Confessions of a Non-Shopaholic

I have a love/hate relationship with shopping. I have plenty of shopping stories that I could regale you with, but... I won't. If you know me well you already know what kind of shopper I am (Lilian is probably nodding her head now). If you've shopped with me you know how fussy I am (Melinda remember when you got $10 off the price of a dress in Park City years ago; because I found a spot on it?). A stranger once looked into my cart at the grocery store, then looked at me and said, "I've never seen groceries so organized in a grocery cart before." Should my shopping habits make me proud or embarrassed? I'm not sure... maybe a little bit of both considering the circumstance of the moment. Needless to say, although I do enjoy shopping excursions with friends and family, when I really want and need to accomplish something I prefer to go alone. Not because I don't enjoy the company... but I'd rather not put people I love through the torture of shopping with me.

But today I share a happy and successful shopping story which  is also very true to the nature of my shopping habits. So enjoy.

Several months ago while shopping at a favorite store I found this red table and immediately fell in love with it. I knew it would be perfect in my living room, but it was what I considered to be a major cash purchase. When I am making major purchases... I like to "think about it". Often while I am thinking, I miss out. My tolerant extremely patient husband often tells me that I over think such things. He's often the one who tells me to buy it. In fact, he always tells me to buy it. How many husbands do that? Only the ones who have the secure knowledge that their wives "think about it" too much.

This store offers 20% at any given time (if you happen to shop there and they tell you that), but I needed more than 20% off to justify the purchase. I have gone into that store on a weekly basis for months watching and waiting for my table to go on sale. A few weeks ago there was a store coupon for 25% off, but I had a price in my head and 25% still didn't cut it. I finally decided that I was going to forget about the table... and I did. A week ago while shopping with Marivic at another favorite store, I found another red table... this time my "think about it" habit saved me from a purchase and then a return, because two days later I went into the original store and there was my table... 30% off. Just dollars above what I would spend. I knew this was my last chance. It was now or never. I scrutinized every detail of looked at the table for several minutes.  The store employee told me that she could give me 35% off if there were scratches (don't you love the distressed look?), so I bravely asked, "could you go 40%?" A quick phone call and the 40% offer was approved. There was no thinking about it now, within minutes that table was in the back of my little car and I was on my way home.

So how do you like my red table? I will post another picture when I accessorize it... but knowing me that could take a few more months, so please don't hold your breath.



A New Bed

It has been over a year since I sold my bedroom furniture and have been "looking" for a new set. Well... when I say looking, I don't mean it's been a top priority, but I have looked. Last week I went into Noble House Furniture and Design and found this bed at a great discount. I loved it!! Totally different than what I've been looking for but it called to me. I'm excited to find the rest of my pieces and eventually put my room together. By the way... I have a nice king headboard (looks like leather... but isn't) with a king bed frame that I'm selling. They're just a year old and in new condition. If you know of anyone that is interested...

What Do You Think Of These!?!

What do you think of these metal canisters!?! I have seen them sold seperately at two different stores in recent weeks and admired them. Then yesterday I went into Real Deals for the first time and there they were, sold as a set at an amazing price. With the help of a Mother's Day gift certificate they are now mine!! So... what do you think? Lids on or lids off? I'm thinking of adding some greenery to the large one, and I may not keep them in this spot, I don't know... I just know that I like them.

Birthday Surprises

My friend Tiffany loves birthdays, they are a big event at her house; in fact... Tiffany even celebrates half birthdays. When someone in her family has a half birthday they get a half a cake, a few little gifts, and I think they sing half of the birthday song... you get the idea. A year ago when Tiffany was expecting her last baby and was due near the end of March, one of her biggest concerns was that the baby didn't come on March 31... why? because there is no September 31 so when would the half birthday be? Thank goodness little Drew arrived on March 30.

Caitlin also loves her birthday, and today is an extra special birthday... because Caitlin is 17 on the 17th. I decided that I really had to step it up (just a bit) and make this a special day for Caitlin. I've never made much of a fuss over St. Patrick's Day (I was born in Ireland for heaven sake), but Caitlin loves her birthday on St. Patrick's Day!! I thought to myself, "what would Tiffany do? She's fabulous at birthdays." I will mention here that Tiffany was Caitlin's Ma on pioneer trek, and so when it comes to birthdays... like "Ma" like "daughter".

I made an attempt at decorating a St. Patrick's table. I knew Caitlin would love that. And she did. I visited Kathryn and Melissa's craft blog and found this cute birthday banner which I actually made (so fun and easy).

And finally, I thought that if I decorated the house with balloons certainly Caitlin will love that. So I followed through with all of my plans and was quite pleased with myself and my efforts.

But I knew everything wasn't perfect. Tonight Caitlin has two choir concerts, one right after the other at her school. When is there time to have the family over for cake and ice-cream? What about her birthday dinner? How do you tell someone who loves her birthday so much that we'll celebrate with the family at our regular 4th Sunday dinner? And... you will share the celebration with your dad, your brother, and your two nephews (she loves them all, but let's face it... she wants her own celebration).

Last night I was at the grocery store and I saw Tiffany. She asked about plans for Caitlin's birthday and I explained to her about all of the complications.

Tiffany inspired me with a wonderful idea... invite Caitlin's brothers over for an early morning breakfast. Caitlin loves her brothers. What a great idea. Could they all come? Would it work? Well it did. I heard her exclamation of delight when she saw her balloons, she liked her birthday banner... but the surprise and joy of seeing all of her brothers there to share breakfast with her was the best.

Thanks Tiffany for such a great idea, thanks Andy, Jeff, and Jeremy for getting up extra early and making your sister's birthday extra, extra special.

We ate at 6:30 am; all of the boys got up early (Jeff came from Layton) and who is the one yawning at the table? The one that just came from upstairs.

Jeffrey, Andy, Caitlin Rose, and Jeremy; these are the best brothers in the whole world.

Do any of you have special birthday memories? Does everyone love their birthdays? I do !!!

Decorating 101

I have been an avid change collector for years! For example: I make a cash purchase for $1.19 and I give them $2.00. Then I go home and put .81 in my LESLEY jar (it's a real jar with my name on it, spelled correctly, that my Dad bought for me in England in 1985, and yes this time I really mean 1985).

I have been doing this for years and you would be surprised at how much change you can collect in just a few months. I have needed to do rugs, shower curtain, and towels in Caitlin's bathroom so this is how I spent my change this go round.




What do you think? Do you think Caitlin will be surprised and excited when she comes home from school? I still have to do some wall decor (you know me and nails).

I loved the polka dotted shower curtain but didn't want all of the polka dotted towels and rugs. So I went with pink and brown. But to help tie in the shower curtain, I splurged on this cute soap dispenser and added the teal hand towel (there are teal dots on the curtain) for a little more color.


We need a few more accessories on the walls and counter top, and I may have to splurge on the polka dotted garbage can; we'll see. You'll never guess what I'm going to buy with my next jar of change; I can't tell because you'll think I'm a dork!

The Eleventh Nail

I hammered a nail in the wall today; the ELEVENTH nail since I've moved in. I know I'm a slacker but if you know me you understand why... I don't want to make a mistake. And even though there are eleven nails in the wall there are only ten pictures/clocks because one picture required two nails. But I'm getting braver, I promise. Let me know what you think of my latest accomplishment (just a baby step really).




Oh, and... isn't Rosie beautiful!!!!

Our First 100 Days

It's been 100 days since we moved into our new home; and so in the tradition of the President of the United States, I'm going to give a report on our accomplishments/happenings during our first 100 days...

I started and finished my entire second season of We Also Sing.

We've done lots of organizational stuff: address changes (times a ba-zillion), utility hook-ups, newspaper and mail, milkman, figuring out which switches control what lights (still working on that one), trying to remember what is in each kitchen cabinet or drawer, learning how to multi task so that I'm not going up and down the stairs so much (I counted one day just for fun; 29 times)....

Mike played his Fall season of softball.

Caitlin rehearsed and performed in West Side Story.

I've made some meager attempts at decorating (I don't like putting nails in new walls).

The very first thing I did was re-create my favorite corner (not in a corner anymore)

This is my master bathroom, the top picture was taken during the day and the bottom was taken at night, I love this room


As you can see Michael has no problem hammering nails into his music room walls; this is just one corner

We spoke in our new ward.

Mike and I were called as chairmen of our stakes float for The Days of '47 parade.

Mike was called as first counselor in the Young Men's Presidency.

I had a favorites party with friends (and a few strangers....they're my favorite strangers).

We've had overnight guests (Derek, Emily, and Becca).

Caitlin and I had a trip to St. George with Chris and Chelsea.


Mike bought a shed (he loves it).

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with our Children and grandchildren.


I was in a car accident on I-15.

Caitlin went to the Homecoming dance and the Halloween dance.

There have been some band practises.

Mason is a way cute future drummer for the band

Steve and Becky came over for dinner and a card game.

We've had several visits from family, friends, ward members, co-workers, and even Jeremy's friend Shanti from Canada.


Caitlin was chosen to sing a solo in her upcoming Christmas Concert at BHS.

On day 96 Caitlin (and her parents) spent hours at Lakeview Hospital while Caitlin underwent testing to determine if she had appendicitis.

On day 96 Mike and I made it home from the hospital in just enough time (literally minutes) to perform at our ward Christmas party.

On day 96 (while at the ward Christmas party) Mike secured a building for us to build the float in; and one of the things (there are a few) that is really wonderful about that is the fact that it is just around the corner from us, we will have easy access to the float during the duration of the building process, we feel really blessed about that.

On day 97 Caitlin went to the Christmas dance with KK; on the way home from the dance Caitlin and Kevin were two of the passengers involved in a car accident (due to black ice and a huge telephone pole). Caitlin had to be transported by ambulence to the hospital. Two ER visits, one CT scan, one ultra sound, and x-rays all within 36 hours is a record for our family; on a positive note (the cup is half full) they were able to do her follow-up tests from the previous day while we were there after the accident. It was frightening for all of us and I'm so grateful that Caitlin is okay.


Over the last 100 days I've experienced a major change in my life; I left my comfort zone and ventured into something new, not always an easy thing to do. I feel very grateful and blessed for the love and support of family and friends, I am grateful for the warm welcome and enthusiasm that we've felt from our new neighbors and ward members, I'm grateful that our beloved tenth ward members haven't forgotten us, I am grateful for how abundantly blessed I have been when I don't feel like I deserve it. Here's to the next 100 days (and hopefully a few more nails in the walls....and no more visits to the ER).

A Sad Tale

This is how the end of my hallway used to look.It doesn't look like that now. I was awakened abruptly by a loud crash at exactly 1:20 am on Monday morning. I was disoriented for a moment and then got out of my bed to see "what was the matter" and this is what I found. My little red flower pot lying on the floor broken, with it's little flecks of fake dirt all around it (this picture is a re-creation of the crime, the evidence had already been swept away).The culprit (she who cannot be named) had a "convincing" explanation. She was going to her room (at 1:20 am?) wrapped in her favorite quilt (Granma made it, how do you get mad at a child wrapped in Granma's quilt) when her quilt knocked into the plant stand and....well, as you can see the rest is history. Now certainly I can understand an accident to be sure. But then the excuses start. "That really isn't a good place for that plant Mom, that was bound to happen." Now I must say at this point that those plants have been there a couple of years and never been disturbed. Next comment from the guilty, "I really didn't like that flower anyway, it didn't look very good." Should I be offended? I loved my red flower. So I decided maybe I'd try something new (I didn't really have a choice).So I thought I'd put it out there and ask for some opinions.
How about this? Is it to much?Or this? I really don't want my London clock to end up all over the floor.I really do love my red flower. Do you think anyone would notice this? It is clear down at the end of the hall after all.I'm open for suggestions. If you have an idea, even for a complete change I'd love you to share.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas...Starting With Nativties

Several years ago I started collecting nativities. I'm not even sure how it all got started, but I now have about thirty nativities. A relatively small collection compared to most, but big enough for me. They range in size from Christmas tree ornaments to the complete Willow Tree nativity; I even have a few that are child friendly, including the Fisher Price nativity. I thought that I would share just a few of the ones that I'm displaying this year.

I made this wall hanging about ten years ago. Amongst all of the random pieces of fabric are significant ones that represent my husband and I and each of our five children. Joseph's robe is a remnant of the lining of my first Christmas costume while singing with the Echoes of the Heart; the Baby Jesus' swaddling clothes are the bottoms of Andy's white pants that he took into the mission field ( you know the ones you buy that aren't hemmed and you cut them to the right length and hem them?); the halo above the baby's head is a gold ring that my mother-in-law gave to Ashleigh on her first Christmas in 1987; the shepherds robe is from my favorite pair of Baby Gap overalls that Caitlin wore as a toddler; the shepherds scarf is a piece from Jeffrey's tie; and the ears and faces of the sheep and a couple of the hearts are lining from Michael's and Jeremy's ties. I bought this Precious Moment nativity in 1991; our first Christmas without Ashleigh. I displayed it on her bedroom dresser and then I closed the door and walked away. Everyone needs a magnetic nativity on their fridge. FYI: my fridge is not blue.
This nativity is made from miniature clay pots. One of these years I'm going to make these for the Family Christmas Party.



One of my children gave me this kit as a gift and I crossed stitched it one holiday season. The cute little wood nativity was a boutique find that I couldn't pass up.


I bought these pillows at a boutique a few years ago and I loved them so much that I searched high and low for the pattern. When I finally found it I made a couple of sets and several individual pillows of the Holy Family as gifts. I recently discovered that I have a few of these unfinished in my craft supply, so you never know when I might show up at someones home with a gift (but please don't hold your breath this year).This nativity was knitted by a mother and daughter who lived in my parents mission in England.My Willow Tree nativity that was completed with the purchase of the creche last year (with my spare change).

My Favorite Corner

This is my favorite corner in my home. The reason it's my favorite is because this hutch is the piece of furniture that I love the most. It's country. It's distressed. It's antiqued. It's me. One of my projects for my "week off" was to take everything off of the hutch and either dust it or wash it and then put it back. I'm a very sentimental person when it comes to some of my "treasures" so I'm going to share just a few of them on this post.I bought this bear several years ago at a holiday boutique. I'm one who sometimes has a hard time parting with my dollars so I debated back and forth for several minutes about this purchase, but I think it's obvious why I couldn't pass up this cute bear. I love dishes and bowls and I keep my favorites here. This bowl in a family heirloom given to me by my mother-in-law a few years ago, it originally belonged to my father-in-laws family. I believe it is more than 100 years old. For many years I've eaten meals in her home served from this bowl. It is a treasure that I choose to display and keep safe for my daughter.In a home as small as mine I have to use my space wisely, so I hide holiday bowls inside the ones that you see in the hutch. These are a few of my holiday bowls. I love the spider chip and dip set. The other bowls are made by Tag one of my favorite companies.On the bottom shelf is my Dr. Pepper crate. A few years back soda pop crates were all the rage. My mother-in-law found this one in her mother's shed. It came from the days when Michael's Grandpa had a motorcycle shop in Ogden. It was in mint condition and Dr. Pepper was my favorite drink for many years until I gave it up (16 years; 10 months; and 17 days ago). The crate has 24 sections and each one has a dishcloth in it.This picture was a Christmas card that we received from David and Christine the first year that they were married (1993). I loved it so much that I framed it and I display it year round (even though there is a Christmas tree in the picture).Last but not least is a little touch of whimsy; my "hokey pokey" block that my sister gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. Every year that we go to the beach house our family does the hokey pokey around the camp fire. It's amazing that no one has ever fallen in.Well that was a little bit of nostalgia and sentiment from me. So here are a couple of questions for you. What do you love about your favorite corner in your home? And, does anyone know what the hokey pokey is all about?

Home Sweet (remodeled) Home

Our house was looking a little sad and depressed so we thought we'd cheer it up with a bit of a makeover. We talked about it for awhile, then we started to plan; because the one who says "it's just a pleasure being nominated..." also says, "...nothing happens without a plan." Then Granpa volunteered to help and our goal of let's be done by the end of August, turned out to be carpet's coming on August 11th!!! We got started on July 24th when Michael and Granpa pulled out tile, moldings, and carpet. The next day it was full speed ahead and we were actually done long before the end of August. Although the biggest part of the job is done, I am still trying to decorate and pull it all together, but here it is so far:

Anyone who knows Granpa Marsden knows how much fun he is. He can't just paint a room, he has to turn the paint roller into a guitar!As I watched Michael working hard at removing the tile he'd put in 16 years earlier, I felt a bit guilty. He never complained and did a wonderful job of laying the new updated tile. Michael and Dad did painting, molding, tile, light fixtures, and hardware. I took on one project myself. My 26 year old railing. It is as sturdy as the day it was put in and there was no reason to replace it. So I decided to paint it. I was very nervous that it wouldn't turn out right so I procrastinated as long as I could and then I jumped into the project. This is how it's looked for 26 years. I put a primer on it first and realized right away it was going to work. Whew!!
This is the finished product!! I am a happy camper. Looking for furniture was a major undertaking for me. I was amazed that I found it on the first day I went looking. I bought the chair at the RC Willey outlet on 90th south and Redwood and my sofa at RC Willey in Syracuse. Both had to be picked up within 24 hours. A complicated feat accomplished by me and my parents. click on sofa photo for a better view of detailsThere's still much to do but here's a look at the decorating so far. Michael did a great job with the new light fixture in the entryway. I wanted something close to the ceiling so that it wouldn't interfere with our painting of Ashleigh.All of these accessories at the end of the hall were placed here before, but I think they look much better with the new paint and molding.That's it so far, stay tuned as the project continues!