Honored

I hope you don't mind if I take a moment to pat myself on the back . . .


I'm so honored because I just found out that:

What a special privilege and a great way to start a Monday!  There were so many beautiful projects submitted last week, so I was tickled to see my upcycled winter wreath made the cut.

If you missed the tutorial on how to make it, click here.

And if that wasn't an honor enough, I read on to discover that my winter mantel was:

Thank you to all of the talented bloggers over at the CSI project for continuing to inspire and challenge us with your weekly link ups! 


This week's party is an "Organization Challenge" so head on over to
CSI to link up.



Good Writing from 2010

I woke up on New Year's Day and checked my daily blog roll, like always.

I was surprised and excited to find myself as one of Layla's top posts from 2010.   She selected
"Circular Saw Lullabies" as one of her favorite posts of 2010, which made me giddy!

What a wonderful way to open the New Year!

I read through all of her picks and there was some incredible writing out there.  I figured I would put together two of my own favorites from 2010.

A lot of bloggers have great crafts and beautiful homes, but sometimes the writing itself is more informational.  As much as I love all of the beautiful photographs and creative ideas, I also love really good writing.

Remember, I used to be an English teacher?!

I'm guilty of not always putting my best writing forward.  I've considered starting a second blog -- one that is more about the writing than the pretty pictures and fancy decorating.

I could write about some of my life's experiences . . . like how I found myself a single mom of a bi-racial daughter for three years.

Or how I left a very noble profession to enter the world of sales . . . and what goes on in that world.

But I don't have any more time to devote to blogging -- especially when I have a baby on the way!


But some people manage to write beautifully in every single blog post and for that, I admire them.

My two favorite posts of 2010 . . . (insert drum roll please) . . .

Kasey from Lola B's is perhaps one of my favorite bloggers.  She makes me laugh out loud, cry, and enjoy being a mom.  Her writing is fresh and real. I absolutely love her blog and read it daily.  One of my favorite posts of hers this year is "The Perspective Project."


Deborah from The Fairfield House writes with passion.  Her posts are thought-provoking and often sentimental.  She doesn't post every day but when I get an email in my inbox telling me she has a new post, I literally stop what I am doing to read it.  Check out "The Gift" but have a box of tissues handy.

If these two talented ladies are not on your blog roll and you like a good piece of writing, save yourself the money you'd spend at Barnes and Noble on a book of short stories and subscribe to their blogs instead!

Visiting Grace

Head on over to Sense and Simplicity and check out my guest post.  You just might learn something new about me.

I am honored that Grace asked me to participate in her summer guest blog post activity.  Grace is featuring a different blogger each Monday, so be sure to check them out and discover other bloggers.

Thank you for the opportunity, Grace!  It was so much fun.

Lucky Me!

I've always been fairly lucky, although you wouldn't think so considering my recent finger injury.

It's true though.  I remember entering each of my family member's names in a giveaway for an enormous stuffed Easter Bunny when I was a kid and I think they pulled my sister's name.  She had no idea her name was even entered until she got the phone call.

I also won $50 on McDonald's monopoly game when I was in elementary school.  We were on a vacation at Virginia Beach and each of my family members pulled off their playing pieces from their sodas. 

"What does 50 mean?" I asked.   My dad, who played the lottery faithfully each night but never won, was probably more excited than I was that I won.

And then there was a basket raffle at a school where all of my colleagues bought $25 to $50 worth of tickets to win a basket filled with gift certificates to fancy restaurants.  I bought one $1 ticket and, lucky me . . . I won.

Oh, and probably the biggest win of all was a honeymoon to any Sandal's resort of my choice!  I was at a bridal show and entered my name.  I was shocked when they pulled my name.  I thought it was a scam but it was actually legit!

When I married Jason, he warned me that my luck was soon to change.  He always had bad luck, he claimed.  To which I responded, "Out of your mouth comes blesses and curses!" (This is one of my favorite mottos of one of my dearest friends).

After a few incidents that I'd rather not get into . . . I began thinking maybe Jason was right.  Could my luck have changed from marrying him?

And then I joined the blog world.

Lucky me!  At Easter, I won a gift card to Pottery Barn from Deborah at The Fairfield House, which I still haven't spent!

And then, I won a necklace from RJ Charms sponsored by Allison at House of the Hepworth's.  Imani chose an adorable baseball necklace.

And then, most recently, I was fortunate enough to win two beautiful plates and a gorgeous Anthropologie vase from Grace at Sense and Simplicity.

Imani and her friend enjoyed the fruit I told Grace I would serve on these beautiful plates.

And the little vase looks beautiful filled with freshly picked daisies.

Grace was even kind enough to throw in a few fossils for Imani, since Imani has a rock collection and LOVES searching for fossils.  Wasn't that so sweet?

So to be completely honest, I'm not really sure if I believe in luck or not  . . .  but I do know that since I've begun blogging, my life is richer.  I've met so many great people, seen so many inspiring projects, and fulfilled my desire to write again (even if I do have lapses), not to mention that my house looks lovelier than ever!

Oh, and the prizes are great too!

Merci Beaucoup

And that's about the extent of my French . . . 

I am very honored and excited because I recently was awarded TWO blogger awards!

 Kerry over at A Tranquil Townhouse recently gave out some awards and I was one of the lucky chosen. She broke the rules a bit (which I love) and let the honored bloggers she selected choose which of three awards they wanted to pass along. I chose the Happy 101 award. 

 I am supposed to list 10 things that make me happy and then pass the award on to 10 other bloggers but I am only going to pass it along to three, because I think it makes the award more special and because three is my favorite number!

First, 10 things that make me happy:

1. Seeing my nine year old daughter Imani's big smile when I pick her up from her after school program each day.

2. Holding hands with my husband, Jason (it makes me feel 16 all over again)

3. Dark chocolate with raspberry creme filling

4. Seeing my vision of a renovated room to completion

5. Receiving real letters in the mail

6. Sand beneath my feet

7.  Slipper jeans (let's just say, my Dad is short)

8. Flying to New York City to see my sister on a private jet. (Thank you Lori!)

9.  Knowing I can call my mom whenever for whatever and she'll be there.

10. Knitting 

It was really hard to limit myself to just ten! I realize there are so many things that make me happy!

And now . . . I figured I would give these three awards to bloggers whose blogs make me happy.

1. Lola B's - If you haven't read Kasey's blog yet, get on over there quickly.  I usually am not a big fan of music on blogs, but I like hers!  Kasey's posts inspire me to be an even better mother.  LOVE her site and get so giddy when she has a new post.

2.  Katie at Philigry.  This is the blog I just happened across when I found a pattern I liked on Ravelry.  I discovered Katie's life and became envious it wasn't mine: stay at home mom who knits, sews, bakes, has an amazing eye for decorating and has chickens! Ahh, the life.  Katie and Layla over at The Lettered Cottage are the two who inspired me to create Decorating Addiction.

3. Micah at The Yellow Front Door.  Micah is chronicling her home renovation projects too.  I like what they've done around their place and I like that they painted their front door yellow!  That alone makes me smile. 

Thanks Kerry, for choosing me for an award!


The second award I was given was The Sunshine Award, which was given to me by Three Ring Cottage, I am quite honored to receive this award because it is given to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others. Thanks so much Three Ring Cottage!

And now it's my turn to pass it along. I am going to pass it along to three people (although I think the rules state that you are supposed to pass it along to 12 people but who cares about rules, right?). 12 just seems like it takes away from being something special. Three is my favorite number and it just so happens that there are three bloggers who are very special to me right now.

1. Meg at House Notes. Meg and her husband are fixing up their house and blogging about it just like Jason and I are doing over here. I like to check into Meg's site almost daily to see what they've got going on. It's inspiring to see other couples who are re-designing their house. If you get a chance, head on over and check out all the work they've done.

2. Deborah at The Fairfield House. Deborah was the first person who consistently commented on my blog who I didn't know. Her comments really kept me in this blogging world for my first month! Thanks Deborah. Oh, and she is an amazing writer. My favorite posts are: .Awakening, Bearings, and  Bottom's Up And if her writing isn't cool enough, she is also hosting a postcard exchange. Once she gets a postcard from every state, she is giving away a New Jersey themed box of goodies. You don't even have to have a blog to participate, so head on over and get with it. All the cool people are doing it. :-)

3. Jessi over at Yankee Belle Home. Jessi has an absolutely adorable site and she has a great sense of style. I recently copied her burlap table-runner, which I will be showing later this week.

Thanks again to Kerry at A Tranquil Townhouse and thanks to Three Ring Cottage for the awards.  If you have a minute, check out both of their sites.  You are sure to be inspired.

Congrats to all the newest recipients. Feel free to pass along the awards if you so choose. If not, that's fine too. I won't be offended at all. Just know that I love all of your sites and I'm watching you even when I'm not commenting! :-)

To everyone else, thanks for reading my blog and commenting. I love to know I am inspiring someone. If you get a minute, stop by some of the other blogs I follow. There are some amazing bloggers out there. Don't let them pass you by!