Around Here, Lately

1. We've been missing our aquarium for a few years now and recently decided to have one built to fit into a strangely shaped alcove in our living room!  While we wait for the tank, we've been looking at fish!  Here I am last week taking selfies with some friendly lion fish.  They didn't make the cut for favorites, but they were fun to look at!  Photo credit to The Mister.
2. Feels like spring!  Crazy for Ohio in February that is for sure!  Maybe the groundhog got it wrong this year!  We have warm rains, green grass and the bulbs are sprouting from the ground!  We can have snow into April, so this is weird!  I'm feeling gypped from my proper winter!  This winter loving girl needs her full three months!
3. We're still under bathroom renovations with the boys' bath being finished this week!  Then our contractor goes on vacation for 3 weeks so the master bath will start late March.  It's been very slow going but what is completed looks really good.  Before and After pics to come, probably next week!
4. The boys are doing great.  A few of you have been kind enough to ask.  No good/bad/ugly things to report...haha....just plugging along every day and doing fine.  We've all been sharing a bathroom for 2 months now and they have been very flexible and good about it, even when they prefer a bath to a shower and have had to go with the showers in our master all this time.

What's happening with you?

♥

Fall Foyer Table

cell phone photography

I finally put the red, white and blue away from the summer

holidays and brought out a little fall decor for the foyer

 table!  I feel a little late getting this done but am enjoying

 the change!  I said on Instagram that the white pumpkins

have a Cinderella story.  They were lowly things laying in a

bin at Wal-mart and then they got to come home with me

and get a jeweled crown and a special place under an

antique dome.  So fun!

♥

Samsung Galaxy Note8

I got a new toy!

The camera makes me forget my Nikon.

It opens with my iris or fingerprint scan.

And I finally have enough memory.

And look...it's orchid gray.

I think they did that just for me!

♥

What Am I?

I am vintage.

I am useful.

I am 4" long.

I am not from the USA.

I am articulated.

I am decorated with abalone.

I am not jewelry but Betsy's going to wear

me like a necklace, 'cuz she's weird like that.

♥

In Search Of The Best Toilet Paper

I've been on a search for the last several months for a better

toilet paper.  Maybe I've become more finicky lately but each

 type I tried didn't quite meet my expectations! haha. 

They were either too scratchy, not absorbent, or too fuzzy.

There are some hilarious names for toilet paper that is so 

fuzzy that it leaves bits on you.  Nobody wants toilet paper

lint left behind!  You can "Google" the terms if you like...

I don't want to cause any of my prim-and-proper 

 (or elderly men) to faint right here on my post. hahaha....  

My favorite so far has been Charmin Essentials Strong.

The rolls are nice and big.  The paper is soft but not linty.

It's very absorbent.  And it doesn't clog the toilet.

Do you have a toilet paper gripe?

Do you have a favorite?

Inquiring minds want to know!

***Update....after a few recommendations to try Cottonelle

Clean Care, we tried it and declared it the winner!

Soft, strong and no bits left behind!  Yay!

♥

Almost Like Spring

Well, I didn't open any windows today.

It only got to 59F according to my outside thermometer!

But the sun played hide and seek with the clouds and it was

very pleasant.  I did get a little dusting done!

My plants are still loving my garden window!

I moved my rosemary plant here to enjoy the sun.  

The other herbs will probably follow suit as I have time.

I got the pot while antique shopping this week.

I looked it up when I got home....  It's a Ransbottom,

made in the 30's and sells for about $80.

Not bad for my $12 purchase!

♥

Essential Oil Diffuser

We'd been hearing a lot of good things about essential oils

and diffusers lately, so I was excited when The Mister got

me one for Valentine's Day!  We slept with Eucalyptus and

Lavender, meant to help with congestion and relaxation,

and we both felt better and more rested this morning.

I have had Clary Sage misting through the kitchen today.

It can boost your mental strength, self esteem and fights

depression.  I love that the oils came with a legend so I 

know what each one does.  It's a 16 pack from Radha Beauty

that I got on Amazon a few months ago.  The diffuser is an

AeroMist.  It has a light and automatically shuts off when it

runs out of water.  He got it at BB&B.

So far, I'm liking it very much!

Do you have a diffuser?

What's your favorite oil to use?

♥

You Had Me At "Hand Painted Cherries"

I swear I'm not actively seeking out these gorgeous

antique mugs.  I think they're seeking out me!

Once I found my gorgeous Belleek mug last year,

they seem to be finding me everywhere. haha.

Isn't this one wonderful?  A little worn, gorgeous

colors...and the size is great.  I'm sure it was originally

a man's beer mug.  It's just too big to be a lady's dainty tea cup.

But it's perfect for a large mug of coffee in this day and age!

♥

Vintage Mug

A new favorite.

Antique.  Hand painted.  Made in Austria.

Cherries.  Extra large.

Perfect.

♥

Under Cover

My favorite little coffee-loving phone cover had seen better days.

It was scratched, worn, chipped on one corner

and basically loved to death. haha.

I was actually sorry to see it go!  Lots of memories.

But we have a new one with a new theme.

  Fresh, clean and shiny.

♥

Pink Azalea

Last summer I bought this beautiful azalea at the grocery.

It's a topiary with a braided trunk.  It did very well outside

and I even had to replant it to a bigger pot.

Well, I just couldn't let it die with that first frost, so I

brought it inside for the winter.  It seems to be doing very

well, even deciding to bloom!  I'm hoping I can keep it alive

until late May when it can safely go outside again!

♥

You Rang?

I got a fun Christmas gift!

It was a Ring Door Bell.  I kept seeing the

commercials for them and thought it would be

a great way to keep an eye on my etsy packages that

I put out on my porch every day to be picked up.

So, I asked Santa and he actually put one under the tree. :)

I'm alerted on my cell phone whenever there is any

movement on the front porch, whether they ring the

door bell or simply leave a package.  I can swipe my phone

and see live what is happening whether I'm at home or not!

And I can talk to anyone there, if I want to.

Here you can see my UPS man making a delivery while

my boxes to go out are waiting for the USPS man.  The camera

 has a wide span...you can even see his truck out on the street! 

Kinda fun, but nice for security reasons, too!

♥ 

Gold Mine Nugget Bubble Gum

I was shopping for stocking stuffers today and saw

these little bags of bubble gum.  I haven't seen these 

since I was a kid!  I wouldn't have thought they still made

them but sure enough, there they were!  

I had to buy a bag for myself just for fun!

They look the same...taste the same....

kind of like banana. haha.

It was one of those weird blast for the past moments!

♥

Kroger Click List

Earlier this month one of my nieces here in Ohio was talking

about trying out the new Kroger Click List.  This is where you do

your grocery shopping online and the next day you go pick it up!

So, last night I did my shopping online.  Since

 I already have a "Kroger Card" (membership card),

they have a record of my regular purchases online.

That made it really easy to scroll through the things I

needed to buy and add them to my virtual cart.

This afternoon I went to pick up my order!

I didn't even have to get out of my Jeep!

I just drove into a designated spot, called a hotline and let

them know I was there and they brought my bags 

 out to me and loaded them!  I paid right there in my seat.

Amazing!

It took just 5 minutes and I was on my way today!

And I have to say, they did a great job with my order.

The bags had been stored in a refrigerated holding place

so everything was nice and cold.  They did a great job picking

out my produce and I was totally pleased with the entire process.

It saved me an hour of shopping time!  

No crowds, no loading everything in the cart, no loading

on the checkout line, no waiting, no loading my Jeep!

I'm totally doing this every week!

Now where was this when I had 4 babies under 2 years old???

That would have been life changing!

♥

Those New Watermelon Slicers....

Have you tried one yet?

Love!

You can turn a huge watermelon into these perfect

half-plate size slices in about 2 minutes.

No fussing with the rind.  No mess.

Wonderful!

I got mine on ebay for $6.00.

♥

Made For Me

♥

Girl Power

I spent the weekend working on making a guest room 

out of our spare bedroom.  It had been used as a storage

room...an attic, really....full of projects waiting for me

to tackle, boxes of auction finds to be put in my shop,

our Christmas tree, extra furniture, etc. 

I worked all week on emptying the room!

I had some honest discussions with myself on what

projects I would seriously do in the future and which

ones probably wouldn't ever happen.  A few boxes of

things went to the thrift store and a few boxes of things

were listed in my etsy shop.

Then the fun came!  I did some online shopping for

mattresses, night stands, a dresser, bed linens, pillows, etc.

Overstock.com is my favorite for that kind of thing!

This weekend I put a fresh coat of paint on the walls

and steam cleaned the carpet.  Then I got out my girlie

power tools and put together a dresser.  It was a huge 

thing with 8 drawers, a tracking system, and hardware.

Fortunately it came with good instructions. haha.

Hopefully this week all the deliveries will be made and

I can finish putting it all together!

♥

A Wine For When You're Whiny

I'm having one of those days.

You know the ones.  You have a terrible head cold

and you feel like you're in a fog.  Why do summer colds

feel even worse than those during the winter?  I think it's

the humidity!  You can't breath anyway and then you step 

outside into the hot heavy air and you can scarcely get it

to flow through your lungs.  lol...

I had to go to the grocery today...fridge was totally empty

(happens frequently with all these men living here) and it

was pouring rain.  So I was a brick head that couldn't breath,

and wet legs from the knees down from the rain

 spattering up off the parking lot.  haha.
But we made it through alright.

On the way home I had a sneezing fit.  It's hard to drive while

sneezing, isn't it?  Have you tried to keep your eyes open while
you sneeze?  Impossible! Six huge sneezes while having to go to the

bathroom most certainly will make you pee your pants a spoonful.

What on earth?  I thought only old and pregnant

women did that! hahaha.  That's two groups of women...old,

and pregnant.  Not pregnant old women. lol....although they

would have that problem for sure! ha.

I picked up a little something for myself at the grocery,

though.  Sparkling peach wine?  Don't mind if I do.

And yeah, I'm a sucker for a beautiful bottle like that.

Isn't it pretty?  Tastes wonderful, too.
I'm feeling better already!

♥

#vintage

I had to show you my new shirt.

It's so me, isn't it?

I got it from a cute little etsy shop

called New England Nesters.

I'm thinking I need to wear it to the next auction,

just in case it isn't obvious why I'm there. haha.

♥

Pink Cyclamen

It jumped in my grocery cart today.

How could I not let it come home with me?  haha.

♥