scrapbooks and day dreams!

more snow! more snow! more snow! on this snowy day, i've been going through some old papers and journals...i'm hoping to clear out some more...more of the stuff!

i just found a scrapbook i had for dreams and color ideas and just things i liked along the way.  i've taken some pics of my scrapbook....they were torn out from random magazines or catalogues...from maybe 10 years ago....so i'm not able to give credit.

grace came by to look over the dreams that i had....amazing to see how much that dream/idea/likes and colors came to be a reality in my life!  i think this is amazing...it makes me think that the subconcious mind got the message!

here we go down daydream lane....this is dedicated to sister cecilia marie, my third grade teacher, who told my mom in a teacher conference that i daydreamed!  some of those dreams came true!

i know what i believe about writing things down and imagining and dreaming what you want....i had a list of the qualities that i wanted in a great guy....it happened. we had a list of all of what we wanted in a home....and we have all of that in our home. and just like my scrapbook, those lists were tucked away and forgotten about.....until after some of these dreams came true ..in one way or another.  

 

look at this picture...it's amazing to see this from a magazine and see our pics in our family room, below!

o.k....some of my pictures are crooked!

this is a nantucket basket

 doorstop...i love nantucket baskets.  my first trip to nantucket, i was 7...that was where my love for the island began...i don't have the doorstop, i have other nantucket baskets though.  i still dream of the day that i'l get the nantucket basket brass door knocker.  it's a dream...so who knows?

a needlepoint pillow that i love...i have lots of pretty needlepoint pics...i'll try to take some pics.

below are some of the rugs that i had in my scrapbook of dreams...some of our rugs have been similar!

above are some of the rugs that i had in my scrapbook of dreams...some of our rugs have been similar!

 

we have an antique "breadbox" that was in the bedroom that biff  shared with his fun twin brother growing up in their house from @1775.

i always love blue and white....i have quite a collection of blue and white dishes....we used to have ours up on the kitchen wall....i loved that.  then we changed to the print of rockefeller center at christmas by leroy neiman. we love it because that's where biff proposed on 12-30-93!

it's a great print that took a long time to track down.  my mom first saw it in a saks fifth avenue catalogue.

she had her friend at saks check all of the stores to find it....never found it.  a few years later, i tried on the internet and found it.  now, it's on the kitchen wall....it makes me happy everyday!  the colors are beautiful.

 

 more blue and white.  we have these cabinets in our kitchen...and we have the white beadboard!

 

 i always love dishes.  i'm not sure if it's hereditary...but i'm sure i got the gene!  thanks mom!

more pretty glass cabinets!  i love our glass cabinets and lots of white in our kitchen...right now, we have black tile marble? countertops...our cabinets are still the original 1976 cabinets.  they were "pub brown"when we moved in and biff and i painted them.  we did our best, but we're not pros!

 

 more glass cabinets and drawer pulls like ours..ours are silver tone....and love that blue paint.  our blue is more of that laura ashley sapphire!

this was our pub brown color although its ripped out from a magazine as the before pic....dark! blah for me.

 

back to the same blue we have!

clean and crisp...love the wood floors!  we have white tile...great for a home with 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 fish (the fish don't track in too much dirt, just a splash or two.)  i'm forever trying to clean the grout between the tile...chlorox seems to be the only thing that cleans our floors...not so eco friendly, but it helps.

biff's mom and dad gave us our kitchen table and chairs for a new house gift! we have lived at this table.

notice the plate racks that i love so much....no computer there anymore, it was a temporary thing.

more scrapbook.

 

i just never tire of it. more. more. more.

daydream scrapbook.

 

more blue and white in scrapbook.

more scrapbook.

 

more inspiration....for my project table!

love these colors and have them in the family room.

scrapbook.

love the black  and love the wood stairs and the light house newel posts...scrapbook.

love this red couch.  our first family room couch in this house was red duck with khaki trim!  it was so happy to walk in and see that burst of red. scrapbook.

more of our family 

room colors.scrapbook.

i love chandeliers....scrapbook.

 

scrapbook.....love the shades...not the bows.  i just love some of the whimsy...but i don't really like too foofy.

my forever dream!

dream/scrapbook.

dreams do come true!

 

i love black frames.

ideas..scrapbook.

our black framed photos on our white shelves.

 we tried out blue in the family room.

 blue jean couch and chair, lots of blue and white...now we're back to yellow walls in the family room.

our wicker so comfy...... 

still planning on having on a porch....when we build it.  it's on our list. nothing better on a summer night with a good book...

 we love books and books and books.

 here's another scrapbook page.

and some real books.

and below, our bookcases that we put in a few years ago.  we love our books...how do you live without your favorite books?

 

...still planning on having on a porch....when we build it.  it's on our list. nothing better on a summer night.  i have some of my best summer memories from my uncle burke and aunt martha's house....a little house, in connecticut, near the water with a great porch filled with family and friends of all ages, laughter, stories and  barbeque wafting through the air.  she always had wicker, old and new.....lots of beautiful plants, great art on the walls...it was an extension of her sweet home. aunt martha's my aunt who taught us all that it doesn't matter how big or small your house, how perfect or imperfect all of your "things" are,  it's the warmth and welcoming style you have that makes a house a home!  i think of her almost everyday!

and  while i was dreaming i went all of the way!

 well, at least we live in a beautiful town with beautiful homes on the water like this!

and like this.

 

and this.

and this.

as biff says about some of our dream houses

"easy to love" 

more dreams.

 

  

 

above is the sailboat pic that i had in the scrapbook maybe more than 10 years ago...and one of our biggest family dreams...we talked about it and hoped for a sailboat, we were on the lookout for the right boat for us! below, this is a bit like ours.

George Carlin Talks About "Stuff"

i have stuff and stuff and stuff...now i'm selling it on e-bay! littlemarymixup is on e-bay!!

selling stuff!

big day today! i've begun the e-bay biz... so exciting for me...it's the perfect way for me to have a little "shop" of my own. i've been wanting that for so long. it's just that i've lived a life of retail and wholesale and banking sales....i love the retail life and don't love the saturdays. i know if it's your store...you love it. only, i know me and i would be crying over a missed lacrosse game or a day sailing at the beach....and the rent!

now, i have a little spot to sell vintage things that i love or the multitude of clothing still in the closet with tags. just that "stuff" again..."stuff" piles up and it's my quest to get it out....electric guitars, unmatched silver, a few little wedgewood cups i bought in london, old jewelry....just "stuff."

i can really appreciate the old george carlin standup routine where he talks about stuff. i remember a few years ago when i was invited to "parties" where one very excited and enthusiastic woman would be standing in a group of other women.....innocent, unsuspecting women, just happy to break up a routine week, some were there just to glug some vino....before i knew what was happening, i'd be all pumped up over some baskets made by hand from ohio! there would also always be one woman or more who not only collected the baskets but had met the president of the basket company....and had made suggestions that would be available in the new line. people would buy these billion dollar baskets and chatter about them for weeks.

until the next "party" where another chirpy voice would be singing a song about scrapbooks. everyone should have scrapbooks of their children....not just the 843,000 pics per day that i had taken to record everyday of our babies' lives since birth...and already proudly slipped them into fine leather photo albums! photo albums were pase'....your child would be deemed deprived if they weren't presented to the world one individual photo at a time, in 3d! there were beautiful papers and stickers and scissors and paper cutters and carry alls. it was a world that could be mine. it would bring out my creativity, it would be a keepsake for days to come! and, i could pay money and be welcomed at scrapbooking parties with other happy moms just like me. yikes! i had friends who scrapbooked. they were creative and fun....i was afraid to be a part of the cult.

some reasons worthy of mentioning...i was in between jobs...or "in the midst of a career change" depending how you look at it. my sweet cousin came to visit. we were planning to go to lunch. it was a great idea! i thought that would be nice...i was trying out the "ladies who lunch scene"!

it was a new world i was entering...and it wasn't the lunch bunch, it was finding out that my cousin was there to sell me mary kay cosmetics. she was giving me a free makeover. ooh, what fun. a little dab here, a swish of mascara there and oh, did i mention that she didn't want to just sell me a mascara or a lipstick. she was telling me the money to be made at mary kay. it was no joke...pink cadillacs were just the beginning...for just $100., i could become my own boss. talk about catchy...especially while i was unemployed. so, i promptly wrote the check, i got my very own kit engulfed in pink...i not only had a mascara...i was an entrepreneur. there would be sales meetings! structure. and then i went to a meeting. that's how far i got on that road to riches! i was scared off by another cult of women with puffy pink lips and cheery cheeks!

i have no shame. when i was in my 20s, with a very good job in sales, a great guy that i worked with did a similar bait and switch...this was the beginning of my long journey...down the sucker path. kevin, told me about this great business opportunity. if i just met him out in a newly invented town at a hotel, i could be included in a very special event that would be even better than my sales career. hmmmm, never one to turn away an oppoortunity that comes knocking on my door, i told kevin that i'd meet him after dinner.

this was an opportunity. it was the best of the best who would become better than the best. all i had to do was write a check or charge this start up kit and i'd be on my way......and it was no time before kevin was holding my (don't shriek!)$450. for a kit of nu skin. i was off on my way...until i realized that nobody ever heard of nu skin....and thanks to me, no one that i knew would ever hear of nu skin. before my check was cashed, my enthusiasm was lost. ever the optimist, i've been open to lots of exciting opportunities!

it seems that i need a 12 step program for 12 step businesses that will give me the life i deserve...a yacht, an island...whatever. i get moved in the moment. it's taken years, but i have slowly backed out of those little house parties. i would pay you not to invite me.

the last time i bought something at one of those parties...the pressure is intense...i came home with THE best apple slicer ever made...for about $20. i got out cheap and left tire marks in the driveway as i sped away!

it was a problem...not anymore. i've gone cold turkey. it was the candle party that did it. candles, on a beautiful fall night, i had abandoned my sweet family to sit through a candle seminar. candles for the fireplace, candles for the bathroom, the mantel, the bedroom...the woman was a happy piromaniac! i sat on a friends couch and i thought why on earth am i here listening to this woman extol the virtues of candles...and i just have to say no.i would say no. i did say no.no, no, no, no, no, no! and my life became my own....i was free.

so, i do have "stuff"....lots and lots...for a variety of reasons. i give stuff away, i donate stuff, i hand me down stuff......and now, "littlemarymixup" on e-bay
is where i'm selling stuff!
http://clothing.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=polo+skirt+size+2&_sacat=11450&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=polo+shirt+size+2&_osacat=11450

Valentine’s Day Tips, Ideas…Spoil Yourself & Others

Valentine’s Day Tips, Ideas…Spoil Yourself & Others

The Turtles Happy Together

Natalie Cole - L.O.V.E.

l-o-v-e!!

valentine's day?

valentines day.  what a nice day it is.  the sun is shining and bursting in our windows, the sky is blue and the temperature is beautiful...mid 30's.  by mid february, mid 30's in connecticut feels like a spring day.

this morning we woke up and shared a little valentine hug. i'm grateful to be so in love with biff...still. i remember the first valentines day the we were together. we were newly dating, trying to take it slow...we had such a good thing together, neither one of us wanted to speed it up and ruin everything. we were both somewhat shell shocked from previous relationships.....that make us laugh today.

i still ask biff to tell me his date stories.  i laugh so hard that i cry.  i feel those women's pain.  nothing was wrong with biff.  it was the situations that went wrong.  right place with the wrong date.

one of my favorite examples was the spring sunday morning that he took his date to the zoo.  one of those classic, romantic dates...until he walked into the dark reptile house and the giant snake appeared!  his date, terrified of snakes.....he learned at that moment .....she shrieked,went running to the exit leaving a trail of dust behind, pole vaulted over the turnstyle and ran for cover!  they got through the day. he tried to take her to the bird house but guess what?  another bad choice.  they pretty much stuck to the safety of the monkeys and the zebras and the giraffes!  he had a nice relationship for awhile, but it just wasn't right.  very nice...just not it.

he has other stories. different locations, different dates.  all nice women.  and of course, my nice biff. i love these stories.......not because of biff's good intentions and dates went awry, but because they were not meant to be.  had those same dates been me, i would have loved that time with biff.  i'm grateful because what wasn't their best date
with whatever mixups ensued was saved for me.  i laugh because i see things in a different way....biff's way.

had i not been going through some of my dates from hell at about the same time as biff, our timing never would have worked out to be so great for each other.  when one door closes, another opens....as the mother superior said in "the sound of music".(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw-Om-t8iiM&feature=related)

gyneth paltrow found that out in "sliding doors"(http://www.videosurf.com/sliding-doors-87922)

it's not all about biff's dates. i had some not so great dates over the years too.....and it felt like years and years and years and years.....you get the picture.......i had the  "hometown guy" inviting me out to a live music show in a  classic new york city setting, some drinks, some loud music, some singing....while the music was playing, i  turned to "hometown guy" to smile  enthusiastically only to notice and anguished look on his face, covered with beads of sweat.  his eyebrows were furrowed, his jaw a bit tight and his words were weak.  it was shortly after that he suggested we leave.

that was fine with me.  it was late.  as he drove me home, he became even less talkative, more sweaty and i noticed his jaw was clenched as tightly as his hands were on the steering wheel.  i worked on some conversation...maybe he was nervous.....nothing.....more sweat....and a visible discomfort. hmmmm.  one date and it was pretty wierd.....oh, give him a chance, i thought.  maybe it's an off night.  he had barely put the car in park and he was ready to take off. good night.  bye.

it was weeks later when i was sitting with my aunt, who was asking whatever happened to "hometown guy"...she knew the family.....i told her my bizarre date story.  she said, "when was that, a few weeks ago?  isn't that when that bad stomach flu was going around?"  at that moment, it all made sense. we got hysterical laughing...it was nervous laughter....for "hometown guy". we could only imagine his discomfort and relief to get me out of that car!

oh, there are more with lots of variety....too many to mention, actually.  the more the merrier!  and they all make me even more grateful for waiting....waiting for the right guy!

this all started because of valentine's day.  i'm happy to say that after a morning hug, my coffee was delivered to my bedside.  this was no ordinary coffee.  we had a littlemixup with our keurig coffee maker yesterday....one button pushed at the wrong time(kind of like dating!) sent the keurig into coffee lockdown. not good.  biff called the coffee guru at the customer service number and was talked through it like captain sully on u.s.air, the plane that landed in/on the hudson river last year.(http://www.google.com/search?q=u.s.air+captain+sully+new+york+times&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a)

the keurig was fixed. and i got coffee in bed.  i walked downstairs to find t.j. flipping pink pancakes on the griddle. coffee and pink pancakes...who could ask for a better valentine's day?