Giveaway: Coral & Lilac

Giveaway: Coral & Lilac  Liked her page on FB and following her on Instagram. Thanks for the giveaway!

Oh The Views!

I can't believe it's November! I've been so busy working. In mid-October we took a trip to see "The Kids" in Ft Knox, Kentucky. Where Daniel is stationed right now. If you follow me on Facebook you might have seen some pictures of a walk we took on the last day we were there. I loved the Fall colors and the views were amazing!

 

 

Here are just two of my favorite pictures. Look at the leaves on this tree! As much as I love the Fall Season I am ready to decorate for Christmas. We are hosting John's family again this year for Thanksgiving dinner. I have been toying with the idea  of decorating for Chirstmas before Thanksgiving something I've never done before. It just seems that as soon as I finish decorating
the house for Christmas it's time to put it all away. But, maybe I have waited a bit too long to make up my mind. I have some Christmas decorating/food ideas I'll share with you later. I hope you have a good week and that you got out to vote.

Church Book Club

 If you follow me on Facebook you might have read that I found a job! Well, the truth is I found two! I'm working for a Speech Therapist (a friend and ex co-worker opened her own Speech and Language private practice) as a clerical assistant/interpreter and also at a store in the mall. I'm not too sure how long I'll be able to keep this up but, I'm sure going to give it my best. It's nice getting out of the house and having a little cash to myself ;) Both jobs are part-time which is fine with me. They are keeping me busy! My schedule still lets me go to my book club at church. Super happy about that! There are only a few of us and we are looking for ways to recruit new members to our book club. I'm the youngest in the bunch and would really like more my age group. Anyway, we still have some great conversations about the books we read. We read this book last month and still haven't met to discuss it. It is a novel but well written in my opinion. It is the story of a shoemaker named Joseph while Jesus is alive. He talks of listening to Jesus' along with his apostles and even traveling with Him on occasion. Many events are recounted even Jesus' crucifixion. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a quick read and another view at biblical stories we all know and love.        

     

 

A Simple Act of Gratitude by John Kralik is another book we read in my church group. In this day of e-mail, texting and Facebook (I sound like an old lady don't I? LOL!) the art of writing a thank you note or a letter for that matter is almost a lost art. Have you ever read letters from soldiers and their loved ones during the Civil War? BEAUTIFUL!

 I still like to send them and receive them. I've kept several thank you cards that have meant a lot to me. This book tells of how the author at a very low point in his life challenges himself to send 365 thank you notes. He even sends a note to the young barista where he gets his morning coffee (for remembering his order) to his estranged sons. Sending these thank you notes change his life. The stories get a bit monotonous but, it does make you think of all the people in our lives we should give thanks to.        

 

The Red Tent is the first book we read this year. It is the story of Jacob and his sons taken from the book of Genesis. It is actually also a novel. This book gives us the women's view during that time. From what I've read about this book some facts are not accurate or can't be proven since not much is documented but, it does make for a very interesting and thought provoking read.   

 

 

So there you have a few selections to add to your reading list this Fall/Winter. Let me know if you read any of them and what you thought of them.

 

Fall Decorations 2012

I didn't buy much to add to my Fall decorations. I just used what I had from past years. That's not to say I won't go out and look for a good bargain at the end of the season ;) This is the mantle this year. I kept it rather simple with a garland with some berries, faux leaves  and pine cones the only thing I bought were the votive candles. This is the second set of candles since I enjoy lighting them in the evening with a fire going while watching television. 

 

 

 

We found this wire basket in an antique store in Wisconsin. I love the patina it has on it =)

 

 

My brother and his wife gave me this bowl last year for my birthday. I like it just the way it is no need to add anything to it.

 

 

I was about to take this corbel ( I think that's what you call this) down. It's been in the same spot for a while but I couldn't decide where else to put it so I added some colorful Fall leaves and the brown pail and pumpkin. oops! I forgot to add a candle in the holder.  On a little side note the ivy you see there was filler in my wedding bouquet <3 nbsp="nbsp" p="p">

 

 

I love this container because it is so easy to change out for the different seasons or my mood.

  

 

I found these white foam pumpkins last year at GW. They have a witch and a cat carved on the other side. I'm not to crazy about that side of them so I just added some raffia and placed them in this bucket.

 

 

I found this soup touraine along with the spoon for $10 at an antique store on our way home from Tennessee this Summer.

  

 

This is the side table in the Dinning room. I'd really like to find a larger sideboard for this area something with drawers for extra storage. Painted of course!

  

 

I leave you with a picture of my little fur-baby Farrah. I got her this little bed today. She had gotten sick on her last bed and I had just thrown it out. It's getting colder so she needed something to keep her nice and toasty at night.   

Summer Reading

I wish I had more time to read! I have a list of books that I keep adding titles to. I also have a stack of books by my desk that keeps growing. Although I love to have the actual book, I love the convenience of the Kindle.  My Hubby gave it to me for my birthday a couple of years ago. I think I've said this before but it's one of my favorite gifts from him =)  Anyway, I thougth I would share a couple of the books I've read this Summer. My Sister told me about this book. It's based on a true story of a WWII  prisoner of war. Louis Zamperini. The author also wrote Seabiscuit.
    

It has many old pictures of his life. I love looking at old photographs! I found a resent  interview of Mr Zamperini. I couldn't add it to this post so I added it below if you want to listen to this very inspirational man and what he learned about the power of forgiveness. I read this book on my Kindle.

Another book I just finished reading is My name is Memory by Ann Brashares I heard about this book from my blogger friend Chelsea of The Life We Love She said it was one of the best books she'd read in a while. John and I had gone out to dinner in downtown Naperville and went in to Barnes and Noble's. One of the few actual book stores still open close to us. I know, so sad. While looking around I saw the title and remembered hearing about it. It was actually in the bargain aisle so I got it for $7.00! Not bad for a hardcover book. 

            

This book is a love story and it reminded me a little bit of The Time Traveler's Wife. I won't tell you too much about it in case you decide to pick up a copy. It's about a falling in love and keeping it against all odds even time. I really enjoyed reading this book! I just started reading another book for my church book club. I can't remember the title right now but, I'll let you know what I thought of it and about our book club discussion. It's always nice to hear someone else opinion of a book. What have read so far this Summer? Do share would love to add to my list.       

Interview With Louis Zamperini

Kitchen Magnet Board

I like organization just like the next blogger gal. I try but it's not always easy to stay on top of the clutter especially the everyday junk mail, recepts and what not. So here is an easy and inexpensive project that helped me organize some of it.

I put this in one of our kitchen cabinet doors a couple of years ago when we got our stainless steal refrigerator. I wanted to keep the new refrigerator doors clean of magnets and clutter. I still wanted a place to keep receipts, recipes and some pictures on hand but not visible.

I found the thin metal sheet at Home Depot. I glued it on using Gorilla Glue. It measures 12x24. I think it is very convenient and it keeps my 'fridge and kitchen looking clutter free.

Have a good weekend!