Decorating Dilemma

I got a ton of great advice from the last time that I participated in Amanda's fun Decorating Dilemmas party. So I'm linking up again with the hope that I can get some more great feedback!We are still in the middle of redoing our living room. This redo seems to be the project that will never end....hopefully with your help it will be a little closer to the end though.

My dilemma is this table:

My hubby built it to go behind our new sectional. The couch was just not quite centered in the room the way we wanted it, so he built this table to sit behind the couch and make it more centered in the room. Now I have an extremely long flat surface to decorate.

The biggest problem is that we built it to the height of the back of the couch, but the cushions stick up a little higher. That means that the bottom 3-4 inches of anything that is on the table can't be seen from the other side of the room.
Notice how the birdcage looks so small in this last shot. I am thinking of putting a stand underneath the birdcage, but I don't think I can do that with every single thing I put on the table. I am also having trouble deciding what to put on the wall behind the couch. We have a big wall of pictures to the left of this wall, a wall of windows to the right, and the tv is in front of the couch.

Any suggestions for how to decorate this {kind of} awkward table and the big empty wall behind it would be greatly appreciated!

Saying Thank You

It is that time of the year when everything starts coming to an end...school, sports, clubs, and other activities.

That also means it is time to say "Thank You" to some special people.

I packaged up cookies for the owner of the pharmacy that sponsored Henry and Grant's t-ball team this year. I thought it would be nice to let them know we are thankful for the support they show our community.

I even packaged the cookies up in the boys' team colors:)
I thought Grant's preschool teacher deserved a little pampering after a year with a room full of 4 year olds. I bought her a gift certificate to a local spa, and packaged it up with some nail polish, lotion, and body scrub.
Henry's teachers deserve a much bigger "Thank You" than I could ever give them, but I put together a little package to let them know how GOOD our year in Kindergarten has been. They each got a basket full of Mr. Goodbars and a gift certificate to a local restaurant along with a note that said "Thanks for making it a GOOD year!" Love, Henry.

What kind of things do you do to tell others THANK YOU?

Miscellany Monday

1. I am so confused {and a little mad} about the LOST finale. There are so many unanswered questions. I know the creators said they answered the most important questions about the characters...blah, blah, blah, BUT I want some of the other mysterious stuff explained! I feel like there was a little bit of resolution, but still a million open ended things too! If any body has any theories they want to share, please do.

2. Summer is almost here. Henry only has a half day of school tomorrow, and then it will officially be summer for us. I'm not quite sure how we are going to spend the next 10 weeks....doing lots of fun stuff I hope!

3. I'm heading to the doctor today for a checkup. It has been over a year....and I am almost feeling completely back to normal. You know, except for the six pills I have to pop every morning, and the two shots I take every Thursday. But I think my body {and my rheumatoid arthritis} is doing what it needs to do to feel normal and function.

4. Last week, Grant, Eli, and I took a little road trip...and I got to meet my SUPER sweet bloggy friend Kelli! Here are a few pics of our trip:

Welcome to Jello Island

Henry's class is having a luau today.

And other than fruit kabobs or a roasted pig, I had no idea what kind of snack to take.

So I made Jello Island:) I mixed up three big boxes of Blue Berry Jello in a clear bowl. About halfway through the refrigeration time, pull the bowl out and load it up with gummy fish and sharks.
When the Jello is completely set, pull it out to decorate. I crumbled up vanilla Oreos in a food processor and sprinkled them onto part of the Jello to make the island. Then I rolled out a few Starburst to make beach towels and added a few sunbathing Teddy Grahams.
To make the palm trees, I used a few Pirouette cookies and some green fruit slices. I sliced the fruit slicing thinly, and then attached them to the top of the Pirouette with the help of a few toothpicks.

This was really easy to do, and I may try it again this summer and actually let the boys helps me when we have more time!
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
I think I need a fruity drink with an umbrella in it to celebrate the weekend almost being here:)

The Preschool Graduate 2

Grant graduated from preschool on Tuesday night! It really seems like we just did preschool graduation for Henry....this year has flown by!

A self portrait: Grant in his cap and gown
For their program, all the kids do a "What I want to be when I grow up".
Grant was a firefighter.

He said:
I want to be a firefighter
and drive an engine red.
I'll blow the siren good and loud
and get you out of bed.
{no nap makes for an unhappy and non-smiling firefighter}

At the end of the program, all the kiddos walked on stage to receive their diplomas. Our last name starts with a W and as usual, Grant was the very last graduate:)
He did such a great job and we are SUPER proud of him!

Next year he will be all grown up, and he will go to big school with Henry.

Congrats to Jen aka Momma D for winning the CSN giveaway!

Wordless Wednesday: Bouncing Boys

Our new bounce house got here on Friday, and the boys have been having a blast in it! Thanks again to Dee and Play House Bouncers!

Berry Sweet

This purple stained thumb......is from picking lots of these: Blackberries are in season here, which means lots of fresh grown yumminess without having to actually grow things:) My thumbs are much better at being purple than they are at being green!

So we grabbed a big bowl...
... and headed down our little road...
...to search for berries!
Some of us got a little distracted by rocks and bugs.
But we still came home with a big bowl of yumminess...

...that was quickly turned into a pie!

I used this recipe:

Brigid's Blackberry Pie

1 (15 ounce) package pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
4 cups fresh blackberries
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
Directions
1.Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line a 9 inch deep dish pie pan with one of the crusts.
2.Place the blackberries in a large bowl. Stir together the sugar, flour, and salt. Sprinkle over the berries, and toss to coat. Pour into the pie crust. Dot with butter. Place the other pie crust over the top, and secure to the bottom crust by pressing with a fork, or fluting with your fingers. Cut a design in the top crust with a sharp knife to vent steam.
3.Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until the top crust is browned. Let cool to almost room temperature before serving to allow the filling to set.

...and it turned out SUPER yummy!

****

P.S. Brownie points for Cindy and {my IRL friend} Ashley for guessing that the purple stained thumb was from berry picking:)

Top 10!

Last week I entered my Antique Sewing Machine Drawer Makeover into The DIY Club's contest. And I was chosen as one of the top 10!

Now, I just need lots of people who really liked my crafty idea to go and vote for me:)

Anyone can vote, but you only get to vote one time!

Go HERE or HERE or HERE to vote!

Socializing

I added these fun new buttons to my blog this week. They are in my sidebar on the right--->.

They were really easy to add! If you would like to have these SUPER cute social networking buttons on your blog, head over to this tutorial on 733 A Creative Blog to learn how to add them yourself!

And if you want to,go click on the buttons to follow me on twitter, facebook, or to subscribe to my blog feed:)