Raised In Cotton

January Farmhouse Review

Thought I would make a simple collage of the January happenings at the farmhouse. I have decided at the end of each month to take a photo look at some of things in my daily life that made me smile. Instead of doing the once a year reflection, I thought why not try it at the end/beginning of each month? More of a count your blessings acknowledgement.

Of course Mr. PracticalPants always makes me smile~

Feeding the geese~

But…..

Can you tell he is saying, “don’t take my picture, your blog friends don’t want to see me.”

Take a look back at your January and tell me what made you smile?

Bowl of ruffles

Have you noticed lately the hot ruffle trend that is hitting clothes and home decor? Everything from MEGA gobs of fabric to small ruffle edging is being used for all types of embellishments. I really have never considered myself a ruffled girl unless you happen to take a look at my bad hair in the mornings, but I found these towels and love them~

The perfect white towels with just a bit of white ruffles. I rolled the towels and placed them in a wooden dough bowl to use in my bathroom.

Sweet Linda brought this beautiful weathered tote to our Frenchie’s Show last December that she had made with her own version of pretty ruffles~Wonderful!

Thanks so much for the farmhouse love and support for my new healthy lifestyle on the last post, more to come:)

Updates

Two part post! First section will be to catch you up on everything related to the farmhouse renovations. Second will be to catch you up on my weight loss journey thus far.

The incredible snow storm and cold weather that we had starting on Christmas Eve put all of our remaining renovations on hold. My mud room or dirt room off of the kitchen looks like this~ Pretty huh?

We completed the foundation work but still have to raise the door one small inch so we can finish the floor.  The 2 feet of snow that was on the other side of the door has finally melted but now it has been raining! Then of course we are in the process of expanding Mr. PracticalPants detached garage to hold his prized cars.

Mr. PracticalPants has great ideas on how he is going to “decorate” his garage. I have heard everything from a few Johnny Cash posters to stenciling a burnout stripe down the center of the floor. 

The good news is that all the interior painting (except for that dirt room) is complete.  The color for most of the walls is called “Honey Wind” by California Paints. It is a creamy shade with a hint of gray and has just enough contrast against the white trim. Here is a look at the dining/living room space. Nothing on the walls yet and just a few pieces of furniture. We are slowly moving things in, finally! 

The garden style chairs will be replaced with these from Restoration Hardware in Belgian Linen.

We still have a couple of cabinets to move in that will flank the farm table among other pieces of furniture. It is really nice to finally start being able to decorate too.  I have a lovely chair that I ordered from Deb to go by the couch that I also bought from her.  Deb and her staff at Curious Sofa ship pieces all over the country so give them a call. 

More photos coming your way of the farmhouse:)

 

Now for my personal update~I have been going weekly to my Weight Watchers meetings which are truly motivational……I have lost 10 pounds and can’t believe how much better I feel.  I am walking on my treadmill 4 x a week and using small 2 pound weights to increase my upper body strength. In one of my future posts I will share with you how I fell off of my treadmill and almost into Mr. PracticalPants prized 1955 Belair………

Once again I want to say “Thank You” to all that continue to send emails with your encouraging words and support. It means the world to me.  If you ever need to “talk” about your own journey just email me at [email protected]:)

God Bless

It is very hard to think of anything else these days but the people of Haiti.  Sending a prayer from my Catholic faith to all of those that are suffering.

Watch, O Lord, with those who wake, or watch, or weep tonight, and give Your angels charge over those who sleep.
Tend Your sick ones, O Lord Christ. Rest Your weary ones. Bless Your dying ones. Soothe Your suffering ones. Pity Your afflicted ones. Shield Your joyous ones. And for all Your love's sake.
Amen.

Pottery Barn Loves Farmhouse Style

Look who loves farmhouse STYLE too….Pottery Barn!

Renovating Carol Part 2

Have I told you all lately that you Dear Friends are completely and totally amazing? The response that I have received from my Renovating Carol post has been incredible and God Bless each and every one of you for taking the time to help me. One of the many reasons I love to blog is the sense of community and the inspiring friendships that are made. Connecting with each other is what this life is all about right?

And connect, we did…

Getting real the other day and being totally blunt with you was difficult. But after reading the many heartfelt stories about your own honest and personal struggles with weight, made the bond that I feel with many of you that much more special. Your excellent advice included everything from book, DVD and website recommendations to offers of diet buddies (YES).  Robin sent me this saying which I adore, “Eat to Live, Not Live to Eat.” Dixie offered this question, “I so often ask myself... why, when I control nearly everything else in my life... can I not control my fatness?”  Of course my sweet gorgeous niece Shelly left me a comment that made me cry and laugh; “I pulled out the Wii Fit the other day. The virtual trainer said (I swear I heard a hint of sarcasm in her silky voice),"It's been 208 days since your last visit. You have gained 6.8 pounds. Would you like to set a new goal?" Oh, would I. Bring it, Wii b*tch! Perhaps I should change my trainer to a male...:)”  Laughter is the best don’t you think?

So…. this is what I have done so far with your help…….

I joined Weight Watchers and went to my first meeting yesterday and LOVED IT!!

As promised to you and myself I quit drinking coke and sweet tea and I am now drinking WATER! I actually started feeling much more ALERT . You see coke and tea have a ton of sugar but also are loaded with caffeine which is a diuretic. Dehydration can mimic hunger pains. So drinking plenty of water will help decrease my appetite.  I had to go cold turkey to do this because I was so addicted to the liquid sugar.

My pretty crystal glass with a slice of lemon~

I pulled out my Wedding crystal and shoot why not?

I dipped the stem in some snow to make a ice coaster and smiled while drinking my water out of my pretty crystal glass with the lemon slice. Life is Beautiful and I am going to make it healthy too.

Sending you much gratitude and many {{{Hugs}}} Dear Friends.

*Farmhouse news~SNOW~and more SNOW~meaning the renovations are being delayed with the SNOW~We have to wait to finish the foundation and floor in the laundry/porch room because of the SNOW and negative wind chill! Stay Warm *>*

Renovating Carol In 2010

Here goes….sigh….bigger sigh…I am going to say something to you that has been bothering me for a long time……I AM FAT…….

FAT….Good Lord what a horrible three letter word for any Women to deal with.  The dictionary describes the hated word as an adjective like this; having too much flabby tissue; corpulent; obese: a fat person. Corpulent????

I finally got the nerve to say it out loud. I have been thinking about doing this post a good long time but I was simply too scared and my ego was always in the way.  I must be accountable and take the blame for my overeating that has caused my expanding gut and back side. Trying to tell myself that I had a reason for my binge eating with the death of my Mom and two brothers in a 10 month span in 2008 had been a good excuse or so I thought. As a Registered Nurse, I assessed my situation as a post traumatic reaction to a tragic series of events with depression combined with poor eating habits.  The only thing that seemed to soothe me was to see how many carbs I could cram into my mouth. Bread, chips, cookies always seem to taste wonderful about 10 pm at night in front of the TV. Oh don’t forget the REAL COKE and SWEET TEA that it takes to wash it all down. Like many Women, I keep busy all day then at night I seriously could eat a tub of wall paper paste.  Having the dreaded “muffin top” that plagues us peri menopausal middle aged Women has certainly been fun to deal with too. How many ways can you hide that double layer of fat right below your chest anyway? Trust me, I have tried. I bought a really cute bohemian empire top last fall and thought I was stylin until I caught a profile view of myself in the mirror~not pretty.  My favorite GAP jeans have not been worn for a couple of years. They are part of my “one of these days” stash of clothes that I can’t part with. But guess what? One of these days is finally here. No more excuses, no more late night binging. I have to, NO I MUST take better care of myself and it starts by being HONEST and admitting my problem.  It will be hard for me as I have ZERO WILLPOWER and I love food.

So Dear Blog Friends, I am asking for your support and help. Any ideas, guidance or tips would greatly be appreciated.  I promise not to make it a boring diary of my weight loss goals but from time to time I will share with you how I am doing. Maybe if you are going through some of the same frustrating weight issues we can help each other too.  After reading my sweet friend Tiffany’s post yesterday, it was the inspiration that I finally needed to let you know that I need help. So along with renovating the farmhouse, I will be renovating Carol. Please wish me luck.

*Step one: No More REAL COKE or SWEET TEA! My drink of choice is water with a slice of lemon in a pretty glass.

A rose for you Dear Blog Friends to start 2010 off with~