Abandoned.

I have a thing for abandoned buildings-- rusty, old, overgrown, falling down, graffiti-ed up... I love it all.
I came across this building last week by accident and I think it might just make a great back-drop for pictures/portraits
when the weather warms up just a bit.
I was so glad that I thought to grab my Nikon before I left.
One of the (many) things I dislike about Winter is the lack of natural light for taking pictures outside.
I guess the freezing weather isn't really a favorite either.

Happy Sunday! 

Hope everyone has a great day.

This is what we'll be doing tonight....
How about you? 

Three Hours /// Simple Things

Three hours, a full tank of gas and a little bit of money, just a little... that's all I needed last Friday afternoon.
I only had around $12 on me, but I did have a lot of change, which is necessary when you are  driving randomly through the country
not sure at all where you are headed,  except...  South.
The change was for the fountain diet coke at the gas station.
Total mini-Road Trip necessity.

Somehow I ended up at one of my favorite junky thrift stores about 30-40 minutes away--
which, had I been thinking, I would have made sure I had more cash on me... but it all worked out.
{Just wait... you'll see}.
If you have been reading here long you know that country drives are one of my most favorite things.
Now that means that I have to allow for quite a bit more time than what my trip will actually take because I like to drive on the actual
country roads, not the highway.
You should also know that I am directionally challenged, so this is the other reason I have to allow for my little trips to take longer
than they actually should.
All I can say is, thank god for the compass and GPS on my phone.
I am a hot mess.

Sun shining, country roads, fields, barns, silos, tractors, lots of animals, big old country houses....
I am in heaven.
On my way back home I stopped at the cemetery to see my grandma + grandpa's grave...
and wouldn't ya know, I still had some change left so I was able to leave a quarter there for my grandpa.
It makes me smile when I stop there and see a little row of quarters lined up there left by his kids and/or grand kids.
My grandpa always gave us quarters when we were little, and maybe even when we were too old to be wanting quarters, so now
we leave them for him.

By the time I got back in town, home and inside my house I might have only beat the kids home by about 5 minutes, you might
say I cut it just a little too close ... but I made it.
And it was just what I needed.
Time to think, away from home and any responsibilities, no music playing... just completely quiet...
that truly does me a world of good.

OH! And my purchase... the one that made me GASP loud enough to almost really embarrass myself...
I almost missed this little beauty... this awesome little wooden lamp that plays music when you wind up the little
cat and the girl rocks back and forth.
I am in love.
This lamp that plays music and lights up and rocks and does just what the tag said it could was only--
wait for it.................................... $12.
Exactly how much I had on me.
Can you even believe it?

Maybe this little lamp will inspire me to finally do the big re-do on Charlotte's bedroom...
Maybe?
Hmmm...... Well anyway, in the mean time it sure does look cute in there.

>>>>>>>>>>

Hope you have a happy, happy Sunday.

Happy At Home /// Simple Things

I know that things are just things and supposedly you can only really be happy from the inside...
without all of these things... Right? ....
WELL, that might be what they say, BUT being surrounded by things you love, things that inspire you
can make you really happy, too.
I truly believe that, so never mind what THEY say, whoever they are.

It is so weird to me when you go into someones house and you look around and realize anyone could live there...
like, their home does not tell you anything at all about who lives there.
Do you know what I mean?
I hate that.
I believe in being surrounded by all of those little + big things at home that help make you just as happy, at peace
and inspired as possible.

Here's just a few things that make our house HOME for me....

Art On The Walls :: Your own art, your kid's art, bought art, framed art, taped up art, photographs.   

Don't worry about what you think you should love or what you think "good art" is supposed to be.

Anything you love is good art. Period.

Flowers + Plants :: It's simple, flowers make me happy... Inside outside, anywhere.
And the BEST thing about flowers is that you can spend just a little bit of money on them and they bring an instant
cheeriness to any room or spot. Grocery store + farmer's market flowers are my best friends.

Books :: Your books, old books, new books, kid books.

You can never have too many books, right?

A Spot Of Your Own :: Anywhere...  a whole room, an office, a little part of the basement, a desk in your bedroom, a craft/sewing room. 

Anywhere that you can have some of your things, just for you---to write, sew, craft, read, make jewelry, paint, read cookbooks, browse

around online...Whatever it is you love to do when you have a little bit of free time just for yourself.

Music :: Music is a must int his house, Eric + I are both HUGE music lovers.
Records, Cd's, music stations on tv, radios, ipods, phones... anywhere  you  can get it.
I personally love the sound of scratchy old records on the turn table,  but listen to all of the above.

Sunlight + Windows :: Now I realize that I can't actually control whether or not the sun shines,
BUT  if it is shining, I am going to see it and feel it...Especially in the Winter.
Living in a house with lots of natural sunlight and windows is a necessity for my mental health.
Gotta have it, simple as that.

Happy Coffee :: Wait-- am I saying that coffee actually tastes better in a cute mug? Absolutely.
So does your tea, water, wine, smoothies and diet cokes. Same goes for dishes, cooking + baking utensils, etc.
Just look at that, instant happiness.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

So there's a little of what makes ME happy at home..
What about you? What do you always have around that makes you and your home just a little bit happier?