Life in Color

Blogging has taken a bit of a backseat lately......largely in part that my laptop died awhile back and the kids need the other one's for school.

We're heading back to Rome again this weekend for 8 days. DJ's mom and dad are here and we look forward to enjoying the trip with them :) We'll visit Rome and possibly some other areas. Of course I'll take a million pictures to share with you! This time I'll try blogging throughout our trip but no promises :)

The weather has been sunny and warm, upper 70's and lower 80's. The humidity is creeping in and I'm not happy about that.....oh well, it could be worse :)

Our time here is slipping away so quickly. When we get back from Rome I want to share some everyday things that I haven't blogged about yet.....like grocery shopping, the fish market, neat little fishing boats, etc.

One thing I'm missing very much right now is my flower garden area and swing. I love getting my hands in the dirt and having my morning coffee in my swing. We don't have a yard here but we're enjoying the things here that we don't have back home.
Like sitting on the balcony looking at the Mediterranean Sea with our morning coffee:)

I hope you have a beautiful week! I love taking pictures of flowers. Here are some I've taken over the last couple of weeks. Enjoy!


Flowers in a friends yard.....so so pretty!







Mother's Day Flowers.....




We found this little guy on this cute daisy out along a country road.....

Thrifty Finds and a Treasure Hunt

Fabric and paint are two of my best friends! Add to that a great thrift find to be repurposed and I'm so happy!!

Having moved to Sicily with just the clothes in our suitcases and living in a furnished apartment has left my creativity itching to do something.....

In the last week I've come across some thrifty finds! It's such an adrenaline rush to find a bargain!! Yes, I'm the one at a yard sale that flies down the street at Nascar speeds because I need to find "the bargain" before someone else does!
Some of you understand....others just shake their heads and that's ok.


I love these beautiful fabrics. The group on the left is Waverly.


This sweet, vintage clock really wanted to come home with me.....how could I say no? He even coordinates with the fabric!


This set of white porcelain dishes is beautiful and I found them at a thrift store here in Sicily. 36 pieces made in Italy. 12 each of dinner plates, luncheon plates and bowls.


I framed some pictures I've taken here in Sicily and have a project in mind for them over the buffet using some fabric. I'll show you when I'm done. I'll include a better picture of the dishes.



The girls are home from Germany and had a wonderful time! Heather's going to do a guest blog here in a few days and share pictures of their trip with you.

Sunday we went treasure hunting. The proper term is geocaching. In basic terms it's treasure hunting worldwide using a GPS. Anyone can hide a cache anywhere in the world. We're new to this so I'm not going to try to explain how it works instead here's a great website that explains it all if you're interested http://www.geocaching.com/
We looked up Sicily to see if there were any caches here and we found a lot for Sicily. Mostly on the other side of the island. There were 2 in San Vito Lo Capo and that's only an hour away so we headed over there.



This is the road we took off the main road in San Vito Lo Capo.


Halfway down a dirt road we walked down. We parked the car because the first half of the road was pretty steep and we weren't sure what we were getting into.


This pretty iris was only about 2" tall. They were all over.


The views were awesome. The pictures aren't great because it was very hazy and the lighting that time of day isn't good for clear pictures but it gives you an idea :)


This is the area the cache was in but we need to get a different GPS that will pinpoint the exact location. DJ's on that big rock in the middle of the picture.


Driving back toward San Vito Lo Capo. It's very beautiful in that area.


We didn't find the treasure but what a great way to get out as a family and see new things! Really the treasure is in spending time together!! :)

Kitchen Makeover

Today I want to introduce someone to you.....


His name is Tim and he's the guy behind the RemodelingGuy blog. He has good remodeling info., tutorial videos, pictures for inspiration, a great sense of humor, and explains things in a very easy to understand way!

With the economy the way it is right now it's a good time to pick up a hammer or drill and explore the possibilities of doing some DIY projects to save $!! Or maybe just for the fun of it :)

It's time for the Remodeling Guy Round Up over at RemodelingGuy. Head over there and be inspired by DIY projects people are sharing ( maybe you have one to share....it's not to late! It runs May 1st - 3rd)!

BUT WAIT......here's a project we did at our home back in the States a little over a year ago. Nothing fancy.....but definitely an improvement!


We bought a 1948 fixer upper 7 years ago thinking it would fun to remodel it. We have since come to the conclusion that it is SO not fun to live in a house while you're remodeling it. Not the extent of work that this house needed. I won't bore you with the long list of things that needed to be done. We've made progress and my favorite change was the kitchen.

Two weeks before my husband, DJ, left to start his contract work overseas our dishwasher broke. I guess most people would have gone out and just bought a new diswasher and called it good!

DJ thought since we were buying a new dishwasher we might as well move a cabinet we'd been wanting to move. It would allow the dishwasher to be right next to the sink plus open up the counter top. He decided it would be ok to go ahead and repaint and put a new floor in.
Honestly, I looked at him like he was crazy....we had 1 week until Thanksgiving and 2 weeks until he left.

It only took 2.2 seconds for the woman in me to kick in and say "I totally agree...let's roll!" At that point I was waiting for him to come to his senses and take back the offer! :)

I wish I had better pictures of the before and after. The walls were guacamole and the counter top was hunter green. YUCK! DOUBLE YUCK!! In my defense I thought we were getting a neutral countertop when I painted that color!
The floor was a cream, very old vinyl.

The pictures are kinda washed out below but the kitchen went from drab to fresh, light and airy in less than a weeks time!


We painted the walls White Pine (a very soft yellow) and the cupboards Sag Harbor. Both are from Waverly at Lowes.


DJ taking the old dishwasher out. Notice the floor to ceiling cabinet next to the sink. It was a very annoying spot for it....no elbow room.


The cabinet is moved!!! So much more light is able to come in now and the added counter space is wonderful.


DJ and his dad installing the new floor we got on sale at Lowes. It adds such warmth to the room and goes really well with the colors.


DJ painted the cabinets with the paint sprayer. I still want to add some hardware to them.


Not completely done but what a difference! I added a cabin red valance with little yellow flowers on it. I also added a shelf to the left of the window with mason jars that hold coffee beans, tea bags, etc. Take note of the neutral colored counter top. Way better than hunter green ( prior owners choice).


I love the floor and I really love my little island. It's probably my favorite yard sale find. The lady bought it at an auction for $200.00 and wanted $100.00. Her husband said they'd take $50.00. I offered $40.00 and it was a deal!
I'd like to put butcher block on top and add heigth by putting some sort of feet on it.


DJ's Dad was a big help in doing the kitchen and so many other projects in that house!! I think he can do just about anything.

Have a great weekend!