Some words to live by

 

I’m a lover of words.  Always have been.  So when I see some quote or a saying that it new to me, I usually get excited because it’s one more thing to add to my arsenal.  When I saw this, it made me think of the work I do with my clients.  Many times, people think they have the biggest obstacle or hurdle in the world facing them.  It takes perspective and reflection to realize that often times, we are making mountains out of molehills.  So I came across this on a blog the other day.  Unfortunately I did not save the source.  When I googled it just now, it’s been around for years and I can’t figure out the original source.  I’m going to remember this one.  Here’s to an inspiring rest of the week.

Take care,

Christy

Health and happiness

This is long and tedious, so get something to drink and sit for a bit.

For the last four weeks, I've been in a daily battle. With my spine. I've never dealt with back pain before and used to believe that much of people's issues with their backs, well pain in general, was more about medicating themselves than real pain. I need to apologize. Much of my belief system stemmed from a brainwashing of sorts because when you work with addicts, sometimes, the goal laid out for you, by others, is to get addicts off their bums and admit that they had a drug problem...not a pain problem. That's for an entirely different post on another day.

Bottom line...

I have pain. I am suffering. It hurts and it is hard to deal with most days, most hours and minutes. There. I said it. Pain is one of those symptoms that manifests itself in 1,000 different ways. For me, it looked like irritability, loneliness, depression, hysteria (only one), hyperactivity (from steroids), jealously and an overall crappy disposition. I mostly took it out on myself. I hope. So why do I write about it?

Last week, I just learned that a friend, we'll call him G., has terminal cancer- pancreatic cancer. He's on his third go round and has decided he doesn't want any more of what modern medicine has to offer. His wishes include making it to and through the holidays of 2011. When I found this out, I was speechless. I was also in pain myself that day that we discussed this via email chat. I know, not the best way to communicate something like that. He's an old, old friend from another life and it would have been too messy to pick up the phone. Weird huh? Anyway, I felt like I could relate to his sentiment. After a while, doctors poke and prod at you and you've had enough.

So talking to G. helped put things in perspective. Pain is well, a huge pain. It's invisible to everyone but me. Nobody else can touch my back and feel the hot iron-like sensation that rushes down my leg with a pang so deep it could knock me to the ground. A stranger can't tell that if I don't smile back at them that day, I just had a dizzy moment from the steroids I have to take, for the second time this month. My boss can't hear the desperation in my voice at night when I pray for this pain to be taken away so that I may wake up in the morning with the full use of my legs. It's mind-numbing. But now I get it. I see why someone might want to start crunching on an opiate because they can't move themselves off the couch long enough to pee. Or why it might become an option to lay in bed for 2, no maybe 3 days, because the walls are closing in and the sun has yet to knock on my window pane this week.

My savior has been Larry and the kids, our animals. I am so grateful. He has transported me hundreds of miles, back and forth to another city for doctors, PAs and spine specialists to give me more drugs and shots in the ass. Who else would do this for me and still kiss me at night when I'm shaking with cold sweats from having a heating pad attached to me 24/7? Oh and I just swallowed another round of pain pills? Bless you guys.

The good news? Today a spine specialist (who I found quite charming) fixed me up with an injection at the site of my pain, the SI joint (also known as the sacroiliac - SI). He asked me to lay on the table with my back facing the sky. He returned with two large needles and some numbing spray? fluid. A prompt for, "this will be cold" rang in my ears and immediately I felt the freezing cold liquid on my spine and back. He added more to the site and said, "just in case". Just in case what? I wanted to ask, "Will it hurt?" and "how much?" but I had tolerated the injection in my ass the week before with flying colors. Why would this be any different. He told me, "I'm going to put.....". Wha? Huh? That's all I heard but I know he said more than that. The long prickly needle went at first stingily along through all layers of skin, fat, tissue, and muscle. Then deep. Deeper. "Wait", Doc said. "I need to get it in just the right spot. Doc left the room, I later realized for more numbing stuff. He said, "Don't move, you've got a needle sticking out of your back. Don't roll over ok?" Huh? Is he talking to me? Silence. I could hear my breath. I could hear...the ocean. I could hear my heart beating in my ears. Pounding, irregularly and strong. I might die here.

Doc came back in, sprayed more cold stuff on me and went to town with the needle. Oh my. Oh my God. It ground into my pain, pulverized it like a fist shattering a mirror on the wall. It hurt so deep down that my toes began to tingle, my head went numb and my entire body shook with a shuddering jolt. Hello, fight or flight response. I put my head down on my arms, now drenched with sweat and started to grind my teeth without any awareness to what had just happened. I wept for a brief moment. Wait, wait. I felt like weeping but didn't have the physical strength to cry.

Larry came up to the front of the table to rub my head and ease my pain. "You ok baby?", he questioned. Doc kept talking as if we were having lunch at the yacht club together, something about stretching and muscles. I couldn't hear or see anything. I was on the edge of a black out. I'd been here before and ended up at the infirmary at Florida State University with a needle in my arm. Doc said, "You aren't going to faint on me, are you? No, no. No no no. I wouldn't do that to YOU. Doc later told me it was my sympathetic nervous system keeping me going. Where's the sympathy in that? My fight or flight is still intact. Whew.

All in all, it was one crazy experience. When Doc went to help me off the table, I could stand. I could walk. I wanted to run down the hall and tell everyone that it would be okay. I would heal. They would heal. We would all recover. No surgery needed. No MRI needed. No more missed time from work. No more nights in pain while watching Jeff Lewis on Flipping Out and feeling like I wanted him to be my friend (and decorate my house). But I digress.

Thank you God. Tonight is the first night I can rate my pain as a 4 and feel okay about it.

We can only go up from here, baby.

Night.
Christy

Fall and autumn go together like a horse and carriage

What's the difference between fall and autumn? Etsy recently told me via their September merchandising report, that autumn is a more universal/worldly description of when summer ends and the weather turns cool. I like the way autumn sounds, but in Florida we don't get much of it no matter what ya call it.

In mid-August, my internal clock starts ticking and whispers, "gosh, it's been over 90 degrees for how many consecutive days now?" "Where's the fast whip of cool breeze when the sun lightens up its heavy-handed ways?" Maybe it's the Ohio blood in me? So in the olden days, I'd ask my Mom if we could go to the arts and crafts store- that was B.M.- before Michael's. Martha was the source of much of our inspiration. We made wrapping paper, a bird tree, and even desserts and dishes to usher in the season. Flash forward 25 years and nowadays I just start scouring my HOUSE for any semblance of cooler weather goodies/projects/DIY opportunities. Ha, they're probably all stashed away in the garage amongst boxes labeled "Christmas" and "lights/garlands". All of the cozy items I need, casually intermingled with my true holiday glitterati junk. So this year, in an effort to better clarify what autumn (or fall) means, I've decided to make/find/steal whatever it is that will bring about this missing feeling and display, display, display. And do it early.

A new(er) website called Pinterest, the latest black hole of the interweb, allows one to hunt and gather for suitable inspiration. You can literally "pin" any image in all of our great nation called web land, simply by clicking on the little =pin me= button once you have an account. What's that you say? Impossible? Nope. It's scary, addicting good. I can spend an inordinate amount of spare minutes, hours, even afternoons perusing other's pinned collections. Hard to resists. Alas, I must pull away. For I have been called to make some autumn cheer for other households far and wide. Good bye for now.

{Unplugging computer}

{Wait, unplug. Ok stop. Now it's shutting down.}

So eventually, I did pull away from the time suck that is Pinterest to make some woolly acorns. There. {Admiring accomplishment that is real and tangible in my hands.} This reminds me of autumn. It occurred to me that I should make some for myself, which I've never done.

So here are a few of my acorns that have been shipped off to homes here and there (more specifically Colorado, Michigan and California). Now back to pining..or pinning away for more autumn.

Come together, right now!

So it finally came together. Our little office. Larry and I both work from home in some capacity so having no office for the past 5 weeks was tough. There's still some tweaking to be done and Larry's side needs a little spit shine but hey, that's what I'm here for. It will get done. Gotta get going on the craft room next...



Curtains: West Elm
Desk: World Market, the Josephine
Paint: Polished Silver (Valspar) at Lowe's


Lamp: Home Goods
Seagrass baskets total of 5: Home Goods (for super duper good deals- no bin was more than $8)


Mini card catalog holder: World Market
Metal bin spray painted burnt orange: Home Goods - again on the cheap (less than $5)
DIYed file cabinet spray painted in Heirloom White (love this!) and silver spray paint on the pulls


My DIY wall art, frames from West Elm
Scrapbook paper from Joanne's(at $25 cents a page I got lots of metallics and matte cardstock in oranges, grays and silver)
Then I added tissue paper tape in cool script and butterflies to make it stand out and add more texture and pattern - me thinks they look better in person


Oh drat, you can't tell from the picture but this is the $30 Target bookshelf that will be going into the trash (or to some kind of shelter). It's as steady as a kindergartener getting on the school bus for the first time. It sways and if you breathe too hard, it will fall over. So this part was a disappointment. BUT we're working on refurbing a piece of my mom's that will be just "the thing" we need here.

The piece will hold some mementos, my laquer tray (West Elm) and other goodies. I bought a small succulent plant with little white pebbles, bright purple moss and charcoal with dirt all in a pretty glass jar. (Update: it arrived today from a great Etsy seller in Cali, called Wendiland, which will find a home perched on a stack of books.) See??!! Aww. I love.




My lovely DIY shelves :) Two pieces of wood, painted glossy white and trimmed in a funky pattern. These are so fun! My two baskets were $1.98 each at Joanne's and I coated them in gray spray paint. Then my little birdy candle from West Elm along with a few random odds and ends are place holders for now. I'm waiting for some magazine files to arrive via One King's Lane (have you seen their site yet? If not, get thee Googled...and visit stat. I got some white storage pieces for a steal! White sturdy magazine files for $11 a pair- yes please! Beat that Ikea!)


See the dark laminate floors? Ahhh, so pretty. I made a quick back pillow cover for my chair out of the orange and white polka dot pattern and popped it with a little strip of flowery fabric I had around the house.

Whatcha think? I love it. Gray, orange and white is my new fav. Still to do: a make shift bulletin board to go under my shelves here in the most fabulous sea creature pattern.


Remember this? Now what to do with it. Cover a large bulletin board? Cover a few cork squares and call it a day? These are the decisions that keep me up at night.


So I saved the best for last, Larry's corner. It's much more, eh, what you call utilitarian. Yes,that'll be fixed shortly we just had to put our artist/craft/designer/printer/work supplies somewhere!



Thanks for reading along!

Christy

A lot of work...

This DIY stuff ain't easy. I've already suffered some minor injuries as a result so it's taken me some time to post the progress we made in the office.

Here's a few shots..


Getting my act together and gathering my pieces.


The clean slate of the office floor.


Our first day (a Saturday) yielded little results. We just didn't have the hang of it yet.


Even the pups were hoping we'd give in and take them for a walk instead. So we called it a day and did just that.


Day two (Sunday) we had success right outta the gate...after I read the instructions..hah!


Two hours later and only a sliver left to go, I called it quits and let Larry finish the row.

Ahh sweet success. He finished up the closet the next week and it looks beautiful. It's called Click N Lock but I swear there was no clicking or locking going on at our house. It was hard manual labor, for which I was not made to do for more than an hour at a time.

More final pictures to come. We hung curtains, shelves and touched up paint this weekend. Well, I can't lie, Larry did all of it. I'm still injured.

What are you working on right now?

Have a great week ahead!
Christy

Before and after

So here's the before and after picture of my new desk chair! Even Toby thought it was ugly. I found this old-fashioned worn out granny chair for about $20 and turned it into a mod looking piece. I scoured the internet for just the right chair and they run $100 and up. No thanks! Just a quick spray paint in dark gray (Rustoleum Painter's Touch spray paint in London Gray for $4.00 a can) and a recovered seat in a fun polka dot print (by Birch Fabrics) is just the best friend that my white lacquer desk (see previous posts) needs. Now to find curtains and a rug...I digress.

Last night we painted the office walls in a crisp, neutral gray called Polished Silver by Valspar and I'll put pictures up soon. It's the perfect tone of gray- not too blue or green and definitely not drab! We tested a patch on the wall with the tired out periwinkle and it took on a weird shade. So Larry and I agreed that primer was definately in order. He also got a wild hair and decided to scrape our popcorn ceilings in the office only (for now). It was the messiest thing we've done, next to using a tile saw. Yikes! He managed to figure out how to resurface the ceiling without too much drama. Note to self: never buy a spray can of orange peel resurafacing for $15 at Lowes. It made a mess. I'll have to ask what he used in the end because the result is beautiful. No more nasty popcorn ceiling!!

So my vision for this space was a modern and sophisticated office that would be functional, inviting and beautiful. I've always shyed away from too modern because it tends to look cold and sparse. My color scheme is darker burnt orange/gray/silver/white. I've been hunting for weeks trying to find just the right pieces to bring in to tie everything together. Here's some fun finds that will not break the bank! West Elm has been one of my go too places as has Home Goods.


Birch Fabrics make really FUN prints..I used their polka dot fabric in orange and white (bought from Worthy Goods on Etsy: 1/2 yard for $8.50) to recover the old chair above. I love it. I still had a 1/4 of a yard left for a small fabric bin or something else.


Oceeania in Persimmon by Duralee spotted on draperyrow.com. I love, love, love this fabric almost too much to cut it. It gives me just the right amount of "sea life" with fish, an octopus (for Erica) and other creatures. I got this for under $37.00 a yard! This is normally up to $60 a yard and it is to the trade only. I'm going to frame a big piece of this (I think) or cover a few squares of plain cork to go above my desk as a cork board. I can't decide!


A pop of color from biscuit tins at West Elm. I got the small one for $9.00!


A silver lacquer tray, also from West Elm for $22.00.


A peek-a-boo tealight candle holder from West Elm in porcelain white for $8.00.

There is still much to be done and we're going to be laying the laminate floor this weekend. I hear it's much, much (much) easier than tile...here's what we chose: Swiftlock Laminate in Hickory Chestnut




After pics will be up soon. I can't wait to work and live in this new space. What have you been working on lately?

Christy

I heart spraypaint

Ah spray paint...the poor man's Benjamin Moore. The last time I used it to upcycle something was years ago. I turned a tired wicker chair from white to espresso. It did the trick! Then I turned it loose on another piece of furniture, with less success. These days, the spray paint colors and overall options are much improved.

In order to save mega bucks on furniture, I'm trying not to purchase anything brand new, unless absolutely necessary. Ok, ok, I dropped $150 at Home Goods the other day. But it was very much needed for the overall look of the new office. I'll post my finds from there later. Let's just say I got a gorgeous carved glass lamp for under $50! Pitter pat.

So here's a rundown of this week's projects....

Project #1:
Spraypaint an ugly wood two drawer file cabinet for under $8.00.
I used one and a half cans of Painter's Choice by Rustoleum in Heirloom White (a gorgeous color!). The hardware got a facelift in metallic spraypaint...love, love, love. It was so easy, the longest part is waiting for the coats to dry in between. They recommend two light coats vs. one heavy coat. I will probably use a top coat to seal it and impart some more sheen. Oh la la!

I have to give credit where credit is due. My newfound inspiration and creative juices owe much thanks Kate over at Centsational Girl. She has incredible design sense and does it all on a budget! Her ways with spray paint and wood glue have me looking around my house to see what I can paint next! See her wonderful blog here:

www.centsationalgirl.com


































Project #2:
Take a chair for $22 at a vintage/antique mall and paint it a chic gray.
In progress!










More to come!!

Office makeover..part 1

Larry and I are at it again. We got a wild hair this weekend and decided to start getting things moved in order to tile and paint (again). Here's the first item for the new office- a wonderfully lacqured white desk (the Josephine from World Market).



Then I decided to tackle one ugly wood filing cabinet (sorry Mom) which had some old school gold accents on it. Here's some during and after pics- I was excited to dig in, I forgot to take before pics! I used Heirloom White by Rustoleum spray paint and Krylon aluminum matte for the hardware.

On second thought, pics will be up soon. True Blood and dinner duty calls right now!!
Christy

Paper

Paper has always been a love of mine. Shiny, glossy, matte. Heavy, flimsy and smooth. I am a sucker for beautiful paper.

When I was very young, my grandmother bought me the most lovely writing paper with delicate pink flowers along the border. The coordinating envelopes felt heavy in my little hands. It has a little surprise when you opened it up, more of the heavenly pink flowers. Almost too pretty to write on, I kept it tied up in the dark blue box that I would later learn is almost like the jewelry equivalent of the little blue box. Crane's paper is where my love affair began over 20 years ago.

Now being 33 years young, I can't imagine buying a niece or little girl a big box of expensive writing papers as my grandmother had done so many years ago. Mostly because I wouldn't think the art of the written letter would appeal to a 10 year old. How had my Gram-Ethel (grandma's name) known that it would be one of my most memorable gifts? Not to mention, the last time I got a handwritten letter from someone under the age of 20 was....well. Never. Letter writting's centuries old history has died off with internet, cell phone and texting.

I tried to recall the last real letter I wrote. Not a card or a prefabricated note but a letter of correspondence, as Emily Post would call it. It's been a while.





Brainstorming can lead to great projects so when I came across the scrapbooking section of my local craft store and the pounds of beautiful paper called out to me, I knew where inspiration would take me. I've never scrapbooked a day in my life, unless you count keeping a journal as a girl and ripping out newspaper articles to tuck into the pages covering all things boys and soliloquies as to why life isn't fair.

Here are a few listings in my shop that feature what else but... Simple. Beautiful. Paper. Gift tags for all seasons. Take a look.





To see more click here: www.mesweet.etsy.com


Love,
Christy

Sunshine on my shoulders...makes me happy

John Denver could not have said it better. There is something magical about the mountains. The sky is bigger, the stars are brighter and I feel a deep sense of tranquility out West. The sun is loving, not harsh. The communities are rich with life and share a unique spirit of living- not just surviving. As cheesy as it sounds, I really had a Rocky Mountain high.

Larry and I just returned from a trip to Denver and that familiar `gosh I miss it` pang is already following me around. Of course we kept very busy and had the most enjoyable time with family. Although our schedule was full, there is a simplicity to life out West. People take the time to slow down and appreciate the beauty surrounding them. I love the local flavor. The Denverites love their fresh fruits and veggies, green living and like the French, they share a Joie de Vivre. One moment that stands out- Larry and I walked two blocks from Mom's house to a tiny corner store and grabbed a fantastic assortment of microbrews and then sauntered home hand in hand, just tickled with our good fortune. All the while, the locals driving and (mostly) biking or walking smile at you and greeted us with a warmth and kindness that I have never experienced. I call it the happiest place on Earth, next to Disney.

So forgive me for going on about my love affair with this lovely city. For I have also fallen in love with the surrounding areas. Boulder for it's liberal eccentricities, Golden for its fun-loving beauty and even the airport is stunning with grand white canopies which resemble airy tee pee like tents, all nestled amongst the Rockies. It is a little piece of heaven.

I can't forget to mention all of the other wonderful happenings- my new nephew's arrival being foremost in my mind! I'll post more about our meeting and time together. Until then, bluegrass tunes will be humming softly in the back of my mind.

xoxo,
Christy

Before you know it, Christmas will be here

Well it's true. I can't seem to find time to just sit still and breathe lately. The minutes, hours, days and months are flying by me like cars on JTB (you have to live in Jacksonville to get that reference). I received a calender for Christmas where you tear the page out each day and I find myself ripping out entire chunks of time. A day or two here. A week sometimes. There goes April. Ooh almost halfway through May. How can I make the time seem more real? More tangible?

Normally I mark my weeks by counting days until the weekend arrives. Doesn't everyone? Then when Friday night comes, I begin to scurry around the house, trying to accomplish tasks. These tasks are not small ones. They feel like overwhelming "we need to clean out the closets and donate all of our junk to the Humane Society" kind of tasks. I pounce into the project with gusto, only to find myself bowing out about halfway through Saturday morning. Then it sits until the next weekend. Back into the boxes and closet things go to sit another few months, a year and so on. Maybe chores and household obligations isn't the best way to mark time.

I wonder if I can mark the time by events. You know, the fun bits of life that don't feel like work? The first thing that comes to mind is visiting my brother in Denver over July 4th weekend. Ah yes. That will be here in no time. Then it occured to me that I'll see my family in Cincinnati in September. These feel like big events in my hum drum life. So why will it feel like a flash before the trips are here...and then gone. What can I really look forward to when it's here and then gone?

In graduate school, we learned about mindfulness and how you can live more in the present moment. I ought to dust my schoolbooks off in the overwhelming closet and see what happens. Have we lost the fine art of enjoying the moment? Do you find yourself waiting for that next "thing" in your life, only to miss out on the present?

I'd love to hear your thoughts. Just leave me a comment below.

Staying in the moment, for the moment.
Christy

Pizza at the Jones' residence

Pizza is probably one of our most-loved dishes. It's something we eat on a weekly basis around here. Whether we grab a pie at our local restaurant *Mellow Mushroom is a fav* or we make one at home, it's always fun to create! Lately, healthy pizzas made at home have replaced high fat meat-ladden ones. So here's a new recipe for you to try!

Last week Larry and I made our ever-evolving Shrimp Pesto Pizza. It has freshly made pesto (fresh basil, toasted walnuts, olive oil, parmesan, fresh lemon juice from half a lemon, salt and pepper to taste) as the base which we had leftover from the night before. We had used it for a springy and bright pasta sauce (yum). Then we use Sargento part-skim mozarella (it melts great), baby bella mushrooms, Mayport shrimp, red bell peppers, diced canned tomatoes (Cento brand is our favorite). Pile these on as the mood strikes you. Don't toss whole basil leaves on until the end of they will burn and taste bitter. The crust is whatever we find at our market that week. The thinner the better! After creating it to your satisfaction, put it in the oven on a pizza stone at 375 for 8 to 10 minutes.

It is beyond delish. When the individual elements melt together and the sum is always better than its parts!

Mangia!!

Peeps

A friend of mine from college asked me to create some peeps for Easter...so here I go. More pictures of completed peeps on the way in a rainbow of colors.

Have a great week!
Christy

Where does the time go?

I'm feeling rushed lately but that doesn't surprise me. Working too many hours, trying to eat healthfully, exercise, create and maintain a "fun" business on Etsy, making time for my relationship (with the best man on the planet) and taking care of four pets has me pooped. This week Larry and I are turning over a new leaf.

We promise to uphold the following:
No red meat
No fried foods
No fast food (drive through)
Exercise daily
Drink tons of water

So that's our commitment to ourselves and each other. We each want to drop a decent amount of weight, so we have to change some things around, right?

I'll post about some of our progress here..not obsessively but enough to keep myself accountable.

I'm typing this while standing up, with sore legs from squats last night and yoga the night before...half dressed trying to get ready for a day of work, coffee cup in hand.

So, how are you being healthier this year?

**Leave me a comment telling me and I'll enter you to win my new sunglass case on Etsy (valued at $13.50).** Random drawing will be on Monday March 28!!

Cute, eh?

After effects...

Our tranquil bedroom..in spring blue with tropical touches :) Larry is exhausted but we made it!

Next project...the bathroom...

Smiles all around

Thanks to Megan for posting it on her blog, I decided to borrow it. Her wonderful wordsmithing can be found here: lemotjusteandtea.blogspot.com

DIY

So the past 7 days have been all about Lowe's and how much money we can spend in a single transaction. Larry and I are almost living there at this point. We've made a best friend in Roy, who is always there (I mean he does not take a day off) to help answer questions about tile and how best to decorate the floor. You see, Roy is one of the most helpful employees on the planet and I love him. He is single-handedly getting us through this difficult time of DIYing.

So here's a before pic of our bedroom. Notice Larry ripped off the baseboards and I made sure to take a picture of the trashcan for the most chaotic "before" pics. I'll reveal the after pics soon. If we can only decide between a diamond pattern or a straight pattern for the tile. I believe Roy would pick diamond...for good reason. There is nothing straight about that man. :)

Featuring briskmamma on Etsy

Handmade Artist Forum Feature- briskmamma

This week I have the pleasure of featuring an artist, briskmamma from Croatia, who works with one of my favorite techniques----hand embroidery!


Her shop is full of wonderful items, from embroidered totes to little holiday gems and even photography. One of her many talents is her embroidery. Check out this lovely green flower tote. What detail, it's so sweet!





She also has handpainted art prints in her shop. Here's my fav. Perfect for Valentine's day, right?




Finally, what shop is complete without a tribute to animals? For me, this adorable cat and fish bone tote is just the solution for packing up library books and traveling in style.





Thanks for coming in and looking around. Be sure to check out her Etsy store at:
www.briskmamm.etsy.com

Cheers,
Christy