Sofa buying tips

When is the last time you bought a new piece of furniture? If you're like me it's been awhile.
For the past several months, I have been on a search for a sofa for our living room. The set in there now is 14 years old. Although I loved it when I bought it, It just wasn't working for us anymore. Tastes change and styles change. As a decorator I always want to change something.  After the new carpet was installed, I couldn't wait to get the old set out of here. It was a process but patience and education led me to the right one for us. The tips I have learned over the years made the process easier, so I thought it  would be helpful to share with those of you, who may be planning on sofa shopping soon.
Here is a peek at the old sofa: Now don't laugh at it, it really did work in the room when the carpet was blue,  with yellow walls and lots of navy accents.

And the new one, still in the store:

much more my taste and style now!

I love the curve and the lines of this sofa.

Because I have 2 beautiful navy flexsteel chairs in this room, I will need to change out these pillows to tie the room all together, I will post before and afters when I get the room done.

Come back on Wednesday for tips I have learned both in my recent process and also as a designer in a few furniture stores over the years

Simple Pleasure

Is this not the cutest? My sweet grandson after we took him for a walk to see the animals at the pet/feed store. We wore him out. He's turning 1 this weekend. I cannot believe how quick that went. Spending any time I can get with this sweetie is one of life's simple pleasures and I savor every moment!!

linking this to Simple Pleasures over at a Collection of This and That

Dance your Shoes off!!

Saw this video recently and thought the Easter season was a good time to share it. Definitely worth 5 minutes of your time. May you feel uplifted and blessed today.

More than 2,000 people from Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas, gathered at Discovery Green in the heart of Houston to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The purpose of Dance Your Shoes Off! was to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ in a powerful and celebratory way. Most importantly, each participant left a new pair of shoes on the field for those in need. 
Linking this to finger print friday over at therustedchain 
And to

A recipe for you

I won my hubby's heart with this meatloaf (just kidding I had his heart long before I could cook)
Seriously though, he never thought he liked meatloaf until he tried mine.  This is not your mommas meatloafWe love this one and it is great served with garlic mashed potatoes or this french bread Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. It is a favorite go to recipe when I want to take a meal to someone too ( it travels well) It is so moist and for someone who like veggies very well it's a way to get them with out really tasting them

The Best Meatloaf
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
2/3 C. milk
3 slices bread run through the food processor to make crumbs
1 finely chopped onion
1 C. grated carrot
1 C. grated cheddar cheese
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Mix all together well and form into a loaf
top with mixture of
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tablespoon mustard
1/4 C ketchup
Bake 350 degrees for one hour or until internal temp reaches 170

Variation:
Substitute Italian bread crumbs for the bread and use mozerella cheese for the cheddar, and add 1 cup grated zucchini  for a bit of an italian twist

Linking to the following parties: Foodie friday at Designs by Gollum

http://www.titus2atthewell.com/tempt-my-tummy-springtime-brunch-recipe/

Fun weekend

Whew! It was a crazy but very fun weekend. We had a houseful. Everyone was home except for one daughter. We laughed. ALOT! (no surprise her huh), stayed up way too late, and ate too many of these :

You can go here for the recipe(warning addicting)

The highlight of course was grand baby Ezra. He will be 1 year old next week( I can't believe it ) so he is going all the time and all over the place.
Like here where he was trying to help me with dishes.



















Our local feed store had a "Chick Day" with all kinds of baby chicks and a petting zoo. We wandered over and let Ezra see all of the animals.
He seemed to really like this calf. Wish I had more pictures but they are on his mommy's camera. He kept wanting to poke the baby chicks in the eyes. We all cracked up when he went after one with his  thumb and pointer finger looking like he wanted to pinch one. (I know we are sick)  but it really was funny.

EZRA AND MOMMY PETTING THE CALF

Anyway we had a blast and I hope your weekend was great too. Oh and one more thing. Here are the Weekly deals in the outlet. Order early before things are sold out