Costco and my new lamps

Anyone else go to Costco and end up with a LOT of stuff? HA! I stopped by on Saturday and stocked up on everything. I love their fruit and veggies. I bought a box of oranges -- they are delicious -- and didn't have anywhere to put them so I arranged them on a platter. I warned my Sweetheart not to pull an orange from the bottom layer:


I bought chocolate Cheerios (for me), Quaker Oats (for my Sweetheart), some Wheat Thins and some Triscuits:


I bought fruit and fresh veggies. I also bought chicken, turkey and pork. The fridge is full:

My Sweetheart loves it when I go to Costco and stock up. I love it because it makes me feel like my kitchen is a well oiled machine: I have all I need to take care of my Sweetheart!

On another note, I found these cool lamps to place atop of the media center. This little nook that houses the media center doesn't have any type of lighting. Although it's just a small area (in relation to the room), I always felt it should have some type of lighting....to make it more inviting. I thought these "uplights" would do the trick:

I love they way they look! They add just the right amount of light!

p.s. That's Judd Nelson on the screen. I had DVR'd the 1989 film "Relentless" and was watching it last night when I decided to take photos of my new lamps. My Sweetheart will never understand my love of 80's flicks -- he thinks I'm weird!

My Recipe Book Project

I was going through my BHG magazine recently when I noticed the cutest project. A decorater had covered plastic three ring binders with fabric to give the book a more chic and uniform look. I loved it!

I keep recipes that I print from online websites in a three ring binder in the kitchen. The perfect book to try this new project on. I forgot to take a before picture because I was so excited to get it started.

I used some burlap and some spray adhesive for my project. It was simple: I sprayed my book and wrapped the burlap tightly around the edges.




It was quick and easy! I added a ribbon and tag to finish it up. Now, I just have to add my recipes:

It looks so much better now!

On to the next project!

A Card for Todd

My good friend and colleague is moving to San Antonio this week. A few of us at work chipped in to buy him a farewell gift. Marcia wrapped the gift in black and white polka dot gift wrap. I was in charge of the card. Instead of buying one, I made one for him.

My inspiration was the black and white polka dot:

The inside:

Gook luck Todd!

We will all MISS YOU!

Heart Wreath

I bought it, I didn't craft it. I ran into Joanne's this afternoon with the intention of buying some more garland and some ribbon to make a wreath for the front door. Laziness soon took over as I walked past the 40% off sign in the Valentine's Day section. I decided to buy the already decorated vine wreath instead.




I found a new spot for my beaded heart frame that I made last weekend. I think it looks a lot better here:

I added some berries to the glass vase that I embellished with jute string last summer:

My Sweetheart and I had a great weekend. We planted 8 rose bushes in the backyard. I can't wait for them to mature and bloom; it's going to be so beautiful back there!

We also went on a date night on Saturday night. We had diner at The Secret Garden which is a new restaurant in our neighborhood:

It was delicious! We sat in the outdoor patio right next to the fireplace. It was a gorgeous night. The ambiance was amazing, as was the company. We had a beautiful night!

A touch of Valentine's Day

I wanted to keep it simple. I also wanted to try my hand at crafting up a few projects that I saw online. I think my attempts were a bit of a bust, but a good learning experience nonetheless. I think if I had more time and I was a little more patient I would yield a better end result. Still, I was pleased with what I created.

To start, I added a red heart to the candle on the entrance way table for a subtle touch:

This was my first project. I used the frame that I made for my Halloween decor, here. My thought when I first made it was that I could change it out for every holiday. I have an idea for Easter already. This project was not as exciting or elaborate as it could have been. I had limited supplies on hand and I didn't feel like venturing out. I think I need to replace the I and U so that it stands out more. I was going to use black letters but my Sweetheart says black is not used at Valentine's day. I love black.....

This was project number two. I put some red glitter on a small wooden heart and framed it. I used the same scrapbook paper in the background as project number one. It's okay. It looks way cuter in person:

This was project number three and the most successful. I glued red glass beads to a wooden heart and framed it. I love it. This too looks much better in person:

My plan is to use this frame for different holidays. Like an egg for Easter, a flag for the 4th of July, etc:

I love glitter and I have plenty of it! I used pink glitter on a wooden heart and pasted it to my blackboard frame:

A candy dish filled with dark chocolate Dove candies is a must:

I love this plate because it says "Sweetheart":

And last but certainly not least, my Valentine bear and some dark chocolate Hersey's kisses:

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a Sweetheart...

When I came home on Friday, I found this cute bear waiting for me:

Is he not adorable? It turns out my Sweetheart listens to everything I say. I was mentioning the other day that I wanted to put a few Valentine's day decorations out. Not a lot I said, just a few subtle touches here and there. I didn't want to overwhelm the house with red hearts otherwise it looks like an elementary school classroom. :)

So as he ran into a drug store on his lunch break he saw the Valentine's day displays and thought of me. He thought this bear would be perfect for what I had in mind. Is he a SWEETHEART or what? He was listening and was sweet enough to bring this cute bear home for me.

I am such a lucky girl!

Valentine's Day

There are SO MANY awesome Valentine's Day projects that I've run into online! I am super excited to start two new projects. For now, I wrote a special note on my chalkboard frame for My Sweetheart to kick off my Valentine Day decor!

Spring Cleaning...already?

Oh my stars! I just received my BHG magazine and there are a lot of mentions about Spring Cleaning! We still haven't put all of our Christmas bins away -- they are scattered all over the garage. Sure, we are planning on cleaning out the garage tomorrow but the thought of spring cleaning is just way too much to handle! HA!




I am still trying to recover from the holidays!

Resolutions - Day 5

I thought I would post an update on my resolutions.

• Eat Healthier Foods - we both started a low cholesterol, heart-healthy diet today. Looking good. No take-out at all. Chicken and veggies and brown rice have become a staple in our menu.
• Give up Dr. Pepper and all sodas - just drank my last Dr. Pepper. Not so good. I had another DP in the house...and well I am finishing the 2 liter bottle before I give it up for good. :)
• Workout on a daily schedule - again. Starts Saturday....really!
• Read more books - this is lame but we have decided to read one book per quarter as a starter. We watch WAY too much TV. Watched JAWS tonight and a movie on Lifetime yesterday...not looking good!
  

I am cognizant of my resolutions as I go through my day. It helps to keep me on track with the food. Especially at work when someone always has some "goodies" to share. Aside from the soda and the books, I think I'm doing pretty good to start!

Resolutions

My New Year's Resolutions:

• Eat Healthier Foods - we both started a low cholesterol, heart-healthy diet today.
• Give up Dr. Pepper and all sodas - just drank my last Dr. Pepper.
• Workout on a daily schedule - again.
• Read more books - this is lame but we have decided to read one book per quarter as a starter. We watch WAY too much TV.

I feel good about everything listed above - it is definitely well within reach. And we are both on the same page about it.

Happy New Year and Kitchen Curtains

Happy New Year! Wow, 2011 already! I can't believe a whole year has passed. So much happened that I am in some ways glad to see it over and in another just sad that it has all come and gone. I know that 2011 will be better!~


I have been off of work for the past 5 days. That is the most time off I have had since 2009. I used all my vacation time to help care for my dad in Tucson so I never took consecutive days off. It was much needed time off. My Sweetheart also had the time off so we spent quality time together....it was very nice.


We spent today taking down all of the Christmas decorations. It took most of the morning, but we watched a movie during the first part so it was a nice, relaxing time. After we took everything down, the rooms seemed very plain to me. Since October we have had decorations in the kitchen, living room, dining area and entrance way. To go back to the normal stuff is hard to handle. My Sweetheart even made a comment about it....he notices these things?? Anyway, at this point I became very ambitious. I decided to make new curtains for the kitchen. I was tired of these yellow ones I made last year here in July. So I decided to tackle the job.


I bought new fabric a couple of weeks ago when I saw it on sale at Joanne's. I was thinking kitchen curtains but wasn't sure. I decided tonight that kitchen curtains it would be. So here's my finished product:

I like them so much better than the yellow ones. I am aware that they are not the most elaborate of curtains. Nonetheless, I like them. They are simple. And I like simple.

After I did that, Vodka Cranberry in hand, I thought the entrance table looked drab. So I decided to embellish the plain cream candles I had on the table with some jute string. I used a thumb tack to secure the string. I didn't want to commit to using glue on the entire candle since I didn't know how it would look:



It turned out better than I thought it would. I even got the thumbs up from My Sweetheart:

Oh and this last picture is one of my fav's. It's My Sweetheart, aka My Grisly Bear. His Fantasy Football team made it to the playoffs so he didn't want to shave until the end so he wouldn't jinx it. I'm totally serious.

Looking forward to 2011!~