O Dear

Can it really be over a week-and-a-half since I last posted? My, how time flies!

Well, I've been keeping myself busy with work, friends, and family! And since it's already August, I'm trying to soak up every bit of Summer sun that I can get! Also- this weekend marks J and I's ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY. I can't believe it- it's been a whole year! And, I'm even more in love with him than the day I married him. Awww.


(Here's J and I walking around the Friday night Classic Car show in my hometown.)

But, I've also been working on some little projects too, that I'm really excited to share with you! So, stay tuned my lovely friends!

You can't handle the cuteness

We are going to take a break from our regularly scheduled programming to bring you a bonafide cute-attack inducing post.

I would like to introduce to you Simon, the tiny turtle.


Simon says "hi"


Look how cute I am! Don't you just want to risk getting salmonella and smooch my little head?


But don't be fooled. I'm actually quite fierce. Check out my CLAWS.


What, you don't believe me? Just because I'm the size of a crouton?


*No turtles were harmed in the making of this post. Simon the Turtle is a registered trademark. Don't even think about getting a turtle and naming it Simon. Don't even ponder it.

Garage-Sale Finds

Last weekend, J and I hit up some garage sales. As usual, some were awesome, and some were just... shall we say... laughable? Seriously, people. Please do not try to sell me a cracked plate made in China for $15.00. It insults my intelligence.

But anyway. I did find some fun loot! I always feel like a pirate when I say that. Argh!

Like this lovely set of thing-a-ma-bobs:


And these super-cool, retro plastic thingies:


I already know what I'm going to do with those! However, the glass bottles I am unsure of. They were just too cool to pass up! What do you think? Any fun ideas?

I think they might be cool for holding spices, or beads, but if you have other ideas I would love to hear them!

Our Home

Step into our home and you will see lots of things.

You will see a little town-home with more furniture than it should be required to bear, and white carpet that is not really quite pristine anymore.


You will see a kitchen with a fridge and stove that are older than their current owners, but are still chugging along and performing their duties quite nicely!


You might run into a cute guy that likes to make funny faces. Just remember, he's taken! Hehe.

You'll probably notice a coffee-table piled with books, an ever-present laptop computer, and some cute coasters that say "I only have a kitchen because it came with the house." Note: I don't really agree with the statement, they're just cute coasters...

You will see evidence all around that this home is lived in, including a bright yellow motorcycle backpack in the corner.

Yup, this is where we live. This is home.

It's not perfect, but I'm loving it more and more every day.

big changes

This week, I started a new job! It's been a little crazy adjusting to the new workplace environment, but I am really loving it so far.

Last week before I left my old job, my co-workers surprised me by taking me out to lunch and giving me a fun gift to remember them by:


It was such a thoughtful gift, I was really touched that they thought of something like that. Also, to me it's kind of symbolic of starting a new phase of life.


Sometimes, we need a change! Did you know that bonsai trees have to be re-potted every 4-5 years? They start growing stagnant around that point and need a little more space to grow and thrive.


I think we as humans need that too- we need to examine our surroundings and when we feel "stagnant" in life, then it might just be time to make a change, even if it's just a little one. For me, this specific change was one that I waited for a long time. It was the result of a LOT of prayer and conversations with God, and it's still hard to believe that it actually (finally) happened!



So that's what I've been up to this week, how about you?

I cheated...

So- I've had this lampshade lying around for a while. I love the shape, but it used to be this yucky shade of light blue. After a crafting project gone horribly wrong, I was left with an ugly blue lampshade with little pieces of fabric still glued on. It was not pretty.

However, some craft paper and mod podge came to the rescue and gave me this:

Want to know a secret? It doesn't really matter that this lamp is a slight fire hazard (although I did use a low-wattage bulb), because it's not even plugged in.

So there you have it. It's my dirty little decorating secret. =)

Do you have any little decorating "cheats" that you've used in the past? I would love to know, please share the deets!

simple change = big difference

Sometimes, just a little change can make a huge difference! I was browsing through a store a while ago and found a shower curtain for $14.99. Seriously, that's a good deal for a shower curtain. (Our first one from our wedding registry was $50. I'm actually almost ashamed to admit that. But it was a gift). So, I bought it because the fabric was gorgeous, and I figured if I didn't use it for the bathroom, I could definitely find another use for it!

Well, the other day I was bored so I decided to play around with a new look for our bathroom. In case you don't remember what it used to look like, here's a little reminder:

Gray walls, bright shower curtain, little punches of pink and yellow (more pictures can be found here). It was fun, but somehow I always felt like it looked like a college-age bathroom.

So, with a new shower curtain and some accessories that I already had on hand, it became this:








Much more grown up, don't you think? I seriously love the new look. And for $14.99, I think it was a pretty darn good deal! What do you think?