Bad Weather Conditions

Today,

my niece,

T.J., 

from Arkansas,

 called to say,

The Weather Channel was broadcasting live from her hometown.

Snow, 

sleet and ice in parts of the South

were the headlines.

They were

 reporting the latest news and developments on a winter storm in her midst.

Here in Arizona

the forecast calls for 69 degrees. 

Road conditions are clear.

This post is dedicated to her

and her icy world.

____________

My backyard is producing an abundance of citrus fruit this year.

Large,

Ruby red grapefruit.

Lemons.

I love how the bright yellow invades the trees.

Their fragrance is uplifting.

There are also incredibly sweet and delicious,

Blood red oranges. 

The storm presently in the South,

passed through Phoenix in the form of rainstorms.

The rainstorms, 

along with strong winds,

 were not very nice to the fruit. 

Some of them were knocked right off their perches.

I rescued them 

and they thank me everyday by showing their beauty

as the centerpiece of our dining table.  

I thank these oranges for their beauty,

right before I savor their deliciousness.

I added some oranges to a pitcher of ice water,

just to be schnazzy.

See,

we too,

have icy conditions in Phoenix.

P.S. 

All the Southerners can

get back at me,

 for this post,

 in September,

 when I'm melting in the scorching Arizona sun.

My Kitchen Desk Area

Isn't this a lovely piece of art?

I am the owner of this spectacle.

I bought it from G.W.

 because it was cheap and because

 I own this spectacle, as well.

This is the desk area in my kitchen.

It's where my peeps do their homework

and draw masterpieces.

Let me just say,

 it took a lot of guts to show this to you.

School folders, 

a multiplication table,

corbels for the island,

and a brown cobra,

 smack dab in the middle of it all.

Why a builder,

or previous homeowner,

 would install an outlet in the middle of a wall,

 I have no idea.

Well, it's there, 

along with a slice of a 20-year old, tree limb.

Something had to be done with this eyesore

and the brown cord cover was not hiding a thing.

I took that gold masterpiece,

you know,

 the one you were eyeing,

spray painted it bronze,

added a cork board, some burlap,

charmed the cobra,

and hung it in it's new home.

My solution to avoiding the 

cost of moving the outlet. 

Now the desk is clean and organized,

for at least 2 more minutes.

I also made these custom push pins.

Using an old atlas, 

I cut out the names of places my peeps have traveled,

glued them,

 along with long push pins,

 to clear, vase filler stones.

My attempt to sublimely remind them 

that they actually have a good time when they leave the comfort of their home.

We don't call our peeps "homer's" for nothing.

                                             Before                                                  After

You must get on over to see 

ITS SO VERY

CHERI

There are some seriously creative people reusing items like you wouldn't believe!

Embroidered Monogram Pillow Cover

I'm making some headway with the decor in my daughter's room,

It takes time searching for the best deal.

And if you're looking for design ideas on the cheap,

let me say,

welcome.  

For this project,

I got a little help from my friends, 

G.W. (Goodwill)

and 

Erin.

You're quite familiar with G.W. by now, 

but Erin is new to Popcorn.

Erin was my daughter's Kindergarten teacher.

In addition to being an excellant teacher, 

(I learned a lot that year)

she's a major do it yourselfer,

laying tile, 

refacing her house,

the list goes on and on.

(showoff)

When she's not in the classroom, attending to needy parents like myself,

or continuing her education,

she moonlights at the family business.

Their business specializes in sports and corporate logo merchandise.

What does that mean to me?

Embroidery.

Embroidery,

 with a fancy machine AND a computer.

Now, this is where G.W. comes in to play.

While perusing the racks,

I found a toss pillow cover.

Bright, white and shiny new.

A pair for $1.99.

Apply the 20% off coupon and we are talking cheap.

I made a beeline to Erin with the pillow cover, 

after I laundered it, 

(just in case you're wondering) 

 a sketch

and a color sample.

From paper to pillow,

she worked her magic 

and this was the result.

So cute.

I love it.

More importantly, 

my daughter loved it.

She is a hard sale.

The total for the embroidery was approximately $17.00.

Add in the $.80 for one pillow cover and I'd say custom style at a low cost .

I inserted a toss pillow I already owned.

Pricing is based on letter size, 

the number of letters, and thread type.

The possibilities are endless.

Look what Erin did to my daughter's favorite pillow cases.

Have you seen the price of personalized sheets at Pottery Barn?

I have, 

and it is not pretty.

I love it when a G.W. find 

and a moonlighting, 
Kindergarten teacher come together.


Good things happen.

Little girls get adorable rooms and

  cheap frugal mom's worldwide are smiling.

Have something to embroidery for 
your family, 

your team, 

your company, 

or your dog?

JJ Distributing

800-368-7824

(480) 894-9691

Tell them Popcorn sent you.

An Antique Nightstand. Before and After

I'm really trying to get my daughter's room completed.

You know,

the project I started in August.

I showed you the chair I completed,

for less than 2 Happy Meals.

Next up, the nightstand.

Since I started with the Happy Meal budget,

I had quite the challenge finding a nightstand within my price range.

My husband, suggested I use this little table,

which was sitting quite lonely in a corner.

The table, not my husband,

lonely in a corner.

It is an antique and we acquired it from his Grandmother's home after she passed away.

I was hesitant to paint it,

 but he is the logical one

and thought it would honor his grandmother better

if it had a purpose

 rather than sitting in a corner,

lonely and forlorn.

Given the green light,

I proceeded to paint.

Grandma Arzela's table,

now white, fresh,

and ready to use in her

Great Granddaughter's room.

I added a Gerbera Daisy to the drawer pull,

 for a touch of femininity.

All under the Happy Meal budget.

I added a nice contemporary lamp,

which by the way,

blew my Happy Meal Budget to shreds.

I justified the lamp purchase by what I saved on the chair and nightstand.

Don't tell me you don't live by that reasoning,

it's the law of economics.

The law of economics,

in the land of Popcorn.

Just for fun,

I tied a "C" with some bling to the lamp,

added a fuschia colored frame and

closed the books on my second project.

It still sits in a corner,

but now with

honor and a purpose.

A Fabulous New Chair. A Before & After

I've been decorating my 

8 year-old daughter's room since August.

It's been a long process.  

I've got a serious condition called,

Decorating ADD.

I start one project,

see something else that's needs beautification,

and move on to that project without completing the first.

It's a vicious cycle.

I'm trying though.   

Trying to stay focused and follow some projects to the end.

 I'm trying to get some items checked off the list.

This chair was one of the first projects 

which got a little checkmark in the completed column.

I purchased it at my local G.W. (Goodwill)

for less than a Happy Meal at McDonalds.

Some of the furniture pieces in my daughters room are white,

but I wanted a little contrast while still trying to keep the decor youthful. 

My daughter picked out a velour fabric in a deep purple,

then I painted the chair black.  

I have recovered a chair pad before

but this looked like no square chair pad to me. 

 I was just a little scared to attempt the project.

My friend Ana mentioned she had done something like this a time or two, 

so I volunteered her to recover it for me.

Isn't friendship a wonderful thing?

Sure enough,

she knew exactly what to do

 and had this completed in no time.

She did a fabulous job.

So fabulous, 

I haven't stopped volunteering her to come back

 and do more projects.

My daughter's new chair sits in her room and sports a sequined, peace pillow.

A new chair,

for less than 2 Happy Meals?

Now that is Fabulous.

Next up for Ana?

A padded headboard.

Stay tuned,

the girl has got some serious talent.

A Passenger in the Car.

My 15-year old son is now the proud owner of a driver's permit.

A big responsibility

 but he is handling himself just fine.

I suppose it's helped

 that he's been driving 

the Colorado country roads, 

every summer

since he was 10.

Thanks to my Mom.

Grandma:  "Cody, drive me to the post office."

Cody: "Grandma, I'm only 10."

Grandma:  "I don't care how old you are, 

drive me to the post office."

When you're a 10-year old, 

or any age for that matter,

 and your 82-year old Grandma say's drive, 

you get in that car and you drive.

Your probably asking yourself,

"what kind of mother is she, 

allowing her son to drive at 10?"

Don't fret.

On any given day,

in Grandma's hometown,

one is likely to meet more dogs, horses,

or cows, 

during a trip to the post office, 

than a human.

It's that small.

But now, 

you know, 

I get it.

I get her motive behind assigning a driver to the wheel.

She's able to roll down her window,

feel the breeze,

and enjoy the scenery.

The only exeption with me sitting in the passenger's side

when my son is driving,

 rather than his Grandma, 

is that I've got my 

camera sticking out the window.

I'm not enjoying the plots of land for sale,

the speeding cars,

or the mall.

(okay, maybe the mall)

Not that at all.

I'm looking for something special out of all that.

I've seen those things a thousand times over, 

much like my mom has viewed the same roads,

the same tree, that same cow 

or dog.

I'm looking for that special something that makes me smile,

makes me excited,

a sign that reminds me to 

appreciate 

the world around me a little more.

Sometimes, 

I find exactly what I'm looking for,

that diamond in the rough.

On this particular day,

I found it,

my diamond in the rough.

2 owls enjoying the Arizona sun.

They made me smile.

They made me excited.

I did appreciate the world around me a little more.

Let someone else drive

(I recommend that they're the legal driving age.)

and enjoy the scenery.

That special something?

It's out there.

Grandma is on to something here.

"Cody,

get in the car,

we're going for a ride."

Kitchen Facelift - The Final Chapter

The glass,

 for our kitchen cabinetry has finally arrived.

 The cabinet doors had already been prepped for glass by the refinishing company. 

The contractor just gave us the measurements

 so all we had to do was order

 and install the glass.

Not an easy task, 

choosing glass.

So many glass options.

The glass pattern we chose is called,

Reed.

It's just what I need.

Just a little blurry, 

creating some distortion,

just in case my plan of neatness falls through.

It's always good to have a back up plan.

My husband installed the glass with silicon,

waited for it to dry,

then hung the doors.

Such the handy man.

Now that my handy man did such a wonderful job hanging the doors,

he's going to replace the ceiling fans.

I've gotta catch him while he's on a roll.

I've had so many wonderful comments and emails regarding our kitchen facelift. 

We owe it all to

B&B Refinishing.

If you'd like your kitchen to get a facelift too,

I highly recommend these professionals, 

if you live in the Phoenix Metropolitan area.

Bob & Wanda

B&B Refinishing

623-580-7377 - Business
602-677-0444 - Bob
602-677-8067 - Wanda

Tell them Popcorn sent you.