My $12 mirror.

Did I ever show you my $12 mirror I got at Goodwill? I found this months ago. It's in perfect condition. Wasn't sure what I was going to do with it - so for now, it's stuck on the mantel.



I've tried scooting it to one side, only to scoot it back to the middle. Like my bottle collection? I have a glass fetish. It used to be colored glass, now it's clear glass. I got all of these (& more) at Goodwill. I like their uniqueness. :)


I will be so glad to rid this country, heavy, wood mantel! Blah. I prefer, you know, simple.

I think this week calls for another Goodwill run. On 1/2 off day. Ü

Moments.

Goodwill goodies.

Wednesday the kids & I headed to Goodwill - our first trip on 1/2 off day. Oh. Good. Lord! We pulled up, an hour after they opened, & the parking lot was full. Typically, there's only a few people there when we go so needless to say, I was flabbergasted. Through the windows we could see the store cram-packed. We decided to give it a shot, so in we went!

I got all of the above for $34. I chalk that up to a very successful trip! I'll break it down -

Tall candlestick - $5.95 - $3.00
Awesome hanging candle lantern - $4.95 - $ 2.50
2 silver net office supply (or whatever) baskets - $.95 @ - $1.00 for both
2 mason jars - $.95 @ - $1.00 for both
2 dainty white cups - $.75 @ - $.75 for both
12 shirts - $2.99 @ - $17.94 for all
1 shirt - $1.99 - $1.00
2 articles of clothing - $4.19 - $4.00
1 puzzle - $.25

Those are rounded, but I paid, tax included, $34 for everything. A lot of the $1.99 clothing included:


New hot pink swim cover, like new Hilfiger shirt (white w/ white bling spelling Hilfiger), new Cowboys' jersey (which sell new in stores for about $25!), new Reebok shirt (with tags), new pink/black lounge pants. The brand name clothing is just unbelievable. All of the shopping carts were taken, so we had to carry all of this around. I think next time, if I return on 1/2 off day, I'll go as soon as they open. :)

In other news, we have finally made the decision to move! We've talked about it so many times & have never taken the plunge. This week, both of our a/c units went out, at the same time! It's 105 degrees outside - blah! Hubby got the upstairs working (while he has a ruptured achilles tendon & is in a huge boot!), but he didn't have the same luck with the downstairs unit. It was so hot in here I thought I was going to die! Thankfully, our tech guy was able to make it out the following day & low & behold, he only charged us $50 for the repair! We couldn't believe it. What a blessing! This house just continues to have so many issues, we just are burned out & don't want to do it any longer. Six years is long enough. It's time to move on! We need to wrap up some things first before we listing, but I'm going ahead & selling more furniture to rid big items we don't want/need any more (so we'll have less to move) & we're tossing junk. We're also going to start boxing up things we don't use consistently. It's going to be hard enough to make a move with four young children, so I'm determined to get a head start. Though my desire is to move to a smaller district/town, we've decided to stay in the town we're in. We're in a great booming town, super location, relatively close to hubby's work but most of all,we like it here.

I'm so excited & I hope & pray we can sell this house - houses in our neighborhood were selling, but suddenly the market in our area has come to a stand still. All we can do is try. This time, we'll be selling it ourselves. Wish us luck!

Happy Saturday! :)

Cherish the simple.

It took quite some time, but I have finally realized less is more. With the exception of makeup & hair. ;o) The more one has, the more one has to clean. The more one has, the more clutter & unkept a room looks. I'm selling some large pieces of furniture & I'm trying to sort through house decor. Less is more. Less is tidy. Less is clean. Less is sophisticated.



My kitchen table, which has always been a catch-all for unopened mail, school papers, sticky notes, blah, blah, blah, is gone. I'm opening mail now as it comes in, placing bills/appropriate papers where they belong, & trashing/recycling the rest. Pardon me, but the kitchen table should be used for, oh I don't know, kitchening. Made that word up meself. :) Meals. Peace. Love. So now, my kitchen table looks like this! ♥



Crazy? Maybe. But I'm at a stage in my life which I adore & I cherish the simple. ♥

Baby Bentley.

He was about 1 1/2 here, I believe. He had just fallen off the table! It was horrible. You can see a tiny red mark by his right temple. He was fine. Told ya he's got tons of curly hair! ♥

My heart skipped a beat.

My kids love to paint.


They get quiet. They concentrate. They focus. It's almost as if painting takes them to a serene, peaceful place. Typically, we just paint on paper. A few weeks ago, though, I found these little canvas sheets. Different sizes, different thickness. I wasn't sure if I even had the proper paints, but I grabbed some canvases anyway. Gosh I'm so glad I did. Opening up the canvases was like discovering Christmas.

(Had to blur Bent's school name on his shirt.)





I'm not the type of mom who displays her children's art/work around the house. I might keep a few pieces & if I do, I usually put their artwork in their room. Not sure why that is - I guess I've never really thought about it.

But for whatever reason, when they finished these particular canvas paintings - it's the weirdest thing - it's as if my heart skipped a beat. And trust me, the below photo does not do the paintings justice. (It looks like there's some sort of film on my lens - maybe I can get a better photo later.) I gasped as I looked at their finished pieces.

(In order: Bentley, Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes.)

They are bright, they are vibrant & they are beautiful! Maybe it's the fact that they so enjoyed painting them or maybe it's the fact that they were so determined to make a beautiful art piece. Maybe it's the simple fact that I captured on canvas what represents them at their current, individual ages. I don't know. What I do know is that, for the first time ever, I'm framing these pretties & hanging them on my living room wall. I love them. And I want to love them for a long, long time. Honestly? I'm thinking my house will soon be covered in personal canvas paintings created by my talented little people. Can't wait! ♥

And this is why I'm changing the name of my blog. Life, to me anyway, is about the simple things. It doesn't take money. It doesn't take elaborate. It doesn't fame. It takes the simple & that's what makes life, life. For all of us, it's right under our nose. We all have it. Live inspired & adore the simple! Join me.

Goodwill goodies.

Scored lots of goodies this trip:

Basket for dog toys (I shouldn't have paid this much) - $5.95
Little white creamer for my white dish cabinet - $.50
Mason jar - $.95
6 shirts @ 2.99 each - $17.94
Like new jeans - $4.19
Like new Dockers dress shirt - $ -0- (Just noticed, I think she forgot to charge me...?)
Snap lid glass jar (no clue the technical term for these) - $2.95
Snap lid glass jar - $3.95
Home decor cross ("If You have FAITH nothing shall be Impossible For YOU. Matthew 17:20") - $1.95

And these I call my I'll buy them if you let me look toys:

Dragon - $1.95
Pinball machine - $1.95

Total: $45, tax included.

Every Wednesday is 1/2 off day. I haven't made it on a Wednesday yet. Even though our Goodwills are very busy, I'm going to attempt to go & see what I can get! I'm thinking the earlier I get there, the better. Ü

The runaway jetski & back to blogging.

This is hubby & Audi on July 4th. Before Audi almost died. Or so he thought. Our little 3 year old daredevil (Mercedes) & hubby were fixing to embark (again) on a jetski ride. They were still located right next to the dock, right next to Audi & his Uncle, when suddenly, our little daredevil decided she would turn the jetski on herself, while holding the throttle wide open! It's a wonder hubby didn't fall off the back, as they weren't ready to take off yet. (Well, obviously she was. ;o) Audi then begins screaming bloody murder. Hubby's brother grabbed him & I went running, panicking, "we've got to get him out of the water, we've got to get him out!!!" Hubby's brother, however, kept him in the water, holding him in a cradle position, calming him down & checking his legs. Come to find out, the jetski did hit him, it actually hit Uncle too, but Audi took the brunt of it. He's fine. More than anything, we think having the strong 'power wash' like water force directly in his face scared the dickens out of him. It wasn't until hubby returned to the dock, dove off the jetski to see if Audi was injured & I was giving him the 3rd degree, did we find out Miss Mercedes was the guilty party. Girl scares me.

Got a good Goodwill run in today! I'll post soon. My plan is to get back to blogging regularly. I really enjoy it & I miss it. Ü