Fabulous Finds Friday

I decided to try something new...I keep seeing all of these wonderful weekly themed posts some bloggers are doing~ such "Stir and Season Saturday" and "Works-for-me Wednesday" on Shell in Your Pocket, for example. The titles are catchy and the posts are so fun! So I couldn't help myself of course. Actually, I just thought it would be fun to do! SO...although the title is not nearly as witty as some, I am going to post every Friday on some fantastic "find". It could be anything from a great product to a fun garage sale item! :)




This week's "fabulous find" is Downy Simple Pleasures' lavender vanilla fabric softener...I just LOVE it! It not only makes our laundry smell divine, it makes me actually happy doing the laundry. (Well, as happy as one could possibly be doing laundry in a frigid garage...oh, for a true laundry room! But I digress...) This line of fabric softener actually comes in, I think it is, four different scents now, but this is my favorite. :)

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Yesterday morning, we woke up to a smattering of snow. I knew it was too soon to say spring quite yet!




Remember the flowers I planted last weekend? Poor little things! :) But today there are all better, the snow is mostly all gone, and the sun was shining all day! :)

I have been spending this week working in our room~ sewing curtains and finishing the touch-up painting on furniture and the moulding we've installed, and hanging up some pictures... We were able to move a bookshelf out of our room that was making it rather crowded in there, and now it looks so much better. I didn't want to show pictures until it was out of the room. Our dining room is on hold for now because we just re-textured an area of the room that was first textured too lightly, so it will be about a week until I can show you a full room view of that room. But our master bedroom is really coming along, so I think this room will be my first "full room" shot of this house that you see! I'll be around in the next day or two with some pictures! :)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Take care,

Two are better than one

I was visiting one of my favorite blogs yesterday, My Life On the East Coast, and Rae was talking about something that really resonated with me. How different we can be (and usually are) from our spouses, but how we are better together... My husband is steady and even-keel; I am well, passionate! He is logical, I am emotional. He is patient and methodical; I don't have the time to be patient! (Hehe!) My husband likes to take one project at a time, whereas I have the tendency to tackle too many projects at once. And yet, it's true, we ARE better together!

It reminds me of something we read on Day 12 of The Love Dare book we are working our way through... "No you won't always see eye to eye. You're not supposed to be carbon copies of each other. If you were, one of you would be unnecessary. Two people who always share the same opinions and perspectives won't have any balance or flavor to enhance the relationship. Rather, your differences are for listening to and learning from." Huh...

What is humorous is that we were reading this the day after we had a rather passionate "discussion" regarding a house project, had resolved to compromise but hadn't figured out what that was yet... The title of Day 12? Uh, Love Lets The Other Win...The day's dare was, as follows, "Demonstrate love by willingly choosing to give in to an area of disagreement between you and your spouse. Tell them you are putting their preference first." We both kind of sat in silence for a moment, then I asked the question we were both thinking, "SO...if it's the same thing, who gives in?"

What is strange is that as much as our personalities differ, we are like two peas in a pod. We share most of the same likes and dislikes, share the same politics, religion, and essentially see the world the same. We fit together, even though we are, on the other hand, so different! We are blessed with a good marriage, but we still bump heads over the same old issues that routinely pop up!

So who gave in and let the other win, you ask? It actually ended up being a compromise. We each gave a little, and it worked. But we learned something once again. Something we learn every time we disagree about this or that. That we complete each other. To appreciate the things that make that person who they are, and that includes the differences.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together they will keep warm, But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves." ~Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12a

(Me and my better half.)


Have a blessed night! :)
~Jenni

P.S. I somehow accidentally deleted my signature! Oops!

Ready for spring?

I am SO ready! We had wonderfully nice weather around these parts for the past week, until today. Now it's raining, and we've been so spoiled with the sun, it seems so dark and dreary! It has really felt like spring, but you can't guarantee there won't be more snow and ice~ last year, it snowed quite a few inches mid-April. I couldn't remember it ever doing that before! But you can never know for certain...But I am ready to put away the mittens and hats, and pull out my garden gloves! So yesterday, that is what I did. We had a little family work-party, and spent a couple of hours raking (there is a reason this is considered exercise!) and weeding...our son even cleaned and raked his little front yard "club" area! (It looks much better now!)




I even planted some spring flowers I bought at Lowe's...Ah, pansies, baby daffodils and ranunculus!



Have you ever taken a picture and later, when you looked at it, realized it didn't look very good? Well, these flowers don't look very pretty in this picture, but they actually do in real life...although they need some water, I think! They look a wee bit droopy! I'll show you a picture again when they grow a little more. :)

I am also decorating for spring inside...





And doing a lot of spring cleaning and organizing! It feels so nice to have things becoming more organized around here!

I hope you all have had a fabulous weekend, and that you have a good Monday, too! :) Until next time~

Simple pleasures and an award

Some of my favorite things in life are as simple as picking out a new body wash! Ooh, I love when I get to buy a brand new kind to try out! Or maybe it was such a great kind that I have to get it again. I even get excited about new shampoo and conditioner! :) It's so fun, and I always look forward to trying it out the morning! And what could be better than a bottle of delicious smelling body wash? Well, maybe a new "poof"~ called a "net bath sponge" on the tag. I'm not exactly certain what the technical term for this item is. I got this brand before, and got a little kick out of what I read on the tag~"The world's best sponge". For $1.44? Not likely, I thought. But they were right~ it is the best kind I've used! I chose Softsoap's Coconut Body Butter this time. Has anyone ever tried their Pomegranate and Mango kind? It's heavenly! So, what simple pleasures do you love? :)





Now this award was given to me by a very kind blogger friend, well, a while back...no, a little further back than you are probably thinking. Try late October...this literally keeps me awake some nights. That and the coffee I always drink too late at night...I don't know why, but I am such a slacker/procrastinator when I receive an award, but it always makes my day when I do. SO...let's just say, I have some serious catching up to do, so don't be surprised if I thank you for an award that YOU don't even remember giving me! Uh, yeah...

But I wanted to say thank you to The Southern Domestic Goddess for this sweet award! If you have not visited this girl's blog, oh you must! She is amazingly talented and SO funny! I am just waiting for her to write a book, which of course, I will buy because I never laugh so much as when I'm reading her blog. She writes so well! :)

Well, the rules of this award are to pass it on to five others, four of which are followers of your blog, and one of them that either is your newest follower or lives somewhere else in the world.

SO...I hereby pass this fantastic award on to:

1.) Jen at Tatertots and Jello~ my newest follower!
2.) Tracey at Tracey's Craftyscraps
3.) Jen at Candlelit Cottage
4.) Sarah at Nesting In Pleasant View
5.) Liz at Tidbits from Liz

These are such wonderful and fun blogs to visit! Make sure to stop by and say hello if you get a chance! :)

I hope your week is going well! Our kids have mid-winter break this week~ thankfully the weather has been pretty nice so they have enjoyed playing outside. Tomorrow we are going to library and out for pizza! I'm hoping to find a few books on my list. One of the ones I requested has a wait list of 99 people! I think I'm just going to buy that one...but maybe I'll find some others! The kids love getting new books, too. You should see the look we get from the librarian when we check out! :) I hope you have a good night! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you had a fantastic one, and are having a great weekend! My husband and I went out last night to The Old Spaghetti Factory~ love that restaurant!~ and tonight we had a little family party. We always celebrate on the actual holiday together, and just the two of us on a different night. The wait at the restaurant is too much on V-day night! :) My husband gave me a sweet homemade card with a thoughtful note, and a coupon tucked inside for the cozy robe I'd spotted at Target or a pair of pajamas~ my choice. I saw the cutest pair of pjs while we were there~ kind of crazy flannel bottoms with a blue top~ very cute, but I opted for the robe. Soft on the outside and the inside, in pink and red, it feels very Valentines-ish! Oh, I could do a filibuster on the wonders of cute and comfortable pajamas! :)




I didn't end up decorating as much as I'd hoped, but I had fun cutting out these hearts for the chandelier. I got this idea from another blog~ I think it was from The Happy Homebody...here's another picture, up close...



...and personal...




...Well, not really, but it just sounded good, especially considering it's Valentine's Day. I think that was a romantic comedy from the 90's, "Up Close and Personal", with Michelle Phieffer and an actor named George something or other...am I right? I remember it being all right, a pretty decent film. Then again, I saw it on TV and they have to filter a lot of junk out...now that was a tangent! :) But while we are on a tangent, here's another little one...




I almost didn't show you this picture because of the unfinished buffet and moulding in the background, but in the end, I just had to show you this picture of Max. Oh, I love this cat! He's my baby, since no one around here likes to be told that anymore :( ...but Max never minds! Ever since losing Lillie, I take him even less for granted. I'm open to adopting another, so we'll see...

I wanted to say (again) that I haven't forgotten you all! I have so much missed coming by your blogs this past week or two, and I will definitely be stopping by soon. I know I said that earlier this week, but it just didn't happen. This week will be different! Till then, have a good rest of your weekend, and a blessed night! :)

The letter "S"

I hope you all had a good weekend! I ended up taking an unscheduled blogger break for six days! It wasn't intentional, but it is how it ended up! I have been organizing and cleaning my way through the house, especially focusing on closets. It is going all right, but it does take a lot of time to sort things out. We have so much stuff for me to donate to the thrift store this week! Of course, I'll have to pop inside and see what they have for sale! :)

I was visiting Sarah over at Nesting In Pleasant View, and she had been tagged to list ten things she loved that began with the letter "P". I told her I wouldn't mind a letter, but agreed with her that "Q" would be a difficult one, as well as "Z", to be perfectly honest! But she was kind enough to spare me that fate, and assigned me the letter "S". Now I like this particular letter, because it just happens to be the first initial of our last name! This list is in random order, as I thought of them! :)

1.) Sewing~ My mom wanted me to learn when I was growing up, but I didn't want to. She had my sister and I each do a sewing project, only one because I was so cranky about learning. The project? An apron! What was I thinking? I love sewing now, and I LOVE aprons! Do you ever wish you could go back and learn the things you were either too stubborn or in too much of a hurry to learn before? Imagine the way I could sew now if I had listened then. :)
2.) Sleep~ I may not do as much of this since becoming a mother, but boy, do I appreciate it more than I did before! There is nothing like that bliss of a warm and cozy bed, a dark room, and a quiet house! :) Heaven! :)
3.) Singing~ I grew up in a very musical family, and singing was the main "instrument". My older sisters and their families would come over and sometimes we'd all sing together. Naturally when I married my husband, I envisioned our family as a singing one. We'd sing together all the time, on trips in the car, we'd even take it a step further and sing our prayers before meals. I mean, everyone does this, right? Uh, wrong...getting my family to sing with me is like pulling teeth, but they did sing some Christmas songs with me in the car this year! :)
4.) SPRAY PAINT!~ I have discovered the wonders of this amazing decorating tool! I have been a stickler for a brush, and have been a little afraid of getting it wrong with the spray paint, but the stuff is wonderful. :) And for the time conscious decorator, it is awesome! :)
5.) Soap operas~ Well, I like one of them, anyway. General Hospital is my all-time favorite. Although, lately I haven't been watching it as much, because one of my favorite talk-radio programs comes on at the same time. :)
6.) SPRING!~I like all the different seasons, but I LOVE spring! It is my favorite season!
7.)Sunshine~ Oh for more of this! I thank God for every sunny day! I suppose I should thank Him for rain too, but that just doesn't come as easily! :)
8.) Snow~ Okay, another weather related thing I know, but I love snow. My husband and I like it as much as our kids! Although, I will admit, I don't love our school snow routes! :)
9.) Snohomish~ This is a town relatively near us where we would love to live. We would love to live somewhere there "in the country". It remains a dream at this point however, because it is too far a drive for my husband to consider driving to where he works in Seattle...but you never know~ someday it may happen! :)
10.) Soda~ This is my weakness! I have been trying to cut back from two to one sodas a day, but it is very, very hard! :)

Whew! There you have it~ ten things I love! If you would like a letter, just let me know in your comment, and I'll send one your way! (And I promise to be kind and not give any Q's or Z's to you either! :) I will be coming around to visit you ASAP, and catch up on everything! :) Have a good night!

"Chairs" to you!

Okay, that was a little silly~ all right, very silly! But I really struggle with making catchy post titles... (I'm sure you know that for sure now!) :)

I recovered these chairs this weekend in ticking~ I love ticking!~ I didn't like the other fabric I first put on after painting them, and this is much, much better! :)



I always forget to take before pictures,



but this time I am saved by the fact that I have four of these chairs~ and two left to sand, paint, and recover! Isn't the "before" fabric horrid on this chair? I shudder at the sight! It sure really clashes with my yellow walls...oh, and yes, we still do not have moulding in this room. Most of the house didn't when we bought it, and what moulding there was, we had to rip out because it was terrible...

Max is a little cranky with me because I disturbed his nap by dragging this chair to this corner for a picture... Anyway, I guess this is a good enough "before" picture. I found these chairs four for $25 at a little tent sale an antique store was having, and although I didn't care for the "8" shape on the back of the chair, I liked the overall style and swooped them up! It was a good price. :) Recovering chairs with seats you can remove is one of the quickest ways to change the whole look of a chair, and it isn't hard at all! :)




I got a fun "inside" garden idea from The Pleasures of Homemaking. I removed the ivy from this teacup and planted a primrose inside of it. (You can't see the handle of the teacup in this picture...oh well, it's too late to fix it!) With my indoor ivy, I just keep it in it's little plastic pot and place that inside of whatever pretty container I'm using. But this time I actually "potted" the plant. I know it's probably bad for water drainage, but it's only for spring anyway! I love this primroses, especially in red!

Tomorrow I am going to ORGANIZE my closets! Or, at least, I am going to start. One of our bedroom closets is a walk-in that we are planning to eventually turn into a little craft room for me, hopefully this spring if all goes well...sometimes things just don't get done as quickly as we think they will! It will be a smaller project, but it requires me going through the closet and sorting through things that will be stored in other places, etc. At this point I'm just cleaning it up in there, not painting or doing anything big yet. I need to finish our dining room first. And I promise I won't forget to show you pictures! :)

I hope you are having a great week! :) Have a blessed, peaceful night! :)

A (small) project finished

I hope you all had a good weekend! It was such a nice one here~ my husband and I got out without the kiddos, which was really fun, because it's been six weeks since our last "date". An extra bonus was that my husband's parents were the babysitters and took them overnight, too! So we went out for dinner and rented a movie to take home. AND...I did something so extravagant, so unheard of, and slept in until ten in the morning, even though I didn't need to. Just because I always wish I could and the house was...quiet! :)

We watched "The Bourne Ultimatum", which was the last in a series of three movies about a man who has amnesia, and you start out with more information regarding who he is than he has. I like a good action movie, but finding tolerable ones can be tricky. (Ones with action, but also more of everything else you don't want to see.) It wasn't perfect, and there definitely was violence in it. Too much killing, but that goes with the plot, I guess. I definitely cannot recommend it in the same way as I could "Fireproof", but I liked the intensity of it! High-speed chases, the CIA, international espionage...love it! Have any of you seen any of these movies? Just curious...if so, what did you think of them?



On a lighter subject, I finally finished a little project I started. I found this wrought iron baker's rack last spring on Craig's list. It was a glossy pink, which wasn't too terrible, so I kept it like that for a while. It fit perfectly in a little nook of our hall bath.



I grew tired of the color though, and knew it would look much better white. I hadn't finished spray painting it before our weather turned wintry cold. But I just recently decided, cold or not, to just get it done and out of our garage! You can't see the top of it in this picture, so here's another one...



Now I just need to put things on it. I'm thinking bath towels would look rather nice...this space between our bathroom counter and the wall was practically screaming for something, and though you typically put a baker's rack in a kitchen, it somehow works to have it in here...what do you think?

Well, I am off to visit your blogs now! :) I hope your Monday is a wonderful one! :)
Have a great night!