Ikea Loving...

I am totally diggin' these new finds at Ikea! I just love the little garden markers...they would go perfect in my vegetable garden. Good things Ikea is 1.5 hours away, otherwise I would be there tonight buying all of it.

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Honey Do List...for Me

I think I have home projects and decorating A.D.D. It seems that I always start a project and think of others to start before finishing the first project. Then I get completely overwhelmed and take a long break from the projects. So, I walk around the house and see all these half finished projects that need to be completed.

So, I made an action plan and the hubs has agreed to help me. We have dubbed February the "Home Organization and Project Finishing Month". We are designated our weekends to certain projects so we can get some things accomplished (and so I can finally put some photos on my blog).

Weekend Projects:

February 5-6th:

Finish the second coat of paint in the kitchen
Organize all kitchen drawers and shelves so they are functional
Fix the broken utensil drawer ( the bracket broke and it's a builder only bracket, so we have to buy new tracking to fix the drawer).
Buy a cute canister to store some every day cooking utensils in and donate to Goodwill the utensils we do not need or use every day.

February 12-13th

Clean and de-winterize the screened in porch
Organize all closets in the house
Add shelves to the coat closet for more functional use
Take extra "stuff" from closets and donate it to Goodwill or a Charity

February 19-21st (I have a three day weekend)

Finish painting the upper wall portion of the master bedroom wall and prep for the wainscotting
Clean the carpets in all 3 bedrooms
Hang Photo Wall in the Hallway

February 26-27th

Purchase fabric to make drapes for eat-in kitchen or find drapes
Prep the yard for spring
Spray the outdoors and indoors for bugs and pests
Clean all the windows

There you have it! Hopefully I can get some of these projects done so I can update my blog with photos!

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Candle Loving...

My love for candles has progressed through the years. I think my mom turned me on to loving candles as much as I do. I remember she would burn a beautiful candle in a lantern (way back before lanterns were the "in" thing) year round. It gave off the most light but beautiful scent. To this day, when I smell that particular candle it always brings back memories.

The fragrance was Red Currant by Votivo and to this day it is hands down my favorite candle and scent. Votivo is quite pricey, but back in my hometown we have a store that sells all the mishap candles for quite cheap. By mishap, I mean that the wick isn't dead centered, the jar may be missing the wax decal, it may not be in the box etc... But who cares when you are picking up a $25 candle for $2!!

The list of my favorite candles coincides with the pictures above:

• Votiv0 Vanilla Bergamot Blossom
• Votivo Red Currant
• Anthropologie's Capri Blue Volcano Candle
• Lume Luxe brand...I love them all, but my favorit is the Wild Herb Cassis. These can be found at Target as well.

Do you have a candle that you love? I am always looking for new brands and scents!!

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Scrub Away the Winter Blues..Spa Style

I don't know about ya'll...but I am SO over winter. I always feel chilled to the bone, my skin gets dry and flaky, I have crazy static not only in my hair but in my clothes and all I want to do is sleep.

So, I decided to have a spa day. But instead of going to the spa...I decided to do a spa day at Casa De Metamorphasis.

It included an epson salt bath and facial. Let me just tell you, it was relaxing and just what I needed to snap me out of my blues.

I decided to pass along the little joy that I felt to you ladies! Enjoy your spa day!

To get started you will need:

• Epson Salt
• Chamomille Tea Bags
• 1 Lemon
• Coconut Oil or Mild Facial Cleanser
• Organic Honey (regular will work too)
• Granulated Sugar
• Plain Yogurt or Sour Cream
• Moisturizer
• Washcloth or Facial Sponge
• Hand Towel
• Large Towel

Let's start with the Epson Salt Bath First:

Make your bath experience as peaceful and relaxing for you as possible. For some this may be a book and a glass of wine. For others it may be calm music and scented candles and for some it may be nothing at all. Heck, for some it may be rocking out to Metallica :) I chose scented candles and a cup of chamomille tea.

Before filling your bath, place about 4 cups of Epson salt into the bath and fill the bath with warm water. Let yourself relax and enjoy your bath!

Epson salt is believed to withdraw toxins from the body, relieve swelling and relax muscles. This is just a time for you to sit back and relax.

Once the bath is complete move on to the facial.

At home facial:

1. First start by cleansing the face. I prefer coconut oil (coconut oil is actually a solid and needs to be warmed in the microwave). Typically you fight an oily face with oil. If you have makeup on or have a naturally oily face- your typical mild cleanser will work. Rub oil or cleanser all over face and rinse with warm water/ you can use wash cloth to remove oil. Pat dry face with hand towel.
2. Take 3 cups of water and place in pot on stove with 3 chamomille tea bags. Cut the lemon and squeeze the juice into the tea and let it boil. Once water is boiling remove it from stove and let sit for about a minute. I placed the pot on a towel and sat at the kitchen table for the next step...
3. Taking the pot, sit at the table and place your face over the pot with the large towel over your head. Let the steam absorb into your face and breathe in the chamomille tea. Sit under the towel for about 10 minutes. (Yes, you will sweat...you want to sweat :).
4. This step can vary for some people....but after you dry your face from the steam take 2 of the wet teabags and place in the freezer, you can either move forward to step 5 or you can take a pimple extractor and extract the blackheads on your face. This works best freshly after the steam.
5. Next, time to exfoliate!! Take about 2 TBSP's of honey and about a teaspoon of sugar and make it into a paste. Take the paste and scrub it over your face sloughing off the dead skin cells. Use the washcloth or facial sponge to wipe away paste.
6. Now on to our mask! Take the yogurt or sour cream and place it all over your face, take the teabags out of the freezer, go lie down on your bed or couch and relax for about 5-10 minutes.
7. Come back, wet the washcloth with warm water and remove the yogurt or sour cream. Once your face is clean of the mask, pat dry with a towel.
8. Lastly, moisturize your face with your favorite moisturizer.

Your skin should feel as good as new!

Hopefully these 2 little things will relax you and make your skin feel much better! Good Bye winter blues!

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Yay, for changing things up...

I needed a new fresh look to the blog. It was getting so boring! Hope you like it!

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Let it snow....

This is what I woke up to Monday morning.... and today it is all ice!! We have been experiencing power outages all day. For now though the power seems to be staying on!

Hope all of you readers are experiencing a much warmer Tuesday!

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2010...A year in review

2010 has been a challenging and exciting year and I am not sad to see it go. I am looking forward to 2011 and emrbacing it with open arms! A few of the most memorable highs and lows this year"

My best friend's comin' to town"

This is Jackie, my best friend/sister in the whole world! She moved into my neighborhood when we were in 7th grade and have been best friends ever since. We grew up together, crushed on the same boys, saw each other graduate highschool, were college roomates, lived together after college, she was my maid of honor in my waiting and I saw her move to Phoenix, AZ. Even after her big move, we have remained the closest of friends. The distance has been a little hard on me, but when she said she was coming for a visit in September I was so excited! We had a great few days together and it remains one of the best moments of my year!

Making a new and special friend: I had the opportunity of becoming better friends with this wonderful lady...Heather! She has been one of the best people for me to have around in 2010. She helped me on my fitness goals, was a listening ear when I needed someone, she definitely pushes me to be the best "Jessica" I can be. She is funny, sweet, down to earth and all around amazing! I am very thankful for her and cannot wait to see where our friendship goes!

Couch to 5K: I hate exercising....but have always wanted to run. Weird, I know! So when I was introduced to a program to literally get me off the couch and running in a few months I was thrilled. The program started great and alongside help from the said friend above, I lost 14lbs this summer! Unfortunately, sickness derailed me. But in 2011 I plan on starting and finishing C25K and doing a 5k race.

Speaking of sickness, this summer was one of the roughest points of my life. I started having vision problems which led to almost complete double vision, I wasn't able to walk, had horrible muscle spasms, was severely fatigued and still am most days, was dizzy all the time and had tons of numbness and tingles all over my body. This lasted for 8 weeks and I had multiple tests, bloodwork, MRI's....the doctor's have unofficially diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I say unofficially because no lesions have been found on my brain or spine, but all my symptoms fit. I haven't talked much about it on my blog, but it definitely was a low point for me. I am now just trying to work with the doctors to get an answer.

Snow!!!: This is a BIG deal. I am sure all you Northerners are laughing at me, but down South, especially in my part of the state. It never snows and sticks. In fact, the last time it did that was in the 1920's. So, how suprised were we when it snowed 3x this year! One the day after Christmas! It was amazing!

Another low: My parents divorce. This was a toughie....technically it has been over a year, started in '09 but was finalized this year. Some of you know my family history, so this wasn't a complete shock. But it was still very hard to see people in pain and hurt, especially the one's you love. It's hard losing people as well.

Lastly, we celebrated owning our home for 1 year! There is a wonderful feeling about owning your own home. We have started many projects and I look to continue working on projects and making memories in this house!

Happy New Year to all of you readers! I hope 2011 is filled with much joy and happiness for you!

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