Swoon !!!

Love this recent entry from Jennifer Rizzo!

http://www.jenniferrizzo.com/2012/03/garden-parties.html?showComment=1333030697764#c3493896770337365423

It's OK Thursday!

It's OK . . .

...that we still have Christmas lights from 5 or 6 years ago on our back deck. I like to think of them as "party" or "fairy" lights and they make me smile.

...to be really looking forward to a wonderful weekend with my family! Lots of good stuff going on!!!

...to be so very happy that today is my Friday! 4-day work weeks Rule!

...that I still haven't unpacked from Spring Break. Everything I didn't wear on Spring Break, I'll just take with me this weekend.

...to have the sniffles and a little sore throat. And a headache. I'll fight through it. I don't know if it's allergies or a head cold but I won't let it get me down.

...that my hubby got me addicted to those Storage Wars / Auction Hunters type shows.

...to be planning a big trip to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and our birthdays (just can't decide if we want to take the girls or just the 2 of us).

Spring Tablescape

Now, I'm not a professional like http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/ or
http://vignettedesign.blogspot.com/ or http://www.classiccasualhome.com/
or http://tablescaping.blogspot.com/ but I do enjoy setting a lovely table and try to change with the seasons as much as I can. I change my table decor so often, I'm not even really sure what my "normal" / everyday centerpiece is.

Last year was the first time I tried to do a Spring theme. I wanted to start decorating right after Valentine's Day and it needed to be something that would stay appropriate until I changed over to my beach/summer tablescape. I knew I didn't want an Easter theme and I had seen some beautiful shabby chic/earthy/natural schemes I wanted to duplicate. I wanted it to be very natural, very green, kind of rustic. I wanted topiaries, succulents and nature accents. I wanted it to feel like you were dining al fresco. Here are a few photo inspirations:

I love doing the same themes over and over because I always add new pieces, move things around, try a different use for an item, etc. I like when the table sort of evolves and everything just falls into place. So now here's my finished version:

The crock in this photo is actually from a line of candles we carry in the gift shop at work and the burlap table runner was an Etsy find.

I love these Gail Pittman plates and am always on the look-out for pieces on e-Bay.

The birdcage candle holder and butterfly print are new this year and the plate with the bird's nest on it is an Earthborn piece made locally in Alabama http://earthbornpottery.net/newsite/

The choche is new as well and has a cute little snail sitting on top.

10 on Tuesday

1. Ikea: over-hyped and confusing or genius furniture company?
Not an Ikea fan.

2. Your favorite interior-decorator-type person wants to makeover one room in your house. Which room do you choose and why?
My laundry room. I would really like an organized, functioning laundry room. I have visions of beautiful baskets/bins with gorgeous hand-written labels, top of the line appliances, maybe a refreshment/entertainment center to make laundry less of a chore?

3. Describe the furniture in your childhood bedroom. Did you like it? Where is that furniture now?
I had the typical bedroom of a little girl growing up in the 70's. It was very girly, kind of an off-white, with delicate flowers on the drawer pulls. My Aunt Bobby & Uncle Bob bought it for me and my mother always made sure I had a beautifully coordinated bedroom. I am the only girl in my family and my room was always pink or yellow or some other girly combination with perfectly matched accessories. I wanted a canopy SO bad but never got one. I have no idea where that furniture is now. My parents turned my bedroom into a guest room just a few weeks before my wedding. This is very similar to the furniture I had growing up:

4. When you’re done with furniture, what do you do with it? Donate it to Goodwill OR Sell it on Craigslist OR Put it by the curb and hope the trash guys take it?
We donate it. I've never sold any of my furniture.

5. My Pinterest furniture style could best be described as
funky/eclectic
antique/shabby chic
modern/minimalist
so random and varied it’s undefinable
I kind of lean more towards "antique / shabby chic". My style is “comfortable” and definitely not a fan of modern or contemporary.

6. Name the most important furniture/toy in a toddler’s playroom. And why?
Been a long time since a toddler's been in the house but I would have to say usable storage (meaning, the toddler can access the toys and easily help clean-up).

7. Your parents (or grandparents or other relative) are giving away all their furniture. Which piece do you really want?
My Aunt Josie had a beautiful vanity that I loved growing up. It was very 1920's looking, very art-deco; big beautiful mirror, lots of little drawers. And Cosmo's grandma had a similar piece that I was always drawn to. The photo below reminds me of the vanity I wish I had now as an adult:
8. Your biggest furniture buying or home decorating regret?
I love KJ's bedroom furniture but I absolutely positively hate the loft bed. It is SO hard to make and never looks nice. .

9. $1000 gift card! Do you want it to Ethan Allen, Ikea, Pottery Barn Kids?
Ethan Allen. See responses to #1 and #6.

10. Bunk beds, loft beds, trundle beds, or canopy beds?
Easy . . . canopy! See responses to #3 and #8!

Don't Blink

The next couple of weeks are going to go by so fast! I'm afraid if I blink, I'll miss something!

Still trying to recouperate after Spring Break but we hit the ground running yesterday with lacrosse and volleyball practices. T & I are headed to Oxford later in the week while Coach has lax games scheduled in Memphis. Prom is barely two weeks away, we've got a wedding celebration, a bridal shower and another wedding, lax championships, I think we've got a vball tournament in there somewhere, a couple of end of year parties and then high school graduation! Whoop! Whoop! Truly, where did the time go? Wasn't I just putting this child on the bus to kindergarten???

"Time is free, but it's priceless.

You can't own it, but you can use it.

You can't keep it, but you can spend it.

Once you've lost it, you can never get it back"

Phantom Photographer

I was all set to blog about Spring Break and upload some photos from the beach but found these on my camera instead. I've got quite the aspiring photographer on my hands.

It's OK !!!

It's OK . . .

...that I don't watch the Bachelor. Sounds like he was a big goober and she was psycho hosebag.

..to love the rain and a good thunderstorm!

...that I barely go on my Facebook account. I will post positive, supportive comments on friends and family's walls, but I refuse to post statuses. I won't post anything other than photos anymore.

...to always be on the look-out for a good book.

...that I haven't slept well this week at all. I'll catch up next week!

...that Champ got a flag at one of last week's lax games. The guy has been playing the game since he could walk. He knows what he's talking about and is well within his coaching rights to question a bad call.

...that I was not happy with February's Birchbox at all. Hover, March's box made up for it.

...to not fill out a basketball bracket this year. I'm just not that into it.

To Follow or Not to Follow?

That is the question. Well, that a couple other questions I have at the end of the post.

I like to access my accounts every once in a while and do a little house-cleaning. You know, delete some bloggers that haven't posted in year, people I once thought were interesting on Twitter, update my Goodreads account, update the pages I like on Facebook, etc.

Tonight I've been cleaning up my Pinterest boards. When I first starting pinning, I just had very generic, catch-all categories. Now, I've defined my boards a little better and deleted things that are no longer of interest to me or pins I must have really liked because I had them on the same board 5 or 6 times! As I was cleaning up, I realized I never, ever go on anyone else's profile and look at their pins. It was a very weird revelation. I have absolutely no desire to check out other people's boards. If I follow someone's boards and their pins pop up on my home page, yes, I'll re-pin. But I don't ever specifically go to their profiles to see how they've categorized things or what they've named their boards or anything else for that matter. Even though I'm of the mind that once you put something on the Internet it's no longer private, I do feel that Pinterest boards are personal. While I may appreciate the photo you've pinned, I don't want to know or need to know why you've pinned it or under what category.

I also discovered that I don't like to comment or put a lengthy description on my pins. I usually try to keep it brief and put a punctuation mark or something very random in the comment section. What that particular pin means to me and what it means to someone else re-pinning it at a later date and time are usually two very different things.

While I was cleaning up my Pinterest boards, I also realized a few things about myself and a few other things were just reiterated: I love to read. I am not a fan of mid-century or modern furniture. I am a romantic at heart. I have a wicked sense of humor. I love to travel. I love to take naps (preferably outside with a good book nearby). I like the beach (preferably with a good book nearby). I also love autumn. I also love winter. I love bathtubs (preferably outside with a good book nearby). Bracelets, shoes and handbags are my weakness. I have no idea who "Dr. Who" is or what's up with that blue telephone booth. I don't like to cook. At all.

How are you using Pinterest? For the recipes? For the outfit ideas? Home design inspiration? Does anyone else feel that Pinterest is "feminine" and it's weird when a guy has a Pinterest board??

Jar Head

We all know about my obsession with mason jars but did you know about my love for apothecary jars? Apothecary jars are so multi-functional, so multi-seasonal!

These jars were very popular on Pinterest during the holidays. Very simple to change the contents, change the ribbon and switch out the letters.

Here's another variation for Christmas. You can do this at Easter with Jellybeans or Valentine's Day with conversation candy hearts. I recently saw the Easter grass photo on Pinterest and LOVED it!

You can use apothecary jars in the bath to hold soaps, sponges/loofas, bath crytals, q-tips/cotton balls, bath bombs, etc.

And apothecary jars are perfect for candy buffets! The candy bar always looks better when your candies and color/theme coordinate. Keep everything in the same color scheme and it looks amazing!

If you have a beachy themed home, apothecary jars are perfect for your beach treasures -- your collection of shells, smooth rocks, starfish, sea glass, etc.

And how cool is this! Using apothecary jars in the laundry room! If you use powder detergent, wouldn't laundry be less of a chore if you had a beautiful jar on hand and maybe a special silver scoop???

10 on Tuesday and Entirely WAAAAY TMI

No "10 on Tuesday" for me yesterday. It was about baseball. I know almost nothing about baseball so I wouldn't have done the questions any justice. Better to only answer the "10 on Tuesday" questions I can answer somewhat intelligently!!!

Hey Jessica Simpson! We all know you're pregnant. You don't need to touch your belly in every single photo. We also know you're having a girl. And now, thanks to recent interviews, we all know entirely way too much about your sex life. http://www.eonline.com/news/pregnant_jessica_simpson_talks/300677
Honey, some things are better left unsaid. And what goes on between a man and a woman behind closed doors is private.
http://now.msn.com/entertainment/0314-jessica-simpson-libido.aspx So amazing to me that she would speak so openly about her sex life considering she's an unwed mother living with her boyfriend. I guess the naive, virginal Christian girl act went out the window after her divorce from Nick Lachey. Let us not forget this is the same woman who had a fit when former boyfriend/douchebag John Mayer referred to her as "sexual napalm" and said she was "crazy in bed" in an interview. She said she was horribly embarrassed because her grandmother heard about his remarks. But it's OK for her to talk about her bedroom antics with boyfriend Eric? Hmmmm...sounds like a double standard to me.