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