Monday, September 9, 2013

miscellaneous monday ~ let's chat


 Good afternoon from steamy Illinois! It's in the 90's today and will be more of
the same tomorrow. Temps will be falling by this weekend into the 60's and 70's.
I love summer, but I'm pretty tired of the extreme heat and am looking forward
to cooler weather. Most of my outdoor plants are still hanging in there with
all this warmth and sun ~ and the herb garden is bursting! I cut down all my
basil the other day and made a big batch of pesto.




Tiger lilies, which are so prolific in early summer, are now scraggly and wasting
away. My bike looks pretty silly amongst the dead lilies now. Brian will need
to hang it back up in the garage.


 Brian and I usually take a mile walk around the neighborhood after dinner.
I've always loved this neighbor's front yard gardens. I go much more for for
 the cottage look than the perfectly structured, orderly look. The woman who 
lives here is an artist - can you tell?


We walked past another neighbor's house that re-did their front porch.
I not only love the railings, but I'm really impressed with how they incorporated
a couple of planter boxes along the side of the porch. The owner of this house
did all this work himself. Wonder if he's for hire?


Sometimes a girl just needs a little pick-me-up. Something pretty that doesn't
cost much. JC Penney had sent me a $10 coupon for my birthday, so I picked
out this bracelet that was on clearance, plus a pair of earrings (not pictured).
Even better when things are free!


I love to paint my toenails in vivid colors during the sandal wearing months...
this bright green color in a mini bottle made me smile. Cover Girl has a bunch
of new, pretty colors for only $2.99.


I saw a knitted mug cozy on etsy and really wanted one - but I don't knit!
So I posted the etsy picture on my Facebook page and asked who would
like to knit me one - and an acquaintance of mine said she would. 
Isn't it pretty? It keeps your coffee or tea warm longer, too. And feels so
good in your hands.


 Tim's old Honda bit the dust last month. He put so much time and money
into this car, trying to fix everything himself - but in the end, it wasn't enough.
We had no choice but to sell it for parts only. One of Brian's coworkers
bought the car today and came and towed it away. Buh-bye little Honda.
Tim is still carless, so it's a good thing he lives close to school and work.
He walks to both - and he lives in an area where there's a bus system -
so that's always an option.


 Tomorrow is the day we're going to IKEA to get the bookcases for the 
downstairs family room. We decided on.....the WHITE! Thanks for all
who commented on my post about whether to get the white or black 
bookcases. I think the black would be overwhelming and too dark in the
basement, especially with a lot of other black furniture. Someone also 
mentioned seeing a lot of dust on black furniture, and she is right. I'm
constantly having to take a microfiber cloth to the black ladder bookcase
in my living room - it shows so much dust and cat hair.

Here's the bookcase system we've decided on...




 Doubt if this will even hold all my books, though we're also going
to get a shorter piece to go along a smaller wall. And we don't have
a truck, so we'll have to have all this delivered. Hope it doesn't take
long! I'm excited to get my books out of storage and all set up again.

 What's going on in your corner of the world? How's the weather
where you live? Are you done gardening for the season? Have you
bought anything just for yourself lately? Let's chat!

19 comments:

  1. I want to get busy decorating a little for fall, but like your weather there, it is really hot. I just can't seem to get myself motivated to stop reading blogs and being on Pinterest and get myself out of this chair! I haven't bought anything lately, but am thinking I may have to get some fake sunflowers to go on my mantel.
    Brenda

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    1. It's hard to get motivated when it's so darn hot outside! I can't stay in a chair though - it kills my back and makes me feel more lazy. I have to be up and moving most of the time.

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  2. I love the bookcases! That will look great down there, very bright. Your plants are still looking pretty good! I have a red verbena too and it took awhile but eventually it grew nicely. I like your new nail polish; I love to look at nail polish but I very rarely use any. It's weird, I know. I really should try to get in the habit more. I hope everything works out with Tim's new mode of transport! :)

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    1. The verbena is looking the best it has all season! Maybe it does take awhile to grow and likes the heat? My fingernails are rarely painted in bright colors; I tend to go pale or neutral there.

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  3. Fun this and that post, Melanie! I'm looking forward to seeing the new bookcases!

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    1. Thanks, Linda! I hope it doesn't take too long to get them delivered - and then assembled! That'll be Brian's job. ;-)

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  4. It is hot, hot, hot here also! We've been at almost 100 for about two weeks. All the plants have just withered up and about died. Even tho, I've watered twice a day. Oh well. Sorry about the car. It's awful to have car problems.

    Judy

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    1. Your weather has been worse than ours, Judy. Too bad we have to rely so much on cars, huh?

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  5. Well you know it's hot here! lol! I love the verbena...I've always wanted to grow it, it always looks a little shaggy and I like that.

    Are those the Billy Bookcases? We looked at those years ago but hubby will not put anything together whatsoever. I think the white is a good choice, the colors of the books will look so bright and cheery against it.

    Stay cool! :)

    XO,
    Jane

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    Replies
    1. I learned from planting verbena this year that I think it'd look better in a grouping of plants in a pot, not just on its own. Yep, those are the Billy bookcases! Brian won't exactly enjoy putting them together, but he's done this sort of things so many times, it actually shouldn't be too bad.

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  6. Your garden sure looks nice to me. Sam and I walked once last week but the humidity was so awful! Now that has gone and the extreme heat is back. Can hardly handle the steering wheel when I get in the car after school at 3:00 p.m. Must remember to put up the window screen. It helps a little. Mornings are somewhat nice. Fresh pesto sounds yummy! Nothing much growing around here lately. I will go this weekend to buy some new plants as many died over the summer. Ikea bookshelves are also on my list of things to get. Have two old bookshelves in the tv room that are short and I really have needed taller ones for a very long time so that there's more room for my books and craft supplies. I'm the one who puts the Billy bookcases together around here. Very easy! Too bad about Tim's car but he's fortunate to be within walking distance of where he needs to be. My mom never learned to drive and after she and my dad divorced, she has either walked or taken the bus everywhere. How nice of your friend to volunteer her knitting services. :) Have a wonderful rest of the week. Tammy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cooler temps finally hit my area today - only 75F and perfectly sunny. Hooray! I would imagine it'd be hard to grow things in extreme heat except for tropical flowers. You think putting together bookcases is easy, huh?! Not to me! I hope you have a wonderful week, too.

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  7. Melanie,
    I am delighted that you have chosen the white bookcases!! They are going to be a lovely addition to your basement- Heat, oh yes it is terrible in Texas too. You know, while we were in Colorado it was in the 90's as well, but dry heat which made it much more pleasant. Talk about flowers-oh my-my elephant ears are just bedraggled sad creatures.
    Please Fall hurry up!
    Happy Hugs,
    Jemma

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    1. I've never been to CO, but would love to visit there one day. I don't mind the heat too much if the humidity is low. Which is rarely is here.

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  8. It's hot here again too! My garden needs some weeding bad.

    Your going to love those bookcases! Have fun at Ikea - such a fun place.

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    1. I can't wait to get the bookcases...they won't be delivered for a week! There were plenty of other things I could've bought at IKEA, but I would've had to rob a bank, lol.

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  9. Looks like we will be getting the same weather here in Pa. as you have there. Thanks so much for stopping by!

    Hugs,
    Debbie

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    1. Hope the cooler temps we are finally having here are headed your way, Debbie!

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  10. Once your perennials look all scraggly like that, it's perfectly fine to cut them down. They'll come back, don't worry.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment - I read and appreciate each one!