~Pottery Barn~

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.... I just "flatter-ized" Pottery Barn... The minute I saw this pic, my brain & heart took off.. Isn't the absolute cutest way to display those chunky necklaces & those hard to hang long pearls...

Love me some Pottery Barn!

Just had to share this really cute idea.

Sandy

~Global warming, world financial crisis & magnifying make up mirrors~

Okay, I would like to think my anxiety is some sort of diversion from the jobless rate, global warming, the world's financial crisis, but probably not....I really am not a vain person.  really i'm not, However-....... 
this morning (6:20 to be exact) still sleepy and getting dressed for work. I was running a little behind on my schedule... so, i quickly started applying my makeup, eyes still puffy, i decided to flip the make up mirror to magnify.. oh no i didn't... oh yes i did.. oh my gosh, reality...

Let me just say, the good Lord knew what he was doing when he allowed us to grow old slowly. But, for those of us with less than perfect eyes (can be a blessing) we don't see up close and personal. Until we flip that darn mirror! Let's just say there is not enough moisturizers on the planet to unfold those crevasses... It is going to take me days to over come that trauma... therapist or micro dermabrasion? either way, i will NEVER flip that mirror again......
off to soak my face in vaseline...
xoxo

Sandy

~"With eyes wide open"~

Yesterday on my drive home from work, I glanced over for a brief moment and saw a building that i had never noticed before. Why had i NOT ever noticed it? How could I make that drive daily and yet never noticed a building. I thought the rest of the drive home, what else am i not seeing? 
Maybe I have accepted a mental vision memory and had stopped seeing what is right in front of me...
As I entered our home, i paused for just a moment and looked around the room. I felt with my heart all the beauty that a home possessess, the love, the comfort and the memories within these walls. I had become conciously aware that our eyes can become opened and we see not only through our eyes but also with our hearts.  I am going to constantly remind myself to see things thru new eyes and an open heart.



Sandy



~You Are What You Love~

We create our lives by our thoughts and aspirations. Aspire for greatness !!!

Who you are isn't passive or unchanging. It is a vital sign that needs to unfold and express itself, through your entire life and so that unique pattern of talents and gifts that lie hidden in the things you love is also the map to your life path.

The beautiful life collage above is fromhttp://outofhandart.blogspot.com/ I absolutely love her work.

~Candy Bar Wrappers~

I wanted to share with you a beautiful website, full of beautiful creative ideas." Crafty This and That" They have also given you some really beautiful vintage candy bar wrappers. Go on over and visit, I'm sure you will be inspired. I just love the candy wrappers.

~ Unplug Your Appliances When Not In Use~

Unplugging appliances when you're not using them can save up to 10 percent on your monthly electricity bill. Do you employ this easy energy-saving method?

~LEAF BLOWERS ARE NOT FOR INDOOR USE~

OK, Somethings are not to be told, and then there are some things you have to share. This is one of those (RARE) times, I am going to share with you, how things don't necessarily work out as planned. Planned? I don't think that is the right word, but here goes!!!!

One of my best friends (Kim), recently underwent surgery, which has limited her physical activity for 6 weeks. First let me say, Kim is a really bright, energetic and creative person. I think the "creative" maybe influenced her "bright" for a few days. She had phoned one day during her re coop time, to tell me that her dog was shedding horribly, I certainly could relate, our dog "Rocky" has been losing his undercoat for weeks and it is a constant battle. I have brushed that poor dog, bathed him, vacuumed him, but the fur is constant.

Well, said Kim, I did something yesterday, I don't really want to tell you. but it worked. What was it? I asked. She said you will think I have lost my mind, but I took the leaf blower and decided to clean my house. The leaf blower? "I said". Yep!, You know I am still limited physically and my husband and son went golfing and there I was laying in the bed thinking,I wish I could get all this dust and cob webs out of the house not to mention the dogs are shedding.

So, I thought. I wonder what will happen if I just blow all the cob webs from the ceilings and work my way down, and then make one big pile of dust. So that is what she did, she got the light weight blower and started upstairs and worked her way down. Cob webs, dust, fur and everything else went flying. She said after the dust had settled, she then vacuumed the floors and dusted the furniture. It really did get everything, even under the refrigerator, stove and sofa's. Wow, "I thought". Really, It got everything dusted? Even the draperies? Yes, she said everything.

OK, I don't even know what my excuse is, other than the thought of everything dusted and cleaned in less than an hour? Even under the sofa? So off I went to the garage to get my leaf blower......

Oh My Gosh! I took steady aim, not to blow over my collection of pewter frames or hanging artwork. Everything went everywhere...... Yes, the dog fur came out from underneath the stove and fridge and stuck to the wall, along with the gross dust which now has landed on top of all the appliances, the pewter frames I was so proud of had to be individually cleaned to get Rocky's fur off of them. I was aiming for the opened front door but the fur decided to stick to the Sheetrock and my beautiful Waverly wallpaper.

With the front door opened, my neighbors, who were working outside in their yards, couldn't help but hear the roaring engine inside my house, were standing together talking, when I exited to catch a breath of fresh air. I really didn't want to know what they were saying, because if it were the other way around, i would have pulled up a chair and waited to see what was next!!! So back into the house i went, collecting my leaf blower and started blowing off the front porch and the porch furniture as though nothing was out of the norm.

What was suppose to have been spotlessly clean house in less than an hour, took 2 days of vacuuming, dusting, cleaning tops of appliances, cabinets, and mirrors.

Well, my spring cleaning is done for this year.... Next year, I will just move the furniture and vacuum under them...

Let's let this be our little secret. I don't want the world to know.

Best advice "Leaf Blowers are not for indoor use".
Until next time,
Sandy

~SCRAPBLOG~

What a beautiful site for scrapbookers, custom greeting cards and websites.

I absolutely love SCRAPBLOG, the ideas are endless. I am currently making personalized covers for recipes books to give to my daughters. I collected our family's favorite recipes passed onto me from my mom and grandmother. My super best friend (colleen) made me a recipe book this past Christmas. She collected recipes from family members and put together a cookbook. It is beautiful and I will treasure it always. I knew I wanted to give my daughters all the recipes from our family, and then I found SCRAPBLOG. I have had so much fun personalizing old family photo's.

The top designers of the scrapbooking world have set up shop inside Scrapblog to bring you endless amounts of stunning new content! Anna Griffin, Cosmo Cricket, Rhonna Farrer, and more!

Scrapblog

~Get Organized~

Wouldn't it be great to have a professional to come into our homes and organize all our clutter. We ALL have those items we don't think we can live without, however we live without using them for years, we just keep them to keep them,convincing ourselves one day I will use it again. Those THINGS kept growing until they literally were taking over rooms in our home. Since most of us can't really afford a professional organizer to tell us what we already know "If you haven't used it in 2 years, It has got to go". I decided to take on that challenge and "Get Organized" I recently read a book by Meryl Starr, The Personal Organizing Workbook. One of her challenges to you is, take a walk around your home or office. Are there any areas you dread entering, or even seeing? When you walk into a room or open a closet door and you can feel your energy drop, that's your signal that you've found a perfect place to begin. Enter this problem area , close your eyes, and imagine what that space would look like with nothing at all in it. Just thinking about that empty space, you may notice your spirits beginning to beginning to lift.


Don't forget to check out "The Personal Organizing Workbook" by Merryl Starr and Happy organizing.


Accomplish a project that you have been putting off.
Remember, "The Rewards Far Exceed the Effort".

Best Wishes,
The Simple Life
Sandy