My latest obsession

I've developed an obsession with hour glasses.  I already own two, and if I pass one in a store, I have to stop, stare, and pick it up. 

I'm not sure if it goes back to my love of the Wizard of Oz.

(uponamidnightdreary.com)

My favorite hourglass scene is when Dorothy is just about to be rescued by her friends and she turns to the hourglass, which is almost empty, and begs them to hurry.  I still get anxious watching that scene, even though I know what happens.

My obsession with hourglasses could also stem from my love of the beach.  There's nothing like the feeling of sand beneath my toes and watching the sand sprinkle through the hourglass does have me daydreaming of summer.

(flickr.com)

Although, it could very well be that I love the sleek lines of the hourglass, the delicate shape and the curiousness it sparks in me as to how they get the sand inside.  Now matter what it is, I'm obsessed with hourglasses and hope to add to my collection.  I think these two need some friends.

I especially love the one on the left since the hourglass is encased in a tube of water.  It's awesome!

I hope to add more to my mantle soon.  And did you notice my Dorothy figurine? My love of the Wizard of Oz doesn't just end at hourglasses.  That is truly my all time favorite movie!

My apothecary jar love

I've recently become obsessed with apothecary jars.  I love the shape and the lid and that they pretty much look beautiful no matter what's in them.

I especially love when they're filled with wine corks and decided that an apothecary jar with wine corks would make a great centerpiece for my dining room table.

I searched the web and found expensive ones that were nice, but I just didn't want to spend a lot.  On one of my many trips to Michael's I found a few, but even those were a bit more than I wanted to spend at $30 and $40.

Then, on one beautiful day, my husband and I happened to stroll into our local Home Goods and there was the perfect apothecary jar. It was huge and only $16.99!  What a bargin!

The only problem was that the line to pay was about 30 people deep. We didn't have time to wait on that line for one item so we left (reluctantly).

Then, Easter morning, Dave hands me this huge gift.  It was my apothecary jar! He went back and bought it for me for Easter.  I've already started to fill it with wine corks, although I think I have a ways to go before it's full!

  

Isn't it gorgeous!  Another item I was drooling over at Home Good was this yellow bottle with the Flur de Lis stopper.  I love this too! I think it adds a little balance to the shelf.

As you can see I had a very happy Easter!

My Target impulse purchase!

So after a long week at work, I decided some retail therapy would be good. I had a few necessities to pick up from Target so while there I figured I'd stroll around. Wondering past the home clearance section, this gorgeous vase captured my gaze.

Isn't the color amazing! And that price! It says $4.98. That's right, $4.98! You just can't beat that price. I loved the shape of the vase and instantly knew a quick run to Michael's was in the near future for me. After all, it's spring and my home needs "Jeanine proof" flowers. (that's fake flowers for those of you who are unaware of my non-existant green thumb).

So, after my trip to Michael's (with my coupon of course!), here's the finished product! I love that it just screams spring! I think the yellow flowers add a nice surprise too.

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!

Why I'm still "In Training"

Dave & I bought a new couch recently. Here it is so you can "ohhh" and "awww" over it!

Since it's a solid color which we both love, it gives me the chance to jazz it up a bit with some deocrative pillows. Dave & I hit a little issue over what kinds of pillows to get. We got stuck trying to decide if the pillows should match or should we have one decorative pillows and a few solid pillows. It was a huge dilema solved by the girls on The Nest. Their advice? Mix it up!

Sounds good to me! Since I did so well with sewing my cushion for the window seat, I figured I would sew a pillow for the couch from the left over fabric from the window seat.

My idea was to make an envelope pillow. Something that looks like this:

In my mind, the idea was simple. I was also very excited about picking out a button to close the envelope of the pillow. So I sat down and sewed up the two sides of the pillow. The sides came out great, now that I'm an old sewing pro! (haha)

I stuffed the pillow and was ready to get started on the top "envelope" looking portion of my pillow and ran into a problem.

I don't know how to close the top of the pillow without having the stuffing come out of it! I don't think I left enough room on the top front of the pillow to cover over the stuffing. I really don't like the idea of having to start over, but I think I need to admit defeat, look up directions on-line, and start over. (insert giant sigh here).

One last time, here's my failed pillow project. I guess I'm not yet at Domestic Diva status.

I love these!!!

I've been obsessing over these wall decor things for a few weeks now at Target.

I thought they were so adorable. They had butterflies & flowers and I just wanted them! Of course, I couldn't see how Dave would enjoy me coming home and putting cutesy flowers or butterflies on the walls of our house. I was in for a surprise.

While we were at Bed Bath & Beyond one day, I saw something similar to the flower 3-D decorations I'd been eyeing at Target. I grabbed the box, crossed my fingers and explained my vision to Dave.

I explained how the flowers would look great above our nightstands since the light fixtures on the nightstands have flowers on them and this would just be keeping with the theme.

Here's our bedroom and as you can see from the bare wall, we really needed these flowers!

After trying to figure out the best way to place these flowers, I decided to just place them randomly up the wall. That was fine until I realized I would have to mimick that patter on the other side of the wall. (Insert giant sigh here) Anyway, after eyeballing the measurements and using a ruler to guesstimate (that's right, no exact measurements here) I completed my little project! See, no more big bare wall!

Now all we need is a picture for directly over the bed and we'll be all set!

A comfy place to read

When my husband & I first looked at our townhouse, I fell in love with this little window seat/ledge. I could just picture a cushion there where I could sit and enjoy a good book.

Over the past months though, this spot was home to books, magazines, a plant, holiday decorations, cleaning supplies, and basically everything but a cushion where I could sit and read.

See here is where it's being used to hold some decoratins.

So after some searching for a cushion that would fit this spot and realizing nothing would fit, I came to accept the scary truth: I would have to make a cushion for this area.

Now I'm not a sewer and I don't own a sewing machine either. The only time I have ever sewed anything in my life was when I was 12 in Home Ec class. I made a pig pillow. I'm not sure if it came out good or what my grade was, but it must not have been good since I hadn't attemped to sew anything in the many years that followed.

I discussed the homemade cushion idea with my husband who was more than enthusiatic about having me make something for the house. I think it was his faith in me that I could do this that encouraged me to go to my nearest fabric store and try my sewing skills.

I bought a huge cushion that I cut in half and placed one half on top of the other so the cushion would be comfy. Dave helped me pick out the fabric and after paying it was now the moment of truth. Would I be able to pull this off or would this project be a huge waste of money??

Well.........

Not bad for my second sewing job, right?! I've tested it out many times and it's the perfect spot to enjoy a good book or to just sit and gaze out the window.

After completing the cushion and sitting on it to make sure the seams didn't rip, I finally fessed up to my husband that I had only sewn once before in my life. Needless to say, he was impressed. So was I!

Fall is in the air!

I love fall! It's my favorite season. I love budling up in sweaters, watching the leaves change, pumpkin picking, the smell of apple pies baking, celebrating my wedding anniversary! I never really decorated for fall, just a few Halloween pictures on the windows and that's it. With this being our first fall in the new house, I figured I'd decorate a little more towards the fall theme. I love the scarecrows in front of the fireplace, they were a gift from my mother in law. I also love the fall floral arrangement on the coffee table, and it has an element of Halloween as well.