My new chandelier

 

 

My computer has been acting up lately, so I haven't been able to do anything on this blog! 
A couple of weeks ago, some friends of ours bought an older home here in Fort Collins  Mike and I went over to their house to see it and while we were there, they took this chandelier down to throw it away...I asked what they were going to do with it, and they were seriously were just going to put it in the dumpster!!  So, I took it home!!  It was pretty dirty and I didn't like all of the ceramic roses that were all over it.  I decided to take the bottom layer of roses off and put on chandelier prisms.  I love it.  We took the wiring off so it doesn't work, it is just for show!  I love it in the living room and it is the first thing you see when you walk in the house!  The best part about it, is it was free!!!

I Miss My Besties!!

If only we didn't all live so far apart.  With Lisa in Ohio, Allison in Washington and me in Colorado, we don't get to see each other very often.  I still love and miss them though!! 

These pictures were from Cancun Feb 2009 (really has it been that long ago?)

Happy birthday Bristyn!!!

Bristyn is 19 years old now!!  We are so proud of her....she had an awesome Freshman year at Western State Colorado University.  She made the Deans list for her grades, she worked in the cafeteria at the school and she made a ton of friends.  She loves it in Gunnison, and she is only 20 minutes from snowboarding!  She is home now for the summer and got a job working at an assisted living facility, which she is loving.  I love having her home for the summer!!

Guess what I did when Mike was out of town....

 I painted my living room a much lighter color and I am loving it!!!  Brenton helped me with this project since I cannot reach the top of the high ceilings!

 You can see in this picture how dark the walls used to be....so refreshing and brighter now!

 I did have one MAJOR mishap....I dropped a whole tray of paint on the carpet right here, but my friends, Dave and Jolene Clark saved me by coming over and bissel cleaning the carpet until all the paint was gone....I LOVE THOSE TWO!!!

Mikes trip to India

Two weeks ago, Mike had the opportunity to travel to India with his job!  He absolutely loved it!  He thought that it was a great experience and he was excited to meet his coworkers there.  He said that the next time he goes, that I need to go with him!  He especially loved the food there!  He brought some trinkets home for us and his coworkers bought us some things also, we love them, thank you!!!  We are hoping that he has the opportunity to go back to India soon....now Brenton wants to go with him also!!!

Happy Spring!!!

Beautiful bouquet of flowers given to me from my new friend, Dana Silk!!!  I love flowers and I get so excited to receive them, which doesn't happen very often!  I am so happy that spring has arrived, however, it is supposed to snow here this weekend!  But I have enjoyed the sunshine we have had the last couple of days with the mild temperatures.  This week both Bristyn and Brenton are on spring break.  Brenton went to Wyoming with his friend Taylor Van and got back this morning and Bristyn left yesterday to go to Moab with her friends from college.  Mike and I went down to Denver this past Friday night for a wonderful little getaway!  He booked us reservations at the Oxford Hotel, we had dinner at McCormicks and went to a comedy club, which was awesome!  The next morning we watched the St. Pattys Day Parade from our hotel.....I love weekends like that!

Downstairs hallway and our Brenton

It seems like ever since Bristyn went away to college, we have been working on the basement.  We have painted her room and organized it, redid her bathroom and now we are going to organize the theater room and I just got the hallway decorated!  I don't think that I have ever shown pictures of the theater room because I have never really done anything to it! 
The last couple of weeks have been pretty hard on our family...we found out that Brenton has what is called, Post Concussion Syndrome.  He suffers from really bad headaches everyday, which in turn has been bringing him down.  Today we had an MRI done just to make sure everything is ok with his brain.  He is on medication to relieve him from the headaches, yesterday he seemed to be alot better, and today he said that his headache isn't as bad as it was yesterday, so hopefully things will get better with out little guy!  He is not able to do any type of contact sports....that has been very hard for him.  He has been playing soccer for years and he had to stop wrestling after his 3rd concussion.  Hopefully, he will be able to start working out, like running, next week, but nothing that he can get a concussion with!

Happy Valentines Day!

Not much decorating got done around here for Valentines Day...that is because I really don't have any decorations for this celebration!  Barb made me the adorable burlap wreath...I hung it inside because I was afraid of ruining it by putting it outside!  Hope everyone feels loved and cherished everyday, not just on Valentines Day!

Bristyn has a new and improved bathroom

 One of the projects we wanted to do this year was to redo Bristyns bathroom that is in the basement.  Trust me when I say it was ugly and disgusting before...that is why I really don't have any before pics.  We gutted it about 3 weeks ago and we thought that we would have until March to finish it.  We wanted to surprise her and didn't think that she would be home until Spring break.  Well, last Monday she called and said that she would be home on Friday for the weekend!  That put us in a panic!  We love the results, it is so nice and bright!  I haven't done any decorating yet, but I love the tile floor and the vanity!  We still have some things left to do, like getting a new mirror, or just making a frame around the existing one, and decorating.  I have to say, my husband worked very hard on this project....Bristyn even loves it!

 This is the ugly vanity that was in the bathroom before!  So UGLY and cheap looking....hate it!!!

Don't you just love the big bulbs????  this is another before shot, its too bad I don't have any pics of the floor, it was so hideous!! 

Yearning for Spring

I am so bad about posting....I guess after the holiday season I don't have much to talk about!  I really miss my kids when they go back to school, and this past Christmas, we didn't have our Britnee and her family here to celebrate.  I truly missed seeing them.  Everyone knows how much I get sick and tired of the cold weather....we haven't had much snow though this winter, which has been nice!  But I am so yearning for the springtime.  I bought some hydrangeas the other day to brighten things up, and I love them!  I made a house project list for the year, and I am happy to say that we are almost done with a big one!  We gutted Bristyns bathroom and we are almost done with it!  Her bedroom and bathroom are in the basement and when she left for college, we cleaned out her room, and painted it....but then it made the bathroom look even worse!  Now I am loving it!  I will post about them soon...meaning in about 6 months!!!

Merry Christmas to all

I love it when my friends get me...do you know what I mean?  I have a wonderful friend here in Fort Collins and her name is Barb, she has been my walking partner for the last 4 years and I absolutely adore her.  She is one of those people who really listen and doesn't judge, and I love that about her.  Yesterday, I went to her house, and she presented me with this beautiful gift, I love it!!  She knows how much we love her cooking and baking, and she made all of the yummy goodies in this gift, her granola is to die for!!  She knows how much I love those old Christmas ornaments, and she included those!  I know that I have been blessed to have Barb in my life...some days she has been my life saver just by listening to me!  This time of the year, I know we all reflect on our lives, and I know that I have much to be grateful for.  I am thankful for all that I have been blessed with, especially for my family and my wonderful friends.  Merry Christmas to all!!