Goodby my 50 years of junk

It is official, our house is now junk free! I guess I really mean the only junk that resides here is ours!
I am not sure if I mentioned this previously, but LML and I purchased the family home. We love it because there is history in it.
On the flip side, it can be a headache since we have to deal with things you do not normally. We had to clean a house out that two generations had contributed to and no one had cleaned in the ensuing years. Do not get me started on the junk in the closets ( in our case, the furniture was distributed, but the closets, cabinets, etc were still junkified) and the inch thick of makeup powder in one cabinet.
Once we got the inside up to par, we neglected two outdoor closets. We were just overwhelmed and tired at that point, so two nonessential areas did not make the list.
Fast forward two years, LML tackled our pool closet back during my illnesses.
Today, we cleaned out the utility closet. Two loads of trash later, we now have a closer we can use! I am so excited to move the extra paint out there tomorrow! This will free up our hall coat closet, which I have missed.

Do you have any long ignored organizing/cleaning projects?

- I should blame it on the iphone, but this girl cannot spell so please excuse any misspelled words

Calender Girl

No I am not singing the song (well at least that song)!  But I do have to admit that I do love a good calender.  In fact, I obsess over a good calender.  I do have some pretty specific requirements in terms of the calender.

Today, I found a great deal on calender that makes my heart go a pitter patter.  The Erin Condren Life Planner makes me drool. It comes personalized and you know how I love me some personalization!
Erin over at Blueeyedbride has been talking about this calender a lot lately, but the cheapskate in me would not let me blow $50 on it at this time.
Well yesterday, Erin let us in on the deal at Plumdistrict.com where you can get the calender for $25 (plus shipping and such).  (I actually got it for $20 because I had $5 off since it was my first purchase with plumdistrict.com)
I jumped on the deal quickly with the approval of my coworkers/reality checkers.  (Everyone needs someone to judge if the impulsive idea of the day is a good one or not...Just sayin')
Needless to say, I have the calender below on order and should be here in the middle of August!

Anyways, have a great day and please check out the calender and deal!  The links provided link directly to the deal!

Emotional week

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.- Psalm 34:18

This week has been hard in my neck of the woods. While they do not directly affect me, my heart still breaks for my friends.

I wish there was more I could do to help ease their pain. I am praying for the Lord to lift them up and provide them solace.

Dreaming Big

I am very lucky that I married someone who came with furniture of some quality.  I am unlucky in that not every piece is something that fits my style.  

I have finally determined that I love Chippendale, Federal, Georgian or Empire style furniture.  Most of the pieces that I do not love are Victorian style furniture.  I plan on living with it until sometime in the distant future I can afford to replace it with pieces that I absolutely love.  

In fact, in the pieces that I do buy current (i.e. saving money right now for a new couch), my policy is that I must adore the piece and see it fitting into my long range design plans.  

Recently, I had a night where I could not sleep, so I spent a few hours dreaming while playing on ebay.  I have determined that I want a piece of furniture that resembles the following pieces.  While I would love the authentic antique pieces, I am willing to settle on quality reproductions.

Source

I want this style table and hope that it can seat 10-12 with leaves in it because I adore the idea of the future family gathered around the table.
Source

This style chair with a different fabric. Source

My first hydrangea

My little nico blue hydrangeas are chugging along during this HOT summer. I know they do not look their best, but I got my first flowers on the new plants.





Granted they are pink and not blue. I am so excited and look forward to more next year. (excuse the bad picture but I am excited)

I am tempted to leave the soil as is and let these remain pink and plant more next year in a different area that I can try and make blue.

Illness be gone

Part of the reason I have been missing in action:





I had been battling a major sinus infection (or so I thought) since my trip to Little Rock. Two different antibiotics and steroid treatments later, I had a relapse again. The third and final trip to the doctor (I hope) resulted in my diagnosis with Mono.

Before you laugh too hard, I did not cheat on LML. My guess is that I caught it from my tendency to share food and drinks with anyone. (Lesson learned and I will not be so eager to share in the future since I can pass this virus to people even after I recover.)

The doc in the box ordered me three days of IV antibiotics and steriods in addition to a stronger oral antibiotics. LML was at the doctor's office with me since I was miserable. Let's just say that he now understands why I dread doctor's offices. I spent over an hour with three different nurses and four different attempts to locate veins. (What can I say, I was born with it.) I am feeling pretty good right now, just tired.

I just have to spend the next few weeks trying to take it easy. It seems that is harder for me that I realized. I get really bored easily when it is me and the dogs at home alone during the week.
I am very grateful that my work is flexible and allowed me to work less hours while I recover.
So that is my update on life lately.

Oh where has the summer gone

I cannot believe that it is almost August already! This summer has disappeared quickly.


I made a quick trip to Little Rock back in June. The only thing I remember at this point was the fabulous drink I had one night at Capital Bar and Grill.

It was called Southern Comfortably and featured a pecan soda (It had vodka and not SOCO). This was my first pecan drink but I definitely enjoyed it. It was the perfect sipping drink that lasted me through appetizers and dinner. The mint julep cup definitely made the drink even more appetizing for my eyes. Love the cool condensation on the silver!

I am sure there would have been more to say had I been a good blogger and written you about my trip last month.