Be sure to head on over to Michael's at Designs by Gollum for this weeks Foodie Friday. Then be sure to checkout Ann's Food on Fridays by clicking here.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Nola
So what did I buy??? This is a pic of the Williamsport from The Mantel Shoppe's website. My new mantel didn't look so pretty! I bought one of the showroom displays that had been horribly disfigured with a really bad faux marble paint finish. But the bargain hunter in me couldn't resist., they marked her down 60%! I saw a diamond in the rough and knew there wasn't anything a little paint and caulk wouldn't fix. I felt it was missing something, so after a little coaxing they gave me a wood carving to place in the center. Within minutes my new mantel was loaded up and we were on our way to Nashville.
I built up a 4" hearth out of 2x4s and plywood. The 2x4s framing the box are to attach the mantel. I didn't want to spend a lot on tile, so I selected a simple 6x6 porcelain tile for $4.25 per sf for the hearth and a stone harlequin pattern with a black dot for the surround which ran around $18 per sf.
For years I mixed my own thinset and it was the part of tile installation I disliked the most. I now use premixed thinset. It is more expensive, but the time it saves mixing and with cleanup makes it worth it.
When working on walls and with small pieces I like to butter each piece of tile. I know the 'pros' can slap on a huge area of thinset and throw down several pieces at a time, but I find it messy and I enjoy doing each piece one at a time.
I set the tile directly on the plywood and did not use backer board or underlayment. This is suitable for a small area like a raised hearth as it will not be walked on and there will not be as much expansion or contraction. I used bullnose pieces around the top perimeter of the hearth. They give the top edge a nice finished look and they are not as sharp as cut edges.
For more detailed cuts or for a nicer edge I use a wet saw. I bought this saw over ten years ago and it has been a lifesaver. Like many projects...it's all about the tools....
After the hearth was tiled, I trimmed the fireplace box with carbonized black Schluter trim. This gave the surround tile a nice finished edge
Once the surround tile was set and dry, I sealed the stone before grouting. The Stone Enhancer and Sealer not only protects and seals the stone, but enriches the color giving it a wet look. Doing this step before grouting not only protects the porous stone from abrasive grout and possibly altering the color, it also helps clean up after grout.
Ready to grout...
For me, I like to work with no more than .25% of a bag of grout at a time. I do not work fast enough to use up the grout before it dries out when working with a bigger batch. I like to clean as I go; it takes longer, but eliminates the extra work cleaning dried grout off of the tile...which is not fun!!!
I buy $1 bowls from DG to mix the grout in. They are clean and easy to work with. I always have two 'grout' sponges in a clean bucket of water before starting.
Once the grout was dry I caulked the joints between the surround and hearth and between the Schluter and tile on the surround using grout matching caulk. 
Next up....the newly painted mantel was set in place.
I used a finish nailer to attach the carved wood scroll piece to the blank square.
I am very happy with the way it turned out and very anxious to decorate it. I have not decided what to hang above the mantel. All suggestions are much appreciated!!!
Thank you Rhoda at Southern Hospitality for hostessing Today's Thrifty Treasures and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for hostessing Metamorphisis Monday! 
I have two new favorite flavors....Mocha Chip and Black Cherry Amaretto. I love the subtle hint of alcohol from the liqueur.
It's got to be a healthy snack if eaten as a banana split...right????
Thank you Michael and Designs by Gollum for hosting Foodie Friday and Ann for hosting Food on Friday's!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Nola
Two of my daughters, Madison and Aimee'
Madison was a flower girl in a wedding last weekend and had the time of her life! The bride is my daughter Aimee's best friend Caroline. We seached for several months for the "perfect" flower girl dress. Having a limited budget I could not afford to purchase an expensive dress from a Bridal boutique but I wanted it to be perfect for Caroline's wedding. While shopping one day at a local consignment shop, we found a $230 dress with the tags still on for $39.99. It was too big and not exactly what we wanted but I could see the diamond in the rough! Luckily I can sew and I have a wonderful friend who can alter just about anything! We waited until about a week before the wedding to do the alterations because we didn't know how much she would grow in the few months before the wedding. The bridesmaids were all wearing chocolate brown with cream accents. The dress I purchased was a solid cream color so all I had to do was add a few touches of chocolate brown and viola! Perfect!!
Back of Dress:BEFORE
Front of Dress:AFTER
Back of dress: AFTER
I had issues finding shoes that would work and tried about 7 different stores. Again, I could not afford to spend a ton on a pair of shoe the child would wear one time! I finally paid $7.99 for a can of metallic outdoor spray paint in a "Hammered Look" brown and sprayed her white ballet flats she wore for Easter. Perfect! She looked Amazing! (All for less than $50.00 !!)
