July in Review

Well, we've made it out of June - on to July!

AROUND THE HOUSE

Mitch decided to take our grill off the deck and store it in the garage instead.  I quickly claimed the newly empty space as my future outdoor reading  corner!

We finally became a toaster ovens household!  I was probably way too excited about this addition to our household.  I don't know what it is, but there's just something about a toaster oven.

I discovered Grey's Anatomy reruns and quickly filled up my DVR over and over again with them.  (Mitch and I have since joined the Netflix revolution and I'm now watching them there and leaving room on our DVR for my other 'programs.'  Also, I'm not sure why Mitch and I waited so long to hop on the Netflix bandwagon - it's fabulous!)

BOOKS

After reading Where the Heart Is, I thought I'd grab the other Billie Letts book I had on my shelf and give that one a whirl.  Sometimes you're not ready to leave an author after one book.  While I didn't think it was quite as good as Where the Heart Is, I did really enjoy Made in the U.S.A.  Letts knows how to write characters you fall in love with (I adored Fate).  And side note, how pretty is this cover?  I definitely want to read her other novels.

I had a love-hate relationship with Chris Bohjalian based on the two novels I picked up by him; Midwives is one of my favorite novels but I couldn't finish Before You Know Kindness.  I wanted to read at least one more (perhaps several more) of Bohjalian's works because of the impression he left with Midwives.  Secrets of Eden was definitely better than Before You Know Kindness but it was no Midwives.  This did restore my faith in the author, however, and I look forward to reading his other books on my shelf.

I heard so many wonderful things about A Man Called Ove and it did not disappoint. It was such a sweet, humorous book.  I highly recommend it.

CRICKETT

I needed to wash a couple of Crickett's stinkiest toys and she got very concerned about the whole ordeal.  It was so cute watching her.

A couple of nights later I was doing my own laundry and Crickett had to inspect every step of the process.  She may have developed some trust issues after that first night - ha!  Sometimes my little girl really impresses me with that memory of hers; the things she remembers when I'm absolutely certain she'll forget!  She is still showing a great interest in the laundry room to this day.

FAMILY

The Fourth of July holiday was spent with family.  We enjoyed the nice day and played some Yard Yahtzee at my parent's house and ventured out that evening to our city's annual fireworks display.

The second to last weekend in July was spent with my dad's side of the family out on the family farm for our now annual Fam Jam event.  As always, it was absolutely fabulous being in one of my favorite places on earth with some of my favorite people on earth.  I need to give this wonderful weekend it's own post.  Stay tuned.  (Hopefully not too long!)

MOTHER NATURE

We had quite a few storms over the summer and quite a few of them were rather intense.  The clouds with this particular storm were incredible; I'd never seen anything like them.  I almost felt like I was in a movie!  Mother Nature is definitely a talented (and destructive!) lady.

The bell flowers in our front yard finally started to really bloom (I'd been checking on them constantly since May - obviously I was very excited!)  I love their simple prettiness.  I should really try - and I mean, really, really try (because you have to work hard when you have a black thumb) - to get more flowers going around our house next year.  They are truly a joy to have around; it's hard not to feel calm and happy when looking at them.

June in Review, Part 2

I'm hoping to get this year reviewed before it's over!

So, although the best part of June was my birthday, there were other happenings in that month.

ART

My sister surprised me with one of my favorite paintings of hers as a gift for my birthday.  I love it so much - the colors, the textures, the words.  It's going to look perfect hanging on my craft room wall!

I bought another print for my library.  I'd been eyeing this one for a while on Etsy and finally decided it needed to be in my collection.

BOOKS

I bought a 1943 hardcover edition of my all-time favorite book (with my favorite book jacket).  It is absolutely beautiful and in amazing shape inside and out for being over 70 years old.

Where the Heart Is is one of my favorite movies and I thought I should read the book on which it was based.  I was a bit hesitant - I hate seeing differences between the two mediums - but ended up pleasantly surprised.  The movie followed the book quite closely and the differences weren't anything substantial enough to make me dislike the changes.  The book was just as great as the movie.

FOOD

My co-workers and I taste-tested the latest Oreo flavor.  Let me tell you, this one is in my top five favorites.  It tastes exactly like Fruity Pebbles cereal.  So delicious!

My mom gave me a jar of her amazing strawberry rhubarb jelly.  Lucky for me, Mitch doesn't like rhubarb so I didn't even have to share.  My favorite way to enjoy the jelly is on waffles.

THRIFTING

I fell in love with this beauty while out thrifting - I stood like a crazy person just staring at it for a minute or two while admiring all the details  - but I honestly couldn't think of anywhere to put it (it was quite large at probably close to five feet tall) so I had to leave it behind.  Thank goodness for photos!

I found a fabulous little hobnail milk glass lamp on a different thrifting trip and that came home with me  (there were actually two lamps and I do regret not buying the second one but at least I got one!).  It's perfect in my craft room!

TREES

Our apple tree decided to join the pear trees and started producing fruit.  It's so much fun watching our trees work their magic.

And the lilac tree in our front yard did not disappoint this year with it's beautiful, fragrant blossoms.

Throwback Thursday: Keep the Weeds

I've been easily distracted by the windows in my office lately.  Sunshine, radiant blue skies, and budding trees.  And today, a fluttering Red Admiral on a bright yellow dandelion.  Spring.  She sure is lovely.

Seeing the butterfly today reminded me of a post from May 2012 that's been sitting in my drafts folder here on the blog.  I'm not sure why I never published the post but I thought today would be a good day to do it.

Keep the Weeds

While trying to study for my last final yesterday I let the window distract me again; I'm so glad I did.

Dandelions are running rampant here this spring and our yard is no exception.  I've always thought the yellow weed was too cute and cheerful to be disliked and yesterday it gave me another pretty reason to enjoy them.  While looking out at the yard, I noticed a butterfly fluttering about and landing on the bright orbs.

Of course I dropped what I was doing, grabbed my camera, and ran outside.  It felt wonderful to be out in the warm sun, breathing the spring-scented air, watching this Red Admiral hop from one dandelion to the next.

At one point I even had two of these lovely insects flying around me.  Apparently I'm not the only one who appreciates the "pesky" perennial.  If this is what weeds bring to our yard, I say we keep them!

April in Review

Here I am again, writing a summary post because I didn't get my butt in gear and write during the month of April.  One of these months I'll stay on top of things.  Okay, we all know that's not true but it never hurts to dream, right?  So, here are some tidbits from April.

1.  My coworkers and I have tried every special flavor of Oreos that we've been able to get our hands on.  The latest flavor was Strawberry Shortcake: quite tasty!

2.  My dad gave my mom this library puzzle for Christmas and after seeing it completed, I thought it would look great hanging on the wall in my library.  I wanted to complete the puzzle myself, though, so I could take credit it for it (who doesn't want puzzle bragging rights?) and because I did have to admit it looked a little fun.  It took me a little less than two weeks and I was right - it was fun.  I know I said after doing my last puzzle that they aren't for me but I think I may have to retract that statement.  I think I may have enough patience to do one puzzle every winter.

When I start a puzzle, I always wonder which piece will be the last one; being the nerd that I am, I had to document it.  And since I knew you'd be wondering what piece it was, I figured I better share the photo here.  You're welcome.

Puzzle glue has been purchased and hopefully one of these days soon the gluing gets done and a frame purchased.  Then it will be on to hanging this and all the wonderful book prints I've purchased; it will be so much fun to have my library one step closer to being complete (and not quite the mess it currently is!).

3.  I have several vases and other containers like the one below that needed some filler so I took the plunge and joined the "I'm an old lady and decorate with fake flowers" club.  I'm not going to lie, I love my fake flowers and the pop of happiness they add to my spring decor.

We had quite a few dreary, rainy days in April but things remained cheerful inside thanks to these beauties.

4.  Occasionally you run across some true gems while thrifting but can't justify buying them.  This vintage lamp was certainly one of those gems.  It was so ridiculously pretty but for $50 (I suspect it was worth quite more based on age and condition) and no real good idea of where to put it, I had to take a photo and move on.  I do suspect it went to a good home.

5.  My coworkers and I got to talking one day about losing the ability to write with our dominant hand.  The discussion then turned into a little "write with your non-dominant hand" activity.  I'm in big trouble if there is ever a point when I can't use my right hand; this left-handed business isn't pretty.

6.  I know it's only mid May but The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin has the potential to be the best book I read this year.  I would venture to say it may even be one of the best books I've ever read.  I can't recommend this one enough.  Also, the cover is simply gorgeous!

7.  For our April gathering, my girlfriends and I decided to try out a new "attraction" here in town, a real-life room escape game.  You're taken into a room with your team, the door is locked behind you, and you have an hour to find clues and solve puzzles that will help you escape the room.  We chose Pirate Cove:

"The media has been in a frenzy lately, reporting on the latest antics from America's self-made billionaire, prankster, and eccentric philanthropist, John Buckingham.  Buckingham, who has been known to share his wealth in outrageous publicity stunts (like the time he rented the Goodyear Blimp and dropped millions of dollars over neighborhoods of Los Angeles), has lately taken to dressing, acting, and talking like a pirate.  In a press release, Buckingham claims to have hidden "possibly the most valuable treasure ever," in an old clipper ship that he has permanently docked near his ocean side mansion.  Residents have flocked to take a turn at discovering Buckingham's Billions, but so far, none have succeeded.  Today, you and your crew are going to have 60 minutes to search for the elusive treasure."

This scavenger hunt puzzle was quite challenging but a lot of fun.  It was pretty cool once you could see the clues coming together and leading other places.  I wish we'd had a little more time in the room, though, because it took a bit of time just to get oriented and figure out how to get started.  Unfortunately, we ran out of time and didn't escape the room but we were close and the game master explained the remainder of the puzzle we had left which was nice.  I'm glad we got to see how it all played out.

There is another version of this game available - a blackmailing boss! - and I think it would be fun to try it now that we have some experience with this type of activity.

8.  And because it's hard not to share photos of Crickett, here are a couple from April that just crack me up.  Our little girl is such a character.

January Recap

Between starting the Harry Potter series again (I haven't read the books since they first came out!) and convincing Mitch to watch "The Middle" reruns with me every evening (I think he now enjoys the show as much as I do!), I haven't made much time to blog.  So, like usual, I'm behind with posting and, like usual, I'm doing a recap to catch up.

1.  I bought myself a little planner for 2016 - I think it's the first time I've had one since I was in high school - and I'm having fun with it.  I know my phone has a calendar and there are plenty of apps I could use instead but for some reason I need to have the physical object, the "hard copy," in front of me to remember to stay organized.  I obviously can't be the only one since there are still so many planner options out there!

2.  Some girlfriends and I celebrated our "Girls Christmas" at the beginning of the month.  I was introduced to a new dice game called "Tenzi" which I HIGHLY recommend.  So much fun!

And one of my artsy-fartsy girlfriends gave personalized paintings on old cabinet doors (she has access to old cabinet doors at the interior design store where she works - yay for giving old things a new life instead of letting them end up in a landfill!)  Isn't my painting absolutely perfect?  Crickett and a book!  It's going to look so wonderful hanging up in my library.

3.  I had to take a CPR and first-aid training class for work.  You know, for all those times accountants need to perform life-saving procedures.  I kid - I know crazy things can happen anywhere at anytime.  While it was a long day out of the office, the information was interesting and the instructor was hilarious.  Plus, I now have a certificate saying I can save your life.  Just kidding, I'd recommend finding someone else to help you out in an emergency!

4.  Mitch hung up my "Librarian Crickett" canvas in the entry of my library.  I love her face; it looks as if she's shushing anyone who enters!

5.  Mitch and I bought a new mattress.  Our old mattress was about ten years old, had a big hump in the middle, and was making painful creaking noises when I would get into bed (not a great self-esteem booster!).  We decided to break out the big guns and splurged on a memory foam Tempur-Pedic mattress.  It's pretty darn wonderful.  We also got new pillows - super fancy, expensive pillows (never in my life did I think I'd own a pillow that cost more than five dollars).  Those are also pretty darn wonderful.  So, sleeping is a much more enjoyable activity now . . . except when your husband decides to dust the headboard when you're in bed for the night.

6.  Mitch got to celebrate his birthday a day early on the last day of January.  We went out for dinner, ate some homemade cake (for the record, I did not do that frosting job even though it looks like something I'd do), and apparently Mitch was good enough to get presents.  His gnome collection has been started - and not even by me!  Isn't he adorable?!  (The gnome, not Mitch).

101 in 1001, Round 2 - Update 6

Today I got my very first piano!  It's strange but so very exciting to know that this beauty is mine and I can sit down and play in my own home any time I want (well, almost any time - I'm sure Mitch and Crickett still want to sleep at night)!

I knew I wanted a piano when I had my own house.  I also knew that I wanted that piano to be an old upright.  Upright pianos are beautiful not only for their size but the lovely little details that make them so unique.

Once our basement was complete and we settled in with the furniture, I started perusing the local classified ad website for pianos.  Mitch and I looked at two pianos during the last week in November and I was sold on this one.  Not only was she beautiful, she was free!  The only cost we incurred (thus far) was hiring a moving company to get her from the previous owner's house to our house.

She isn't perfect but I never expected to find an old piano that was.  She has her fair share of chips, knicks, and scratches but there is history here and there is something very special about that.  Mitch and I will be getting her cleaned, tuned, and repaired (a minor - hoping minor! - pedal issue) in the near future and then it will be time to get these rusty fingers back in piano-playing shape!  I can't wait!

So while I may not have technically "bought" a piano, I now own one and can cross this task off my 101 in 1001 list.  What a wonderful day!

Thankful Days 19 Through 25

I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

Thankful Day 19:  I'm thankful for cheap heat that allows us to have our home nice and toasty.

Thankful Day 20:  I'm thankful for beautiful music played in a beautiful building.

I will share more about this later since it was a task is on my 101 in 1001 list.

Thankful Day 21:  I'm thankful for my wonderful girlfriends.  So blessed to have their friendships!

Thankful Day 22:  I'm thankful for Sunday dinners and dominoes at my father-in-law's (even if I do have to put up with him and my husband picking on me!).

Thankful Day 23:  I'm thankful for Excedrin Migraine.  It helps me through some painful days.

Thankful Day 24:  I couldn't narrow it down today!  (1)  I'm thankful for craft stores and fun crafting machines.  Can't wait to find some time to start playing with my new Cricut!  (2)  I'm thankful for awesome co-workers who will spend their lunch hour with me - in public, no less!  (3)  I'm thankful for super glue that is holding my Santa's broken arm together.  (4)  I'm thankful for the area's classified website that is connecting me to people who have beautiful pianos available.

Thankful Day 25:  I'm thankful for a cozy evening on the couch watching adorable Pixar movies.