I would like to take this time to thank.....

So much for getting the rest of the leaves! We woke up to this:

Very pretty! In case you were wondering this is the view of our back yard from the kitchen window. It is just a dusting of snow and it will probably be gone by this evening. I know that if we were in a southern state the town would be shut down, but in PA this barely even registers.

I think I am going to stay home and be cozy with our new pellet stove! My folks came this past weekend and installed the stove, this is what my dad does for his real job so he knew what he was doing. I love this thing, you dump a bag of pellets in every couple of days and it works off of a thermostat, so I bump it up when it is chilly! There was no heat in the basement, and since this is where the computers, toys, and sewing machines are we do spend a lot of time down here. Last year we tried a little space heater, but every time we turned it on the lights went dim. THANK YOU DAD!!!

Notice next the the stove there is a book shelf with a set of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, the kids love them. Even the boy has started reading them. Since our very wonderful relatives in Seattle are downsizing, we put in a request for them. I know it was difficult, but THANK YOU CJ AND ROSS!!!

Today I am playing hooky from work. Although in my defense I really don't feel that great, scratchy throat and dizzy, I don't want to give it to my lovely co-workers. My plan is to make some pies or at least make the dough so it can be refrigerated (it rolls better cold) for next week. We plan on spending Thanksgiving with Rick's other wonderful aunt and uncle in Maryland. THANK YOU NITA AND TED!!!

Come on over!

I never got around to posting more pics of the rooms in our house. I posted the girl’s room and the boy’s room, so without further ado…the dinning room!

I know very bold, even for me. The color is gecko green (loved the name) and I picked the color because it goes with my depression ware. I only have a few of the green pieces, but they are displayed on this shelf. I wanted a very narrow plate shelf and I was too much of a cheapskate to spend $30 a piece. This is a piece of molding from Home Depot, it cost about $10 and I also needed a can of spray paint $2. So my really great shelves cost $6 a piece. (So that means I could have spent $60, but only spent $12, now I have an extra $48 to spend on something. See how the calculator in my head works? Rick doesn’t get it either.) I put the shelves up with “L” brackets and my plan is to paint the brackets white so you don’t see them, but I haven’t done it yet. Anyway, you get to see my great grandma’s pretty dishes.
I also have a full set of depression ware in yellow (these were also my great grandma’s and I remember many Thanksgiving/Christmas dinners eaten on these plates). One of my memories when setting the table was using old wallpaper samples as placemats. It made each place feel special, and I loved the older designs from the 30’s and 40’s. I have the dishes displayed in this corner hutch that was given to us by my Aunt Evette and Uncle Jack. I would like to paint the hutch black with white on the inside, but I really hate to paint furniture because of all the furniture refinishing we have done. Since the color of the plates blended in with the pine wood I cut posterboard to give some contrast. It seems to work and I don't have to worry about painting the wood!

Over the past few years I have started to collect vintage tablecloths. I store them under the side table and change them out by season or whenever I feel like it. My favorite thing about them is the bright colors. I usually find them at yard sales and never pay more than $10, usually I get them for $1. I am still waiting to score one with strawberries and/or cherries, but they are highly collectable and I am not willing to shell out the big bucks.

My favorite color for accents is this bright orange. These candlesticks are the older fiesta wear that supposedly have some radioactive glaze (only the orange colored stuff). Rick always wanted to take them to work to see if they registered on his meters, but I don’t think he ever did. Just in case you were wondering, yes, those are Horlick Jars! They also came from my great grandma, so it is anybodies guess how they made it from Racine, WI to Saratoga Springs, NY. It must have been fate!
Everything centers around the table. It is from the 1940’s and has a porcelain top, which is so very easy to clean. The table pulls out and extends to add extra seating. I love this table! I purchased this while in high school, and we used it in our family kitchen until I got married. Just think of a 17 year old handing over $150 for a table. I guess I was a little odd! (The boy likes the camera!)
We did change the chandelier, but that is the only thing that we really changed about this room, except color of course! I did get a general idea for this room from a book called “My Perscription for Anti-depressive Living” by Johnathan Adler.