Another addiction!

We all have things we can't live without, right? Through this blog you will start to realize my addictions. You already know about my fondness for decorating blogs, birds, and cats. Well, I also stockpile magazines. I can't help it. I have stacks and stacks of magazines. Some of them date back to 2001. I am not lying. I know the sensible thing to do is rip out the pages you love, but I can't part with any of the magazine. When I see things I like, I keep the whole thing. I have piles and piles of magazines all over my house. Occasionally I will go through them and get rid of a few but it never makes much of a dent. There should be a support group for this.

Here's the current pile of things I haven't read. I have a sort of crazy method to my madness. I gather up a whole bunch of them and spend a day looking through them for ideas and inspiration. Usually it's just a day that I need to take a break from the world. I used to read a ton of books, but I don't sit still long enough to read books much anymore. When I can lay on a beach for a week I will read books. Magazines work perfect for me because I get get up numerous times to check laundry, talk on the phone, clean, blog, etc. and not feel like I have to go back a page or two. You will also notice that in this pile is a FLOR catalog. I love a few of the catalogs that I get on a usual basis too. They are always included in my file of rainy day magazines. 

What do you stockpile?

Stacy

Etsy find of the day!

I saw this crinkle bird a few weeks ago and almost had to buy one for myself. It is made out of soft minky material and you can choose whatever colors you want! Someone have a baby! Please!

I think it's irresistibly cute! I'm not going to spoil all the secrets about what it's made with so you'll have to go to Etsy and read for yourself. The best part about this? It's only $8! You could buy two!

Tweet, tweet!

Stacy

The art of aging...gracefully!

I don't like facials. GASP! I know all of you are thinking I'm completely off my rocker right now but let me explain! I'm not a huge fan of being touched by other people and I'm a tiny bit claustrophobic. I find that when I go in for a facial I get a little bit freaked out when the steam is blowing all over my face for ten minutes. It feels like someone is trying to smother me. Plus I feel so greasy when I walk out that I go home and wash my face anyway. If you saw my hair and lack of make-up when I leave you would understand. I could never, ever, ever have a facial and go someplace afterwards. It would NOT be a pretty picture. My hair is generally completely greased back and I always have to go home and wash it. In the end facials seem like a lot of work on my part.

That said, I am almost 40. In a month... don't remind me! My skin is changing more than I ever thought. This past year I really started noticing the changes. I never had acne when I was growing up and all of a sudden I have occasional acne. The fine lines on my face are increasing rapidly and I have brown spots even though I don't spend a ton of time in the sun and I wear sunscreen on my face. I'm happy to get old but feeling sad about the aging aspect of that. I always felt like I wouldn't rule out injectables. GASP again! Yes, I'm talking botox and stuff like that. It's too early for all of that at this point, but I would never judge anyone for doing it. Instead of doing anything drastic I decided to get one of these:

I got mine on drugstore.com about a month ago. They offer free shipping and if you order one soon enter SKIN20 and you will get 20% off. That will bring it down to about $120. Honestly, including the tip, that's about as much as one facial would cost. I used mine twice a day for the first week and now I use it once a day. I really like it. I am breaking out less and my face feels really clean and invigorated. It feels like more dirt and make-up is scrubbed off when I use it, but it isn't abrasive on your skin.

In no way am I being paid to promote the Clarisonic Mia. I just wanted to pass it on to you so you can get a great deal on one if you have thought about getting one. If you already have one you can also use the SKIN20 code on replacement brushes. If you have the Mia, let me know what you think! If you want one, now is the time to buy one!

If you've found the fountain of youth please private email me so that I can get there before everyone else!

Stacy

Pinterest Post - Cutest Baby Photograph Idea Ever.

Adorable, hilarious, sweet, genius!! Found here.

Happy weekend! 

Alyssa

Pinterest Post - Summer fun ideas!

Summer boredom!? Not with this cute idea! Find more information... here.

Love this.. and going to start thinking about making this for next summer! 

Alyssa

Life With Cats = Birds.

So, I was going to share this photo yesterday of our cat Hazel and how sad she was that it was raining yet again. Isn't she so sad and depressed looking? Pillow Credit: Avery, age 9.

 

 

 Yawn. Then again maybe 'roar'. 

Fast forward to today. Not raining. Or at least not a heavy rain. So, the cats can be out. And out they went to play and frolic as only cats do. Avery & I had a few errands to run and I had an interview for another blog I am working on... needless to say we were out for a bit. We came home to a bit of a surprise though. This little guy was in the window, between the blinds and the window! 

Suspect #1. Hazel. She has been the only to one catch birds. Usually they die a sad death, but alas this one is a survivor. Alive to tell the tale to all of his birdy friends.  

As it turns out my neighbor saw him first in our window and texted Eric. I arrived home shortly after that and called Eric in a panic of what to do...At which point he said he knew and was coming home. I was a bit confused and not really paying attention as I was trying to open the blinds to the let guy out. Which in retrospect was not necessarily the right thing to do as then he would be free to fly all over. As luck would have it this little guy just dropped to the ground. At which point I got a little nervous that he was injured. Knowing Hazel that would be no big surprise.  But then Trouble stopped by to say, "Hi!" and the bird flew over near the front door. Trouble about had a heart attack and I was yelling for Avery to grab Trouble because now he had that... there is a bird in the house... look in his eye. Long story short, she managed to grab and hold all 20 lbs of Trouble and I opened the screen door to let the little guy out. He flew away.. quickly I might add and now all is well and fine in our household once again.

 New painted window sill. Bird Poop. Awesome. 

Trouble. Where'd he go?? Doh.. He is our rather dumb cat.. Note the feather behind his tail..

Enjoy my life. From afar. Oh and this is the 4th bird we have had in our house. The first live one, though. She usually leaves them by our bed as a little thank you for taking care of me prize. So sweet, little Hazel.

Alyssa

A summer chair to fall in love with...

I was at Target yesterday and saw that most of their patio furniture and accessories are now 50% off. They had a ton of stuff at the Target that I was at so, if you need anything, go soon to score a great deal! I wanted to go on and see what they had online and I found THIS:

Do you think it's on sale? Of course NOT! However, I think the $174 price tag is still really good. I always have an Adirondack chair in my front yard and I would love to have this one. I was going to stay away from red, but I really love this. It's made from FSC certified wood too so I would feel good buying it.  Do you know what that is? It is the Forest Stewardship Council's certification system to be sure that the forest where this wood is harvested from is well taken care of...including the wildlife, which is really important to me. Do you love Adirondack chairs as much as I do?

Stacy

Etsy find of the day!

Today's Etsy find is one of those wants vs. needs items. Since it's pretty obvious that I love birds, I found this a couple of days ago and put it in my "favorites" hoping someday I feel the NEED for it. Remember...I'm trying to buy less these days. If I get rid of a couple of things I might bring something in that I don't need, but I'm following the rules pretty good on this. I set my own rules and suggest you do that too. That way they can be easily broken. Likely with some guilt.

So here it is! Do you see what I mean by want vs. need? Do we really need a sponge holder? If any of you come up with a good reason why I might need this please let me know. I'm flexible on the rules!

Since we're talking about sponges I will give you a tip. Some of you probably already do this but( for the sake of being nice) pretend I'm giving you a great idea here! I throw my sponge in the dishwasher every day. I use a sponge all of the time and am pretty grossed out by them. Then I realized that if I just throw it in the dishwasher it's all good. You can throw it in the washing machine too! Replace them at least monthly and you should be good. 

The weekend is almost here so keep going.  Fun is on the way!

Stacy

Pinterest Post - Summer Fun! Sponge Ball making..

A fun summer activity for the kids... Sponge balls! Check it out here. I love this idea and will definitely be making these this summer. Bring on the water fights! 

Alyssa 

A little bit of summer...

 Poppies... I love poppies. The above poppy I planted in the front garden last year from seeds. Not one came up last year. I was sooo sad. Then this year this line of weedy looking plants started growing. I decided to let it be and see what came of it. Amazingly it was the poppies I planted last year! These are amazing. They have black centers and are so striking. Just lovely. I added two more poppy plants to my collection.

 Shopping up north! We were driving out of the cabin last weekend and came up on this table filled with bird houses for sale. They are made out of scraps and were adorable. The one we took was only $4.00! Such a deal as my grandmother would say. Now to find a home for it down here in our urban utopia.

 S'mores. Yum. 

Photo Credit: Avery  9-years-old

And backyard fires... This is our favorite thing to do in the summer.. Start a fire and hang out outside. Random people tend to pop by for a visit which makes it all the more fun!

Happy Summer! 

Alyssa

Terrarium gone BAD.

Whenever I start things they sound like a great idea. Now I won't lie, when I'm doing said projects (in the back of my mind) I'm always sort of wondering if they will really work. Remember this post? I was pretty excited about it! I spent about $40 getting everything together and I really thought it would work. Well no, not really...somehow I knew it wouldn't. Somehow I just KNEW!

Remember how cute this looked? I thought I was living the dream when I planted it!

So one day I came home and I spotted this. You see, my husband thinks this stuff is hilarious. Not just a little funny, HILARIOUS!  I'm pretty sure that as the days went on and my terrarium went from looking fab to drab, he saw the writing on the wall. I was still trying to ignore it.

The note is a little blurry, but Jason thought he was quite clever to put a note in pretending like it was my next blog entry. The funny thing is...he was correct...the day I found the note I looked on the blog and the next entry would have been #47. Just as the note says. Apparently the note had been in there a couple of days. Okay, I know, I'm not super observant! I have animals to take care of people! I'm not a terrarium tending sort of girl. Can you read the note? It says, "Blog entry #47: The new thing is growing mold in your terrarium. -Stacy" Nice. I did get the giggles though. 

So this is my terrarium! The sad thing is that I loved that fern. It really didn't deserve an end like this. It was too pretty. I'm sorry fern, I tried. Sort of. I mean I feel like I tried. For a week or two.

What I won't show you is that I stuck another plant in there and that died too. I will now be using my glass apothecary jar for dog treats or wine corks. I can't kill those.

We all fail!

Stacy

Etsy find of the day!

OH how I wish I was having a baby or had one! When I see these things I want to decorate a nursery! Are you having a baby? Call me so I can come over and decorate it for you.

These vintage brass ducks are $10! That's it! How cute would they be on a bookshelf or a little table in your nursery? This seller is from Minneapolis which makes them even more special to me.

If you ever buy any of my Etsy finds please, please, please let me know! I would be so excited to hear that you like my finds as much as I do!

Get shopping!

Stacy



How does your garden grow?

Since Summer is now in full bloom, I thought I'd share some pictures of my flowers and yard. We have a bit of a project coming up in the backyard but I'll save that for later. For now, though, I'll show you what IS looking good, urban and charming. I will refrain from showing you the super shabby areas of our yard...because shabby in a yard does not equal charming!

I love how the front of the house looks when things are really lush in the summer. We'll soon be changing the shutters, awning, and a few other things. I'm hoping it will look even better when we get these things done.



My front pots are looking gorgeous this year! I love them. When we first moved in I had about 5 really good years of flowers and then I lost my touch. I think I just lost interest for a while. This year I decided to really concentrate on getting back to making up beautiful, lush plantings. I'm so happy they turned out good...it makes me happy!

This is the only pot of flowers that I bought already put together. Mostly because my local garden store was having a half off sale and I got it for $17! It is PACKED with stuff. See that little sticker to the left of the picture on my door? That's to let the firemen know how many animals they will need to rescue in case of a fire. Leave me to burn, but you better get my animals out safe!

My Coleus is loving the heat, rain, cold, heat, storms, rain, cold this year. I'm telling you...this summer is very odd in terms of weather. I am not complaining though. The yards are looking lush and I haven't had to use my air conditioning as much!

Here's some more Coleus. Do you notice that I tuck little surprises into all of my pots? I am a big fan of adding things that people don't expect. Roosters, gnomes, birds, and lots of other fun things. People always notice and take the idea for their pots too. I'm flattered! Tuck some fun things into your pots this summer and see if people notice!

Our Magnolia bush is growing like a weed this summer! I always look forward to Spring when the blooms come out because the smell is like heaven, but I think the leaves are beautiful too.

The wild rose bush has bloomed and when we walk out our side door all we smell is the wonderful, soft scent of roses. I have been known to sit on the side step on breezy days just to take in the smell.

You know those little roses that people bring you as a gift when they come to your house? The ones you get at the grocery store? My friend Elisabeth brought me these about 12 years ago and I planted them outside. I had no idea that they would work, but they did! They come back every single year without me doing a thing.

Here's one of the lavendar plants we've had for about 6 years. Some of them died over the winter because of all the cold and snow...I was really disappointed, but we went to the farmer's market and got more. Hopefully this winter won't be so harsh because we've always had great luck with our lavendar.

This is an area back by the garage that I'm really quite fond of. I wish my whole yard looked like this. It feels like an English garden. I cannot, however, have a ton of plants in the backyard. Why, you ask? We have a 53 pound black lab mix named Tinkerbell who is not so fairy like in the garden. She is part pitbull so we call her our PITBULL IN A CHINA SHOP. She's is the sweetest girl ever, but she doesn't have the same regard for my garden as I do.

I got this birdbath fountain for half off a couple of years ago and it's one of my favorite things in the garden. It is not running yet because we need to get electric wired into the outside of our garage. It will happen eventually....

Here are my Cosmos and a few Zinnias. I made the mistake of planting them too close together last year. They were still pretty, but I learned my lesson. They started wrapping around each other and were almost impossible to cut. I mostly use them to bring in and put in vases. I will take more pictures when they are in full bloom. Have you had cosmos before? If you haven't, try them. They do great in sunny spots and are so pretty and delicate...again, English garden looking.

I'm going to be honest and tell you all that I am not a huge fan of cheesy whirly-gigs. That's what I call these. My husband's parents made this for me so it is very dear to my heart. I have it up all summer and have learned to love it. It's a bright spot in my garden and I love the sound of it when it's windy out.

Here are a few more of my yard decorations. I get a new thing (or two) every summer that I love. I know I have more hiding in my garage and they will slowly be added to my yard too. I never want it to look junky so sometimes I vary what gets put out.

Last, but not least, is my outdoor cat. All of my real cats are indoor cats so I needed one for outside too. He sits at my front door and greets visitors. What? I sound like I'm losing it? Oh, my friends, I lost my mind a LONG time ago!

Hope you enjoyed the tour! Do tell...how does your garden grow this summer?

Happy weeding!

Stacy

Etsy find of the day!

Do you love lilacs as much as I do? I have lilac candles all over my house because the lilac season in Minnesota is too short. I would live in a cardboard box if I could wake up every single morning to the smell of fresh lilacs! Maybe. I'd for sure live on a houseboat though!

This Lilac Bloom Perfume Oil is my choice for today. It wouldn't be such a scary world if we all smelled like lilac! My pick today is only $10.50 with shipping. My lilacs are done blooming and my last boquet in the house has died...but I still have my candles and I will be ordering this tonight.

What's your favorite smell?

Stacy

Etsy find of the day!

I love vintage jewelry. I am a jewelry fanatic and have way too much of it. Some might say it's completely out of control. By some I mean a certain husband. However, I have NO problem at all giving my friends suggestions and showing them some of the great jewelry that I run into on a daily basis! So today I share with you a necklace that I love. I hope you do too. And, no, I won't be buying this...but you should! Don't feel guilty, you deserve it. I'm very encouraging aren't I?

This is not vintage but it looks a little vintage to me. I love that it has silver and gold in it, and you can wear it with a t-shirt or something fancier. Yes, I did say fancy. So this beauty is $38...I don't think that's too bad. I would wear it for a long time; I bet you would too.

Say hi to Etsy for me!

Stacy

Clothes for a casual urban summer!

Today's outfit is on the super casual side. I love all of the things I've chosen and they can be mixed and matched. Great clothes for a walk around the lake or sipping iced tea with friends!

So let's start with a cute v-neck t-shirt from J. Crew. These are the softest t-shirts I have ever worn. I chose this one in Coral because it's on sale for $19.99 and it's a great color with tan skin!

Next I chose these shorts from Anthropologie. I love the color and the style. You will be able to wear these for many summers!

I chose really casual flip-flops from Teva. I'm not a huge fan of the traditional strappy Teva shoes but I have always loved their flip-flops. This year I got these and they are wedge flip-flops which I LOVE! They are really comfortable too. I have gone on a few really long walks with them and I find them more comfortable than tennis shoes. They're a great alternative to really flat thong sandals!

Now we'll add this Hobo bag  from Etsy! Are you sick of me talking about Etsy yet? Too bad! This bag happens to be from a seller in Minneapolis and is only $33. It can't get much cheaper for a hand sewn one of a kind (FABULOUS) bag!

These are really affordable at $10. Again, where do you find handmade earrings for that price? They are so cute and simple they might just become your "everyday" earrings!

Let me know if what you think!

Stacy





Happy Father's Day!

Have a Great Day Dad's!