MY HAPPY PLACE

Do you have that place in your house that is just your favorite space to be in?  This is mine.  It's my craft room/record listening room/tv watching room/reading room. The huge windows let a ton of light in and overlook the backyard.  It's my happy place.

The first thing we did when we moved in was paint this room a nice calm bluey/turquois color.  It immediately made the room feel fresh and inviting. I wanted the room to feel like a 1950s Florida bungalow, so I could pretend I'm next to the ocean even though I'm in the Midwest.  We covered an old couch with a neutral khaki slip cover, and my mom made a cover for the ottoman that has a coral design on a peach background.

The desk was the find of the century.  It's actually the second desk I've had in this space.  The first desk was a little kid's desk that had been painted a soft pink color.  It was cute, but didn't give me the space I needed.  I was going to make it work, but when we went back to the same antique store a few weeks later, we found this desk.  It was so perfect!  I mean it looks like it has bamboo edging, and the knobs look like coconut halves.  It was as if it had been made for my beachy room.  The drawers are offer a lot of storage,  but as you can see, I still have supplies stacked all around it.  At first I didn't want to cover this window at all, but I love how I can sit and craft here now and look outside at the same time.

This typewriter is one of my favorite possessions.  On our first anniversary, Wade took me to a huge antique store downtown and said I could pick out anything I want.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  Grabbing anything I could get my hands on that looked cool.  I wasn't sure how I was going to decide what to get when I saw this beauty.  I immediately knew that this was the item I wanted to commemorate our first year of wedded bliss.  It was only $30 and still worked!  I love the dark green paint that is chipping on the edges, and the stickers that the previous owner put on the case.  Sometimes I wonder about all the stories that were written on this typewriter by its past owners.  

My desk is usually not this clean.  Normally it's got fabric and ribbon strewn about.  

I just put up this shelf a few months ago.  I was debating putting too much on the walls, but I really love the fun addition this has become.  I found the shelf at Target on sale for $7.  I really love the contrast of the blue walls with the dark green.  Kind of tones things down a bit.  I added the bulletin board before the shelf to pin craft ideas and things that I wanted to make sure I kept.  It's become a nice way to store pictures and things I would normally put in a drawer and probably never see again.

Next to my desk is a bookcase that houses all my most favorite books.  I'm an avid reader and really love collecting first editions of my favorite books.  My sister got me a first edition of my favorite Ernest Hemingway book "For Whom the Bell Tolls" for my birthday a few years ago.  It's in the #1 spot.  As an added bonus, if you open the little doors on the bottom, there's a TV there:)

I found this old traveling case at a thrift store a few years ago.  I use it to bring my crafts along on car trips and to craft fairs.  

I found this old radio at a thrift store and was surprised that it actually worked when I brought it home.  When I bought it, I didn't think it worked, so I had lofty ideas to tear out the guts of it and replace them with an ipod jack to make this into a cool ipod jukebox.  But now I know it works, I don't have the heart to change it.  It takes a long time to warm up, but it just amazes me how that old technology still works today.  Minus the TV, this is my throwback room, I guess, since I have an old radio and record player.  Oh, and you can play that conch shell on the table there.  That's the sweetest music of all:)

 I love taking pictures with my Hipstamatic app, but never know what to do with the prints.  I thought this was a cute way to store some of them.  They're contained, but out so that people can peruse them at their leisure.  It's also easy to switch them out when I get a new batch.  (See my photo tree DIY for other ways to share your Hipstamtic/Instagram prints.)  

The blue marlin on the wall in the corner was a present from Wade that I found on our doorstep the morning of our housewarming party.  The only thing better would be if I had caught that fish myself.

This may be my favorite corner of the room.  My record player sits on an old table that was my great grandmother's below an old map of the West Indies.  

Whew!  That was a lot of pictures.  Thanks for sharing my happy place! I'm off to Chicago, so have a great weekend everyone!!

THIS HANDMADE GIVEAWAY

I'm so honored to be doing a giveaway on The Mermaid Chronicles!  Devon is absolutely the best, and one of the nicest ladies I've had the pleasure of befriending through blogging.  Her blog has been a longtime favorite of mine, and I love following her adventures in surfing and writing.  Check her out and there's still a few days to sign up for a handmade necklace and bracelet made by yours truly.  http://themermaidchronicles.blogspot.com/2013/06/this-too-handmade-giveaway.html

Have a great day!

A RAINBOW THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY

Last weekend, my little niece turned 1!  My sister-in-law threw the cutest rainbow-themed birthday party to celebrate her big day.  I loved all the colors, and they turned their backyard into a kid's dream with a giant water slide.  I know my brother was eyeing that slide and wondering if he was too big to go down it.  Why don't they make slides like these for the big kids?  They probably do, but I bet it would cost a lot more to fill the pool at the bottom of the slide.  While the weather didn't exactly cooperate, everyone had a fantastic time.

Happy birthday to the sweetest little 1 year old around.  You get cuter and cuter every day.  Thanks for the fun party!

A LITTLE REMINDER...

Between panicking that I didn't have any cool crafts to post today and realizing that I had yet again worn to work a skirt that had a stain on it, the above thought ran through my head.  Well, not the awesome part.  That I threw in there, because I don't think any of us hear that enough, and I do think anyone who takes the time to read my blog is awesome.  But the "Everything you are doing is enough" piece did run through my head.  I had so many grand plans of all I wanted to accomplish tonight--work on my craft fair stuff, create a cool, never-before- thought-of craft to post on the blog, redo my "about me" tagline yet again.  Then I just thought, "Man, I'm tired."

While I'll get to everything at some point, I have to remind myself that what I'm doing right now is enough.  It's enough that I'm posting this little tidbit even though it doesn't include earth shattering revelations.  It's enough that I may just go for a walk and watch some TV tonight instead of doing anything else.  I can't do everything, but what I am doing--cracking away at things little by little--is enough.

You are all doing enough, too.  So take some time out for yourself tonight and just enjoy being the awesome people you are:)

DAD'S DAY

Out of all my dad’s great qualities, in times of celebration I’d have to say that the fact he is so low maintenance would be close to the top of the list.  Just go see the new Superman movie and he’s a happy camper.  More importantly, though, is the fact that my dad is just the best.  He is always there for me and makes sure that I always know I’m loved.  He’s my Superman.  We had a great time on Sunday celebrating the amazing father he is.

My brother and his family even dressed the part!  Outstanding!

Is that Clark Kent or Superman?

It was also Father's Day for my brother who has 2 adorable kiddos.  He is just the most amazing dad.  I love watching him with my niece and nephew.  He brings so much light and fun to everything.  He certainly is making their childhood magical.

I love my brother--even if he is way tanner than me:)

And I have to throw in this picture.  How cute is she?!!

dress made by my mom and matching headband made by me