My Secret Zombie Love Affair {and Brad Pitt ain't bad either}

Mindless Thursdays 

(This post still counts as DIY because I'm demonstrating a great way to store your yard tools, right?)

I am almost embarrassed to tell you, but I have a thing for Zombie movies.  It must have started when I was young and my dad watched all kinds of scary stuff.  As kids we would sneak into the hallway and crouch down where we had a view of the tv, but our parents couldn't see us.  Watching scary movies on the sly.  :)  As we got older it was a right of passage to be able to watch a scary movie without hiding your face.  I was always saying to new friends, "I like watching scary movies, do you?"

And if they really liked scary movies then we had an instant connection.

When I was in Junior High School one of my friends had a birthday sleep over and we watched Christine, Carrie, and Kujo among other scary movies all night.  At dawn the next morning we picked up the birthday girl in her sleeping bag and carried her out to the yard so she would wake up all disoriented and scared.  She woke up while we were carrying her and became a kicking, screaming beast inside of that sleeping bag, wondering what on earth we had planned for her!  I wonder what the next door neighbors thought!?

Some of my favorite Zombie shows have been 28 days later, I Am Legend, The Walking Dead Series, and more recently the quircky, laugh-on-the-inside, heart warming movie (can you say that about a zombie movie?), Warm Bodies.  And now, finally World War Z,  with Brad Pitt.

I remember seeing the previews for World War Z awhile back and looking over at my husband in the darkened theater, with my eyebrows raised for emphasis, and a glint in my eyes, saying  "MmmmHmmm, Honey, we are definitely going to see that movie!"

I fell in love with Brad Pitt way back when he played the handsome, young, dimpled cowboy named JD that Thelma stumbled into on Thelma and Louise.  He definitely left a lasting impression on Thelma (and on me).  

Brad as JD in Thelma and Louise.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching him in World War Z. It was a bona fide zombie movie with senseless zombies who had no traces of humanity left in them, bent only on feeding on the remaining humans.  That's what you want in a zombie movie, right?  But it also had a geo-political slant about how differing countries would react when faced with a world-wide pandemic.  Brad played a middle-aged father and husband, a retired UN hotshot, that was left with no choice but to leave his family and pursue a solution for stopping the uber-rapid zombie invasion before all humanity was lost.  

Good Creepy Stuff!!!

And if zombies invade my little town I know exactly which neighbor's yard I'm running to for preferred Zombie weapons!

I wonder if any of the other neighbors have a chain saw...

Happy Thursday Friends!

Take pride in your humanity ;)

Sherry

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Dangly Earring Storage & Display DIY

I sent my big jewelry box off to be photographed by Somerset Home awhile back in the hopes that I'll see one of my projects on the pages of a magazine someday.  That would be a dream come true for me!  Ever since then all my jewelry has been thrown together in a basket.  Not a convenient way to store jewelry, let me tell ya.

Whenever I tried to find earrings I couldn't seem to locate a matching pair.  So, not much earring wearing happening around here lately.   Something needed to be done and quick...

Then I remembered this little wooden house I had found at a thrift store eons ago.  I think it cost .50 cents.   It's a simple little shadow box made out of wood.  I've seen these at Michael's and Joann's for a few dollars, I think.  When I bought it I intended to put fun family photos in each section.  Wouldn't that be cute?  But now my wheels were turning about using it to display some of those dangly earrings that were getting all tangled together in a basket.

(FYI ~ Dangly isn't really a word but it's what I like to call my long dangling earrings like the ones below.)

So I painted my little shadow box house with white gloss spray paint.  I added some little metal loops that screwed into the wood pretty easily.  I screwed these in with my hands because the wood is fairly soft.  You could use small pliers for this step too.

Then I added some scrapbook/crafting decals to give this little house some personality.  Apparently some 80's personality since one of the stickers says "gonna dress you up in MY LOVE".

I did love that song waaaaaay back when!  :)

Just a couple of nails attach it to the wall next to where I get ready.  I might wear earrings every day now!

My dangly earrings have a new home and they are loving it.

Now what to do with all those post earrings...

Sharing With:

http://www.everydayhomeblog.com

http://igottacreate.blogspot.com/

http://www.artsyfartsymama.com

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The Ultimate Spring Cleaning Mega Giveaway!

Ready to tackle your spring cleaning and organization projects with a BANG? 

You could win one of 10 amazing prizes...including the GRAND PRIZE of a $160 Target Gift Card, an entire Shaklee Starter Kit, Nostalgic Bulbs Vintage Light Bulbs and a Board Dudes Organizational System. Nine runners up will also win Board Dudes Organizational Systems worth $50 each.

Please Note: This give away is only open to residents of the continental US.

HOW TO ENTER:

Step One:

Please follow the below hostesses and hosts on Pinterest:

Step Two:
Follow the instructions via Rafflecopter below to complete your entries
{It may take our friend, Rafflecopter, a moment to appear}:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We will draw on April 27th and publish the winners here. Winners will also be notified via email and will have 24 hours to claim their prize before we choose another winner.

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Improving Our Storage & Organization ~ At Inspiration Cafe Today

January.  

It's that time of year.

It happens every year...the feeling overtakes me and I just have to take action.  I feel the overwhelming need to purge, organize and streamline our environment.  I start analyzing our spaces to see what is working well and what needs to be improved on.  

This looks like a great system for organization in an entryway, right?

Well, we've made it even better.

Come by Inspiration Cafe to see how we've streamlined our entryway for even more storage and ease of use:

Clicking on the cafe will take you there.

See you at the Cafe!

Sherry

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INSPIRATION CAFE'S GRAND OPENING!!! What Inspires Us

Welcome to Inspiration Cafe! 

The day is finally here!  Welcome to our Grand Opening!!! 

We've got loads of fun and creativity planned for the weeks ahead.
We would love for you to join us.

For this round of Inspiration Cafe each of our Contributors will be sharing What Inspires Us personally.  On the sixth Monday we will be launching our very first link party!!!   You must come join in!  The theme for the link party will also be 'WHAT INSPIRES US'.   So stop back each Monday to see what inspires each of us, and then on Monday, November 26th, come back and link up a project, a post, a tip...anything that shares Your Inspiration with all of us.  It can be anything that inspires you.  We will be featuring our favorite links from the party on our individual blogs, sharing teasers on facebook, and of course the overall winners will be featured on Inspiration Cafe!  Won't you share your inspiration with all of us?

And now onto what inspires ME!

Hi!  If we haven't already met...I'm Sherry.  :)  

I blog over at Pondered Primed Perfected.  I hope you'll come by and check out what we've been up to there.  I have been doing DIY projects with my husband for many, many years.  We are inspired to create something out of nothing, so to speak.  It really is rewarding for us to take something discarded, outdated, or unwanted and transform it into something new and useful.  We've rescued quite a few Roadkill Pieces over the years.  We've scoured thrift stores, made over Craigs List freebies, and even pulled things from trash piles.  Sometimes we just want to upgrade something we already have instead of throwing it away.  You should check out our Project Gallery to see some examples of our work!

BUT...

One of my biggest challenges is keeping my busy family organized.   And when everything is all chaotic and unorganized I have much less motivation to work on my projects.  So here's what I came up with recently:

A while back we went to a garage sale and I bought some stuff for my classroom.  As we were leaving the lady threw this corkboard in for free.  You should all know that I LOVE free stuff! 

It wasn't fancy, or fabric covered, or anything.  Just pure utilitarian corkboard, and that was okay.  The perfect spot for all of the school, sports, friend and family photos, as well as various schedules, appointments, and events.  Did I mention it was free!?

I'm not going to act all cool ~ like I'm ultra organized.  I'm not.  There have been times when I've struggled keeping up with a family calendar.  One that will keep us organized and where we need to be on time.  We lead very busy lives, like most families do ~ with work, school activities, playing sports, coaching, college courses, volunteering and keeping up with friends and family.  We like being busy, don't get me wrong, but it can be challenging keeping it all straight.  (It does help to be informed of events before it's time to leave...eh hem...not naming any names!).

Now...

I wanted to maximize this corkboard's usefulness.  It still needed to be utilitarian, but I was envisioning it being more ORGANIZED at keeping track of our appointments, events, important papers and notes, as well as keeping our favorite photos out for everybody to see!

Here's what I did  ~ Click here to read the entire post...

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The Happiness Agenda ~ The Definition of Happiness



      Definition of happiness

Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy.  A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including Positive psychology, endeavor to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what "happiness" is, and how we might attain it.
Philosophers and religious thinkers often define happiness in terms of living a good life, or flourishing, rather than simply as an emotion.


source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness



Balloons are almost a guarantee of happiness with children.  Happy Children = Happy Me





Happiness is the easiest emotion to feel, the most difficult to define, and the hardest to create intentionally.  ~Norman Cousins

source: http://www.behappy4life.com/happinessquotes.html

Being caught up in a moment of pure abandonment while playing = happiness.  Leave it to balloons!

The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself.  ~Ben Franklin

source: http://www.behappy4life.com/happinessquotes.html

Getting surprised with a special treat for a special occasion...Mmmmm...sweet happiness.

It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.  ~Charles Haddon Spurgeon

source: http://www.behappy4life.com/happinessquotes.html

How will we catch onto and hold happiness?

Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.  ~Aristotle
source: http://www.behappy4life.com/happinessquotes.html

Post-its for my next project. 
Being organized and on top of things definitely brings me happiness.

Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort. 

~Franklin D. Roosevelt

source: http://www.behappy4life.com/happinessquotes.html

 * Sneak Peak *
Finished projects make me happy...especially if the project helps me be more organized.

happy  (ˈhæpɪ)
— adj  , -pier , -piest
1.	feeling, showing, or expressing joy; pleased
2.	willing: I'd be happy to show you around
3.	causing joy or gladness
4.	fortunate; lucky: the happy position of not having to work
5.	aptly expressed; appropriate: a happy turn of phrase
6.	informal  ( postpositive ) slightly intoxicated source:  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/happiness

What makes you happy?

I hope you are touched with many moments of happiness today and all through your weekend!

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Welcome to our new pantry space

 

IT'S FINALLY DONE...

And organized.  Aaaahhhh.  Now that feels nice!

Scott created the built-ins with wood we had hanging about.  We painted the shelving white and I painted the back wall a soft green color.  Nothing fancy.  Just practical.  ;)

 

I added wicker bins and baskets so I could organize things by category:  meal components, crackers & chips, snacks & treats, and the one at the very bottom holds our paper plates, plastic utensils, napkins and baggies.  The very top shelf holds baking supplies.

 

After the first built-in was done we realized we needed more space, so Scott added the second built in to go further into the angle of the closet.  There was only so much we could purge without tossing things we'll need.

I brought in a wire rolling cart for all the miscellaneous and canned foods.  It's very narrow so it fits perfectly against the wall.

I used up a good portion of my wicker to organize this space.  The tote at the end holds all of the extra paper shopping bags. 



I put up one of our new handmade chalkboards.  This one I jazzed up a bit with some jute strung across the top and attached with upholstery nails.  AND Seven little clothespins ~ one for each day of the week.  I went to BHG.com and printed up a bunch of labels with our favorite main course meals on them.  It was easy...go HERE if you want to make your own. 

I didn't worry about sides or desserts.  Maybe I'll add those later.  I like this chalkboard here ~ I can jot down the ingredients I will need as I plan my weeks menus.  When we use the last of something, we can write it on the board as a reminder.

Alex helped make these tags.  Next time I think I will print the labels on sticky address labels so we can just peel and stick them.  That would have been so much quicker.

I love these mini clothespins.  I wrote the days of the week on them with a fine tip marker.  I'm not looking for anything extravagant...I like utilitarian...especially in this type of space.

Big Improvement, huh!

More to come tomorrow when I reveal the LAUNDRY ROOM

Previous posts about this space:

http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/good-day-2012-nice-to-finally-make-your.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/storage-under-stairs.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge-take.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/well-stocked-pantry-p3-style.html
http://ponderedprimedperfected.blogspot.com/2012/01/imagine-impossibilities-challenge-take_23.html


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