The Kings Speech, Jane Austen Book Club & Weekends!

I started reading this book yesterday.  Its pretty good!  It reminds me how much I LOVE Jane Austen - and how I think I want to read all her books in the course of this year.  Yes, I know I've read P&P before, lots, but it's been prob 5 years or more since I've read it all the way through.  I've never read Emma or S&S all the way, but I have started them before and something always came up that I didn't finish them.  Plus there is Persuasion and Northanger Abbey too - so maybe one a month until they are all done!  I need to find a big "complete works" of hers, since she is one of my favorites. I'll review this book when I am done...so far its ok - but I cant judge it just yet!

Last night Dave & I went to see The Kings Speech.  I LOVED it.  I love movies set in England, first of all.  Maybe because my mothers side of the family lived there (some still live there, actually) and it's in my blood - but I just love England and learning about the history of the royal fam (who doesnt, really?!) and all the proper, respectful ways and most of all the way they talk!  This movie was awesome.  Awesome cast, Colin Firth was so amazing - what a great actor (Well, those of us who are P&P lovers already know that!)  I highly recommend it to those who have that spark of interest as I do.  Some others my find it a snoozer if they arent into that kinda movie.  But man oh man, if it didnt went Best Movie I'd be calling someone up - it was lovely!

This weekend is busy busy.  I'm trying to make the most out of my weekends now that I work full time during the week.  I love love love my job, I love being a school counselor, even if it's while someone else is out for a while.  I also loved being a housewife, so it's nice knowing that in a few months I can do that again.  Then we have to figure out what we want next...jobs, babies, jobs, babies....both...who knows?  Today I am helping mom at the house, still lots to do there, and later I'm going to see a musical at HCC with Ashley and my mother-in-law.  Guess what it is?  Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!!  I was in that show in high school, I've been singing the songs all morning.  Ah...high school drama memories, some of the best times I've had!  I'm also practicing my bride & groom cake pops later on tonight or tomorrow, there are TWO showers I've been commissioned for - since we are trying to (slowly) do this even business.    I'll post pictures of them - I hope they turn out cute!  Plus I am trying to finish a house project I started Thursday night for our dining room...hoping to get that done too. And read two books.  Man, I better get started!

Have a great weekend!

2000 views!?!?

I looked at my pageviews today and WHOA, I've had 2000 views!!  Don't worry, I turned off the counter that counts my computer - since I probably go on my blog 50 times a day to get to other blogs:)  I love that people are reading about my BLAND life (hahaha...you know, because our last name is Bland...ahhhhh funny!)  Sorry.  Anyways, I hope that what you read here is good and inspiring somewhat?  I love reading and sharing about books, like a blogged book club or something, and I love being crafty and decorating and being able to share all that.  Thanks for reading - whoever you are!!

Now, I need to get my followers up;)  Hint hint!  You know, if you have any GOOGLE or GMAIL account, you can follow me!

Oh man, it's already March 3 and I havent even STARTED one of my 10 for March.  YIKES.  I'm still reading Dave Ramsey, but I may start one of the other books too so that I can get a start on the month.  The Library called and one book that I requested is there.  Plus I'm getting on amazon right now and ordering the rest.  I'll post this weekend my final 10 for March.  I promise I'm going to TRY so hard to finish 10 books while working full time and being exhausted every night.  I promise!!! :)

Night!

Welcome home, shelf!

Happy Hump Day!

FINALLY!!!  We got the shelf from IKEA that I wanted so badly.  It wasn't too $$, got it for $129.  I love it!!  It = more storage space, and I like that!  Our dining room is "NYC" as you may know from the house tour , so we keep thinking up ways to "NYC" it more.  I liked the idea of the shelf (over a huge pic, because do have a huge pic right across the room in "London" - it'd be too much BIG art!) because in NYC its all about using the space you have - in those tiny apartments where everything has to flow AND work...this shelf helps us use the space more.  Especially because all our mail and cookbooks were piling up here:

We are moving this white shelf down in the craft room (and Frodo's ugly kitty condo) and replacing it with a much sleeker, nicer "launching" pad set of furniture.  I love what Young House Love has going on in their hallway with their entry table, we want to copy it, you can see a pic of that here.  We like the clean look of this entry ensemble, as well as the little cubes that can be used as extra seating if need be.  I know I know, we have that huge red couch (Clifford) but sometimes we do need the extra seating if we have enough people over (Ravens games, Christmas parties, etc).  Anyways, we want to do something like this for that space.  But on to the shelf...gotta love that IKEA...

 Here is Dave, putting it together - don't worry, I helped too.

 This is a pic of it all put together and me starting to fill it up!!  We can tuck away all our mail in those little cubes, and also art/homework supplies in another, and my coupon stuff and flyers in yet another, we lots of space still for pictures and other decor.

 See my Home Management Binder and my Recipe Binder, tucked into their new home? 

 And I love that I have lots of space for cookbooks too, I have a lot and now I can get even more!

 We are still playing around with what-goes-where and somethings here won't live here permanently, I need to find more NYC-ish things, maybe some art, etc to go on here.  I don't want it to look too cluttered, but I want the use of the space to make sense for us too.  Its going to be all about finding the balance:)

It tones down that red wall too.  The pic sitting on top may not stay there.  I have a project brewing for the top of this shelf, something to add more "oomph" to the space and put more color into the room - its so black and red right now and I want some accent colors going on in here!  Hint: the project involves Modge Podge - good times!!

So that's my shelf that I've been dreaming of for months now, finally sitting in my NYC dining room.  Life is good:)

It's a new month!!!

Well, March has rolled in - and with it comes the task of picking 10 new books!  As I predicted, I did NOT finish Dave Ramsey by midnight last night, not even close!  But hey, I started it.  I'm not going to call it failure, though, because I really believe in taking my time with these kinds of books.  I'll finish it hopefully sometime this week. 

Meanwhile, I'll be starting in on my March 10.  So far, here is what I am reading:

Jane Austin Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love author)
a soft place to land by Susan Rebecca White
Maybe this time by Jennifer Crusie

That is 5 so far.  I'm looking for another 5 - I have a good idea of some that I want, but the library didn't have them all yet so I had a to request a few - others they don't even carry yet or at all so I'll have to order.  One is a WWII survivors story that sounds interesting...another sewing how-to book (I had a good time, I want to sew something again!) and some others that will throw some variety into that list.   I love to READ!!

I've been exhausted from work so trying to keep up with the blog is hard, but I'm doing it!  I promise I'll post pics of our new shelf sometime this week, I love it!

How to Bake a Perfect Life, an apron, and Book 10!

Whoa it's been a busy busy weekend!  Where to start?  Lets see, I finished Book 9 which was How to Bake a Perfect  Life by Barbara O'Neal.  I loved this book!!  First of all, you'll want to bake tons and tons of bread while reading this...I really wanted to, but I was so swamped this weekend with stuff to do - I just couldn't fit it in.  But I will get to it, I need to bake so badly after reading this!  It's about a 40-year old woman (a baker) whose very-pregnant-daughter has to fly to Germany to see her wounded soldier hubby, leaving the main character with her 13-year-old stepdaughter.  The girl was living on her own, in a homeless neighborhood after her bio mom was arrested for drugs.  The book is all about the main characters life and background, with a splash of the 13-year-old and the pregnant daughter's lives as well.  Its really good.  I give it a 4 out of 5.  It has love and laughter and baking and heartache...its a good time, I promise!

Then, after finished that I retreated to my new craft room to make an apron out of Book 8, the Martha Stewart book.  Here is it all finished, with a wonderful model, known has my husband;)

 Isn't he cute;)  LOL.  I thought it would be much more entertaining if he modeled it.  I was right.  Thanks babe!

 I made this all by myself!  I love it!  Technically it's for Ashley, but I think we'll share it.  She picked the colors which are pretty sweet together, if you ask me!  I made it by the step by step directions in the Martha book.  I gave this book a 4, since it was easy to read and came with patterns!

 I made these strappy straps! 

This took me about 2.5 hours from start to finish, including printing the pattern, cutting it out, cutting the fabric and sewing & ironing.  Good times!  Not bad for my first sewing project in a while, right?

So that brings me to Book 10 which is Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.  I am going to be brutally honest here, I don't think I'll FINISH this book by tomorrow night. I'll start it for sure, but it's not a book I want to speed through just to beat my deadline...I figure since it's month with 28 days, I can afford to go over a day or too.  I'm not going to beat myself up about it, I'm still reading 10 books! 

I can't wait to pick out my March 10!!  I can't believe it's time to pick 10 new books already!?!?  Where is the year going?

Stay tuned for pics of our new shelf in the dining room, and some IRISH decor, and a project brewing for this week.  I have to go and get ready for WORK tomorrow!  I have a job!  Yay:)

Night