Mindful Monday.

Present Tense

by Jason Lehman

It was spring, but it was summer I wanted,
The warm days, and the great outdoors.
It was summer, but it was fall I wanted,
The colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
It was fall, but it was winter I wanted,
The beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
It was winter, but it was spring I wanted,
The warmth and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted,
The freedom and respect.
I was 20, but it was 30 I wanted,
To be mature, and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged, but it was 20 I wanted,
The youth and the free spirit.
I was retired, but it was middle-age I wanted,
The presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over, and I never got what I wanted.

I needed to hear this, maybe you did too! Happy Monday.

Soure: thebottomoftheironingbasket.blogspot.com via Katy on Pinterest

I Love Vignettes.

Do you know what a vignette is? Well, I didn't until a couple of months ago. Apparently, it's the term used to describe a cluster of decorations in your home. Nice that it has a name, huh?

Anyway, I've been slaving away the past couple of days putting together a few fun vignettes in our home. This was extremely hard for me because I cannot stand clutter....like at all, but I really wanted to not have things looking so bare, so I had to give in and try it!

I finally finished the bathroom tonight (!!), but since I'm saving that post for a later date, I thought I'd share only a little piece of what we've been working so hard on:

Soooooo pretty. I really tried to be practical when I was decorating the bathroom. Everything that I use on a daily basis but keep in drawers always, without a doubt, ends up strewn all over the counter (and floor), so I did my best to give everything a pretty place on the counter itself instead.

The glass jar, recycled glass cup, and white platter are all from TJ Maxx, the silver leaf tin is an antique find, and the vase (with the pretty hydrangea in it) is from World Market.

I'm currently working on "finishing" our living room a little more, so one of the first areas I had to tackle was the very awkward corner with the dresser I refinished in January. Up until today it was completely bare, but I've made sure to change that! I should probably mention that I've changed it more since this picture was taken (and added wall art), but I wanted to share a few pictures anyway.

I've been on a Goodwill kick this week. All of the books are from there ($1 each), as well as the silver tray ($2).

I got the lamp on super sale a few months ago at TJ Maxx...$14, and I still have no clue how or why it was marked that low! The birds, apothecary jar, and apples are also from TJ Maxx. (thinking to myself..."I obviously shop at TJ Maxx too much....ah, oh well") We used the apothecary jar for the candy bar in our wedding. Good times! My mother-in-law gave me the milk glass vase, and I am seriously obsessed with the little succulent I planted in it earlier this week!

The last vignette I have to show you is on our living room coffee table:

Well, I'm hesitant to say where it's all from, because the answer to that would be...TJ Maxx. Kidding. Kinda. The vases and little glass bottles are from there but I found the gold tray and books at Goodwill. I love looking in the books to see when they were published. I'm a nerd like that. The oldest book I bought this week was published in 1925. It's a textbook from North Dallas High School called "Elementary Economics". Love it. It's sitting on top right underneath the little bottles.

I went and bought fresh flowers for the first time ever today and I'm pretty positive I will be keeping this up. Hydrangeas are my favorite flower and 3 stems were only $7 at Marketstreet. I just couldn't pass it up!

Love, love, love.

So, I hope you didn't get too bored looking at all of my little decorations! I also have HUGE news to tell you all....it rained today!!

So exciting. I sent up many "thank you" prayers during the very random storm. Even though Bryan and I don't farm, I know many that do, and I'm sure that the rain today helped a little. It helped my flowers too! They were barely hanging on and haven't grown much in the last month (and we've been watering everyday, agh).

Happy weekend!!

I am sharing this HERE.

Good Deal.

I have to admit that I am a huge fan of all the deals from Living Social, Groupon, and other websites. Today I found out about a couple of national deals that were just too great to not share will everyone who reads the blog.

Through June 13th, you can visit Restaurant.com and get multiple gift certificates to local restaurants for as low as $2 each. Just click on this link, enter your zip code, and find what restaurants in your area are offering gift cards for cheap! Enter the promo code "DEAL" in the box after you've added them to your cart to get up to an 80% discount. I bought four $25 gift cards to Triple J Steakhouse here in Lubbock--an amazing and usually way too expensive place for us to eat! I got each gift card for $3.50...yeah yeah! Oh also, make sure to read the conditions for the gift card before you buy it---there are some that require you to spend (for example) $50 to use your $25 gift card. Still a great deal though!

ALSO, Living Social is offering 2 movie tickets for $9 through Fandango today! I was so excited when I saw this, because movies are so expensive but we still love to go when we can. Click here to buy them.

Yay for saving money. Have a great day!

Oh, P.S.

Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

WOW. I am in love.

Pinterest

This may be old news to a lot of you, but I feel like I've discovered a whole new world. My eyes have been opened to Pinterest, an online "bulletin board" where you can pin all of your favorite inspiration photos from around the Internet into as many organized categories as you want. I am in love. And I'm just starting out!

This week I'm going to show you all a few of my most recent additions to my "Weddings" Board:

(click on the images to view their sources)

I LOVE anemones and ranunculus....these are SO great.

My jaw dropped when I saw these.

Isn't this doily dress adorable? I'm pretty sure they made it!

I think the whole planet is obsessed with succulents right now...

I love mini servings for each guest, and honestly what could be better than a mini 7 layer dip? Just give me some tortilla chips and a margarita and I'm good to go!

Um, no words. This whole wedding is amazing.

You can view the rest of my Wedding Board here. And yes, I do realize that my time as a bride has come and gone, but in case you didn't know, my dream is to be a wedding planner, so I just think of this as research :).

Have a great day!

Thankful.

I am thankful for... by Nancie J. Carmody

...the mess to clean up after a party
because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

...the taxes I pay
because it means that I'm employed.

...the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means I have enough to eat.

...my shadow who watches me work
because it means I am out in the sunshine.

...the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
because it means I am capable of walking.

...all the complaining I hear about our government
because it means we have freedom of speech.

...that lady behind me in church who sings off key
because it means that I can hear.

...lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing
because it means I have a home.

...my huge heating bill
because it means that I am warm.

...weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
because it means that I have been productive.

...the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours
because it means that I am alive.

There are three kinds of days:

Good days,
Great days, and
Outstanding days.

I hope yours is Outstanding!

via

Source: zeeley.tumblr.com via Katy on Pinterest

Happy Monday! May we always remember how blessed we are!

Louisiana.

Hi everyone!

We are out and about visiting our family in Louisiana. I am love being able to spend time with our family again--this is a treat since we live so far away!

We've done a whole lot of nothing today, and it has been perfect! Here are a few pictures of our trip thus far:

Hensley getting a bath....

Hensley getting dressed....

Abby and her new cat, Sammie.

Hensley falling asleep (under her aunt's watchful eye)...

Bryan meeting his niece for the first time!

Big yawn!

Love those blue eyes! And she's wearing one of my bows :)

Fun in the pool:

As you can see, our niece kind of steals the show, but I think we're all okay with that :). I'll be here until Sunday, but I'll be back with more pictures AND some of our new master bathroom next week!

Lately.

I am happy to say that our Memorial Day weekend proved to be a successful one. A picture-less one (my apologies), but still very memorable.
We did a whole lot of....nothing. And it was amazing. Much needed.

Well, I guess I'm lying. We didn't do anything fun with other people (we've decided to take on a hermit lifestyle), but we did have a lot of fun at home by ourselves doing house projects, watching movies, shopping, and reading.

Is it bad that I can't even remember what I did on Friday? Let's see...........oh! Ok, I remember. Well, as I pointed out in my last post, Bryan began the ever-messy process of tiling the master bathroom. I began the ever-relaxing process of reading my new book. Haha, kidding. Kinda. I read all Friday afternoon and then spent ohhhhhh 4 hours cleaning the house. Yes, just four. But it is VERY clean now. Like deep clean. And I was able to reorganize our pantry as well as all of the kitchen cabinets. AND I put down shelf-liner (long overdue), AND I cleaned out and reorganized the fridge. Point, Katy.

On Saturday, Bryan headed to graduation for LHS, I cleaned some more, and then we both spent the day doing pretty much nothing. I read, Bryan played video games, we ordered pizza, and it was perfect.

On Sunday, Bryan got up early (like 6am early) and went golfing with a couple of coaches from LHS. We skipped church. I know, bad. Anyway, we met up for lunch (after my trip to TJ Maxx) and then headed into town to buy all of our supplies/decor for the master bedroom! Exciting stuff. Bryan especially loved the decor part (that was probably the most sarcastic comment I've ever made in my life). Plans are coming along nicely, and even look somewhat like the inspiration board I showed you a few months ago:

Speaking of inspiration...I was going through my StumbleUpon today (Don't know what StumbleUpon is? Well, I suggest you jump on the wagon, because you are definitely missing out), and came across this master of all craft websites: Craft Gawker. I cannot wait to do some of these projects!

And back to our weekend summary:
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On Sunday night, we went to see "Water for Elephants"...so good! I have to say, usually I like the book a whole lot more than the movie, but this time I was equally satisfied with both! After the movie, we came home where a lot more of nothing was done (or not done?)....Bryan played more video games, and I finished my book! Sobbing. Can I just say that while Firefly Lane is one of my new favorites, it is also the one book that has made me cry more than other book I have ever read? Ok, I'm saying it. I think I bawled for 2 hours. Seriously. But it's so good! I can't stop thinking about the characters. Everyone should read it, just grab a box of tissues for the last oooooh, 100 pages or so.

On Monday we both got back to work--I did some more shopping, some of which included grocery shopping so it was necessary :), pulled weeds in the flower beds, and Bryan started painting the bathroom! Hallelujah.

And here is what we have today:

Still a definite work in progress, but I am already so excited for it! I can't wait to show the final results.

We also went to see "The Hangover Part II" on Monday night with a few of the other coaches. It was funny...but very unoriginal and extremely disgusting. I was a little disappointed, but I kind of expected it with a sequel.

I also thought I should mention the "tease" we got tonight. I could have sworn it was going to storm. It looked so promising:

Guess not. We need rain SO bad. I don't think we've had a good rain (or any rain) since September.

Well, that's pretty much it! Can't wait to show you all our pretty new master bedroom and bathroom!!