up north

headed here.  pinetop, arizona.  heaven.

to read.  to rest.  to work.  to play.  to thrift.  i love thrifting in the white mountains.
good stuff.

a saturday well spent...sorta...i think

my beautiful, loving and very capable daughter spent the day with me today.  cleaning out my closet.  a chore that has needed to be done for about a year now.   yes, we cleaned out my closet just one year ago.  who knew that in a year's time one could accumulate so many shirts and shoes and purses and scarfs and jeans and capris and sweaters.  she was brutal.  she did not let me hang on to anything that didn't have her stamp of approval.  well, except for one sentimental piece.  this is what things looked like about half way through.  before my anxiety attack.  because she was making me get rid of all my hangers.  but i talked her into the white ones.  after i promised that i would change out all the hangers in the closet.  because hangers really should match.
 

and if you're thinking those piles don't look like much....they filled up 8 large plastic lawn and leaf trash bags.

this is the one sentimental piece that she let me keep...a cowgirl shirt that the boy i live with bought me in san antonio...a george strait shirt.  i love george strait.

and my clean closet.

and my beautiful, loving and very capable daughter.

thanks bear.

but just so you know...i got nothing to wear.

do overs

i want a do over.

one that looks like this.

can you imagine a room like this for sleepovers with the grandkids.

i love how each bunk has its own lamp.

oh, the books that could be enjoyed in those spaces.

and cousin sleepovers would be so much fun.

i think they would want to be here every weekend!

(image from tracery interiors)

things are never what they seem

especially in room redos.  our new floors and dining room redo are taking  f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  the floors have been down for a couple of weeks.  but it took that long for the special order transition moulding to come in.  my question, if you stock the floor planks why is the transition moulding a special order?  and then there are these little spacer things that stablize the planks as they are being laid AND maintain the "proper" spacing for the transition moulding.  at least that's what the spacers are supposed to do.  but news flash...they don't maintain the proper spacing.  but you don't know that until the special order transition moulding comes in.  then you find out that the moulding won't fit in the space that was maintained by the spacers.  so frustrating!  especially for the boy i live with because he had to take a router all around the perimeter of the dining room and family room floors and  make that space wider so that he can then install that special order transition moulding.  and do you know what a router and wood do in the house.

this.

and it settles everywhere.

the boy i live with must really love me.  cause he hardly said any swear words.

but i love my new stripes.  and new floors.  and new baseboards. 

and if that boy i live with didn't need to golf THREE days a week i might be showing you the whole new room!

thrifting find

last week i stopped by the salvation army thrift store.  i have been on the hunt for a new dining room table.  a round one that would hold 6-8 people.  i walked to the back of the store.  and there it was.

this table.  (sans the chairs.)

brand new with the tags still hanging on it.

it sported a salvation army sticker price tag of $180.  hhhmmm i thought.  not the right color.  i want white.  but i can sand and paint.  and it would be perfect for my space.  love the base.  yes, this is the table.

up walks a salvation army employee.  with a big red special poster.  he sticks the poster on my table.

price $50.

sold.

this is my table today.  the sanding has begun.

i can't stop looking at this picture.  i can't wait to get the look.

chairs are next.  then the bookcases.  white accessories. 

 

and can you see that clock from a pottery barn catalog.  how cool is that.  perfect for on top of my dining room bookcases.  my next project.  (sorry babe, i know how you hate my projects.) 

from my peeps

(you're the best koll!)

women's conference in review

i arrived at women's conference on empty.  i left with a full tank.  with a renewed determination to choose the right and do the right.  to give my attention to the essential and necessary things.  i want to value and seek for things that are better.  to focus on the things that matter most.  julie beck, general relief society president, gave us some commanding counsel.  she said, "nothing powerful happens in our home if we aren't a lioness".  i love my crafts, and my hobbies, and my time with friends.  but sister beck reminded us that those things won't save us.  they will bring light and fun into our lives, but that other things need to be in line first.  she reminded us to take care of one thing at a time.  that little things lead to big things.  and every other presenter there had just as much wisdom to share.  here are some gems that stand out.

1.  run your own race.  we don't have to "catch up".

2.  imperfections make us interesting to others.

3.  best effort doesn't always equal best outcome.

4.  frailities can enrich our journey.

5.  problems come.  even if we build on the high ground.

6.  "perfect people only" is not written on the heart of the savior.

7.  creation means bringing to life something that didn't exist before.  what would i like to create with my life?

8.  the measure of what i am worth is what i give to others.

9.  my heart is the only thing i can truly give to the lord because everything else he has given to me.

10.  slow down when distractions come.  gain ground before moving on.  if i keep moving when i am distracted i will surely collide with something.

11.  sacrifice is almost always inconvenient.

12.  life is like a garden.  our harvest is the choices we make.

13.  don't get caught in the thick of very thin things.

but the greatest counsel i received came from a review of the story of rebekah.

know who you are.  know your mission in life. 

listen, heed, and obey.

and then, like rebekah, feel joy.