Book Club Mermaid Style

Fire of the Sea book club familybringsjoy.comBook club where I live is kind of a big deal. Each month it’s hosted at a book club member’s home. The majority of the time, hostesses will decorate according to the book we will be discussing. It’s not mandatory, we just have a lot of creative homemakers in our group. I was excited to host last month. Not only was I able to host, but we read a fantasy book I suggested Fire of the Sea. This is an extra special book as it was written by a dear friend of mine, Lyndsay Johnson. The main character, Aeva, is a mermaid.

Let me take you on a tour through our home.

Imagine you are swimming the seas around Iceland.

Do you hear the ocean sounds?

Do you smell the ocean breeze?

Good. :) (Door mat from Target)

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Here, I took an old grapevine wreath I’ve used countless times and added some fishing net (Michaels.) I gently placed the sign (Hobby Lobby) inside the branches. No need to hot glue.

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Come on in!

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Everything you see here, I already had. I heart coastal decor, so truly I didn’t buy too much decor for this event. I typed up one of my favorite quotes from the book, printed it and put it in a frame. Lyndsay sent me some of her graphic work for the book. I printed it and framed it as well.

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Above, I added more of the book graphics onto this framed chicken wire (Michaels.) The map shows where Aeva’s adventures occur. The second graphic the family history tree of the Norse Gods. I put Lyndsay’s very cute bookmarks and buttons in this cute fish dish (Target.) I made the glass filled sand and shells several years ago.

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Here in the dining room I used wrapping paper (Michaels) as my base runner. I then added a fish net (Dollar Tree,) shells (Dollar Tree) and sea glass (Michaels.)

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I filled the sugar mold (found at a vintage show) with blue glass beads (Dollar Tree.)

Fire of the Sea book club familybringsjoy.com-4Have to show my china cabinet filled with my lovely Chloe + Isabel jewelry. It’s in there left over from a Pop Up I held in my home.

Let’s head to the kitchen

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Lobster dish towels & mermaid found at Marshall’s.

Fire of the Sea book club familybringsjoy.com-20Found these awesome plates also at Marshall’s.

Fire of the Sea book club familybringsjoy.com-21I bought some Scandinavian cookies & Swedish Fish from Ikea…as close to Iceland as I could get. Blue icing cupcakes were bought at Market Street.

Fire of the Sea book club familybringsjoy.com-19On the lunch menu was clam chowder in bread bowls. Of course we needed some oyster crackers to go in our soup. Shrimp was the perfect appetizer.

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To drink I served ocean water: Lemonade, Gingerale and Blue Hawiian Punch. We all liked it.

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At the kitchen table I also used the wrapping paper, fish net and glass beads. I added one of our Conch shells to the middle.

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Inside the Conch shell held some of the runes spoken of in the book. (Lyndsay let me borrow those.)

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Below are the first three beautiful women to arrive.

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Now come into my living room.

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Usually the boat is in our bedroom (bought it several years ago from Hobby Lobby.) I already had the old window and type drawer (bought at an antique barn several years ago.)

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I found these letter tags at Michaels for 50% off and couldn’t refuse.

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I was thrilled to find this beautiful mermaid statue at Hobby Lobby. I used my 40% off coupon from the Hobby Lobby app. (You need that app on your phone if you shop at Hobby Lobby a lot.) Again I typed & printed a quote from the book. I added it to this cute frame (Michael’s.)

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Again, I pulled that jar of green shells out of my bedroom and added Aeva’s arm band Lyndsay loaned me. I fell in love with those big, block “scrabble” letters (Michael’s.)

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Many of the shells I added to this type face drawer are ones we have collected at beaches we have been to over the years. I will keep this up all summer long. Lyndsay had the brilliant idea to add sea glass (Michael’s) as well. I love the contrast, depth and color it brings to the piece.

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Of course I had to show Lyndsay’s book trailer video too. I shall share it with you now.



Books Bring Joy,

Appreciating Where I Live (Pretty in Pink Style)


DSC02078 In my last post I wrote about finishing my 5th half marathon on New Years Day. I trained the majority in my neighborhood. One day, while running, I was admiring the beauty around me and the above clip came into my mind. I remember how Andie was looking at the houses and saying how she thought the people living in those houses didn’t truly appreciate them. I wasn’t necessarily thinking that. I was feeling grateful for the beautiful neighborhood I live in. My house is not a mansion like shown in the clip, but it is more than what I would have ever thought I would live in when I was a teenager. Please don’t think I am bragging. That is not my point at all. The point is that I do appreciate my house and neighborhood very much. I like to think if Andie ended up living in a nice house, that she, too, would appreciate it. That’s what happens when you come from modest means. You are grateful for what you worked to attain in life.

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This post is two fold. The movie Pretty In Pink is celebrating it’s 30 year anniversary! So hard to believe. Tonight I’m going to see one of my favorite movies of all time at the movie theater again! This time I’m older on the outside, yet still feel like that giddy teenager on the inside. Tonight is the last showing at the theater for this classic (not sure it should be called a classic yet.) Can’t wait to see it again!

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Disclaimer: I was not paid by anyone to promote this movie. I love it to share for FREE. 😉

Homes & Movies bring joy,

First Christmas in our Texas Home

 

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Merry Christmas!

Old People Music

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My Sister, Mom, Brother and I

This last weekend was heavenly. Many of my family members, including both sets of parents came to visit us this weekend.  I can’t begin to explain the joy it brought me to have everyone here. I would find myself smiling as laughter wafted through the house.

The main reason which brought family in town was Alice…the one act play derived from Alice in Wonderland.  My youngest daughter has embraced my thespian side. She was cast as the Dormouse in this school play.

Daughter as Dormouse in Alice FamilyBringsJoy.com

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Son with cake familybringsjoy.comHowever, Saturday happened to be my Mom’s Birthday!  We used this opportunity to hold a party of sorts for both her and my Son who turned 17 last week.  It was casual. We had BBQ, cake and watched both the Texas Rangers & Alabama (my Mom went to Alabama for 2 years) games.

Funny story

My Daughter had to leave the party early Saturday to prepare for the play.  She didn’t see the gifts I bought for her Grandmother.  Here’s a conversation I had with my Daughter on the way home from school yesterday:

Me: “I received a text from Grandmother today.  She said she is loving her new Taylor Swift CD.”

Her: “You gave her a Taylor Swift CD?”

Me: “Yes, 1989.”

Her: “Why?”

Me: “She likes Taylor Swift.  I found out since she has been visiting she didn’t have a copy, so I thought it would be the perfect gift! Why do you sound surprised?”

Her: “Because, I thought she liked old people music.”

Mom Opening 1989 by Taylor Swift familybringsjoy.comWe then had a discussion about how my mom likes all kinds of music.  It was a good teaching opportunity for me to explain how music isn’t generational. Personally, I really love it when an album can be listened and enjoyed by several generations.  I believe Taylor Swift’s 1989 does just that.  I believe the only other CD I have gifted as much as 1989 would be Mindy Gledhill’s Winter Moon & Anchor albums.

Despite the couple of bad words in Taylor’s 1989, it is a remarkable album with up tempo and slow songs for every kind of mood.  Plus, every time I hear about the amount of money she gives to someone in need, I don’t mind spending the money on her album.  She earned every penny with her excellent lyrics. I’m happy to support an artist who appears to be a genuine person in spite of her fame.  Keep up the good work Taylor!  Our family is enjoying your music. :)

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Mirror, Mirror on the wall, I am my Mother after all.

Oh blog, how I’ve missed you.

Music Brings Joy,

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Just a few weeks ago, we were blessed with the opportunity to host 2 young men (high school) in our home from Canada.  The Canadian’s came to play a 5 day long baseball tournament against 8 other state teams: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.  It’s kind of crazy they come to our little remote town in the middle of no where Oklahoma.  But they do, and it’s a BIG DEAL. {College scouts come from all over}  Anyway, what’s even more insane is that 200 of these baseball players stay in homes of families in the community.  I believe that most families house 2 boys, but there are some families who had up to 5 in their home.  Over the 7 years we have lived here, I’ve heard heartwarming stories about this tournament…really the experience of hosting the players.  Now we know why.
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Above is one of our boys {yes, we host families used that term} we hosted at bat. {For privacy’s sake we will call him #17}  I love this photo because it also has the whole team and coaches in the background too.  Below, 17 is running from second to third.

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Above 17 makes it to home plate.  I love how my camera captured him looking as though he is on his toes.  17 played designated hitter about half of the time while the other half he played outfield.  Now let me introduce our next boy, #21.  He is one of the pitchers on the team and stands at 6’4″.  He is TALL!  And he can pitch a fast ball.

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I swear it looks like he almost does the splits when he throws the ball.

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There was a digital display of the speeds for all the pitches thrown and below shows the speed of one of 21’s pitches.  I know he threw some faster ones, but this is what it was when I decided to take a photo of his speed.

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In the above photo you can see how tall 21 is compared to the rest of the team.  Below is both the boys after a win!

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One night we had a team swim party and they still played baseball…{that’s 17 with the bat}

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Below – Us host moms took a photo together.  We had fun talking about ‘our boys.’  All of us host families got to know each other.  It’s like we were a big extended family.  We sat together at all the games…cheered for our boys.  We all had great experiences with our baseball players.  It was fun learning more about the Canadian culture.  There is NO TELLING what they said about our southern accents.  Best of all is how quickly they were able to integrate into our families.  My son loved having ‘brothers’ for the week.  All of the kids enjoyed having older ‘brothers.’  The other moms talked about how they would play with their kids and help out around the house.  They were true gentlemen with gracious manners.

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Below 17 plays catch with my daughter.  Isn’t that sweet?

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I caught a quick shot of the boys in the back yard before they started their outdoor adventures.

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On the next to the last night of the tournament they announced all of the players and their host families.  We walked on the field. (below)

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After, we took a big photo of the team with all the families. (below)

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Believe it or not, the last photo was before they boarded the bus to go to the airport.  I’m glad I wasn’t in the photo because it was sad for me to say goodbye to these 2 young men.  We ate meals together, I helped them with their laundry, drove them to their games…basically did all the things mom’s do for their own kids.  What can I say, I’m a softy.  I’m so glad we had this experience before we move back to Texas.  I hope to keep in touch with them and know they have a bright future playing baseball at a college here in America.  By the way, in case you are wondering how Team Canada did in the tournament…they won 2 out of 9 games.  However, they beat their record from last year where they lost every game.  You have to understand, baseball is not a popular sport in Canada.  As a matter of fact, they don’t have high school or college baseball in Canada.  These 2 boys come from a private club team.  So the Canadians have a little disadvantage competing against southern boys who have probably played baseball since they were tiny.  #17 has only been playing baseball for a couple of years.  Personally, {& yes, I’m proud to say I’m biased} I thought they did great!  I was very impressed with the team and their coaches.  I was worried they might be in bad moods after losing games, but they never were.  They were happy to be here and happy to be playing the game.  For us Team Canada families, they are number one.

Baseball brings joy,

Day 5 of Kitchen Week

Belated…I know.  Here we go…

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but we had a professional kitchen designer draw up the design for our kitchen.  I absolutely LOVE the spice drawers on both sides of the stove.

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Spices are easily accessible when cooking with these drawers.

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Below you will see one of the two gigantic drawers underneath our stove for pots and pans.

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If you are building a house, the following is a must.  It’s easy to store your pans, trays, etc. in this divider over the oven.

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Next up, there are a row of 4 bottom cabinets in which I house my baking items in.  They each have 2 drawers in them to make retrieving these items quick.  In the following cabinet you see where I store my cookie cutters and some of my Tupperware.  Here’s a little trivia about me.  I used to be a Tupperware Manager long ago before my son was born.  I even had a Tupperware car.  Needless to say, I have a TON of Tupperware.  I still LOVE it and use it every day!

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Last is the pretty glass pantry door.

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Now it’s back to sorting through countless boxes in my attic.  Ugh!

Have a great day,