Hooked on Houses

Do you ever watch a movie and think, "ooh...I love that house"? That happened to me recently while watching the Stuart Little movie series that we had checked out from the library.

I loved the Little's home so much, that I decided to look for pics online, assuming someone else loved it as much as I did. And I was right. I found the Hooked on Houses blog, which not only had the Little house tour, but also LOTS of other fun movie home and celebrity home tours. It's just good fun - check it out.

Here are a few of my faves from the Stuart Little house from her original post here.

The exterior of the home:

And the foyer (love that staircase!):

The dining room (a little fancy, but I like those striped chairs):

The cozy living room:

And I love the colorful kitchen, particularly the nook:

And there's more movie set home discussion at the Inspired Room. At least I know I'm not crazy for taking note of homes in movies (and posting about them)!

Bright Spots

I feel like I am in a winter funk lately. Maybe a little S.A.D. Just needing the sun and a change of pace and scenery. So, this evening I decided to perk myself up with some recent (albeit shallow) bright spots:

I now have my very own copy of Martha's Encyclopedia of Crafts, thanks to a gift from my mother-in-law. And look what's coming out in March, just in time for my birthday (OK, that's just horrible and shameless....):

I found not one, but TWO more sets of the bird dishes at our local Target. Totally made my night. (Funny side story....found two sets, but realized that one of them had someone's OLD DISHES in the box! Who does that?! I was still partially excited because of the other box, and then my husband walked down the aisle and found one more. Yay!)

I have L'Occitane and Bath and Body gift certificates that are burning holes in my pockets. Thinking about these items, maybe:

A new fragrance, perhaps

Lip balm recommended by Camilla in the giveaway

My traditional favorite from Bath & Body

And by "bright spots" I don't mean to diminish the ALWAYS bright spots of my healthy family, a warm home, food....been thinking a lot about those things as well in light of current events. Sometimes you just feel a little "blah," you know?

How do you deal with the winter blahs?

Required Reading

A couple weeks ago as my husband left for the library I yelled on a whim, "grab me something crafty, hon." And he brought this gem home - SCORE. If you enjoy crafting or enjoy *thinking* about crafting (I fall in to that category!), then this is a must read!

Say what you will about Martha, but the woman has real talent and an eye for beautiful (or shall I say "good") things! I have been inhaling this book and am already planning not to return it to the library. :-)

These tissue paper decorations look so fun to me, and would make a place so festive - no matter what the occasion. I secretly wanted to fill our house with them on Christmas morning so the boys could wake up to something fun, but I ran out of time (of course). Maybe next year. Here's the tutorial.

There are tons of other beautiful projects and photos in the book. I also have been perusing the "Craft" section of her website, which includes a Craft Blog and some fun Templates and Clip Art.

The woman's a genius. But you knew that already.

Bittersweet

Guess what? My mom got me a set of the pretty bird dishes for Christmas. I was on board to take the plunge and switch up the kitchen a bit, so I went online today to see if I might find a couple more sets on sale, or even better, clearance. Much to my dismay, I can no longer fine them ANYWHERE. I'm so sad! Dan was at our Target today and didn't see any in person either. He said all their dishes seeom to be on sale /clearance, so I must have missed my chance!

If you happen to be perusing the dinnerware aisle at your local target and see a set, please let me know! :-(