MY UGLY CUPBOARDS!

     Ok lets try this again!  I have got to be the worst blogger!  This is my 3rd attempt to post about my cupboards, I somehow keep erasing it or not being able to upload  my pictures!  Well, clear back around Thanksgiving I started redoing my cupboards!  I hated the wood!  I know to someone else they would love them but it just wasn't ME!

 
     So as soon as the house was officially ours I headed to my friendly Annie Sloan store and bought my brushes, paint (Pure White), and furniture wax!  Next I started wiping down all the cupboards with white vinegar my cleaner of choice!  I love using vinegar because it leaves everything clean and sparkly,  the scent is gone in a few minutes and NO chemicals!! Than a painting I went!!  It didn't take that long but we squeezed in a trip to Vegas for the NFR (National Finals Rodeo)  with some of our kids!!  Before we left I noticed the shelves in the laundry room/butlers pantry looked like they were pulling away from the wall!! I could see coming home to a heap of broken dishes so I pulled everything off the shelves and decided we would deal with it when we came home!!
     Well that turned into a project and a half!!!  But first I worked on  my cupboards!!!  It never fails when you think you have it all planned out LIFE happens!  I really only wanted to finish the cupboards and do the laundry/butlers pantry after the first of the year!  Oh well I always say "God doesn't give you anymore than you can handle"!  I have decided that my life will always have challenges and surprises some welcomed some not and they help me be a stronger person and teach me patience so until tomorrow...
                                                       Love, Laughter and Smiles,
                                                                  Fran
    

Our Christmas Cottage

I love Christmas time!!!  I love the lights,  the smells, the music (although I love listening to Christmas music all year long, just ask my kids!),  the hustle and bustle, the Christmas programs and living in an area of the world where it"s the norm to have snow this time of year!  I love decorating our house and the yard, the more lights the better!  I normally start decorating the day after Thanksgiving but this year it was later because of  getting ready for our trip to NFR (National Finals Rodeo) in Las Vegas!   But  today I'm finally done!

I love our vintage silversets I've collected from yard sales and thrift stores along with the beautiful punch bowl I received for Mothers's Day one year from our daughter, Chastity!

I have collected Nativity sets for many years and love displaying them.  Since we have moved to our little cottage I have no room to display all of them or our little village so I have started a little Nativity village!  The grandkids love looking at it all lit up!

Our Christmas tree has to be very small too!  But a couple of years ago I found this one that I loved and it has worked out great!

It fits perfect in our window and living room.

I don't know how this twinkle thing happened but thought it was fun!  I guess it's called a Google+ Auto Awesome?  I am still trying to figure out all this modern technology stuff!!!

I'm inlove with birds and birdnests (go figure, Roots and Wings!!)  so they are everywhere in the house all

 year long but these are some I use at Christmas:

I was so excited this past fall when we were cleaning out the garage and we came across some boxes we had never unpacked when we moved (there are lots of those still in storage ) and there were some ornaments we have had since our older kids were little, one being our baby Jesus!

When our kids did a good deed they could put a peice of straw in the little basket to make a cozy soft bed for Jesus! Some years His bed was cozier than others, but it was one of our traditions I know the kids still remember and loved! 

 It has always been important to me to have traditions that our kids could look forward to each year.  We never had alot of money to spend on lots of gifts which I was always grateful for because I wanted our focus to always be on why we celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Saviour !

We tried to teach our kids to serve others by picking a family each year and doing the 12 days of Christmas for them!

Now our kids are all grown and have families of their own,  and are making traditions of their own!

And maybe just maybe they are even doing some of the traditions they learned in their childhood!

We continue to do many of our same traditions and as our family grows we have started new traditions to include our whole family not  just at Christmas but throughout the year! 

Family has always been very important to us and the older we get we realize how precious our time is with each member of our family and cherish that time!

May we each take time in our busy preperations for Christmas to cherish our loved ones and remember how  our lives have been blessed because of the  birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Love, Laughter and Smiles,

Fran

Thanksgiving Morning

 I woke up at 4:30 this morn and tried to go back to sleep but to late, my mind was already thinking of my menu for Thanksgiving dinner, my grocery list....!! When this happens I love to have an early morning chat with my Heavenly Father and thank Him the many blessings in my life, my awesome husband, who has always worked hard for our family! He left for work at 3:30! I give thanks for each of our children and grandchildren, for health......most of the time I'll fall back asleep but not this morning. I thought of of all I want to get done before Thanksgiving dinner so here I am!
I started painting my kitchen cubbards (white of course!) so I will work on that and I need to wash windows while our weather is still nice! We have had a beautifull fall this year with lots of warm days! My sweet husband surprised me with hanging the Christmas lights while I was on my trip to Montana! Oh how I love that man! And today is thrift store day!! Our thrift store is only open Wed-Sat so I always look forward to Wednesdays! So before I go do my yoga I want to take time and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! May we each take time to think on the many blessings we have in our lives and remember where those blessings come from and express our gratitude to Him in all things!

 

Love, laughter, and smiles <3

 

 

Linkin's High Chair

After spending a week with my daughter RoseAnna in Great Falls, MT.  I decided to stop in and visit my son, Ryan, and his family in Billings, MT.  Auntie Lexi (Brittany's Sister) was able to find a vintage high chair for my grandson, Linkin.  She striped it from the original color an ugly, dark brown.

We wanted to bring a pop of color into my daughter in-law Brittany's kitchen, so we chose Miss Mustard Seed's Shutter Gray Milk Paint, which is a powdered paint that I just discovered and I am crazy about.

We also stenciled on the front of the high chair with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Provence Blue and sealed it all off with Miss Mustard White Wax.

I used Annie Sloan's Pure Bristle brushes to apply the paint and applied the wax with her wax brush.  I am in love with these products.

"I love my new high chair, Thank You Auntie Lexi and Grammy!" - Linkin

If anyone wants to ask me any questions just comment or you can email me at Fransrootsandwings@gmail.com

Love, Laughter, and Smiles

P.S. I can't thank my sweet daughter in-law, Brittany, enough for helping me get started with my blog and inspiring me and my son, Ty, for giving up his precious sleep and helping me figure this all out. I love them soooo much!!

Rosie's Great Falls Adventure

After a wonderful week spending time with my grand-daughter BellaRose, it was time for her to be returned to her mother, my daughter RoseAnna.  Her and her husband, Ty, recently made a big decision to move to Great Falls, MT for a job opportunity that Ty was offered.  Upon my arrival we set about to make their new little cottage their own.  This entailed helping her set up her new salon, BellaRose, where she will enjoy serving the beautiful men and women of Great Falls with all the services of a 5-Star salon.  I picked up a vintage vanity in Heber City, UT at the Thrift Store (My home away from home and man not included.)

Vanity with sink basin and eyelash extension table in the background

To help her get started we restored the vanity by giving it a fresh new coat of Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint Pure White.

We also installed a sink basin for her to be able to wash her clients hair more efficiently in her cozy salon as you can see in the picture above.

Another project that we tackled while I was there was her dining room table that RoseAnna picked up at a yard sale for $20 bucks!  I need to start remembering to post the befores, but I will do better in the future, after all this is my first blog.

This table was originally white with a light 90s table top wood color.  I put a new coat of Annie Sloan's Pure White paint on the legs and stained the top with a dark Cherry Wood stain.  I think it turned out amazing!  What do you think?

Did you notice the high chair for baby Ava?  That was also a yard sale find this summer!  If you haven't noticed yet, I love to garage sale and spend time at the Thrift Store.  My family thinks I have a serious addiction problem, hence my new business adventure of taking something old and making it new again and offering it to you!

I wonder what I will find this week at the Thrift Store.  Follow my blog for future projects and other hidden loves and addictions that I have learned over the years.

Love, Laughter, and Smiles