11 Days And Counting Down . . .

Only 11 more days until I head down to south Texas for the Roundtop Antique Preview Weekend! Yippee!! Once again, I'll don matching shirts and cowboy hats (I know---only with these gals!) to shop will we drop through the acres of antiques that will be displayed in and around Roundtop. We actually stay near the booming metropolis of Fayetteville at a great farmhouse. Our space is cozy, but we have a great time filled with antique shopping, laughter and good food. And the price is so good that we can buy more while we're shopping! What more could you ask for?

This year, we will be picking up Valine at the Houston airport instead of Austin, so we plan to make a stop at Old Town Spring to kill a little time until her plane arrives. Of course, no trip to Texas would be complete without Mexican food, so we'll also eat at Chuy's in Houston before hearing to Fayetteville. This is my third year to join the group, (here's a link to my last year post) and I can't wait for this year's trip!

Twig Wreath

(otherwise known as "how to postpone writing thank-you notes"). While I have lots I NEED to do, the spring weather earlier this week made me want to freshen up things around the house. So last weekend, I decided I needed a new spring wreath for my door. Instead of going out and purchasing all kinds of new flowers, etc., I decided to try using some things that I already have on hand. I started by picking up sticks/twigs from the back yard. I broke them off into lengths of about 10" long. Here are some of the sticks after breaking them into similar sizes.And here is Emmi carrying off yet another stick to her secret stash in the grass.I gathered together bunches of sticks and bound them at each end with twine. I need 8 of these bundles.Then I began laying them out in an octagon shape and tied them together tightly with twine.I found a few odds and ends in my craft closet made a little trip to Michael's to purchase a few more things, and ended up with this:Of course, the last couple of days have been cold and rainy, so it really has felt like winter all over again, but I know spring flowers are on their way.

Room Re-Do

There have been lots of changes in the last month and many more to come, but one I've been pondering is a re-do of my office. I need to make a space where my brother will feel comfortable when he comes to visit---a space he can call his own.

Given that my house is not very big and doesn't have much extra space anywhere, this is definitely going to be a challenge! Jana and I have been brainstorming about different possibilities, and so far the best one seems to be to try to convert my current office space into a combination guest room/computer room. If you could see this office space right now, you would know that this is going to be no easy task! Mainly because of all the "junk" that gets stashed in here! So. . . . a complete overhaul is going to be in order.

I want the space to be one that he feels comfortable in and can retreat to while he's here visiting, to listen to music or watch a movie or whatever. But, most of the time, Dan won't be here, and I need functional space in which I can work on the computer, store my sewing stuff, etc.

I really like this bed from Pottery Barn
But, alas, it is way too expensive. So, Jana found this bed on the J.C.Penney website:
This is a much more affordable option and it comes in black which would look pretty good in there, I think. Then, looking at how that room is arranged, inspired me to try out this room arrangement on the Better Homes and Gardens website:
The measurements are a little "off", and I never could get the door and windows placed, but I could use most of the furniture that is in there currently with the exception of the bed. The space would be tight, but I think it might work. When Jana comes in a couple of weeks, we're going to move things around to see if it might work.

Of course, in the meantime, that's all that I can think about. I need to work on estate paperwork, pay bills and of course, finish thank you notes, but what I really want to do is to move some furniture and see what it looks like in here!

Contrast to Spring

And while I'm posting about Spring in Louisiana, my daughter Jana just posted this amazing mini-book she made with photos from last weekend's snow in Georgia. She did an amazing job on the book---can't wait to see it in real life.

Round Robin Photo Challenge--The Color Purple

The Color Purple.
There's a book about it, a movie about it and I hear little girls list it as their favorite color all the time. I even remember a time when Callie wanted purple pants, a purple shirt and purple socks as her "First Day Of School" outfit (fortunately, we were able to tone that down a bit). Yet, despite its royal fineness, there is not very much purple lurking around my house.

Here's what I found: my favorite hand lotion
some Mardi Gras beads left from the parade a few weeks ago and tiny wild violets growing in the grass.
I know that they are really just a weed, but they are so tiny and pretty. I just love them!

Has Spring Sprung?

Spring is here. Well, not officially, of course, but signs of spring are springing up everywhere.
Just a quick walk around the block with Emmi showed me that:
--robins have arrived--wildflowers are springing up in the grass--the quince is in bloom --the redbud trees are budding out in pink,--& just as the pear trees wear the fiery red in Fall, they are now showing off their Spring white--tiny green sprouts are bursting forth on the ends of branches (excuse the terrible photography)
--and that other green stuff is dangling from some branches . . . Yes, POLLEN!!Spring is definitely in the air!

After several days of feeling absolutely rotten, I finally made it to the doctor yesterday afternoon. I was so afraid that he would tell me that I had the flu--which would have made sense considering how awful I felt, but would have been frustrating since there would be nothing to give me to make it better. Fortunately, I have a really bad sinus infection! Hooray! (I guess) So I got a shot and left with antibiotics. It may be partly psychological, but I am feeling so much better today! I made it through an entire day at work and sat outside on the deck for a while enjoying a phone call from Jana and the warm weather.

Despite the gloom of winter and illness and the death of a parent, I'm reminded that spring still comes and life goes on.

Best Friend Therapy

The past 4-6 weeks have been a blur much of the time. Beginning with an emergency trip to the hospital to be with my dad who had a stroke, then endless days in the ICU waiting room and finally a Memorial service. I've tried to jump back into work, catching up on the stacks of meetings and paperwork that I'd put on the back burner. Now, in addition, there are endless tasks to get the estate in order and all of that is complicated by a step-family. So, when I decided that Saturday would be the best day to go down and visit my brother in his group home and take him out for lunch, I also thought that it was high time for some "best friend therapy". After school today, I'm headed down to spend the night with Valine---we're not doing anything really special, but the thought of eating out and then just laying around in a hotel room talking sounds wonderful to me. I cannot wait!