Twenty seconds...

Benjamin Mee's quote from the movie I BOUGHT A ZOO has become a bit of a mantra for our family. I believe that a lack of courage is all that stands in the way of full filling our greatest dreams.  My son, especially, is destined for great things and very often needs to muster up those 20 seconds of insane courage to find his way. He has seen its value lately! My daughter is quicker to act on her 20 seconds, she is an inspiration!  My husband holds back on the twenty seconds most of the time, but he tried it out this fall and was energized by its effect.  Long before I knew Mee's quote, I could summon up the courage to make changes in my career.

So, I thought this quote was a good one to try out the sign making technique that I've seen on Pinterest.
We started with a board, used a variety of scrap booking stickers, sprayed over the letters with flat spray paint, and then peeled the letters off.  I was very pleased with the professional look that resulted!

Now to find the perfect spot in the house for it to hang ... after all, it needs to be starring us in the face for it to continue to have its positive influence!

OOOH, Were Naked!

My husband wanted me to title this picture" Clothes Pin Porn"!  

Said I would get more stats!

Thanksgiving chalk art

Joining : Wow Us Wednesday link party.

Paper White Gifts

I love to force Paper White bulbs during the holidays and often give them to friends as a gift in the season.  I can make 12 pretty packaged up bulbs for about $34 dollars, thats less than $3 for each gift!

Rocks, bells, ribbon, and glass vases are all from the Dollar Tree Store.

Paper White bulbs are from a local garden center.

Put about 2 inches of rocks in the vase,
tie bell into ribbon around the vase,
place one bulb on top of rocks,
and add a tag.

I used brown craft paper cut into strips for my tags.
They say "Happy Holidays" on one end
 and "Just add water" on the other end.
 I curled the ends with a pair of scissors before slipping it under the ribbon.

I now have 12 great gifts ready to go!

Chapter 4: Thrill of the Hunt!

Chapter 4 of Inspired You by Marian Parson is all about the thrill of the hunt.  I don't want junk in my home, I want good stuff!  Real wood, with dove tail drawers, and character that comes with its age.  Trouble is that the really good stuff, when its new, is not compatible with my purse.  I learned how to treasure hunt from my mom.  She has the eagle eye for great second hand clothes!  I tend to scope out the home good sections at thrift stores.  Bless the day I discovered Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!  There has been a lot of trash to treasure weekends as a result of that great paint! (I haven't tried Marian's milk paint...YET!)

I get it...the value of the dollar that is.  Treasure hunting for me isn't necessarily just about finding something good for cheap though.  I enjoy the outing to the thrift and antique malls, the piddling around by myself.  I love the extra heartbeat when you see something you were looking for....I love old metal working mans lunch boxes and little bitty oil cans!   I love having $20 burning a whole in my pocket for that special treasure to take home.  That's my rule : $20 dollars or less for something I really love!  It is even better when the treasure also becomes a new creative project to do at home.

Chapter 4 reminds me of a post I did last July.  Treasure hunting may be genetic!

See that post here!

My imperfect home, Chapter 3

Ah ha moments abound in Miss Mustard Seed's book, Inspired You .  I have underlined eleven different passages in Chapter 3!

Page 61:  "...I was never going to have a bouncy seat in my house..."

There are just some things in our homes that just have to be there no matter how much of an eye sore they create. There will always be something.... for me its the dog kennel!  It is huge, it has their dog blankets waded up in the bottom, takes up one whole end of my sun porch, which is also my formal dining room.  Because it has gotten a bit cooler, there is also a portable radiator close by so they don't get cold at night.  You should see me trying to take pictures at just the right angle as to not get the kennel in my table scape pics for blogging.   On yes, the other eye sore and my husbands prized possession, is a road bike hanging on a hook on the wall ... in the same room!   How can I complain?  The biggest thing on that porch is a 12 ft farm house table that seats 12 people.  My husband made it for me last Thanksgiving....my prized possession!  I take great joy in decorating and redecorating that table.

I think I can overlook the kennel, and the bike, because my table on that sun porch is just perfect!

Inspired You, Chapter Two

In chapter two of Marian's book she writes about a "dose of reality".... I spend countless hours fluffing the house, making it look picture perfect, and then someone comes along and messes it up.

I was a fanatic about anything left on the floor!  I would go around and pick up anything on the floor before I went to bed at night.  I wanted desperately to wake up each morning to order, not chaos in my home.  We enter our home through the garage which leads directly into my sun porch and kitchen. Both of these rooms have a dining table and chairs which are the strongest magnets in the world for my family's STUFF!  I even tried setting the tables with place mats and dishes but what do they do......scoot them over and sit there stuff down!  My family room looks cute when the pillows are propped up and the lap blankets are folded and laying over the backs of the sofa.  That only happens if I am the one that does it!  My three little dogs certainly can't fold those blankets back up or knife chop those big Ikea pillows themselves!

Do you see him?  There is another one under there somewhere.
 This is real life in the family room!

When I was younger, I thought my house had to look perfect just in case someone came over.  Not very many people come over!  The older I get, I realized that the reason I do all that I do in my house is to make a home for my family to have refuge in.  A place to escape the hustle and bustle of the world.  To feel comfortable, to be lazy, to be loved unconditional in.  That means not being so uptight that their are five drums on the porch table, cycling gear hanging all over to air dry, important papers in places that are not for important papers, power screw drivers on the family room mantle, or dog toys in the kitchen floor.

My children are both away in college now and there is not as much mess to clean up as there use to be ... I miss the mess.

My boy is home this weekend!