sugar with a flourish

I finally got my closet organized today. I'm not used to sharing a closet with the hubs. I booted him into the guest room in our last house. But for the moment we only have one bedroom, which means one closet. I have a ton of clothing. Seriously. I had to purchase 150 hangers. I started out with 40, thinking that would surely be enough. HAHAHA. I am such an idiot. Then I had to buy extra shelves to put on the floor so I could fold the rest of my clothes on them. In my defense, I currently only have one drawer in the dresser and it's underwear and socks. But today I got my shelves put together (took me forever to find the right ones!!) and I got the rest of my clothes settled in. I'm rather proud of my closet organization skills. I done good.

TJ is laying next to me in bed reading. He's got a lot of tattoos. I was looking at them and he goes, "You can lick them. They're flavored." I rolled my eyes and punched him instead. He actually used to tell girls that his tattoos were flavored. Some of them believed him. I can just picture the ones who did...*shudder*. I told him I was writing that in my blog. He said he'd deny everything. Like that's gonna do him any good.

I'm on a bracelet kick. I just got the most gorgeous one EVER from my good friend Keirsten over at Lune Designs. Check this baby out...

How awesome is that?? The picture barely does it justice. It's incredible. I get so many compliments. And because she is so very wonderful and knows how much I love earrings, she included a matching set for me! LOVE HER! Plus it makes this awesome clinky sound when I move. I walk around twisting my wrist back and forth to make it clink. Anyway, just excited about that and wanted to send some love Keirsten's way. She has some gorgeous stuff over in her shop (Etsy and Artfire) so go check her out!

Anyway, tonight's Spoonful word is flourish. I'm excited about this word because I've been having trouble thinking of good words. Probably because my brain is fried with packing, moving, unpacking, and organizing thoughts. We're leaving for Nashville and Ohio on Thursday, so there's going to be more packing. Oh boy, oh boy. Just what I want to do. Again. Here are the picks:

Flourish from Ara 133 Photography, Green Flourish Magnetic Display Board from Sentimental Stones, Flourish Medallion Throw Pillow from Asmus Home Interiors, and Ginger Spice Sugarcude Body Scrub from Flourish Bath & Body.

Again with the tree prints. I can't help it. They call to me. This is just beautiful. The little pink flowers are awesome. This shop is a must-see! There are some incredible photographs. So much variety and color. I adore almost all of them. That's rare because usually I find one or two prints in a shop that I like, but this one is awesome. Such an eye for pictures.

I love this little magnet board. Green is one of my favorite colors and the design on the board is so classy and elegant. It would be awesome set up on a plate stand in your kitchen. A cute little place to keep reminders and photos.

I love pillows. I think that's been established. I probably need to branch out, but this is the kind of stuff that catches my eye. That blue is the color of my living room. I can't wait to have all my furniture back so I can decorate! The colors are awesome together and the pattern is noticeable, but not too busy.

Bath products. I'm so predictable. But how yummy do these little bath scrub cubes look?? I could eat them. I had so much trouble deciding which one to use for my Spoonful. The colors are so awesome. There are some unique scents too, so be sure to check it out.

Okey dokey...I need to go to sleep so I can start getting up at a decent hour. TJ is twitching violently in bed beside me. It's hysterical. I don't know how he gets any sleep. I'd wake up every time. I'm going to turn on our new 32" LCD HD TV :) It was our present to ourselves since our other bedroom TV passed on not too long ago. I don't do a TV-less bedroom. I adore it.

Oh and real quick, I learned how to drive a stick shift tonight!! I knew how logically, but I've never been good at the execution part. So tonight we were on our way home from dinner with friends and I said, "Pull over, I want to learn to drive your car." So he did. TJ is a very patient teacher and it didn't take me too long to get the hang of it. I even drove the rest of the way home! I was very proud of myself. I only killed it once :)

Ok, off to bed! Sleep tight!

xoxo

and the sugar comes full circle..

Gosh but Gmail is helpful. I still get the "be happier" ads, but those have since lost their appeal. However, I was checking my email earlier and I have a new one that is not only highly entertaining, it's rather enticing too. For reasons unclear to me, Gmail has picked up on my pyromaniacal tendencies. I have been offered the opportunity to get a degree in "Fire Science". What I want to know is why this wasn't available when I was in college. Forget my Master's...I'm starting fresh with "Fire Science". (Yes, I do realize that this is a degree for firefighters and the like, but pyromania is so much more fun. Besides, I'd learn everything I'd need to be an accomplished arsonist anyway.)

My blog has probably just been flagged by Homeland Security for writing that. I imagine next time I go to the airport I'll have quite an experience. They'll see my ID, think my name sounds familiar, check their watch list, and take me to the back room for a chat. And a cavity search. Golly, something to look forward to.

Speaking of watch lists, I got the phone call from CVS this morning; automated voice saying my scrips were ready. They called at 7:30am. I'm thinking that was totally on purpose. I know the automated voice didn't call anyone else at 7:30am. Anyway, I then got a call later in the day from a real live person to tell me that they had tried to refill some of them and they realized my refills were gone. Which I knew. I have the new scrips, I just haven't taken them in. I was wondering if they'd catch it. I was quite impressed when they did. The whole "we don't know anything about any prescriptions ever in the whole world" act was getting a tid bit tired. Glad they're changing it up. Keeping it fresh. Gotta keep me on my toes. Doing their jobs all the sudden; what a strategy. I certainly didn't see it coming.

Anyway, if you you remember, I talked about some good news that I got. I needed some time to get things figured out and just hold onto it for awhile. But now I'm just happy and excited and I want to tell people. So here it goes...my husband and I are going to work things out! He called me last week to say he missed me and he wanted to do whatever it took to fix our marriage! So I said yes. That's all I ever wanted from the beginning. It was a shitty, sucky, horrible, painful, awful 6 months, but now that everything turned out right in the end, the path I took to get here seems irrelevant. We both had a lot of time to reflect and learn things about ourselves. I know I've learned lessons that I will never, ever forget. I think we'll be a lot better for it. When it comes down to it, if either one of us wanted to be somewhere else, it would have been simple. All the hard things - telling our families and friends, divorce papers, etc. - were already taken care of. We both know what it's like to think you've truly and completely lost each other, and I know that neither of us will take it for granted again.

So, now I'm starting on a new journey. A happy, rebuilding journey. Believe me when I say that there will still be plenty of angry, sarcastic, entertaining posts. That's just who I am :) I told my husband that he might not want to read my blog because it said not nice things about him. He said my next post should be entitled "an apology to my wonderful husband". Ha! As if. I told him not to hold his breath. He called me a hooker and I called him an ass. God it's good to be back. I actually missed him calling me names. I guess I should put that in context since no one knows a whole lot about the good parts of our relationship. That's what we do. It's done with much laughter and love. Disturbing? Maybe. But I wouldn't trade it for the world.

You know what's really disturbing though? Calling him by his name. Cuh-reepy. Unless I'm talking about him, I never use his name. I call him B. His name doesn't have a 'b' anywhere in it, and it's a long story as to how we got to that point so I won't bore you. But I just never use his name. He doesn't use mine either. Even when he's talking about me to someone he usually calls me Chelly. One of the things he did to really get under my skin during the dark times (that's what we decided to call the past 6 months or so) was to call me Michelle. It was the worst. My name was a punishment.

I'm not sure what the point of all that was. Maybe cause I'm stupid giddy happy. I realize that that could be quite a scary thing for all of you. I think I had a point though...

I just took a shower and I'm all shiny clean and ready to do my Spoonful now. My word for tonight is "circle". I'm at a point in my life where I feel like things have kind of come full circle, and I guess it symbolizes a new start. Whatever the reason, that was the word that stuck in my head. So circle it is.

You know the drill...Matchbook Notepads from The Card Stall, Abstract Fancy Tree from Else Studio, Recycled Wool Pillow from Bonjour Teaspoon, and Antique Silver Circle Drop Earrings from Simply Betty.

How adorable are those notepads??? I am obsessed with notepads, especially sticky notes. But notepads in general. I'm forever needing something to write on and I never have anything in my purse. Which is shocking because of all the other crap I have in there. I usually end up writing things on the back of receipts and losing both my receipt and my note. Ugh. Paper gets all bendy and ripped in the bottom of my purse, so I stopped carrying it. But not these neato things. They have a little matchbook case to protect your precious paper.

I know what you're thinking...more trees. I can't help it! Trees apparently speak to me or something. I just looooove the colors in this one though! How darling would it be in a little girl's room? It's a happy tree. Like the "Giving Tree", but that story always kind of made me really sad. That little kid was a jerk. But I digress...

Gray is one of my favorite colors (what does that say about me, K?) and green is right up there too. I love the simplicity of the pillow. It would add the perfect touch to a room that already has a lot going on or it would draw the eye in a room that doesn't have much going on. A win-win, really.

And earrings. We all know how I feel about earrings. I am a little hurt that my polite request for all Etsy sellers to cease and desist earring selling until I got my obsession under control was ignored...But I have this thing for the earrings with the chains dangling like that. They're gorgeous and sexy! And these are certainly no exception. They caught my eye right away.

Anyway, I need to catch a little nap. Husband calls really early in the morning. Stupid time difference. He tells me not to wait up, but seriously. I missed 6 months of this shit. No way I'm taking my Ambien and then being all coked up and loopy when he calls.

Have a good night all!

xoxo

p.s. I think I'm going to get a BlackBerry in the next few days...if I do I'll totally have Internet access when I go to Kansas. Depending on how you feel about me, that could be good or bad :) Anyway, how much fun would that be??? I've always coveted those stupid BlackBerry's. Now I get a pink one! It's nice to have cash flow again!

catch some sweetness in a jar

Well, trouble found me. I knew it would. Didn't take nearly as long as I expected either. Although my sister and Ben were sick last night, I took one for the team and went out with a friend. We went to see his friend's band play and then to two different people's houses. When I went to bed, the sun was completely up. Lordy, Lordy. Someone please remind me that I am too old for this. I've done all this crap already and it almost killed me the first time around. I had an awesome time though and I didn't drink so much that I feel like ass today. So, overall it was a success.

Luckily I don't have to be grown up or responsible quite yet. I'm pretty sure that will put a direct stop to all my wildness. Haha. Oh well. Enjoy it while it lasts, huh?

My dog is currently laying across the pillows at the top of my sister's bed. Lins is too nice to move her. If I was sick like that, I'd be pushing her furry little rear over. Instead Lins is just wandering around the apartment finding things to do until my princess dog feels like moving. I hope she's not holding her breath.

Anyway, my Spoonful word tonight was "firefly". I don't know why. Other than the summertime always makes me remember catching fireflies at my grandma's house. And I like fireflies cause they're pretty. There aren't any in Texas. This upsets me. So tonight I have brought fireflies to the Lone Star State.

The line-up: Tree of Fireflies from zMac Photography, Mini Firefly Lantern from April Hiler Designs, Sterling Silver Firefly Bookmark from Ysabelle Sol Art & Jewelry Designs, and Firefly from Bean Tree Designs.

I apparently have this thing with tree art. Those are the ones I'm drawn to. Isn't it cool though? All the lights in the branches? Yeah. I thought so. I thought that little lantern was darling too. It's supposed to be for a flower girl to carry at a wedding. I'd just hang it up somewhere since I will never, ever be party to another wedding in my life :)

I love my Amazon Kindle, but I really like bookmarks too. And this little firefly bookmark is awesome. But I have nowhere to put it. Good thing that doesn't make a bit of difference when I'm picking out stuff for my Spoonful!

I've noticed that I always have jewelry in my collections. This just highlights my sick obsession. But you know how they say you should love yourself for who you are? I'm just gonna go with it. But I love the colors and the dangle beads. I have a thing with dangle beads too. I have lots of things. That sounds awkward...

I'm going to bed now. I feel like I've taken my Ambien even though I haven't. In case you were wondering, that's a rather scary phenomenon. Since I'm not allowed to be on the Internet after I take my Ambien, I should probably go now before it gets really ugly. Jers is still snoring away on my sister's pillow. Imagine that.

xoxo

candied trees

You know what the most important part of tiling is? Besides the tile, I mean. It's the grout. It pulls the piece together and gives it a finished, cohesive look. Without grout, it looks like you just glued a bunch of tile on something.

You know my my least favorite part of tiling is? Grouting. It's such a job! Put it on. Squish it into every crack. Smooth it out and make sure there are no gaps. Let it dry just long enough before you get out a sponge and scrub the crap out of it. Scrub until your arm wants to fall off. Then scrub some more. Then wipe the edges of the tiles to make sure you have even, straight grout lines. Repeat as necessary.

I grouted all day today. My right arm is shaking. I'm exhausted. I was wearing a tank top today and I looked in the mirror and my right arm is actually visibly bigger than my left. It's actually a nice arm. All tone and defined. My armpit roll has even disappeared. My left arm looks the same as it always did. *sigh* I'm going to have to start lifting weights with just my left arm. Sadness.

I've tried to grout and scrub with my left hand, but I'm really bad at it. I'm far from ambidextrous. I'd be curious to know how many calories I burn when I'm grouting. I did 6 things today. It took me 7 hours. I have to grout them all a second time tomorrow. Yay. Something to look forward to.

Today's Spoonful of Sugar comes from By Apryl. She makes really cool wire things. My favorites are the trees! They're really cool. It kinda reminds me of something that my gma used to have. A throwback :)

This isn't my birthstone. Mine is garnet, but I liked these so much better. They were more summery too. I also like the candle rings. Check out all her stuff!

I have to ice my arm now. Gotta be primed for "Grouting: Round Two" tomorrow.