Beef up a BookCase

Here’s a bad shot of a bookcase that I had for years in our basement family room . I bought it unfinished and put a white stain on it and later painted it black. I’ve been wanting to beef it up with molding for ages and finally got it done!

When I took this picture I was in the process of painting the room so that’s why the furniture is all pushed together.

The original back was paper thin and I replaced it with beadboard that I stained. That alone was a big improvement.

Next I added some trim and crown molding. Please ignore the nail holes that weren’t filled in.

  It’s so hard to get decent pictures in the basement.

As you can see it holds mostly photos and not many books. It’s not the best arrangement of photos, but I’ll keep working on it!

Beefing up a bookcase is fairly easy with the right tools and it sure makes a big impact. I didn’t go overboard on the molding, but I could have added more on the sides and bottom. I’m just happy to get this much done!

Now, a few questions for you……

How and where do you display family photos, do you display them only in non public rooms, like bedrooms?

Did you beefed up a bookcase? How?

 

Added to Met Monday at Between naps on the Porch.

The DIY Showoff

Debbie (((xx)))

Board and Batten {trend}

It’s a trend I love. The crisp white seems a natural transition after years of dark colors.
So let’s talk about some trends.
The 70s had the infamous shag carpeting, avocado green and harvest gold appliances, dark paneling and the disco craze.  Beads hanging in doorways were popular and the smiley face popped up everywhere. Who could forget the iconic Farrah Fawcett poster and gee your hair smells terrific?

source  Retro Renovation.com
The 80s featured country style, the color combinations mauve and blue and my favorite, peach and green. Hunter green and wallpaper borders were popular. Flashdance, (she’s a maniac, maniac on the floor and she’s dancin like she never danced before) legwarmers,  shoulder pads and Madonna influenced fashion. Big hair! Faux finishes! Don’t worry be happy!


source
The 90s brought  corian counter tops, dark red dining rooms and gold walls.  This was my own dark red dining room.
Big hair transitions to smooth hair and tattoos are popular. W.W.W., ebay, google …..how did we exist without email or cell phones?  Grunge/preppy, what was your style?
Plantation shutters and tropical themes emerged. Guilty as charged!

source
Here we are today, 2000 – now, stainless steel, white cabinets, granite and pendant lights are the thing for kitchens.

source
White slipcovers, totally hot and a frugal way to decorate, keep the trend in green living strong. Reuse, repurpose, redo…….recycle.

source Aqua blues appeared and grey tones are popular.
One word, BURLAP.
And board and batten has finally arrived. Click on these links for some gorgeous inspiration!

Hooked on Houses

Nesting Place

Beth’s from The stories of A to Z.
Almost every day I think about adding board and batten to our family room. I know I’m going to paint it, probably in the Summer but I keep waffling on the board and batten decision. Do you think board and batten will help define this decade’s trends?      
I think I might just go for it!
Reminisce with me, what trends did you love, or not?

Debbie (((xx)))

Valentine Mantel 2011

Well the weather outside is frightful, definitely not delightful and absolutely not sunny …so no sunny valentine,…….instead we have a cold and wintry inspired Valentine’s mantel.

I created this mantel with items from around the house and branches from a red twig dogwood in the yard, along with pinecones that were sprayed white.

Mercury glass candle holders, a tarnished tea set and some floating icy hearts make it sparkle.

I created these simple icy hearts from wax paper, craft glue and white sparkles and tied them to the branch with thin fishing line.


The hearts are constantly moving, especially when the fireplace is on and the hot air is moving. They look like they’re floating on air…….well…they are floating on air and are so pretty. 

I had the white feather boa pieces that I’ve use on the branches of a Christmas tree to represent snow and added them in for a little whimsy.

An old chalkboard tray project, some added bling of an old necklace and earrings on the hurricane and pretty white birds on either end complete the mantel.

I’m dreaming of tulips and daffodils but this will do for now.

Hope you like it!

Beth  from The Stories of A 2 Z is hosting a Valentine’s mantel party and I’m linking up. Lots of pretties over there!

Debbie (((xx)))

Chicken with creamy mustard sauce

This recipe looks fancy but it’s not. It’s so easy!
In a pan with a little olive oil cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts until thoroughly cooked and browned.
To serve, pour creamy mustard sauce on top.
Here’s the recipe,
½ cup each, creamy mustard spread like Dijonnaise, sour cream (reduced fat is ok), and chicken broth. Stir to combine, add about 1 tablespoon capers and simmer for  2 minutes.

I served the breasts over a bed of wilted spinach with roasted sweet potatoes and a salad. To wilt the spinach, I tossed it around on low heat in the same pan I cooked the breasts in.

It was so good! Creamy mustard sauce would be great over fish or beef too.
So what are capers? According to Buzzle.com
Capers are the green flower buds from the Cappraris Spinosa bush. Capers are actually immature buds that are picked from bushes and are used as seasonings in many dishes. The caper bush grows extensively in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region and so it is most often used in their native cuisine. When the capers are freshly picked, they do not have any particularly great taste and is often a bit bitter. But after sun drying them and then brining, it develops a sharp flavor which can impart a certain savoriness to a dish.
There you have it. If you like Dijon mustard you will love this.


Added to,
It's a Blog Party

Tasty Tuesday, Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

A Southern Fairytale

Debbie (((xx)))

$5.00 coffee table in the family room

I found an awesome coffee table at my thrift shop, the one I work at, in the area they call discount land. You never know what you might find there. You just might stumble across a beauty like this square coffee table with a price tag of $5.00.

This thing has so many possibilities……I can see it as a tufted bench/ottoman/coffee table with a tray on top, can’t you? Yep it’s a pretty sweet find.

So while I’m showing off my new table, I’ll show you some of the family room. Our basement family room was in need of a makeover and I’ve been working on it finishing up some lots of  small projects. I’m happy to say it’s now almost finished.

The old door in the corner came from the thrift shop too. It was $6.00 and has a beautiful old cracked and chippy finish and old hardware. Holding the tv is the bottom of a hutch that I painted black and now wears new knobs from Hobby Lobby.

 

 

 

The Longaberger baskets I had forever and one in the tv stand, (bottom left) is an antique picnic basket….not Longaberger. Only the clock in the middle works but I like the look of three together.  You know that old rule of three……..an odd number is more pleasing to the eye. The old red chair was a previous project and the rug came from a yardsale a few years ago. I think was $6 or $7.00.

The walls are actually a color from Eddie Bauer called almond oil, a nice tan that just doesn’t show well in my photos. The pillow with a leaf/postal design came from CSN stores. I made the burlap table skirt and wreath. That lamp will eventually be replaced.

The candle holders belonged to my Mom and the antlers were a gift.`

These old bottles finally get displayed under the cloche on the round table. I’m putting this room together using items I have, pulling things out of the other side of the basement where my cache of junk waits for me to become inspired. 

Beefing up this bookcase is my current project. I’ve added a new back and am ready start trimming it out.

There’s still a few more things to do , but I feel good about getting to this point.

If you’d like to see more of the family room click HERE to read how it started.

 

Oh and I do lurve me that 5$ coffee table!♥

Debbie (((xx)))

Freezer soup

I recently  posted about cleaning out my freezer as part of getting things in order in the new year. The freezer is often overlooked and who knows what’s in there?

It doesn’t look that bad, I know, but it’s good to occasionally take stock. I found 2 packs of ground meat, 3 packages of chicken breasts, 2 bags of cranberries, a bag of mixed vegetables, a nut roll, frozen bread dough, 2 blocks of cheese, a bag of salmon and two filet mignons, pushed way in the back and hiding under other things. That’s a lot of food and I did a happy dance after I discovered the filets!

In the garage freezer the only thing lurking in the back was some packages of Italian sausage.

So, I cooked up the ground meat, threw in a bag of frozen tomatoes from our garden and the frozen vegetables. I had a few carrots in the fridge that needed to be used, so I added them and a couple diced potatoes. I left that cook for a bit and then tossed in a handful of ditalini pasta and some bouillon cubes for a little extra flavor.

Freezer soup and it was so good! There’s nothing like home made soup!

Clean out that freezer, who knows what’s in there! Come on back and tell me what you find.

 

Debbie (((xx)))

CSN giveaway winner

The winner of the $55.00 CSN stores giveaway is


#26, won.

ThankYou all for entering!

CSN Giveaway

It’s time for another CSN $55.00 gift certificate giveaway!

Check out CSN stores if you’re looking for modern dining  furniture.
   Click HERE to my review/giveaway page to read more.

Debbie (((xx)))

Clean out that freezer!

Happy New Year! Are you ready to take a deep breath and start off the new year on a positive note?

The first few weeks after the holidays are the perfect time to get yourself and your home together.  Declutter and start fresh!  Magazines are full of organizing tips and stores have shelving units, baskets, plastic bins and everything you need to get started, on sale.

Christmas decorations need to be packed away and it’s the perfect time to get rid of some you don’t use. This year I actually got together a big box of things to donate or yardsale. Honestly, there are still many Christmas things I could get rid of but it’s hard to let go sometimes!

My drawers and closets are organized. It’s something I do on a continual basis and to keep everything in order you need to purge. Get rid of stuff! The more you get rid of, the more new stuff you can bring it! AND I do, guess that’s why I have a yearly yardsale.

But I do have some space yelling for attention.

The freezer! I’m taking everything out of the freezers to clean them and take stock of what’s lurking in there. Hope I’m not too surprised.

This freezer in the kitchen doesn’t look that bad, except for all the unidentified packages in the back that end up with freezer burn……..mostly roasts, fish and ground meat.

The freezer in the garage refrigerator looks pretty good, but again, stuff is crammed in the back. I bought turkey on sale at Thanksgiving, shrimp at New Years and ham at Christmas. We do love carbs too……snack cake, breads, rolls, muffins, waffles and pizza. DiGiorno, of course! Where are all the healthy vegetables? Gotta work on that…………Cleaning out the freezer gives insight into your eating habits too.

So don’t forget the freezer. Got something that’s been in there for years! What’s lurking in yours?

 

Debbie (((xx)))