Welcome to the Trashiest Day of the Week! Trashy Tuesday. If you have been around here before, you know I love a good Dumpster Dive. It is right up there on my list of favorite things to do, like speeding down a roller coaster. I love a good mystery novel, and Dumpster Diving is like a mystery novel. What is that thing sticking out? If I drive around, will I find more parts of whatever that is? I need to solve the mystery! (I think it turned out to be part of a rolling industrial door, it was in 4 different dumpsters!!) As much as I love my Junque, I also love order. And I have had precious little order around here with my Junque stash. I have been getting closer to my ...
Good Time Charlie
Oh My Word!!!
Do you have your word? I used to resist the WORD of the year. I am a talkative person, my mind is constantly going. Ongoing ideas, thoughts, conversations with myself, God, you name it. Kind of noisy in there sometimes. My life for the past few years has felt something like this: Spinning Plates. I was trying so hard to keep everything spinning at the same time. Sometimes I was so focused on keeping those plates spinning, I often missed the experience and joy of the plate itself. Spinning plates is a neat trick, but when this becomes your focus, you tend to not really move forward with anything. I have been setting some goals for myself. I have a lot of ground to cover. ...
The Master Redoux List of 2014, or TMI Decorating
Happy 2014! Do you have grand plans for all your DIY projects this year? Do they include just about every room in your home? Mine does! We have lived in our current home for over 10 years. We (I) have redone some things a few times (umm, like four different colors in my half bath?). However, some things languish at the bottom of DIY list. I don't know if I will actually get through the entire list this year, but I am going to make a much bigger effort than I did in 2013. Are your ready for decorating TMI? Let's begin with my stairs. I last left you HERE. After pulling up the carpet last Fall....I tried to "paint" the subfloor. Our subfloor is actually Alt board. ...
Peace on Earth, Thomas Jefferson, and the Perfect Way to Live
What does Christmas, the life and teaching of Jesus Christ and Thomas Jefferson have in common? I will get to that. Merry Christmas my friends! I am SO grateful to every person that comes by here. My heart truly is full. I hope regardless of your beliefs, you are enjoying some time off and the beautiful spirit this season can bring. I know we are all of varied faiths and beliefs. Did you know Thomas Jefferson, one of America's founding Fathers, a well known Humanist.....believed in the teaching of Jesus Christ? He didn't believe in Him as his personal Savior, but he believed the teachings of Christ were the perfect formula for how to treat our fellow human beings. ...
Redoux Holiday House Tour, Keeping It Real Version
Redoux Holiday House Tour, Keeping it Real Version Happy Holidays! Is your house decked out in holiday cheer? I have seen the most gorgeous home tours. You can't swing a piece of dumpster dove furniture parts and not hit a fabulous house tour around blogland. Today I have my own version to share with you. Want to join in on the fun, but feeling like your house is not share worthy? Think again, I am keeping it real here. Every room in my house has unfinished projects and probably something surprising that will pop up in pictures. Ho, ho, ho. Oh no, here we go.... Step inside! My entry way is looking spiffy with a garland filled with red berries, gold pine cones, and ...
California, Fish, Nuts and Ice Cream
My sister Julie and my niece visited last week and we didn't waste one second of our time together. My niece is the same age as my twins. Three tweens, one teen, and two silly adult women = non stop fun and laughter. The girls We hit the ground running Monday morning by starting, where else? The Beach! We hit one of my favorite spots to soak up some sun (and Pizza) at Pizza My Heart in Capitola. This is the cutest little coastal town near Santa Cruz. Worth a stop if you have never been here. photo courtesy of trip advisor Travis (Mr. Red) brought a friend. They had their wet suits on and were in the water before we even had our beach towels arranged. We had to pull them ...
Happy 4th of July! Freedom to be Moi, (or just odd)
Happy 4th of July!!!!! I am so grateful for my freedom. I am grateful for my freedom every single day. Today, and the days surrounding our Independence day, I try to take a few moments to think about WHY I am grateful to be free. The list is endless, as I am sure yours is too. One of the most amazing things about living in this great country is that we have the freedom to live our lives (within the bounds of laws) as we see fit. Everyone's idea of "normal" is different. My normal is most like not your normal! Just for fun, I thought I would share the parts of my day that I am grateful for. I have the freedom to choose how my day will go, what I will do with my time, and how I ...
Greetings from Planet DustXO
Greetings earthlings. I have been living on Planet DustXO for the past few days. Not really, but it feels like it! Yesterday, I FINALLY completed the sanding and priming phase of the never-ending Stairs Makeover. Don't even get me started on the upstairs. Suffering Husband is out of town, this project is waiting for him to attack it. This is pretty much the attire I have been donning. All the noise and dust in our home over the past few days has caused some strange things to happen around our here. 11 year old son decided to be extremely helpful and offered to sand all my scrap fence boards. Now they are prepped and ready for future projects. The atmosphere seems to be ...
A Video Tour of My Junquey Home!
Don't you love Home Tours? I love to see how beautifully styled, decorated and put together other blogger's homes are. I have shared little "snippets" of my home, but I thought it would be fun to give you all the "insider's" peek at how we really live. Since we are in the middle of a major DIY project here, I thought I would share this video my daughter and I made last year. (click on "My Home Tour"). Since the time this video was actually made, I am happy to report I have REAL junque couch. If you missed that post, you can read all about it HERE. Also, my side yard has greatly improved. "Greatly" is a strong adjective. Let's say ...
White is the New Red
White is the new red! Or...I finally got things clear in my head. Not really, but I did get it clear in my head that using white with kids in decorating is actually O.K.! We bought this sectional when we first bought our current home, almost 10 years ago. The Sectional came with a lovely red slip cover. Over the years, it stopped looking better when I washed it. It just sort of looked, reddish-blahish. Imagine if you will, two toddlers, just turned two years old. Activity level of Thing one and Thing Two. You know the term "Synergy"? We had Twinergy! Don't let them fool you. They only look cute, they didn't always act that way. The oldest daughter was 6 The blur in ...
Happy Mother’s Day!!
Happy Mom Day! I hope all you fabulous moms, sisters, aunties, cousins and any woman who has a positive impact on the children in their lives is having a beautiful day. And especially a HUGE Happy Mother's Day to my Mom. Love you Mom!! And a HUGE Happy Mother's Day to my sisters, who are both amazing moms. They are the best, and gorgeous too! And....My Mother in Law! She married my father in law who was a widow when Mark was just turning into a teen. She is amazing, and Mark has called her "mom" since she first married my father in law, because she is an amazing mom. ...