1938 Elm Street

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

2009-06-01T14:30:00.002-05:00

Hello-o-o-o??? Is anyone still checking on this poor neglected blog? Probably not. To be honest, I never posted much on this blog because I didn't like it! Not the title, not the design...nothing! So, I've started a new one and here is the link...Simple Pleasures. So, if anyone is still there, please come and visit!

And She Shall Have Music Wherever She Goes

2009-01-22T23:45:00.003-06:00

What a nasty little bug I was sick with. And now I have pink eye!

Look what my mother & father-in-law gave me for Christmas! Well, they actually gave me a gift card and this is what I got. My first MP3 player. I LOVE it! This is not actually mine...I borrowed this picture from the internet...because a) I'm too lazy to go downstairs and get the camera, and b) it's too dark to take a good picture anyway, and c) I wanted to hurry up and get a post on my poor neglected blog!

This is just so cool...all my favorite music wherever I go. 2Gs of music. Matchbox Twenty, Gwen Stefani, Michael Buble, Kid Rock, Coldplay...to name a few. I know I'm behind and almost everybody has had an MP3 player for forever but...

So, tomorrow we are planning to go down to the river (the Mississippi) to take some eagle pictures. If the sun doesn't put my poor pink eye out! And I have to wear my funky glasses instead of my contacts. Oh well...at least I feel better...and I have posted to my blog again!

Sick Day

2009-01-05T11:56:00.002-06:00

I am not feeling well...it's some sort of sinus/really sore throat/terrible cough thing. Yesterday I stayed in bed all day...a very rare thing. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.

Before & After

2009-01-03T17:00:00.015-06:00

We've done quite a bit of work on our old house...and there's still plenty more to do! We have a lot more before pictures that were taken before we got a digital camera. I'm ashamed to say that they haven't been developed yet. I really need to do that...I'm sure there will be surprises there! The pictures with the black edges were taken by the real estate company.

Before
It doesn't show up well here...but our house was pink!

After
Look how big the tree has gotten in five years! New pale yellow siding, windows, navy shutters, porch railings and a redo of the flower bed.

Before
This is the living room.

After
We pulled up all the carpet and found pretty wood floors underneath. That was really scary. We checked a couple of spots before we tore it all up but you never know how the entire thing will look. There was some paint but it came up easily. Good thing...because, at the time, we didn't have the money to refinish the floor or replace the carpet!

Before
The kitchen. It doesn't look bad in the picture. In person it was another story! It would take too long to list everything that was wrong here.

After
Knotty pine paneling gone! New cabinets, floor, dishwasher, sink (the sink was actually moved and centered under the windows). There are real wood floors underneath this laminate. The old linoleum was glued down with something that would have taken 100 years to remove. Sadly, we just had to cover it up.

I really need to do something about those cords. And finish the door lock repair!

We did some of the work ourselves...not all of it came out right! The door against the wall is to cover up a bad plastering job. There was a little window there. The outside lifted up...the inside opened like a door...and there were glass shelves in the middle...sort of like a little curio cabinet. It was an odd size and it was too expensive to replace...so, out it came.

So, there's part of our house. We've also redone the wiring, redone some of the plumbing, replaced the furnace and chimney liner, and had all three porches repaired along with replacing the railings. We had started to redo the bathroom but then the furnace decided to break down. The bead board, pedestal sink and commode turned into a shiny green furnace. Oh well, something to look forward to!

This And That

2009-01-02T21:35:00.005-06:00

Things were pretty quiet around here today. I'm slightly upset that the UPS man didn't stop here this afternoon. He was supposed to be bringing the Cuttlebug dies and embossing folders that I ordered. Does he not know that I was planning on playing with them tomorrow? LOL!

Louis in his favorite place...the toy basket. Our kitties have over 90 toys!!! That's the count on the ones in the basket...there are others hiding all over the house.

How cute is this? Cutie Patootie Rufus resting on my husband's jacket.

Awwwww!

I'm sure most of y'all have heard the stories about our "illustrious" Illinois governor. Here's a sign on the gyro place a few blocks away from my house. My husband had to take a picture. Hey, no hurt in asking! Check out all the snow we had. It's almost all gone now but I'm sure there will be more.

Surprise!

2009-01-01T22:32:00.005-06:00

Starting a blog during one of the busiest times of the year was apparently not the right thing to do! One of my resolutions this year is to keep my blog updated. Another resolution is to devote more time to being artistic. For some reason that keeps getting pushed aside and it really shouldn't. I want to spend more time working on some of the bazillion projects on my list...sewing, paper art & cards (I bought myself a Cuttlebug!), and knitting to name a few. So, until tomorrow...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Just A Little Late

2008-11-06T01:20:00.015-06:00

Yes, I know I was supposed to have posted these pictures over a week ago! Here are some pictures of my studio and the cutting table that a couple of people wanted to see.
WARNING...my studio (in it's present state) will never be featured in a magazine shoot of pretty studios! Although we've done a lot of work on our house (and there's plenty more to do!), this room has not been high on the list. When we moved in there was dark green wooly carpet on the floor and the walls were painted a blue that was almost black. It was a dark cave. The carpet was very clean and in good shape but it was old. So old that the padding had disintegrated. After we pulled the carpet up all we had to do was vacuum up the padding with a shop vac!! Unfortunately, there was no pretty wood flooring underneath the carpet like there is in the rest of the house. There's just this speckled tile. And yes, the dark spots on the floor are where the tile is coming up! We painted everything white to brighten it up. It's shabby and it's filled with stuff that's not good enough for downstairs but I love this room! It's very cozy and comforting. Plus, you can make a big ol' mess (and it's definitely a mess in these pictures) and not have to worry about it!

This is my cutting table. A dresser with a 2' x 5' piece of birch screwed down on the top.

The top is marked with a 1-inch grid. The drawers hold fabric. The white specks are chenille...that stuff was everywhere in my house!

I really like these rolling drawer units...they hold a lot of stuff. Next to them is my husband's grandmother's sewing machine.

This is Edith. She is named for Edith Head. I know I'm not a fashion designer but I thought I'd pick up a little mojo by naming her Edith. (OK, so I'm goofy!)

This is what you see if you stand at the top of the stairs. Scary, huh? Check out the pretty wrought iron railing...LOL! Not only that, there were outdoor porch lights on the ceiling!! Wouldn't you love to have this, too?

Now we're looking toward the top of the stairs. You can see my herb garden that I brought in from outside for the winter. This is the only place to put it. The lace 'curtain' to the left is hiding some stuff that I don't want to be seen as you come up the stairs. To the right of the bakers rack is a church pew that won't fit anywhere else in the house and will probably live here forever because it weighs a ton. I know...you can't see the pew...just thought I'd mention it.

Pillow shams finished!

The chenille/flannel throw and the pillow shams. I was going to try and make this shot pretty...a book, a cup of something warm...I wanted it to look inviting. Louis thought he'd look better than all that stuff. If you look really hard, you can see Rufus to the right behind a pillow.

Louis checking for softness.

Well, the kitties like it! Here's Elvis, Louis (now watching television) and Rufus settling in for a nap!

How Do Y'all Do It?

2008-10-26T15:01:00.002-05:00

How do y'all manage life, creativity...and a blog? Everyday I've wanted to post and everyday I run out of time! Anyway, I've finished the throw, finished one pillow sham and have 3 pillow shams cut & pinned. I'm going to finish sewing those in just a minute. Then I need to sort out my knitting stuff because it's a serious mess. Maybe I'll get the fabric pulled for my bag, too. We'll see. Hopefully...maybe...pictures tomorrow!

Projects

2008-10-19T17:06:00.010-05:00

Yes, I've already changed my blog design! And today, when I had a little time and energy, instead of being constructive in my neglected studio, I've been blog tweaking! Another surprise...I'm not posting any fall decoration pictures today. Here are some projects I have lined up.

My MIL gave me this cute little ladder which is going to be painted in some manner.

I got this little Xyron sticker maker for my birthday at the end of September. Shamefully, I haven't used it yet. It is sitting on a pad of pretty scrapbook paper. We need more "art" in our bedroom and since almost all of my decorating is the design on a dime variety, I'm going to make it myself.

Softy flannel...to make flannel pajama pants using this pattern? Maybe.

Indygo Junction's Denim & Daisies bag pattern and some fabric I got at a thrift store. I'm not sure what this was...a tablecloth or some sort of throw...it had white eyelet sewn around the edges. It's some sort of soft tweedy fabric but heavy enough for a bag. It got thrown into the washer & dryer and came out just fine...I wasn't too worried about it...$1.38 for approximately 2 yards of nice fabric.

I saw the cutest baby throw somewhere online...chenille on one side & flannel on the other. I've had a queen-sized chenille bedspread with a hole in it hanging around for a while. So I cut a piece from it and together with this kitty print flannel I'm going to make an adult-sized throw. There's lots of chenille left...so, I'm thinking some pillow shams.

My plans are to start on these projects this week. I apologize for these dark pictures. It's a lot brighter in my studio than this...even though it only has 2 windows. (I have the whole attic for myself!!!) You can also see the top of my cutting table here. My husband cut some birch (about 5' x 3') and screwed it down to the top of an old dresser. We then marked a grid on the top. It's great...a nice surface to cut & craft on and fabric storage in the drawers. I love it!

Another Award!!

2008-10-18T23:22:00.004-05:00

Nichole at The Pumpkin Seed gave me this award! Thank you very much, Nichole...and I love your blog, too.

The rules that go along with the award are to answer the following questions with one word answers...then pass it on to 7 other bloggers.
1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen
2. Where is your significant other? asleep
3. Your hair color? brownish
4. Your mother? Louise
5. Your father? Edmond
6. Your favorite thing? happiness
7. Your dream last night? goofy
8. Your dream/goal? design
9. The room you're in? studio
10. Your hobby? many
11. Your fear? sickness
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? South
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? mean
15. One of your wish list items? serger
16. Where you grew up? Memphis
17. The last thing you did? PaintShop
18. What are you wearing? jammies
19. Your tv? HGTV
20. Your pet? kitties
21. Your computer? Dell
22. Your mood? serene
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? truck
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? Hobby Lobby
27. Your summer? hot
28. Love someone? yes
29. Your favorite color? red
30. When was the last time you laughed? tonight
31. Last time you cried? lastweek (one word!)

I'm passing this on to:
simple-needs
One Shabby Old House
Kim's Cottage
Heaven's Gift
Halfpint's Homepage
Brown Eyed Fox
Books & Life

Have fun, y'all!

That's Life

2008-10-16T22:46:00.013-05:00

So, I start a blog...hundreds of lovely visitors stop by...and no more posts! What happened? I didn't really like a table that was in my living room so I moved it out. But, that led to most of the room being rearranged...a chair was brought down from upstairs...something else was moved to the bedroom...you know how it goes! That started a lot of fall fluffing and deep cleaning. The night before last I thought I was done but somehow my husband and I started work on redoing our screened in porch. That was supposed to wait until spring but it just happened. Every night I had plans to post but I was so tired I only managed to get in bed with coffee, knitting and a
movie. Anyway, here are more fall pictures.

Our 1938 house. You can't really see the decorations well but I just love the leaf shadows from our weeping birch. Isn't the bark pretty?

Another view from the front. Can you believe our house used to be pink?? I'll post some 'before' pictures one of these days.

The side porch. The crow is wearing an Ole Miss cap. Hotty Toddy!

This is Louis, one of our 4 kitties. He always looks surprised!

A table in the living room.

This is the top of the entertainment center...I took this picture the other night.

A corner of the living room and part of the coffee table.

Last, but certainly not least, I received this award from Kim at simple-needs. Obviously, this is my very first blog award and I'm very tickled! Thank you, Kim! I'm supposed to pass it on to 6 other bloggers and here they are!

Laurie at Magpie Ethel
Kimba at A Soft Place To Land
Mary Lou at House of Whimsy
Bella at Bella Casa
Debbie at Ribbonwood Cottage
Nichole at The Pumpkin Seed

Thank you!

2008-10-07T17:25:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone that has stopped by to visit in the last few days. Thank you for all the nice comments. I just started this blog on Friday and never expected to have so many visitors dropping by. I'm happy that y'all enjoyed the pumpkin muffin recipe. I was hoping to post some pictures of the outside of my house today but it's raining and 58° so I'll do that another day. Today is a good day for lighting an Autumn Leaves candle, drinking a hot cup of coffee, and visiting Kimba for more lovely blog links.

Halloween Party!

2008-10-05T21:54:00.022-05:00

I'm participating in Kimba's Halloween Party and I'm so glad you could stop by. What's a party without something yummy to eat?

How about a pumpkin muffin with cream cheese. (The recipe is below if anyone would like to have it.)An arrangement of faux mums & frog belly sticks on my 3-season back porch. What are frog bellies? Sedum. We call them frog bellies in Mississippi. The sticks are really the flower stems. OK...I didn't clean out my flower beds last year after the first frost (or never!). Last spring I was pulling all the dead stuff out and realized how cool these stems are. They're hollow and sort of look like miniature bamboo. They also have dark marks on them where the leaves were. Very nice stuck in a vase.

Also on the porch.

On top of my kitchen cabinets.

More cabinet decorations.

I cross-stitched and put together this little pillow. It's hanging between the two windows overlooking the back porch.

A spiderweb and kitty. The kitty is a little puppet that I found at Goodwill last year.

This arrangement is on top of a chest of drawers in my kitchen. The chest was a Goodwill find that I repainted and put new handles on. I know you can't really see much in this picture. Today was not a good picture taking day. Also, the camera battery is low...and...I need a new battery for the date & time. Am I the only one that didn't know the date & time has it's own battery?

The top of the entertainment center in the living room. The kitty has a little spider dangling from it's tail. This kitty stays out year round...too cute to put away.

On the end table.

On my Grandmother's cedar chest in the living room. The Schnauzer puppy is not a Halloween decoration but he usually lives in this spot. He came from Goodwill, too. The wall color is really a very pretty yellow called Warm Welcome not this icky color you see here!

Thanks for stopping by. Thanks, Kimba, for hosting the party!

Pumpkin Muffins
(16 regular or 30 miniature muffins)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable (or) canola oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup pumpkin
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix sugar, oil, eggs & pumpkin. (You can do this by hand.) Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Stir in raisins and nuts. Pour into muffin pans. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes for regular muffins...15 minutes for the miniatures. (My miniatures are usually done in about 12 minutes.)

Welcome!

2008-10-03T23:38:00.005-05:00

Welcome to my blog! My blog is named 1938 Elm Street because we live in a house that was built in 1938. Once upon a time our street really was named Elm but not any longer. Some of the things I love to do are listed in About Me and that's mainly what I plan to post about. There are so many great blogs that I read everyday and I just want to be a part of it all.