Rock Springs and a Bedroom

Yesterday Brian and I headed north of Phoenix

to Rock Springs Cafe and Saloon

in Black Canyon City.

Brian used to do security for a band years ago

and a couple of the band members

have been playing in the saloon there.

We love getting together with this crowd.

We dance and wear ourselves out.

If you're in the Phoenix area,

Rock Springs Cafe is a great place to visit.

They are known statewide for their amazing pies.

Like this strawberry rhubarb pie.

It's such a fun little place to visit.

I may or may not have washed these salt and vinegar crickets down

with a shot of Cuervo Gold.

I do not drink alcohol.

But after the crickets I really felt the need to sterilize my mouth.

Funny the things I will do on a bet.

They were crunchy and tasted like potato chips.

Except the legs get stuck between your teeth.

If potato chips had legs, it would be exactly the same.

I am just about finished with the guest room

just in time for my sister Kelly's arrival in a couple of weeks.

The headboard was a thrift store find.

I was happy with the nightstands that I purchased from

Target Clearance for $35 a piece.

I love the lamps (also from Target).

That picture on the nightstand is

of Kelly and I in our bikinis

at a motel pool.

I love how we are holding hands.

I'm getting a massage on Monday.

Much needed and very overdue.

Have a Happy Sunday!!

Holly

Pooped

This has been the longest day of my life.

I'm exhausted and my back is killing me.

But I'm happy.

I am going to show you some pictures now.

And they are ugly so hold on to your girdles.

I have been living in the ugliest office space in the world.

I work from home and

I spend at least 8 hours a day in this room.

And I have lived with it like this for the past two years!

I've been searching for the right pieces for months.

And I finally got it all together.

Here is my office before.

I know!!!!

Can you believe I lasted two years?

Remember my lovely chair makeover that I did here?

Believe it or not, it's still here.

Anyhoo,

I'd had enough.

I found some wood file cabinets

on Craigslist two months ago

and I sanded them and painted them white.

And they sat like that in my garage for a month.

I couldn't decide what to use for the desk top

until I found the perfect one at IKEA.

My dear sweet man took me there after work yesterday

and we grabbed two desktops.

And they were the perfect size!

So this morning I got up,

ate breakfast,

and got to work on these bad boys.

It's still not finished.

I still need to find two chairs.

But so far I'm happy with the results.

I'm having trouble getting good pictures with my camera.

Maybe it's the light.

Probably it's me.

I have so much storage now.

I have 12 drawers.

That's 12 more drawers than I had before!

I have my work computer set up on the right

and my home computer on the left.

I can't believe the space I have.

And I have plenty of room for my crafts now.

I still have a few more things that need to be done

but that's all I've got for today.

I'm pooped!

Thanks for checking in.

Holly

xxx-ooo

My Home Tour

Are you as excited as I am?
Who doesn't love a home tour?

I love to take little peeks into blogger's homes.
They may be showing me a picture of a pie that they just made
but I am looking in the corner of the
picture at the cute little ceramic
cow that you have next to your sink.
I don't care to look at your pie, thank you.
Can you pan out a little so I can see
if you have tile or linoleum?

I don't care if you are a design pro
or if you live in an episode of hoarders.
I just want to see whatcha got goin on over there.

We blog for ourselves and for others.
We have blog friends who know us quite well.
We talk about childbirth
and the benefits of mustache waxing.
We talk about how our children are slowly trying to kill us.
But we rarely get to step into one anothers homes.
And that's a crying shame.
Because don't you think our homes say so much about us?

My home is nothing to write home about.
It's rather small but the size suits us.
There are many things we would change if we could
but we are moving in another year.

Just because you live a thousand miles away
doesn't mean you can't come into my home.

So, here we go:

Let's start in the living room.

If you look closely, you can see the dog's
squeaky chicken under the couch.
Princess Gizaboo is asleep on the back of the couch.
And are you wondering why my bicycle
 is on the back patio? 
I am too.

That coffee table has been in my family for years.
If you lay on the floor under the coffee table
and look up, you will see where a
four-year-old Holly wrote her name in crayon.

The sign above the TV says
"We Are Not Amused."
I like it.
That basket next to the entertainment center
is full of dog and cat toys.

I just recently bought this fall wreath
at Michael's.
I went with the intention of buying supplies
to make a wreath.
I saw this and didn't look back.

That is the most comfy red blanket in history
and one of us uses it every night
while watching TV.
That picture above the light switch was a birthday
gift to me this year from my sweet friend Laurie.
See the dirt around the door handle?
I wash that door once a week.
Which is more often than my husband
washes his hands.

This was my great grandmother Pearl's sewing machine.
The candle was a gift from Kris, Erika and Genn.

The pillows in the basket get used when
I lay on the floor to watch TV.
That bird.
See that bird?
My daughter moves it around the house
after I go to bed at night
just to irritate me.
I never know where I will find it.

I have not killed this plant yet.

Feel free to be impressed.

Let's take a quick look in the kitchen.

As kitchens go,
this one works for me.
Nothing special.
Formica.
Linoleum.
But I have a lot of counter space
with a good sized island.

Those cookies in the jar are my
thumbprint jam cookies from yesterday.
Let's talk about those for a moment,
Shall we?

No!

I did not eat 10 Thumbprint jam cookies Laraine and Laurie.
That would be just crazy.
I did not eat 9 cookies Genn and Beth.
I'm not a barbarian!

Deb guessed that I ate 20!!!

What's up with that!?
It's like she knows me.

I did eat 5 which is a totally respectable number of cookies

to eat when one is bored.
No one guessed 5.

No one gets 100 meaningless points
to spend in my imaginary gift shop.

This maple table is a thrift store find.
I love it.
The chairs are absolutely hideous.
Someone painted them with latex and
the paint is peeling.
I'm pretending that it's not doing that.

And this is where the magic happens.

If by magic you mean
the place where you clip your toenails
and watch reruns of "Mad About You"
before turning off the lights at 6:30 pm.
Then yes, this is where it happens.

And that's where I live.

I would love to see you do a post on your home.

Now, come see it in person.
I'll try to save you a cookie.

Holly
xxx-ooo

 

Summerize

I decided that I needed to get some color in my house.

I love color.

I don't know why I don't use it very often in my home.

I shopped the house and put some summer into it.

This table was out on the patio.

It was black.

I spray painted it and brought it into the living room.

My husband said, "Isn't that the patio table?"

I said, "Yes, it is."

He said, "Isn't that kind of a redneck thing to bring your patio furniture inside?"

I said, "No, it's only redneck if you move your living room furniture outside."

What do I know, maybe it is.

Maybe I don't care.

I found a use for an old wood box I've had for a while,

I'm using it to hold my books.

An old end table was also brought in from the back patio.

In the kitchen, I spray painted a lazy susan that I had found at GW and now it holds what I use on a daily basis right next to the stove.

And cut flowers brighten everything up.

Have you changed up your house for the summer?

Side note:  Hey Larraine!  Your inbox is full again! 

Holly

xx-oo

I'm home and my camera clickin finger is achin

I had a great time visiting with my Dad, Sally, my sister Kelly, and her husband Bill.

Dad is feeling pretty good right now and Kelly and I had a wonderful time with him.

I love my Dad's house. 

 He enjoys buying disasters and turning them into beautiful showplaces.

Here are some pics of his home.

It was difficult to get a good picture of the house with the cars in front.

Here are a few pictures of his living room.

Click on the pictures to get a better view.

I love my Dad's decorating style.  He's quirky.

Here are pics of the master bedroom and bathroom.

And the sun room.

The hall bathroom.

And the guest bedrooms.

And another bathroom.

I understand that this is a pretty long post but I would like

to introduce you to the first entry in a long series of mini-posts.

MONDAYS WITH MAX

My father, Max, is retired and I thought it might be fun to check in and see what he happens to be doing with his leisure time.  My Dad can paint, draw, build furniture, create beautiful pieces of art and he can cook like a maniac.  Mondays, however, I will be showing you just a glimpse of some of the little cartoons that my Dad has done in the past.

Here is the first in the weekly series, Mondays with Max.

I'll be back tomorrow to show you what a great time I had with my sister.

Holly

xxx-ooo