Spring Break

I’m guessing that all the lovely decorating blogs I read do not have a bedroom in their home that look like this!

Molly starts spring break today…. she is in no hurry to get home and has a date tonight so she will be here at some point tomorrow.

When she left at Christmas her bedroom was a huge mess (see “before” photo) ….so I made a mental note to get it cleaned and organized by spring break. This week I realized that Spring Break was upon me and it was time I spent some quality time up there in that mess! I’m thinking that if it is clean and organized she will be more likely to keep it that way. So, here are the before and after photos… her room was much worse than I thought it was so I didn’t really get to the organizing part (she is not good at throwing anything away, she has clothes from elementary school still in her closet! I didn’t have a problem throwing away 31 bottles of nail polish, etc. I kept about 17 bottles and I bet she never notices that any are missing). I can’t imagine she will ever re-read the dozens of magazines up there either.

I didn’t get to the closet yet but did count 37 pairs of shoes plus a large container of flip flops and summer shoes in all colors. I stopped counting at 60 t-shirts… I will be reducing that count by at least half….anyone wear a size small? All this is stuff that she left at home and isn’t wearing. I don’t know how all this stuff accumulated but it has and I’m on a mission to get rid of it, or at least get it ready for a huge yard sale! Oh yes, I have my work cut out for me. By the time she brings all her stuff home for the summer, I’d like to have made room for the current stuff!

A Post for My Sister!

I finally have gotten my sister Lindy hooked on blogs. She reads them as well as writes one of her own. Anyhow, she will be reading this so I just wanted to let her know that I am using the Christmas gift she gave me. That’s the gift filled with Easter Candy on my kitchen island. The plates that were with it, I discovered on Friday when I was cleaning most likely did not come with the plate holder, they are a Lenox pattern. I thought they were very pretty and I wasn’t really appreciating them on the plate holder thingy so I removed them and hung them on the wall. Then today when I was shopping I saw the same pattern at Macy’s and was glad I decided to hang them on the wall. Here is a photo of the plates too! So thanks for the Christmas gift, I'm enjoying it even more now!

Today's Fun

Molly was working at the mall today and called me to tell me that they are having some really good sales and maybe she would get off work early and so she thought I should run down there and shop with her. Since I had to get groceries and was already mentally deciding what I might need at the mall, she didn’t have to ask twice, I decided to shop! The good news is that I saved $66.77.

I looked through the sale racks to see if there were some good deals, but there really wasn’t anything that really shouted “buy me”. I did find a summer shirt that I liked but it wasn’t on sale. Oh well….I bought it and moved on. Next I went to a store with a decent housewares section. I have been thinking lately that I need some blue in my house somewhere. I need a project and I’m going to be painting either my bedroom or the dining room again soon…and I think blue might be the color (still working it out in my head), so the blue plate jumped out at me. I love the little holes. I’m sure they have a name but for now, they are just holes…. I also found some very pretty Laura Ashley plates and mugs. The pattern is Celia. I am having a cup of tea using one of my mugs as I type and can hardly wait to have breakfast every morning using my new mugs and plates. I think it will be a great way to start the day. So, I got a pretty good deal on everything, and that’s where the savings came in! I love to buy dishes…. One can never have too many china patterns!

Snow Day

Remember snow days as a kid… no school, no responsibilities, no worries, just a day off with nothing to do but play in the snow and drink hot chocolate! Today I decided to take a snow day. I never do that because I don’t get paid if I don’t work, but yesterday when our secretary told me she was going to finish all her work for the week so she wouldn’t have to come in today I thought that sounded like a great idea and I did the same thing.

I have had a very pleasant day at home. I slept late and then I cleaned and decorated for Easter, I didn’t leave the house all day! My whole house is clean at the same time, I even went up to Mollys bedroom and did about an hours worth of organization in there. And so now it looks like spring at my house. Here are some photos of my living room.

Dreaming of Spring

Can’t wait for my weeping cherry tree to bloom, but with snow being forecast for tomorrow, I guess I can put thoughts of spring on the back burner for awhile and enjoy what I imagine will be a three day weekend for me. Our secretary and I decided that we are going to stay home tomorrow and not worry about bad roads, etc.

I have had about enough winter and cold weather for the year and I have been looking for signs of spring… I guess I am a little early because I haven’t really seen any of the typical signs of spring yet; my bulbs are all still safely tucked into the ground and the robins aren’t ready to take on the Central Pennsylvania temperatures yet. Oh wait, The Valentine decorations are stashed in the attic for another year and I brought the big box of Easter/spring decorations down to transform my home. Maybe I will just take matters into my own hands and transform things around here so that until Mother Nature is ready to give up winter I will feel like spring indoors!

Do you have any special signs of spring that you are looking for? What says spring has arrived to you?

Easter Projects

I have been working on some Easter projects this week and finished these two that I will be listing at Etsy soon. I am having fun with my Etsy store and have been getting some practice with my stitching. This afternoon I took a trip to my somewhat local Joann’s Fabric store and got lost in their button department, I bought Easter buttons and pretty little buttons in many different colors. The buttons were amazing… I bought a few other things and came home happy, I’m ready to stitch in case we get the bad weather they are calling for!

Valentine Cookies

I made cookies and decorated them and have been having fun giving them out as special Valentine surprises to people that I enjoy. How much fun is that? To see the faces of friends when they get an unexpected surprise. My original intent was to take cookies to my daughter and her sorority sisters but it has been much more fun giving out cookies to those who aren’t expecting anything. I think I still have enough left to take a trip to Mollys school tomorrow.

I hope someone remembers each of you on Valentine’s Day. Have a Happy Day!!!

Snow

The weatherman got it wrong on Saturday. We had about 4 inches of snow, it was supposed to be just a dusting. I was hoping for a nice big snowfall where everyone has to stay home. This was a nice one, not really a stay-at-home snow but it entertained me all morning. This is the view from my desk top computer. I watched some cardinals at the feeder.

Valentine Surprise

Today when I went to the post office there was a “pink” box for me. When I opened the box I found out that it was from Rose in Arizona. She is a member of one of the yahoo groups that I am on and we did a Valentine gift exchange. The stuff she sent me was all very wonderful…..I am quite surprised that she was able to pick out exactly the kind of stuff I love. Rose has wonderful taste in decorating… one of the photos she shared with our group was of a piece of furniture that she had refinished into a beautiful white sideboard. Above the sideboard was a collection of plates with a lacy edge. I have been so inspired by that photo that I keep looking for plates with a lacy edge also. And finally found some at Christmas time, I’m still on the lookout.

The photos are of the “pretties” she sent me, everything was wrapped in pink tissue paper and ribbons, lots of pretty ribbons. She sent me a great little pink votive candle, some heart ornaments, there were so many of those that I was able to use them at several places in my home. I noticed this morning that I don’t have anything Valentine-ish in my bathroom…I do now… I put some of those hearts in a bowl with some crinkled paper, they look great. Ok, she also gave me a stuffed chenille heart, and some pink tissues. I had admired a bobeche someone had on their coffee table one time and she sent me two of those. I just love them!!!! There was also a box filled with laces and trims and buttons and embellishments that I will be using for my crazy quilting and in addition she sent me a stack of fabric that I will be able to use for crazy quilting. I am definitely a happy camper tonight!

More Nesting!!!

Spring must be in the air! My internal clock has me in the “nesting” mode. I have been doing a lot of cleaning and organizing lately. Yesterday I decided to tackle Molly’s upstairs bathroom. The “before” photos don’t do her mess any justice at all, it really was much worse in person… It’s hard to believe that such a pretty and pulled together child could be such a slob! (she doesn’t read my blog) Thank goodness she does show some maturity at school. Her dorm room is much better than her bedroom. Maybe she knows she is on her own at school and her mom won’t rescue her. Anyhow…. don’t tell anyone, but I enjoy cleaning when the result is so drastic, and I now I can relax knowing that her bathroom is clean and will stay clean till she comes home for the summer. I may even venture into her bedroom if I can’t shake this nesting thing I am feeling!

Camera Case

I want to remember to take photos more often. I am amazed at the number of bloggers who post every day with something of interest as well as a top quality photo! I got a new camera after Christmas and its a lot nicer than my old one. So, I am hoping to somewhat improve my photography skills this year. It is also smaller and can fit conveniently in my purse. The only thing is that I didn't have a camera case and so I didn't take my camera with me unless I knew that I would need it. So I made one last week. I just wanted something that would protect my camera. I lined it with a soft felt and embellished the front a bit and I can now keep my camera in my purse without worry.

Cleaning and Organizing

I have had a productive day today. I love Saturday's when I don't have to go anywhere or do anything....today was one of those days and I woke up without a plan (that rarely happens)! At any rate, I decided to cook and clean the kitchen and ...as one thing lead to another I decided that I needed to figure out where to put my dish detergent. I have kept a small bottle of dish washing detegerent on the counter for a few years, not even noticing it but today I noticed it as well as another container with hand soap in it and a small tube of hand lotion all hovering around the sink....that's way to much junk on the counter. So, to solve the problem I decided to get a shelf that will hold those items on the inside of the under-the-sink cupboard door. In order to do that I have to get rid of the rack that is already there that holds plastic wrap, wax paper, etc. and find a new place for the wax paper and plastic wrap. I decided to clean out Molly's candy/junk drawer and move the plastic wrap and wax paper to that drawer (she's in college and hardly needs a candy/junk drawer any more). So while I was at it, I cleaned and organized the cupboards that hold all our empty plastic containers. That job had been on my list of things to do for a couple weeks now and I'm glad to be able to cross it off the list. The photos today are the before and after of the plastic container cupboard.