Hello 8-1!

It's been a while but I figured I'd post something new since some of my students have recently discovered my blog (thanks, Mrs. Beasley ;-) ). Leave comments, 8-1!

We resisted getting a dog for a long time, but had to give in after we dog-sat and realized that we missed Max so much we had to get one of our own. This is our new puppy, Rufus. He's a Shih-Poo (Shih-Tzu and Poodle). We've had him for a little over a week. He's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen.

The Point

We ate at The Point at Glenwood Monday night for my birthday. Here are a few reasons why it's a great place to eat:

1. The food was great.

2. It was not packed and we've never had to wait for a table.


They also have pizza that's reasonably priced if the other prices on the menu are a bit too high for a dinner that's not a special occasion.

Another good buy...

Thank goodness for Wal-Mart.

This cork board costs $149 at Pottery Barn.


This cork board costs $11.50 at Wal-Mart and is just as big.




I put the picture wire ($1.17) on it to display cards with the mini binder clips ($2.50). My goal is to arrange stuff on it like the Pottery Barn one....once I find the stuff to put on it.

Dad's Home!

My Dad came home on Thursday afternoon after spending the past 14 months (12 of those in Iraq) far, far away from us. Since he's been gone my Mom has built a beautiful home in Oxford, NC, my brother, Dan has finished his first year at State, I've gotten a job (actually I've had 2 different jobs), Jason's changed jobs, and Jason and I have bought a house. We spent Friday evening and Saturday catching up.



Dad (left) in front of Saddam's palace.

A good buy

One of the decorating tips I've picked up from the many, many hours of HGTV I've been watching lately is that accessories in a room make a bigger impact when you use multiples. For example, a group or series of frames makes more of a statement than one frame by itself. The same goes for whatever else....wreaths, candle holders, lamps.... The problem with this tip is that I usually can't bring myself to spend the money it takes to buy 2,3, or more of the same thing. Even if you can find something that is a great price, the bargain is pretty much useless if you've got to buy multiples to make it worth using.

One day at good ol' Wal-Mart I was poking around the picture frames and saw some for $3. The first ones I saw weren't that great, but then I saw some black ones that were 8x10 and black. They have them in 8x10 and 5x7 and would be great for a big frame collage. I got three for now, but I have every intention of going back and getting many more to use in other rooms.




This is a corner in our very, very unfinished bedroom. Just imagine that the walls are porcelain blue, and there is a chair rail with beadboard on the bottom half of the wall...oh, and that I've taken the generic photos out the frames and put in some very cool, artsy pictures.

My Sidewalk Chalk Art Never Looked Like This....

I feel like I'm looking at one of those Magic Eye things if I look at these too long.
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October is here!

So glad October is here....the weather is finally cooling off and I'm ready to put away the shorts and get out the jackets and sweaters. Good riddance to the heat and humidity.