Thursday 13: Spring 2015 on Etsy

As we approach the official first day of spring tomorrow, I obviously had to do one of my favorite kind of Thursday 13: Etsy finds!  So, without further ado, here are the items I found and loved on Etsy when I typed in the keyword "spring."  (All photos from the Etsy shops.  Click on description to visit the shop.)

1.  Lampworked glass flower necklace.

2.  Tree watercolor. (LOTS of great work in this shop!)

3.  Seed packet bunting.  So charming!

4.  Spring Field oil painting.  Can I grab a book and go sit out there? *Sigh*

5.  Glass floral earrings.

6.  Floral tote.

7.  Wreath.

8.  Daffodil spoon ring.

9.  Little spring crate!  How adorable is this?!

10.  Pretty pillow.  So many bright, cheerful items in this shop!

11.  Hand-painted teapot.  I'm smitten!

12.  Floral and cherry print wedges.

13.  Ridiculously awesome "flower power" dress!  I absolutely adore the bright, cheerful colors and patterns!  *Squeal!!!*

More Thursday 13!

Spring Book Sale 2015

The library's spring book sale started yesterday and I headed over on my lunch break to see what treasures I could find.

Here are the 22 books I came home with for only $17.50 (79.5 cents per book!):

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker.  The cover of this book caught my attention so I had to stop and read the synopsis.  I thought it sounded like a good read; I hope I'm right!

Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.  Apparently this book is very well known (where have I been?) and was even made into a movie (again, where have I been?).  Anyhoo, it sounds like this book has quite the cast of characters and a unique story that reads like a novel rather than a work of nonfiction.  Looking forward to diving into this story.

Incendiary by Chris Cleave.  I read Little Bee by Chris Cleave and thought it was a great book so I thought I'd check out another one of his works.

While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky

Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg.  I loved Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe and really enjoyed Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! so I had to grab this book by Fannie Flagg.  I don't think I'll be disappointed.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Saints in Limbo by River Jordan

The God of Animals by Aryn Kyle

The Good Daughters by Joyce Maynard.  I've never read anything by this author but thought this book sounded good; I also have Labor Day on my to-read list.

Someone by Alice McDermott.  I bought McDermott's Charming Billy at the spring book sale in 2012 but haven't yet read it!  So many books, not enough time!

Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'Easter by Lisa Patton

The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard

Before the Poison by Peter Robinson

Body Surfing by Anita Shreve.  I have several of Shreve's novels that I've grabbed over the last couple of book sales but I haven't read any of them yet.  Perhaps I should read one or two to see if I even like this author before grabbing more of her books!

The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith.  After researching this novel when I got home, I discovered it's the first in a series with the same name.  I'm not too thrilled about this; I generally don't read series because they don't hold my interest for the entirety but I want to know how things wrap up so I feel I need to keep reading to find out what happens.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  This is probably my favorite book of all-time and though I didn't want a paperback version or the particular cover I found, I decided those things don't matter as much as actually having a copy of this beautiful novel.  If you've never read this, do it!

A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler

Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax

The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner.  I think this has the potential to be a very interesting read.

The Unfinished Garden by Barbara Claypole White

Happy reading!

The Crayon Box Exploded Again

I've said it before and now the statement is even more true: Our house looks like a crayon box exploded!  I think I'm even more in love with the colors we chose for our basement than what we chose for our upper level!

The guest room in a chocolaty brown.  My dad really hates this color but I think it's going to be a very cozy room; it will probably become my second bedroom when Mitch is snoring.  ;)  Can't wait to start the decorating process (of which I have no ideas right now)!

The bathroom in bright orange.  I really like this color and while I think it's currently a little "POW! IN YOUR FACE!" strong, I think once everything is installed and the bathroom is decorated, things will get toned down.

My scrapbooking room in pretty aquas!  I think this color scheme may be my most favorite of the entire house!  My only gripe (which I hope my wonderful husband will fix) is that the contrast between the lighter top and darker bottom isn't very distinct.  I'm hoping to convince Mitch to re-paint the upper portion a shade or two lighter so you can see more of a difference.  I can't wait to spend time creating in that cheerful little room!

The family room in gorgeous purples!  I think this color scheme comes in at an extremely close second as my favorite in the house!  This room is going to be so cozy when it's complete; I can't wait to spend time with Mitch and Crickett down there, watching TV and movies by the fireplace.

The other room in our basement is going to become my library and I chose to leave that white; I hope to incorporate a lot of colors with the decorating and books themselves.  It will definitely not be a boring room!  (How could it be with shelves and shelves of books?!)

Hopefully I'll have more pictures soon of the next phases of the basement completion: finish work, flooring, furnishing, and decorating!  It's so exciting to have our house finally coming together!

Cutest Member of the Family

Six years ago today, this little girl joined our family.  I'm sure she knew from that very first night that we'd be wrapped around her little paws and she'd run the show.

02.12.09

And honestly?  I wouldn't have it any other way.

02.12.15

November Happenings: Purchases

Remember when I was going to write about November in installments before the month ended?  Yeah, I'm laughing about that attempt, too.  Anyhoo, I'm rolling with the cliche "It's better late than never" and doing some major catching up on this little ol' blog of mine.  So here we have another November Happenings.

Mitch bought a 65-inch television on Black Friday to put in our basement when it's finished; it's definitely going to look nice mounted above a fireplace.  I think our family room is going to be a very cozy place to hang out and watch TV or movies  Mitch is already envisioning falling asleep with Crickett while watching football.

More importantly and much more fun, our other big purchase of the month was a new camera!  Behold, the beauty that is the Sony a5000!

I really didn't like the last point-and-shoot we bought (only about a year prior to this camera - oops!) and did some whining about it.  Long story short, Mitch told me to do my research and this is the camera I found.  The Sony a5000 is approximately the size of a point and shoot - a little larger because of the lens (interchangeable!) but will still fit in a larger purse - and has all the functionality of a DSLR.  Plus, it has wi-fi capabilities which I'm pretty excited about!  I've used this camera for several occasions already without knowing anything about it and my photos turned out wonderfully; I can only imagine what I'll be able to do once I've read the manual and played around more!

Thursday 13: Doors

I love doors and Pinterest has made it very easy to collect photos of doors.  Here are thirteen of the beauties you'll find on my Pinterest "Doors" board.

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More Thursday 13!

A Girl Can Dream, Part 4

Nearly every Tuesday my parents, sister, and I have lunch together at a local pizza place.  On those Tuesdays, my parents pick me up from work and we drive by some older, charming houses on our route.  A while back, I noticed the below home with a "For Sale" sign out front and figured I would do some online searching to get a tour of the interior.  So, behold another dreamy house I'll gladly take if anyone wants to buy it for me.

Aren't the purple and gold accents absolutely wonderful?!

Adorable entry.

You can't argue with an entire house of beautiful wood floors. *Sigh*

How ridiculously lovely is this dining room?  I'm in love with those corner built-ins!

The kitchen is nothing amazing but I thought it was cute and cozy.

I do love the green trim and door, however, and the tile back splash is fun.

A fireplace and built-ins in one of the bedrooms (great room for an office and reading nook!).

Love the full length windows and the sloped ceilings in the bedrooms.

The backyard is so charming; definitely a place you'd want to spend a lot of time when the weather was pleasant.

So Long Twenties

Happy 30th Birthday to the oldest young guy I know!  May your 30's be a great decade!