Most Popular Posts of 2011

I started this blog three years ago the day after Christmas. Each year it takes on new topics as my interests and my life evolves. 

Every blogiversary I like to run a report in Google Analytics to find out the most popular posts for the past year.

Just as my wedding dominated my thoughts this past year, so too did it dominate my blog visitors'. The most viewed post of 2011 is a how-to for making luminaries from soup cans. I did this project for my wedding and am happy other people found inspiration for making their own.

 

The next most popular posts were also wedding-related, covering topics such as flowers, cake, and my honeymoon to Istanbul. Part of the fun of planning a wedding is searching online for ideas and pictures; I hope the brides that came across my blog during their search were able to find a little bit of help and inspiration for their own big day.

 With the wedding behind us, stay tuned for new topics and adventures in 2012. Thanks for viewing!

Winning Money for Buying Used Paper Lanterns

Best news I have received in a while...I won $100 for sharing my story about how I scored a bunch of cheap paper lanterns from Recycled Bride! 

Recycled Bride is an online wedding marketplace for searching and getting great deals on used and new items for ones wedding. It's kind of like the "Craigslist" of wedding items--no wonder I like it.

Winning stories and other comments can be viewed on Recycled Bride's blog here.  I included a photo our reception venue decorated with the lanterns. 

I knew my obsession with lanterns would pay off someday!

What To Do When You Can't Do Anything

Sometime this winter I have to have surgery on my toe. Even though the surgery itself will be quick and dirty, taking just under an hour, the recovery time is estimated to be months. 

As much as sitting under a blanket, watching episodes of Dawson's Creek while eating cupcakes for several months sounds great, it really loses its appeal when I'm forced into it. Even I have my limits.

I don't do well sitting still. I literally can't look around the house without thinking of something that needs to be done, getting up and doing it. Each day I have a checklist in my head of chores and projects and I can't imagine not being able to do them. Tommie can try to help, but dirty dishes and dog toys on the floor just don't bother him the way they bother me. I am a woman, and I am insane.

Before surgery I will clean and prepare as if I am going to be in a coma for six months. The next thing I need to do is come up with some really good ideas of projects I can work on while sitting still. Making a photobook/s of our recent trip to Turkey is one thing I already plan to do, but I need more ideas. Any one out there have suggestions? Sadly, there just are not enough episodes of Dawson to keep me entertained for months.

Showing My Age

For the majority of my life, I graciously accepted the fact that I was born an old lady: I make statements that are best suited for conversation in a retirement community; I text whole words instead of abbreviations (that is, if I even text at all); I forget my granny panties in the laundry room where my landlord embarrassingly finds them. These are idiosyncrasies I can handle, but the actual physical process of aging in my 20's is something I did not sign up for.

This time last year, I was busy getting one bad root canal after another on all my back bottom teeth, making it abundantly clear that I'm at least a quarter of the way to needing dentures. This year, I found out I have a calcium deposit on my toe bone that I need to have surgically removed. Now I'm staring at my current collection of cute flats and flip-flops--perfectly suitable for normal young adults--and debating what ugly orthopedic shoes to replace them with. The other day I had to use the cart in Target like a walker. I've seen 80-year-olds move faster than me. 

I'm afraid this is my life. The old lady in my soul is manifesting herself in the form of crappy bones and spider veins before I hit age 30, and that really gets my goat.

The Nice Thing About Paint

The nice thing about paint is that it's easy and inexpensive to repaint if you change your mind--good thing for a Libra who changes her mind a lot.

I bought this unfinished cupboard from Craigslist for something like $25. My first paint job was bright and bold. It didn't matter that it didn't match anything because I kept it in the front hallway to store canned foods.

Then I brought it into the living room during Christmas last year for extra surface space and it stayed inside. The red and turquoise tones were a bit rambunctious for our living room and the small wooden knobs on the cabinets bugged me.

So, I decided to repaint the interior face a more subdued tan and sage green. When painting furniture, Behr's 8 FL OZ sample jars are a good route to go; costing less than $3.00, they provide plenty of paint for the job and you can choose any Behr paint color.

The green came out lighter than I wanted, but it's growing on me especially with the new brass knobs in place. My color snob husband isn't a fan of the three-color scheme, so I'm entertaining the thought of replacing the light tan with the light green, making it only two colors. After all, it's just a little paint.