Senior photo shoot!

Well folks, it was bound to happen...I always knew this day would come, but now that it's here, I'm finding it harder to bear than I thought...my little baby sister is growing up. Now a senior, and soon going off to college. Sob. And she wants to go out of state. Sob. Sob.
I guess all I can do is enjoy these last few months of her being in high school, attending her sporting events, cheering her on at choir concerts, laughing or groaning through American Idol together, having weekly sleepovers and then enjoying tea and breakfast together before she heads off to school, and I to work...oh, the memories. Well, at least we'll have these pictures to remember you by, Lilli-bells!

Thanks for letting me have the fun of doing a photo shoot with you down in West Palm Beach, it was truly a blast for me :) You're beautiful, and you have a heart of gold to go along with it. Don't let college change you. I am, and will always remain, your devoted big sis, Ideah. Love you!

In with the old, in with the new!

I am a self-proclaimed addict of bargain hunting and I get a kick out of finding stuff for free, or close to it. Case in point - our dining room.
This lovely little secretary was found in a Chicago alley (mirror above it, super cheap at a garage sale)

This piano was given to us for free (take note of the fabric I chose to recover the bench...hint: you will recognize it later in this post)

And this buffet was also given to us - we took it to my dad's custom cabinetry company and sanded it and refinished it with a nice rich mahogany-cast stain

Oh, yes, the rug was another great find - from Craigslist , beautiful rug from Restoration Hardware that I had been drooling over for years on their website and then found it on CL. Yay for CL! Anyways, the buffet has a slightly curved front, and has always presented me with a conundrum - what should I use for a runner? I have kept my eyes open in stores for something with the right color, texture and shape to match the buffet and the decor of the dining room, but to no avail. 

Well, one day the thought occurred to me, "Why don't you just make one!?" And so I went to my 'craft closet' and searched through my fabric scraps and came up with this lovely assortment:

Then, after a week of sewing, cutting, trimming and forcing my husband to put up with pins, scissors, ironing board, sewing machine, and fabric sprawled everywhere...and tantalizing the cats with the thread, pins and needles...

I finally completed the project, and although it took a while for it to grow on my hubby, I was immediately pleased with the results, most of all, b/c it was FREE!

Yay for being able to create something cool from scratch!
And speaking of something cool, check out this adorable candle-holder my mom gave me for my birthday

Alas! It's still winter.

Wow, over 2 weeks since my last post. These are a week or so late, but better late than never. Now that I'm settled back into reality (i.e. freezing cold weather) and started a new job, these pics recap a time that seems so long ago, already. Well, it was wonderful while it lasted, and now I get to reminisce longlingly...join me.

We awoke at 4:30 am to begin our journey to southern FL on New Years Eve day.
The family was more put together than I would have expected for this time in the morning...must be the traveling excitement bug.

And we arrive...and the view from our balcony. Sigh.

 Oh, palm trees, palm trees, everywhere

 Oh the warmth, oh the sun, oh the hot tubs!

 One of the highlights of the week - watching the Packers-Bears game outside by the Tiki Bar - and even better, Packers won! (Well, not everyone present felt that way)

Killed some time in a salon while waiting to eat at an amazing seafood restaurant

A night out at the movies (saw Kings Speech and Voyage of the Dawn Treader, both great!)

And here are a few from the marina, where I walked with my baby sister to do a photo shoot (perhaps more to come on that). Gorgeous evening, warm sea breeze, pelicans and gulls flying about, sun setting...neither words nor photographs can capture...

There...now that I've given you that back-story, can you see why it's taken me over a week to rip myself from depression as, in 5 hours time, I traveled from this:

back into this: (and yes, that is a blizzard, and yes, you can barely make out the tail of the plane through the airport window)

Sigh. Welcome back to the Midwest.