What Fills You Up?

You know the days.

You feel GREAT, full, peaceful and joyous.
You feel good about your life.
You feel good about the things in your life.
You feel good about you.

Today's blog post is about how women get filled up
and left with that feeling of pure contentment.

I did a post a while back on Aunt Gertrude's
inheritance and what you would choose to buy with it...

We all know material items only get us so far in the
"what fills you up" department.
Yes, nice things are nice to have, but do they really
give us peace and ultimate contentment?

One of my loyal followers requested I do a blog post
on how women revive or empower our souls.

This is a tricky one.

This answer will be different for each woman
who reads this.

All I can do is answer this for me.

In my life I have found that these are the things
that work for me when it comes to being filled up:

spending time with God

keeping my inner circle of friends those
who are strong and continually raise my bar


listening to GREAT music

walking in nature


accomplishing tasks through hard work and determination
(this can be anything from refinishing a piece of furniture,
learning a new skill or making a financial goal)

giving my time, talent or resources


We women need to stick together on this.
We are constantly empowering our neighbors and we may not even know it.

Let's share ways in which we can do this for each other.

Feel free to share how you do this for others or for yourself.
As always, thanks for visiting...

Would love to hear how YOU are get revived, refilled, and empowered.

That Little Black Dress

We all have the occasion...

Dinner with friends?
Work function?
Even the occasional Wedding?

We always ask ourselves the same question...
what to wear?

Something simple,
elegant,
timeless
and looks great on everyone?

The Little Black Dress

When you find the right one for you,
you've got it made in the shade.

Here are a few of my fav's found at BananaRepublic.com

You can't go wrong with the classic wrap dress,
and throw a pair of jeans underneath with flat,
tall riding boots for a more relaxed casual look.

And don't forget the timeless sheath dress...

Love the Tiered Ruffle dress (very big this season)

Tell me about your Little Black Dress

As always, thanks for visiting

The Unwavering White Kitchen

White Kitchen Cabinets

One thing over the years, I've always loved,
still love and will continue to love

That's comforting to know that over time, I still like what I like.
Kind of like my husband (he's a keeper for sure!)

Check out these fab white kitchens.
How much do you love?
(or is it just me?)

Okay, this one isn't quite all white. Only the counter tops are white,
but I really liked this kitchen so I put it in the heap.

What is YOUR unwavering decorative LOVE?

As always, thanks for visiting...

Friendship Bracelets Galore!

Summer Break,
5 reunited buddies from across two different coasts,
and a whole lot of string...

and you've got yourself a friendship bracelet factory!
(if you look closely you can see all their little wrists are adorn...)

The girls looked on the internet for different patterns

Mom even got one...yeah! I'm their friend!

Tess hit the mother load. You go girl.

Madison kept it simple with the twisty one...two shades of pink. Her fav...

This is how they reacted when they knew they were going to start
their summer home craft!

We miss our friends dearly and will relish the time we had together.

Those friendship bracelets remind us just
how lucky we are to have the great friends we do.

We miss you Sunny and Cassadilla...and Freckles, too!

As always, thanks for visiting...
friendship bracelets anyone?

Crafty Colorful Clipboard with my girl

Summer Idea of the week:

It's just been me and my girl all week.
She is loving it.
She secretly pretends she is an only child.
That means lots of attention from Mommy and Daddy.
Oh glory be.

I have to admit.
I am NOT a fan of camp at the moment.
Missing my girls something awful, even though
I know memories are being made and independence is being built

But one silver lining from all this is the special time
I've had with my first born:
the home body,
the crafter,
the home-maker in training.

She's a great buddy.
She and I have run together daily.
We've picked special spots around town to "do" lunch...just her and I.
(Daddy didn't like that one...he wanted to "do" lunch too)
We have laughed together
We sing together (without anyone complaining)
We take the dog on his morning business together.

She's a great gal.

One thing we've done this week while sisters have been away:
Crafty Colorful Clipboards

Front


Back

How fun is that?

This is all you will need:
Any extra ribbon you might have hanging around

Any fun paper you might have on hand...
this is from our scrapbooking bin.

Missy just cut portions of the paper to cover the $2 clipboard we already had.
She used a glue stick to adhere it to the board.
Not even sure she even used a ruler for the edges (she's just like her mom).

Finally you just tie the ribbon on.

Oila!

She loves her new clipboard and I know her sisters will love it too.
Would love to hear fun crafts you've done at home with your own kiddos.
You know I love cheap and easy.

As usual, thanks for visiting.

Another Classic...Sisal Rugs

This is another classic,
must like subway tiles in the kitchen,
or slipcovers in the family room.
A sisal rug is about as good as it gets:

Durable
neutral
natural
comfortable

What is not to love?

Here you will see a sisal rug with a rustic feel

I just LOVE that dark bedside cab with the white bedding.
Throw in a sisal rug and forget it!

Work station and a sisal

So relaxed looking

If you like a more formal look

Sisal with pattern

Simply classic.
Is a sisal in your future?

let us not forget how practical these bad boys can be in an outdoor dining space.

Let me know your thoughts.
As always, thanks for visiting

Happy 4th on the 3rd

Yes, I know it's not quite our Nation's Birthday
But I will be out celebrating
Eating watermelon,
laying by a pool
on a hot and humid day
enjoying friends

I wanted to send celebration
without distraction

so

Happy Independence Day, America!

Mixed Bag Designs

I take them with me always...
To
Target
Wallie
The Grocery
The Library

We all have them.
They may match, or not
They may have been collected from here...
or there...

They are our

REUSABLE BAGS

They keep our great Earth green
They help eliminate unnecessary plastic waste
They are ecologically mindful

Came across these beauties doing a fundraiser for our kids sports
They are wonderful!

Hardly a time I head to the grocery where someone doesn't ask me about them

They are responsible

They are purdy...

Please visit
MIXEDBAGSDESIGNS
for more info

for more on this topic visit

PEARDOWNLIVING

As always, thanks for visiting...