Yarden Bounty

This weekend my husband took a stroll through our yard and this was the result. While others with more decorating savvy would have pulled out the cut crystal vases; hubby, always resourceful, pulled old drink bottles and small bowls from the cupboard. (Perhaps this also speaks to the fact that there are NO cut crystal bowls in the house?) So this week, as I've fixed lunches and grabbed dishes from the cupboard to piece together meals, I've caught the gentle fragrance of roses wafting up.

It somehow adds a bit of gentility to our otherwise helter-skelter lives.

Media Cabinet Revival

Wow.

Two--NOT one, but TWO remarkable things have happened today.

One. I figured out how to transfer pictures from my phone to my computer. ALL.BY.MYSELF.

Please hold your applause....

Because you will be amazed to hear that I finished, yes FINISHED a project.

I know. I know.

What? You don't believe me?

I got pictures.

Check it:

Media cabinet--Before:

(Definitely in need of a revival. No?)

Cardboard squares cut to size.
Fabric cut to cover cardboard.
Glued fabric to cardboard with decoupage glue.
Inserted into picture openings.
Cuteness...

How bout them apples?!

The Making of a Weekend

I've been following Harper's every breath.



You know how you're not supposed to carry your social security card on your person? Yeah, well, since I don't and I've put mine in a very secure place, I spent a portion of my day off here (but in my local office and may I just say, the people who hang out there are a bit unsettling..."I need my money! Where's my check? I'm on dialysis!") so I could finally get this:

Am still cruising the internet on hubby's good graces. Although I have my laptop, the cord is STILL not here so I had limited battery power which is now depleted. Three hours only SOUNDS like a lot of time to be on the computer. When trying to pull it back to the land of the living, it's more like the twinkling of an eye.

Was so excited to receive my new subscription issue of ReadyMade. This may be my new fave. The decor projects look like things you find in domino which is my current favorite decorating magazine. Great. More magazines to save. I seriously need to show you the bin (a literal plastic bin) FULL of magazines. Other people stash fabric or craft supplies (and I do a bit of that too) but I stash magazines for inspiration. I could paper my house with all the mags I have. The scary thing is, I've weeded out a bunch. What can I say. I love a lot of things and I'm a decorating schitzo.

I also discovered yoville on facebook. It's a fun way to waste time.

Lest you think I piddled away another weekend, I must hasten to say that I found time in my busy play schedule to clean the bathroom and vacuum the whole house. (Which by this point was less vacuuming and more beating dust bunnies to death with the vacuum hose. They had grown large enough to fight back.)

And I'm spent. It may take me all week to recover from my indulgences.

I Can't Get Enough...

...Of the beautiful fall leaves. I'm pretty far south
and don't usually get to see
much in the way
of brilliantly colored fall leaves.

My favorite has been
the vine (Virginia Creeper? Poison Oak?)
climbing the pine tree.
It positively glows when
the sun hits it.



Even in it's waning,
I love these
Cotton Rose blossoms.



They would make
gorgeous ruffly
ball gowns for
a fairy...

In the Event of a Babysitter, Find Your Nearest Waffle House.

Once a month the gym my daughter uses for gymnastics hosts a "Fun Gym". Held on a Friday evening from 7-11pm, it allows kids who are members of the gym to come and run, flip and tumble (with, of course, a break for pizza!). All this for the low price of $15 ($10 if you have a coupon!)

That is such a godsend for a couple of parents who don't have any babysitters on speed dial.

So this past Friday evening, my hubby and I used this opportunity to go to a session of a Creation conference. It was wonderful to be able to sit and give my full attention to the matter at hand. (That all changed when we returned the next morning, child in tow. But she really did remarkably well.) When the evening session was over, we still had a bit of time before it was time to pick up our girl so we did something we haven't done in ages...

We went to Waffle House.

I used to go to Waffle House fairly often when I lived in another town. I remember giving your order and the waitress would go over behind the counter and call out your order to the cook. I loved the hash browns. Scattered, covered smothered...etc. I just loved hearing them say all of that without getting tongue twisted! Hubby likes their grilled chicken sandwich. It was as good as I remembered it!

Sometimes it's fun to shake up the ordinary routine of life and do something off beat.

I'm all about it!

A Tea Cozy

You know I love coffe. Believe me, I LOVE coffee.

But. There are occasions where nothing will do but a cup of tea. Piping, steaming, fragrant tea.

I've been consistently cold today. You know. Hands and feet perpetually cold. Odd for the middle of August, I know.

I think this calls for a cup of hot tea. Don't you?

Now, I considered other ways to get warm. I think of my hubby as my own personal heater. I swear his body temp hovers at around 150 degrees or so. Unfortunately, snuggling with him means he is sweating in about 10 seconds. Plus this is a family blog, so I couldn't get very far posting about that....

How do you take your tea?

Here in the South, tea is usually brewed, sweetened (heavily) and served over ice. It's a staple at meals and very refreshing on a hot summer's day. Interestingly enough, although I've grown up on sweet tea, I don't make it often at home. I drink it only occasionally.

Others drink hot tea, heating water and adding tea bags or loose tea and letting it steep. Some add honey, lemon, and/or milk as well.

That is my preference today. A piping hot cup of Earl Grey. Lightly sweetened, with milk.

What will you have?

Just let me know....I'm pouring.

New Ways I've Discovered to Waste Time

I have spent waaay too much time over here

Careful! It's addictive!

Shampooing...But Not.

Well, snap.

I can't find it now.

I was cruising the internet the other day and found an intriguing concept on one of my fave blogs. I have been trying to find it again so I can share it with you and I can't find it!

Anyway, the concept is stop washing your hair....with shampoo. Use apple cider vinegar. (I'm familiar with using this as a rinse to give the hair shine after shampooing, but I was not familiar with it being the shampoo.)Several people (who think a whole lot about these things) are concerned about the harshness of shampoo. Can't say I completely disagree. Shampoos do have sulfates which = detergent and that is a strong cleaning property. If you color your hair, some of these shampoos (even ones for color treated hair) will cause the color to fade. They can also be drying to the hair. Technology is offering us sulfate free shampoos and there are some very good ones out there.

Nevertheless, some people just don't want to use products with chemicals and are conscious of how they are produced and the pollution that results when they are made. (Wonder if anyone ever thinks about the personal pollution people emit everyday. Especially after a good bowl of chili...but I'm not going there.)

I decided to try an experiment. I would put about 3 tablespoons of ACV in a bottle with water (think: restaurant sugar shaker) and some drops of lavender essential oil. I tried it on my girl and was satisfied with the results enough to do it a couple more times. Then I tried it on myself. I just had my hair colored last Friday. I have a few vivid red streaks in my hair and remembered that vinegar will help to set the color in clothing after dying, so....I gave it a shot. I wasn't too sure how my hair would feel since I have a gravity defying hairstyle and use a paste type product to style it. I expected my hair to have some residual stickiness to it.

But it didn't.

It worked surprisingly well. The fading on my red was minimal. I used this method two or three times before I finally broke down (after a particularly sweaty workout) and shampooed it (with a natural baby shampoo). During the trial, I continued using my paste for styling , but didn't use hairspray, although adding baking soda to remove that would have been effective.

I finally shampooed my girl's hair with natural baby shampoo after she got sticky popsicle in her hair and I just wanted to make sure that came out.

*edited to add: http://www.itstherecessionstupid.com/2008/05/ufo-recession-1.html

Anomalies

Can you believe we are 15 days away from Christmas?! I would cry and pout, but I'm afraid Santa won't come see me if I do.

I have finished one of the scarves I'm frantically working on. I just have to remember how to cast off now. I have one more to finish and one to do yet. AAAACK!

My girl helped decorate the tree last night. It was so sweet. I love having a little girl. She's such a mixture of sweetness and spunk!

Had a lovely day yesterday. I was soooo tired, I had no energy to do much of anything, but I spent all day with my family and never left the house. I just wanted to be with them.

Temperatures here are in the 80's. We had a picnic outside and wore shortsleeves. NOT Christmas weather, I assure you. I hope it straightens up in time for Christmas! Santa might get confused and not come, thinking it's not time yet-it's too warm!

Well,
Toodles!