Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Something that caused me to pause....

"I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--which is:

Try to please everybody."

Herbert Bayard Swope
 
 
Can I just tell you... this may be one of the hardest lessons in life. 
I try to please everyone and in return I just make myself crazy
 
With this new found inspiration,
I am going to focus on doing my best
 and trust that will be good enough!
 

Monday, August 23, 2010

I am on my way back!!

With two days left of summer vacation and a long break from blogging...I am ready to dip my toes back into the water.  I hope your ready too!  See you soon!
Love
Janet

Monday, April 5, 2010

To: The FCC and Our Government!

Keep your paws off the internet!

Bloggers UNITE..........let the FCC know that you are free to share your thoughts and emotions the way they were intended to be read....unincumbered by censorship.

For more information....

http://americansforprosperity.org/stop-the-internet-takeover

http://www.nointernettakeover.com/


Yes, I have been out of the loop but this one really gets my goat.  I will be back one day when I get it all together.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Janet

Monday, February 15, 2010

It's those little things....

...that get you right in the heart.



The sweetest tradition or may I call it "an act of love" is...



... love notes strewn around the house



....handwritten with the uttermost love and affection.

The Accountant learned this little trick from his father, who did this same ritual while The Accountant was a young lass. 

It was the little things that mattered most in the Doherty home.

A small hug just for the heck of it, the quick shoulder rub just to let you know you were appreciated and the hand written note to tell you just how special you were.

You see...The Accountant's parents were raised during the depression era and have imparted their wisdom of "keeping it simple" to their children.

To me...these notes are my diamonds.  Getting someone to put into words how much they love you is often more difficult than shopping...

...hummmm let me think of that one again.  Which is more difficult for The Accountant????

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Shake, Rattle

and Scream!

If you live in northern Illinois
you know what I am talking about.

At approximately 4:00 AM
we had an Earthquake!

In the middle of the United State of America
we had a ground popping earthquake!

Approximately 4.0

Our whole house was a rockin...I woke up yelling for
my husband and grabbed him around the neck
asking "what's going on!?!?"

My heart was in my throat as I looked outside to see the other
neighbors flicking on their lights. 

The phone started ringing
as we all asked if each other felt and heard the same thing.
Thankfully we were all ok.

The funny side to this story...the Accountant always ready with a joke
said, "I was just afraid the pictures were going to tumble on my head."
Asking why he wouldn't worry about me, his reply was,
"the ones above your head are most likely bolted to the wall."


Our bedroom...I am on the right side of the bed.



Thursday, February 4, 2010

How things change...

....so quickly.

It's been almost 5 years since we moved into our "new" house
and I can remember it like it was yesterday.
Heck, I stressed out so much while bulding it I lost 15 pounds ... wish that still was a reality


As much as we love our "new" home..
... our kids still long for our
"old" home and talk about all the time.



I thought I would share with you some pictures of what
our first house looked like and why I think about it so often.


This was the view looking down on the living room from up stairs.

The dining room.  Mom and I made all the slip covers and window treatments.
I was trying desperately to hid the danish modern furniture I inherited from my Aunt.
Who knew it was coming back in style???

This was my favorite decorating ever.
The door on the left was my pantry door.
It was salvaged from my parents house and I painted black.
I had to leave it with the house and boy do I miss it.
What a great solution for getting rid of an old bi-fold door.

The family room had a great faux finish on the wall.
Textured khaki paint was the base...when I tired of the khaki color we added
a brown and ocre wash over the top of it...giving it the look of suede.
My friend Barb was a master at mixing paint and texturizing.
Can you tell I love little lamps?  They are everywhere.

The kitchen also had a faux finish on the walls and again I made every single
window treatment and curtain in this place.
The kitchen island was a converted breakfast bar from
Target.  If you moved the curtains we added shelves underneath
to hid all the baby bottles and sippy cups.  Everything was organized
in cute little baskets and fit just perfectly.

This was Mac and Hannah's room.
When Shea was born Hannah was kicked out of the nursery,
while Mac at the tender age of 4 was put in the top bunk.
They absolutely loved every moment of this transition.
There was a cool peg rail that went around the walls so all their stuff hung neatly off the floor :)



The master bedroom was neat but we didn't spend much time decorating.
Just paint and pottery barn.


The bathroom was open to the bedroom, so as you can imagine mornings were not so
restful with The Accountant getting ready for work.

Ahhhh....the nursery.
I loved this room.
Spent hours upon hours in this room.
The curtains were this perfect yellow and cream striped, embroidered fabric.
Ohhh ....and the patchwork fabric on the table was my all time favorite.

Looking through my old house, I notice now how much I made by hand.
Our new house is a little different.  This time around we had a little more money
to get things built for us and less of our own handiwork.

Our first home will always stay in our hearts.
We lived there for just about 10 years.

Sadly, today we found out that the couple we sold it too is facing forclosure.
I will never forget at them at the closing, the wife had given me a big hug and
said thank you for making such a beautiful home for us.
I wish them all the best and hope that they can some how make it work...
it was a house built out of love and determination.

Gives me much more determination to start making some changes around this "new" house.
Maybe that is what the kids are trying to tell me????
"Get to work Mom"

Monday, January 25, 2010

Can you feel...

...love in the air?

I feel the love of glass!




I hit one of my favorite "junk" shops last week
in seach of Valentine Finds.


Pink Toile Napkins fit the bill and how about a perfect little bowl to match.


Lots of pink depression glass
But what caught my eye over and over again
was plain Glass!




Cut Glass




Stamped or Pressed Glass




I also thought of a romantic lace table cloth or




my pink floral bedspread as a table cloth.




What to do with these fun finds.
Well, a tea party would fit the bill
but a little wine tasting could be fun as well.



A little game of HEARTS any one?


What do you have in mind for Valentines Day?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Glasses here...

....there and everywhere!

I wear glasses...the Accountant wears glasses
and now...




Shea wears glasses.

The state of Illinois mandates that every child
entering kindergarden must have a complete eye exam.




Mac and Hannah did not have this mandate so
I just never thought about it.

When I received the letter from school, all I could think
was that "here we go again, more government involvement...
don't they understand moms know best."




Well, much to my surprise the doctor said Shea
really needed glasses. One eye is worse than the other and let
me tell you...these glasses are stong...yikes.

My guilt consumed me and I immediately brought
Mac and Hannah in.
Thankfully, they are just fine and no glasses needed.

I have had glasses since 2nd grade, so I understand that they are
a pain in the butt.  I also understand seeing clearly is a blessing.




He's such a trooper!!!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

What are you doing...

...the Saturday Morning of February 13th?



Why not join me and a few blogger girlfriends
from the Chicagoland Area,
for a few hours of fun and sharing.



Jen Rizzo over at Sanctuary Arts at Home 
and her friend Amy
have put together a morning in which
we can all meet and have some face time with one another.


So, if your a blogger and want to get to know other bloggers
in the Chicagoland area, think of joining us.


I plan on going because the friends that I have made though
the blogging community have been so
inspiring to me.  They keep me going and challenge my creative self.
Fostering those relationships is important to me!

If you are interested visit Jen's website and get more information.
Hope to see you there!


Thursday, January 7, 2010

What to do with my new....

....Dremel Tool???

Oh the projects that lie ahead of me this year and oh how much fun I am going to have!
Yes, this was a gift I asked for and received from my dear mother.



Around my house I am Mrs. Fix It.

Got a problem, let me find a solution...although
I do not touch plumbing...yuck.




I am thinking of some of the following projects and might just use my new toy.



Although...on this one I am thinking of putting holes in the glass to
make the light speckle.


From Country Living

Refinishing some furniture is first on my list....
any one have a vintage secretary for sale?



....or my new Camera???




Nature really inspires me to take pictures.
The snow that came down after Christmas was amazing and
if I could have figured out how to catch
an individual snow flake in flight ... you would have seen it here.
But, I didn't catch it...not yet.




I have so much to learn about the camera and all the wonderful techniques
you can use with it.  I want to catch those moments on my
kids faces that will make me smile forever.




So, with those words I am off to figure out what will come first...
Camera or Power Tool.