I am IN Love!

No, no, no sillies. You have not missed something exciting with regard to my ongoing search for Mr. Right. Speaking of which, my best (guy) friend and I have hatched an idea for what is sure to be a Get-Me-On-Oprah bestseller: a he said/ she said guide to internet dating. Brilliant, no? Once again...I digress. The object of my affection for this evening is the tiered cake stand I made. I have seen these all over blogland and have been dying to make one for myself. I had the three plates and today I ran over to Salvation Army to find the candlesticks. I figured "Sally's" was about the only place I would dare to go with my fever blistered face. I lucked out as they were just stocking the shelves with new goodies from the back. Fresh pickins'! I found several pairs of brass candlesticks that I will use for other projects and was about to call it a day when I came across these colorful ceramic cuties...that just happened to match the plates I had set aside for the project. I LOVE the way they look with the whimsical trio. I'm going to follow the lead of other bloggers, I think, and use my new creation for holding jewelry!

Anthropologie Inspired T-Shirt

Who doesn't just drool over the clothing and accessories from Anthropologie? The price tags don't exactly fit into this single-mom's budget. With a little ingenuity and the right materials on hand, I did (in my humble opinion) a fair job of replicating one of their fun t-shirts. I took a plain black tee and added some ruffle down one side. Cute enough, thought I, but why not go a little further? I popped a few silver buttons on the ruffle and VOILA! Drab to fab in less than 15 minutes. Oh, for the ruffle I just cut strips (2" wide) off of one of my daughter's outgrown t-shirts, sewed them together to make one long strip (approx. 4' long). I handstitched down the center of the fabric, then gathered it up into soft ruffles. Easy shmeasy!

Magnet Board

This is a project I borrowed from a fellow blogger, but I can't recall who (my apologies!). The original was made with a piece of aluminum that was purchased at Lowe's. Being bedridden certainly didn't allow for a trip to the hardware store, but I happened to have a new cookie sheet that I just got from Dollar Tree. I wrapped the cookie sheet, in fabric and used my hot glue gun to secure the corners/ edges. Although the back will be facing the wall, I decided to glue a piece of coordinating fabric to it...just to give it a more finished appearance. I added a simple knot bow to the top and a ribbon hanger to the back. I already have a ton of magnets, but decided to make a few that would match the fabric I used. The total cost of this project is probably less than $3!

What to Do?

I've had this really odd double candlestick for years and it always looked slightly "off" when I tried to use it...kind of like Mickey Mouse ears with candles plopped on top. I realized I could easily transform it into a decorative vase using two glass cylinder containers and a bit of apoxy. Gotta say: I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out! After the glue set sufficiently, I tried it with some turquoise stones and some silk roses. Not liking it so much. I remembered I had some cream potpourri and dried pod thingys...much better!

My Saving Grace

For the last 36 hours, I have been (virtually) bed-ridden with a raging case of nastiness. Yup...that's my official diagnosis...according to my own professional opinion. It began Thursday evening with a suspicious tingling numbness on my lower lip, which quickly turned into a small bump in the same spot. By yesterday morning the tingling bump had morphed into a full-blown fever blister. I am SO tempted to be more graphic in my description (because I HATE this evil growth to the core of its nasty being), but I will refrain from crossing into that T.M.I. territory...for your sake. As if the cold sore isn't bad enough, I'm running an impressive fever and have a handful of swollen glands under my chin/ behind my ears that feel as if I've had marbles implanted under my skin. Okay, that should be enough whining to elicit an appropriate amount of sympathy. Ohhhh, let me just say this: if you've never experienced the discomfort of a fever blister, let me tell you...it HURTS!!!!! Aside from being absolutely hideously conspicuous, it just plain hurts! I made the near fatal mistake of checking WebMD for information and found, to my absolute horror, that I can expect this bad boy to linger for at least a week!!! Guess who's not venturing out, in public, anytime soon? Lord, forgive me for my vanity...but, c'mon!
My saving grace has been spending hours upon hours weaving in and out of my favorite blogs, collecting fabulous project ideas along the way. I have to apologize upfront: I did not keep track of where I gathered my inspiration from, therefore I am unable to give proper credit to the creative ladies who have kept me company on my sickbed. I am a firm believer in "giving credit where credit is due", so....I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

Go Ahead....Laugh!

Happy (belated) Easter, dear friends! I hope your day was filled with all God's blessings, sunshine & chocolate! The kids and I spent a wonderful day with my brother and his family, in Trumbull. The added bonus was that we were joined by my best (guy) friend, Glenn who always adds a bit of spunk to a social gathering. Lots of laughter, love & food...which always tastes better when someone else is doing the cooking. Thank you to my wonderful sister-in-law for playing hostess...yet again. It's her fault for having such a welcoming home.

The weather was absolutely picture perfect. Segue coming....the things I am compelled to photograph are silly & strange. Yes, I did take some pictures of the kids enjoying their Easter egg hunt and the adults chatting before the feast, but those are fairly unimaginative. What truly captured my attention was a patch of funky green & red moss that was growing on the side of my brother's little fish pond. (I would have photographed the fish, but my brother was pretty sure they'd all perished). What would have been really entertaining is if someone had thought to take a picture of me, taking a picture of the moss! There I am, dressed in my Easter finest (flowing floral skirt, pale yellow top, strappy sandals)...sprawled out in the grass, hiney sticking up...trying to get just the right angle. I could here murmurs of a scheme to push me in, coming from somewhere behind me, but I was on a mission. Fortunately, I did manage to capture a few images before the "Let's push her in the fish pond" plan came to fruition. I also managed to take a few pictures of flowers and such, but they weren't nearly as captivating as that spot of moss!

Out of the Mouths of...Men!

Just in case there are any men reading this post, I will be as delicate as possible, in my description of my fun-filled doctor's appointment yesterday. Ohhh, this is going to take a bit of creativity. Okay...

For any of you ladies who have hit that "over 40" mark, you know that things just start happening, to your body, that are 1.) uncontrollable, 2.) inexplicable and 3.) unpleasant. Everyone is unique, so I'm sure these "things" run the gamut. One of my "things" is....ummmm....hmmmm...boy, this is tough to put delicately. Let's just say that the number of days/ month when I am NOT in need of feminine hygiene products is exponentially smaller than the days I AM in need of them. 'Nuff said? I decided it was probably a good idea to call the dr. yesterday when I realized (for the third consecutive month) that I'd had an 8 day break between my last two "visits".

I'll spare you the gory details of my dr's appointment, but I was struck by one thing: as I'm lying (laying? that is one grammatical usage question that always stumps me) there, on the paper-lined table...feet in stirrups...cold "jaws of life" thingy firmly in place....lights, camera, action! My ob/gym, whom I love, is performing a most uncomfortable procedure somewhere in my Southern region and I am trying valiantly not to jump off the table and poke him with something sharp in his tender spot! As I'm squeezing the poor nurses elbow (like she had anything to do with the discomfort I was experiencing!) and trying to be a big girl, he says to me..."You're okay. I'm 1/2 way done". Half way done??? Really??? Is he kidding me? I'm supposed to be consoled by that??? At that moment I knew, for certain, that kind of statement could only be uttered by a person who never could and never would be on the receiving end of such an invasive & uncomfortable procedure.

Sooner is Better Than Later

Once I got going on The Fashion Exchange's blog, I couldn't rein myself in.

Introducing, to my blogger friends...The Fashion Exchange

She's Baaack!

I know, I know....my periodic disappearing acts can be tiresome. It is never my intention to vanish in thin air. It just seems that...well...life happens and I find myself pulled in too many directions. Like most woman (particularly those of us who fall in the single mom category), it is often the things I love most that must be pushed to the back burner. Not conducive for maintaining serenity and recharging my personal battery, I must admit.
So, here I am...landing back in my comfort zone with an (hopefully) audible THUD! For those of you who might have been concerned that my life was in upheaval of the negative sort, rest assured, all is quiet on the Western front. I don't even recall what my last post was about, but I took a job working in the mall (YUCK!), at Sephora during the holiday season. I'm having a deja-vu moment, so I must have mentioned that. At any rate, they did offer me a full-time position, extending beyond the holidays. I managed to white-knuckle it through February and...for my own sanity...had to resign (can you resign from a position you've only held for 3 months???). I could go on & on about my reasons for leaving, but suffice it to say: I am NOT cut out for "corporate America". That term, in itself, is a bit of a joke because all I did was put a perky smile on my face and stand in front of a cash register for 8 hours at a time. Not a whole lot of room there to display my vast array of creative skills (stop laughing, ladies!).
As many of you know, my all-time favorite word is: SERENDIPITY and I especially love when it applies to my own life. Shortly after I left Sephora, my former employer & good friend contacted me about helping her with some public relations work for her two, AMAZING consignment shops. We've been working on sprucing up her website, expanding her customer base, etc. The cherry on top is that I got the opportunity to start a new blog that focuses just on her stores, The Fashion Exchange. WAIT...before you click on that link (to her store website), I need to remind you that I've never done a "real" website design before, so you have to be gentle with me. As always, though, I welcome any and all feedback you might have. I deeply respect the opinions of each & every one of you and would love the opportunity to grow from your experiences.
I still have a bit of work to do, on Janet's blog, before it is ready to "launch". I am SO excited about this new endeavour, so I'm sure I won't be bale to hold myself back for long.
Oh MY, it's SO good to be back. Funny how you never realize how much you love something until you spend some time away. Note to self: don't let this happen again...no more blog hiatus!