But it is usually through another person
that he meets our needs.
Therefore, it is vital that
we serve each other.
~Spencer W. Kimball
But, if I muster up just enough courage to just begin painting the walls, usually it starts looking better really quickly. Look how great that wall looks~it gives a glimmer of hope for the rest of the room and the little shot of excitement I need to keep going. 
the Gleaners by Millet 
It’s here a day early because my kids are out Fri-Mon for a little spring break, so we get to spend a long Easter weekend together. I’m excited to announce that next week I’m going to do a series on “putting it all together” ~ my thought process when I tackle a space in my home. I’ll take you step by step and you know I have no professional background, so it could be pretty humorous as well…
On Friday, you’ll be able to link up a space you’ve created that you love!
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Have you noticed my blog’s new look? My husband was out of town for a few nights last week, so I stayed up ridiculously late reading tutorials, trying different layouts, trying to streamline it and tweak it. If you click on my credits button up there below my header, you can see what I used. I need to add a FAQ button and paint colors in my home, and have a survey about 320 Sycamore I would love for you all to take, but that will all come sometime hopefully sooner than later.
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Okay, on to some caught my eye!
LoVe this table makeover from the Painted Hive:
Three steps to a perfect baked potato from Kami:
the cutest personalized clay easter eggs from Rachel:
The truth about Designed to Sell at Hooked on Houses: the open houses are fake??
How to dress up store bought curtains from Red Door Home: Part 1 & Part 2
Have a wonderful weekend~I hope the weather cooperates with your plans!
Blast. The Easter dresses I bought at half price are now even cheaper at Children’s Place.
Many are 14.99, then use code A6D2011 for an additional 15% off, making them $12.74 each. They also have cute matching short sleeve cardigans. You probably won’t get them by Easter, unless you pay for express shipping, but still a fantastic deal!
If you have a store near you the sale should be there as well. Click on the sale button, it’s in all depts and you can use the code on your entire purchase.
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Have you heard the buzz about this hair straightener: Remington Ceramic Flat Hairstyling Iron, 1 Inch?? 
It gets great reviews~very interested if any of you have it? This is the cheapest I’ve seen it for $39.99 w/ free ship and some claim it works better than the $100+ ones…
Happy Tuesday~
quatrefoil planter $5 * boxwood basil $3
I know you all love to know how much it all came together for, so here goes. We’ll start at the top and kind of move clockwise through the pictures. Most of the descriptions have links to see more…
I’m over with Traci @ Beneath My Heart today talking about the frame makeover in Lauren’s room. Come on over!
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thank you so much to all of you that helped out with the auctions. We just send $120 over to our friends at the Alma Project~320 Sycamore readers have huge hearts. thank you, thank you!! Your packages are going out today.
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The Shabby Apple giveaway ends tomorrow!
We have lived in our current home for just over a year. You can see what it looked like when we first looked at it here. 
A fun surprise for today just in time for Easter dress season: a dress giveaway from the Shabby Apple!
We used Shabby Apple for bridesmaid dresses when my sister got married, and I have been a fan ever since. (look at my sisters though…they make much better models than I do!!) Their customer service was wonderful and the dresses were high quality.
Here are some my favorites from above {clockwise from the top} Pina Colada, Ming, Fifth Ave, Nantucket, and Gondola. Here are some of the categories you can browse through if you’ve never been over there:
Women's Dresses from Shabby Apple
Maternity Dresses from Shabby Apple
Little Girls Dresses from Shabby Apple
AND 320 Sycamore readers get 10% off using 320sycamore10off
Today, we are giving away the Marseilles dress to a lucky reader!
How to enter:
1. leave a comment, telling us why you would love a new dress.
2. For a second entry, like Shabby Apple on Facebook, and leave a comment telling us that you did.
Good luck!
The fine print:
* Winners will be drawn on Friday at noon eastern time
*the winner must have a US shipping address.
*there will be no exchanges for the winning dress.
* I have signed up for the Shabby Apple affiliate program, so I could get a small portion of sales. I only sign up for affiliates with companies I love. thanks!
I love what Kate from Centsational Girl is doing with the Alma Project. Basically, it is the transformation of a fixer upper house into a comfortable functional home for women who desperately need it. {you can read more here} Could you get anyone better to be in charge of something like this?? Kate has a heart of gold and I told her I would love to help out, but Virginia is kind of a long drive from California. As I was adding some odds and ends to my Goodwill bin, a thought came to me that *maybe* some of it could be sold to help the Alma Project. Soooooo, I am putting some things up for auction in separate posts.
*All* proceeds will go toward the Alma Project~just think of it as making a donation to a worthy cause and getting some fun things for free! If you don’t want to bid on anything, Kate could use any donation, large or small to help out with this project.
Happy Bidding!
Here is where I used one:
Auction is for 2 unequal halves :)
Starting bid: $5.00
Shipping: $2.00
To bid, just leave your bid in the comments. Each comment must be higher than the previous comment, last comment wins. If you would rather not bid in the comments, email me your amount, and I will add it in anonymously. Auction ends Tuesday night, April 5 at 9:59 p.m. eastern time.
All proceeds go to the Alma Project~see more here.
Thank you!!
This is the fabric I used for my windows in our bedroom back in Texas. These have unfinished edges, I just fold and clipped to hide edges. See more here. 2 panels, approximately 27 inches by 110 inches each, Waverly Essence sun ‘n shade screen print.
Starting bid: $5.00
Shipping: $2.00
To bid, just leave your bid in the comments. Each comment must be higher than the previous comment, last comment wins. If you would rather not bid in the comments, email me your amount, and I will add it in anonymously. Auction ends Tuesday night, April 5 at 9:59 p.m. eastern time.
All proceeds go to the Alma Project~see more here.
Thank you!!
Here are some leftover license plates that you could use for your own project or license plate wall. Includes Utah, Idaho, Michigan, Tennessee, or Wisconsin. All plates are expired and are for decorative use only.
Starting bid: $5.00
Shipping: $2.00
To bid, just leave your bid in the comments. Each comment must be higher than the previous comment, last comment wins. If you would rather not bid in the comments, email me your amount, and I will add it in anonymously. Auction ends Tuesday night, April 5 at 9:59 p.m. eastern time.
All proceeds go to the Alma Project~see more here.
Thank you!!
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