I love stars....

Did I mention I love stars?

I don't know why I love them so much. It may be their bold design. It may be because it reminds me of a time when I used to doodle them all over my notebook pages in school. It may be because I happen to be rather patriotic. Or possibly, it is because I relate them to images I have seen in home decor magazines, where they are prominently displayed and the rest of the room looks warm and clean, and family-friendly.

Whatever the reason.....I love them. Always have, probably always will.

Today I bought three distressed wood stars from Kirkland Home Store. I didn't know where I'd put them....but I knew I'd find a place! I love the way they look together. I finally decided to place them on top of our wood built-in bookshelves in our front office. Most of our boxes on the floor are gone now, thank God, and I am hoping the stars help warm up the joint. :0) Our shelves are still rather empty....it will take some time to fill them with books and things we love. But, I feel the stars above already make me feel like it is a little more like "me" in there.


My first star I hung as a decoration was a large one I hung right above my front door in our old house. I loved it there....and I worried I wouldn't find a place for it that would be as appropriate as it was there, when we moved. I knew I wanted to see it all the time....and I knew if it weren't there, it might not feel like "home" to me. I thought it would be really spectacular right over our fireplace in our Family Room. I got really excited to put it there. Unfortunately, we soon discovered that the mirror that was "hung" above the fireplace and left there by the previous owners....was actually attached to the wall, framed in moulding! If we tried to remove it, it most likely would leave a huge mess, resulting in lots of drywall repair. UGH.
Thankfully, the last homeowner must have decided they wanted more than a mirror there, too, because they left a big giant screw right in the middle of it!
I am sure you see where I am going with this....but, it seemed logical to me for us to try and hang the star right there on top of the mirror. I wasn't sure if I'd like it.....but at least now it is the center of attention. The room just wouldn't have that family feeling I was looking for without it. Here is the result...(try to not pay attention to how little the surrounding shelves are decorated so far, or that the TV is on, or that there are wires all over the place for our electronic equipment... )


I have a feeling this is not the end of my obsession with stars. I believe that another star or two may make their appearance somehow into my decor. I am left wondering just how many stars are too many?? (Because there was this adorable star lamp I saw at Homegoods......and I just know it would look cool someplace........) :0)

More random Colorado shots....

Just thought I'd post more pictures from my fun weekend in Colorado with my peeps....

to start--here is a picture of the three sisters on a swing....(Thanks Abby for taking this picture!)


a very skinny mom :0).....you go, girl!


the Wilkinson family and me....

Why is it I look so huge in that picture?


And finally (for now)--here is a very cute shot of Kerry and Caleb....



Being with family is great......wish I saw more of them. We did a lot of laughing, a little bit of crying (which of course, was laugh-induced), and generally just enjoyed each other's company. Who wants to come visit my nest in Illinois?

I am up too late....

So...I am up, and I should be sleeping.
But, while I am here, I will post a cute picture of my parents. I miss them already.


Thanks for letting me invade your house for a few days! You are the bestest mommy and daddy ever! Love you!

Cheyene Mountain Zoo...Colorado

Can I tell you how much I enjoy this zoo? I went to visit my family in Colorado for a long weekend, and this is what Mom and Dad and I did one morning...we went to the zoo! Why? Because it is cool, and unlike any other zoo I have ever been to.
For one thing, it is up in the mountains! YUP. It is. Way cool, right? For another thing, it has the BEST giraffe exhibit ever. Seriously, folks...if you love giraffes as much as I do, which is a whole lot, you NEED to visit this zoo sometime in your lifetime. Not only do they have many giraffes to look at.....which is cool enough, right? They also let you get up and personal with them. You can feed them, and stand right where you can see their faces, and actually pet their noses if you wanted to.

No, I am not kidding.

So, of course, I need to show you some of the pictures I took of my favorite attraction at this zoo. Let me tell you, I have more pictures of giraffes then what I am even going to post here. But, in interest of blog space, I will try and refrain from posting all of them. Look how cute and awesome they are, though.....

Look at this guy's face. He is being fed a cracker.....this is what I mean.....WAY cool, huh?


I know...cute, right?


These two were lovin' eachother....like the whole time we were there--kissing. French kissing. They couldn't get enough, let me tell you. I almost thought I shouldn't be looking. Yes, even giraffes need some lovin'.



See how this is set up so you can get close to their faces?? It is a view, most people never get of these beautiful animals...


This is a nursing giraffe....WOW.


All these beautiful giraffes....and look at this view (!!!)....can't get much better...




Of course....I wouldn't want you to think I only came to the zoo just to see giraffes. I looked at other cool animals, too. for instance, check out this porcupine! Did you know they climb trees?? I didn't! Check out his feet just hangin' there...totally cracked me up.


And here is a silly orangatan in a bucket. Funny....


We also saw a sleeping Mountain Lion. So harmless looking when sleeping, don't you agree??


And Hippos....


I like to think that God will allow all of these wonderful creatures to live in heaven with us---and they will be walking among us, and even the fierce animals on earth will be gentle there with Him. Wouldn't it be cool to be walking down those streets of gold alongside a lion, or bear, and know you can pet them, or give them a hug--like you would your pet dog? And the giraffes! They'd be there, too! Maybe they would lower their necks and let us hold on while they swung us onto their backs for a ride. Hmmmmm......

Okay--just one more picture of the giraffes......

off to Colorado and tadpole surprise...

I may not be blogging until Tuesday. I will be flying to colorado to see my mom and two sisters tomorrow. I am very excited for our "girl's weekend". I will fill you in about that next week.

Also-tadpole update. If you have been following the tadpole drama.....
We had two in a tank--Nathan found them in June at one of the last soccer games. One has already died. :0( We didn't expect the other to last much longer than that. Tonight, Nathan came into my room very upset because he couldn't find his tadpole. I immediately asked him if he left the tank where Emmy (our dog) could reach it. She has been fairly curious about the little guy and the occasional splish splashy sounds coming from the tank. She jumps up to see into the tank, and we have already had to take away the jar of tadpole food from her mouth on three different occasions. Nathan said the tank had been up high on his shelf. When we looked in the tank--the tadpole was not swimming around as usual. We couldn't find him. I was thinking he met a bad end, until we saw a lumpy looking thing seemingly squeezed between the tank wall and fake rock. It wasn't moving, and we thought maybe the tadpole got stuck there while swimming by. Upon further closer inspection with a flashlight, we discovered a tiny frog sitting there! We got pretty excited. It's tail is completely gone, and it was balanced on his own small legs. It was tiny and froggy! I actually felt a little bit of wonderment....and pride....we didn't kill it by accident!

It will be fun to see that TINY frog grow. Nathan was so happy about it, it almost makes keeping the thing worth it.

Projects- big and small

I have been thinking about doing a lot of projects.
Some are quite small, and can be done easily. These usually refer to the "crafty" kind. A few days ago, I sat down and created a few cards, which I hadn't done in a while. I "doodled" some, made a couple of bookmarks for Nathan and Jacob, who specifically asked for them, wrote other ideas in a notebook for another time, and fiddled around in my craft room a while. Here are some samples of things I did:





and this is the mess it left behind.....


I have a few LARGER projects to tackle, too (which are really more important, but not as easy):

the outdoor patio furniture needs to be repainted


here is an ugly light fixture to be spray painted black, and rehung into the dining room (only if it looks fabulous, of course, after its makeover)


then there is the whole dining room and living room to decorate and furnish.....(although we got started in the DR by buying a new table and chairs). We still need to take the dated wallpaper down, paint the walls in the DR (see the paint chips?) and hang new window treatments....see these ghastly ones? They dress the LR and DR windows. :0( I don't even have a plan yet for the LR, except to decorate and buy new furniture.....




And, all I keep thinking is, if those little projects at the top can cause a mess I have avoided cleaning up.....what kind of messes will be left behind when I finally get around to tackling the BIG ones??? Of course, the big projects make the biggest changes and impact.....right?

Maybe I should start by finally getting these boxes in the front office unpacked. UGH.

Doggie Duo

So...we have been watching our friends' dog for them these last few days while they were on vacation, and we are bringing her back tonight, so I figured I'd post some pictures of their dog and our dog together. They get along quite well....and follow each other everywhere. Usually, it is hard to see one and not the other directly behind. Of course, while I was trying to get just one decent picture of the two together......they seemed to make a pact to separate!

First, let me introduce them individually.....
this black lab is ours....her name is Emmy. She is a GREAT dog. Very obedient, loving, but a bit fat. :0(




This adorable pup is Shiloh. She is a Burnese Mountain dog. Isn't she pretty? This is our friends' dog, and we like her. :0) She is sweet, goofy, and aims to please.



They weren't cooperating when I tried to get a picture of the two together..... so I gave them each a small bone to eat, because the last time I did that, they laid down right next to each other and chewed away. This time though, they left quite a bit of space. I almost didn't get them in the same shot.



Do you see Shiloh way back in the dining room? She is next to the light fixture that is on the floor. Why do we have a light fixture on the floor?? It is down there because my hubby removed it so I could spray paint it black (a bit of an experiment), like a few other bloggers have done, and I decided if they could do it, so can I! (I just haven't done it yet...but I will.) Anyway-Shiloh is back there. The other black dog NOT chewing a bone is Nathan's stuffed doggie. Obviously, there weren't enough big dogs to step over in this house already, so this one made it down to the LR, too.

Next, I took this shot.....where you get to see our unfinished embarrassing mismatched LR. We just moved in.....we need more time! (How long am I allowed to use that excuse??) I would also like to point out, that that cream colored couch was on our curb on closing day. We pushed it into our garage, (through a layer of snow!) and it is serving the purpose of "place holder" for the new couch we hope to get someday. I am not a fan of this couch. I think it is ugly. The more I look at it, the more I just want it gone. Notice that the same stuffed dog made this picture, too.





Finally, I got the help of Nathan, who made the two dogs sit next to each other. It took a lot of effort, and coaxing, and us saying "stay" over and over....but I got a picture. Unfortunately, it is not a very good one. Both dogs look a little uncomfortable. Emmy looks especially hunched over. She also left as soon as the picture was taken.



So....there you have it. Aren't you glad I learned how to post photos? Now you won't be able to stop me!