bedroom gallery wall

 Hello, friends!  I spent the weekend in Des Moines, Iowa.

I traveled with a friend whose college son was performing in the musical,

Next to Normal. I'm glad we had sunny, clear weather for travel as it was

snowing before we left and now it's snowing here once again. It's coming down

fast and furious with whipping winds. My son works for a pizza restaurant where

he's one of the delivery persons, and his manager was actually considerate enough

to call him and tell him that their restaurant was not doing deliveries tonight.

This mama is relieved!

Even though I plan on re-doing my entire bedroom, including the wall

color, I was tired of looking at the plain, boring walls ~ so I created a small

gallery wall above my grandma's secretary desk.

I simply shopped my house - went through my collection of pictures,

frames, and mirrors that I have stashed in my basement.

My grandma's desk is a beautiful piece, but it's missing the handles on the

front, which makes it really difficult to open. I think this piece would also benefit

from a re-do with paint.

 

I got this jewelry stand at World Market. I like how it can hold a variety of

jewelry...bracelets, rings, and earrings.

And, I used a cake stand (thrift shop!) to hold some perfumes.

I like using household items in unexpected ways.

Thanks for visiting with me today. I love and appreciate all your comments!

Linking up with Cozy Little House Tweak it Tuesday.

down for the count ~ but a few cheery things, too

 I am so sick. Can't remember being this sick in a long time.

I'm congested, headachy, coughing, body aches, and temperature.

I've been sleeping on and off all day. Just heated up some veggie broth

and put Israeli couscous and baby spinach in it. Managed to eat a few bites of that.

I was out in public every single day last week, so I guess I picked up someone's nasty germs.

One thing I did last week was be a chili cook-off judge at Trader Joes!

That was a blast. I saw the flyers in the store and applied to be a judge.

They called me a few days later and said they picked me to be one of the judges.

 There were eight of us and we got to taste-test ten different chilis and rate them. They were all

 made by TJ employees. Not only did I meet a lot of nice people, but we got a big bag of groceries 

for our time.

While I was in Trader Joes, I bought myself a bouquet of cheery flowers.

Can you believe they're only $3.99?

And how do you like the red and white coffee pot turned pitcher?

I found that beauty at Goodwill last week. It didn't have the lid, so I knew I'd use it as a vase.

  It's hard for me to resist pretty things in red and white or blue and white.

I'm a big fan of Lisa Leonard jewelry. She is now making gold pieces and was running a

special for Valentine's Day. When I saw this winged heart, I had to order it. It reminds me

of my beloved son, Phil who passed away a little over three years ago.

 

Back to bed for me. I hope the rest of you are staying well and healthy!

it's over for another year

 I'm breathing a sigh of relief that Christmas is over for another year.

Just too much hoopla and too many expectations for me.

Though I enjoy the few weeks of sparkly decor and the generality of people

in a nicer mood, I'm always glad when it's over and we can all get back to

a semblance of "normalcy". I'm more of a quiet, stay-at-home kind of girl.

Though I must say that Christmas Eve at my own home with 

just the three of us was lovely. We had a fire going in the fireplace, snacked on

 hors d'oeurves, opened gifts, drank wine, and talked and laughed.

 My sweet man gifted me with four books from my amazon wish list.

Brian also loves to give me jewelry. His favorite jewelry place is

Blue Nile online. He wrote me a short romantic note about this necklace being

a token of our love for each other.

My poor husband looks so tired in this photo. He gets up at 4:15 a.m. for work

every day. Including Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

My sweet son gave me some of my favorite goodies ~ wine and chocolate. :-)

 The kitties got a couple of new toys, but just like little kids, their favorite

things to play with were the boxes and the wrapping paper.

Christmas day was spent at my aunt and uncle's house with my extended family.

I was so touched to receive an unexpected gift from my cousin's wife.

They live in Washington ~ and here I am in Illinois ~ so we don't see each other often. 

She said when they were in a little gift shop waiting to catch a ferry, she saw this book and

thought of me. She knows how much I love cats. Ironic thing is ~ 

this was another book on my amazon wish list!

 These three lovely ladies - my mom and her two sisters; my aunts - are three

of my favorite people in the world.

I hope all of you had a blessed holiday, in whatever way you chose to celebrate it.