Sunday, July 29, 2012

A Stop At The Depot

Home Depot that is! Armed with one of my new pillow shams, I spent an hour picking up various paint chips. I've gotta tell you, sometimes too many options is not a good thing!

I finally settled on a particular card with a blue that I really liked and thought matched my sham pretty well. Utah Sky. I had to laugh. Not exactly a sea glass/beach name, but the thought of sleeping surrounded by the Utah Sky seems fitting.

I did consult the Home Depot experts and walked away with a gallon of Utah Sky for my accent walls and a gallon of a much lighter version of Utah Sky for the remainder of my room. I'm very excited about these colors and can't wait until next weekend to begin my bedroom make-over.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Sea Glass Inspiration

I've been scouring magazines and the internet looking for inspiration for redecorating my bedroom since January. I've had the same comforter set for almost 10 years and I'm sick, sick, sick of my vanilla bedroom walls.

Initially I was digging the hotel look. I really liked the clean look of the popular brown/mint combinations. After viewing hundreds of bedding sets, I grew bored with the industrial look. No one really wants to live in a hotel room, right? Frustrated, I gave up.

A few months ago I was in Lowe's looking for a bottle of reisling and my eyes landed on this brand. I feel in love with the textured label! After finishing the wine I took care in peeling off the label. I mounted it on cardstock, framed it, and decided the label would be the inspiration piece for my bedroom makeover.

While green is my favorite color I realized I what really attracted my attention were the blues. So, back to the magazines and websites I went in search of bedding sets that would compliment the blue sea glass.

Finally, (finally!) I found exactly what I was looking for on the JCPenney website. It's Lakota Paisley by Cindy Crawford. I ordered the comforter set, 3 valances and two of the plain white accent pillows. Since everything was on sale, I also ordered some white sheets.


Everything but the sheets were delivered today. Tomorrow I'm taking a pillow sham to Home Depot to get some paint. I really like the blue wall in the picture. I am so excited!

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Another Book To Review

I've been selected to review this book, so watch for an upcoming post. (The book will take 3-4 weeks to get to me, so check back here the end of August.)

If you would be interested in signing up to receive review copies of books, click here to sign up!

Nothing to Hide by J. Mark Bertrand
A Roland March Mystery

On the streets of Houston, the discovery of a headless corpse launches a new case for Detective Roland March. But when the FBI identify the victim as one of their undercover assets, they want March to protect their operation—even if it means compromising the investigation.

Unable to let a murder go unsolved, March does a little digging and figures out that something isn’t right. Someone’s covering something up, and it seems everyone has something to hide—maybe even March.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Don't you just love the view?

I can't believe it's been almost 6 years since I've vacationed at the beach. And I'm absolutely excited that the family is together for this Myrtle Beach trip. Allan and Cade have been here since Sunday. Sam and I arrived last night.

We've got plans towalk around Broadway at the Beach and Barefoot Landing. We're going to go to Tangers Outlet to get some shoes for Sam. And of course we're going to hit the beach for some much needed sun and fun!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Clothespin Magnets

Here's a very inexpensive, quick and easy craft.

I found packages of cute clothespins in the $1.00 bin at Michael's several months ago. I had several ideas on how to use them. Last night I picked up some magnetic tape (a .5 in x 30 in roll was also a buck) and decided to turn a pack of the clothespins into fridge magnets.

You'll need:
  1. A pack of clothespins
  2. Magnetic tape
  3. Scissors
  4. 5 minutes
You'll need to cut a total of 8 small pieces off the magnetic tape. You'll want to cut the magnet piece slightly smaller than the clothespin. I just eyeballed the size.
The hardest part is peeling the tape of the magnetic piece. Once the backing is removed, place the sticky side down on your clothespin and give a little squeeze so the magnet piece will adhere.
Voila! Cute fridge magnets!

Friday, July 13, 2012

A Night At The Movies, "The Amazing Spiderman"

Despite it being Friday the 13th, Chad and I headed to The Grand where we paid $15.00 to see The Amazing Spiderman in IMAX.

I've seen all the 3 other Spiderman movies with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and I liked each one of them. I was very surprised to learn that the franchise was being rebooted so soon.

Andrew Garfield's no Tobey Maguire, but he is just as fine as Peter Parker/Spiderman. He does bring more of a cockiness to the role that I wasn't sure I liked.

I was very impressed with Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. I was not at all familiar with her character since Mary Jane is usually included as Spidey's girlfriend.

I did miss Rosemary Harris as Aunt May. In the reboot Sally Field plays this role and I just didn't buy it. I see all the other characters she's played (Gidget, Sybil, Norma Rae and M'Lynn) so it took me out of the movie during each scene she was in.

Overall, it's a good comic book action movie.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

A Book Review

Some say not to judge a book by it's cover. I found it very hard not to get excited about "My Stubborn Heart" because of such an attractive cover. I didn't have to create imagines of Kate and Matt; their pictures were right on the cover. (Although they do leave enough of Matt to my imagination!) I loved the fresh yellow band and the title script is textured. This book felt so good in my hands!

This was my first Christian romance novel. I was initially nervous as this is a genre I normally steer clear. I must say, the book absolutely lived up to my enthusiasm over the cover. I loved everything about the book. I loved the story, I loved the author's style of writing, I loved it all!

Kate, in need of a break from life (work burnout, a few failed relationships), has agreed to assist her grandmother with renovating her childhood home. Matt, a former NHL hockey star, is the hired contractor.

Matt's wife died a few years earlier. He's hiding from the world and he's lost his faith. Kate has strong faith and intuits Matt's abyss. Slowly they become friends and eventually they begin dating. Kate realizes her purpose differs from the path her heart wants to take. While painful to her, she gently nudges Matt toward a return to hockey. I greatly admire people with a strong faith in God, and it was this faith that really endeared me to Kate.

Having just completed "50 Shades of Grey" the lack of sex was so very refreshing! Kate and Matt were definitely attracted to each other, but their physical attraction wasn't a necessary part of their story. I didn't miss it one bit!

I am very impressed with Becky Wade and would love to read more of her books.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers for my review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Friday, July 06, 2012