Playoffs and My New Lamp!!

The Arizona Cardinals were defeated by the Saints on Saturday. It was a tough game. We all knew it would be tough. Still, I had hope. I believed like so many other Cards fans. But in the end, it didn't happen. They clinched the division. They made it to the second round of the playoffs. I am proud of the Arizona Cardinals. And I will continue to believe that one day they will win the SuperBowl. I was hoping that it would happen while Kurt Warner was QB but there's talks about retirement.

My Sweetheart's Cowboys also lost to the Vikings this weekend. My Sweetheart was dissapointed with the loss but was happy that the Cowboys made it to the playoffs this year. He was hoping the loss would mean the end of their head coach but I don't think that will happen. Poor Sweetheart!

We had our own little tailgate party at home (we grilled burgers and bratwursts) on both Sat when the Cards played and Sunday when the Cowboys played. We had a great time.

In other news....

I couldn't wait to show a picture of the lamp I bought today!

I am so in love with this lamp right now! I couldn't even wait to clear off the nightstand or even plug it in before taking a snapshot and posting it! I saw it at Marshall's last week when I was doing some lunchtime shopping. I loved it when I saw it but was in the hunt for something different so didn't really even considering buying it. I even forgot my phone at my desk that day so I couldn't even take a picture of it. I knew that I wanted it but figured I always go back for it. Which is really dangerous when you deal with stores like Ross or Marshalls or TJ Maxx. Well to my surprise, I ran into Burlington Coat Factory this weekend and I was shocked to see they had some throw pillows in the same fabric as the lampshade. Oh yeah. I thought OMS (oh my stars), the lamp and the matching pillows would look AWESOME in our bedroom! For three straight nights, all I could think of as I lay in bed was how great the lamp, the pillows, a white down comforter and silver drapes would look. Silver accessories. Ahhhhhh. I am totally having a love affair in my head with the entire picture! (don't ask...)

So today, I thought "what if the lamp is gone"? Aughhhhh! I called Marshall's immediately and asked them to see if it was still there, which it was. I asked if they could hold it for me, which they could. Whew! I asked My Sweetheart if I could run to Marshall's after work to get my lamp. Since all I've been doing is talking about "the lamp", My Sweetheart agreed I should go. Huh? :)

Oh and I am/have been planning to paint my existing furniture. Currently pine furniture, I am going to paint it black. With nickle hardware. Oh it will look so good with my pillow and lamps and drapes. I just can't wait to get started on my project. This project, by the by, has been in the works since last year...July?

My plans are to get started with the nightstand, then the dresser, then the four post bed. My thoughts are to leave the armoire in it's original form so that it's not too matchy. ???

I am so excited about my LAMP, I can't even tell you~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great rest of the week!

Living Room Project

I spent all evening working in the living room. Seriously, all evening long. It started when I decided to buy a new shelf to house the electronics in the living room. Not the easiest task. There's very little room because My Sweetheart has a big screen TV. Not flat screen, big screen. You know, old school. New flat screen for the living room is on our wish list. But it's WAY at the bottom of the list. My Sweetheart recently tells me it's like end of 2010 or start of 2011. SO, I decided to re-decorate and work with what I could.

So I bought a ladder shelf. Ok, I already had a shelf there but I had to buy a second one that would flow better. This one is all wood; the one before had metals legs. Looked too industrial. I love it however so I am moving it to my spare bedroom/studio. That's a whole other project.

So, here's a picture of my shelf. What took me all night was getting all of the cords hidden along the side of the shelf. Not an easy task. And I wish I had pictures of the before. I mean the before, before. Before I moved in and it was more of a storage space than anything else. But here's the finished project: (not sure why the color is so off...)

When I went to IKEA with my sis and cousin, I bought some black and white picture frames. I wanted to do an all black/white theme on the shelf. The lamp was a birthday present from my sister years ago. I love it. The vase is from IKEA. The candle holder is a clearance item from Michael's. I cropped the picture so only the shelf is in view. I have another project going on above the TV. I ordered some vinyl letters to go over the TV. I'll post those when they arrive and I have applied them.

Other project of the evening. My friend Marcia and I went to Kirkland's at lunch today. They were having a great sale. I bought this cool plaque and the three crosses. I really like the way it looks. My Sweetheart liked it too.

Here's a close up of the plaque. It reads: Trust God for what you need. Thank God for what you have. And we do. Every single day.

Tomorrow is the big day .

GO CARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!

The CARDS did it!!!!

Oh my stars!!! Can you believe it? They did it!! What a game. I was stressed out the entire time. I had to turn the TV off a couple of times because I was so crazed over it. I had my Kurt Warner shirt on then GB scored so I took it off. I turned the TV off in the living room convinced that it was causing the Cards to lose. I watched only in the bedroom and finally late in the 4th quarter I had to just stop all together. I was about to lose my MIND!!!

But they pulled it off. In OT, a 51-45 victory over GB!!!

GO CARDS!!!!

IKEA and the Phoenix Zoo

Last weekend I went to the zoo with my sister, my cousin and her daughter. The zoo recently added a new exhibit to the zoo: Land of the Dragons. Yep, we have two Komodo Dragons at the zoo. They are amazing. At first glance, I was almost disappointed. The exhibit was full of people and I didn't really get a good look at first. I think I expected something bigger. But as we got a front seat view and sat and watched the lizard, I became very impressed with it's size and by the way it moved around. There are two :

Here's some other animals I got shots of:

It was a beautiful day. We had the best time!

Since my sister and my cousin drove 90 miles to come here they decided they wanted to make a quick IKEA stop. Yeah, visiting IKEA is never "quick"~! We were there about 3 hours. My sister and my cousin bought cool stuff. We all three bought this awesome tea light candle holder. It's a silver ball that holds the large tea light. Perfect for my coffee table:

Oh and while I am at it. I thought I would share a picture of my "Winter" table decoration. I was bummed about having to put away my Christmas decorations. After all, my living room, kitchen and dining room have been adorned with decorations since October when I pulled out my Halloween stuff. So having bare counters/tables was a sad thought. Sooooo, I thought I would have a "Winter" theme until Valentine's Day decorations are pulled out. Made total sense at the time. I used silver and white and black. Here's my dining room table:

I spray painted the pine cones I used for the Christmas decor. I put silver candles in my front entryway and in the dining room. I bought some candle holders with clear crystals on clearance from Michael's. Perfect for my winter theme. I actually bought 2 large ones and 2 small ones. The small ones are on the coffee table with the silver IKEA tea light holder. I used silver beaded garland and candle wreaths that I got on clearance at Michael's. Looks really nice.

My sweetheart says he loves it. Says it looks really fancy. But one question: "why did you put more Christmas ornaments in the glass thing on the table when we spent hours putting all the Christmas stuff in storage in the garage?". Me: "because they are silver and they are Winter themed balls, not Christmas ornaments. Him: "oh, I see".

He thinks I'm crazy. Maybe I am. Just a little. Have a great week!

Cowboys and Random Stuff

GO COWBOYS!!!

Boy, my Sweetheart is on cloud nine! The Cowboys have advanced and are on their way to Minnesota to visit the Vikings!

Moving on. I've got my eye on the bookcase below. I am in the hunt for a bookcase to place in our media center. Currently I have a ladder shelf that holds all our our electronics (dvd player, wii, xbox, surround sound stuff). It was intended for another room but at the time we needed something to house the electronics so I placed it there. It has worked really well, it has five shelves so there is enough room to hold picture and candles in addition to the rest. Since it does work well, I am thinking of replacing it with a really nice shelf. $699 is a bit steep. So now I am on the hunt for some thing similar with a cheaper price tag...

Courtesy of Ballard Designs

The search is on.

Happy New Year!

Go Cards!!!!

We went to the football game this Sunday. Although the game was a bust, we (I) got really good shots of my fav Cards player: K.urt W.arner......Ahhhhhhh.....

We were on the 11th row so we had great picture opportunities. My Sweetheart took lots of good shots. I was upset that they took Kurt out in the first quarter and replaced him with #7. I refused to take any more shots after that. Well....I did get some shots of Kurt on the side lines but they were a bit fuzzy. In any case, this is the best shot. My favorite shot. Oh yeah.

p.s. I am a Cowboys fan by default. My Sweetheart if the BIGGEST cowboy fan ever and I am a convert. I should post pictures of our office, it's blue and silver. He does give me the okay to root for the Cards since we live in Arizona and we attend the games and we will be season ticket holders this year. Just thought I should mention that so I don't jinx them. Playoffs and all, you know. Go COWBOYS!!