In honor of the upcoming holiday I have fashioned a table setting that is red white and blue! I created the setting using items from my store, Alchemy fine living. The special finishing touch I found in my pantry closet; it is easy to do and I bet all of you have an apple or [...]

I picked up this gorgeous dresser at an estate sale a couple weeks ago. It had stains all on the top of it, the paint was dingy and peeling and a few of the drawers were really sticky; basically it was in serious need of a makeover. It has a new coat of Swiss Coffee [...]

The last few days have really felt like summer and it is seriously making me crave sun, sand, swimming and relaxation. I need a vacation so bad, but considering I work six days a week and only get off a weekend about once a month, I am not any time soon going to get the [...]

Chicken salad sandwiches are a favorite of mine. Whenever I cook chicken for dinner I usually cook an extra piece of chicken so I can use the leftovers for lunch the next day. It is so quick and easy to just pop diced chicken and mayonnaise in the blender, but what really makes it special [...]

One of my Dad’s most favorite things to do is take a Sunday drive. We used to do this all the time when my sister and I were little kids and back then we dreaded it. We would all cram into the car, grandma and grandpa often came along too, really making things tight in [...]

I am so excited I can hardly stand it!! Yesterday I received the August 2009 issue of Romantic Homes and opened it up to find the most gorgeous pictures taken of a lampshade in my store. The editor of the magazine, Jacqueline deMontravel, came out a few months ago to take pictures of a project [...]

My mom and I teach sewing lessons everyday of the week in our retail boutique. We have had a lot of interest in sewing lined curtains lately so I thought I would offer a few tips on how to create your own window coverings.
First cut the length of your fabric six inches longer than the [...]

This weekend my mom and I hosted a home & garden tour. There where four homes on the tour. Lunch was served at one of the homes at which the homeowner, a jewelry artist, also had her line of jewelry set out. People wondered through her gorgeous home and backyard as they nibbled yummy sandwiches [...]

In a previous post I shared an ottoman slipcover  that I just recently finished, but the best part is the matching chair. It is super overstuffed and a very odd shape. This is by far one of the most difficult chairs I have ever had to cover. It took my mom and I two full [...]

Estate sales can be so hit or miss. This weekend I was very discouraged by the first sale that I went to. The write up in the paper sounded so fabulous.  I was sure I was going to hit the jack pot, but the sale didn’t live up to my expectations. Not to mention the [...]