Pinterest and Picking

So I have a confession to make - an addiction to admit.  Well its more like addictions - I am addicted to Pinterest, Picking, and Dirt Cheap.  Pinterest just has so many wonderful ideas in one place it makes my heart smile.  By "Picking" I am not referring to my nose, but to searching the countryside for antiques that work with our decor.  There is a show on the History Channel called "American Pickers," and there are two guys that dig through other people's junk in barns, storage buildings, etc looking for antiques that they purchase and sell in their own shop.  Candace and I have turned into pickers, and I love it!  As for Dirt Cheap, I have a very difficult time paying full price for anything because chances are we can find it at Dirt Cheap.  The awful thing is that all three of these things seem to feed on each other because we something on Pinterest and immediately we are thinking if we have seen the items needed for the project at our favorite antique shops or at Dirt Cheap.

I must encourage you to check out your local discount shops and antique shops - you would be surprised what you might find.  Candace is the Dirt Cheap Keurig queen as she has found two that worked for less than $30 each - she even has a list of people to call if we find one in DC! Kind of crazy, right?  But I love it!!!

As to a little inspiration for you to begin "picking" I thought I would share 2 of our most recent projects.

 

The pictures above are of the space between the kitchen cabinets and the ceiling - it was such a void that screamed for some life.  The bird picture - 5.00(left) is from Big Lots (another great discount store) as are the two pottery jars - 6.99 each (left and center).  The blue bowl - 2.00 is from an auction in the middle of nowhere Moselle as is the blue tea pot - 2.00.  The white shell thing - 1.00 on the right is from this great antique shop in Calhoun and the plate behind it was 19 cents at DC in Collins!

                                          

These pictures are from the main wall in our living room.  The big picture in the center is from DC for 3.00 - I know we thought it was a steal!!!  The wrought iron candle sconces were bought off Facebook for 20.00 for the pair!  The grass in the vase is a mixture of two different bundles - which we purchased in a clearance bag from Michaels for 2.00!  And the stool it is on is from DC and was 3.00!  Oh the burlap lamp shade was 2.00 from DC!

Finally, because Spring is here in South Mississippi and I adore flowers - I thought I would share a picture of the plant some sweet friends brought us in the 5.99 ceramic pot from Ross!!!  Isn't it amazing?!

So I hope you inspired to do a little of your own picking (not your nose - and if you do that feel free NOT to share!!!).  Oh feel free to leave a comment letting me know if you find something spectacular! 

twenty - eight

So this past December, I turned 28.  I know all the jokes – in my late 20’s, getting really close to the big 30, etc!  Well I have decided to celebrate this getting older thing as I don’t see it as a bad thing.  Unless you know something about this aging process that I don’t, most people get older!  Most people say to look at a girl’s mother to see what she will be like when she gets older, and if that is true then I am truly blessed.  I believe that my mom has only continued to become more beautiful inside and out the older she gets.  So in honor of this milestone – I have made a list because I so love lists! 

28 Things To Do While I am 28 

(in no particular order)

1.        Go on a road trip – preferably up the east coast

2.       Live a RADICAL life for Christ!

3.       Tithe RADICALLY

4.       Be a better steward of what I have been given.

5.       Be more hospitable – we have been blessed with a great apartment and I feel like we need to share!

6.       Make a quilt! Or two or three.

7.       Open my heart again and maybe fall in love.

8.       Go on a mission trip!

9.       Design something new for A Daisy A Day.

10.   Grow our business.

11.   Plant a balcony sized vegetable/herb/flower pot garden!

12.   Read a few classic novels that I have never read, such as the ones on this list!

13.   Buy a sewing machine!

14.   Use the sewing machine and complete a project!

15.   Go to Blue Mountain College (my alma mater) for Homecoming – I haven’t been back since I graduated in 2007.

16.   Get a second tattoo.

17.   Become healthier – seriously!

18.   Take care of student loans!  One I can already mark off! Yes!

19.   Go with Candace to get her first tattoo!

20.   Subscribe to the local paper and read it!

21.   Continue to grow in my faith – more discipline!

22.   Get a free, natural tan!

23.   Spend some quality time with old friends!

24.   Make a DIY project for our apartment at least once a month!

25.   Apply again for a teaching job!

26.   Get rid of things I don’t need in order to live a simpler life!

27.   Go to the beach for at least a week this summer!

28.   Stop biting my nails!

Okay so you can follow me on Pinterest - I have a board dedicated to ideas surrounding this list! Or you can stay tuned here and I will try to update often concerning the status!

Favorite Things

So I thought I would share a few of my favorite things about Christmas and a little of what we have been up to!  1. I love Christmas lights and incorporating them into my everyday  decor is just a bonus! DIY Pinterest headboard - 1 black and white framed photo, 1 strand of white lights, 4 clothes pins, and printed Pinterest pictures!

2. Sassy new hair cuts and time to go get them thanks to Christmas break from school!

3. Time to hang out with the coolest niece ever!  She loves to help you do anything - so we made Breakfast Casserole for Dinner!

4.  DIY projects for Christmas presents for Secret Santa at work!  Supplies needed - 1 cookie sheet, 2 halves of pretty file folders or any pretty paper, 2 clothes pins modge podged with leftover file folders, days of the week magnets, laminating or sheet protector to make file folders dry erase, and hot glue!

5. Favorite Christmas movie of all time - White Christmas!  My Mamaw used to watch it with me every Christmas, and now my Mama and sisters watch it with me!

6. My parents' Christmas tree - it's big, traditional, homey, and full of homemade ornaments from over the years!

7.  Making Christmas candy and cookies with my Mama on Christmas Eve!

8.  Cooking our Christmas dinner at Papaw's house, wearing my Mamaw's apron that still has spearmints still in the pocket!

9. Our very untraditional Mexican themed Christmas dinner with tacos, rice, beans, and mac and cheese for Madi cause she's a semi vegetarian! 

10.  Christmas presents - pair of bootie slippers and new skillet from Mom and Dad (what I asked for) and body spray and watch from Candace, and a Lane Bryant gift card from Brit and Jon! YAY!

 After all the festivities to come home to our cozy apartment with our Christmas tree and unwind!

So I know it's A LOT of pictures, but I just wanted to share with you our Christmas, and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well!

genius

Source: pinterest.com via nicole on Pinterest

I came across this quote on Pinterest (which I completely love), and the truth of it really hit me today maybe because I seem to always compare myself to everyone else.  In this comparison, I never really add up and end up questioning everything including who I am. This really was a big issue for me when I was younger and felt as though I was supposed to fit into a cookie-cutter mold that would never be right for me.  These days, I feel like I am pretty comfortable in the person God made me to be or at least moving towards that goal everyday.  This quote was a great reminder for me that we all have areas where we are gifted, and God made us by design for a specific purpose.  It's also quite humbling because the very things that I dislike being done to me are things that I find myself doing.  I can't expect people to have the same strengths that I do and fault them when they don't do things the way I think they should be done.

I have been studying Psalm 139 for my sunday school lesson tomorrow, and the similar themes stuck with me today.  Its nice to reminded that He knows me inside out, there is no place I find myself that He is not there with me, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and that He will search me for anything offensive to Him and forgive my offenses.   Oh thank God, He forgives my offenses as they are numerous.  I consider myself a relatively creative person, and I love that the God of the universe is creative in how He designs and makes everyone and everything.  We are all created in His image, and I believe that we all have certain aspects of His character and attributes.  So remember that when you think no one understands you and you don't measure up - He created you to be exactly who you are!

a crock pot, a recipe, and pinterest

Okay so Candace and I are horrible about going through a drive-thru on our way home from work.  And really after taking care of children all day, who really wants to come home and fix dinner?  Besides eating out getting really old really fast, the food is terrible for you, so we have been trying to cook more at home.  The one thing that has been a life-saver is the crock pot - it's not just for Rotel or your grandmother.  Last week, we put beef tips, potatoes, onions, bell pepper, and 1/2 cup Dale's Steak seasoning in it and had a feast when we came home from work!  Tonight I put 6 chicken tenders, 1/2 a bell pepper, 3 tbsp butter, 1 part chicken stock, 1 part water, a dash of salt, a dash of Tony Chachere's and poultry seasoning, and we added some mashed potatoes and called it dinner!  It was amazing, and our house smelled like yummy chicken goodness when we came home tonight!  As the weather gets colder, I can't wait to do more soups and stuff in the crock pot!  It makes coming home and passing the drive-thru so much easier!

So I have discovered and fallen in love with Pinterest!  Finally a place to keep up with the all of the ideas that are floating around in my head!  Candace and I are looking to move back to Laurel, and the idea of decorating a cute little apartment makes me so excited.  The idea of moving again does not make me so excited, but it's time and we need to move!  So I created a board with ideas that I would love to do in the Apartment, and I will link it so you can see! Check it out!  I have a few other boards on there as well, but I have not dedicated as much attention to them as of right now!  Below is a cute little kitchen that makes use of typically wasted space!

Source: designspongeonline.com via nicole on Pinterest

Lately I don't know exactly what it is but I have been so very distracted by life and everything in it that I have neglected my personal Bible study time - I like to call it an un-quiet time.  I have missed my un-quiet time and I can definitely tell when I have missed it!  My entire attitude changes, my world is upside down, and it sucks.  I am trying desperately to get back into the Word - Truth is the only thing that can change me! I am reminded of the importance of renewing our minds, and it is so very important and vital to living this life for God.  It may so very cliche but I promise this is truth!

Therefore, I urge your brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is - which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2