Breaking Dawn

I was harped on by months to finish The Twilight series and here we are at the end. Twilight has been an experience of its’ own, probably accounting for the almost cult like devotion from the fans and the journey it led us all on…..everyone knows someone who reminds them of the Voulturi or Jacobs’s sweet, protective nature. The thing I hate about once in a lifetime books is they rarely satisfy, instead you find yourself turning to the last page shocked that it’s over and wishing there was just one more chapter or one more book….

That said – I’m more stoked than ever about the next two movies and can’t wait to find myself at the movie theatre, resisting the urge to fall asleep at a sensible hour. I hope Stephanie Meyer continues with the story of Renesme but it’s doubtful.

I’ve been meaning to start including my favorite quotes for my book journal and here it is from Breaking Dawn:

"Is there no hope, then?" Carlisle whispered. There was no fear in his voice.
Just determination and acceptance.

"There is absolutely hope," I murmured
back. It could be true, I told myself. "I only know my own fate."

Edward took my hand. He knew that he was included. When I said my fate, there was no question that I meant the two of us. We were just halves of the whole.

I just love this book and the characters. Big hugs to my fellow Twilighters!

Everything you Need

On my desk at work.

Avoiding playing magic tricks in Excel. Obviously.

Word Art

Spring in Austin is about the prettiest time of the year - before the raging heat forces everyone (and their dogs) inside - and before we skip autumn altogether and move onto some of the silliest winters most have ever seen. Right now it's all about basil shoots (just forced their way up yesterday, pics to follow) and weather that beckons me through the office windows.

We're working on more projects - painting chairs, picking the 'right' shade of grey for the dining room, cleaning up after a Lab that is shedding in anticipation of the upcoming dog park visits....it's a good time, hard to even post all the pictures.

But here are a few word arts I love and might print out for the study.

Who doesn't love Audrey Hepburn who believes in pink?

Sounds about like my mom.

Makes me want to enroll in a photography class and really learn the art of black and whites.

A sucker for pictures of trees.

Oh, the traveler's heart.

Obsessed with the 'Keep Calm' quotes these days, I thought of painting this in my closet above a shelf but it's so time consuming. Just read up on the history of these today, they were created by the British government for their citizens in WWII but abandoned. Rediscovered in 2000 they have been popping up everywhere.

I love this little bird - this one is a winner and completely frame worthy.

Dinner is served.

Mmmmmmm - mom's little cheesestick concoction left in the oven.

Still, better than sunglasses.

Closet Makeover

The unveiling is here!!!!!!!!

What started has TJ’s idea to install shoe racks for my birthday evolved into something bigger (and therefore much more time consuming) – the conversation over the past month went something like this:

Let’s install shoe racks…of course if we’re going to do that they are going to be pretty permanent so if you don’t like the flooring it’s time to get rid of it now. …..oooh I’ve been wanting to install tile……if we’re going to do the tile I should paint before we rip the carpet out….now the trim looks aged….we should do this the right way and paint it as well. Okay, now the trim, shelves, and walls are painted – let’s install the tile.

Before the tile was installed I came home from work on a Friday to find the chandelier of my dreams installed in the closet. *shriek* And then came the tile itself, we took a trip to Lowe’s and found the most adorable white tile that wasn’t too shiny or too flat….then we started walking around the store and decided for some deco tiles, I warned TJ they would be more complicated to cut but don’t you know he was a natural with the tile saw?
Okay okay, no more….feast your eyes. I wish I had more 'before' shots but you'll get the general idea.

And now....







Here are some shots of how the tile was done, first we dropped in one of the main tiles and worked around it - the deco tiles were so tedious to cut and place properly but I'm so happy with them. I was worried about the added cost a little but in the end I only got three at around $5.00 apiece.





And then the final product after the mortar.



And then came the shelves themselves. A lot of cutting, a lot of painting, a lot of going back to the home improvement stores for things we'd forgotten or run out of. In my experience these projects never run according to plan.





I wish I had more pictures of the wood as it was being installed and before it was even painted - I must not have loaded them to my account and they are being held hostage on my laptop at home. Oh well.

Do you love it? I like all the little details, the satin covers on the bars, the little belt hooks TJ mounted for me. It was the best birthday gift I could have gotten, not just an important part of my house getting a makeover but the difference a year makes. When life hands you lemons you refuse to settle and chunk 'em.

Snow Day

I love these pictures. I think I finally managed to get photos so sweet even TJ likes them. I’ll post more later, these were some of the candidates I was editing last night to frame around the house.

TJ with pups at the pond, this is my favorite.





My Riley’s bear like claws.



Best friends.

I love pictures of trees in the winter, TJ took this one for me, if you look carefully you can see three dogs.

TJ looking very Justin Timberlake-esque. Poor Hopper is being blocked by Riley, she’s such a camera hog.

I'm finally figuring out how to use this blog, I need to get my photos uploaded to another server - I have a LOT of them.

Eclipse

I finished reading this about a month ago but haven't had time to post it - things have been crazy busy at work - I wonder if I'll ever dig myself out of the calculations.

Still going strong with Team Edward, but poor Bella, Jacob is such a good friend. *guilt trip*

I hope to post pictures of the closet soon, as with any project I've worked on I start out energized and towards the end lose momentum. The bedroom and bathroom are a virtual sea of shoes and clothes and I'm ready to get the house back in order - to any girl the closet is key to a zen like attitude.