Things I'm Loving These Days

1.

Watching the entire four seasons of thirtysomething. 

When the little red envelope appears in my mailbox, I smile out loud.

2.

Pinterest and Instagram. Like you didn't know or think that was possible :-)

I was super into Pinterest initially and then went lukewarm.

Now I'm back and in love.

Although I've not yet done my own instavideo,

I've enjoyed watching others'.

Here's an image using the AfterFocus app. How fun is this?

3.

Always having an event or project in the works. I'm already brainstorming The Feast for this year. When each Feast is over, I think it will be impossible to come up with a theme/look that trumps or, at the very least, is different than the one that just happened, but I always pull through (see all the Feasts in my right sidebar under My Event Portfolio). I'm debating the next craft project — dollhouse? sabbatical scrapbook? spray painting and decorating all the tins I've collected? creating an original piece of artwork on the jumbo "canvas" that I inherited?

One of my many vintage jewelry boxes became the perfect place to showcase all the shells and trinkets that Harleigh and Kasey collected for me from their trip to Cape San Blas.

4.

My king-size bed. In the summertime, Harleigh often invites over a big group of kids who camp out in the living room to watch a movie or play a game. And so I hole up in my bedroom with Gideon. My bed is big enough, with plenty of room to spare, for me, my dog, a laptop, books, and pillows galore.

5.

My 5-day-a-week Jillian Michaels date with my co-workers. We just finished the twelve-week program, and we're starting it all over again. I looked in the mirror today at my near-naked self and saw a curve at my waist. An actual waistline after looking like a giant cankle from the neck down!

6.

A tire-inflator that hooks up to your car cigarette lighter for power. Harleigh was dealing with a leaking tire for the past few days, which we couldn't get fixed because it started leaking on the morning she was leaving the beach and heading for Statesboro to be in a wedding. I felt so much better as she drove from Statesboro home, knowing that she had this (a loan from Kasey's uncle). She used it a few times before we had the tire replaced.

7.

Trader Joe's French Market Sparkling Pink Lemonade. Good to drink. Pretty bottle.

And white, heavy-duty, plastic silverware that mimics the real stuff.

The below pictures are from when I was setting up dinner for Harleigh's counselors.

I had gotten one bottle of the lemonade and wound up going back for four more 

'cause the girls liked it so much.

And these utensils. Dreamy. I told the girls to save them so I could wash them.

Way too pretty to throw away. These babies are getting washed and reused.

8.

Neighbors who fix things. My fence had a huge chunk taken out when I lost a tree. And both gates are broken, one being held together with string and kept closed with a giant rock. It's called "girlie repairing." Without the tools, the knowledge and the strength, string and stones will have to do. I've got a neighbor who cleans my gutters for me, and I asked him if he'd be interested in making these repairs, and I got an estimate. It's more than fair. And even though Gideon probably wouldn't leave the yard if the gates were completely gone, I feel better about them being fixed because of loose, exposed nails that could hurt him.

9.

Gideon. As always.