Party in Your PJs #18

Welcome to Party in Your PJs #18!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week.  Does everyone have
fun plans for Labor Day?  I am personally just looking forward to having another day off of work to work on our new house and to pack.

Follow your hosts:

Simply Sweets by Honeybee | Facebook | Pinterest

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

 bumblebreeblog | Facebook | Pinterest

Features from last week's Party

Make sure you check out Melissa's favorites over at

Simply Sweets by Honeybee and Bree's at bumblebreeblog!

Reusable Snack Bags from Yesterfood

Buddy's Strawberry Smoothie by Memories by the Mile

Frito Taco Salad by Duct Tape and Denim

Veggie and Cheese Quesedillas by A New York Foodie

We love to pin!  We've have created a board, where all links will be pinned.  If you 

want to be inspired, make sure to follow the board.

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Links on Pinterest.

Ok...now for a few simple party rules

• Link to a post, not your blog home page
• Link to something YOU made
• No Etsy or Business Pages
• Giveaways, Round Ups and other Link Parties are welcome
• Be a good party guest, don't link and run,  visit a few blog, mingle and comment, you might make a new friend.

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.thecookiepuzzle.com"><img src="http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q772/thecookiepuzzle/button-featured_zps5f8a6362.png"></a></div>

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.thecookiepuzzle.com"><img src="http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q772/thecookiepuzzle/button_zps16d7a08d.png"></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Simple Rustic Shutters

Happy Monday Friends?  Are you having a great day so far?

Today, I want to show you the Simple Rustic Shutters, Mr. Cookie Puzzle made for the new house.

I love them.  Our new house is very Rustic/Primitive in style, so I want them to be very rustic, simple and YES, even imperfect!

These are made out of pecan boards, made from a tree Mr. Cookie Puzzle cut.  He just measured the window and cut the height and width to match.  He told me that each side is one half the width of the window. Ok...good to know, but honestly, I just didn't care, I wanted four slats on each side of the window, with a gap between each slat, and three braces in the back.  I gave my orders, left a let him to his thing.

I then had to return, and REMIND him NOT TO MAKE THEM PERFECT!  I wanted them imperfect..toss the level and square please and thank you.  

He confessed that he cheated a little, and use a guide to make sure the slats  were evenly spaced out, but he just 'eye-balled' the rest.  I have to say, I am very happy with what he did.  Very Simple Rustic Shutters.  Not Perfect, Slightly "Off:, a little wonky, kinda like me..LOL!

To see how I transformed my 

metal chairs, click HERE

Pieces of My Puzzle 8-24-14

Happy Sunday Friends.  Another week has come and gone, and I find myself scratching my heading, wondering how I made it through another week, did a lot, yet still have so much to do.

Reality sunk in this week, when Mr. Cookie Puzzle called me at work to tell me that the kitchen sink, faucet and garbage disposal, the dishwasher and the microwave were all installed.  It was like a total smack in the face...OMG...our house is almost done...and we will be moving soon.  I know that I should be really excited, but when I walk into my house, there is still lots to pack. I have not moved very much into the new house, as the floors still need to be sealed, and I don't want to move stuff from room to room to seal them. I should have spent the weekend sealing the floors, but instead I spent it packing.  Oh well...there is always next weekend, right?

I finally got my farmhouse table stained this week.  My dad and his cousin helped me, and I love how it turned out.  It was built over a year ago, and has taken up residency in my parents garage.  Now, it is finally in our new house, waiting for polyurethane.  Yep...something else I need to get done.  Does the list ever end?  I don't think so.

I have been packing a little bit each night when I get home from work, so I have not watched much TV this week.  What I have been watching is baseball.  We are HUGE Kansas City Royals fans, and as I type this they are leading the AL central by 3.5 games.  Ya'll, the Royals have not been to the World Series since 1985, so we are totally stoked! 

 Other then baseball, I was able to catch Under the Dome. So, as it stands now, Barbie is "out" of the dome, while is love, Julia is stuck "in" the dome...and she was going to follow him, but he was able to make it to the dome wall, and tell her to stay in the dome.  Looks like the original "hands" of Sam, Pauline and Lyle find the red door next week, and I am excited to see where it leads.

OHHHHHH...and have you been keeping up with all the news of American Horror Story:Freak Show? WOW...it looks soooo good.

Here is what I was up to, blog wise last week.

Painting Metal Chairs with Chalk Paint

Party in Your PJs Link Party

Have a great week Friends!

Party in Your PJs has moved to Tuesdays

In case you missed the announcement last week, Party in Your PJs has moved to Tuesdays.

You can link up to this week's party HERE!

Come join the fun.

Spread the word.

Move our party to TUESDAYS on your Party Page.

Have a blessed day my friends!

Party in Your PJs #17

Welcome to Party in Your PJs #17!

Follow your hosts:

Simply Sweets by Honeybee | Facebook | Pinterest

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

 bumblebreeblog | Facebook | Pinterest

Welcome to our 17th Party  and our first Tuesday Party.  I hope you found us on our new day.  We are excited to have a new party day, and hope you are excited too.  We hope that having the party early in the week, will allow you more time to link up before the crazy weekend.

Help is spread the word that Party in Your PJs is now a TUESDAY party...share please...the more the merrier!

Features from last week's Party

Make sure you check out Melissa's favorites over at

Simply Sweets by Honeybee and Bree's at bumblebreeblog!

Special Date Coin Key Ring from Sum of Their Stories

Cream Soda Pound Cake by Baking in Pyjamas

How to make an Uphostered Headboard by The Decoratoraholic

Fall Mason Jars by Anything and Everything

We love to pin!  We've have created a board, where all links will be pinned.  If you 

want to be inspired, make sure to follow the board.

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Links on Pinterest.

Ok...now for a few simple party rules

• Link to a post, not your blog home page
• Link to something YOU made
• No Etsy or Business Pages
• Giveaways, Round Ups and other Link Parties are welcome
• Be a good party guest, don't link and run,  visit a few blog, mingle and comment, you might make a new friend.

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.thecookiepuzzle.com"><img src="http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q772/thecookiepuzzle/button-featured_zps5f8a6362.png"></a></div>

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.thecookiepuzzle.com"><img src="http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q772/thecookiepuzzle/button_zps16d7a08d.png"></a></div>

An InLinkz Link-up

Painting Metal Chairs with Chalk Paint

Hi friends! Can you believe that August is over half over?  WOW...I think time goes faster when you get older, not that I am old..but I am defiantly older, as in, over 40, but 40 is the new 30, right?  Please say yes, it would totally make my day!

Speaking of old...I have had these old metal chairs forever...they are OLD.

I am not sure where I got them, but they have been painted many colors...here, you see them blue, with little red peaking through, with just a touch of rust too..beauties I tell you, beauties in the rough!

I decided to spruce them up a little before I moved them to the new house.  Using Chalk Paint.

I used Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint, in Treasure.  I am sure the "experts" would tell me that I should have sanded before painting them, but I didn't, I just wiped them down good, removing any large paint flakes, then painted them with two light coats of paint, then two coats of Americana Decor Soft Touch Varnish.  If you have not used the Soft Touch Varnish, I can not recommend it enough, it is very durable, yet, soft, and can be used for interior or exterior furniture.  I love this stuff.

 Here are the chairs, all painted up, and on the front porch of our new house.  I love the color!

Even without sanding, they are still soft and smooth.  That is the joy and advantage of using chalk paint, it will cover anything!  I chose NOT to distress these, and am am happy that I made that decision, they are perfect for the porch, as it has some other rustic features, which I will share later.  A cool finish on the concrete, which you can see a little bit of, and some rustic shutters that Mr. Cookie Puzzle made.  But, I will save them for another post on another day.

So..if you have some old metal chairs hanging around, give them a new life, with chalk paint!

Before I sign off, I want to remind you that Party in Your PJs ends tonight at 7pm, but will be back on Tuesday evening, which is our new party day!  You can link up HERE

Party in Your PJ #16

Welcome to Party in Your PJs #16!

We are sooo happy you are here with us.  Today is a very exciting day at Party in Your PJs!  Last week we announced that changes were coming to the party, and I am thrilled to tell you that we have a new PERMANENT HOST!

That is right, the lovely Bree, from bumblebreeblog is joining us for good, like all the time, each week as a full time host.  We are so happy to have her join us.  She is a wonderful and creative blogger, and during her time as a guest co-host, Melissa and I formed a wonderful relationship with her.  I am here to tell you, that that she is the one of the sweetest people I have met. She is so easy to get along with, understands my crazy and twisted sense of humor, offers great suggestions to improve the party, and is just so funny!  Please take the time to visit her blog and make her welcome.  

On a sad note, Bree had a family emergency that has taken her away from the party this week.  She will join us as soon as she can, but in the mean time. please keep her and her family in your prayers, no need to know the specifics, our Heavenly Father knows just lift this family up to him.

Follow your hosts:

Simply Sweets by Honeybee | Facebook | Pinterest

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

 bumblebreeblog | Facebook | Pinterest

Notice our new graphics?  Pretty sweet huh?  Notice anything different?  Well for starters, we took our blog names off of the graphics, but notice the other change?  See it?  It is right there in the middle of the two PJ legs!

Yep...that is right!  Party in Your PJs is moving to TUESDAYS!  We are so excited to make this move!  When Melissa and I started this party, I had a prior party commitment, and we had to choose Thursdays.  Well, with the change in the hosts, we thought it would be the perfect time to change days also!  We all feel that Tuesdays will work out great with everyone, as it is earlier in the week, and gives us more time to comments, promote, pin and share!  So, if you have us on your Party list, please move us from Thursday to Tuesday.  If you would like a reminder of the party, make sure to sign up to follow my blog via email, you ca find a link at the very top of my blog page!

The final change we are making to the party, it to allow ANYTHING, as long as it is PG and not a business or Etsy page.  SO..link up your GIVEAWAYS!  Link up YOUR LINK PARTIES!  Link up your ROUNDUPS!  Your CRAFTS, RECIPES, REVIEWS, DIY, THOUGHTS...IF YOU DID IT..LINK UP!


SO, to recap...we have a new host!  We have a new day!  We have new rules!

Features from last week's Party

Make sure you check out Melissa's favorites over at

Simply Sweets by Honeybee and Bree's at bumblebreeblog!

Vote for me at bovila.com by DIY Fun Ideas

DIY Pom Pom Rug by Two Keck Girls

10 Infused Water Recipes by Home Made Interest

Pepperoni Pizza Dip by Belle of the Kitchen

We love to pin!  We've have created a board, where all links will be pinned.  If you 

want to be inspired, make sure to follow the board.

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Links on Pinterest.

Ok...now for a few simple party rules

*Link to a post, not your blog home page

*Link to something YOU made

*No Etsy or Business Pages

*Be a good party guest, don't link and run,  visit a few blog, mingle and comment, you might make a new friend.

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An InLinkz Link-up

Glass Insulator Lights

Happy Monday Friends!

Today, I thought I would share with you some of the lights what we installed in our new house!  Please excuse the dust, we are still installing trim work, and that is why you see the lovely orange cover on the smoke detectors too.  But..this is a house in progress...so you will see picture of a house in progress!

 Aren't they beautiful!  I just love them!  We had them made YEARS ago, and they have been sitting in our basement, just waiting to be installed!  Well...they have been installed for months now, I am just getting around to sharing them with you.  Right now, I have three of these, but a fourth one is being made now.

I have had  glass insulators in a box for years and years, Mr. Cookie Puzzle has had boxes of them in his work shop forever and a day too.  My mom has some glass insulators from the farm she grew up on as well as some from my dad's family farm.  BUT, for these lights, I used insulators that I picked up from garage sales, auctions, clean up jobs and just wherever I can find them.

To have them made, Mr. Cookie Puzzle took them to a glass shop, and for $5 a piece, the nice glass place made drilled holes in the tops.  Mr. Cookie Puzzle then too them to a dear friend, who is retired, and likes to "tinker" with stuff, and he used copper piping to make the light fixtures.

Each of them is different...each is unique and totally custom...which is exactly what I wanted.  While they don't give out a huge amount of light, I am love with them.

I love that he used a combination of sizes, style and color.  Some are clear glass, while some are the blue ones.  They look wonderful against the wooden ceiling too.


So..that is that...three of the lights in my great room.   Taking pictures of lights is hard!  As we are winding down, I have lots I want to share, but finding the time to edit pictures is hard, but I will do my best.

Until next time...hugs!

Pieces of my Puzzle 8-10-14

Hello Friends!  I have missed you all so much.  I miss blogging....I feel like it has been forever since I have gotten to write a blog post.  It probably has not been that long...but, I kinda feel like it has been.

I have been crazy busy lately, trying to finish up our new house.  Mr. Cookie Puzzle and I put up the last of the wooden walls up, it was his office, and he lined it with pecan boards.  I was able to get one coat of polyurethane on it too...WOOT WOOT!  I need to give it another coat and do the trim also.  But...at least all the walls are done.  Mr. Cookie Puzzle has been working hard getting all the trim up, it seems like a never ending job.  The counter tops in the kitchen are being installed today, and the siding on the front of the house should be finished this week too.

I am pleased to say that one room in the house is completely DONE....funny that it is the half bath, but, hey, I will take what I can get, right?  I am tempted to go there today, and clean it and then lock the door, so that it does not get dirty again!

Last weekend, I moved all my cookie decorating supplies into my cookie/craft room.  All those cookie cutters, sanding sugar, tips and doo dads now have a new home.  Yesterday, I moved my Kitchen Aid mixer to it's new home, I will admit, when I left the new house today, I was a little sad.  Not having my mixer at our current house, means I officially will be doing no baking.  I really don't have time now, but I kept dreaming a a few hour or two to whip up some cookies...but that dream is gone now.  No baking until we are in the new house!  I guess that will be my motivation to get it done.

Not being able to bake, also means my blog posts will be all crafts, roundups and new house stuff until I get into our new house.  Mr. Cookie Puzzle seems to think it will be 5-6 weeks.  So..sorry for the lack of cookies and goodies..but I gotta do what I gotta do!

I have been watching very little TV lately.  Under the Dome, is one show that I will not miss each week.  I am in LOVE with that show.  The season is half over, and I am on the edge of my seat each week.  Just how are Barbie and Melanie related?  I mean, HE came from Zenith and SHE came from Zenith....she seems to think he looks familiar to her, but he does not know her at all. But...she has been dead for 25 years...so...who the heck knows!  Next weeks preview looks amazing...I can not wait to see what happens tomorrow night?  Fingers crossed that the spoilers are deceiving, cause if they a foreshadowing of what happens...OMG!

Are you watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey?  Wow....just wow...not sure who is worse, Amber, or her husband Jim......those two are a piece of work!

Can you believe Fall is right around the corner?  My Pinterest feed is overloaded with fall crafts, decorating and baking already!  I have to say, Fall is probably my favorite season, I love the cool crisp air, the colors, the food and the lack of snow.  I am not a fan of snow!

This would be the part that I would share what I blogged about this week, but the only post I had was the Party in Your PJs Link Party..you still have time to link up this week!

Join the Party HERE

Make sure you come back on Thursday for the next party...we have a wonderful change coming to the party!

Today is my sisters birthday...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN!  You are pretty much the best sister/friend ever!  Love you to the moon and back!

So...that is what I have been up to...what has been keeping you busy this week?

Party in Your PJs #15

Welcome to Party in Your PJs #15!

Can you believe this is our 15th party?
WOW....we have had a great time, right?

Just a reminder, is is pretty much a "no rules" type of party

Link up anything you blog about
Recipes
DIY
Crafts
Inspiration
Round-ups
Giveaways
Link Parties
Reviews
as long as it is family friendly
and not a business link (ie Esty shop)
you can link it!

Before we get to this weeks party...
Some changes are coming to 
Party in Your PJs next week.

I wish I could share with you now, but I 
can't, I am totally excited about it, so make
sure you come back next week!

Simply Sweets by Honeybee | Facebook | Pinterest

The Cookie Puzzle | Facebook | Pinterest

With Guest Co-Host

 bumblebreeblog | Facebook | Pinterest

Here are a few of my favorite links from last week.

Make sure you check out Melissa's favorites over at

Simply Sweets by Honeybee and Bree's at bumblebreeblog!

Honey Almond Granola with Cranberries

by Dimples & Delight

Free "I'd Love to Help" Printable by
Pinkie Bean

Pie Tins and Apron Racks by Snug Harbor Bay

Nutella Yogurt by Ms. Toody Goo Shoes

We love to pin!  We've have created a board, where all links will be pinned.  If you 

want to be inspired, make sure to follow the board.

Follow The Cookie Puzzle's board Party in Your PJs Links on Pinterest.

Ok...now for a few simple party rules

*Link to a post, not your blog home page

*Link to something YOU made

*No Etsy or Business Pages

*Be a good party guest, don't link and run,  visit a few blog, mingle and comment you might make a new friend.

*Linking back to our party, with a button

or text is appreciated 

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An InLinkz Link-up