Lose Yourself in Moonlight

I've been reading I Capture the Castle (fantastic!) before going to bed at night.  In one scene, they mention the piano suite Clair de Lune by Debussy, so I thought I'd check it out because I do enjoy a classical piece from time to time.  I grabbed Tyson's smartphone (there was no way I was getting out of bed and getting my laptop from my office), and searched for the song on YouTube.  I'll let the song speak for itself.




I was on the verge of tears from the beauty of the piece, until Shadow and the kitten decided it was play time at the foot of the bed.  I would suggest listening to it when you are sitting quietly and you are enjoying the moonlight.  Lose yourself in the moment, and enjoy the emotions the piece evokes.  Hopefully, it moves you the way it moved me.

Book Nook Table Stencil

Here's a quick look at how I made my stencil for that Book Nook Table I refurbed a month ago.

First, I found an image on google search that wasn't too intricate.  I knew that I wasn't going to be able to cut out anything too small, so I needed an image that was easily sliced.

I then printed 2 copies of that image onto plain, brown card stock that I had bought at Joann's.  One copy was for spray painting the stem and leaves, the second was for spray painting the flower head.

Apologies for the camera strap hanging down.

After cutting the image out with a hobby knife from Lowe's, I placed the stencil onto my little table and sprayed away!  Seriously easy, and I'm happy with how the image turned out on my table.  Here's the table one more time because I think it's so pretty and you all totally want to see it again.

I'm sorry I didn't take any "in process" stencil making photos.  I got caught up in the moment!

Spring Sun & Greenery

I've been seriously enjoying this glorious spring weather.  I won't be so happy when it's 90 and humid down here, but 80s in March is unheard of in my world.  Because of this spring happiness, I feel the urge to share my joy with those less fortunate than I am, aka you crazy snowed-in Northerners.  My father recently bought us the best spring enjoyment gift ever: an adirondack table and chair patio set from Hayneedle.com.  They had been sitting in our living room in boxes for the past month waiting for me to work up the enthusiasm to stain them.

Boy, am I glad I finally found the enthusiasm button because they are fantastic.  I used Cabot Australian Timber Oil in Natural, and it only took about an hour last Sunday.  I'm no professional, so there are some drip spots and missed spots, but, overall, I am extremely happy with the outcome.

 Yes, my beer cozy is purple with pink fish.  Just bought it this afternoon.  The book is I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.  I watched the film version a while back and really enjoyed it, and was super excited to find out recently that it was originally a novel!  Just another happy moment in this bright month of March.

On Wednesday, I took a quick jaunt over to Lowe's to find some pretty flowers to adorn the table.  I wanted vibrant yellow and blue flowers, but I wasn't seeing anything blue that made me jump for joy.  I settled on those gorgeous yellow dahlias and some nice white crawling flowers.

Tyson and I have been into plants lately.  Check out the greenery on our front stoop.  The first picture is of our exploding tomato plants and the second picture is of our blueberry bush (which has also exploded since we planted it a few weeks ago) and some fun pink and white flowers.

 We're starting to see tomatoes already!

So you know I'm not lying when I saw they've exploded, here's a picture I took February 27th, the day we planted them.

 Once again, the plants today!

Yay for plants and green and happiness!

My Beasts & Thank Yous

I consider myself a pretty typical pet owner.  I love my beasts.  I think just about everything they do is adorable and sweet and lovely and brilliant.  Well, except for what the cat does.  He's cute, but seriously lacking in the intelligence department.  I talk about them to my friends like they're my children.    I talk to them like they're licensed therapists.  I woke up this morning as big spoon to my dog and little spoon to my cat.  All pretty typical pet owner habits, I'd say.

Now, I'd like to shamelessly link up to my dearest husband's Youtube page.  What does this have to do with my beasts?  Everything.  Just go. Look. Do it.  Soak in the adorable-ness.  Now.

I have more videos to post to the Youtube page once I get around to it.  The fights take on new venues and obstacles.  Get excited. Do it. Now.

Finally, a big thank you to our good friends for letting us borrow their stylish yellow truck to bring our mound of leaves to the dump.  Shadow really enjoyed the leafbox (similar to a sandbox, but way more awesome).  AAAAND one more finally, thank you to my father who spent part of his Florida vacation raking the leaves in our backyard.  Ask him about his raking system.  He'd love to show you a little trick.

Humpo Day Treat*

A friend of mine passed this on to me today, and I laughed my face off. Literally. Sometimes, it's the silly, stupid things that make your day bright. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



I'm having trouble choosing a favorite: nighttime/daytime, allen, or sabretooth vs. wolverine. Life changing choices being tossed at me, I know.

*I know it's "Hump Day", but this typo made me giggle, so it stays. Ahhh, the little things.

Happy International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. In pondering how to honor such a day, I've decided to share with you a poem I wrote months ago.

I don't consider myself a poet, but I was doing a creative writing exercise in which you were supposed to imagine your mind like water. I wrote a few paragraphs, and, after rereading them, I felt it would sound best reformed into a poem. My dear audience, I need a break from DIY posts, so I've decided to share this poem with you. I'm no Robert Frost or Walt Whitman, but it doesn't hurt to try!

She Continues On

Cool river deep in the woods
Constantly flowing
Never stopping
Journeying through her woods
Impeded by nothing
She continues on

Born high in the mountain
Daughter of a once great glacier
Forging her way through mountain valleys
The world stretched in front of her
She continues on

Her woods depend on her
Bowing at her banks
Dry, desperate tongues praying at her altar
Bodies submerging in her cool relief
She continues on

She never lingers
She never looks back
She does not understand regret
She feels no shame
She offers no apologies, no excuses
She continues on

I hope that everyone woman finds something in her world to help her realize how important she is to everyone around her and how strong she truly is. Thank you to all the women in my life, especially my mother, who supports me in everything I do (including writing mediocre poetry!).

Fun Friday Finds!

After stopping by Joann's to pick up supplies for my Sewing 101 class this Sunday (yay!), I decided to take a look at an antiques/consignment store in town that I had yet to visit, and I was not disappointed.

Alyssa's Antique Depot was ginormous with an awesome selection of antiques, furniture, gifts, and home decor. I really wasn't expecting much as I drove there, but was beyond pleasantly surprised when I actually got lost wandering the many booths. What first caught my eye was a white ceramic hippo named Luigi (his given name, but totally appropriate for the little guy - $5, and he's worth every penny). I have had my eye out for an elephant to spray paint up for my office, but little Luigi captured my heart. I did feel a little odd cradling a hippo for the next 30 minutes as I wandered, but I didn't want one of these hippo hooligans that I've heard so much about snatching him up!

He was instrumental in helping me to discover my other Alyssa's purchases: Silvia, the tarnished silver platter ($8), and Yoshi, the ceramic dino ($4). Meet the newest additions to the family!

Yoshi & Luigi just chillin'

Silvia with her new best friend, Weiman Silver Cream

Today's post will be all about Silvia. It's a bit too windy out for me to sand and spray Luigi & Yoshi. She has a gorgeous, very light etching on her that I was hoping I would be able to show off on my dresser. You can see it if you click on the picture and magnify it. I bought silver polish andwas anxious to see what would happen. Here she is halfway through her makeover:

The left side has been polished up and looks fab. The right side, unpolished and drab. (Luigi and Yoshi are super helpful looking on)

Sadly, the polish can't get rid of the rust spots, but they don't bother me much. Here she is in her new home, alongside our framed wedding invitation and my jewelry box:

In case you're wondering, that handsome, coiled devil's name is Steve.

Doesn't she look great?! I'm pleasantly surprised with my spur of the moment tray purchase! Now I'll be less likely to pile my cardis and t-shirts on my dresser. Don't be afraid to explore local antique shops and thrift malls for inexpensive, tarnished silver! It doesn't take much to spruce them up, and they look great in any room.

Cost Breakdown:

Silvia: $7.95
Weiman Silver Cream: $4

Total: $11.95