Saturday, March 31, 2012

You know I'm A Hardcore Blogger When...

...I can find a way to get on the internet while dealing with a HUGE, MEGA NASTY VIRUS! I  mean so huge that I can not see any files on my computer! My computer shuts down in the middle of doing something....I pretty much want to cry for hours!

But here I am in Safe Mode with Networking trying to find answers and download spyware software that I can 'see'...

So for those of you waiting for me to reply to your emails or put up your pretty Ads in my sidebar (of course, this happened at the end of the month!), it may just be a bit longer then usual. Also, my shop will be temporarily closed as well, until further notice. I have left it open for viewing but any orders placed will not be processed right away.

I may also have to face the fact that I am in need of new and updated computer. So I will leave you with this question while I cry over months of photos and hard work that I may never see again....

Mac or PC?
Lish

Friday, March 30, 2012

Frivolous Friday's #11

Welcome to Frivolous Friday's!!!

For anyone wondering what Frivolous Friday's is all about...well...it's about you! Starting on the last Friday of every month you can come and link up your photography posts that center around how you 'treat yourself. I want you to Capture the Moment, you know, the one moment that you get all to yourself! I'd love for you to share with us what you love to do...walks on the beach? A simple cup of coffee? Shopping? Did you buy yourself something new? A haircut? Do you read? A favourite outfit?

Get creative and take a photo (self portraits are welcome), then grab a button below, write a post and link away and inspire us to take some time out of our day!!

I actually spent quite a bit of time with me, myself and I this month. Between a day out shopping with a friend, reading the book I got for my birthday, painting my toes (thanks to the nice weather we enjoyed!) and just plain ole' taking photos of all the springy things outside! 

What did you so this month?
Frivolous Friday's

Did you wear some ridiculously sexy heels like Melanie? Kudos to her for wearing these on her date night!!


Grab a featured button Melanie!


Frivolous Friday's


Ok, your turn..what did you do this month for your 'me' time?

Some guidelines:
I'd love it if you followed me, but it's no biggie if you don't want to.
Please link up Photography related posts only, showing off how you spend your 'me' time.
Please link back to this blog post with button or link.
Take a second and view some other link ups, leave a little comment love!









Lish

Thursday, March 29, 2012

The Barrel Bead Knot Tutorial with Maria @ PinkCamelia!

The Barrel Bead Knot is one of my favorite knots. It looks great when made with leather or other thick cords. I like to use it as a bead for a rustic, organic look.

The Barrel Bead Knot Tutorial

Make a loop with your cord and lay one end on top of the other.

Carefully wrap the cord around towards you two or three times.

Take the end of the cord that you have been wrapping and insert it thru all of your loops towards the other end.

Now pull on both ends to tighten your knot.
Tada! You have just made a Barrel Bead Knot!

Friendship bracelet using The Barrel Bead Knot.

Thanks so much for sharing Maria..this looks so easy and it turns out so well!! I can't wait to try it!!

Check out Maria's shop PinkCamelia for more fabulous items! AND she will also be giving away a Barrel Bead Knot Friendship bracelet in next months giveaway (a super duper BIG giveaway!)
Lish

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Pinteresting Postponed

Just popping in real quick to say that the How Pinteresting Linky is postponed this week...cranky kids and blogging do not go hand in hand. Ha!

Stay tuned for it next week though-new name and new day!
(Cause in my small clued out world I had no idea that the How Pinteresting name was already used...it was never my intention to copy-sorry!)

Loves on a Thursday!

Imprintalish

Happy Wednesday!
Lish





Randomness & Where I am Now


I feel as though my posts have been scattered and neglected lately. I know I announced a couple weeks back that I was cutting back to fully appreciate the simple things and figure out what was missing and as much as I have loved having all of the fabulous ladies guest posting lately...I've missed writing. Actually writing. I got to spend some time chatting with a new friend on Skype yesterday and it was really nice.There really isn't anyone I could just say 'hey, bring your kids over and let's have coffee and chat' or even someone local that I could talk about blogging with, to run ideas by and get inspiration from and vice versa. Most of my really close friends live far enough away that we can't just pop over and say hi. One of my biggest things growing up was that I always wanted that 'Friends' connection when I 'grew up', like having your best buddies live next door and they just drop in before breakfast or on their way home from work. Where we all hung out at the same coffee shop. Where everyone knows your name...( I know that you just sang that aloud!!!)

Which brings me back to my blog. This is where I get that feeling. Like by writing and getting your comments and feedback, I'm getting that 'friend connection.' So, basically, without writing, I wasn't getting my fix. LOL!


I've been doing a lot of soul searching this past month. Wondering what I should be doing. Where I fit in? Who I want to be? It wasn't the mom or wife part of my life that I was questioning...that part is great. It was the creative part, the 'me' part of it.

While I did realize discover a few things about myself, like...

I am a perfectionist in some areas and in others I could care less.
I'm also really hard on myself for not being able to do it all.
I function better when I've had a shower and a coffee.
I am a instant gratification person-if it takes longer then a hour to accomplish something, then I'm done. Frustrated and so on to the next thing, LOL!
I hate waiting for other people and would much rather do it myself.


The one answer I was looking for was the answer to what I wanted to be...when I grew up...

Once I turned down the opportunity I had of returning to work Full Time in a similar position that I had when Westyn was born, my mind started into overdrive of how things were going to be once my maternity leave ended (in two weeks-eek!). Financially we would be ok, not great, but ok. But I was at a loss as to what I wanted to do. Because if financially things were ok, then why couldn't I do something I really loved? But what? I asked myself this day in and day out. To some of you this would be easy. But for me, I love doing lots of things! Painting, photography, blogging, graphic design, making 'stuff'...and that's where the problem began. I couldn't focus on one thing. I was overwhelming myself with inspiration, projects, blogging and then with our kitchen reno in full swing, I was on overdrive! I think somewhere along the lines I burnt myself out.


Why am I in such a rush to figure life out? To have all the answers?

So I took a step back and clicked the shut down button on my computer. That first 'unplugged' weekend was great, I felt rejuvenated. I also realized that those little moments I enjoyed with my computer off were flashing by me on a daily basis. Not to mention that things I could actually get done in an hour with the computer off! I got my camera out and started taking photos of the simple things. I started playing on the floor with my kids without saying 'just a second' and going for walks (it definitely helped that the weather was really warm here for a few weeks!) I kinda let go of all the questions I had about myself and where I was going and what I wanted to do.


And you know what. The world didn't come to an end. No one cared that I didn't know exactly what I wanted to be or exactly where I had to go. In fact, I think I was happier not even worrying about it. It wasn't totally out of my mind, but it wasn't my priority either.  Maybe I'm not meant to get my answers now. And maybe I'm not ready to fully believe that I can't have them yet either...I have no idea... It's like the saying 'life happens when your waiting for something else'...or something along those lines.

In my first post of 2012 I stated that I wanted a more balanced life. That and a more Simple life. It only took me until the end of March to actually make steps towards that, haha.  So, ya..I don't have answers yet. I don't know what I want to do. I know that I have to stop being the over compulsive control freak that I can sometimes be.  And I know that I like to blog. And eat chocolate. And I know that if only I could get ahold of myself to laugh when in the middle of being frustrated, everything would be ok. And that I love my kids. And my husband-I know he's pretty cool too. I also know that I am a photoshopaholic...


Maybe this is all I am supposed to know right now.



and then, she {snapped}





Lish

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Spring with Digger @ Digging Deeper

Hi again! I've missed you all! :) For those who don't know me, my name is Digger and I blog over at 
Digging Deeper Into Mommyhood, Design and… Everything Else

I am soo excited to be guesting here for Lish today! Isn't she pretty much pure awesome?! Yeah, I think so too! 
So today, I was asked to talk about Spring/March… Ummm… yes please! 



I Love March!! It's by far, my favorite month. It's the beginning of Springtime and I know that all of my favorite things will be coming soon. The world will be beautiful again and the dark drab of winter is finally over! 
Oh March, I wait all year to see your sweet name posted at the top of my calendar. You are the beginning of Spring and the first glimpse of warmer weather, blooming flowers, and leaves on trees. Winter seems so dismal and then like the fantastic rising sun, you slowly appear and bring forth your warmth and glory.
I love to go for walks, I can just get lost and appreciate the first promises of Spring. It completely renews me to watch everything start to bloom. Between dead grass and empty, bare trees that are only bones left from Winter, the tiniest bright blooms and leaves are starting to sprout. The breeze is cool and the sun is warm, and soon enough, everything will be alive again.




As February slowly fades into a distant memory, so do the dreary, lazy thoughts of winter. March. Your very name demands that we stand up and pay attention. "Get up! Do something!" you scream. Even the earth is feeling better and begins to tilt it's shoulders toward the sun.


Yes!!! I agree! Go away winter and helloooo spring! Thanks so much Digger, this is fabulous!! Beautiful spring photography too!


Lish

Home Management Binder


 Want to see how I'm keeping track of the daily grind and living a simple more organized life?
Come over and see me at Baxtron {Life}.
Lish


Monday, March 26, 2012

Kitchen Reveal!!!!

I can't even believe that we have finally finished the kitchen! What's been months in the making (we started planing this in August!) and months in Reno (January to March) and then this last month we've been putting the finishing details in...

Although I can say the kitchen is done, the playroom/sunroom is not, for those that have been following along, it was our surprise part of the reno, and not a nice one.

But that aside we've finally made it and I've been dying to show you! First let's take a look at the before...




Ok, one last look at the before....

Tada!!! Do you love it as much as I do?!

Not only do we have standard height cabinets, but we also have standard depth cabinets and a wider work surface, pot drawers and a built in dishwasher! We've gained more cabinet space too by moving the dishwasher over beside the sink.

The microwave is up off the counter and our floors are to die for!!! For those of you that are wondering which floor we went with...we went with #1-the total opposite of what everyone liked...LOL! In the end Mike choose the final one, cause he said he had no say in the kitchen at all :)

I love our big sink, we went from a double to an XL single and it is perfect! And our tap no longer drips!
Oh, and check out the glass tile...LOVE!!! Originally I wanted either a turquoise or white subway tile...but we fell in love with this 1x2 slate colored one, I know..total opposite!

I also love my light fixture that I made! For the full tutorial go{here}. Unfortunately, it is still the only fixture in the kitchen. We do plan on adding a ceiling light, but I can't stand the thought of ripping holes in the ceiling now that it is 'finished.'

I love my Vintage Tins too-thanks mom! For our counter top we went with a standard laminate. Durable, and easy on the wallet.

The biggest change to our kitchen though was to the side the dishwasher used to be on. We went with  shallow depth cabinets here, which left lots of room to walk around each other in our very long galley style kitchen. We also left the upper part empty so that I could add some creative touches and pops of color!


I bought this old shutter at a flea market a couple summers ago and it has been sitting in the garage till now. I've had this end result in mind for so long and have now been able to actually use it! It was a dirty old white color and now it is a distressed turquoise. LOVE IT!

My curtains totally kick butt too...I got the material from Tonic Living and it was the inspiration for the whole room. 

I saw an idea like this on Pinterest, where they used spoons on the wall as little nesting spots for trinkets. I just flipped it around and it became a hook for our hand towel. I have plans to add some more spoons as decorative elements, but all in good time!

I love how wide open the space is now, two people can walk around each other without having to squeeze by and there is so much counter space!!

All in all, yep I pretty much love it...

But was it worth living in chaos for two months? Worth the amounts of drywall dust I had to clean off everything? The ridiculous amounts of emails back and forth between our kitchen installer over things that were incorrect? The fights between Mike and I over finishing details? The amount of time spent trying to juggle our kids and getting things done?

MMM...ya...but let's just say we will not be doing another LARGE Reno anytime soon!

Linking up :
Visit thecsiproject.com

Lish
This Post was Sponsored By PinkCamelia-Casual Jewelry

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