Inspiration

This picture, from the Toast spring catalog, inspires me. There's just something about it that spoke to me. It makes me want to let my natural beauty shine through, messy wavy hair and all. It makes me want to wear simple, stylish clothes that I can piece together from my own closet. But mostly, it makes me want to be artistic, creative, and find beauty in simple things.

What inpires you?

Jewelry: Organized!

I love these! This is a guest post from my sister in law. Says Karen:

I have too much jewelry. Well not too much, just not enough space to hold it all.
Enter 2 cork bulletin boards $4 from my favorite thrift store.
Paint the frames black. Don't Worry about the cork, it will be covered.
My S-I-L is always telling me to go simple and try for clean lines. Hello this 100% un-dyed natural cotton does the perfect job. Walmart $2.00. Using the most versatile tool in my house, (my Pampered Chef scraper) I tucked the fabric under the frame.
Not only do I love looking at all my jewelry now, so does everyone else. My little girls, my hubby. It is some perfect wall art and super organized.

Thanks, Karen!

I Love Getting "Tangled" up in a Good Deal

Save $5 Mail-In Rebate

You can receive a $5 rebate check* by mail when you purchase Tangled on Blu-Ray™ or DVD PLUS and any two (2) packages of Success® Rice.

For complete details, click to downloadthe official mail-in rebate form and follow the instructions. Offer valid, and purchases must be made, between March 16, 2011 and June 30, 2011. All requests must be postmarked by July 30, 2011. * Limit one (1) rebate per household. Please allow six to eight weeks for the check to arrive.

This was in the Sunday coupons with a coupon for another $1 off the rice. The cheapest price I have seen for the dvd is $14.96 at Walmart. Next cheapest is Target for $15.99 for the dvd.

At Walmart, the rice is $2.08/box. With 2 boxes of rice, the dvd, $1 off coupon and tax, the total comes to $19.35. Then with the $5 rebate, it's like getting the rice for free and the dvd for just under $11.

I have an extra coupon, if you want it, let me know. Blog readers will get free shipping and coupon! ha ha

Have you seen any better deals? Have you gotten any good deals lately?

Before & After: TV Armoire

Let me introduce you to our old "pet dinosaur" as my husband liked to say. He was a nice, solid wood TV armoire.

I had always wanted one of these. A nice friend gave hers to me when she couldn't even give it away on Craigslist. They say these things are the "dinosaurs of the 90's" as far as furniture goes. I don't know if that's true. I still loved it, they still sell them, and it was nice to "hide" everything. But let's face it, when something is this big, is it really "hiding?" Not so much.

Let me introduce you to our other pet dinosaur, the TV "with the box behind it." Kids don't even know what these things are nowadays and they are becoming extinct! But this was given to us by a nice old lady many years ago and it has served us well.

Until Saturday. Poor thing bit the dust. You should have seen the joy on my husband's face.

Luckily, we were given some Christmas money by my great in-laws that we had not yet spent.

So, it was off to the electronics store for a FLATSCREEN!!!

On the way home, we discussed the agreement we had come to during the purchase of the flatscreen: we buy smallest, cheapest, if we get rid of the armoire. Ok, fine but the darn thing does hold alot. of. stuff. ie: all our games, dvds, cds, some blankets, you get the picture.

I convinced my hubby that if we got rid of it, we would just have to get something else to replace it..... and the wheels in the mans' head started a'turnin.

He got out his tools and with an evil laugh sawed the top of the armoire clean off and turned it into a nice, clean TV cabinet/stand. I was delighted. "Way to be resourceful, honey! I am so proud of you!" I cried. "Don't you just love it?!"

"For now." said he.

Well, I'll take it :)
I highly recommend this project! It took a half hour and it was like a breath of fresh air afterwards.

We feel so fancy with our "new" TV cabinet and even newer TV. What do you think?

linking to http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2011/06/pottery-barn-bedford-office-addition.html

linking to http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/2011/06/tutorials-tips-link-party-17-sneak-peek-at-stenciled-entryway.html

I LOVE STICKIN' TO THE BASICS

For those DownEast Basics fans.... Um, did you know they have home decor? I didn't? Maybe you knew, and you didn't tell me? Shame on you! Simply lovely, and always the clencher for me: inexpensive! Check it out: www.downeastbasics.com

What I'm loving right now: "Now I know my ABC's....."

A few weeks ago, I spotted some Alphabet prints in my Ballard Designs catalogue. Not just any alphabet, but Architectural building designs in the shape of letters. I thought how cool it would be to get one with my last initial! After doing research, I discovered they were by a German architect, Steinbruber, and you can get a hard to find blueprint-looking poster print of the whole alphabet.

Then last week, I was enjoying a stroll through an antique store when I came across some vintage porcelain Alphabet balls in a pretty apothecary jar. I instantly fell in love, but at $2 a piece for these little balls, it was just fun to look at, but not touch. I have been obsessed ever since. Apparently, they are hard to find as well, just my luck. I thought it might be fun to just have a small collection, with a letter for each member of my family.

While I'm on the subject of using "typography" to decorate your home, I thought I'd throw in another "love"; A to Z bookends. So clever, no?

THEN, I came across the alphabet bookshelf online. Very modern, very fun. I like things orderly and chronological, however, and would love to hang them that way instead, with books and objects in them in a playroom.

Now I've sung my ABC's! Next time, won't you sing with me?

Kiss me, I just found out I'm Irish...and other random thoughts

• 
• My mom and grandma are really good at family history. My Grandma has RED hair. So does my brother, his kids, and really, of you look closely, probably each of us grandkids and great grandkids have a strand or two. But we never knew where it came from.Well about a month ago, they discovered a line that goes back to Ireland! Pretty cool. So now I can celebrate St. Patricks day with the best of 'em, right? Too bad I don't drink alcohol....
• Leprechauns are pretty annoying. I know they not real. But my kids think they are and they pretty much havent been able to focus on anything today for to find the Leprechaun that is hiding in our house somewhere.
• One St. Patty's day tradition I have with my girls is to paint our nails green and put green ribbons in our hair. It's fun being a girl!
• And by the way, what does "Erin go braugh" mean anyway? Erin go braugh is a phonetic version of "Éirinn go brách," which in Irish (Gaelic) means "Ireland Forever." It was an Irish blessing used to express allegiance to Ireland.

What about you? What do you look forward to on this Leprechaun day?