Happy New Year and Kitchen Curtains

Happy New Year! Wow, 2011 already! I can't believe a whole year has passed. So much happened that I am in some ways glad to see it over and in another just sad that it has all come and gone. I know that 2011 will be better!~


I have been off of work for the past 5 days. That is the most time off I have had since 2009. I used all my vacation time to help care for my dad in Tucson so I never took consecutive days off. It was much needed time off. My Sweetheart also had the time off so we spent quality time together....it was very nice.


We spent today taking down all of the Christmas decorations. It took most of the morning, but we watched a movie during the first part so it was a nice, relaxing time. After we took everything down, the rooms seemed very plain to me. Since October we have had decorations in the kitchen, living room, dining area and entrance way. To go back to the normal stuff is hard to handle. My Sweetheart even made a comment about it....he notices these things?? Anyway, at this point I became very ambitious. I decided to make new curtains for the kitchen. I was tired of these yellow ones I made last year here in July. So I decided to tackle the job.


I bought new fabric a couple of weeks ago when I saw it on sale at Joanne's. I was thinking kitchen curtains but wasn't sure. I decided tonight that kitchen curtains it would be. So here's my finished product:

I like them so much better than the yellow ones. I am aware that they are not the most elaborate of curtains. Nonetheless, I like them. They are simple. And I like simple.

After I did that, Vodka Cranberry in hand, I thought the entrance table looked drab. So I decided to embellish the plain cream candles I had on the table with some jute string. I used a thumb tack to secure the string. I didn't want to commit to using glue on the entire candle since I didn't know how it would look:



It turned out better than I thought it would. I even got the thumbs up from My Sweetheart:

Oh and this last picture is one of my fav's. It's My Sweetheart, aka My Grisly Bear. His Fantasy Football team made it to the playoffs so he didn't want to shave until the end so he wouldn't jinx it. I'm totally serious.

Looking forward to 2011!~

Kitchen Curtain Project

I had been planning on making new curtains for my kitchen for weeks now. Since before May 21st when I posted about my new spring/summer colors in my living room. Well, this weekend, I finally did it! We asked our nephew's over on Saturday so we could spend time with them. While they (my Sweetheart and the two boys) played Wii, I got busy on my curtains. That is between turns on the 4 player games we were playing. I kept telling them I wanted to work on my curtains but they kept including me in their game! :)

As I started my project, I couldn't decide if I wanted a valance across the windows like I had before. I'm too lazy to find a picture of the curtains I had before. They were red and were tab top. My nephews and my Sweetheart liked the idea of having two panels versus the valance. I read in BHG that if you use the panels for color and not so much for functionality, then it's okay to use a narrow panel. I liked the idea of panels so I ran with it.

My Sweetheart liked them too. And the boys did too. I did have to keep them window sill length so they don't get dirty since one window sits above the sink. The prototype left me with the feeling that they should be longer. But in the end I decided that wouldn't be a good idea.

I'll admit they are a bit simple, but I like simple and neat. I am a big fan of solid colors vs print. My newphew kept asking why I didn't "just go to the store and buy them so I could play with them". Trust me, that was plan A. But I was adamant about the solid yellow and I couldn't find solid yellow in any store or online.

I do like the way it looks. This morning when I walked in the kitchen and the sun was shining in, I was completely satisfied with the result! Here's a look at the one over the sink:

And again......

And the flowers....My Sweetheart bought them for me "just because". He ran to the grocery store for me last night and came back with these. "Because they match the curtains you made" he says. What a Sweetheart, huh?

Oh and because I totally forgot about my 4th of July post and all the cute decorations I had out (that I have since put away)...I thought I would post the only picture I got of my holiday decor!

Happy belated Independence Day! Thank God for the men and women that fight for our freedom. God bless them!!