Change is refreshing!

It's been a while since I've posted anything on here {which tends to be how it goes} but stay tuned because there will be lots of good posts coming in the future after I start getting settled into my NEW place! I'm extremely excited to get out of this tiny dungeon I've been living in for 2 years and into a place that's a little bigger, has a washer/dryer {something I've been living without...no fun!}, a wood burning fireplace {the idea of this makes me giddy inside, we'll see how much I actually make fires in it} and a WHOLE lot more light {you mean, I won't have to pin my curtains up daily and block my patio door just to give my plants light?!}!! In all honesty, the place I've been at really isn't that bad but I think it's fair to say it's time for some new changes in my life.

So I've been trying to pack like a maniac {and stressing myself out in the process because packing by yourself is the pits} and at this current moment my house is a disaster {that's an understatement} but it's all tolerable because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel {the SUNSHINE!}

Tomorrow I head up to the mountains for a Women's Retreat with a friend's church, and despite the fact that it's giving me a little stress because it's taking away from the time I could be getting out of HERE, I'm quite excited for this little getaway and think it's going to be quite refreshing.

And in addition to the change of moving to a new place happening right now, there is some sad change also happening in my life...my sister, unborn child and husband are packing up at this very moment to make their move down to GA. Yes, I realize it's a good thing for them and it's just what happens in life {especially when your life is the military} but I still don't like it one bit. My sister and I have become even closer over the last 2 1/2 yrs that we've lived so close to each other and nothing can replace the friendship between sisters. Who am I going to get to hang out with randomly (sure I have friends but it's not the same) and eat their food or use their washer and dryer? Wait, not going to need to do that last part anymore! Who am I going to spend the holidays with? Yes I still have people to spend holidays with, but it's not the same when it's not family. I'm sure this will be a great growing time for me, and something we all must go through in life but it still doesn't make it any easier. And the hardest part about all of it is that little baby boy growing in her belly that I'm not going to get to meet until who knows when. It makes me teary just thinking about it. He's my first nephew and next to having my own child there's not a whole lot more that beats holding my own sister's newborn baby. Technology these days is great so I'm sure I'll be seeing him a lot on skype but it's not the same as getting to hold him weekly and love on him {shoot, maybe it's a good thing for her and her husband that they won't be close by otherwise they may get pretty darn sick of me!}.

So anyways, lots of change happening for me over the next week....some good, some not so good. But....what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger, right?!!

Life is Tough

I don't have much to report on around here these days...just getting used to life after being in paradise. The trip was incredible ~ definitely a trip of a lifetime and one I will remember forever! Many of you have already seen the pictures on facebook so I won't be adding a bunch on here, just a couple of my favs.
This first picture is one of the many amazing sunset shots I was able to capture...ohhh I could stare at these all day!
Me at a cute little bakery on one of the nights the other nanny and I were able to grab a bite to eat out by ourselves
The island had churches ALL over it, this one is my favorite...I wish I could get married there or at least just move that church up to the states!
Me swimming in the ocean at my favorite resort we visited, Cap Juluca....doesn't it look like I'm in a pool the water is so clear and blue?!
The little bay at Cap Juluca, absolute paradise! We found the most awesome shells at this beach....wish I would have taken a couple more home {not that I had room, or weight space in my suitcase for them}
More of Cap Juluca, the white buildings are all part of the resort
'Inside' the lobby at Cap Juluca....I want their decor for my home!
Me at a beach we visited a couple of times


I have a busy couple of weeks coming up.....I'm throwing my sister's baby shower this weekend {stayed tuned for pics from that}, the rents will be in the area for a week and I get to spend some time with them, and then I move to my new place {which I'm uber excited about, also pics to come}!!

Sand in my toes!!

There are only DAYS left until we leave for the Caribbean {5 to be exact} and I'm getting more and more excited with each day! In 26 yrs on this earth this will be the first time I've ever been out of the country (yes...I lived driving distance from Canada for 23 yrs and never once made it up there). As some of you have asked, yes I am going with the family I work with...I'm not quite sure what to expect on how it will work out but I don't have a doubt in my mind that it won't be wonderful {I'll move my job any day to sandy beaches and sunshine!!}.

This weekend I got to spend some fabulous time with preggers {my sis}....we got a mani/pedi, went to Babies R Us and updated her registry, had some yummy sushi, and then went back to her place so I could see all the cute stuff she's gotten for baby Quinn. And I do have to add that her tummy is so stinkin cute...she's going to be all belly and nothin but belly!!

Today I got some much needed stuff done around here, including finishing up a Goodwill treasure that I've been working on for a few weeks. It's a little wooden side table {with cute little curves} that I sanded down, primed, and painted black to use as a nightstand. I'll post pictures later once I put her in her new home with one of my great 'PB' lamps on her.

I also downloaded a bunch of new music to listen to on the plane....my favorite bands these days are Zac Brown Band {"I got my goes in the water, ass in the sand, not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand ~ life is good today!"}, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood {of course} and Rascal Flatts {again, of course}....totally into country recently - I go through phases and am definitely a big fan right now!

Anyway, ONE week from today I'll have sand in my toes and sun kissed skin {not to rub it in or anything}. I'll try and get online and post some pictures so you all can feel like you're there too!!! {Riiiight you say} Have a great week!
{This might just be the view from where we're staying}

SO blessed

What a wonderful man I have in my life, I just have to share it with people who might care. I've talked about him before on here, but I have to share a little something that he did this weekend that makes me giddy inside. {Normally I wouldn't share this with the 'world' but I feel pretty confident that most of the people who actually read my blog are close enough to me that sharing something like this isn't considered 'bragging', but rather showing my appreciation.}

As you all know, he's out in VA training with the Marine Corps and when we will be together again someday is quite unknown. I got a phone call from him Friday night (after not talking with him really all week because they were in the field). He told me he needs me to help him make a decision {my instant thought is ' oh dear...okaaay??'}. He said he had 4 doors and needed me to pick something behind one of the doors {me still not knowing where this is going}. So then he lays it out for me: I had helped him out with something pretty significant during the week and he wanted to do something nice for me to thank me {my next thought 'okay!!!'} (at this point really not knowing what direction this was going in and how high his standard was for this).

So these were the options he wanted me to chose from: 1)Shopping spree 2)Spa day 3)Straight cash 4)Jewelry {Um can I just say...who comes up with those ideas!!! Phenomenal! I can say they're probably any woman's prime choices to chose from!! (either that or he just knows me well:))}. So he gave me the price range and told me the one stipulation was I had one week to do it. No problem. Now to chose....well a spa day would be great (I've never actually even had a full spa day) (OH and he had a particular place picked out already that he thought would be great to go to) BUT a spa day is over and done with in one day with nothing to show....to me that's not the best use of $$. Cash was out, I wanted it to mean more than that. Shopping spree would be wonderful, but I really don't need anything (especially since I just went through my closet and found a ton of stuff I had forgotten about) and again, I wanted it to mean something (so did he). SOOO the obvious choice was JEWELRY!!! Definitely can do THAT! He already had in mind what he wanted me to get; something that was classy, traditional, and I would wear for years to come....not something trendy that I might look back on in a few years and not wear because it's 'out of style' (his words were 'save that for after you have a good foundation of jewelry'....this man has his head on straight!).

Saturday afternoon I headed out to see what I could find. After going to a couple of different jewelry stores and conversing with him a bunch we decided a great choice would be to get some solitaire diamond studs. I pondered it overnight and Sunday I headed back out to make sure I got the perfect pair (cough** and the budget went up just a bit **cough). I'm thrilled with the choice we made, they're stunning, and I feel pleased with how they resemble him even though he wasn't here to pick them out with me.

Ohh he's great {deep sigh}. I am very blessed and thankful to call him my own ;)

Thrifting

Goodwill had the entire store 50% off yesterday and so I just had to check it out. One of the many features of living in a big city is having options...so I did a little questioning of my friend to see what the best one is in the area and headed there bright and early {at least for me it was, the store I'm sure had already been extremely picked over but I still think I found some good treasures}. I ended up spending $30 (origionally $60)...which is a lot of goods in the Goodwill world...my cart was full!!My favorite find of ALL is this candle holder {don't mind the bird's nest} that reminds me of the ones from PB except mine only cost $2. I envision it with a big chunky candle on it sitting in an arrangement somewhere.
{This picture's for you mom} This little nest wasn't from Goodwill but it's one of the accessories/decor we're going to use for my sister's baby shower...Feather Her Nest

I haven't decided what I want to put in this lovely jar, but at only $1 I'm sure I'll find something....the lid was an ugly brown so I brought out the great spray paint & made it more my style.
These little candle holders were only $1 each...still not sure what I'll do with them but they'll be great in an arrangement on the shelf, out for the holidays with with candles in them, OR homemade apothecary jars.
I found this vase as well for super cheap {same kind of vase many flower arrangements come in} and glued on some twine for a more natural and rustic look and we're going to add an arrangement of white tulips for the baby shower....hard to picture? Trust me, I got the idea online and it'll be cute....lots of baby shower pictures coming in the future.
And then there's this little number that's being a major pain in my butt. Why did I think it would actually work to spray paint particle board? IT DOESN'T. I've tried multiple different ways of trying to get the paint to stick and I'm having major difficulties. So currently it's sitting in the MIDDLE of my house being used as a storage table for my craft odds and ends. I'm trying to get it black....so if you have any suggestions I'll take em!

I found a few more things, but really didn't feel like taking pictures. Some vase for 50 cents for the baby shower, a table for my patio for $3 and a few frames that I'm spray painting. I'd say it was a pretty successful trip!!

Crafting

Well I went back and visited my best friend, TJ Maxx, and scored big again on bottles for a couple of more lamps. I found this purple one {which seemed a lot more pink in the store, but I'll find a home for it somewhere} for $7 {it's the same shape as the first lamp I made} and I also found this blue one {the same color as the first lamp, different shape} to use in my bedroom along with my original lamp, for only $5! I haven't done anything with them yet and probably won't until I move into my new place but I'm excited to find a good place in my home for them!!

So I have this wicker patio set that was a hand-me-down from the people I work for. At first I thought I would just toss it when I move because it's in pretty bad condition; the cushions are quite faded from the sun and dirty and the paint is completely coming off. But then I decided that I certainly don't want to buy new patio furniture {it's only something we even use a portion of the year} and so maybe I'd try and do some work to make this stuff look a little better. Mostly I just need to go over it an take off all the old paint because it's constantly chipping off...and there's a possibility that once I take off the paint it may look 'rustic' enough to leave it as it is. Or maybe I'll spray paint it. Who knows....any suggestions?

I've also been busy creating a new look for one of my bathrooms in the new place. We have a new Michaels that opened up close by (it's a huge improvement from the old) and so of course I had to visit it as soon as I could. They were having amazing deals all over the store but one I couldn't pass up was on their scrapbooking paper. So I bought a bunch of sheets and decided to redo some of the frames/pictures I want to use in the spare bathroom. Only cost me a couple of dollars and I'll have a whole new look!!

I found a new little friend

It's probably safe to say I've been spending too much of my free time recently perusing through the Pottery Barn website, I mean who doesn't love their stuff? I adore how clean, fresh and uplifting it all is. Well despite the fact that I love their stuff, my budget doesn't love their stuff ~ nor can I justify spending what they charge on something I can find at my all time favorite TJ Maxx. Tonight I've been busy creating my own version of one of their lamps that I think is fabulous, HERE it is {my computer wasn't working with pictures too well, so I couldn't just copy the picture for this post}. They charge $100 for the lamp...TOO much for me to justify. So I started looking around at places like TJ Maxx and Ross to see how much they were going for at other places {average $40-$50...still too high for me}. And then my lovely friend suggested making it. BRILLIANT. So tonight I set out to find the materials and I think it's fair to say I scored big. Originally I had wanted a clear base to the lamp, but when I found my favorite color aqua in a perfect sized/shaped bottle I couldn't pass it up!!

So here it is: {it looks even better in person, my camera wasn't capturing the beauty of the glass and the lighting in my room is terrible}

Even BETTER, guess what I paid for it....$10 for the bottle {TJ Maxx}, $3 for the lamp shade {Ross}, $5 for the lamp kit {Walmart} totaling $18!!!! That's a pretty sweet deal if I must say so myself!!

THIS is what's next on my project list, just waiting for Hobby Lobby to have their frames 1/2 priced