Finally, A Stone Fireplace

 Ok....on to our latest DIY project. I have wanted a stone fireplace forever. Hubby even went so far as to contact the brick layers that did our brick, and they said no way. The stone would be too heavy because our slab wasn't built for it in the beginning. So...what's a girl suppose to do..just give up?? No way! There are several kinds of "faux" stone out there. Some still require "professional" installation, but some don't. Well, take a look at my "faux" stone fireplace, that I did myself.

It is airstone, from Lowe's. It is really easy to install, and doesn't require a wet saw to cut.

 

There may be a few "imperfections", but what real stone is perfect?

 We started by tearing out the cabinets where the tv was,  over the gas fireplace, and closing in the top of the bookcases. I knew that it would look more "massive" going all the way up to the ceiling, and I was sick of trying to find things to decorate above the bookshelves with.

 After hubby closed in the area above the fireplace so that I could lay the stone work, I painted it black so that if there were any cracks in between the stone, the black wouldn't be as obvious as the unpainted plywood....only to end up using grout for a more "real" look, so painting the plywood black was a waste of time.

 Then off I went! I wanted the stone all the way to the ceiling for that "massive" look. That was all that I had on my mind when I started!

 Oh, did I mention that the bottom part never really crossed my mind until I finished the top?? Oh no, It never crossed my mind to start from the bottom. Nope! So then I start ripping the bottom apart only to find a huge hole, with nothing but the gas insert sitting there. The two pieces of wood on the sides are the only thing holding this whole outfit up.

But hubby came thru as usual. He had to rebuild the whole bottom part, and I was so thankful that the top part didn't come crumbling down!! I will start from the bottom and go up on the next one....yes, I already have plans for a next one.

This is a pic of one of the before looks of the fireplace and surround. The picture is covering a huge hole where the tv once was. The mantle is not deep at all, and very difficult to decorate due to being so small. That has all changed now, and I cannot wait for fall....to decorate my new mantle!

 I am not being paid to do this post for airstone, and I am going to speak the truth. The stone comes in a box, and the particular stone that I used came with 12 wrapped packs. Well guess what, only 4 of the packs were colored, the other eight were the colorless concrete color. Very plain with no personality whatsoever. The stones were broke in most every box, which didn't bother me, but the lack of color did! I got out several different paint colors and stains and went to work. Every box was like this, so it was a very time consuming project having to paint/stain every stone before you could apply it to the wall.

These are the ones I started with, then narrowed it down to the colors that I liked best. 
This stone fireplace has really "cozied" up this room, although it has no furniture in it at this point. I just haven't found that perfect, oversized sofa yet, that is affordable, but I will!

I couldn't leave without showing you our sweet Annie, that is all grown up now. If you don't remember Annie, you can view that post Here
Sophie was probably picking on her in this pitiful looking picture, she does that a lot.

These are Annie's new friends. I rescued a mama dog and her eight puppies, and Annie has been in Doggie Heaven since they came to live on the farm with us, but more on that in another post. I just wanted to show everyone what a wonderful and sweet personality Annie has, and I don't regret for a second taking her in!!

Cold weather comfort food

Our weather guys here are really encouraging us to take them seriously about the ice storm that they have been predicting for days. Well, all of you that know me, know that I will use any excuse to get in the kitchen and cook. This is not one of my favorite meals, but it fits the weather, and was hubby's request. Supper at 6, come have a bite. 

 A large crock pot of homemade veggie soup, thrown together and slow cooked all day. Easily warmed up later if we do lose power like they are predicting.

 Homemade pimento and cheese, oh YUM!! This is one of my fav's!! Just grate some velveeta, add a jar of pimento's, and a jar of sweet red peppers, both drained of coarse, and a capful of lemon juice, a heaping scoop of your favorite mayo, mix together and it just doesn't get any better.

 Not very pretty, but I like the crust cut off of my bread. If your looking to impress someone, you could use a cookie cutter and make the bread a little prettier. The heart cookie cutter would be really cute this time of year :)

 When all done putting the sandwiches together, just throw in a ziploc bag and refrigerate....oh so moist! It doesn't hurt to have a bottle of cheap wine sitting around, either. :)

If your not a wine person, what about a cup of rich hot chocolate, made from milk, and topped off with cool whip and chocolate chips. 

Enjoy and stay warm! Thanks to all of you have e mailed me to see if I am still alive. 

Our outside Christmas 2013.....and a little from the past.

For the first time since we have lived in this house (7 years), I didn't do all of the wreath's on the windows (13) because I just didn't feel up to it. Our outside decor is very minimal this year, but it will be so easy to take down and clean up :)

I had a Christmas flag and some decor on the ground, but do ya'll remember Annie, my latest rescue (you can see her HERE ) Well, the decor no longer exist. She did leave a rubber boot in the huge hole that she dug. I will have to get a recent pic of her up....she is a wild thing!

I left my garland from the fall decor, and just added different ribbons and balls. You can see that I left the rug, and hubby cut out a stocking to "semi" match the stockings hanging on the mantle.

I just simply didn't feel like doing the traditional wreath on the door this year. You can see the inside stockings HERE

It is plenty with the lights on it at night, but we are so far off the road, no one see's it anyway :(

I was looking thru last year's Christmas pics, and couldn't help but post a pic or two with the wreath's on all of the windows. You can tell it is last year because the front door is still red.

Oh how I love it! Just maybe I will get back to this for 2014....who knows?? I can see that red door making a come back when the weather warms up too :)

See the flag under the light.....well so did Annie. Maybe she will do better next year.

I will do my best to get one more post up before Christmas, but goodness, Ya'll know how I am with blogging lately :(

Merry Christmas just incase this is it!

Christmas 2013 at the farm

Here are just a few tidbits of Christmas at the farm this year (better late than never, huh). I don't want to go into picture overload, so I will spread things out over a couple of different post.

 I did a "happy" colorful Christmas this year rather than the "woodsy" bird/twiggy theme that I usually go with. Oh wait, I am only showing you the "Happy" colorful stuff today. There may be some other stuff coming.

 I love the "happy" colorful theme that I went with this year, but I don't think I will ever get the "woodsy" theme out of my system. I think it is the country coming out in me :).

I also used a 10 ft pencil stick tree this year instead of my usual big/full 10 ft tree in order to cut down on decorations. I already had everything but the ribbon, and I bought it on clearance after Christmas last year.  I also used colored lights, which I never do, and I am loving the change. I can see this being a keeper.

 The mantle has the same theme.

The little snowmen are dancing....can ya tell? Also, their scarves match Sophie's Christmas scarf :)

 Here is a close up of the ribbon. It is the black Christmas check mixed with other fun colorful ribbon.

 I also got the stockings on clearance after Christmas last year, and my little monogram lady personalized them for me. So far, Sophie's is the only one with anything in it. Do you see the little monkey sticking out?

 A close up of the mantle.

My stocking is all the way on the other end all by itself  :(

 Another close up of the mantle. It is just a fun theme this year. Of coarse there is more, and I will get the rest posted asap! Until then, have a great week.

Pretty as a postcard

Just a little post to show off some prettiness, and thank all who have e-mailed to check on us. I promise to try and get some Christmas pics up, and visit really soon, but until then, check out Sophie in her new Christmas scarf.

 Bad hair??

She doesn't like her new scarf, can ya tell? 

2013 Fall Mantle at 1800 Farmhouse Rd

Mrs. P almost forgot to show ya'll her fall mantle this year. Here, take a look......

 I used burlap and hounds tooth ribbon this year, along with leftover's from previous years. I didn't buy anything new.

 I am thinking that I will go back to my usual woodsy/twiggy theme next year. This has not been my favorite fall mantle, but I didn't dislike it enough to take it all down and re-do it.

 Don't you just love fall colors?? I think I would like it better if it had a bit more orange mixed in.

  Dried hydrangea's in an old basket, and a handmade bowl from one of hubby's patients has made their way to the primitive coffee table in the great room for the fall season.

 Oh, and meet Annie. This is the latest addition to the farm. She is such a cutie. My nephew found her on the side of the road, and just happened to drop by my house with her. Sophie hates her, but I hope that will change.

This is after a bath, and a full belly. How could anyone be so cruel?? Oh well, she has her "forever" home now, and will never be hungry or scared again as long as she is here with us :)

More fall tidbits on the farm

Ya'll know once Mrs. P got her groove back and could move again, she couldn't leave well enough alone on the farm. Anyone who knows Mrs. P knows this is her favorite time of year.

She had completely forgotten that Farmer P had cut and saved her some cornstalks from the garden.

Mrs P just loves her roo flag, and she put a mum in a bucket that hasn't bloomed out too much just yet, but it will.

Oh, she couldn't let Farmer P's dad's old piece of farm equipment go un-noticed, and of coarse, there is another roo, and a bird house that Farmer P built her a long time ago.

The light is really pretty at night with the mum and pumpkin surrounding it, and of coarse the little concrete pup. Ya'll know Mrs P loves dogs and roo's.

Of coarse, Mrs. P is feeling better, so she has started cooking again. This is a carrot cake that she sent to work with Farmer P, and the girls at his office said it was delish, even tho it is ugly.

Oh, and how could Mrs P not make a cheese cake?? This is a toffee, caramel, cheese cake with graham cracker crust. Now, Mrs P kept it at home and served it to company.

Here is a "snippet" of this year's mantel. Mrs P is not "loving" it, but she just hasn't had the extra energy to take it down and re-do it. She really likes the twiggy/woodsy mantel that she usually does much better than this one. Oh, and she can't find her pheasant anywhere this year!

It has been dark, dreary, and rainy here, which makes Mrs P wanna cook and decorate even more, so there is no telling what she may do next......so stay tuned.