Painting Project Update

I finished painting the wall in my office. The color is good but I am still undecided if I am going to paint the whole room purple or just one wall, maybe two. It looks good against the white shelves however once all of my books and nick-nacks are back on the shelves you barely see the colored wall behind.

The color is Lilac Acres by Ralph Lauren. I chose a semi-gloss but in hindsight wish I had chosen a matte paint instead. It's still pretty.

I had some issues putting together the Ikea shelves and desk I purchased for the room. I no longer have a van so it is an ordeal for me to return the items. The project is going slow as I need to decide about the desk and furniture.

Ahhh, after a good paint job, one deserves a Cosmo!

The Joy of Lemons

One of the joys of living in Arizona is the gift of free fruit from friends who have fruit trees. I'm always excited to receive lemons. They are so much better than the ones in the grocery stores. They are huge and yield a nice amount of juice.

My favorite use for lemons is a recipe a friend gave me years ago for lemon chicken spaghetti. You cut chicken breast into strips. Put the chicken in a skillet and squeeze fresh lemon juice over it while it cooks. I keep adding lemon juice and as it reduces and reconstitutes it greats a sort of glaze. The chickens is a little tart but great. I serve it over spaghetti with lemon butter. Easy and delicious.

What do you do with your Arizona fruit?

Redecoration Anxiety

In 2008 one of my goals was to get my home office, which I have vowed to call my "Studio" decluttered and decorated. I want to be as cool as all of the other crafty bloggers who call their home office their studio. I currently have some nice Ikea shelves that were stuffed to the brim with books, knick knacks, half finished craft project and e-bay dreams.

I went to Ikea this weekend and chose another table/desk in white and a shelf for my electronic components (printer, scanner, USB Turntable etc.) I will have to put them together once I get the walls painted.

When we moved into the new house I picked one wall in my office and tried out a paint effect. I was going for an old terra cotta colored wall look. A few weeks later we had problems with our bathroom and the workers had to put a hole in the wall to take care of it. This was the only wall in the whole house that I had painted. They repaired the wall but I never got back around to re-painting the spot they went through.

I went to Home Depot this weekend and agonized about paint. I stared at paint squares and photos of painted rooms. I could not decide if I should stay neutral or go bold. I went for bold. I bought a gallon of Ralph Lauren paint in a blueish purple. When I told my husband that I picked purple he had a weird look on his face, like, oh no, here she goes again. But kindly he did not give me a hard time. Making a choice on the color totally stressed me out but I keep telling myself, it is only paint. If it turns out ugly I can paint over it.

I spent today removing everything off of the shelves. I put most of the items on my living room table and all of the books in the spare bedroom in stacks along the wall. Our cat Gary proceeded to try to walk the wall of books and created a huge crap-alanche. Just too tempting I guess.

Table after cleaning shelves - see anything you want?

Wall of books.

So, I have the shelves clear. I hope to tape and paint tomorrow night after work.

I'll post some photos afterwards. Wish me luck.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Here's wishing a relaxing, stressless, loving 2008 for all.

My Favorite Christmas Ornaments

Each year I take great pleasure in putting up my Christmas tree. My tree is not one of those better homes and gardens trees. It is a memory tree. As I unwrap my ornaments each year I remember the friends and relatives who have given me these wonderful ornaments. Some ornaments are just sentimental and remind me of different times in my life. I want to share a few of my favorite ornaments with you.

This Owl was a gift from my sister Felicia. She knows I love Harry Potter and this ornament reminds me of Hedwig. This is a recent addition from Felicia. I just lover her little face.

This is a nice vintage ornament that my Mother-In-Law Vera gave me.

This is a beautiful handmade ornament that my sister-in-law Suzanne made.

This little fairy was a Hallmark purchase. I gave one to each of my sisters that year.

This cute snuggly cat was a gift from some friends in Texas.

This vintage ornament was a gift from my good friend Lynn in Albuquerque.

This handmade ornament was made by my Mother and Father-in-law.

This vintage parrot ornament is part of my collection of vintage glass bird ornaments. I am now seeing reproductions on the market and actually bought one this year.

This antique German ornament was put on e-bay by my sister Patty. I saw it and had to have it.
This Irish Santa was given to me by my Dad and his wife Jean one Christmas.


This is one of my vintage glass ornaments that I bought when I was working an estate sale. I came across a box of nice ornaments. I think it may be pink mercury glass. The pink is very vivid.

I found this ornament at Marshals last year. Being Polish this ornament had great meaning to me. It is Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Madonna.

Black Madonnas--Our Lady of Czestochowa

This is a little wooden cuckoo clock that I purchased when I first got married. I just find it sweet and comforting. It reminds me of my childhood in Germany. It also reminds me of my brother-in-law Joe, the clock guy :)
This blown egg ornament was made by my sister Felicia. I have had it for years and am lucky not to have broken it. It is in the Polish Nesting Doll style.

Another one of my vintage glass bird ornaments.

I usually purchase one ornament each year for myself. This was this years purchase. I totally love her.
This was one of my vintage estate sale ornaments.

This ornament was purchased in South Carolina. My sister Brigid was visiting and we did a little shopping. It is two peas in a pod and reminds me of Brigid's boys whenever I see it.

This handmade ornament was purchased in Salt Lake City. I was traveling on business and was in downtown Salt Lake City and happened upon a church bazaar. It is hand crocheted and starched. It has held up nicely throughout the years.
This was a brief tour of my Christmas ornament collection. I hope you enjoyed it. Merry Chrismas!

Best Birthday Bundt Cake

Having a birthday near Christmas can be torture for a child. I always felt a little ripped off when I was a kid because manytimes I would get the usual "This gift is for your birthday and Christmas" routine.

As an adult I've always hated when well meaning co-workers organized a birthday lunch or gifts because I knew it was Christmas time and they were already being nickled and dimed to death with gift exhanges, secret Santas, obligatory gifts for people they barely knew but had to buy for because it was the right thing to do.

This year a kind co-worker and friend surprised me with a darling cake. It was wrapped in festive plastic in an open cake box and inside was a great red velvet bunt cake. I could not remember the last time I had a birthday cake on my birthday. I was very touched. I was even more touched when I found out that her husband picked up the cake on his Harley and bungied it to the back. I wish I had a photo of that.

I received some very thoughtful gifts from family and friends and my husbands parents called me on my drive home and sang Happy Birthday to me. It feels good to be loved.

What I Won't Be Wearing for Christmas

Need I say more.