think happy thoughts.....

Sometimes, when I am weighed down......

I get this overwhelming feeling.....

and the temptation to just run away from that weight creeps in....

instead of resting in His goodness and Holy will.......

His wings are big.....may you find refuge under His wings as well....

july.....so far

as I typed the title and loaded the pictures, I realized that we are only half way thru July.....

 I'm not rushing it by, but somehow it's slipping through my fingers....

since my last post, I have taken the occupation of painter. And painted almost every nick and cranny of my kitchen......

see that stack in the background.....ceiling's going up soon :)

I'm good at mazes, what were we thinking, full of grace, I know God is good...

I couldn't decide on a title to this post can you tell??  I could have tagged a few more on there, but you'll get the picture in a minute. First off.....who needs fireworks Wednesday when we had our own lightening show last night?!?!? Thank you Lord for the rain! We needed it....BADLY...so very very badly!! If it wasn't for all the flashes, I might have danced out in it last night.



This is our kitchen.....

well, was.....

until Saturday....

Did I tell you I was good at mazes?? I have this perfect gift; I take everything out of one room and put it in another room and create this wonderful maze to get from one room to another, and to important things in the maze room. Something always inspires me though, and this time it was my hubs, because of this.....

We had a roof leak years not long ago. We have a flat roof above this room and it needed replacing.

after replacing the roof, it was time to replace the ceiling, because of all the water damage. This is the only room in the house with a popcorn ceiling and it drives Tim nuts. He doesn't like it. And I am always in favor of changing things ;) 

one day I will post the before pictures of our house when we moved in 9 years ago. My bestie found them when they came for a visit a couple weeks ago. We are Do it Yourselfers, if you haven't figured that out on this blog yet. If we have the time and the means, we just do it. But time is a ticking and we needed this thing fixed and it just wasn't happening on our end. So, we decided, we would rip out the ceiling, go hang out at the beach and hire someone to put a ceiling in while were gone. Sound good???

We started moving out the room and creating my maze Friday, so we could do this on Saturday.....

It was the WORST DAY EVER! 14 hours of non stop (except for the 5 trips to Home Depot), index of 115 degrees, change of three sets of clothes from all the sweat, kind of worst day. At one point, I thought, "if this wasn't his idea, I think he would leave me over this one!", it was that bad. So Bad. NEVER EVER AGAIN. I like a challenge, but not the ones with the words, heat and insulation in them.

Once again, I am so glad God's mercy is new every morning. Our task is done and it's ready for the next guy....

Saturday night, I was so tired, and if I hadn't sweat out all my tears, I would've cried. I didn't think there was any way my body could phyically even walk to the car to go to church, but it did. And I am so glad. The sermon was amazing, and exactly what I needed to hear. And at one point when Andy talked about people living a life full of grace; full, like if it were in a cup, you would spill it trying to carry it it was so full; a picture of my husband popped in my head. He is full of grace.


So, now for the real work fun! After viewing our exposed ceiling, I changed my plans for the above, because that's how I roll. We were just going to add a new sheet rock ceiling and eventually add some beams for depth in the room, but are now going with this....

images provided off of Google Images.

We're planking the ceiling. So, this week, I have been up to my eyeballs with paint samples, subway tile, grout picking fun; because if I have to paint the room, then the cabinets will need a "new do", the fireplace a little face lift, and we might as well replace the door that always sticks and won't open, add a pot filler at the stove, you know.....more on the "to do" list.  So look forward to some after pictures in a few months weeks, because The Pilcher kitchen is getting a re-do :)

Happy Monday y'all! 

Thinking outside the box......

When I get a chance, and I wake up naturally around 6am or so on a Saturday morning, I do enjoy jumping in the car to scout out a nearby Yard Sale.

But, I usually look for very specific things. It's either a lamp that needs a new shade or a chandelier that needs a coat of paint.


I don't own a pair of shorts. Well, not really. I own some athletic shorts, but I'm talking about the dress up cute, go out in public kind. It's most likely because of my recent employment as shop owner, but I will say, that a  petite frame with a little.....shall we say....junk in the trunk.....is hard to fit sometimes. Unless I don't mind the shorts past my knees or the gaping waistband when I bend over.

When I headed to a Yard Sale a few weeks ago, I spotted these.....

The tag said "perfect fit" so, I figured I couldn't go wrong ;)

Besides, the person selling them had my shape so I figured I would risk the $1.00 I spent on them and give them a try....

The tag was correct. It was a perfect fit, but missing a little...... happy.


So for 40 cents I purchased these wooden buttons and gave it a face lift.....

And now they smile in their new home :)


This Saturday the hubs and I scored a pair of these concrete planters for $5.00 each.....

We both agreed that our herbs do much better in planters then our soil. Let's hope so, our summers are hot, hot, hot! Later this week, I will show you how to make these....

These dresses are SUPER simple and only take about a half an hour or less to make.





And with all of this..... Life has been full, very full. The girls consume my time, a lot of it, and I wouldn't have it any other way. And because of this, we are downsizing our booth are the Highland's Antique' Mall.

 I absolutely adore our booth, but simply don't have the time to maintain it's size. It will no longer be exclusive to Childen's merchandise, but will be filled with all things cute, inspiring, creative and fun for you to enjoy.

So much more detail on this later, but for now, head on over there for a Downsizing Sale of 50% OFF or Lower (excludes FIRMS). These little Kissy Kissy long sleeve onesies are only $5.00 and in perfect condition!

Hope this adds a little inspiration to your day! Get creative and think outside the box!

little by little.....

sometimes it feels like the "honey-do" list never ends. I know I am the culprit for it's life. I add to it....daily.



 When closing the shop back in October, I couldn't part with a few pieces of furniture.

It was my opportunity to get organized.






I have sewn on my dining room table for years. Functioned out of Rubbermaid containers. And the craft supplies, oh, the craft supplies. Let's just say, I had multiple "junk" drawers and baskets!




We were blessed in our old home to have the previous owners turn the 5th bedroom into a laundry room. I realize not every laundry room is this big. Unfortunately for me, I despise doing laundry. Oh, flipping the switch and pushing a button isn't the tedious task. It's the folding and putting away that I despise.




Some questioned how in the WORLD I was going to squeeze all the ideas and furniture in this room, and not to mention, create and environment that we enjoy being in. I can't seem to find a before picture of the room, so I will give you this one I found on the web....

image from google images.

And then you can times it by 100 and it will give you a picture in your head of my craziness. :)

I don't have it finished. I still have dog food spilt on the ground that crush under my feet, maybe a dead roach (or two) to sweep up, and not all my containers match all pretty like, but I am loving it. I love the art I picked up at a yard sale that inspired the colors, the chandelier I painted that once hung over my grandmother's kitchen table, and the touches here and there of items that hold 8 years of memories at Bellamia.  I still have some "honey-do's" in there, and some for myself. But it is school room, craft room, laundry piling ready,( sans the curriculum that I have in multiple shopping carts pulled up on 7 different windows on my computer).





And although I resembled something of the wicked witch of the west to my kids and hubs, I did seem to accomplish  the powers of my broomstick yesterday and create this.....

they (my hubs and kiddos) have so much grace and so much love. I felt terrible for letting my frustration of my un-orderness come out through my mouth, and for sending my husband to McDonald's for his dinner at 9:30pm.  And as Tim called me earlier at 4:30pm and said, "I am going to head out soon, do you want me to pick up anything for you?", I believe my response was something like, "I am the most overwhelmed, frustrated, stressed I have been in awhile, you might not want to come home.". Oh, how he loves me and sets me straight.


I kept praying all day......"Lord, please keep my tongue from evil.", but earlier in the day it was "Lord, please keep my tongue from evil, even though I want to bite their heads off!". Hey, He knows my heart, so might as well tell Him what's in there instead of trying to cover it up.

That witch seemed to have melted away and the glitter of the Good Witch of the east seems to be moving about the house today, and my little munchkins are delighting in today.

Praise the Lord, His mercies are new every morning! I need as much as I can get :)

Just put 877 picture in my Summer time folder. Hope to go through them and catch you up soon!

Happy Wednesday y'all!