Wednesday, January 29, 2014

a coffee table post

I'm not sure where I
first heard this question posed...
Elementary
Sherlock
is my guess

Do you fan
or stack?

Let me answer
in pictures.


those remotes sure
stand out


digging deeper
like trying to find Waldo
you'll see
lit class


 I have no idea what that pocket knife
is doing there

Boys!

Yeah, I've reached
the age of reading glasses!


deeper still
you'll see
a book on Personal Finance
that has reappeared
since Christmas break


my stash of library books...
hmmm...
am I seeing a theme
develop there
one entitled
Let's Eat! 


James' library choices
take a fictional
graphic
(very graphic!)
bend


Magazines!
A mix of old and new.
Midwest Living and Better Homes,
both gift subscriptions
from
mom.
Thanks mom.

If you look at the spines
you'll see a little secret
I've learned
(from baby sister, Mary)


I recycle a lot!
But there are those
that I keep around
and this year I am putting
them out at their 
appropriate time.
Right now
Jan/Feb
make an appearance.

because 

I can still find good ideas
and
recipes!
 in those
older mags.


catalogs
that serve as inspiration
paint colors
and storage ideas
and a cute purse
(hanging on the left page)
that I've just gotta make!


Inspiration.
Education.
Interests.
Entertainment.
Enjoyment.

That's what my coffee table
has going on right
now

No wonder my butt is on that
couch so dang much!

But 
in answer to the original question...
after fanning my table
I can confidently respond
with
stacker!

What about you?

Monday, January 27, 2014

day into night




For those in the 
Midwest
a strange occurrence 
happened
at about 9:30 last night...
when I let the dogs out
temps in the mid-20's
no wind
downright balmy

Stranger yet...
I asked if anyone
wanted to take a walk
to enjoy the weather
before our next bout of
arctic air...


No takers.

Imagine that!

Then...
at about 10:15
my husband said,
I'll go with you if you want to take a walk
!

Fueled
from watching
Alaska: The Last Frontier
we bundled-up
and
headed out.


Don't get me wrong
it was chilly
our noses were drippy
but
what a difference
the stillness makes.


Definitely
taking advantage of
the break
before
the cold blast
 returns


words like
peaceful
romantic
calm
and
fun
come to mind


oh...
and patience
since my guy didn't
complain once
when I stopped to play with
night landscape
mode.

What a guy!


Making the mile loop...
finding our way home
feeling a little like 
Otto and Charlotte Kilcher
as we traversed through
our version
of
Alaska 
right here in 
Michigan.

Thanks AK for letting us
borrow your weather...

I'm Loving it!

Saturday, January 25, 2014

*winter*

in
close-up mode
from the warmth 
of my home

inside looking out


zooming in
on all it has to offer
right outside
my window


the 
white on white
landscape


a monochromatic
palette
in shades of
nature


enhanced by
earth tones
of
winter gem green



the snow lay waiting
posed softly
as I focus
my lens


snow globe
world


enhancing
texture
by
design



beauty
in
contrast


simply
*divine*


“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” 
― Lewis CarrollAlice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

everything's coming up...



roses.

Not sweet little 
blue bird...

he's the bonus!

This past weekend
I decided
to assign bathroom duty
to all those
who use 
said bathrooms...

sounds reasonable
in my opinion.


The rubber gloves
scrubbing bubbles
bowl cleaner
Windex
and
elbow grease
made their appearance.


Usually
I give myself 
the pleasure
of cleaning all 
THREE
bathrooms
by myself...


needless to say
that day 
has become 
second-ugly-cousin
to PMS.

One of those days!


I've gotten smart over the years.
It is now 
a joint effort.

The benefit
I have discovered 
is that
when you participate
in the cleaning
you respect the job
and try to
be a little neater
when you're using it.

What's known as a
win-win!

Since I had all this
extra time
after cleaning one bathroom


I decided to give my 
assigned location
a little face-lift.

Maybe I was motivated
by my sisters
Tina and Mary
who were getting some painting done
whatever the reason
as I was scrubbing
I kept noticing the worn woodwork
that all the scrubbing in the world
couldn't cover

Within minutes
the room was taped
paint stirred and poured
brushes and rollers
assembled


two measly hours later
(truly the time it takes me to clean all 3)
the wainscoting and trim
were
all
freshened-up!

Which called for a new 
rug and towel.

How fortuitous!

Target
has this adorable line from
Threshold
that fit my style
like a 
rubber glove!

Now that's what's known 
as a
win-win-win!

Happy Wednesday.
:)

Monday, January 20, 2014

not-so-organic lip balm

Armed with a
recipe



more accurately
a guide...
a suggestion

I went about making
Peppermint Lip Balm
for holiday
 gift giving.

I'm going to back up
a moment
to explain how
something magical happened
after taking a few
on-line whole food cooking
courses.

I gained confidence in my kitchen.

I will often change a recipe
something I rarely did before
with items
I have on hand
thereby skipping the last-minute trip
to the store
determined to use
everything I have
in my pantry
or
I will
 substitute ingredients
to make the recipe
vegan.

Body care recipes are no different.

The original recipe
 called for
castor, jajoba, soybean, or almond oil
I used coconut
1/2 a tube of natural
synthetic-free lipstick
as a colorant
I used
dry beet powder
with eh-eh results
finally the peppermint essential oil
which I used
but after applying it
I found it
to be quite
 drying.

My second attempt:


utilizing an old compact
that I cleaned


and deciding to use
the last of
my favorite
Clinique lipstick...

you'd be surprised
at how much product
is left in that
tube!

It made sense to use
my favorite lipstick
as the 
colorant...
don't ya think?

The process

following the recipe
for the most 
part


measuring the
bees wax
given to me as a gift
from my  godson
who is a beekeeper

his honey
for just the right amount of
sweetness


whisked it all together
and dug out that
lipstick

added and blended


poured into
my salvaged pots


labelled
and covered
giving it time to 
rest and set

The End Result:


My not-so-organic
Pink-A-Boo
Lip Balm.

A duo-compact with
some of my favorite eye shadow
still in there
(never waste a thing!)

Old Maid New
strikes 
again!

I'm Lovin' it!

Saturday, January 18, 2014

come on in

Normally
I'm itching with cabin fever.

Usually
I'm already beach dreaming
lending the fantasy
authenticity
by sitting in front of a warm sunny window
summer music setting the stage
(Sheryl Crow's Soak Up The Sun)
cracking the top off a good bottle of
Coppertone
closing my eyes and
giving way
to it.


Not this year...

Maybe its the abundance of
snow
and all the beautiful
white light 
it creates.

Maybe it's 
a phase I'm going through
that wants
e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g
to slow
down...

thereby
welcoming 
a pause within me.


Regardless
I find myself
focusing my camera
ever so carefully
out my window
trying to capture
the delicate path of a
fluffy snowflake
making its descent

*trying*


or turning my lens
on a 
sunset
that fills me with 
wonder.


Making my indoor space
one that reflects
my mood
inviting one to stay
 talk
have a drink
play a game
watch a movie
read a book


snuggle
warm yourself
by the fire

come in from the cold

and by all means
keep the twinkling lights up
for as long as
possible.

Why analyze this?

Why try to explain 
or over-think
the why of
it?

Instead
I will continue to
turn my heart
toward
celebrating winter...
for it comes
but
once a year.