that matches with a white one I have. I love the shape and the gold detailing! I found all of these at Antiques on Main, which I believe is the same owner as Treasures from the Past Antiques, which closed recently. They have some great stuff- go see for yourself! (Oh, and don't forget to enter the giveaway below- you have until Monday!)

A Game and a Giveaway

I think you already know how much I love white dishes, but I may be getting close to my limit. I found these pretty dishes (a divided serving plate and a compote/ candy dish) to give away to the person who comes closest to guessing just how many white dishes I have around my house! Leave a comment by Monday, June 28 at midnight with your guess. Good luck!

Word to the Wise

Never attempt to make-over multiple rooms at the same time. Bad idea. I decided to hire painters to get the job done a little quicker and since they were already painting the bedrooms I figured why not have them do the kitchen as well? ( I have wanted the kitchen painted for a while, that's another post for another time.) So you can imagine the mess with 4 rooms being torn apart and I'm a very tidy person, but it was getting ridiculous. Candice was afraid for my well-being. To make matters worse, I had to be gone all day when the painters were here, so I didn't get a look until they were done. I thought I made a good decision on the color, but I hated it! I chose the same color for the kitchen and the girls' room, which means both need to be re-done. So that's the point I'm at now. At least Clay's room and the playroom are good so I'm working on getting those finished up. I've been trying to find photos of playroom inspiration and they're hard to come by. Probably because most playrooms are for function over style. I did come across this room though:

Aren't the chalkboard walls fun? I just love that. Probably not very practical though because the room would be full of chalk dust!


Candice sent me this idea of doing a gallery wall; half being photos of the kids, and the other half being artwork by the kids. I love this.

Friday Finds

For today's finds, I thought I'd feature 2 of my favorite recent purchases that are in stores now so you can get them for yourselves!

Homegoods is my favorite place to go for baskets and I picked up 2 of these to use as my laundry baskets. I'm hoping it will make doing laundry more fun? I just couldn't resist the weathered gray color and the leather handles. And I don't think you can ever have too many baskets.



I found this vintage-inspired soap/lotion dispenser at Target. I love not only the style, but that it looks like milk glass- my favorite! They also have it in blue and green.

And speaking of milk glass, stay tuned for a fun give-away coming soon!

Did You Know?

Did you know that you can shop Goodwill online? How did I not know about this? I found this info. as I was looking through the latest Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I guess it's like e-bay, only more addicting, if that's possible. Check it out here.

Craigslist

I've always had my eye on these beautiful dining chairs from Shabby Chic ,

then I was really jealous when I saw that Rie of Home and Harmony found a set on Craigslist.

I've been the seller of a few items on Craigslist, but never the buyer. Things are always snatched up before I get to them. Until now. I have been looking every day for the past couple of weeks and on Friday I spotted these. My heart started to race and I picked up the phone expecting to hear that they were just sold. Nope- they were still available! She was in Phoenix and I told her I was walking out the door that very minute so I wouldn't lose out. Now they aren't the Shabby Chic brand, but they didn't come with the thousand dollar price tag either. $80 for all four was a steal! And once I add slipcovers I think they'll look pretty darn close.

On a Whim

Well, I did something really stupid. Once it's finished I think I'll like it, but right now our house is a disaster area. I decided on the need for a playroom. I've given it some thought, but finally decided to go for it. However, Clay's room is the perfect spot for the new playroom because it's just off the family room which means his newly made-over room will get moved to the girls room, the girls will get moved to the guest room (because the guest room has it's own bathroom and a walk-in closet), and the guest room will no longer be. Bad news for me because I LOVE all the decor in the guest room, but good news for you because I have lots to sell! I've added a few items this morning, and in the next couple of days I should have quite a bit more. Hopefully I can get it finished up this week!

Friday Finds

Holy Smokes! The last 2 days have been a whirlwind of treasure hunting and boy am I exhausted! This collection of stuff is just the beginning of my finds. I'm posting a few items for sale, but be sure to check back next week as I'm doing some re-arranging over the weekend and will have more great items listed.

Inspiration: Slipcovers

One of my very favorite issues of Country Living was from April 2007. It featured the home of interior designer Lauren Ross, and while I'm not sure how she raises 4 children with all that white, I love everything about it.

Images via Country Living

Before and After: Master Bedroom

It's finally finished! (or at least as good as it's gonna get for a while) Why is it that it seems the Master bedroom is always the last to be finished? You would think it would be the first- after all, it is the room that is just for you; a place to relax and unwind. Although it took 6 years to get here, I can say it was worth the wait because it's by far my favorite room of the house.

Before: (I'm still kicking myself for not taking original before pics- just think burgundy paint and 80's floral wallpaper)

After:

I'm sure you're wondering by now how on earth Derek let all this pink in here? I said "you better live with it, or else..."- actually, I think he just loves me alot.

A birthday for the books

Derek really outdid himself this year. I definitely underestimated him! I was having a good day- a homemade breakfast from my parents, pedicures and lunch with friends- then off to Modern Steak for dinner with Chris and Candice, or so I thought. Candice and Chris were running late, so Derek called the restaurant to see if they would hold our reservation(but really he was talking to himself). He told me they would only hold it for 10 minutes and they already had a 45 minute wait time without a reservation. We would never make it on time! He seemed really frustrated that it wasn't working out and suggested that we go to St. Francis instead because they could probably get us right in. Since I'm so easy to please and I always love St. Francis, I agreed to go there and decided we could go to Modern Steak another time. So we get to the restaurant and I still don't have a clue. The hostess played it very cool and it seemed she was seating us as a table of 4 until we walked upstairs where everyone else was waiting. I'm usually not one for surprises, but this was the best. I got kind of emotional- it's so nice to feel loved!

The menu- this may have been the best meal of my life. (P.S. If you haven't been to
St. Francis yet, you must go!)


The quiz that Candice compiled- I've never laughed so hard in my life.
The answers: 1. C 2. C 3. D 4. B 5. B 6. A 7. D 8. All of the above 9. D 10. B 11. D

Beautiful peonies, tulips, and roses in fun vintage jars lined the tables.


I'm sure glad there were only 3 candles on the cake instead of 30!

I'm so grateful to be surrounded by wonderful family and great friends. I think 30 will be a very good year. ;)

Friday Finds

Today I am the big 3-0! So, I'm off for a day of celebrating, but in keeping with the Friday Finds theme, here are the things I found this week that were probably in style 30 years ago. :)

Facelift

I'm sure you've noticed by now that I've given my blog a little make-over. I wanted to come up with a clever name that combined everything I love- family, my religion, home, and decorating. And while the name Home Sweet Home isn't all that clever or original, I decided on that because 1) I enjoy spending time at home with my husband and my kids and I love coming home after being gone(especially to a clean house!); 2) only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness and I want to have a home that's comfortable, a place that people enjoy coming to (especially my children as they go through their teenage years- yikes!); and 3) right in the middle of our house sits this table:

I walk past it what seems like a thousand times a day, but it makes me smile every time.

This is the book that sits in front of a pile of books and it's been there since we moved in, almost 6 years ago. It's a book about Mary Englebreit's home. My tastes in decorating have changed somewhat since buying the book, but I still love the cover- it's a good reminder to me each day of the feeling I want to have in our home- sweet.

Introducing: Home Sweet Sale

Because the blog sales have been so successful, but because I already have a whole lot of things piled up to sell again, I started a new Sale blog! That way I can continue adding items as my house is ever changing. It's not going to be auction style as before, so whoever claims it first gets it! Check it out at thehomesweetsale.blogspot.com and let me know what you think. Hopefully you find something you like! (And remember to check back as items will be added often)