For the Love of the House

Hi, Friends! I haven't kept you as up to date as I would like...I have been busy adding more 'feminine touches' to our home (formerly his home). I am having so much fun decorating our house! I am not quite ready to show you the Before-the-Wife and After-the-Wife House Tour pictures, but we are getting close :) In the meantime, I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the projects that I (we) have been working on.

The first good news is that I have finally been able to introduce my husband to the joys of yard sales!! He thought I was crazy before, but after running across two great sales this weekend, he is starting to be hooked. I can't say what he bought though...he may be planning to give it to one of you for Christmas! Ha! Here are my treasures...

These pretty fleur de lis sconces will be the latest addition to the animal print master bathroom.

These finials make me so happy...just knowing that I will discover the perfect home for them somewhere in our house.

Oops, this image is sideways. These are a few of the black and white plates that will be hanging in the black/white guest room along with the collage of old family pictures! (Dean's Dad, if you read this, we would love to have a few old pictures of your family to add to the collage. Pics of Dean's grandparents or even great-grandparents, if you have any!)

Then for $4, I found this plate hangar at a yard sale! Perfect, after a coat of black spray paint.

These were a few dollars a piece at this awesome Ballard Designs furniture warehouse I discovered!! I love the square hand towel holder. So unique.

They are meant to look antique...

Which will be perfect for the guest bathroom since we're using the old black/white pictures theme.

This next project: I found this small baker's rack at Ross Dress for Less, no less!

And spray painted it black. It's amazing what a can of black spray paint can do!

It is now waiting to greet you at the top of the stairs when you come by to visit us...

Lastly, here is a peek into the master bathroom. Over the garden tub we put our favorite pictures of us with our wedding party.

Animal print-ish frames, of course...and when I found this lamp, you know I fell in love!!

I love to turn off the bright overhead lights and switch this one on in the evenings. (It gives a soft light, which is hard to tell from this picture.) It is peaceful and calming after a long day.

We are having a great time redressing our home...stay tuned for the before and after tour. It is coming, I promise. In the meantime, how are you? Do you have any home projects you are working on?

P.S.- I am on the lookout for another yard sale partner. My current one (husband) will only hit yard sales after 10 AM...way too late for the good stuff! All early-rising, coffee-drinking, Craigs List-scouting, Mapquest-following, bargain-hunting and thrifty females should apply!

We're Going to See Jonny Lang!!

Wednesay night, Dean and I will be going to see JONNY LANG in concert!! We are so excited. If you haven't heard of him, you are hearing him now playing on the blog.

He is the most talented, electrifying musician I know-- he has the voice of a 50-year old blues singer, yet he's only 27. He recorded his first album at the age of 13 and went on tour with the Rolling Stones shortly after at 15!! A child prodigy, he has shared the stage with B.B. King and toured with Aerosmith and Sting...quite an impressive list for a guy without so much as a driver's license.

Touring with Rolling Stones as a teenager opened him up very early to the world and its wildest. He was an alcoholic by age 17 and using a variety of hard drugs. Then in 2002 at the age of 21, he was with his then-girlfriend (now wife) Haylie's family during the death of her father. It was then that 'God introduced himself to me.' He was overcome with a force he could not explain, and he says his body began to shake until he was overwhelmed with the power and peace of God. He says he heard God say, "'You don't have to have this if you don't want it.' But I wanted it more than anything I've ever wanted in my whole life."

On that day, his life was completely transformed, and he hasn't had a single craving since.

He is now such a humble and good-hearted man, with the same undeniable gift that made him famous at 13. Except now he knows the One who gave it to him.

I so wish you all could be with us Wednesday! He wails on that guitar with such power, and now, purpose. Check out his latest album, aptly titled Turn Around, and imagine you are there, front and center!

Click here to read more about his amazing transformation. And here to watch him perform.

http://www.jonnylang.com/

Cruisin' with my New Family

Well, we've almost made it through the peeling stage and are still enjoying our tans...it is time to tell you about our vacation at sea!

Dean and I just got back from a cruise with his family...

- his dad and his wife, Jill, his brother, Sal; and his fiance', Samantha (Sam). We set sail out of Miami...

With our first stop: Key West, Fl.,

the southernmost tip of the country.

Took a bus tour of the sunny island famous for President Truman, Ernest Hemingway, and yes, Jimmy Buffet.

In the evenings, we ate...

and ate...

And felt the cool breeze of the water on the deck at night.

Cozumel, Mexico was Stop Two on our magical trip...

It is actually an island off of Mexico's coast...and a gorgeous one.

with the FRESHEST, most delicious guacamole, salsa, and homemade chips. The Real Thing!

After buying Mexican silver jewelry (but, of course!), we joined the family for dinner...

Our big crazy family...

Our last day was a "Day at Sea"......a full day of relaxation, reading, tanning (er, toasting), listening to my ipod alongside my Honey atop a boat coursing through the Caribbean. Now you know my Dream Day. What is yours?

Birthday Sushi & Grandma

We had sushi for Dean's birthday. From Publix. In fairness, he requested it. But what a week it has been.

He has had a terrible virus for a week now. I have never seen him this sick. I had managed to safely cling to my edge of the king-sized bed for a good five days before waking up Thursday with the worst pain in my throat and an entire-body ache. It got me, too.

I was going to make him a homemade birthday cake, but until we both feel better, it is a Whole Foods' Cookies n' Cream and hot tea.

We are packing our Kleenex and medicine bottles and heading to the airport today. My Beloved Grandma went to live with Jesus on Wednesday, and tomorrow is her memorial service in New Jersey. She was a few weeks shy of her 91st Birthday.

She was a devoted follower of Christ, a loving mother, grand & great-grandmother, a world-traveller, a hopeless romantic, a true Lady.

How I miss her already. I love you, Grandma B!