Category Archives: Weekend Wanderings

Weekend Wanderings

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Hello, Vixens!!!  How are all of you, especially those on the east coast with Winter Storm Jonas’ wrath behind-er, around you?  How did you spend your time snowed in?  Cuddling under a toasty blanket with you favorite book, person or pooch?  Or cooking big pots of stew and soup?  Or just catching up on sleep?  Whatever you did, I hope you and yours were safe and warm.

Peanuts snow day

Original Source:  Charles M. Schulz

Saturday brought us remnants of the storm and I reveled in the beauty of my first snow storm as a CT resident!!!  The snow did not start here until around noon and in total I think we received somewhere between 3-5 inches.  It was a little hard to tell for sure with the wind drifts.  Here is a picture I shared on Instagram about two hours in:

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I have trouble parting with my Christmas tree every year, especially when it still looks so healthy and green.  So instead of throwing it into the recyclable bin, I put it outside my front door after Little Christmas, or the Feast of the Epiphany.  It seemed to thrive despite the bitterly cold weather of late and the snow:

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I think I am going to use the shortening tin again next year to hold my tree.  I really like the way it looks.  I usually use a crock to hold it, but since this tin was bigger, I was able to get a larger tree.  What do you think?

As much as I should have spent my time inside unpacking my “Hoarders“-like apartment, I did the next two best things:  caught up on sleep and scoured the Internet for decorating inspiration.  I have a small wall in the bedroom part of my studio that I think would be perfect for a faux fireplace.  I got the inspiration from Kathleen at Faded Charm, who was kind enough to let me share two of her pictures with all of you:

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Courtesy of Faded Charm

Isn’t everything you see in the room simply stunning???  I really adore her style, especially how she strategically places pops of color amongst the neutral palette.  Look at the way she has displayed a chandelier on a stand:

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Courtesy of Faded Charm

I have a chandelier that I want to hang in my new apartment, but in case I cannot due to rule restrictions, I can do what Kathleen has done and add candles instead of bulbs for a gorgeous ambience.

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I just love the cut glass design on my chandelier:

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I also have a mirror that I hung over the fireplace mantel in my house.  I think it will be perfect for the faux fireplace project.  What do you think:

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So now starts the hunt for the perfect fireplace surround and mantel.  Maybe by the time I find it I will have room to use it if I can get passed my procrastinating ways.  If I don’t, the threat of a “Hoarders” episode is more real than imagined.  But then again, I would have a cleaning crew and a professional organizer to help me so it might be worth it!!!  Just kidding.  I am not really a hoarder, just an anti-proactive person who is a little lazy sometimes because daydreaming is soooo much fun!!!

Any tips for getting past my dreams and into action?

And how did you spend your weekend?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy digging!!!

 

Weekend Wanderings & Happy Birthday, Betty White!!!

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Hello, Vixens!!!  How are all of you doing?  Hope all is well.  How is it even possible that we are halfway through the first month of the year already???

I went to an estate sale on Saturday, but nothing really caught my eye or made my heart leap from joy.  So after I left there, I went exploring.  I ended up on a block named Lakeside for obvious reasons:  a lake is behind the houses on the block.

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Even driving to the estate sale the view was just so pretty.  I love to see water in the winter, especially when the sun is shining on it.  I see it as a reminder that some things are constant no matter what time of year it is.  I like that.

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You know how wood slice anythings are all the rage right now?  Well, take a look at this adorable little guy (or girl?) I came across.  Just too cute!!!

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Not far from the wood person, I saw a pretty little bird perched in a tree.  I guess he or she did not fly south for the winter.

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Please forgive the quality of the pictures, except the one of the bird.  They are all from my iPhone as my SLR camera is just refusing to work.  I am taking it in for an evaluation this week.  Fingers crossed that it is not completely dead.  I really do not need the expense of a new camera at the moment.

Sunday I spent trying to unpack since last month I got zero of that accomplished.  I previously mentioned that I had to move again at the end of last year.  Unbeknownst to me, the landlord of my last apartment had been trying to sell the place for over a year before he decided to rent it out.  Not long after I moved in, he received an offer and thanks to a legal glitch I knew nothing about, he was able to break our lease.  So I spent the month of November looking for a new place and moved on December 1st.

Because it all happened so fast, I completely forgot to take a picture of my new apartment before I moved in (sorry).  But I downsized from a roughly 750 square foot one bedroom place to a 400 square foot studio.  The one thing I learned from both living in my house and my last apartment is that I spend all my time in one room-my bedroom.  My TV is in there, and so is my laptop, my desk, etc.  So I sit at the desk to eat & watch TV, or lie in bed to use my laptop, read magazines or go through my mail.  And when I need to recharge my batteries, I curl up under the covers to read an old book or watch reruns of “The Golden Girls”.  On that note, happy 94th birthday to the sweetest, greatest friend any of us has ever had, Betty White!!!

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Source:  articlebio.com

So this time around when I went out to look for a new place to live, I realized I could save at least $200 per month if I rented a smaller place, not to mention my heating & cooling bills would be less, too.  Not too shabby.  Just think of all the vintage treasures I could buy with the money I save!!!  Even for a studio, my new place has a full kitchen (dishwasher included), a full bath, its own water heater and two big closets.  Here is how one of them looks right now:

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I know…..not pretty.  I am working on it.

So that was my weekend, Vixens.  How was yours?

Until next time, happy digging!!!

 

Weekend Wanderings

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Hello, Vixens!!!  Happy 2016!!!  As this is the first Monday following all the holiday craziness, life goes back to normal today with the help of a clean slate in front of us in the form of this brand new year.

With such big changes in my life last year-moving to a different state, getting a new job, two apartment moves (I moved again in December which I will explain more in a future post), a lot of things I loved to do took a back seat to make room for the inevitable adjustments new beginnings bring.  The biggest things I miss are the estate and garage sales.  I want to get back in the game soon and luckily I live in an area where they take place all year round.  Plus, after watching the latest installment of the Hallmark series “Garage Sale Mystery: Guilty Until Proven Innocent”  last night, I am more than ready to dig again!!!

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Source:  Pinterest & howtocleanthings.com

But let’s not call that a resolution because I do not make those anymore.  I did at one time but for my own self-esteem I gave them up.  I used to fall into the trap of becoming a whole new person overnight-one who worked out religiously, ate healthy at every meal, organized her place and saved every single dime she could.  Yes, that all or nothing approach served me well until I went back to work and forgot how much sugar and chocolate is required to help me function.  So before the first week of the new year was over, I failed multiple times.  Woo-hoo 😦

But since I am not a quitter, my resolution-rather, my new life approach-is to stay in the moment.  Yes, the grocery store may already have Valentine’s Day candy on the shelves, but I am not going to buy what I need for that holiday until I am ready.  I came across these displays as I was running some errands this weekend:

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I know February 14 is basically a month away, but I need a second to catch my breath.  It has been nothing but commercial candy pushing since just after Labor Day because of Halloween, and with Easter coming early this year (March 27) we should see the baskets and jelly beans on the shelves any second now.  But I am going to hold firm to enjoy where I am now without losing this moment for what is just around the corner.

So what did you do this weekend?  And do you make resolutions for the new year?

Until next time, fellow Vixens, happy digging!!!