My Day Off

Yesterday I took the day off. That's right no cleaning, no dishes or laundry. Just a day for me to do what I wanted. And what I wanted was to go on a little road trip and shop. The Christmas Tree Shop just opened here and I've been dying to go check it out! So with the sun roof open and my Starbucks I headed out. I must say I really enjoyed the day of just poking around and doing whatever crossed my mind. Here's how my day went.

First Stop - Christmas Tree Shop

Found these cute cake plates. I admit it. I love cake plates. Just something about the shape and height. Anyway CTS had some cute ones for spring. Love the lavender. Found this cute plate and stand for $2.29. Love the prices there!

Also found a cute little black table for my bedroom - $15 and ran into the Easter Bunny (wink, wink!)

Next stop - Old Time Pottery

Have to say I was greatly disappointed! Everywhere I looked I was surrounded by frolicing frogs and scary gnomes. Finally made my way into the glassware but it was so dusty I couldn't tell the true color of the glass. Ewww, I felt like I needed a shower after I left.

Little bummed after I left OTP. Wanted to end the day on a high. So when Hobby Lobby caught my eye I decided to stop.

Next Stop - Hobby Lobby

Jackpot - 50% off all hanging decor. Found this cute little "F" pic. When its hung I'll show you. Sadly I ran out of time so will definitely have to go back!

Ladybug Fly Away

Ladybug, Ladybug, fly away home .... Just not to my home! Was cleaning up the craft room and found 6 lady bugs hanging around. Yuk! So I did the most humane thing I could think of....sucked them up in the vacuum. They'll probably just crawl out and end up somewhere else in the house.

While I was cleaning up I decided to get out my Casio Label Maker. Luv the label maker! Feels great to just label everything. Once I start I can't stop!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Decorating Marshmallows

Saturday was just a rainy, dreary day. We had nothing planned and no where to go which is very rare. So I saw this idea on Green Beans Crafterole website (http://www.thegreenbeanscrafterole.blogspot.com/) and thought my kids (especially the sugar king) would love these. They are chocolate dipped marshmallows. I was able to find the Strawberry flavored ones at Walmart. Just heat up Candi-Quik and dip. Too easy! The kids (including the big one I'm married to) enjoyed dipping and decorating.

I think the original idea was used as a gift. They are so cute and look great in a clear jar. Our teachers might be getting these at the end of the year.

Little Bit of Heaven!

What a great weekend! Friends, family and IKEA. What more could a girl ask for! Made a trip to IKEA with some girlfriends. Lots of great ideas! Here are a couple I found.

I think its cool how they used the sticks behind the bed.

I have these pillows on my guest bed. They took the cover off the pillows and put them on a canvas frame. You'll definitely see this one pop up around my house soon!

And the creme de la creme! My bargain of the day. It took some patience and effort but well worth it! My pears!!!

Everytime I've been to IKEA I've seen these pears on display and love them. Never bought them because they were $49.99. There was always something I needed more than to spend $50 bucks on 2 pictures. Well this time I just happened to be down in the canvas art and didn't see them anywhere. So I asked Ben (who was my hero of the day!) if they had anymore or were they discontinuing them.

Ahhhh, the words I dreaded...discontinued...no more in stock. Ok think, think. So I asked Ben if he could sell me the ones upstairs on display. Ben got right on it and thankfully he was also someone who didn't take no for an answer very easily. Luckily after several phone calls to people who really just didn't give a crap and didn't understand the urgency of me needing those pear prints Ben tells me he's just going to have to do it himself. Music to my ears! He went and rescued my pears! Of course when he got back I did try to finagle the price. You know...discontinued...display...yada yada. No deal. Couldn't help me there. Oh well! Life is good. I have my pears!!!!

The best news is that when I went to check out the price came up to $29.99. Yeah, got my pears and saved $20 bucks!!!

Whew! What a fantastic day at IKEA. Thanks Ben!!!

Happy Monday!

Simple Little Squares

I have these squares I bought at Target on clearance for 3.99 each. They were just black and white photos on these plaques. So I figured I would just buy them, cover them with pretty paper and other embellishments. As you can see I haven't gotten to the embelishment part. That's where I stopped. When I was finished I was planning on hanging them in a bathroom.

Well, I lost my vision and when I held them up to the wall they just didn't look right. So in the mean time I just set them on a ledge temporarily till I found a home for them.

That was about 5 months ago. Since then I have had several people compliment me on them and ask me where I found them...

So I just faked it. I told them how I made them and acted like the squares where meant to be there and look that plain. Here's what they look like.

Bluebirds

I saw a bluebird the other day. It was a very cold, crisp January afternoon. I looked out the window and saw a bluebird in the tree. They make me smile because they have the brightest blue color I've ever seen on a bird minus a parrot.

It was just a nice contrast to the dull gray skies and trees.

I'm back!!!

Middle of January and its cold and snowy outside. I've had a chill for the last couple of days. I think the only thing that is going to get rid of it is summer.

So to try to warm up I've put a fire on (with the flip of the switch :) ) and put in a movie. Love winter afternoons. Gives me chance to catch up on all the summer blockbusters I've missed because I'm outside enjoying the weather.

Haven't been to Ikea lately so I'm making a run for the border Friday. I've got a few items on my list so I won't be going crazy. Just a little Ikea fix though!