tuesday's two things I love around my home...

I found this super cute blog of an acquaintance which has caused me some considerable Blogger's envy. Every Tuesday she has fellow bloggers "link up" (new blog feature for me - eek!) and share two things they they love or appreciate around their home. I thought this was kind of a nice idea so this is my first ever edition of Two things I love... around my home from Bacwoods Fern:

1. My little antique photo hangers. I think they are so sweet and a nice alternative to a picture frame. I found them at one of my favorite vintage shops called Punch. It is now moving to state street in Santa Barbara and I can't wait to go back and see what else I can find!

2. My lime green bath towels from Anthropologie. They're super soft and cozy and I love how colorful they are! I've considered painting my bathroom wall to help them pop, but that's quite an undertaking for towels... we'll see. 

What are your two favorite things? I linked up kind of last minute today, but feel free to play along or join in next week, link here. I think I'll try and join each week if I can!

Tidy Ribbons and Such...

Anyone who is a crafter knows about the amount of stuff you acquire in order to be well prepared for whatever inspiration or crafty conundrum may enter your day. Paper, embossing gun, yarn, ribbons galore, several types of glue, beads, stamps, glitter, fabric... just to name just a few. I recently attempted to downsize my numerous craft storage boxes and was immediately overwhelmed. So, I focused in on the area that seemed most chaotic: the tangled and severly intertwined, yet splendidly colorful, ribbons.  I hunted for a better form of containment and found a rectangular basket of my moms that wasn't really being used. Then I detangled, diligently, just like the good 'ol days when your yo-yo string got in a knot, times twenty... nine. My cat padded by pretending to be disinterested until it struck her that this was the best project ever and she became relentless in trying to participate. With little thanks to my cat, I ended up being quite pleased with the final result.

I had the brilliant idea of tying the smaller scraps of ribbon onto the handle of the basket to keep things somewhat orderly. Nice, right?

I got a little distracted after organizing the ribbon and my ever searching attention turned to color sorting the books on one shelf of my bookcase, yes, just one. I noticed of friend of mine had done this and I found it curious, so I thought I'd try it out. I've been undecided for about a week but I think I'm leaning towards... liking it! It looks orderly, wouldn't you say? My boyfriend pulls all his books out a bit so that the binds line up evenly, creating a smooth look. I think I'll try that next.

P.S. I got some little glow lights from IKEA. I think they give my room a romantic flair (wink).

The Spiders Strike: A too close encounter!!!

It seems the spiders are getting in the Halloween spirit. I had an extremely close encounter with one of those giant brown garden spiders two days ago that left me shrieking and doing the heebie jeebies dance in my driveway. I had walked into its web and its wriggling body touched my shoulder! Shudder, mega shudder!! I was sure a neighbor would run to my rescue once they heard my cries of disgust, but no, not even so much as a window curtain pulled back in curiosity. The spiders struck again tonight. The pile of clothes on my floor was getting to be sizeable, making my room look quite small, so I decided to do some tidying. I picked up a sweater from the pile and, Aaaaahhhh!!! A big, hairy thing with legs like licorice sticks was ready to pounce, guarding the pile of clothes as though it were his loot. This time I controlled myself and let out only a minor yelp and then took action. I scanned my surroundings and found my trusty black flats by my side so I acted quickly, with precision, like a seasoned warrior. I won't go into detail, but yes, the remains from the battle join the rest of my exhibition as evidence of a gruesome war yet to cease, and intruders need be wary.
Cute black flats can be used for more than just accessorizing...

An Address to Spiders and Creepy Crawlys Alike

I see you up there Spider, your thick, grotesque body perched in your web over my bed. You are still as though dormant, but I know your tricks! The moment my light clicks off you awaken and descend like air down your silky strand to burry yourself in my hair, nuzzle in my neck! Look around you Spider. Notice your neighbors smooshed to oblivion on your left and your right. Consider yourself warned! Return to the wilderness before you become a smear of goo and scattered legs. Don’t brand me a murderer; this is a line of defense, a line which you have crossed, in a battle that is fought daily. Retreat Spider! Retreat!!!

Exhibit A: Bug guts

The truth: I originally left the guts because just the act of squishing filled my capacity for gross-out and I could not bring myself to then wipe the guts off the wall. I justified my display of crusty bug guts as a warning to their descendants, but my line of defense is not working. Despite the changing seasons spiders still flock to my bedroom in packs and now the bug guts have become cemented to the wall, such that removing them means taking the paint off as well, so there they remain.

Exhibit B: More bug guts

Bedroom Ponderings...

I am sitting in my room. It looks like a closet. There is almost no path from one side of the room to the other. My suitcase from a family trip last weekend is overflowing with crumpled clothing. Some of the oddities among the rubble would be a shoe box full of flower hair clips from Fiesta, a lone flip flop sitting atop my dresser that I used to kill bugs, and- ooh! I just spotted a bag of dark chocolate kisses!
I intended to clean my room last weekend, and again on Monday; I considered it again on Tuesday and by Wednesday I just embraced it. I trasitioned from being stressed about the clutter to being comforted by the clutter. I am surrounded by my stuff. It's kinda cozy. Should I hang up that top? Nah, just throw it onto one of the piles! So easy! I figure I will have to tidy up this weekend. But in the meantime I'm loving the life of a slob.

This probably doesn't look so good being the only follow up to the previous post...

A Few of My Favorite Things

I feel it is important to make your surroundings a place you enjoy being. For me, the place I go to relax at home would be my bedroom. I love coming home from work to a room that I like and is pleasant. I achieved this by adding little details to things I already had, like adding pretty knobs to an old, dull dresser. Here are a few of my favorite little details:

I love these little photo hangers I found at a vintage boutique!

Whether cleaning or reading a book, I like to burn a sweet smelling candle to make the experience all the more enjoyable. My favorite is Santiago Huckleberry by Voluspa. And they come in pretty jars!

If you're like me then you probably have photos displayed on every wall, tucked into the corners of your mirror and frames. Pictures are very important to me but I also don't like a lot of clutter. So I took all the pictures around my room that lacked a proper home and made a photo collage above my sewing table. (That's my lovely sewing machine under its cover in the left corner.) The photo collage was inspired by a Pottery Barn catalogue (wink) and makes for something cheerful to look at while brainstorming sewing projects. Love it!

These are mercury glass votive holders. It's nice to have a little something shiny here or there.



A dear friend sent me a post card with this poem by Robert Creeley on it. Isn't it sweet?




And finally: Nothing beats a friendly companion.