urban living

my childhood was spent living in the city...Atlanta..with all the beautiful southern charm, & sweet neighbors that became part of our extended family.. some of those sweet neighbors actually became part of our family.. love you carol & vickie...

isn't it amazing, when you take a walk down memory lane,  how much we realize we are the same (unchanged), how our personalities started developing at such a young age... I haven't changed very much at all... my likes and dislikes are  much the same... i suppose that is what our childhood is ...  a time of discovering those personal choices.

or maybe my childhood experiences and exposure helped to form my opinions... none the less.. it is fun to go back.. and revisit history.. and remember.. the place i still refer to as home...

i still envy urban life. we had the most amazing sidewalks. In all directions we could walk to our market, the schools, the theatres, the neighborhood drugstore not to mention my grandparents, aunts & uncles homes, everything &everyone was within walking distance. 

this is my childhoold home... isn't it beautiful? I love the colors, the mailbox on the front porch..the 6" molding throughout, the beautiful floors, and the sidewalk... gosh i love city sidewalks.

sidewalks and streets lined with painted houses... front porches.. city parks..

and the neighborhood coffee & smoothie shops...

and the urban art....

and all the beauty that comes from urban living....



I guess i will always be a city girl at heart... now living in the sub's my perfect afternoon is spent going back into the city for a day of city parks, sidewalks & sidewalk coffee shops and the streets filled with the creative energy of the people... we had a beautiful day!

till next time,

Sandy

family time around the najour house......

weekends around our house usually consist of saturday things, you know ..grocery shopping, catching up on the laundry, de-furring the house from our furry man of the house "Rocky"... and on occasion when the girls come home, we get to do girl things together... lots of laughing, shopping, baking & movies... this weekend was suppose to be getting tax papers organized... ewwww... but, that was the plan. I had a wonderful surprise when Cori came home...honestly, that sweet girl is so full of life and movie day becomes an event.. the food has to coordinate with the theme of the movie.. the last visit was French day....midnight in Paris (crepes)..julie & julia (croque monsieur)

this weekend she & Erin did a little shopping and came home with movies & sugary sprinkles & pink frosting.... my girls love all things "pink"!!!!

perfect girls day.... and,

I definitely have a strong affection for garlic and cheese biscuits,.... love them..... this morning i decided.. a spicey omelette with garlic & cheese biscuts would somehow motivate me to start organizing files for the dreaded tax season.... 

and i couldn't resist using the new $5.00 thrifted bunny platter... Score!!! a steal of a deal...

now.... off to organize those dreaded files.

till next time..

Sandy

Every January

It's that time of year again... the time right after all the twinkling lights and beautiful sparkle of Christmas has been removed... i start thinking and dreaming of spring.  My mind does this every year. I am very predictable. I love the winter until the middle of January.... then it's like.. where's the color, where's the flowers & the green grass.. . With that in mind last night i didn't sleep well at all... and while lying in my bed thinking i started thinking about my next big
Project.......

.... The Patio..

currently it has all the charm of a bowling alley... seriously. awful. terrible.

A couple of years ago i saved saw this photo on a blog... I can't remember where.. but, i kept it... dreamed of it... drooled over it...

Isn't it beautiful... I WANT it! I started my planning at 2 a.m. seriously i did.  I am going to make this happen with my own 2 little hands.  (plus a handyman) with the privacy fencing and a little stone work..:)

I already have the tile stones, I just need a lot little help finishing the layout. 
Hopefully, this little project will be done in time for "spring"...& i can start the planting.
I can just see my happy self drinking coffee and reading in this little space. Now if only the weather will cooperate for the stone work & privacy fencing..

till next time,
Sandy

Not an "Airbrushed" life......

Thank goodness for the weekend. I had a exhausting week (second semester started Monday).

Anyway, with work, family and following my new and improved (organization) New Year's resolution... I would not be telling the truth if i posted pictures of a perfectly kept home (suitable for a fifi O'Neal photo shoot), dressed in a cute well coordinated accessorized outfit, and 20 something year old daughters who never "rock my boat"... truth is... our life is not perfect... it's real, it's life. It's not always picture worthy........

Our life is more like....

pj's until noon on saturday, laundry (as we speak), grocery shopping,vacuming (we have a large dog) constantly cleaning floors...he is our Man of the house, and i try to do a phone catch-up with friends on saturday afternoon's. (they live out of state)....

Yep, and budgets... This family has a budget.. :)  no unlimited resources in this house!
We lay on our sofa's with big fluffy pillows & quilts... we cook & bake in our little kitchen, and we eat in our family room while watching "chick flicks".. that is how we roll.
We have "family discussions" about my daughters and their choices!!! hmmmm. Truth is some  of their "dater boys" are definitely not this mothers idea of "oh he is so sweet", and I have been trying "really hard" , at letting them figure things out on their own... but, gosh it is sOoo hard ... i just keep biting my tongue.

So, in the meantime... I am learning to pick my battles, and loving on them when they are home from school.

No airbrushed life in the Najour House... just lots of love. :)

Blessings
Sandy





~my new year's resolution~

okay, i will be the first to admit, making new year's resolutions are usually not something i will adhere to past the 3rd week of January.  It has never really worked for me. I have great intentions when i think of "fresh new beginnings", and "starting a whole new year" and start off with a bang and slowly the enthusiasm just fizzles. This year something was majorly different. I had already made some mental changes out of frustration, changes that would actually make my life a little better, simplified.  Organization is a quality i revere & need in my life. 

Piles of receipts, warranties, files, appointments, bills & clutter.... Has made my life much more complicated and frustrating.  I am pretty fanantical about keeping things clean & orderly.... but, PAPER... hmmmm not so much. I just stick them in a basket, or ontop of my desk and before i know it i have stuffed them into drawers or loosely tossed them into the file cabinet, vowing to go thru them.  It hasn't happened. :(

This little gem of a book has totally won me over. It's inspirational, motivating & helpful.

 My next project will be "minimalism", yeah right... I love my "stuff" to much for that. However, I am working on "only keeping what i love" and "use" and "wear", & not to mention my garage currently looks like I am a "hoarder" with all of the totes stacked on the floor, gallons of paint I will never use (dark colors), furniture that needs painted, left over wood planks from the new floor... I really need to start "purging" .  But, for now I am starting with page 1 and working my way thru the book.... wish me luck...   

Have a super week.

Sandy

Christmas at our house

Celebrating Christ

  My sweet girls were home for Christmas break, and with them is an energy that only comes from the 20 somethings... the excitment, the friends dropping by unexpectedly to wish you the best of Christmases. Rushing to finish last minute baking, wrapping gifts we had made for family & friends. Joy filled the air & our hearts.

Early Christmas Eve we drove to visit Aunts & cousins, and family came to our house in the evening...

my precious Aunt Margie.... with my daughters...

family dinner Christmas Eve....

my sister (Cheryll) & my brother (Wes), and his sweet wife Robyn.

my daughter "Cori"

Erin, my youngest daughter........

Loren, Cori & Erin... Christmas morning... don't you just love Loren's penguin pj's. :)

Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved. ~Augusta E. Rundel

I hope your heart & home was filled with peace & joy this Christmas and all through the new year!

Blessings, 
Sandy

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

We have been Super busy around our house the last couple of weeks. My daughters are taking their finals this week.. & yours truly has been turning our house into a winter wonderland.

The kitchen window.......

 Our family room.... the yellow isn't really that bright.. i think it is my point & shoot :(

I just love this rudolph & Santa, they were my mom's.

This week we finally made our Christmas Card... getting these 3 girls together is almost impossible...with school, work, finals it was a challenge.......

I am really hoping to start making our candy this weekend! and start addressing the Christmas cards... busy, busy, busy.

I have had so much fun in blogland this week..looking at all the beautiful decorations, & admiring the most creative, talented people.  It is a little intimidating to see so much talent, not to mention the photography...(sighing,really loudly) ...

I think I am going to try my hand at some edible gifts this year, I'm loving all the great ideas.... now just to find the time.

Till next time

xoxo

Sandy



~the love of soaps~

while i have been turning our home into a "winter wonderland" for Christmas... I go upstairs each night totally exhausted, to get ready for bed. First, I love to soak in a warm bubble bath...it relaxes me internally & externally... It gives me a chance to lay my head on my little inflatable pillow and just soak in the day... It has become my favorite part of the evening.. a time to compose my thoughts, check off my lists, (i am a big list maker)...and relax.   I have so many scented soaps in my little bath....Yep, I'll admit it...another addiction, collecting soaps!!!... Trader Joe's lemon verbena is amazing, yardley, oatmeal & almond is scrumptous.. i have to say those 2 are my favorites... & very inexpensive. So, I stock up when i am shopping for my home supplies....




  I also love little pink roses.... i have little white vases & white pitchers full of pink roses in my bedroom & bath... soft & simple ..... love them.

Enjoy the rest of your week, & find joy in the little things!!
& Be Blessed

Sandy

~My sweet Erin baking me cupcakes~

Today was my last day of Thanksgiving vacation...My youngest daughter "Erin" decided cupcakes for dessert might snap me out of my "oh no work tomorrow" blues. Her older sister Cori came over for dinner... she was in a "oh no!, class tomorrow,break is over" blues ... so little sister to the rescue... a few eggs, whisk, batter.....

and tada.... Erin's famous spiced cupcakes with cream cheese frosting......

and a little more sugar sprinkles...
Cupcakes must be a little medicinal.... we instantly felt better. :)   ... Erin you are such a sweetie....
Enjoy your week.
Blessings to you and your family.

Sandy

~unpacking our Christmas Decorations~

my mom & dad.....

Every year around Thanksgiving, I start separating the red & green totes. Some of the totes are ornaments, others are outside decorations & beautiful pinecone garlands.
This year was a little different, I looked over my totes and started looking inside some of the cardboard boxes labeled with a very familiar handwriting. The boxes were sealed with packing tape and had not been opened in 7 years. They belonged to my mom. When my passed away my brother & sister gifted me my mom's Christmas treasures. 

my mom's Santa ornament.....

one of my mom's toyland music boxes......

I love this Nativity ornament.....

My brother (Wes) & my sister (Cheryll) and all the nieces & nephews come over to our house on Christmas Eve.. It is a time we all treasure... homemade cookies, candies & lots of delicious finger foods...I wasn't sure how Cheryll & Wes would feel, if I brought out my mom's beautiful decorations... but, I did it anyway.. I was ready. I wanted it proudly displayed with all the whimsical toyland, bright colors & lots of Santa's... The Santa & Rudolph below were ALWAYS beside my mom's Christmas Tree.. As I slowly unwrapped this prized keepsake, I smiled...as I could see my mom's face as we helped her place them under her tree....and I proudly placed it beside our tree.......

aren't they beautiful.... I think I will bring them out every year!!!



This is my Beautiful Santa & Rudolph in our Picture Window, in the Kitchen...I love that big window with all the bright sunlight & it was the perfect place to put Mr. Claus...  well, back to decorating.... "Tis the Season"...

xoxo

Me & my handsome Brother (Wes) Thanksgiving... at the traditional lighting of the tree.

Have a blessed week...

Sandy