ADD FLAIR TO YOUR RECESSED LIGHTS

One day, I was shopping at HomeGoods and I found these wonderful candoliers. I thought...hmm.....what can I do with these marvelous glass things? It just didn't seem right to just purchase one because there were so many of them and I love GLASS. So I bought a few and figured out a way to use them without using candles. I hung them below my recessed lights! When the lights are on, it gives the impression that there is also a light source inside the lamps. I just love them and I wish I had more places to hang them. For now...enjoy the views!


I hung two of these green etched ones in my long hallway.

One above my kitchen sink. This one has a touch of whimsy!


Here's two frosted ones above my kitchen counter. They look so elegant, I think.



And two more above the fireplace in my family room. These ones look like the old depression glass called vaseline....except they're white.

DVD COLLECTION GONE WILD?

Here's An Elegant Solution

I actually ran out of space one day and I thought it was ridiculous that I had amassed a huge collection of movies in DVD format that shamelessly flaunted my inability to control my obsessive need to collect. So I discovered these leather DVD/CD holders that looked tres chic. I have to confess that my collection of movies has grown to the hundreds of disks and booklets. Now I have MORE room to collect more! Movies are arranged in various categories. I once had only one binder for foreign films but it has become necessary to divide them into European & Asian films.

I do keep some of the nice booklets that come with the DVD and as you can see, these binders have ample room to store them.

Another suggestion I have is to pull out the labels from the DVD plastic containers and then cutting out the spine so you can pop them in the vertical pockets next to the disk pockets. This way you know exactly where the disks go AND you can instantly know if a DVD is missing. When someone borrows the dvd, you can always press a little post-it to remind you who you need to call to get it back. Hmm...it's a nice little system.

DVD/CD Leather Binders: www.HandStands.com ---> A very nice and personable company from Bluffdale, UT. (I am not connected with any of them...sadly.)

Value Rises: That's Because They Can't Be Found!

They are now out of print and I could kick myself because I am so sure I had this tome of the best ever theological writings about the atonement by Bruce. R. McConkie. I think I gave mine to DI during one of our many moves. Tragedy! I just saw a set sold on Amazon for $2,400! Of course now, they were the hard cover first edition volumes but again the last complete set of the paperback series sold for over $900. What?????

So I am slowly searching for each book to complete my own collection of the series. I hope I get all of the books soon so I can study study study!

Joyfully, I found his 3 volume set of Doctrinal Commentaries on the New Testament and I am so thrilled since I teach seminary and this year I am teaching from the New Testament. Joy!

I think I am going to start collecting every piece of work that he has published.

Onward and charge!

************

March 2, 2009

Update: I have ALL the books now. Happy happy! Can't wait to get started. (Have to finish the Doctrinal Commentaries on the New Testament first...)

BOHO CHIC PLATES

My daughters are both collecting plates. Each want a place setting for 8 and the rules are:

1. Colours have to compliment each other
2. No two plates must be alike...(though in the photos above and below, I took photos of the same two dinner plates. That's because the other two I ordered did not make it on time for the shoot. :) )
3. All have to be the same shape...(i.e., no square or triangles.)

We've found beautiful plates at Anthropologie. But you can also check the wares here. It's been SO much fun looking and digging for plates. They are going to have such elegant tables settings!

I am a shoe addict. Must be the genes. I think I own over 100 pairs and I really need to sort through them and separate the ones I bought on impulse....the practical, comfy ones (not very many of those) and the cute ones that I wear with disdain because they cause my feet to suffer but I guess their cuteness factor is enough to mitigate the pain.

I am very sad that I can no longer wear heels 3 inches and more. I have now limited by heel power to a mere 2.5 inches. Ahhh....the realities of getting old and adding pounds!

Last month, I experimented and ordered the cutest pair of boots at Zappos. When I got them, I was disappointed that it was all man-made 'leather'. Yuck. They felt like rubber but nevertheless, they were cute. This was my first online order---first time I've bought shoes without seeing them 'live' and without trying them on. That was an ok but not so ok experience.

Today, I received the shoes I ordered from Anthropologie---a second attempt to buy online without touching them first. Score! Loved them.

Here's another find. I LOVE the explosion of colours in this room. But my favorite detail is found on the wall itself--check out the sketches of leaves on the blue wall. I am painting an accent wall in my bedroom a turquoise blue-green. I couldn't find the colour I wanted at Lowe's or Home Depot. So I went to Michaels and bought some acrylic paints that caught my fancy. Once I decide which shade works, I'll have Lowe's colour-match it. Hope it works. Pictures will follow as I complete my plans.

Anthropologie-ist

Me thinks I am addicted to this store. I have been going there once a week now just to get my fix. I decided that I am going to do my bedroom in the Anthropologie style--which basically means that I buy the bulk of what will fill our bedroom from the store. They love me there. I even got a thank you note from corporate headquarters. I did look carefully in the envelope and found no coupon. Just a line that expressed hope that they will see me again. I bet they do.