Working on the blog

Just wanted to write a quick post to update that I'm working on the appearance of the blog.  Sorry if it looks rough over the next few days.  It's a work in progress.

Indoor plants, so far no casualties

I am definitely not a gardener of any sort, but I wanted to try my hand at keeping some plants alive in the house.  Right now I have 7 small pots of plants, 3 leafy plants and one orchid. 

 They all stay grouped together on our kitchen table. None seem any bigger than when I bought them last month, but they are still alive so I think I'm doing pretty well so far. When the soil gets dry I use a spray bottle containing water and Miracle Grow for indoor plants to rehydrate them.

  

I have always loved orchids, but didn't want to pay to kill one.  Then I saw some at Lowe's on sale for $7.95 and couldn't resist.

from the New International Encyclopaedia

Last month I went to visit my good friend Lydia in Birmingham one weekend, and we went to some of her favorite spots.  One of which is an "old books" bookstore, Jim Reed's Books and the Museum of Fond Memories. There were thousands of books, and even more interesting, were the antique post boxes full of ancient letters, postcards, and photographs.  I did end up buying two postcards, stamped, addressed and mailed in the early 1900s.  I've got a nice little collection going and hope to someday set them up to be a coffee table book.  My other purchases were an old metal globe, and these two pages from the New International Encyclopaedia, circa 1902.  I can't tell if they are from one of the first prints or not, but either way I really love them.   

My original plan was to get them matted and framed and put them over my husband's and my nightstands.  Inspired by Young House Love.  Then when I got home I was reminded of how small our bedroom is and that the curtains go behind my nightstand.  So now they are sitting on our bookcase in the living room.  I still think I want to get them framed, but I'll wait till I know where I want to hang them.  Also, I'm considering asking Lydia to go back and see if there are any others that seem worth purchasing before someone else snatches them up.

The Honey Trees

A beautiful recording of The Honey Trees playing Moon River

photo by Simondfilip

Paint Chip Garland

I made these paint chip garlands to go above the twin bed my parents brought up this past weekend.  The bed doesn't have a mattress on it yet, but I have it situated where it will stay so I figured it was safe to make the first decoration for the room.

On three different Lowe's trips I swiped paint chips in an array of colors.  I used greens, purples, reds, blues, yellows, and browns because this will someday be a nursery and I needed it gender nuetral.  I may go back later and arrange the colors differently, but this was done without really planning it out.

I used miniature clothes pins to attach the triangles to twine, and hung the twine using sewing straight pins pushed into the wall.

Here is an example of how small the clothes pins are.  The one on the far left is a typical size clothes pin, the middle is a small size, and the far right is the one I used. They are super tiny.

This photo from etsy was the inspiration for the garland.  She used the tiny clothes pins first.  And she has a very interesting blog, Mon Carnet.

Happy Valentine's Day

All my love, to you and yours

Hollandia Cruiser

I am taking out ten dollars every week until my birthday at which point I'll buy this bike for myself.  It is exactly what I have been looking for.  Great color, great style, pedal brakes, and racks for transporting things.  I am aware that at this point, I don't really have a need for it or even anywhere to ride it.  But I've also learned that when something comes along that is exactly what you've been looking for, and have waited years to get, it's best to snatch it up.  These things don't just happen everyday.

Child's Own Studio

I saw this website called Child's Own Studio on the blog Stephmodo tonight and I think it is absolutely brilliant.  They take the drawing of a child and turn it into stuffed animals, or people, or cars...whatever its a drawing of.  Here is a really great example.

Amazing Scarf Tutorial

Dirt Cheap

I love to go scavanging through Hudson's Dirt Cheap in Tupelo.  Their house stuff and miscellaneous objects are usually pretty worthless, and same with men's clothing.  But women's tops are almost always guaranteed to impress.  Lately they've been carrying a lot of things from Target.  Here's what I scored on my trip yesterday.

This purple leopard print sweater for $7 which is the most I spent on anything.

This cardigan is a lovely violet, and I actually think I have the same one in pink, but need more purple in my wardrobe so I bought it. $5.00

 This red striped shirt is much more flattering on than hanging.  A little girl at work had a red and white striped top and light blue skirt this summer and it was just the cutest French inspired outfit.  Decided I would try a more grown-up version. $3.00

 This peach tee is delicate and lovely. $5.00

Lastly, a fun light-weight shirt I could wear to exercise or just out running errands.  $5.00