tropical paradise island party

Finally, maybe the sun is going to stay around awhile! It has been so rainy for so long this month, it's been very dreary and somewhat unusal. Trying to keep a positive outlook regardless! Started making plans for my bunco party in just about a month! Looking up as much as possible on the theme party. Have lots of ideas now. Planning to work on my invitations this weekend and buy some more entertaining and decorating decor items. I luckily have many friends that I can borrow from, so that will help me so much to get it all together and looking awesome. I'd love to say I'll be posting pictures, but I still haven't fixed my camera. (Procrastinating as usual.) I did manage to get my ipod working, I've had all kinds of electronic problems lately.

My invitation plan is to make boarding passes for all my girl friends with an itinerary of events! I'm using there first names and Hawaiian first names on the envelope of the invites with a paradise postal stamp. Looks great so far!

I'm working on my menu ideas too: Jerk Chicken Nachos, Pineapple/Avacado Salad, Fried Rice, Key Lime Pie, Coconut Shrimp, Fruit on Skewers, Mocktail drinks.....

Lots to plan!!!!

Pottery Barn to my rescue, as always! :)

rainy day blues

Wow, looking at the last post, I just realize how busy I've been this month, bearly having any free time for blogging. Today, though seems to be a perfect day, it's raining outside and has been all day, so what's better to do than play on the computer, right?!

I have been fairly busy today, eight loads of laundry!! You'd think I haven't washed anything all week, but that's not the case, I seem to always be doing laundry, I guess it's like doing dishes! lol...never ending.

Also, went into my beach room to focus on some decor ideas, and I'm hoping to have the room finished by October.

The above pics are just great dreaming ideas and inspirations to help me make it through this yucky day! :)

Spring is in the air

The weather is cooperating nicely for now....a few great weather days here and there, and I'll be happy for each one during this unpredictable time of the year.

As I was finishing decorating today for Spring, I looked at the table and thought how much fun to have a party, or brunch, or something....I love to entertain. Hope I can find a date and have some friends over real soon. I found great inspirations above (pb, where else...lol), as well as shopping on Saturday at a cute hometown kitchen store where they have lovely tablescapes! My camera is not working, hope to get it fixed soon so I can post some pictures. ( I just got it for Christmas, so I hope to get a warranty repair.)

Redo no dollars

The above basement belongs to a good friend of mine. She asked me to assist her in making it into a more pleasing entertainment area. So we went to work, borrowing accessories for all over her home to make this transformation. We still need curtains, and a little work on the bookcases, but all in all...from nothing to something....pretty pleasant! I especially love the corner ladder shelf we stole from her laundry room. Since her wall were concrete we were unable to hang the few art pieces at this time....but we hope to soon.

Focus

Great outdoor rooms! After having snow this past weekend, I'm ready for spring and summer. I know it's still many weeks away, but just taking a few minutes to dream of some wonderful looks for the deck, patio, or veranda. PB to the rescue!

A view

A room with a view, a home with a view....it's what we all want. Truly we can enjoy some beautful sites even from our own backyards. I love the outdoors in late spring and early summer, it's just so wonderful to enjoy dining in fresh air. And the above pictures are very dreamy escapes, just a little fantasy to enjoy before the day gets here, and wishing it were today. Thank you to one of my favorite dream spots...Pottery Barn!

Go Green

Shopping around the Pottery Barn site and finding what makes me happy, I find myself drawn to the greens. It feels fresh and I guess it makes me feel good. Like Spring time! Today, in my neck of the woods, it's a beautiful sunny day with temps in the 70's....it's grand!!! But I realize, it's just February and the weather is fickle this time of the year....today 70 tomorrow 30...lol! So I have to keep a level head, but does get you in the mood to plant something to clean up the outdoors. I can hardly wait to get to dine outside again. So until then, I'll just dream and be inspired for what I can do to bring some of that beauty into my home. :)

Love

Thinking of the idea of love and the very inspiration for a graceful Valentine's day event to come. I have found the above pictures a fond symbolism. It's a fun day that brings me pure satisfaction in celebrating....because of it's beauty, honesty, and loveliness. Making Valentine cards and creating gifts and decorating a part of my home as a dedication to LOVE for my friends and family is a wonderful joy. After all it is the Greatest gift....I Cor. 13:13

Projects

Keeping with the motivation to get organized this year, I continue to work on my Laundry Room, it's so much better than before, but still there's more to accomplish.

I tackled the kitchen pantry this weekend. Purchased some great storage savers and organizers, a spice rack, and a new pan rack to stack my cookie sheets, muffin pans, etc... The feeling is such a thrill for me. It's almost an adrenalin rush to have this updated look to my pantry. Granted, I would like to change the contact paper on the shelves, but SO unbelievably better I can hardly stand it!!!! (Okay, I'll calm down now....lol.) Pictures still to come...hopefully soon.

This weekend did find me doing some more daydreaming and seeking motivation from magazines and online shopping sites. Above are a few stimulating ideas the spurred my fever into action, and I need all the spurring I can get! Thank you Pottery Barn and Southern Living and Thomasville!

Accomplishments

Constant inspiration this year is key, to keeping me on track. I must say so far so good. I'm thankful for great pics like the one above to help boost my creative juices!

Saturday was a full day! My darling husband took me out for breakfast....that's like one of my favorite things to do. I love pancakes!! So we head out for our breakfast date, and while in the big city we go by a few shopping spots for a few things, a wedding gift and to see what's on sale! I scored on both endeavors! YEA!!! Bath and Body had a great sale as did The Kitchen Store! Got a cool wicker wrapped carafe and some sweet smelling soaps and lotions! And it's back home to put out my bargains.

While in the Bath and Body store they also had some great wallflowers they called them, the smell good plug-ins! I got a couple of those and my husband said he loved them already. The Bamboo scented one is great for my jungle bath!

The rest of the day was spent organizing my laundry room...that is one of my ultimate goals this year. I picked up some cool canvas cubbies to organize dusting rags, and laundry bags and clothespins, etc. A couple more of them and I should have a better control on the laundry issues! Hopefully, I'll snap a pic for you guys to see when I'm finished. It's an extremely small space, but just doing something as simple as organizing a few things is going to make a tremendous difference.

Weekends

Weekends are great when you can leisurely do things at a pace that has no timetable. I love that....but wouldn't want that schedule all the time.

This weekend was mostly that kind of weekend for me and what fun I had with some major daydreaming. Here are some great finds: LOVE these rooms and inspirations...mostly found at Pottery Barn. Can hardly wait to make some investments there! But for now, it's all in my dreams.

Treasures

Feeling a little blue the past several days, because of the departing of several Christian friends.

Selfishly because I'll never again be able to get hugs, smiles, waves, chats, laughs or anything that they so graciously and warmly gave to me while they were here on earth. They moved on to the other side. While it's a wonderful thing for them, it's selfish of me to wish they were here.
When someone goes, it leaves a tiny hole that only they could fill.

I saw a poem once that said, "When someone you love becomes a memory, the memory becomes a treasure." Isn't that beautiful!? Just think of all the people looking for beautiful things, when the most beautiful things are the people you love. So surround yourself!!

The Right Path

One of the small things I want to do this new year is to experiment with food, by this I mean, to get out of my comfort zone of cooking the same thing all the time. My idea is to try to cook something new, maybe even a whole meal at the end of each month. Hopefully, my family will come to love this idea, which I guess will depend on the success of my adventure. I'm going to be in search of a menu and some recipes, I'll make a plan of action and note it as soon as I can for what will be the plan for January.

My husband's birthday is just a few days away....bless his heart, it is usually not that great of a celebration for him, since it comes on the heels of Christmas and New Year. I'm planning a special dinner with friends on Saturday for him. He has requested Lasagna, salad, and bread. I haven't decided whether to make a cake or make him a pie...he loves pumpkin pie and says he can never get it enough, so I just might take him at his word and make that his birthday present every year from now on, a Pumpkin Pie instead of cake.

The minister preached about NEW this morning....and don't we all love having something NEW and having a NEW year gives us a release from the past makes everything fresh and a starting over place. And I've vowed to read the bible through this year....and finding it online I hope is going to be a big help as I enjoying being online. So far, I'm on track and doing good. This is something I really want to achieve, so I'm going to have to stay focused.

I love the Pottery Barn, rarely can afford to purchase anything, but I love their merchandise and ideas, etc. I get their newsletter, etc...and they shared a big sale, so I went to check it out and found this beautiful inspiration for my beach room! Also found this great idea and products for making a wall organizer, I just love it!

Inspirations 2009

There are two projects on my agenda for 2009:

The first priority will go to my beach room. I started on this room mid-summer. The room was a catch all for anything I didn't have a place for in the house, making it an absolute wreck. I managed to get it mostly un-junked and the bathroom decorated, but I still have major things to do to get this room the way I envision in my dreams. I adore the Costal Living magazine and have gotten some great ideas from it's wonderful pages. I've posted a picture with a link that will take you to their Idea Cottage 2008, this is my inspiration for color in my beach room.

My second project is the laundry. It's such a small space and I really need help with this project. I'm looking to BHG's mudroom for some inspiration, linked that page as well. I would love, love, love to have the stacked washer and dryer to give me more room in my laundry area, but I doubt that will happen for us, but it's something to certainly ponder long and hard. I would definitely love some kind of shelving above the washer and dryer if I can't do the stacked idea.

Got any ideas?

Hello

Just getting into the groove of this new beginning of blogging. And I'm looking forward to this exciting way to stay motivated and energized with my life, family, and decorating/designing in this new year.



I've spent the biggest part of the day putting away all the Christmas decorations while still in my pj's (now that's the life). Enjoying the day off from work to do this work, and it's more fun since I get to stay in my pajamas. :)



Thought about going to the movies tonight, there are so many new movies out that I'm interested in catching....like Bedtime Stories. We'll have to wait and see.



Now would be the ideal time to rethink my decorating for my living room. I really love all the new looks with the black wood and word phrases, etc. Might do something like that, I'll play around with the idea and see what I can come up with for this clean start.