This weekend I was trying to figure out, "how do I change the mantle for different seasons without breaking the bank?" I found this frame at the thrift store for $3.25. It had some hideous picture in it. I added a black posterboard as a matte and put in this picture I had drawn a couple of years back. Canaan and I went on a nature walk and found these goards....kidding....I bought the gords on Ebay for a couple of bucks. But Canaan and I did find some sticks and I picked up some "fall" things at Michaels during their fall sale for about $10. All in all the mantle got "Autumnized" for about $20Our Art Center
In our dining room sits a chest of drawers. We bought it an auction in Ohio several years ago. It was in the detatched garage of an old house. Full of screws, nails, and random tools. I think we paid $15. Now it stores our art supplies and music. Canaan and I love to paint during the day and I love having a place to keep it all.Canaan's Gallery
This is a collection of Canaan's most recent paintings. The bottom one may look plain but believe me! There are layers upon layers of paint on that sucker!My Cookbook Corner
Just off of the kitchen is a small area where my cookbook shelves and 2 comfy chairs sit. It is my favorite place in the house. Mike found this ratty old dresser that we took the drawers out of and made into a bookshelf. We added some molding, painted the inside a sea blue, and the outside creamy white. I absolutely love it. I sit in that little nook daily. Sometimes in the morning while drinking my coffee or in the afternoon, while the boys sleep, looking through cookbooks planning out the weekly meals.This is Fishy
Fishy is our nearly 2 year old goldfish. We bought him for Canaan on a the day that he fell off a step out our back door and punctured a hole through his lip with his tooth. He was 2 years old. Also that day was his first ice cream. We've had Fishy now nearly 2 years. I never thought fish could have a personality but Fishy does. When we go away for the weekend and he gets left behind, he won't acknowlege our exsistence when we return. He swims to the back of the tank and refuses to look at us. He won't even eat his food, although I know he is hungry. Silly Fishy...The Kitchen Table
This is how my kitchen table looks most days. This week it is the race track. Other times it is playdough, scrapbooking project, or junk mail that hasn't made it to the trash can. I handpainted this table we found in the trash about 6 years ago. The top coat of poly is starting to wear thin though. I'll have to put a new layer on this fall sometime.