A craft area redo and a vet update

A few years ago, I installed some wire shelves in our hallway. It was a recess in the wall which housed the furnace at one time. Since then, it was a place to store our towels, sheets, and extra blankets. Now that I was finally finished with the bathroom, I had a better place for all of these. Yesterday afternoon I decided to make my former linen closet into a crafting storage area.
Over the past few months, I have realized that I had crafting supplies scattered from one end of the house to the other. Everytime I wanted to start a project, I had to hunt down my supplies. Sometimes I would give up and just go buy whatever I needed. We can't afford to do that anymore so I was on a mission . . . to find all of my crafting supplies and get them organized!

I our bedroom, I had 3 (yes 3!) of those plastic storage things on wheels. Each one had 3 drawers in it and it was the home for the bulk of my stuff. The rest was scattered in the dining room (which is where the sewing machine was), beside the recliner (I had a basket there with things that I work on while watchin TV), and in various drawers.

I pulled EVERYTHING into the living room. Fabric, buttons, paint, sanders, candles, floral stuff, all of it! Needless to say it was a MESS! I didn't want to go buy more plastic bins so I took the drawers out of the ones in my bedroom. This eliminated a lot from my bedroom and I didn't have to spend any money!

It took several hours but I got it finished. I know it doesn't look like a lot but it is all packed in there! Everything except my fabric. I have it stored in a cabinet in the dining room.

Living in a small house means that you don't have the storage that you would like. I have had to find creative ways to store things so they aren't just lying out for everyone to see.

I have so much stuffing and batting that I needed a place to "hide" it. This was my solution . . .

Can't even tell it's in there, huh? It works great because I don't have those big bulky bags showing! Since I became organized - I have started on 3 more projects. I am not a one at a time type gal! I'll try to show you those projects later.
I think one day I am going to do a post and show off my hiding places! I have things hidden everywhere since there is not room to store them!

We took our English Bulldog, Cane, to the vet yesterday. He loves going because he gets to visit other dogs. We got to sit near the scale so he thought that everyone was coming to see him as they were going to weigh their animals. We knew he had an ear infection because of the way that he was acting. Turns out, he has a bacterial ear infection, skin allergy, and Entropion in one eye. Entropion is an inward rolling of the eyelid edges. He said it is a painful condition because the hair on the lid constantly scratches against the cornea.
They gave us meds for the ear infection and he got an allergy shot for his skin. We also got a cream to put in his eye to help with the discomfort but he has to have surgery. We were not expecting that at all!
The vet said that other than the eye, Cane was very healthy. At least we got that good news! So we hope to have his surgery scheduled in the next few weeks.
Right now, he is in the recliner snoring louder than my husband! Makes it hard to watch TV when they are both dozing! I think the curtains are gonna pull off the windows! I am gonna record it one day!
I hope everyone has a great day!

Nicole

Some Thrift Store Goodies . . .

I had to show off some of my weekend Thrift Store finds! The hubby and I took off early Saturday morning on a mission. I needed a piece of furniture to display my handmades at my booth at Curious Cat. We actually found so many good deals that I couldn't pass them up! The first store we came to had a lot of great things sitting out front. I immediatly pulled in because I seen a hutch top sitting there all alone. We got it and a great bathroom cabinet! It is solid wood and looks great! I can't wait to slap a little paint on it!

The second store we went to had a lot of old prim looking pieces tucked in behind the newer stuff. Everytime I go there I have to look back behind the "nicer" things to find what I am looking for. This time I found this old metal bin - it has a great pull out door on it. It is made like a tater bin (just so you can picture it). It looks like it went in a bathroom or something. I am going to research and see if I can find out what it was for. It is the white cabinet above. I had to have it - only $5!
I found a table that had a handful of wood picture frames - had to have those - $1.00 for all. I use them for my stitcheries - that way I don't have to charge an arm and a leg for the finished product!
Last but not least, I found an old porcelain coffee pot. It is perfect! In great shape - just needed a little cleaning.

All in all, I think it was a great bargain day! I am going to get my finds "prim-tastic" hopefully this week.

We have been making a few changes in our main bathroom. It is a little small so we needed to brighten it up. My daughter worked until late last night repainting. We had a custom built cabinet installed but I never got around to painting it. Miranda took care of all of the white painting - the door, trim, and the cabinet. I decided to go with a lighter blue. It is not really prim but I wanted something a little more lively in there. It always seems so dark and gloomy - had to brighten it up! I will take a picture of it when it doesn't look like such a mess! Hopefully, later on this week I will share it with ya.

I have to take our dear doggie, Cane, to the vet on Wednesday so I won't get a lot done that day! He isn't feeling well lately. I think he has some type of ear infection. He is still running and playing but we want to get it checked out before it gets worse.

Better safe than sorry I guess! I take him to a vet about an hour away because they are a lot more affordable than the ones around here. They have seen Cane since he was a puppy so that way they know his history.
I hope everyone has a great week. I will share my bathroom pics and my thrifting makeovers as soon as I can!

Lookie Lookie what I got and a Parade!

I am glad to report that the whole family is feeling a lot better this week! The husband's finger is taking a little time healing. He is a diabetic so any cut or wound takes forever to heal. This one was a doozy . . . I do not normally have a weak stomach. I grew up with two older brothers and let me tell you, there wasn't anything "Girlie" about my childhood! I have seen broken bones, smashed fingers, you name it. But this one grossed me out! He smashed it somehow and split the whole thing open. I will spare you the details but the doctor at the hospital said there was no way to put stitches in it - there was nothing to stitch to. So, he brings this busted finger home and needs the bandages changed out each day. YUCK! I try to do what I can without looking at it but it doesn't work. Luckily, things are a little healed so it isn't as bad.

Anyway, both kids are feeling much better. The bug only stuck with them for a day or two and then it was gone. Thank goodness! As for me, I feel a little better too. I could not hardly move over the weekend thanks to 3 injections the doctor gave me last week. I go tomorrow for the results from my MRI so we will see how that goes. In my wildest dreams, I would have never imagined that a little wreck would have caused so much damage to my neck and back. I feel like I was ran over with the car instead of driving it! I don't think the folks that pulled out in front of me were even injured! That is what gets me!

On to more pleasant things! With the usual hussle and bussle of this time of year, we all tend to forget things! Heck, I tend to forget things even when it isn't Christmastime! I came home from work today to find a package waiting for me. It was the giveaway that I won from Tammy at The Olde Hollow Crow! Of course, being so impatient, I tore right into the box without snapping a shot of how cute everything was wrapped! Boy did I hit the jackpot!

I got a wonderful handmade stitching that reads "He is the Light", 2 star shaped Sleighbell scented tarts, a bundle of prim chenille candy canes, a bundle of pip garland, a bottle of the most delicious smelling Room Spray EVER . . . Spiced Cranberry, and 3 handmade candlesticks glued onto an old clothespin. TOO CUTE! I immediately started setting things around the house and realized, "I haven't took a picture yet!"

This picture shows how I put the candlesticks on my tree. They look great next to the gingerbread man that Suzie sent me in the Honeypot Swap! You can also see the cute Mason Jar light covers that I picked up at the Southern Christmas Show.
This was my first Giveaway win and boy, was it worth the wait! You have to get over to Tammy's website and check out her amazing goodies! You will not be disappointed!
Thanks Tammy for such an incredible giveaway!

I also wanted to share pictures from the Waxhaw Christmas parade on Sunday afternoon.

My husband and I love these guys!

This is our local High School band - GO PARKWOOD!

These guys are with the Shriners - They play the coolest music on these big steel drum barrels! Of course bringing up the rear of the parade - SANTA himself stopped by our little town!

Last but not least, my dear friend, Merrie over at Where the Blackbirds Sing, asked me about our Bulldog, Cane. She has several English Bulldogs and we love to talk about them! I wanted to show everyone that he loves Christmas!

He stands there forever watching the lights. I think he is trying to figure out how to eat those ornaments without getting caught! Sorry for the long post this time but I had so much to share!

I hope everyone has a great week!