Inspiration From....You?

Before I get into the real reason I'm posting today, I thought I'd show one of my very favorite things in my house.  It possibly IS my favorite piece.

Years ago my sister in-law and I ventured into an antique shop south of town.  It was huge.  I like antiques, although my house isn't full of them by any means.  But this beauty caught my eye. An old narrow window shutter.

Here is a close up look.

I wasn't sure what I would do with it, but I liked it enough to shell out a whole $4 for it.  Actually, there were *2* of them. What was I thinking by not getting that 2nd one?!  I am totally kicking myself for not having a matching set.

Just look at the beautiful old metal!

I didn't even care that part of it was painted and the other not.  Still adorable to me.

Anyway, I thought I could use it to store mail or something in the slots, but then thought better. 

<<<< After receiving inspiration by looking at this in the Lillian Vernon catalog, I decided to put my own spin on the idea.

I had the smaller frames leftover from an ugly wire wall hanging thingie, so I thought I'd put them to good use. They already had the eyehooks on them to boot. So all I had to do was buy some ribbon to hang the frames from the shutter. Works for me! 

I don't know about you, but I'm a sentimental person. So I thought that placing photos of my grandparents homes in the frames would be just the thing to make me smile whenever I looked at them. I had visited my grandparents on both sides of my family up in Michigan's Upper Penninsula many many years. These old homes are important to me in my memories.

  The photos weren't of when my grandparents actually lived there because they have been gone for many years, but the houses were still special to me, so I sneakily  snapped photos when we visited the area one summer.  I even have a photo of my grandparents old cabin in Canada, plus a photo of some waterfalls that are nearby that cabin.

Anyway, the purpose of showing all this is because I like to decorate with things that have meaning. I like that I had some inspiration for this project. And I like that I found the adorable shutter really cheap!

So, now I have a new project. It's not an antique, but like the shutter, it was cheap ($6) at JoAnn Fabrics.  And I know I want to do something special with it, but I have no inspiration! It's been sitting here for a few months and I have only a vague idea of what I should do with it!  What is it you ask?  Well, it's this......

It's a big 'ol "W"!!

It's made of papier mache' and is begging me to do something with it.  I can hang it with a hook or it's also free-standing. So what do I do with it?!!

It's big- like 2 ft.x 2 ft. tall kind of big. 

My only thought is to print out photos of my family and make a collage on it. A sepia-toned collage. I'm all about senitment, so wouldn't photos of my family be just what it needs? Or not? 

HELP! I could really use some inspiration here.  Please! I want to hear your ideas. If I don't get them, I might possibly go mad. You don't want me to end up in the loony bin do you? ;)

Aroma Glow Lamps

Not a food review this time.

In case you didn't read in my previous Try It Tuesday post, I am a Bzz Agent. I receive free samples of products to try and then I give them my opinion. These Aroma Glow lamps were my latest freebie. I received one lamp....
this one below...

It came with a vanilla fragrance cartridge. You can buy these lamps here. Or you can find them at Wal-mart, Ace Hardware or Meijer (plus other stores...check out the website). I believe they are priced between $10-$15. You can also buy fragrance cartridges separately.

Ok, so here is some info about these lamps from their official website, Lamplight Farms:
• Effective fragrancing
• Longlasting fragrance
- burns up to 25 hours
• Sootless and smokeless • No wax mess
• No need to trim wick
• Pre-set wick with a constant
flame height
• No waste – burns 99%
complete
• Economical/refillable
• Decorative and giftable

Soooo....my thoughts on this lamp? Honestly, I don't really like it all that much. First of all, they have several designs to choose from, but there aren't many that I actually like. The one they sent me is ok, but not something I would have chosen. I might have chosen this one though:


...as a Christmas gift that is. Check out the website to see the other styles. Each one is only available at certain stores.

I liked how the oil is supposed to last a long time and also that there is no soot or wick to trim. The vanilla fragrance was ok at first, but after awhile the smell got to me. Even this kids kept asking when they could blow it out because it was, "stinking" up the house. My kids usually love it when I light candles. Maybe I could try another fragrance using the coupons they sent me. I think I should give it one more shot. I'll check them out at Meijer next time I'm there.

Now let me jump back a bit...before I even lit the thing, I had to read the instructions on how to put the fragrance jar in the lamp. It wasn't too hard, but I couldn't understand why I had a round piece of metal sitting in the box. It seemed to have no use. Then I finally realized that it had a bit of glue on it. It had fallen off the main part of the lamp. Ok, problem fixed. I just didn't use it which makes me wonder what the purpose was for that piece to begin with.

The biggest problem that I don't care for with this lamp, is that the oil can't be stored with the lamp. A person would have to take it out and put the original plastic cap on to store it. I'm lazy. I don't like to worry about things like that. First of all, I'd have to put the cap somewhere while the lamp is in use. Then to screw it back on and store it away from the lamp is just a hassle to me. Boy, I sound like a whiner don't I? Sorry. I'm just so used to my Yankee Candles or Woodwick which only have tops to place back on when I'm finished.

The next big problem I have with these lamps is that the oil can be harmful to children. Yes, any candle can burn someone, but oil can be fatal.

I hate to give bad reviews, but if this company would do the following things.....I might like their product a bit better......

#1: Make their lamps in more desirable styles. Have better designs and even better shapes to their lamps. The shape seems a bit outdated.

#2: Not make a lazy person like me have to take the oil cartridge out of the lamp every single time I'm done with it. Plus, I got my fingers a bit oily while doing it. I'm a lazy and messy person I guess.


I will update when I try another fragrance, but until then, I say thumbs down to this wannabe Yankee Candle lamp. On the plus side...I do think the price which seems to be about $10-$15 isn't so bad for what it is. Especially when compared to pricey candles from specialty shops.

Has anyone else tried these? Do you have a positive review to share? Let me know :)

P.S....I know I haven't done any personal blog posts lately. I will try when I can. I've been sick and also busy with the holidays looming ever so close. Plus, my camera is still broke and I am still using Rick's laptop which means I lost my usual programs that I like to use when I'm blogging. *sigh*

What does your bed say about you?

I don't usually believe in these silly things, although I still find them interesting.

THIS one tho.... is ME to a tee!

What Your Bed Says About You

Outward appearances are a concern of yours, but not your primary concern. You try to take care of yourself and your home, but it's not an obsession. You try to be an organized person, but you often fall behind. Certain parts of your life tend to fall into chaos. You are very high maintenance. You like everything a certain way, and you're grumpy if things aren't the way you like them. In relationships, you tend to kick back and let the other person be in charge. You tend to be a dreamy, head in the clouds type of person. You think in terms of possibilities. You are a total homebody. You are happiest when you're at home.

What Does Your Bed Say About You?

Speaking of beds...I like my bed. It's a wood sleigh bed with some bronzish ironwork. Now my bedding? That's another story. My bedding has to go. I've had the same bedding for about 10 years. My dogs have shredded it with their, "playtime". I'd take a picture of it all, but my camera is being poopy.

I can't afford new bedding right now, but if I could, I'd like to get something like this from Michael Kors:
Minus the leather pillows tho. I'm just not that into leatha.

OR...I could go luxurious with something like this:

Or luxurious PLUS comfy with this Tommy Hilfiger bedding:
I can just see myself getting a fabulous nights rest in this fluffiness of that bedding!


Maybe I'll just show you my favorite ensemble:

Just kidding.

Although, the skulls might keep the kids out of my room at night. ;)

More than likely, I'd buy something like this:
And add several different patterned pillows.

Maybe some like this:

For now, I'll just add it all to my wish list and keep dreaming. I'm just happy to have a bed and someone to cuddle with under the covers, no matter what those covers look like ;)