Thursday, August 31, 2006



Shabby Chic Chloe

This our incredibly sweet dog, Chloe. My husband brought her to us on Christmas morning. She has the sweetest personality. We are all crazy about her. My daughter and I have been patiently waiting for this dogbed to go on sale at Target. Chloe already has the collar and leash. She sits by my feet in my office and now will rest in a more comfortable fashion. We are currently shopping for bedding and several pillows in this same "Shabby Chic" pattern for my daughter's room and have been buying baskets for my laundry room and scrapbook room. Now we will be arguing over which room this new bed will go in. Taylor's been after me all week to get to Target after we spotted this in Sunday's ad.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

111
That's the temperature that my car's thermometer read at 3:15 today. It's not fall. Not even close. Here in sunny Arizona, it won't even begin to feel like fall until September. Can't wait. Fall is my favorite season of the year. I always have to leave town at least once to see the fall leaves changing. Just can't miss it. If you had a midwest upbringing like me, you would have to too.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006


Double Trouble
What are the odds that both of my children would break their arms within 5 months of each other??? It gets better. Both of them had to have their bones popped back into place before their casts were put on. Cole just got the bad news that he is out of soccer for the rest of the season. He had the unfortunate experience of breaking his arm during the first practice. I need to spoil him for a few months. Poor guy.

Sunday, August 27, 2006


This is me.
According to six second graders. My week started out with a telephone call from a teacher asking if I would work 1/2 a day for her because her child was sick. In a blink of an eye, everything changed. Her child was hospitalized, had two surgeries and several other medical problems arose. I've been praying for her all week. I was asked to substitute for her class for the remainder of the week and I was honored to do so. My week is over, but I will never forget the 24 second graders that stole my heart this week. This was my first "long term" assignment. I can't get these kiddos out of my head. It's like being a parent. You're always thinking about them, checking on them and wondering where they are. They will be thrilled to have their teacher back, but I will miss them.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

The Lake House
My husband and I have dubbed Mondays as "Movie Mondays". He started working Saturdays for awhile and plans to take Sundays and Mondays off. We had big plans to sneak out to a movie every Monday while the kids were in school. Due to time restraints we haven't been able to fit in a movie before it's time to pick up the kids from school . . . . until yesterday. We saw The Lake House starring Sandra Bullock. I thought it was the best movie that I had seen in years. Especially if you are a romantic like me. Because it took us a few weeks to be able to fit it in to our schedules, it had already moved to the discount theatre. I would highly recommend that you see this big screen if you can. It was a great "date" movie.

Monday, August 21, 2006

It's Shabby
I've been working on my scrapbook room/home office for about 2 weeks now. I've been wanting to make it more girly. That means pink in girly language. I wanted to pick up some shabby items at yard sales and antique stores. I found this cabinet Saturday for $2.00 and my son switched out the door pull for me with this one that I bought at the Daisy Kingdom shop in Oregon. I've been inspired by Becky whose wonderful decorating style is featured often on her live and learn blog.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Aqua Belt and Weights.
If you don't own a set of these, run out and buy one. I love them. I've been in the pool every morning this week circling the deep end doing my exercise routine. That's the only beauty of summers in Arizona. The pool was glorious this morning at 6:45. The temperature was perfect. Happy Friday everyone.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006



Things I Love

Fleur de lis, chocolate, chandelier drops, finials, peonies, lilacs, forced bulbs, scrapbooking, needlepoint, jewelry, shabby chic styles, gazebos, ribbon, toile, patterned paper, black ink, quilts, country french decor, holidays, decorating, baking, harlequins, the color pink, cavalier king charles spaniels, black and white check, beach glass, white sand, sea shells, walking on the beach, passion fruit iced tea, diet coke, chardonnay, gin rummy, naval oranges, sandals, purses, embroidered jeans, soft sweatshirts, freshly baked cookies, floral china, scones, jigsaw puzzles, photography, family history, holding babies, dollhouse miniatures, piano music, blogs, the smell of rain, cinnamon, nutmeg, red kitchens, roosters, chintz, crossword puzzles, bed and breakfasts, reading, journaling, children's books, old movies, cross stitch, Sunday dinners, my past and my present. What do you love????

I was inspired by my new "little" swap partner, Anastasia, who lives in Australia. I was so excited to meet her online. Loved her list and enjoyed creating mine.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

My "Me" Scrapbook
These are my first pages to go in my new "pink" scrapbook. I haven't been able to get excited about doing a scrapbook just about me and not my family but that all changed when Carmen gave me a beautiful pink scrapbook. My friend Tina also just did a page for her book that inspired me as well. Thanks girls! These two pages are about my "Club Little House" experience. The tags that came with the gifts were wonderful embellishments.

Monday, August 14, 2006



Club Little House

Our package arrived. Goody, goody gumdrops. That is actually how the package read. Amy, the creator of Club Little House, is so delightfully talented in her graceful marketing abilities. I was so fortunate to be a part of this talented group of grown-up little girls. Taylor was lucky that she had made it home from school before the Fed-Ex man arrived because I good not have waited, not one more minute, to open the package. We oohed and aahed over the packaging of all twelve of our "little" items and took turns opening each one. The items included a beautiful crackled and marbled fireplace with a hand-painted screen, a mirrored and lined wardrobe with hangers, a "Bloom Where You Are Planted" flower pot, a very cute fabric beach bag with matching flip flops, a braided rug, a mini lunch and blueberry pie, a table, mantle clock and basket of apples, a cute little dog with accessories, a welcome mat with slippers and a newspaper, a beach pail and apple pie fixings and a wonderful mirrored vanity. We have had so much fun decorating our dollhouse with these incredible furnishings.

Sunday, August 13, 2006



Can you say pink? My daughter prepared this wonderful "pink" lunch for the two of us today. One of her new favorite drinks to make us is "Arnold Palmers", a mixture of lemonade and iced tea. She loves to order that drink when she visits her Daddy at the golf course. Today she used pink lemonade. As she was preparing lunch, she said "too bad the bread's not pink". I'm so blessed to have a little girl who shares my passion for pink.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006


Sensible Chic.
You know, the HGTV show where the client finds an "inspiration room" that she wants the designer to decorate her room around. Well the black and ivory room is my inspiration room for color, fabrics and style. I want to redecorate my living room and am tossing the black and ivory color idea around. The other photo is my sofa that I designed for our family room. I went to every home decor and upolstery shop in the greater Phoenix area, gathered samples and found a company to build it for me. I love the style but want to change colors for our living room. Please think of me and send me photos of any "inspiration rooms" that you have seen.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Back in the Saddle Again. I received a telephone call yesterday from a teacher at my daughter's school asking if I would sub for her two different days this month. I'm leaving now for an afternoon assignment. Both of my assignments are for third grade. I love teaching 3rd graders. They are still so sweet, yet can usually sit still in their seats and are well behaved. Can't wait. First I'm stopping at the grocery store to buy some starbursts for rewards.

Sunday, August 06, 2006



A Chance of a Lifetime. My son cannot hold on to his money. I've been working hard on this issue and try to train him to be a good saver and investor. All I can say is it's a good thing I stayed home. My husband took Cole to a Diamondback's baseball game. They were having a two-week promotion that involved raffle tickets. Cole had $5 in his pocket and my husband allowed him to spend it on 3 raffle tickets. What were the odds of him winning anything when the raffle tickets were pulled from two weeks worth of home games. Much to their surprise Cole won a yo-yo with one and a SIGNED DIAMONDBACK'S JERSEY with another. After the game, everyone who had won a jersey went out on the field, put the jersey on and the player signed their back. How cool is that for him. Luckily my husband had his camera phone. Sorry the images aren't any better, but I wanted to share his good fortune. What a memory.

Friday, August 04, 2006

The tickling of the ivory, finally. We've been trying to find a piano teacher for Taylor since we moved here over two years ago. She was on the waiting list with a neighborhood instructor last year and her name was just moved to the top of the list. Then Monday, we received an email that she was not going to teach this year and was recommending another instructor. I immediately called her and got the last opening spot. Sigh of relief. The instructor is so sweet and patient, radiates peace. I know what the reason is. She has a portrait of Jesus on her wall. He's the reason.