A Merry Little Christmas

We did head back up to the country for Christmas, which has been lovely, but we also had our own little Christmas at the efficiency before we left.

We didn't have time to harvest a real tree this year, but I did find this gem for $2.99 at goodwill! It certainly looks fake, but it didn't have holes, and was the lowest priced one. It came with a stand, but since I didn't have a tree skirt I put it in the garden urn...which I think I like better.

I also got the cool crystal ball patio lights at goodwill... I decided to put them on the tree, along with the pink pearl garland I got from Painted Porch, to help pretty it up.

A typical pinterest project... my fridge snowman!

And then there are the stocking and gifts under the tree...and microwave. ;) 

And lastly, my above the counter decor. It's really just a random mixture of Christmas objects I had. Nothing actually goes together! However the faux white-pine picks were new this year. I just fluffed them up and stuck them up there. I got them where I work and am hoping there are still some there when I get back...just marked way down since it's after Christmas. :)

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!!

We sure did.

Blessings,

Olivia

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Venison Stroganoff {because I really love my husband}

Hey guys...I'm alive! 

I know, it's been a looong break from blogging, but Chardonnay (that's my puter's name) was sick. So, FYI: if you get an update that looks just like a regular computer update, but is for C++, do not do it! Husband thought it would be a good idea... Nope!

And honestly it was just nice to have a little break, since I was starting to feel kinda burnt out with having to come up with a post every week. I will probably switch to bi-monthly blogging now, and try to make the posts more "quality". ;)

........

So! This last week I was feeling really loving and decided I would cook my husband some venison. I say that because I'm not really a fan (of venison). I only know of two people that actually know how to cook the stuff in a way that makes me actually want to eat it (shout out to Julia Holum and Heidi Burger). It's just too gamey tasting. Eh!

Anyhoo... wanting to surprise Matt with some meat for dinner, (I cook a lot of vegetarian dishes) I decided to see if stroganoff would be a good disguise. 

I spent AN HOUR (literally, an hour - not exaggerating at all here) rinsing out the blood from the meat. *cringe here* Because I actually wanted to be able to eat it myself, and the thought of it cooking in it's own blood is absolutely repulsive to me. THEN, after that was done I had to touch all the pieces in order to cut it up! So. proud. of. myself. Seriously, I gave myself a few extra point for brave cooking. I was really feeling loving!

Well enough of my ramblings about venison... I should just share the recipe, because it turned out pretty well. If you like venison that is. ;) I let Matt have all the leftovers....

Slow-Cooker Venison Stroganoff

- 2 pounds of venison steak (rinsed and cut into bite sized pieces)

- 1 large onion, chopped

- 3ish cloves of garlic, smashed

- 1 package mushrooms, chopped

- pepper/garlic powder/beef bullion cubes etc. 

- 2 cans cream of mushroom soup

- 1 tub of sour cream

- 1 bag of egg noodles 

Combine the first 6 ingredients in the slow-cooker and cook on low for 6 hours. When it's almost done cooking, stir in as much sour cream as you like, (I used about 3/4 of the container) and make your egg noodles. And crescents, because errbody loves a crescent roll. 

*special note: I also used some cornstarch to thicken it up a bit at the end because I think I dumped some water in that was on the cutting board with the meat. I avoid touching it as much as possible when it's raw :). 

And there ya have it! Most loving wife award goes to... 

Alright, I promise I'll be back to blogging regularly now.

Thank you so much for stopping by and following along!

Blessings to you this week,

Olivia

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Barn Wedding

What does any country (or wanna-be country) girl love?

A barn wedding of course!

So a loooong while back I shared a post called A trip to the party barn...to do some wedding planning!! Like that was way back when it was still really cold out and things were still brown and ugly outside because spring hadn't even began to "sprung". 

Anywho, since then, that wedding happened!!

And my was it beautiful...

Bridey!

(and the mules)

I was so in love with these and the flowers growing up in them. They also had lights wrapped around, which looked awesome once it got dark!

Check out the beautiful old door to the entrance of the barn!

The set up (before things were fully set up) ... wine bottle centerpieces because this barn is on a vineyard. 

The ceremony was actually held right in the vineyard with all the beautiful grapes and grapevines as a background. Ahhhh... :)

The super duper cute cake table. YUM.

Sorry for the bad picture...

Happy couple about to be even happier once they eat some of that cake...

This barn is the one behind the party barn. 

I thought it seemed quite picture perfect with it's old John Deer tractor parked right outside. :)

Oh and then there is this awesome bridesmaid ;) and her handsome husband (who helped out behind the scenes and kept the wedding party nice and organized that day!) 

Yay for country weddings!

Congrats Aaron and Whitnie!!

Have a blessed rest of the week!

~Olivia

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Flowers from my love...

My loving husband had these beauties waiting for me at home when I got back from work...

over a week ago!

Right now they are at the point where they are super fragrant (probably about to die...) and I am just loving it! 

He got me two different bouquets actually. Maybe because a couple nights prior I was grumbling about how he never buys me flowers... haha 

He made up for that though! I have such a great husband, and I'm so thankful for him...

and the beautiful flowers he brought me. They make me so happy every time I look over at them sitting on my table.

Who doesn't love a good bouquet of flowers!? 

Flowers are the best.

Especially when they're from your love.

Blessings,

Olivia

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DIY: Sharpie Plates {eclectic style}

Feathers and Arrows.

Two common symbols of the eclectic/bohemian style.

A style that I am noticing is become more and more popular these days.

Well, even before it was an "in" thing, my sister had that style.

She has been a bit of a bohemian/hippy chick kinda girl since way back to her middle school days when her personal style was first evolving.

A while back my friend Alice from Thoughts from Alice posted some Eclectic/Bohemian Plates that she had made to put on her mantle. I immediately thought of my sister! (you can probably still find my super excited comment at the end of that post haha)

So, I figured, what they hay, if they don't turn out it wont be that much money lost (because I just bought some cheap white plates). They turned out decent, and I ended up giving them to her as part of her 18th birthday present - something she could use leaving for college.

So, here is my take on the feather/arrow designs.

I ended up doing 2 with feathers, 2 with arrows, and 2 with both feathers and arrows to bring them all together as more of a set.

Then, on the backs of the plates I wrote out different Bible verses...all having something to do with food/taste/eating, etc. My writing is sloppy, I know, but they're on the bottom anyways.

Below you can see which verses were on which plates.

So here they all are...

For anyone that hasn't heard how simple this DIY project is, it is literally doodling with a sharpie on a ceramic plate, mug, bowl, etc. Then baking them in the oven at 350 degrees for  a half hour or so.

Doesn't get much simpler!

TA-DA!

Thank you all for stopping by! 

For more DIY and Crafting inspiration you can follow my Pinterest board,

Crafts and DIY

(I promise the things pinned to it are more creative than its name is haha)

Have a lovely and blessed week!

~Olivia

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Elephant Painting on Rustic Wood

Well, as I've shared before, my little sister is an incredibly talented artist.

I have another one of her pieces to show you...

One that she just whipped up in an hour or so. For real.

My cousin Anna really likes elephants. 

I showed my sister that I had gotten Anna some elephant dish towels for her birthday (the night before her birthday party). And my sister goes..."oh yeah, I was gonna paint her a picture of an elephant." 

So off she goes to her room and when I walk up stairs a little while later

I find her working on this little fella...

When it was only half way done I could already tell that it would make the dish towels I got for Anna look like nothin. But that's okay... They are compared to this painting.

Who wouldn't wanna hang this sweet guy on their wall!?

As you can tell, she loved it! :)

Well, that is all for this week...Hopefully some day soon I will have the time to actually write a post with some length to it. I've been so busy!

Blessings,

Olivia

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Collage of Beauty

It's scary how easy it is to always be wanting more.

I find myself doing a lot of day dreaming...

picturing myself at the time in life where I will drive a nicer car, live in my own house, have a beautiful yard...and the list never ends.

I think it's important to look around at what you have right in the moment, and be grateful for being exactly where you are right now.

Not always easy to do, but definitely important.

I am surrounded by so many beautiful things and so many beautiful people.

The challenge in life is to not take that for granted.

I pray you all will feel contentment this next week, and notice all of the blessings you have in your life. Hope it is a wonderful week!

Blessings, :)

Olivia

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DIY: Key or Necklace Hanger

A simple DIY project...

A necklace hanger (what it was originally made for) or a key hanger, or really anything else you could hang from little knobs.

This was kind of a last minute project (used as a birthday gift) in which my hoarder dad, bless his heart, had all of the items hanging out in his workshop.

-an old drawer front

-a mini sample of gray paint

-an assortment of knobs

-screws

-sandpaper

-and even the little metal thingy that goes on the back to hang it! ;)

I'm sure most of you crafty folks can figure out how to DIY this, but just in case,

here are my 5 second instructions:

Paint the wood.

Once dry, screw in knobs where you would like.

Distress the wood lightly with sandpaper.

Hammer in metal hanger to the back.

TA-DA!

A nifty key or necklace hanger!

Blessings,

Olivia

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Cosmos in the Garden {not ready for summer to end}

So while all y'all (yes, I wish I was southern) are posting these

 "ready for fall"/"fall inspiration"/"so excited for fall" posts

I'm over here like waaait, can I just get one more month of summer!?

It's not that I don't like fall. I do like the lovely week-and-a-half of fall that we get here in Wisconsin.

It's more because we had a very, very, harsh winter this last year.

Like, we are tough over here in the Midwest, but it was sooo long and COLD. 

And, they are predicting this next one will be similar to worse. :'(

I'm not ready.

I didn't get outside much this summer, not having a yard and all. 

Currently, I want to cry at the thought of snow.

I think I will start planning a road trip to go down south...

.....

Anyways, enough of my protesting and complaining....

Here are some pictures of the Cosmos in my parent's garden, looking so full and lush.

Right before they are about to die...

haha okay, I'm done now, I promise...

Aren't they beautiful though?

And now, a short, corny, and slightly depressing poem.

Goodbye Cosmos.

Goodbye Summer.

September is here.

What A bummer.

It's your time to die.

The end.

Goodbye.

I know, I know, I'm an incredibly talented poet. ;)

Hope you enjoyed your summer!

Blessings,

Olivia

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Heart House Hanger

Keeping it short and simple again this week.

I think this must really be adult life...

I can't seem to find time to write a post!

So, thought I'd share another one of my mom's projects with you.

She got this large twig heart at a garage sale for only a couple bucks.

Then she took some moss and a little birds nest and attached them to it to doll it up!

She's just so effortlessly crafty.

It hangs right on the front of the house above the dining room's picture windows. 

A lovely little welcoming heart.

I immediately questioned it when I first arrived back home, because I can remember my mom saying when I was little that she was "all hearted out". I believe she was referring to jewelry though! haha :)  

She had gotten one too many heart style jewelry items.

She must be warming back up to hearts though....

Remembering my mom's words of being "all hearted out", I decided at a young age that I didn't like hearts either! Hmm, someone wanted to be just like their mommy I think...

Anyways, it's growing on me. I've decided I like this heart, and that's a start right?

Are you a fan of hearts or not so much?

I love reading comments, so let me know!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings, 

Olivia

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A Country Girl's Playhouse

It's safe to say I was a spoiled toddler. 

My dad would often say, "You're spoiled! Do you know that!?"

To which I would respond, "Well yes, but at least I'm not a spoiled brat."

A sweet, yet spoiled, child I was...

My playhouse is proof  of me being spoiled.

Most children have miniature, plastic playhouses (you know the ones with the little teal shutters and no floor). Not I.

My dad build this charming, rustic, retreat for me (when I was about 2 or 3 years old) from the trees they had taken down while clearing out yard space. 

No plastic shutters here! I had a real picture window (I believe it was actually a french door turned sideways or something like that - hehe). 

Back in the day their was a sandbox out in the front yard and a mailbox off to the right. 

The swing-set was also near by. 

Does it get much better than that!?

And, of course, my mom had it all decorated. At one point I remember it being a schoolhouse theme.

It certainly got good use! I have many special memories in my beloved playhouse.

It is now a garden shed...

Although I would imagine when little grand kids come along it will be converted back to its original purpose. :)

What a blessed little girl I was...and still am!

Have a wonderful week!!

Blessings,

Olivia

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Adorable Outdoor Table Makeover

Yes, another outdoor table makeover! Why? Because my parents love me! 

This cute little outdoor table and chairs was my first anniversary present from them!

Remember not that long ago when I shared my parent's outdoor patio table makeover?

The glass top had shattered, and they made it look all cute like with a wood top... ;)

You can read more about it HERE!

Anyways, one day my mom was at the dump dropping off the garbage and she saw the base of the table and chairs just sitting there. Yes, at the dump!! Looking all adorable and FREE. 

With her recent project in mind, she asked if she could have them. 

Of course she could have them! They were at the dump because they didn't have seats or a top!

(Ohhh silly, wasteful people....)

Just let my mother's creative mind get going (and my father's handy carpenter skills!!), and you've got your self a whole new table...and probably a much cuter one that how it looked originally.

It came with this lovely, natural patina. I love the chippy goodness! 

Maybe that was another reason it was at the dump, but my eyes are just like

CHIPPY = BEAUTIFUL! 

And then, there is this amazing color on top! The pictures don't even show how beautiful it is.

It's a combination of a few different colors I guess, so sorry, I can't tell you the exact name or anything.

It's like a blue/gray/emerald green/beautiful. 

Now I'm just missing the house and cute patio to put it on. ;)

Thanks mom and dad!!! Love yous!

Blessings,

Olivia

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