Inspiration Board

Are you decorating a room but not sure what you want?  Or are you planning a wedding or party but aren't sure where to start?  Decisions can be so hard and your mind can feel stretched in so many directions...I know mine is.  There are so many colors, combinations, patterns, and ideas out there that sometimes I wonder how I can choose!

Sometimes it's easier to make an "inspiration board" that has a compilation of ideas and colors all in one spot.  If you already have an idea of what you want you can make one, or if you're like me and there's too many options, you can make a few and pick a favorite.  Any simple photo-editing program will work!  Simply find pictures online of things you like, save 'em, 'cut' them out, and 'paste' them to a blank slate. 

My sister is getting married in October and, as you might now, planning can be hectic.  "What color should this be?" and "If those are this color, then what color should this be?" and "What kind of flowers look good with those dresses and what color should they be?"...and on, and on, and on.  Well, to help her see everything in one place and what she liked, she made an inspiration board.  She found images online of things she liked in the colors she wanted and plopped them all together.  It's fun and full of inspiration! 

Don't have photo-editing software?  You can download Picasa by Google for free at http://www.picasa.google.com/.  Have fun putting all of your ideas in one, tangible place!  Your mind will thank you for it!

[Framed]

If there is one thing I'm awful at, it's finding cute, cheap frames and hanging them without putting a picture in them.  I guess it's mainly because one, I want to display the 'cuteness' right away, and two, it takes too much time to find a picture I like and then sometimes, depending on how large the frame, it costs a few bucks more than I'd like to spend to print it out.  Well, it drives Anthony crazy.  So, to appease my amazing husband, I found a way to fill my picture frames that costs a few cents per frame and is oh-so-pretty!

Calendars! You got it! I found these two at Michael's for $1 each! So I cut out some pictures I liked and...

... it's pretty for a few pennies!  The coolest thing is that there are calendars of almost everything out there...landscapes, flowers, babies, cats, dogs, beaches, and tons more so the selection is huge!

Other 'frame-fillers' you could use:
--leftover or cheap fabric
--pressed flowers and/or leaves (I framed leaves I picked up off the ground on our
   honeymoon in Italy)
--a bunch of photo booth pictures
--cool scrapbook paper
--newspaper or magazine clippings 
--your wedding invitations or other such memories
--free art from online websites like www.dafont.com or
   http://www.vintageprintable.com/
--of course, pictures you've taken 

Any more ideas?  I'd love to hear them or see what you've come up with!

Out With the Old, In With the New

Oh...plum pudding!  Let me explain.  About three months ago our dishwasher stopped draining and became a "drying rack" instead of a dish-cleaner.  

With just the two of us, we didn't really use it all that often anyway but just the fact that it was pooling water was a little annoying, especially since it's really not that old!  So, we've just tried to push back doling out moolah for a new one and have been washing dishes the good old-fashioned way - with our own two hands.  

So, to add to my plum puddin', yesterday I was making some chicken and rice with our stove, which is ancient and has probably been here since the house was built.  So, she's about 25 years old which in appliance years is, ummm...maybe 100? 

Well, the chicken is supposed to cook at 350 degrees for one hour and after the awful buzzer (which sounds like a dying bumblebee) went off, I noticed that the pre-heat light was still on.  The oven was warm but not the sweltering 350 degrees it should've been.  After my handy-dandy hubby looked at her and she still gave us problems, we knew she was in for.

The point of my story is that no longer can we pretend that an appliance (or two) works fine and "we don't really need it THAT bad...right"?  I could learn to become a chef-extraordinaire using only a counter-top microwave but I have a feeling we'd either starve to death or we'd shell out cash eating out more than eating our "microwave specialties".  On the bright side though (until we see numbers), we've decided we might as well splurge a little and replace all of our appliances since they're all pretty old.  That's what savings accounts are for anyway, right?  New appliances always snazzy up a kitchen too (I've got my eye on stainless-steel)!  We can sell our refrigerator, microwave, and range hood for a few bucks to help out since they still work...as of today that is.  Pray for us and our happy appliance hunting! 

 

T to the Matoes

We have two ripe tomatoes ready to be picked and one almost there...finally! 

Both plants have lots of little green tomatoes so it looks like buying tomatoes is no longer a care of the Tobin family!  I never knew it could be this easy!  I've gone from farmer's daughter watching corn grow to growing a potted garden of my own!  I might have to dabble in growing more fruits and veggies next year!  You can be sure I'll probably be asking for some ideas and tips!

Given For Us

This weekend we made a road trip up to Virginia to witness two of our great friends enter into life together through the Sacrament of Matrimony.  We filled the 28 hours of being in the car with conversations, music, and listening to talks on cd.  One particular talk by Fr. Larry Richards struck me and I just want to share it.  He was giving a talk during Holy Week and was talking about how Christ died for our sins.  I hear that all the time and you might too but this time was different.  Fr. Larry went through the Passion of Christ in a detailed way, from the thorns piercing His brow to the nails being pounded into His hands.  I thought of the movie "The Passion of Christ" while I was listening and realized that every time I've watched that movie, I've watched it like I'm watching a gory History Channel show.  It makes me sad to watch it but it seems I forget that what I'm seeing He did for me!  He was scourged with whips that had sharp pieces of sheep bone on them that literally ripped skin off of His body.  He had a crown of thorns placed on His head that broke through skin on his ears, forehead, eyebrows, and even His skull.  He was stripped of everything He had on, humiliated, and was made to carry a huge wooden cross while bleeding and in excruciating pain up the hill to Calvary.  Nails were pounded through His wrists and feet and He hung, suffocating on the cross.  What's more is that everytime we sin, we shout "Crucify Him".  Wow!  Just thinking about it again makes me hate every sin I've ever committed.  I imagine myself alone with Him on the hill of Calvary just staring up at his bruised and beaten body, staring into His eyes.  His pain is personal.  It was done for me and everyday I take that forgranted.  How many times in my life have failed to acknowledge Him? 

He paid for our sin with His life and opened up the gates of heaven for us.  But, we have to choose Him!  It's our choice by the way we live our lives whether we will enter into heaven or be miserable in hell for the rest of eternity.  Today's gospel said that 'the road to perdition is wide and many take it, but the road to heaven is narrow and few find it'.  It's not easy to get to heaven and no one has a free ride.  We are 'saved' but we have to choose to accept Christ's sacrifice and live our life accordingly.  My only desire is to live my life doing God's will so that I may one day be counted among His saints and that is my hope for you also.  May God bless your decisions and your journey.