Feelin' Beachy

{images from here, here, and here}

We just made plans for a week long vacation in CA and I can't wait! I'm so looking forward to the ocean views and the coastal breeze!

Flowers For Me

I'm not usually one to buy fresh flowers for myself, but especially during spring and summer it's hard to resist when there are so many beautiful blooms that are near impossible to grow in AZ. I met Candice at Trader Joe's yesterday for some groceries and she had some lavender in her cart. When asked why she was buying it, she replied "Because I like it and it smells good." Silly me. So I picked up a couple bunches for myself. On my way home, I stopped by Goodwill to see if they had any vases to put my lavender in. No vases, but I found this cute Ball jar for 99 cents.

I think it's the perfect combination.

It adds just a hint of color to the kitchen and of course it smells heavenly! Fresh flowers are definitely a good thing.

Winner!

Random.org chose #6 as the winner, which means Kelli will be receiving the $40 gift certificate!


I wanted everyone to win, really. And I see lots more give-aways coming, so you should all have your chance!

French Industrial

I'm loving the mix of soft and feminine with salvaged wood and galvanized metal.

(photos from here, here, here, here, and here)

Friday Finds

I realized I hadn't gone to even one store this week- {good news} for my bank account, but {bad news} for Friday Finds. So I decided on a quick trip to Salvation Army. They never let me down!

~Don't forget to enter the $40 give-away below; it ends Monday!
~New items will be posted on the sale this weekend

CSN Stores Give-Away

I first heard about CSN Stores when Rie from Home and Harmony gave away a set of these beautiful drinking glasses from there. CSN Stores has over 200 stores where you can find everything from furniture and home decor to more specific items such as LED lighting or saute pans. Well, CSN Stores contacted me and they'd like to offer one of you a $40 gift certificate to use however you'd like! Here are just a few of the fun things I found while browsing their site:

You will have 2 chances at winning the $40 gift certificate:

1. Become a follower then leave a comment telling me you did so (or if you're already a follower, just leave a comment) .

2. Post about this give-away on your blog and leave a second comment telling me you did.

The contest ends Monday, July 12 (at midnight). The winner will be chosen randomly and announced Tuesday. Now go take a look!

American

I love everything about the 4th of July- stars and stripes, red, white and blue everything, barbecues, fireworks, just to name a few. We stayed in town this year and my parents invited us to come celebrate with them at a D-backs game with a fireworks show after. Doesn't get much more American than that! (I won't mention that the Dodgers KILLED us: 14-1)

Friday Finds

My mom and I braved an estate sale yesterday morning. I wasn't sure battling the huge crowd and waiting for 45 minutes in 100+ degree weather would be worth it, but it definitely was! I know, I know- more white dishes? I just couldn't help myself. :)

(P.S. Items just added to the sale and another GREAT giveaway coming next week!)

Regret

Have you ever had the strong impression to act on something, but you didn't do it and now it's something you'll regret for the rest of your life? Well, it happened to me yesterday. It's not some earth shattering incident, but I am left with an awful feeling and wish I could go back and do it over. I was out making my weekly thrift store rounds, one of which was Salvation Army. It happened to be their $1.00 clothing day, but I had my kids with me so I didn't stop to rummage through the racks. I did find a few silver dishes and then went to the line to check out. The man in front of me had his arms full of work type clothes- ties, dress shirts and pants, a belt, and a pair of shoes. I'm guessing there were 15 items because he pulled out a $15 voucher to use. The cashier started ringing him up and when he got to the pair of shoes he said "These have a red tag which means they're only 50% off. The original price is $30 so that would make them $15 and that's going to use up your voucher." The guy thought for a minute and then quietly said "I'll just take the shoes." My heart started to pound and I was feeling so bad for him. He bought the shoes and walked out the door, but one minute later he was back. He asked where the restroom was and the cashier told him he had to leave his backpack at the counter. I was checking out at this point and all of the clothes he couldn't purchase were still sitting on the counter next to me. A thought kept coming to my mind- I could tell the cashier that I wanted to pay for the man's other items (it probably would've been around $14 worth) and leave them there with his backpack and I'd be gone before he came back from the restroom. He'd never know it was me. Great plan! But did I do it? No. I chickened out. And I'm not saying we should go around buying things for random people, I just had an impression that I should in this instance and I didn't follow through with it. I felt sick while I was driving away and I wanted to turn around and go back, but I knew it was too late. I know with time I'll get over it, but I don't think I'll ever forget it. Am I being ridiculous?

And the Lucky Number is...

79!

Which means Mel is the winner! I hope you enjoy the white dishes as much as I do. E-mail me and I'll get them in the mail or possibly make a personal delivery. :) Surprisingly, there were quite a few of you that got really close. But I promise you there'll be more great giveaways!

(P.S. Be sure to check out the sale this week- lots of items comin'!)

A Day of Teeth

I took Clay bright and early this morning to the dentist for his baby root canal (yes, I'm a terrible mother and hardly ever help the kids brush- things are gonna change!).

My b-i-l Chris did a little drilling only to find out that the cavity went so far that the only option was to pull the tooth.

He was a trooper, and didn't even shed a tear! We headed back to my mom's to pick up the girls and Clara was waiting to show me this:

She let my mom pull her tooth that has been loose for months!

Tonight there'll be 2 kids getting visits from the tooth fairy!

Friday Finds

I didn't have a whole lot of time this week as I'm trying to get my house back in order, but here are the few things I found. The frames are for the girls' room (probably with different pictures) and I just had to have the blue dish that matches with a white one I have. I love the shape and the gold detailing! I found all of these at Antiques on Main, which I believe is the same owner as Treasures from the Past Antiques, which closed recently. They have some great stuff- go see for yourself! (Oh, and don't forget to enter the giveaway below- you have until Monday!)

A Game and a Giveaway

I think you already know how much I love white dishes, but I may be getting close to my limit. I found these pretty dishes (a divided serving plate and a compote/ candy dish) to give away to the person who comes closest to guessing just how many white dishes I have around my house! Leave a comment by Monday, June 28 at midnight with your guess. Good luck!

Word to the Wise

Never attempt to make-over multiple rooms at the same time. Bad idea. I decided to hire painters to get the job done a little quicker and since they were already painting the bedrooms I figured why not have them do the kitchen as well? ( I have wanted the kitchen painted for a while, that's another post for another time.) So you can imagine the mess with 4 rooms being torn apart and I'm a very tidy person, but it was getting ridiculous. Candice was afraid for my well-being. To make matters worse, I had to be gone all day when the painters were here, so I didn't get a look until they were done. I thought I made a good decision on the color, but I hated it! I chose the same color for the kitchen and the girls' room, which means both need to be re-done. So that's the point I'm at now. At least Clay's room and the playroom are good so I'm working on getting those finished up. I've been trying to find photos of playroom inspiration and they're hard to come by. Probably because most playrooms are for function over style. I did come across this room though:

Aren't the chalkboard walls fun? I just love that. Probably not very practical though because the room would be full of chalk dust!


Candice sent me this idea of doing a gallery wall; half being photos of the kids, and the other half being artwork by the kids. I love this.

Friday Finds

For today's finds, I thought I'd feature 2 of my favorite recent purchases that are in stores now so you can get them for yourselves!

Homegoods is my favorite place to go for baskets and I picked up 2 of these to use as my laundry baskets. I'm hoping it will make doing laundry more fun? I just couldn't resist the weathered gray color and the leather handles. And I don't think you can ever have too many baskets.



I found this vintage-inspired soap/lotion dispenser at Target. I love not only the style, but that it looks like milk glass- my favorite! They also have it in blue and green.

And speaking of milk glass, stay tuned for a fun give-away coming soon!

Did You Know?

Did you know that you can shop Goodwill online? How did I not know about this? I found this info. as I was looking through the latest Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I guess it's like e-bay, only more addicting, if that's possible. Check it out here.

Craigslist

I've always had my eye on these beautiful dining chairs from Shabby Chic ,

then I was really jealous when I saw that Rie of Home and Harmony found a set on Craigslist.

I've been the seller of a few items on Craigslist, but never the buyer. Things are always snatched up before I get to them. Until now. I have been looking every day for the past couple of weeks and on Friday I spotted these. My heart started to race and I picked up the phone expecting to hear that they were just sold. Nope- they were still available! She was in Phoenix and I told her I was walking out the door that very minute so I wouldn't lose out. Now they aren't the Shabby Chic brand, but they didn't come with the thousand dollar price tag either. $80 for all four was a steal! And once I add slipcovers I think they'll look pretty darn close.

On a Whim

Well, I did something really stupid. Once it's finished I think I'll like it, but right now our house is a disaster area. I decided on the need for a playroom. I've given it some thought, but finally decided to go for it. However, Clay's room is the perfect spot for the new playroom because it's just off the family room which means his newly made-over room will get moved to the girls room, the girls will get moved to the guest room (because the guest room has it's own bathroom and a walk-in closet), and the guest room will no longer be. Bad news for me because I LOVE all the decor in the guest room, but good news for you because I have lots to sell! I've added a few items this morning, and in the next couple of days I should have quite a bit more. Hopefully I can get it finished up this week!

Friday Finds

Holy Smokes! The last 2 days have been a whirlwind of treasure hunting and boy am I exhausted! This collection of stuff is just the beginning of my finds. I'm posting a few items for sale, but be sure to check back next week as I'm doing some re-arranging over the weekend and will have more great items listed.

Inspiration: Slipcovers

One of my very favorite issues of Country Living was from April 2007. It featured the home of interior designer Lauren Ross, and while I'm not sure how she raises 4 children with all that white, I love everything about it.

Images via Country Living