Thursday 13: February & March in Review

I never wrote much in February and March (who's surprised?) so I thought a good Thursday 13 would be to share a few random tidbits from those two months.

1.  JJ Watt, need I say more?  As often as football is on in our house during the season, I can't believe I'd never seen him before February!  I may have to start paying more attention to this sport!  (Just kidding, if I need to see Mr. Watt there's this wonderful thing called Google.)

2.   A February girls' night with a delicious dinner - salad with homemade dressing, garlic bread and pasta - and this amazing almond cake for dessert.  Seriously, my friends can cook and bake!  We also played more Tenzi and I'll say it again: I HIGHLY recommend this game.

3.  Mitch hosted a Super Bowl party in which he was the only one invited, just the way he wanted it.

And while Mitch watched the "big game," Crickett and I watched the PuppyBowl.  For a few minutes anyway, until I was tired of listening to my silly little girl growling and barking at the television.

4.  During one of my thrfiting lunch breaks in February, I stumbled upon this little guy.  I could barely contain my excitement; he's so ridiculously cute and I love having him in my library!

5.  I was introduced to a new game called Codenames.  It is a lot of fun; I highly recommend this game as well.

6.  While bowling in a law enforcement charity event, I scored over 50 points each game!  It was probably one of the best days I've ever had bowling.  I mean, look at these scores: 78,77, 82, and 89!  I think it's time for me to join a league.

7.  The glorious time of year when Girl Scout cookies arrive.  Yum, yum, yum!

8.  During one of my thrifting lunch breaks in March (yes, I spend a lot of my lunch breaks thrifting), I found this cutie.  Another great addition to my library!  It's such a thrill to find these book related knick knacks that I can take home and display in my favorite room.

9.  Some of my sister's amazing art work is being displayed at a local pub and I joined my parents and a girlfriend to help her celebrate her opening evening. It was a nice evening; great company and beautiful surroundings.

10.  Mitch and I got a new computer.  I must say, I sure do love the keyboard - it's quite fun to type on.  Strange how different keyboards can be, isn't it?  We also made the switch to Windows 10 which I like.  I think this is the first time I've been excited about upgrading and updating our technological devices and services!  Progress!

11.  I love tasting the new flavors that companies develop and while it has generally been the different Oreos that I've tried, I was quite excited when I heard (and eventually found) the Strawberry Shortcake M&Ms.  They were fabulous!

12.  Crickett's highlight of the month:  One of her favorite toys had a bit of surgery done by Mitch and my mom (Mitch did the cutting open and removal of the broken sound ball, my mom added extra stuffing and did the stitching up) and now Mr. Raccoon is getting even more love and attention than he used to receive!  So much cuteness!

13.  I finally read The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis (it's been on my list forever) and while I didn't particularly care for the book (not much substance paired with poor writing), there was a paragraph that I loved and thought described my feelings perfectly:

"She liked to document her life.  Every trip, every family vacation, she was the one with the camera.  It was a way of remembering the fun, prolonging the experience.  And sharing the photos with people was like giving a gift."

Thursday 13: Spring 2016 on Etsy

Since Sunday is the first official day of spring, I obviously had to do my usual Etsy finds for this edition of Thursday 13.  So many wonderful items on that site!  (All photos from the Etsy shops.  Click on description to visit the shop.)


1.  Delightful butterfly water cans.

2.  Darling crochet leaves.

3.  Radiant stained glass bird.

4.  Beautiful floral dress.

5.  Gorgeous oil painting.

6.  Ridiculously cute flower flats!

7.  Adorable robin's nest pillow.

8.  Amazing embroidered spring garden necklace.  I absolutely love embroidered items!

9.  Pretty floral scarf.

10.  Lovely paper flower garland.

11.  Fun hoop earrings.

12.  Charming vintage flower tin.

13.  Cheerful daffodil vase.

Thursday 13: 2016 Etsy Valentine's Day Finds

I do believe this is the first time I've done a Valentine's Day edition of Etsy Finds here on Thursday 13.  As always, it was a lot of fun perusing Etsy and adding things to my wish list.  (All photos from Etsy shops.  Click on descriptions to visit shops.)


1.  Geometric heart pillow cover.  

2.  Pretty painted mason jars.

3.  Vintage planter.

4.  Adorable ceramic "Share Love" sign.

 5.  Succulent heart planter.

6.  Super cute sweater.

7.  Heart tree print.
 

8.  Felt ball garland.

9.  Beautiful rustic wooden heart.

10.  Ribbon wreath with felt flowers.

11.  XOXO blocks.
 

12.  Pretty heart and lace necklace.

13.  Candy heart painting.

Thursday 13: 2015 Etsy Christmas Finds

I cannot believe that next week is Christmas!  This joyous season sure is flying by!

Time for one of my favorite Thursday 13s: Items I wouldn't mind finding under my tree on Christmas morning!  (All photos from the Etsy shop.  Click on the description to visit the shops.)


1.  Adorable Santa riding a polar bear.

2. Not only would this sleigh book folding pattern be a fun activity but it would also give me a great item to display in my library (provided it looked like a sleigh - HA!).

3.  Fun Christmas tree snow globe necklace.

4.  I think this Fa La La La La banner would look great strung across my piano.

5.  I'm so in love with these vintage elves.

6.  Super cute mini tree ornaments.

7.  Pretty Be Merry sweater.

8.  I already own a wonderful nativity set but this pottery version is quite pretty.

9.  Sweet stuffed candy canes.

10.  Gorgeous Christmas painting.  This artist's work actually made an appearance on my list last year as well.  

11.  Charming horse drawn sleigh.

12.  I've discovered I really like milk glass.  I also really like holly (how could I not?).  Obviously I was drawn to these milk glass holly coffee cups.

13.  Beautiful 12 Days of Christmas print.