The Princess has Arrived!

The long awaited day finally arrived...the day, that is, that we could get our new little bundle of joy. No, No, we didn't adopt...sorry...we got a new puppy! She is our new princess...and that she will be. In this house of rowdy and rough boys, we now have our little girl. Her name is Lucy, although, we call her every cute name under the sun. She is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and her color type is Blenheim. So, for those of you out there who remember what it's like to have a pup in the house...if you have any GOOD advice for us (it's been awhile), pass it on people!! I'm also trying to come up with a good name to go with Lucy for her papers so any help with that is appreciated as well. Okay, well, I'm off to play with my pup...I've left you with some pics of our first night. My boys LOVE her!!

A Step Above

Here is a GREAT idea for adding some flair to ordinary stairs!

Just tape off a stripe with painters tape and fill in with your favorite color! Doesn't this make an appealing, bold statement!!

Find Rest

Candybar Bookmarks

It looks like today is going to be one of those days...

Grab a good book and your favorite candybar, then use the wrapper as your bookmark!

ENJOY!

Top Heavy... but worth it!

Okay...I had a friend send me a link to this website that sells over-the-top headbands. WOW!!! I love that my friend thinks that these "look like me". Whenever someone tells me that, I am always a little skeptical... so I headed in wonderment to see what kind of headband was representative of who I was!

OH BOY... I may just have to buy one for a special occasion...maybe my daughter and I should have matching headbands...hmmmm...I don't know! You will love to look at these even if you do not "see yourself" in one. Wouldn't it be fun to add a little bit of glam to that ordinary outfit and to be brave enough to make a statement with something coming off your head??? HAHA!!!

Enjoy looking, and if you ever see me with feathers and a HUGE flower coming out of my head, don't laugh... my friend said it "was ME".

http://www.topheavyheadbands.synthasite.com/

Preppy Personalized Potty

So you have monogrammed pillows in the den, personalized glasses in the kitchen, embroidered bedding in your master, lettered towels in the bath... but what about the accessories in the kids potty?? This is a great way to "prep" up their bath and to add personal style with just a little paint and some unfinished wood.

Hobby Lobby has a whole section of their store devoted to wood products just waiting to be painted. Just start by sanding the wood lightly, then painting an all over color, and then let the creative juices flow. To create more visual interest in the bath, repeat a pattern that was on your shower curtain or bedding in the adjacent bedroom. I also painted a 3-D wooden "C" to give this little girls trash can a punch!

Another fun idea would be to find some cute fabric or scrapbook paper and decoupage them to the wood.

Enjoy!

New Find

For all you "do-it-yourselfer's" out there, a friend introduced me to a web site that I think you'll go crazy over. The site is jcarolinecreative.com. They have anything and everything you could possibly need for projects. I really enjoyed looking at their "how to" page. Neat ideas...and all with detailed instructions! So, if you're looking for a new project or have one in mind but need some supplies, hop on over to this site...you won't be disappointed. And did I mention how cute their fabrics and ribbon are? Go see for yourself!

Lemon-AID Stand!

Campbell holding a sign to wave cars in.

Woo-Hoo!!! What a GREAT time we had at our annual lemonade stand to benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and pediatric cancer. This is my daughters favorite activity every summer and as a parent there is no greater way to teach my children how to help others, serve our community, and that no child is too young to make a difference in the lives of others! THEY GET IT!!!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to all our friends, family, and neighbors that donated online or came by on Saturday. We were ringing wet with sweat but touched deeply by the sweet stories that people shared with us as they made their donations. One man told us about how his son had died from cancer at a young age and that seeing the children collect money for the ALSF cause made him smile...then two hours later he drove back down the rode and stopped again saying, "I just cannot drive by and not stop." PRECIOUS! This is such a teachable moment for my children. Our stand raised close to $1300 dollars and all of the stands in Bowling Green raised over $22,000 collectively. That is AMAZING!!

Here are a few picture of the kiddos having some fun!

This is Campbell and her best friend Caroline being quite the hostesses!

You can look in the background and see how busy we were, and that Cam had to try some too!

Brother Reed was a big help too!!

Here are the kids waving in the customers.

We gave free pony rides and "Jill" the horse got hot and needed some lemonade too!

Kids working really hard.

Pouring the lemonade!

Design Star

Okay, so I'm finally getting to watch Design Star last night and what do ya know?...they are decorating hotel suites at Gaylord's Opryland Hotel. Did I mention I was just there last Monday night? So I'm pumped right? Well, one group nailed it...the other had a little trouble but were on the right track...somewhat. Shabby chic, that was the look. They actually found the coolest stuff in Nashville. Old stuff. Just what I love. Anyway, I went on a hunt to find out where this stuff came from and I thought I would share. I know there are many of you that read our blog that are close to Nashville. But if you aren't...come visit...you'll know exactly where to go.

The first place is Gas Lamp Antiques Mall. I was surprised because I have actually been there. And, yes, I did make a purchase while there. This place is like 25,000 sf with 160 spaces and one large showcase room. It is located next to Home Depot and across from 100 Oaks Shopping Mall in the Staples building.
This cool turquoise chest of drawers came from there...LOVE IT!!


The second place I found was the Nolensville FeedMill Store in Nolensville, TN. Yes, I said Feed Mill store. These are designers and they go looking anywhere for a find. And find they did...
This cool coffee table came from there...evidently there is an antique section of their store.

Also, this cool bench was found there that they placed at the foot of the bed. Nice touch.

So you can see why I'm so excited. Nashville is in my back door. Gotta find a sitter for the kids so I can go shopping! If you want to see more pics go to HGTV.com and search Design Star.
Blessings,
Amy and Rachel

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

We have been awarded our first ever "blog award"!!! We are so excited! Our precious friend Becky, at Queen of Theme, has given us the Arte Y Peco award. We are so honored and thankful for your gift and cannot wait for our friends to run over to your blog and see all the wonderful things that you are creating. Friends, that was an order...go! She is way cool!!

The link to this award will take you to a Spanish blog. As we understand it, this award was started by a new blogger who was very grateful for all that she learned and saw as she explored blogs from all over the world. It is a gift. We have met so many talented, wonderful people from other blogs, and would like to share them with you all! Here are the rules:

1. Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribution to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2. Each award should list the name of the author and a link to his /her blog to be visited by everyone .
3. Each award winner should show the award and put the name of and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award .
4. The award winner and presenter should show the link of the Arte y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.
5. THIS ONE IS HARD -- We have to choose only five!! Well...we think that you will enjoy visiting these other sites that we picked.

Enjoy!!

1. Steph - Homegrown Hospitality

2. Kelly - Kelly's Korner

3. Sara - Sara's art house

4. Angie - Angelica Grace Designs

5. The Nester - The Nesting Place

BLESSINGS,

Amy & Rachel

Easy No-Sew Window Treatments

Wanting to freshen up a room...or maybe redecorating...here's an easy way to use the panels you've got but make them look new. Choose velvet ribbon in any colors that work with your decor and turn plain tab-top curtains into an elegant treatment. To achieve this look, lay out the panels and attach horizontal bands of ribbon with fabric glue. To make the ties at the top, cut the tabs off, then cut six evenly placed, 1-inch horizontal slits across each panel. Finish by cutting V shapes out of the ends of each tie. Now you've got a pretty new window treatment...pat yourself on the back!!

Happy Holiday!