Thursday, March 4, 2010

And the race is on.........

Ok, so I'm sitting out on the patio having my coffee and wondering what I'll do today.  Then I step inside and it becomes terribly clear.  Now, if your looking for a blog of the perfect home...stop here, get out, hurry before I put you to work!  Where to start?

Maybe I should start with mopping the floor. 
This is "Lil Sh*t".  DO NOT blame me. 
My sweet, silly, red-neck husband named her.

Or I could make the bed:

Easier said than done.  That would be Choo-Choo.
If I kick her off the bed she ignores me all day.

Then there's always the laundry:

Or unloading the dishwasher:

Or taking out the trash and recycle:

I know you came here just to see how "real my life is".  Scary isn't it?

Ok, so I guess I'll get back to work.  No before or after pictures coming.  The after doesn't look much better than before sometimes.

One more thing, here is me trying to figure out what to blog about.  This one's for you Meme!

Have a great day everyone and remember...

Live Out Loud!

Holly
xxx-ooo




Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Here's the thing.......

I miss Indiana like you wouldn't believe. It's been almost 7 years since I've been back and that's just way too long. If you've never been to Arizona or Indiana, let me give you a brief synopsis as to the differences. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Here is a pic of our house in Arizona, I would show you more examples of homes here but in truth, they all look the same. They are all tan stucco with tile roofs. Some are bigger and some are smaller but with very few variations, they all look just like this:


Please note the beautiful rock in the yard, everyone has rock. Grass doesn't grow here, okay, maybe it does but it's few and far between. Everyone has tall block walls separating their back yards from their neighbor's yards.

Here is Indiana:
You will notice that the houses do not all look alike. So much more character.




This was my Great Grandmothers house


.

Notice, no big block walls, people got to see their neighbors. Now, people just pull into their garages, close the door and don't get out to see neighbors.
.
Here's another strange thing about Arizona. When my kids were younger we lived in a nice little neighborhood, in the suburbs of Phoenix. A new family moved in next door and so the kids and I baked muffins and went next door to welcome them to the neighborhood. A woman came to the door and opened it just a crack. I told her who we were and that we just wanted to welcome her and had baked her some blueberry muffins. She looked at the three of us as if were crazy and said "No thank you" and closed the door. For crying out loud, that's what people do, they make others feel at home, welcome. At least we did in Indiana. I never did see that neighbor again.

Anyway,  I will get off the Indiana kick for a minute.  There are actually some things I do love about where I'm currently living.  We are within 1 mile of the largest retirement community in the US.  Sun City Arizona.  So, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday we have several estate sales to choose from.  Here are a couple of things I've recently picked up.

 



This is a "Castle on the Lake" creamer, picked up for 50 cents.  Too cute.
Found these old dirty antique alarm clocks in a cardboard box.  Got all of them for $5.  A couple of Big Bens and a couple of Baby Bens.
These three nesting tables were found at a local thrift shop for $5.  A little short for the lamp so I stacked some books underneath it.  Does it look ok to you?  Please don't look at the wrinkles in my curtain panels.  I've had the lamp but it had come with a Tiffany type shade which I didn't care for.  Found this shade at a yard sale for 50 cents.
  
Cute little vintage half apron.  Don't you just love aprons?  I do.












'Spose thats gonna do it for today.  Thanks for letting me share my little goodies with you all.
Live out Loud!
Holly
xxx-ooo

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Who I am, heart and soul

Today is my first day blogging. I must admit that I have been stalking many blogs for the past few months. I wasn't so sure I had enough going on in my life to have my own, but decided to get started and just do it. I am blessed to work from home and have some spare time to work on crafts, shop at thrift stores and estate sales and I have just opened an etsy store. I love crafting, and it must be said, I am not very good at it. I try, I really do, and unfortunately for you, I will be showing you the good, the bad and the ugly.
I was born and raised in a small town in Indiana but have lived in Arizona all my adult life. Sometimes I miss it so much I could just cry. I miss the small town life, lightening bugs, autumn leaves, and yes, even the snow. I am still an Indiana girl at heart.
I thought it would be a good start by showing you around my home. I have a lot to do but am enjoying doing redecorating little, by little. We are just renting this house for now so there are a few things I would like to do that can't be done, but I make the best of it. I'll just show the living room today and get more pics tomorrow.

Here was my living room before we moved in:




Here is the Living Room today:









I guess that's it for today. Off to pick up some friends and drop them off at the airport for their vacation in Hawaii. How cool is that?