Pollen and Stuff

Well as you know, last weekend I got sick and I didn't fully kick it until Thursday.  Then spring decided to arrive and EVERYTHING is yellow.  Yesterday, the weather man said, "we've broken an all time high with our pollen count, it's over 8,000 today!  To keep things in perspective, the pollen count is considered high when its over 500." WHAT?  Is it really that bad or should we consider updating the pollen high-low list now that we apparently have more plants? Allergy season has arrived.


I bought one of those print to canvas Groupons a couple weeks back and I finally ordered it.  I'm working on re-doing my living room decor in shades of white, blue and brown - so this is replacing some artwork.

The wording is from a song called Invade, by Watermark.  I love the song, I love the message and I thought it was a perfect thing to be reminded of every day.  I created the image in Photoshop and then just uploaded it to the canvas site as an image.  I'll post a picture of it in its new home once we hang it up.


This is the week folks - the last week of finals and Caleb is DONE with his Bachelors degree in Information Systems Management!  I am officially one class away from graduating, so we aren't celebrating until May.  The reason we are waiting until May to celebrate is because Caleb knows and I know that Caleb isn't really done with school until I am done with school.  About once a week around 9 PM I say, "The answer is NOT in the textbook and its NOT on Google and my teacher is DUMB!"  and then Caleb comes and sits next to me and says "let me look" and then an hour later he says, "you're right! your teacher is dumb, email him and tell him so!"  But seriously, I'm taking a Risk Management course and the textbook is archaic and it is my only resource for this course. 


In all reality, we will celebrate because Caleb is SOOO excited and I am too!  We are both ready for this stage of life to be over.  I am going to make this cake over the weekend as a surprise for Caleb.

 

Lemon, Lemon Cake

Dinner and Dessert

Caleb loves anything lemon and he has fond memories of lemon cake from his childhood, 

so I'm going to see if I can compete.  

Today I have to knock out 1 of 3 final school projects, do a conversion call, clean out my inbox, and finish a few work projects.  Thanks for reading about my life (whoever you are) even though I disappear randomly.  Blame it on a cold, school and the pollen.  None of those things can defend themselves. :)

Happy Tuesday!

Bed Inspiration

This is how our bed looks now. . .

I love the actual bed - it is a king size and it's comfy - but I'm ready for new sheets, comforter, pillows, etc.


I want something with more layers, something that looks more luxurious, but I don't want to spend a ton.  So I've been checking out Pinterest for ideas.

Minus the monogrammed pillows (no, I don't monogram my car either) - I really like how soft and amazing this looks.  Not sure if I could do yellow  long-term though.

Love the clean lines - interesting that yellow just showed up again.

I love how this uses the same color, but in different textures. 
Don't you just want to jump in that bed?





Love that comforter

Any suggestions? Need some inspiration. :)

New and Improved Medicine/Vitamin Cabinet

A couple of weeks ago, Graphics Fairy posted this graphic:

find it here

I loved the vintage look of it and knew I wanted to use it for something.  Then I thought about the cabinet in my kitchen that stores my vitamins and medicine and I decided that this would be the perfect excuse motivation to get it organized!

Before:

I took these pictures really quickly, but you get the idea.  Mismatched colors, hard to find bottles, nothing pretty about it!

I found these boxes at Michaels for $2.50 a piece

Then, I opened the picture in Photoshop and added some words so I could make labels for my boxes. Next, I printed the labels on card stock.

Then, I simply used double-sided scrapbooking tape to attach the labels to the boxes.

Super easy and makes my cabinet look so much better!

 

My Wanderings

This time of year I love flipping through recipe books, magazines, and blogs, exploring all of the unique and delicious recipes and meals that people are creating to celebrate the holidays.  A home-cooked meal, shared with friends and family is a wonderful way to celebrate the joys of the season.  


I am just afraid I won't have enough days to cook all the recipes I've piled up, book-marked, highlighted, and marked with post-it notes. Oh, the quandaries I face!  Just so that I am not alone in this predicament, I'm going to share some of the temptations I've found!

Buckeyes by Smitten Kitchen

Cheesy Spinach Lasagna Soup from Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Not only do I love cooking, but I love decorating for the holidays.  As soon as September hits, I pull my pumpkins out, candles, leaves, fall garland, blocks  that spell out "blessings" and a touch of anything else that brings the feeling of fall into my home! 

If you're still decorating for Thanksgiving, these are really cute printable cards aka art. :) 

Today's Fabulous Finds Thanksgiving Subway Art

And look at this creative, frugal idea!

You can see how it's done at Choose to Thrive

If you haven't even thought about Thanksgiving yet, here is a free downloadable e-book with some yummy recipes and good tips! Click here

I'll spare you my Christmas finds until later...my dad had a rule growing up that we couldn't listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving! So no Christmas posts until after Thanksgiving either!

Remember, the secret to having a relaxing holiday is taking the time to plan out the details!  Embrace all of the beauty this season has to offer.  "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven" Ecclesiastes 3:1

Before and After: Dining Room!

The dining room has been my "blah" room for awhile.  Awhile equaling, since we moved in; three years ago.   Empty cream colored walls, dark furniture, no color to break up the monotony, it's enough to drive a perfectionist mad!

We're blessed with a lovely bay window and a dining room large enough to fit a six-person table and a china hutch. I've just been completely uninspired when it comes to decorating this room.

So we have some unclad windows...

...plus a blank wall...

...and another blank wall...

What does one do with all of this blankness?

Why sure, buy a bunch of mismatched frames...

this will certainly fix the problem...

Now lay them out randomly, without thought or direction on top of newspaper...

and spray paint the ugly outta' them!

Starting to look promising, eh?

Well look at what some curtains did to this room!!

I bought the 2 patterned panels at Ikea for $60 and then I bought the brown panels at Wal-Mart for $10 each. The curtain rod cost $12, so all together, showcasing these windows cost me $92.  Not my most frugal makeover ever, but this room needed an eye catching face lift! In the spring/summer I plan on switching the brown panels out for a light blue or light green panels to lighten the room up.

I know it's the angle of this picture that makes the photo frame collage look so small, but it really does fill up the wall space nicely. If I find some other frames or decorative pieces to hang, I might rearrange these collages some, but I am content for now!

I put this quote above my windows almost a year ago.  This quote is what pulled the dining room together for me. I love entertaining and sharing meals with friends, so I really wanted to make my dining room about the people closest to us.  I chose pictures of friends and family, changed them all to sepia and framed them with frames I found at thrift stores. I paid less than $10 for all of the frames and the spray paint!

The quote says, 

"When we seek to bring out the best in others, we tend to bring out the best in ourselves."

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The Whole Kit and Kaboodle ~ Being Thankful in All Things

Last week verged on the edge of mind numbingly boring as it consisted of working as many hours as possible and accomplishing an insane amount of tasks, but it's over now.  Not surprisingly enough though, a new week has started already and is looking like last week's twin!  I have to stop and remember to be grateful, to be thankful that I have been given the opportunity to work so many hours this month.  Even though my head is spinning and my eyes are glazed over from the computer screen!


Friday evening started at a friend's house for a Tupperware party. It was a fun night of fellowship and yummy food!  I'm thankful for the people God has placed in my life.  And, I'm thankful for the free acorns Sharon gave me! :)


Saturday, I finally found a pair of boots! I have been wanting a pair of boots for going on three years now and I finally just bit the bullet and got some! (Turns out that one of my friends bought the exact same pair! great minds think alike :)  I was able to purchase them for $50, so that was good.


Then we proceeded onto the corn maize to begin the first of our planned fall activities!

The gang

Afterwards, we ate delicious cobbler and played Cranium, which is the equivalent to Monopoly's level of fun. Ahem.

Sunday was an awesome day!  We were able to serve as volunteers at church and witness 52 people get baptized!  It was amazing and beautiful and I experienced tears of joy several times.  There is nothing more encouraging than seeing Christians proclaim that Jesus is all they need!  Wonderful night.

And so another week has begun and tomorrow it will be half over!  It seems the more I try to savor life, the faster it flies by. 

Remember these frames?

Well you'll be pleased to know that they have come a step further.  They now look like this!

The finished project will be done this week. I can't wait to show it off!