#10-Jane Eyre is my number 50!

"My bride is here... because my equal is here, and my likeness" -Mr. Rochester to Jane (Ch. 23)

I'm on my 50th book on the BBC list and I saved a really great one for this: Jane Eyre!

How come no one ever told me about this amazing story?  When I started it, I instantly felt a pang in my heart that no one had read this book to me in my youth.  It's just that good!

Jane and Rochester's love even rivals Darcy and Elizabeth.  The main difference is that Rochester and Jane talk about every single passionate or dark emotion they have, where as Darcy and Elizabeth rarely talk about their feelings, but when they do you feel the gravity of them.

One thing I will say is that the Bronte sisters definitely know how to write "crazy."  Although, I think that Emily's Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights definitely trumps Charlotte's Bertha, but it's a close one.

So if you haven't read it, let me sum it up for you:

Orphan, mean Aunt, puritan school, tuberculosis and typhoid, new order, governess, dark brooding man, suspicious maid, almost burned to death, fire-side chats, trick, bite marks, doctor fetched in the night, trip, mean Aunt dies, proposal, "apparition" of crazy lady, wedding, objection: "you're already married," crazy lady locked in mansion, gotta go,wait, you're my cousin, happy ending.

Love, love, love.  I've busted out 4 more books since I finished Jane, so that brings my total to 54 of 200.  I also finally finished all the Roald Dahl books on the list and I'm very happy to be done with those as great as they were!

If you're looking for another suggestion, I highly recommend A Town Like Alice: SO GOOD!

Aligner 3

Oh Friday, thank you for your awesomeness!  I was ready for your arrival on Monday.

I'm so ready for the weekend.  It'll be the first weekend in a while that I haven't felt like dying, so I'm hoping to get a project or two out of the way.

I just ordered some vintage frames off of Etsy for my half bath, so I want to get those up.  I'll give you some pictures, don't worry.

My kitchen has been a wreck for a few weeks because I need to put up my backsplash, change the light fixture, and paint.  I've had all the supplies in boxes in the dining area.  If I can at least do the backsplash and get Mr. S to change out the light, I'll call this weekend a success.  Do you know any kids I can pay to paint my kitchen?  I'm so over painting because I've done a 3rd of the house by myself.  Mercy!

And if I'm able to be ultra persuasive, maybe I can get Mr. S to go to Crate and Barrell with me and get a sleeper sectional for the basement...(don't hold your breath for this one).

It's still freezing here, but I've got the urge to get to gardening.  I have to wait, but maybe I can plan out some landscaping in the back yard and get a budget together.

And last of all I have to tidy up so that the cleaning lady can clean on Monday.  Did I mention that I'm in love with her?  Really...best investment in "us" we've ever made.

Happy Friday, all!

Aligner 2 (The Princess of Dorkdom)

Well, here's another update on my invisalign.  I'm still loving it, but the new set I put in this morning is definitely a lot tighter!  I hope that in 2 weeks I can see a lot of improvement between the aligners.  Either way, I know I'm not going to be able to really tell until I compare the original with the final product.

So here you go, more pictures of my teeth!

In other nerdy things/events, I ordered my first pair of glasses.  I would have gotten them yesterday but they had trouble getting the lenses into the frames correctly and then ran out of lenses...so they had to have more lenses over-nighted.  I wasn't too bummed because they upgraded my lenses for no extra charge and then gave me lens cleaner for my wait.  Since I'm pretty laid back it was no big deal.  I did almost 2 hours of window shopping, got a pretzel, and had a text-a-thon with my best friend. All in all, that's a pretty decent evening.  I hope that I can pick them up tomorrow after work before Mr. S and I go out to celebrate V-day.

I guess I should also shave my legs tomorrow.  Isn't it funny how that's your main concern when you've been together for so long?  We aren't doing gifts, so it's mostly just an excuse for a nice dinner.

Anyroad, I'll post some pictures of the glasses once I get them.  Glasses and "braces"...it has been a big year for me.

Convalescent Crafting

I saw this sign for the laundry room on Make it-Love it and I said to myself...wait...the company they're talking about sells kits you use to make these?  Really?  A kit?  Lame!

Keeping with the theme of organizing/decorating my closets, I decided I needed to make one of these for myself...without a mamsey pamsey pre-drilled kit.

Since I'm feeling under the weather for the 3rd time in just 4 weeks, I decided there was no time like the present to work on this. I trekked to Michael's and wandered around aimlessly trying to find an associate.  Seriously, does anyone work there?  I was having a hard time finding vinyl that you could print on (for the lettering).  I thought this would be all the rage in scrapbooking, but I guess I was wrong.  I was told to go to a fabric store.  That didn't fly since I was barely able to complete my mission at Michael's without infecting the entire district, so I substituted sticker letters.  Don't judge me.

Let's get to the how-to of it all.  I did the entire thing from scratch in 30 minutes (they estimated 45 for the kit) and in the comfort of my bed.

You'll need: a plaque, a piece of scrapbooking paper (I went with a sunshine yellow), mod podge, a brush, twine, letters, a drill, and a pen.

I recommend you use sand paper to file the edges down a bit, especially if you cut the paper just a little too wide.  Also, use a little mod podge to seal down the edges.

I used a piece of paper as a straight edge so that my letters didn't turn out wonky.

Drilling was easy, but if you're using wide twine you'll need to use a larger drill-bit. And of course if the holes don't line up that adds to the charm!

Not too shabby(chic), eh?  I really wish I could have gotten the vinyl to do the lettering because then I could have gotten a really cute font on there, but since this is going in a closet, I'm not really that worried about it, but if I ever find the correct materials I don't think it would be hard to upgrade.

Catch-up

I know that I'm 2 months late on this, but I forgot to share the most hilarious image in the history of pet torture.

Happy Holidays!  Buah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Remember, this is love. I took some of the dog in a Santa hat, but nothing beats this.  This picture will be up all year in the living room.  It makes me laugh so much every time. 

I know, I'm evil.

Cabin Fever and More OCD Tendencies

I think the feeling of winter cabin fever has set in for a lot of us (are you ready for Spring yet.  I know fo' reals).  I know that my friend Caitlin has been bitten by the organizing bug in her new apartment and I totally empathize with this sentiment.  Last week I got snowed in on Thursday and used the time to take on the task of organizing my pantry (and the rest of the house).

Here's the pantry in a sort of sorted phase...I say "sort of" very loosely.

Before

 We've been keeping the pet food in these huge containers in the middle of the kitchen/eating area...They're huge and not very attractive.  If only I had a place to put them...  Also, enjoy Oliver pining to go out in the snow: love him.

Sadly, my shelves in the pantry are really low.

 I used some elbow grease to remove the bottom shelf and ta-dah!  Even found a great place to hide my step ladder.

I used clothes pins and my label maker to mark where things go on the shelves, Now there is no excuse for Mr. S not to put things where they go. (Seriously, let me tell you how much I love my new camera lens...life is good)

 And once I was done, everything had a home and was sorted by beverage, mix, fiber&oatmeal, oils, etc.  Oh and I made the plastic bag holder out of old materials I had.  If you're interested in the how-to, let me know.  Easy-peasy.

After

A was for Amanda, but now it is for Apron

 I installed a great shelf to hang brooms and mops too.

What do you think?  I also organized the hall closet with bins and a little set of drawers for outside gardening things and our sport accessories...There was a lot of closet action last week, but I was in panic mode trying to get all the junk in the house sorted because our new cleaning lady started this past Monday...and let me tell you...I'm so in love with her!  She cleaned my door handles...and unclogged our tub, and even moved the dog's crate with him in it to clean...and she emptied our vacuum, which she didn't even use...

I'm in raptures because my house has that bleached clean smell you get when you slip into hotel sheets.  I might be the only person who likes that, but I really loved coming home from work.  If you're in my area and need a recommendation, let me know and I'll hook you up!

And I'll leave you all with a teaser for my next kitchen renovation project.  I got the idea back in October and one weekend I'll actually get to it.  It took me forever to find the materials for this because I ended up special ordering them.  I've been a weeny about doing this one because I only get one cut.

Ain't it fun?