My mini living room makeover

So my pottery barn couch arrived and it is a favorite at our house! Plenty of room for abby and I to stretch out!! I usually crash on it and then cant get up or dont want to!! We finally picked out the pillows and I think we had every pillow up front on the model couch in the pottery barn store to help decide!! I of course ended up with my bird pillow!! We can switch out the pillow covers for different seasons and will def get christmas pillows! They have sweater pillow covers that I already plan on getting;) I went shopping at The christmas tree shop and as Aunt Betsy says...the bird pics flew into my cart as well as a few other bird items! I love that store! Great prices for great stuff!!. Gary went back to pottery barn and surprised my with the new rug!! It all goes perfect and am thankful for my new comfy living room....except i am not allowed to drink my coffee on it...hmmmm...well he wasnt home this morning on my day off when i lounged back with a book and shhhhh a cup of coffee:) good thing all the pillows covers and slip covers come off and go in the wash!! ( Dad please click on first picture or all to enlarge so mom can see the details better...thanks!)

Waiting for some Ohio friends and family to come try it out!!

So since i was on a roll..I redecorated the mantel too! Spruced it up with my Cape cod clock and some bird friends!!

Even the dogs love the snow!!

Abby of course has plenty of dogs in the neighborhood to keep her busy. If you look in the previous pics of snow, the fifth one down, our neighbors dog holly, spotted abby in the window when i was taking a pic and barked hello! But the two dogs down the street are abbys favorite and I have to admit the black one, cooper, has become my favorite. Abby walks them daily but Cooper is so mild mannered and doesnt jump on you or lick you!! He even spent an hour asleep in front of our fire..not a bad place to nap. So when abby walks them she brings both dogs to see me! They of course were loving the snow and it was fun watching the littlest dog (who is still a puppy) bury his face in the snow and then come up to wrestle with her brother!!

First Snowfall

Woke up this morning with our first snowfall. Wanted to capture the fresh snow before the rest of the street woke up and animals ventured out! No footprints or car tracks. When I opened the door the silence was golden!! Then Abby woke up and then Hubby and the silence went away and I was snapped back to reality!! Then the busyiness of making coffee, breakfast and lunches along with starting up my work computer for my day, made me thankful for a few moments of just being still.....then in an hour every one was out the door....

Grateful

Working full time and maintaining a home can be a neverending process. I feel very blessed to finally have a life partner who shares the load with me. He never complains when a homecook meal is not made and quickly says he can find something to eat or I was a bachelor before you came along and didnt starve...lol...but I love to cook for my family and we try to sit down together for a meal which can be hard. I am trying new recipes and channeling my mother at times..hahaha. I always try to have something sweet baked too...my hubby has a sweet tooth and when the craving hits watch out..lol. The owners of the house actually had someone come into clean every two weeks and my husband and I have decided we may budget her in for us as well. I never thought I would have a cleaning person but for us its worth it...I just dont want to spend my days off scrubbing and not being with my family. It is still in the works but hoping in works out at least for a little while. My husband is never sitting still and I woke up to the laudry not only being cleaned but folded!! Small blessings for sure. So saturday my hubby let me get spoiled and I had a mini spa day. I found a wonderful place (see the link) http://www.beyondbeautycapecod.com/ and got an hour massage then a haircut and of course my eyebrows done...things we do to maintain our beauty..lol..next will be facial and pedicure with hair color but have to pace myself!! And last but not least my hubby finally approved (hahah..more allowed in the budget) our new sectional from pottery barn! I fell in love with it in the store as soon as i laid back in it! It is the pb comfort set and it is deeper and so roomy!! The way our living room is set up we needed a comfortable place for abby and I to lounge. Gary has his lazy boy!! So thankful for alot of things so far!! The couch is a beige and a bit darker than below but we bought the inserts for the couch pillows so we can change out the pillow covers for different seasons! They have some nice ones with birds that I might have to get..lol..see after the couch pictures for my choices so far...so many to choose! I love the Christmas ones too!! And of course the added touch of Cape cod!!!

Churches

I love anything old..especially old churches..since moving to MA and driving all around, I frequently pass a church and think..that is so beautiful and unique...steeples abound here on the Cape. So of course I pull over and snap a pic!

Our last trip to Gatlinburg and Cades Cove provided many great old church pictures..much to my hubbys dismay...he wonders how many different pcis do you need of a very old plain church...lol...calm quiet serene...enjoyed that trip back in time. most important...the one one I think of is..SIMPLE...just you, God and a pew:) But of course I will always have a church that is my favorite for many reasons, good memories abound when I see the church, mostly of familiy and good friends. And a wedding fit for a princess:)