Let Your Light Shine Through

"From within or from behind, a light shines through us upon things, and makes us aware that we are nothing, but the light is all."
 Ralph Waldo Emerson


 

Update on Halloween Front Porch

So as promised here are some pictures of the front porch with the pumpkins I bought this week. 

We are only one week away from Halloween and the weather here in Houston has managed to cool off enough that I don't think the pumpkins will rot. I had previously planned on buying all black and white pumpkins/gourds for the front porch, but my husband insisted we have some orange pumpkins. According to him, it's not Halloween if you don't have any orange pumpkins! hehehe

So I compromised and got some orange pumpkins. 

Here are the pictures:

I really like how they turned out! =) I hope that the pumpkins last past Halloween. Maybe they will make it to Thanksgiving?! Here's to wishful thinking.

Happy Monday!

xoxo
Calu

Quilt Rack

I feel so relieved! This weekend my husband and I managed to finish the quilt rack. It's ONE item off of my projects list:

1) Refinish quilt rack
2) Refinish and re-upholster rocking chair
3) Finish a crochet scarf
4) Finish a cross-stitch pillow
5) Organize photo albums

YAY! Originally the quilt rack just had a stained wood finish. I love the shabby chic look so that's what we went for with it. We bought some ivory color spray paint and sprayed two coats all around it for a smooth finish. After the paint was completely dry, we lightly sanded the quilt rack to make it completely smooth and we also lightly distressed some parts of the quilt rack, mainly the edges.

I was a little hesitant with the distressed look. I like it a lot, but I'm not sure how to correctly distress a piece of furniture. So we were very careful with it. I think that if I later decide I want a more distressed look, I will go back and sand some more, but for now I am sooo happy with the results.

Here's how it looks.



I'm thinking that one day it will be a perfect addition to a baby's room ;-) But for now, I am happy with having it placed by the couch so it can hold the blanket we keep in the living room for those cool days.Now that I have the finished quilt rack, I should really start working on a quilt for it...



Also, I have started to work on my cross-stitch project again. :) I'm hoping to have it finished by Thanksgiving. I know, you all must be thinking, Thanksgiving?!?! That's still a long time away. But with school and work and everything else, a month actually doesn't seem like a long time to me.

xoxo
Calu

Cherubim Delights

This weekend I thought I'd try to make some meringue cookies. Meringue cookies are called suspiros or "sighs" in Portuguese. Reason is, supposedly you can not eat a meringue cookie without sighing with delight :)

The recipe itself is really easy. The main ingredients are egg whites and confectioner's sugar. You beat the egg whites and sugar until they peak. At the end you add a little lime zest for a little flavor. 

A nice tip I learned is to add a tablespoon of vinegar to every 3 egg whites used. This takes place of the tartar sauce some recipes ask. It helps the egg whites beat a little fluffier and lighter.

So, here's the end result of my Saturday night recipe adventure. 







They look good, don't they? 

My husband thinks they taste like marshmallows. I think they taste like yummy goodness =) 

One thing to keep in mind: Meringue cookies are NOT a fan of humidity!! They need to be really dry, so it's best to cook them on days that are not really humid. 

I left the meringue cookies out during the day, and low and behold, after a Houston day's humidity they felt sticky and gooey - sticky marshmallows... 

I think they still are delicious and would be a great addition to ice-cream or pie. 

Our next dessert adventure for the weekend was cooking muffins on Sunday morning. These were just muffins from the box - yet they taste really delicious.



I was never a really big fan of muffins.  But these were really good. Apparently, you eat them with butter! It was great to have some fresh muffins, with butter, in the morning for breakfast. 

So now the house is filled with sugary delights and it's wonderful. 

xoxo 
Calu

So Many Ideas

I'm at work and I can barely contain myself - I am bursting with ideas that I got from the quilt show last night. I had so much fun! Let me tell you all that even if you do not like quilts, but you enjoy arts and crafts, I highly recommend going to a quilt show. 

They had sooooo many booths with all kinds of goodies like antique laces and linens, cross-stitch, jewelry, and lots of quilt!  The best part of it all, most booths offered kits you could buy that had everything included you would need - fabric, needles, thread... Ahhh, it was heaven. 

The quilt show also had an antique section where they displayed antique quilts. That was probably my favorite part. We were not allowed to take pictures of these antique quilts. I wish I could have so I could show you how amazing they were. Some dated back to the early 1800s. Can you imagine doing all that work by hand?! I was in pure awe of it. 

There was also a section for the award winners. 

This quilt comes all the way from Japan!  It was made by Fusako Takido and it won the Founder's Award.  All I can say is it looks even more beautiful in person.




This quilt is called Inner Beauty, by Cathleen Miller. It won first place for the Merit-Quilting Hand award.  I love how it's a simple design, yet so intricate. The inner circle is designed after a Victorian ceiling medallion.



I'm not sure when I will have time to start working on a quilt, but I have added it to my "Projects To Do" list.  I decided, however, that when I do have time to make one, I will start with something much smaller and very simple. 

Other ideas I got from the quilt show are table runners made with appliqué. Here's just an example I found online.  I would love to this type of table runner for the major holidays, like Christmas and Thanksgiving. I think it would be a fun and cute way to decorate the house.



Also, there were these little hanging pillows made from Mill Hill designs and I am IN LOVE. They were so adorable. These were cross-stiched with a touch of sparkle, courtesy of beads added throughout the desing. Absolutely charming. I have every intention of doing these and they have also been added to the list. :)

If you want to find out more about the Quilt Show in Houston, here's a link. Like I said before, I highly recommend going. The show will be on until Sunday, so if you get the change stop by! 

And just as a last note, I would like to thank my mother-in-law for taking me. Debbie, I had so much fun! Thank you!!!  

xoxo
Calu

Quilt Show

Tonight after I get out of class, I am meeting my mother-in-law to go to the International Quilt Show in Houston! =)


I am really excited about it especially since it will be my first quilt show. I really like quilts. I like when they have a country feel to them like this:

Isn't this room lovely?  The shades of pink are so soothing and that quilt is perfect for cool nights, or when you just want to lay around in bed reading a book.

How about this one? This is a 19th century quilt made out of an old petticoat!  
Really, this quilt just adds the perfect touch to this bed. 


I found the picture over HERE at Brooke's blog, Velvet and Linen. Her blog is amazing and it has all things French Country, which I love.  
  

And if I had a blue and white room, I would love to have a French Toile Quilt like this one. 


I just think it makes the room look so romantic and cozy! 



Anyway, the quilt show tonight should be a lot of fun. I'm looking forward to seeing all the designs and ideas. 

Maybe I can add making a quilt to my list of things to do! =) 

xoxo
Calu

Halloween Front Porch Decoration

This weekend I finally got to finish decorating the front porch of the house for Halloween. 

A few weeks ago I started to gather some ideas for what I wanted to do and as always, I go to one of my favorite person's website - the one and only Martha Stewart. Isn't she great?! Here's a link to her website.

I wanted to do something that wasn't too orange, so I went with black.  I chose to do this black wreath and put up silhouettes of some rats and a cat. For the rats and cat silhouettes I transferred the template over to black cardstock, traced the outline and cut. :)

I was trying to go for a spooky feel, so hopefully it didn't turn out too morbid.

Here's an overall picture of the front porch. You can see the silhouette of the cat and the rats! Also, the black wreath and a dead tree.



Here's a close-up view of the door. You can see the cat better - I guess you could say he's spooked by the rats running along the window sill.  But now that I think about it, it's really the other way around isn't it? Rats are the ones that are usually spooked by cats. =/



And here you can see a close-up of the "dead tree". I picked up some dead branches from my mother-in-law's yard, bought a $5 flower pot from Wal-Mart and some soil. I spray-painted the pot and branches black and stuck them in the pot with the soil. =) I think it turned out pretty good. I wanted to add some rats running along the tree but I think that with the wind, rain and bad weather, it's best to just wait until it's closer to Halloween.




Also, I do plan on adding some pumpkins to the front porch. I'm thinking white pumpkins instead of orange.  But since we are in Houston where it's still pretty warm for fall weather, we have to wait until maybe the week of Halloween to put them out. Nothing worse than coming home to rotted pumpkins on your front porch.

So that's pretty much it... I will post updated pictures the week of Halloween when I have the pumpkins out so you can see the 'finished look'.

Happy Halloween Decorating!

xoxo
Calu

The End of Procrastination

I have started many projects over the years and months, and I never seem to finish them. This weekend I just celebrated my 24th birthday (yay!) and I made a deal with myself that I would finish what I start and have started, because as William James has so eloquently stated...

"Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging of an uncompleted task."

I hope that this blog will help me stay motivated to follow through with projects not only in my home but in life in general :)

So here's a list of on-going projects I have so far:

1) Refinish quilt rack
2) Refinish and re-upholster rocking chair
3) Finish a crochet scarf
4) Finish a cross-stitch pillow
5) Organize photo albums

Other items in this list include organizing things in my home like drawers in the bedroom, kitchen and office.

I also love to do crafty things around the house. This weekend I did manage to finish decorating the front porch for Halloween with the help of my husband. I will post on this later and show you some pictures.

So my goal is to finish these projects and all the new projects I start. I will post about them as I'm working and hopefully I will inspire myself and others to put an end to procrastination in our lives! :)

xoxo
Calu

You Might Also Like

Related Posts with Thumbnails