What I'm Wanting Real Bad

Lately when at the pet store to pick up dog food, I've spent way too much time in the bird section. And I think I want one. Is it the colors that attract me? All those soft baby blues and buttery yellows. Or the soothing chirping like a summer melody through a screened door? The challenge of making a bird into a loving, devoted pet? The cute cage?

It's the last thing I need right now in my busy life. Maybe when Harleigh goes off to college . . .

[Photo from the flickr page of Anja Louise Verdugo. Just lovely. As are all of her photos and collections.]

Successful Beyond Belief

This picture has nothing to do with the shower this past weekend, but I just wanted something pretty to go with the words. It was such a success. And beautiful. So beautiful. If I must say so myself, Courtney and I outdid ourselves with this one. Tons of pix to come. With Ali shooting, I didn't even pull out my camera.

Wedding Shower this Weekend - A Little Peek

The company-wide wedding shower for Jenn and Jason is this coming Saturday. Everyone here at Unboundary, along with spouses/significant others, is invited. We've also got a slew of past employees coming as well as friends of Unboundary who have been meaningful in Jenn's life.

I wanted a theme that was totally different from anything I've done before but also one that spoke to Jenn and Jason. Courtney and I brainstormed and we're doing an Indian/Moroccan bazaar theme. (I know I know, they are two distinct countries.) Jenn loves to travel AND she loves jewel colors and candles.

Our color palette is so rich, candles will be everywhere, exotic floral arrangements adding to the feel, the food is a mix of Indian and Moroccan and American fare, everyone is dressing fun (lots of bangle bracelets and long summery sun dresses). There will be a tent-like drape over the food table. I purchased six Indian sarees and had them cut and sewn (thanks, Shaun!); these will be used outside to hang along our wrought iron fence. We love the look of those colorful Moroccan tea glasses with the gold, but to purchase enough for 60 people would have been a little on the pricey side, so we made our own (just wait 'til you see what a beautiful job Courtney did painting them!). With the heat of the season heavy upon us, Laura has made a fan for each guest, decorated with an imprint using a linoleum block she made herself.

Here's a little peek at what we're doing special for the couple. I really struggled with ways to bring a personal touch to the shower and had a handful of ideas, none of them striking a chord. And then this idea hit me . . . have cards at the shower (one for each guest) that they will write a sentiment in for Jenn and Jason. The card is sealed in an envelope, and over the course of the couple's first year of marriage I will mail a card a week to them. They'll be reminded every week of just how special they are.

Here are a few of the cards, each one different, made by hand.

Summatime Summatime Summ Summ Summatime

We have staff lunches at work, well, maybe once to twice a month. Food is usually ordered in (pizza, Mexican, Thai). This week we decided on a theme and it was summer picnic. Brought in fried chicken, potato salad, pies, watermelon. Served on a red check tablecloth, with vases of daisies, and (love this, Molly!) beachballs and flip flops as table decor.




[Photos courtesy of Blake Tannery — sorry, Blake, for cropping the last pic; my double chin and I were the focal point]

On the home stretch

The plumber is here replacing my bathroom toilet (don't even ask . . . all I can say is that he said I had been sitting on a time bomb waiting to explode). And tomorrow the carpet installers come. In the meantime, most of my bedroom, Harleigh's bedroom, the craft room and four closets are emptied of everything minus the big pieces of furniture. For the past four days this is what my living room and study have looked like. Yikes. [We did agree that with all of the upheaval around here, we've gotten some good cleaning and purging done.]

This little cutie belongs in my craft room but is now in my foyer enjoying a different view of Chateau Gahan. I love her pantaloons. Wish we still wore pantaloons. They must have been the olden day version of the sweatpants.

One Lucky Mommy

Harleigh is full-speed ahead with her summer. Lifeguarding. Babysitting a ton. Working this week as a group leader at Vacation Bible School. Movies and hanging out with friends. Thank gosh that she can drive and has her own car. There's no way I could work full time and chauffeur her to all of her commitments.

She is making money and being smart. Most of her money goes to me for car insurance, but some she is "putting back" into babysitting by buying crafts and fun things to keep all of her kids occupied and happy. They'll be painting and decorating wooden letters (their first initial) for their rooms, making Father's Day cards, stuff like that.

And she has taken over grocery shopping and is doing a stellar job of it. I don't even give her a list; she plans out our dinner menus, figures out what we need for lunches, and even came home with flowers yesterday for me (bought with her own money — not out of the grocery money — I might add).

She is making our lunches everyday and then has dinner ready when I come home (she goes online and finds recipes!), all of it with an attention to nutrition. She is taking great pride in these efforts and I can't tell you how appreciative I am of the time it has freed me up to tackle house chores and the upcoming showers and wedding receptions I'm doing the decor for. She is relishing the responsibilities and routine of being a woman. And at the end of the day the little girl is back when I come in to hug her goodnite and we enjoy snuggle time.

Yes, I'm one lucky mommy.

It's sometimes the simplest of things . . .

Today I enjoyed getting up early to greet the sweet West Highland Terrier we were dog sitting today, then ran a bunch of errands, paid bills and balanced the checkbook, and settled into my living room chair to watch TV, do paperwork, catch up with Harleigh on her day of babysitting (two kids' pool parties) and to simply relax. Haven't done that in quite awhile and it felt super wonderful.

Gideon was tuckered out from having a friend over all day and I was plain ol' ready to do nothing but contemplate my navel.

Much-Needed Garage Cabinet

Lately I've not been a fan of open shelving in my garage. First of all, it doesn't make the garage look organized, and secondly, everything on the shelves gets dusty. My tools are on a shelf in the far corner of the garage, which, when both our cars are parked inside, makes getting to them a pain in the heine. So when I chanced upon this vintage pantry in a thrift store today, I snapped it up. Placed right next to the door to the kitchen and stocked with all my tools, it's perfect. Hung a picture above it (one of my favorites that Harleigh did when she was little — of a girl on the beach in the wind) and picked some daisies from the garden. Who says you can't put a vase of flowers in your garage?

Old Chair Plant Stand

Gideon Goes to Work

We can bring our dogs to work. It's pretty amazing that I work in an environment like that. And it's one of the reasons that I caved in to Harleigh wanting a puppy two years ago. Figured that bringing the dog into work was such a better option than keeping him home all day, especially given the breed that she wanted.

But once we brought the little bundle of joy home, God had another plan in mind. I took Gideon into work with me for probably no more than 3 months . . . and raging car sickness became a twice-a-day part of the work routine for the little man. He loved coming into the office but getting him into the car leaving home and heading home proved to be quite a feat on my part. With the help of our wonderful trainer, we got that part licked. And now Gideon jumps into the car onto command. But the long treks into my office are a thing of the past (I drive a good 40-60 minutes one way). He's now a homebody and seems quite content.

His two favorite trips are to the groomer and the vet. He adores both places (such a freak), and while the ride itself isn't one he relishes, at least he gets into the car and is ecstatic once he reaches his destination.

A few weekends ago I realized that I left a personal file at the office that I desperately needed. Harleigh agreed to drive in with me and we decided to take Gideon to see how he would fare. Not well. But here are some pictures once we got to the office. He seemed to remember where everything was, enjoyed sniffing around, and wound up resting near one of the office's more sedate pups.

Majestic Feathers Tag Swap

Got my tags in the mail today. Is this just one of the most wonderful things about blogging???? i have gotten such pleasure out of these doggone swaps.

I love this one from Angela with the vintage earring.
And Tammy has a bird who couldn't be more regal in her crown and silk & tulle skirt (with a feather tail sticking out!).
Marian incorporated fabric and sewing — MY INITIALS!!!!! — in hers, and included a list, on the back of the tag, of the origin of the materials that went into the crafting. (Think I'll use this idea next time I do a swap; I think it's rather special!).

She did it!

Harleigh passed a vigorous week of training and is now ready for a full summer of lifeguard work. She'll be lifeguarding at the church camp that she went to for 11 years, then worked at (on the high school servant team) for the past 2. This year she decided that she wanted to lifeguard. I couldn't be more proud. The lifesaving tests that they took were beyond what I could have ever tackled as a teen. It's serious stuff, and I'm glad that she has a summer filled with kids, sunshine, a beautiful pool, all with a Christian focus. She already has three private parties scheduled as well; a perk to the job.

She got her two swimsuits (one red and one blue), and is already adept at the lifeguard whistle finger twirl.
Here's her "charge" this summer.

A Giveaway

Stop on over at Cynthia's Cottage Design for her one-year-anniversary giveaway. She's giving away some really pretty things!

Patriotic Cozies

What with our hectic schedules this past week and all the house caca going on, I've not had many chances to post or visit much in blogland. But I'll try to make up for it this weekend!

Here are the cozies I sported for Memorial Day weekend which will carry me through 4th of July. As most of my headrest cozies, these are dinner napkins I found at Hobby Lobby that I just folded and pinned. Luckily I have cloth headrests, and so I can push the pins directly into the headrest (sorta like when we'd put hats on our Barbies, holding the hat in place by pushing a straight pin straight into her head).

But,

look at this pretty plate hanger and these lovely plates that I dusted and got back up on the wall. Divert your attention from the wet clothes hanging to dry from every hook and doorway in the ken. These pretties are what I'm concentrating on right now.

Testing 1, 2, 3

Tonite, the dryer broke. I washed a throw that pilled beyond belief. I cleaned out the lint catcher, and went outside to see where the vent vents . . . it looked like a snowstorm. Looks as if all that lint has clogged somewhere. So tomorrow I'm going to unplug the dryer and clean out whatever I can in an attempt to fix, for free, what I think is fixable.

In the meantime . . . remember the clean and livable ken that I revived . . . it has now become a clothesline room.
I have my daughter home. That counts for something.

Memorial Day weekend winds down

The slipcovers are washed and back on the sofa. The kitchen (cabinets, floor, baseboards, countertops) is clean and back in order. All the living room curtains have been hand washed and are dried and waiting to be hung.
The ken is back to doing what a ken does best . . . being home to my big green chair for reading the newspaper and having my morning cup of coffee.
Gideon is walked and passed out, happy.
A bird is making a nest in our climbing clematis.
Still a ton to do, but I'm calling it quits for the holiday weekend. Will get my weekly groceries this evening and then wait for my girlie to get home from the Lake. Most of the furniture is still out in garage covered in dust. The hallway still needs a second coat of paint. There is always next weekend.

Always time for thrifting!

Yesterday when I was running errands, one mission took me a little bit out of my hood. And so, like any thrift-loving chickee, I had to stop at whatever thrift store I came upon, even if it meant that my errand-running took me a little longer than I had planned. Got this selection of pillowcases and this lamp, which needs re-wiring and a little TLC (= paint and a shade). If I had left this one behind, I'd be kicking myself today.

So Far, So Good

The weekend has panned out to be quite manageable. And that is simply because I vowed that the house overhaul would NOT get completed this weekend. Might take me two or three weekends to get the house back in order, but so be it.

Yesterday I dropped Harleigh off at her school's graduation. From there she was heading to Lake Hartwell with a girlfriend's family. Not the best of weather this weekend, so I'm a bit bummed for her. Hopefully they can get in lots of boating, tubing and water skiing despite the overcast skies and intermittent rain showers.
I ran a bunch of errands yesterday morning, all in preparation for the wedding shower I'm throwing in June. Just wait . . . it's gonna be real eye candy! (Am having a bit of trouble finding inexpensive sari fabric, but will make do somehow.) Dropped Mr. Gideon off at the groomer. Got home and began cleaning. It really is a blessing that all this crap happened. I've been able to clean and, best of all, rearrange things.

I'm gonna retire my miniature chair collection to the attic. In its place I've moved some things from the shelves in the study and made a white and pink theme on the shelves.

EVERYTHING covered in dust

The hardwood installers finished just before American Idol came on. They had been here since 9:00 AM; ripping out the old hardwoods had been a bear of an undertaking. Tomorrow the painters and contractors come to paint the living room and study as well as paint and install the shoe molding and baseboards.

Here's the living room just before they came (as opposed to right after they left; see the section of concrete floor behind the sofa where the water damage was). And now EVERYTHING is covered in dust. All the furniture, lamps, everything we moved to the garage is covered. Every surface of the kitchen is dusted. Ceiling fans are disgusting. It's going to be a very long, very tiring weekend of cleaning. I don't even know where to begin.
Then we prepare for the carpet installers next week. All the furniture and stuff in the craft room, Harleigh's room, and my room has to be moved. I'm trying to hold it together. Really I am.

Here we are piled in the craft room tonite watching American Idol (the living room TV is on the floor in the kitchen . . . covered with dust). Harleigh on the floor playing Sudoku on her iPhone. Gideon using her thigh as a pillow, sleeping from a loud day of being boarded at the vet's. And there's my knee . . . dusty I'm sure.