What Are You Doing?

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.
I've been busy trying to get the house in some kind of order.
I can't find anything.
I was so careful when I packed for this move.
I labeled everything.
Then when I moved in,
I just kinda unpacked and shoved things in places
and forgot where I put them.
They may be lost forever.

Things I can't find since I moved:

Brian's toenail clippers
Stamps and envelopes
My ratty brown hairbrush
Some of my craft supplies
My eyelash curler (Tragic!)
My salad spinner
Haircutting scissors
My cast iron skillet

How does one lose a big ass heavy cast iron skillet?

In addition to taking the time to look for things,
I've been attempting some decorating.
Which is just crazy.
But I'm enjoying thrifting for the new place.

Yesterday I went to the Brass Armadillo.
It's an Antique Mall here in Phoenix.
I didn't find a lot but I did find this sweet
amber vintage Buffalo Ball Jar.

I wanted to add some yellows to the decor
to try to brighten things up a bit.

I also bought some sunflowers (fake) for the table at the Hob Lob today.
And check out this little pig.
He's covered in burlap.
I fell in love with him.
He probably doesn't belong on the table
but that's where he is at the moment.

I put the antique ladder in the corner
where the Christmas tree was.
Right now it's holding magazines.
The house always seems so naked after the tree comes down.

Also, on my to do list
has been this project:

Blessing Bags

 

 

I've noticed so many homeless people on the street corners lately,

begging for money, or food.

I never know quite what to do in those situations.

Give them money?

Buy them a meal?

Lock my doors?

Yesterday I went to the dollar store and purchased what I could find

that I thought would be helpful

to someone in need.

A warm pair of gloves

Applesauce and a spoon

granola bar

pack of cookies

pack of cheese and peanut butter crackers

Wet wipes

hand sanitizer

led flashlight key chain

cough drops

$5.00 gift card for McDonalds

 

I bought enough for 6 people and placed each set in a Ziploc bag.

I'm keeping these in a basket in my car

and they will be handed out

the next time I see someone on the street corner

in need of a little help.

 

I've always intended to do this

but life gets in the way.

We push those thoughts aside and move on.

Well, I do.

And that's not okay.

 

I'm glad I finally got off my duff and did this.
I had learned about the Blessing Bags  here.

 

I've been so truly blessed this year,

that it feels good to be able to give back.

And now it's New Years Eve.
And many of you are probably planning
on doing something exciting tonight.
So am I.

Got my jammies on
and am curled up with my husband to watch a little tv
before turning in around 8:00.
No champagne toasts for us.
This is all the celebration I can handle.

Yum.

Happy 2013 Everyone!

Linking up with Elaine at
Sunny Simple Life.

 

 

Holly

xxx-ooo

 

Ho Ho Hometour

I had a dream last night that Brian and I

had our first fight over whether or not I ate a booger.

 

For the record, I think I did, but I wasn't going to admit it.

 

Christmas snuck up on us this year.

With the move, it all just happened so fast.

 

We did have a wonderful day with Katie, Dan, Sally and Jon.

Our first Christmas without Daddy but I think we all felt very blessed.

 

I made lasagna, garlic cheese pull apart bread (recipe here)

and a Caesar salad.

Katie brought an amazing Pecan Pie Cheesecake.

 

I didn't get any pictures of our Christmas dinner,

because I keep forgetting I'm a blogger.

 

We also didn't go all out on decorating since we are still

in the midst of trying to get the house put together.

 

Here are some pics of the house though.

It still has a way to go but it's getting there

and feeling very much like home.

We haven't painted yet,

we have decided to live with it for a while before

making any big decisions.

 

I love the artwork over the couch.

I ordered it online and had it framed just in time for the holidays.

The artist's name is Rebecca Kinkead and I love every one of her pieces.

 

Here is the print that I chose:

 

 

It's titled "Tailgate" and I love the colors.

Brian wants to know why they have no faces and

tells me it reminds him of "Children of the Corn".

 

This area was meant to be a dining area.

It is right off the kitchen

and the window seat had a cushion.

 

Here is what it looked like when we bought it.

 

 

(that is my realtor/friend's butt through the window)

 

I decided I wanted to move the dining area into another space

 so I turned this space into a reading/seating area.

 

 

And moved the dining room into this space.

 

 

I found the pedestal table at a thrift store for $50

and then found the chairs on Craigslist for $20 a piece.

Score!

 

 

The ceiling desperately needs to be painted.

Fortunately, it's not popcorn

but it is a very glossy paint.

We will get to that soon.

 

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

Love you all.

 

Holly

 

Kitchen Doings

Wow....that last post was a bummer huh?

 

I'm happy to report that things have turned around for us.

We bought and moved into our new home a week and a half ago.

Not "new", just new to us, the home was built in 1984.

 

I can't stop smiling.

I keep walking around, turning on lights in different rooms,

turning them off and moving on to the next room.

This house feels like home.

 

I wanted to share some pictures with you of the house

but since the kitchen is the only room that is almost done,

I'm just going to post pics of that.

 

The kitchen is my favorite room in this house.

 

I love all the dark wood.

Before we bought this house,

I scoured Pinterest looking at kitchens with white cabinets.

I was pretty sure that's what I wanted.

And then I saw this house and knew I was home.

 

It looks like such a tiny kitchen,

but I have more storage in here than I know what to do with.

 

This is my favorite thing about the kitchen:

 

The Pantry!

 

 

 

HOLY SMOKES!

It's huge.

 

Since I don't have a ton of cabinets,

I keep all my baking/serving dishes in here.

 

The drawers are really handy.

I use them for bread, snacks, paper plates, baking supplies, etc.

 

I also took some time to get my spices more organized.

 

Here's what they looked like before:

I had them in three different places

which made no sense.

 

Now they are here, next to the stove:

 

I used 4oz baby food jars,

spray painted the lids with

Rustoleum's Oiled Bronze

and attached labels.

Now they are all in one place.

 

Aren't they cute?

 

 

And can you see the drawer liners?

 

I used clear shelf liner from Target,

and I found some pretty gift wrap and laid it under the

shelf liner.

 

 

 

 

I love all the organizers in here.

 

 

 

I think that's about all I have to show you for today.

As I get more rooms completed,

I'll show you those too.

 

Thanks for all the kind words regarding

my last post.

 

Rest Assured, all is well.

I'm linking up to Classy Clutter's
Saturday Spotlight
and
Sunny Simple Sunday.

 

 

Holly

Peek-A-Boo

Here I am.

I have a survey for you.

Who thinks that going 4 months without a blog post makes me a douche bag?

Anyone?

 

Also, why does douche bag seem like a dirty word when it really isn’t?

Can you still buy douche bags?

Are they the same thing as enema bags?

Do people still give themselves enemas?

Are you supposed to be on the toilet when you give yourself an enema?

How do you clean an enema bag?

 

I just looked at pictures of enema bags on Google and they look like hot water bottles.

So what’s the diff between hot water bottles, enema bags and douche bags?

Are they interchangeable?

 

Is it wrong that I don’t know this?

Maybe I will find these answers and do a tutorial 

on Pinterest on how to properly clean an enema bag.

I try to be helpful and informative whenever possible.

 

Anyhoo, let’s get you up to speed on what’s been going on

around here since I last posted in June.

 

As you know, my Daddy passed away in June.

It was a sad time but also a blessing.

I miss him every single day.

 

Then about three months ago, my pupperdoodles

was diagnosed with a nasal tumor.

We had to put her to sleep.

Still can’t talk about that.

 

We waited two months and then got a new puppy.

Cutest baby German Shepherd in all the world.

We named her Ellie Mae.

 

 

 We had her for a week and then she died in her sleep

from respiratory  distress.

The vet had no idea what happened.

Also, too sad to talk about.

 

We’ve been on the house hunt for the past two months.

The housing market in Phoenix is so strange right now.

We put in eight offers over the asking price on eight difference houses,

Only to be outbid by investors paying cash.

We are finally under contract on a home though.

We are still waiting for the appraisal and the inspection

So this could fall through also but we are praying about it

so whatever happens, happens.

 

Thanks to my sister who called to pray over the phone with me

and to calm my nerves and put it all into perspective.

I’m feeling much more peaceful about it.

Big sisters are awesome like that.

One minute they are praying for you,

The next minute they are pulling your hair.

 

Jo-Be-Do took me out yesterday for a belated birthday lunch.

She made me this gorgeous quilted table runner.

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know I have a thing for

Blues and Oranges lately.

I don’t know why.

 I think we are pretty well caught up now.

I’m sure I missed a thing or two.

 

I'll fill you in on all that when I post again.

Which will probably be in March 2027.

 

Holly

xxx-ooo

Text Maniac

My relationship with my daughter has changed

since getting my iPhone, I'm a bit of a text maniac.

Yet I can still share my motherly pearls of wisdom with her.

I thought I'd start showing you some of the interesting text

messages that pass between us.

This one occured after she injured her back.

My texts are the ones in blue.

Holly

xxx-ooo

I Be Back Now

What a horrible Blogger I've been.

Things went a little nuts around here

and I forgot about everyone.

Yes, all of you.

I forgot every single one of you

and focused on myself.

How do you like them apples?

I want to thank everyone that prayed for my Daddy.

He went home into God's loving arms on Friday.

It was a really rough couple of weeks.

I'm pretty sure God has a whole fleet

of sailboats up there for men like him.

At least I'd like to think so.

Love you Daddy!!!

Holly

Please Just Try To Keep Up

It's been too long since I've updated that
I now require you all to follow me
into the world of randomness.

Had a dream last night that I had overslept

and was going to be late for my book signing.

Because, apparently, I am an author.

Also in this dream, I had termites in my hair.

Big fat white termites.

They looked like squishy Tic Tacs.

But that's neither here nor there.

When Brian went to leave this morning for work,

he called me into the garage.

It was raining in there.

A hose had burst in the water heater

and the force of the water made a big ol hole

in the ceiling and soaked everything.

 Don't you just love a pretty picture?

Everything in the attic is pretty wet

and it soaked through the wall

so the carpet in the guest bedroom is wet.

Before I allowed Brian to shut off the water

I jumped into a cold 2 minute shower

to wash the termites out of my hair.

Let's move on.

Brian and I have put ourselves
on a pretty strict budget.

We are in the process of getting ready to house hunt.
And moving is EXPENSIVE.

We are a cash only household now.
Except for using the debit card to pay bills online.
Using only cash is scary.
But it is working.

I don't go out as often as I used to.
I make one trip to the grocery once a week.
That's about it.
It's amazing what you can save
if you never leave the house.

And since we are cash only,
I can't shop on line.
Unless I get one of these on my computer.

My sister and brother-in-law came
for a short visit last weekend.
Again, I took ZERO pictures
but they look like this.

My brother in law is quite handsome.

And smart.

And handsome, did I mention that?

My sweet daughter, Kate,

took me out for a Mother's Day lunch

last week and brought me these.

Aren't they beautiful?

Just like her.

Have a Great Week!!

Holly

Totally Random

This post is all over the place.

I don't like to post unless I have something interesting to say.

And I have nothing.

The babies have all hatched and are running amok in the yard.

Baby quail are just the sweetest things ever.

So far we only have one family.

I know these are terrible pictures but they are hard to get close to.

Mom, Dad, and nine babies.

All the birds are loving the quail block Brian put on the back wall.

I think we're going to add another one this weekend.

I just finished planting more flowers,

mowing the yard,

organizing the garage

and baking banana bread

and it's not even 9:00 am.

More random junk:

I finally went and got all my hairs chopped off.

It's a summer ritual.

The following pics were taken with my iPhone

and are not good but I promised pics.

It's choppy and messy and easy.

I like it.

I've also had some of my Weight Watcher Bloggers

ask for pictures.

This is not fun for me.

Partly because I don't like pictures of myself

and partly because I don't like my hips.

Here's a picture of me last September

at BlogSugar with Meg.

Yikes, right?

Here's what I looked like last week before I chopped off my hairs.

-26 lbs lighter.

I think that's about all I've got.
But I did want to share one last picture
that my friend posted on Facebook.
I thought it was sooo funny.

Have a great weekend!!

Holly

Getting Ready For Summer

Ready or Not here it comes.

It's 4:00 pm and the thermometer on the patio

tells me it's 105 degrees in the shade.

Nice!!

A few weeks ago Brian and I took a drive out to Gilbert

and hit up a sweet little farmer's market.

And then we met Dad and Sally at

a great little BBQ restaurant in downtown Gilbert.

It's located in a 1929 brick building.

Delicious!

Much to my surprise,

Brian wanted to stop here on the way home.

An organizer's dream store.

But all that was going on while the weather was nice.

Now it's just hot, hot, hot.

I went to Home Depot today to replace some of my spring flowers

that didn't quite make it into the summer.

When we were at Lowe's last weekend,
we found this cute little bird bath.
Just perfect for our quail that are due to show up any day now.

And Brian built a holder for our
quail block so now it sits up high
on our back wall and the sprinklers don't hit it.

Thinking about cooling off now.
And getting ready for another busy week.

Have a great one!

Holly