It’s no secret that I like stuff. Mostly pretty stuff for my house, but I’m an equal opportunity stuff-lover. And I’m gifted at finding good stuff. Cheap. I find stuff in the clearance aisle, at the Goodwill and the antique store. And occasionally, by the side of the road.

I love the things that I use to decorate my home. Most of them have a story and I get real pleasure out of making my home pretty.

But sometimes it becomes too much. All my pretty things start to look like this. I start to feel suffocated by the stuff. I look around my house (and my basement!) and all I see is too much stuff. It all looks like clutter and junk.

My soul (and my inner housekeeper) becomes restless to be free of excess stuff. It’s a cyclical thing with me. I gather, collect and save. Then I purge, eliminate and simplify. My hubby is a big fan of the second part of this cycle.

I am so blessed that I have the luxury of too much stuff. But too much stuff can be a curse. Too much stuff can weigh you down and sap your energy.

So, all of this naval gazing leads to one question…Is it too late in the season to hold a garage sale? (We’re in Pennsylvania.) If not, do you think I can get ready by this weekend?

photo credit: Steven Snodgrass

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Hello, my friends! I’ve missed you all so much!!!! It was wonderful taking a 2 week blogging break, but I definitely missed this world.

My hubby calls you all the “friends who live in my computer”, but I’ve discovered that you’re also “friends who live in my head and my heart”. That sounds weird doesn’t it? Moving on.

It was a busy 2 weeks. Here’s a quick run-down of what I’ve been doing…in pictures.

This little goof-ball celebrated his 4th birthday (insert tears from me).

Sesame Place

We took a little road trip to eastern PA to visit with all of these guys. I can definitely say that Sesame Place is worth a visit if you’re in the area. The boys had a fantastic time!

Then I put this toothless fella… (is there anything cuter than missing front teeth? I think not.)

On one of these…

For this…

(insert more tears from me.) Are you noticing a pattern yet?

I also learned how to make the most amazing (and EASY!) bread ever. Post coming soon. This also got a few tears…of PURE JOY!

And let’s not forget the mountain of these that were read. Our library cards were smoking! Lots of fun read-alouds with the kids and some just for myself. HEAVEN!

We also knocked a few more things off our Summer List. It’s not quite done, so we’re now calling it our Summer into Fall List.

What was your favorite thing from this summer?

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Do you ever feel like you’ve lost control of your time? That you’ve let too many things creep onto your schedule and that the really important things are getting pushed aside?

You say yes and yes to more and more. Not bad things. Good things! But even good things can be a problem when they crowd out the best things.

When that happens to me, I know that it’s time to rest, breathe, reflect and pray. After over 2 years of posting 4-6 times a week, I am taking a blog-breather for the last 2 weeks of August.

Everyone who knows anything about blogging will tell me that I’m CRAZY! Kimba! You can’t just not post! You have to schedule posts ahead of time! You have to line up guest posters! You have to re-run posts from your archives! Otherwise, you’ll lose readers and the world will explode!

And they’re right (about everything but the exploding part). From a business perspective, it’s a terrible decision to just disappear for 2 weeks. But I’ve always operated under the philosophy of “It’s my blog and I’ll wreck if it I want to.”

Sometimes it’s better to do less so you can be more. And that’s what I’ll be doing for the next 2 weeks. Doing less. And being more.

If nothing else, I hope I can encourage you that sometimes it’s ok to take a step back. It’s ok to stop and catch your breath.

I do know myself and I’m sure I won’t be able to resist jumping on and sharing a few fun tidbits over the next couple of weeks. But I’m looking forward to recharging so that I can come back on Sept 1st and be re-energized and refreshed.

photo credit: gfpeck

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I have a confession to make. There was a time in my life when entertaining friends and family stressed me out. A lot. And it was my own fault.

I made entertaining too complicated.

Join me at Reluctant Entertainer today to read about my simple summer entertaining philosophy.

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I’m blogging from the beach this week! Woo and a Hoooooo!!! I know. I know. I’m a lucky dog. (Note to crazed killers waiting to rob my house…We have a security system and nosey neighbors)

Every summer, we spend a week in Rehoboth Beach, DE with my in-laws (who totally rock). There are at least 10 adults and a gaggle of kids. It’s heaven on the beach.

If you ever get the chance to visit this awesome east coast beach, I would highly recommend it. It’s the perfect combination of family friendly and simply fabulous.

There’s an awesome boardwalk with stuff for the kiddos combined with fantastic shopping and eating. I’m always shocked if I don’t gain 20 lbs the week that we’re here.

There will be much sand digging, wave jumping, ice cream eating and kite flying. And I’ll definitely squeeze in a little thrifting.

But, fear not! I’ll still be around (with sand between my toes) and I have some great stuff lined up for you this week. I am SUPER excited about an awesome giveaway that we’ll be doing later this week. Stay tuned!

What’s you’re favorite vacation ever?

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I rarely lack for inspiration. It’s a mixed blessing.

My mind constantly swirls with the possibility of things. It’s one of the reasons that I’m always dragging home thrift store treasures. I can see the potential in a piece of junk. My poor man suffers this with dignity. All I can say is “Hallelujah for basements”.

My problem always lies in the motivation. Usually, the brain is willing but the body says, “Nah. Let’s eat Crunch N Munch and watch Big Brother.” And so the list of undone projects grows. Things like:

This old window that I plan to use a frame above my laundry room door.

This old wooden door that I snagged out of someone’s trash and plan to turn into a desk for my workspace. Soon. Someday soon.

Side story on the door: I was driving in the minivan with the kids in back. It was POURING down rain and I was wearing a skirt and heels. I saw that door sitting out for the trash and KNEW I had to have it. Slammed on the brakes, did a 180 and pulled off the road. Jumped out into the mud, flung open the back of the van…all the while the kids are screaming “WHAT ARE YOU DOING???” I grabbed that door and let me tell you it was HEAVY! Slid that sucker into the back of the van and screeched out of there in 30 seconds flat.

Trash pickin’ is exciting business, I tell ya.

This old bench that I snagged for $5 (!!!!!) at a yardsale LAST SUMMER. I plan to recover it and use it in my entryway.

And this round coffee table from Goodwill that I want to paint and use as a game table in the playroom.

So there you have it. Motivation vs. Inspiration. Which do you have more of?

Tell me about your unfinished project.

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Even though the pace of summer is slow, it still feels like time is flying by. Some days, the time with my kiddos feels like sand slipping through my fingers. I want to hold onto it as long as I can.

So we’re filling the long, hot days with our favorite things. Mostly Epic Sandbox Wars: Star Wars Vs. Dinosaurs. And we’re working our way though our Summer List.

Did you see that Jenny from DIY Newlyweds turned her summer list into a fun piece of artwork? She’s a genius.

What’s your favorite thing to do this summer? Is there something that’s distracting you from focusing on the people that you love?

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I recently had some Very Important People (tongue firmly in cheek) visiting and I wanted to impress them. A lot. So I went into house-prep overdrive to get things looking smart and fabulous. I cleaned, scrubbed, foofed and fluffed. I finished projects that had been neglected for years.

I cleaned out my laundry room closet.

Because everybody knows that’s the first place that guests look.

And I readily admit that all of this foofing was done at the expense of the people who live here.  They were neglected and they ate too much junk food.

But the house looked GOOD!

So good that one of my guests asked “Does anybody live here?” We laughed. But his not-entirely-serious question has stuck with me.

Does anybody live here?

In case I have mislead you, I’m not a meticulous housekeeper by nature. (My husband just collapsed on the floor laughing at the understatement.) I like to keep things “good enough” so that if someone drops by unexpectedly, I don’t die from embarrassment.

Sometimes I succeed. Often I don’t. Don’t believe me? Here’s a picture of our completely undecorated, unorganized playroom from a few months ago. Mom fail.

In my defense, a herd of wild, flying monkeys had just come through.

It makes my skin crawl to show you that picture, but I documented the horror because I knew I would need to share it all with you someday. It’s kind of like a Where’s Waldo book. Can you find the pink pig? The empty bowl? The Elmo doll?

But on that day, I assured my Very Important People (and I assure you!) that my home is thoroughly lived in. By boys (big and small) who play in the dirt, leave their stuff laying around and don’t give a cookie-crumb whether the mantle looks good.

And THEY are the Very Important People who matter. THEY are the ones I want to impress. Because when they’re grown and gone (insert tears from me), they aren’t going to remember if I changed out the throw pillows seasonally or if I had matching lamps on my nightstand.

But they will remember if I read them their favorite books, or walked them to the park or let them win at Mancala (sometimes).

Decorating and playing with my home is a fun hobby. My own mom lit that spark in me so many years ago. But being a mom is my calling from deep within my soul. My mom lit that spark too. Thanks mom!

I want my own kids to remember home as a loving, warm and safe place to be. I feel so lucky that, as a mom, I get to set that tone in our home. That’s powerful mom-stuff.

Hey moms! Does anyone live in your house? What’s your favorite mom-memory from your childhood?

Now it is time for you to join in- You are invited to log onto www.thankyoumom.com and enter to win a travel voucher to help cover the cost of a special reunion with their mom or mom figure in their life.  Contest entrants must submit a 100 word essay describing why they’d like to be united with their mom.  Approximately 15 winners will be chosen every month through the Thanksgiving holiday.

Be sure to vote on your favorite entries for the Thank You Mom Reunions here.

This post is part of the P&G Thank You Mom Reunion Campaign through Blissful Media Group.

photo: top photo source

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

No, not a baby. Bite your tongue.

I’ve been playing around with my new toy for the past few days and thought I would share it with you. Here’s my new, pretty-blue, baby. The Canon PowerShot SD1200IS!

Why do I tell you this? So you know that you don’t have to have a super-fancy (aka expensive) camera to take pictures that you love. I am by no means a photography expert. I’m just a spray painting clown with a camera, but I’ve found that a point and shoot camera can take great pictures.

My old camera is a Kodak Easyshare Z740. It’s basically a point and shoot with a really good lens. I received it as a birthday gift and it’s served us well for the last 4 years. (I think that’s like 20 in camera-years.) But its picture quality has gradually been going downhill over the last few months and it finally bit the dust a few weeks ago. Rest in peace, little Kodak.

Do I dream of a beautiful, new DSLR camera like the Nikon D3000? Definitely. Is it in our budget right now? Not on your life.

So I did some research and I discovered the Canon PowerShot SD1200IS. It’s a great little point and shoot that was a major bargain on Amazon at $149. A new model just came out so the older model is marked down nicely. The differences between the old model and new one are minor so I went for the bargain.

The best part is that I used my Swagbucks and got it for almost nothing! What are Swagbucks? Swagbucks is a search engine like Google or Yahoo. As you use it to search the web, you’ll periodically be awarded Swagbucks. Once you have enough, you can trade them in for prizes…I always go for the $5.00 Amazon gift card.

It’s easy to use, especially if you add the Swagbucks toolbar to your browser.

Endless Summer hydrangea shot in macro-mode

Anyway, back to the camera…Did you know that most point and shoot cameras have something called Macro mode? It’s usually symbolized with a little flower on the camera. You can use it to get great close-up shots. Y’all probably know all about it and are macro-experts. Or maybe every last one of you has a fancy DSLR camera. But humor me here. I just discovered the awesomeness that is the macro-mode.

Annabelle Hydrangea

Tell me…Are you a point and shoot kinda gal?

Here are a couple of great articles about using your point and shoot camera:

How to take macro photos with a p&s @ Blissfully Domestic
How to take really crisp photos @ Blissfully Domestic
How to control shutter speed and aperture on a p&s @ Digital Photography School

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Who wouldn’t want to go to a conference called Relevant? I mean, we all want to be relevant right? Relevant to our communities. Relevant to our families. Relevant to our friends…our everythings.

You know how after you say a word too many times, it loses all meaning? Yeah. That just happened here, didn’t it?

Relevant. Relevant. Relevant.

I’m totally not relevant. But if you want to know me a little better, come read my Get To Know the Speakers Interview on the Relevant site.

Relevant ’10 is a blogging conference happening in October in Hershey, PA right near Amish Country. (Yes, the chocolate capital of the US!)

It’s an opportunity for Christian women bloggers to come together and connect face-to-face. The goal is go beyond the surface and into deeper discussions of intentional blogging and real-life living.

Relevant is the brain-child of Sarah Mae from Like a Warm Cup of Coffee. SM was one of my very first blogging friends and I trust her completely. When she asked me to speak at her new conference, I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough.

I can hardly believe that I’ll get to spend the long weekend with awesome women like Kristen, Angie, Jen, Crystal, Melissa, Sally, Serena, Sarah, Alyssa, Bonita and Courtney. (Seems I’ve fooled someone pretty well!) And I’ve promised everyone that I won’t act a total fool when I meet Ann. Promises schmomises.

I am so looking forward to connecting with so many kindred women, drinking coffee, laughing and learning together. Will you be there? Registration is open now.

PS…Country Bob’s, a sponsor of the Relevant Conference, is giving away a conference ticket! You can read about it on the Relevant site.

If you want to go but just can’t swing it, please don’t feel badly. Conferences don’t make or break you as a blogger.

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I’m a pretty simple girl. A card, a flower or coffee in bed would have made me happy on Mother’s Day morning. But I squealed like a school-girl when I saw this present waiting for me on the kitchen table instead.

It’s a Skil 7″ Wet Tile Saw!!!!! My boys know me so well. This baby will cut through tile like butter.

And I’m dreaming of all the thing that I can tile now, starting with the kitchen backsplash. I know exactly what I want to do and I can’t wait to get started. My poor man shuddered a little when I started shouting all of the things I want to tile…The shower! The basement entry! The back porch! The garage door! Kidding about that last one.

In other news, my longtime sponsor, Kelly from Purple Lemon Designs, has added a new line to her etsy shop and I couldn’t wait to show you. Kelly started creating these beautiful journals for herself because she wanted a small notebook that would fit inside her bible. I love products that are created to address a specific need.

How wonderful are these? Each journal has a beautiful cover that’s been stamped with a custom design created by Kelly. You can choose the design, the color and the type of inside pages. The journals have a little pocket in the back for your clippings, notes and inspirations.

Each journal is $10 but Kelly is offering my readers a $2 discount! Just enter the word KIMBA in the Notes to Seller when you check out and you’ll receive a refund for the discount. This code is good through Sunday 5/16. I think that’s a fantastic deal and I plan to snap up several…one for myself and a couple to keep on hand for quick gifts.

How was your weekend?

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Then would you be my friend? I’m finally giving into peer pressure and fiddling around with Facebook.

I have no idea what I’m be doing over there. Social media experts will tell me that I need to maximize my social media footprint, integrate my content and give my readers added-value.

I’ll probably just post pictures of my shoes.

Kimba Rugh

Create Your Badge

Hey look! That’s me! You can click on my face and become my friend.

PS…I know I said that I’d be posting a tutorial for my Tile Artwork today. But it’s taking longer to write the ding-dang post than it did to do the ding-dang project. Soon, my friends. Soon.

PPS…You can still link up to DIY Day this week and be entered to win one of 5 (!!!) $50 gift cards to The Home Depot.

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Spray Painted Zombie Bunnies

I have nothing interesting to say…nothing clever, wise or funny. Nothing inspiring, practical or spray painted. I do have approximately 53 projects in process because someone is coming to my house with a video crew. But that’s a story for another day (it’s not HGTV, but it will be fun).

Thankfully, my mom is here for a few days. She’s good at saying things like, “Kimba, stop lining the inside of those drawers with scrapbook paper and go paint that wall.” I have a problem with priorities.

And did you hear that Easter is coming? Yeah. It’s this weekend. So today I have to find the Easter baskets and go to the store to fill the Easter baskets. Because I bought a bunch of candy two weeks ago and then I ate it all. That’s what me and my hiney get for being on the ball.

As I was cleaning out a drawer yesterday (to line it with paper), I found the Decoupaged Pink Damask Bunny that I made last year. He’s still kinda cute…and kinda freaky.

And by the end of the week, I’m determined to make these Resurrection Rolls with my kids. Easy, tasty and meaningful.

We have an Easter egg hunt and family dinner on Saturday and a family dinner on Sunday. What are you plans for the weekend?

~~~~~~~~~~

The winners of last week’s giveaway from Sodderbug are Julie of Singing Three Little Birds from the linker-uppers and Classically Amber from the commenters. Congratulations, girls! Shoot me an email and we’ll get you set up.

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

So I finally learned how to put on eye-make up! Wanna see? I don’t usually put on makeup in my kitchen but my bathroom was a mess. Just being real.

I used Mac Cosmetics in the video, but since this isn’t a Mac commercial, I feel comfortable telling you that you can find similar products and colors at the drugstore. I love Mac Cosmetics but there are perfectly good, less expensive brands out there. Here are the products that I mention in the video:

Mac Paints Eye Shadow in Stillife (I keep calling this a primer in the video. It’s actually an eye-shadow that I use as a primer.)
Mac Eyeshadow in Chamomile
Mac Eyeshadow in Mulled Cider
Mac 217 Blending Brush
Revlon Liquid Eyeliner in Bronze Shimmer
Cover Girl LashBlast Mascara in Black

Do you know how to put on eye shadow?

Did you see the 11 winners from last weeks DIY Day?

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Today’s post is proof that I love you. Hallelujah and Amen. It seemed like a good idea a few weeks ago at 3am. Now? I’m not so sure. But I’m plowing ahead regardless of my second thoughts. And I don’t have anything else written for today.

If there are any fellas here, you should probably just go check out ESPN. There’s nothing for you to see here today. We’re going into the inner sanctum of female beauty rituals. You’re better off not knowing what goes on in here.

So let’s talk about the burning question. Wax or tweeze? Which do you do?

In case it’s not obvious, before is on the left…after is on the right.

I’m a waxing kind of girl. Tweezing is a slow torture. Waxing gets it over with quickly. I make an appointment every 3 weeks or so and it costs $10 + tip. Worth every penny.

In my “after” picture it looks like my one eyebrow is oddly arched and my other is not. I know not why. They look the same in real life.

And since I know that someone is going to ask…Yes. I wax the ‘stache too. The bane of the dark haired girl. One day everything looks fine. The next day, I look like Uncle Vinnie.

Your turn. Wax or Tweeze?

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

photo: Sunshine City

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I’m a total failure when it comes to putting on eye-makeup. I made this casual confession in the context of my New Year’s resolutions. Imagine my surprise when I was inundated with comments and emails…tons of them said “me too! me too!” and lots of them offered great resources and suggestions.

I find it funny that any time you put a bunch of women together (even on a home decorating blog), the conversation is bound to turn to Girl Talk. So that’s where we’re doing today.

Fear not! This is still a house and home blog through and through. I just thought it would be fun to have a little girl talk now and then. Besides, my motto is “It’s my blog and I can wreck it if I want to.”

Today, let’s talk about potions and lotions. I’ll show you how I take care of my face and you share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments. Fun, right? Lame? Perhaps. But let’s do it anyway.

Here’s my routine…

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle/Anti-Blemish Facial Cleanser and Olay Regenerist moisturizer. I love them both. I’ve used all sorts of products over the years and I think these are my faves. Not too expensive or complicated.

Although I have a friend who swears by Simple Mom’s Oil Cleansing Method. That’s about as inexpensive and uncomplicated as skin care gets.

And as I hurtle toward 40, I find wrinkles and lines cropping up all over. Probably because I do this:

And this:

A lot.

So I started using Olay Total Effects Targeted Wrinkle Repair a few months ago. I don’t know if it does any good or not, but it makes me feel like I’m slowing down the process of turning into a Shar-Pei.

Your turn. How do you take care of your skin. What do you love? Not love?

~~~~~~~~~~

Now a word from our sponsor:

Leen the Graphics Queen is hosting a BOGO SALE through midnight tonight to celebrate the opening of their new website www.leenthegraphicsqueen.com. For every item you purchase, you will receive ANY another item of your choice (lesser or equal value) for FREE. This offer is only applicable on the new website, NOT their etsy or artfire stores. Just mention the item that you would like for free in the message to seller section. Sale runs now through Wednesday at midnight EST.

If you’ve been eyeing some decorative wall graphics, now’s your chance to get a DEAL!

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

Totally swiped this photo from Layla. From left to right: Julia, Sarah, AnNicole, Beckie, Melissa, Kimm, Me, Sandy, Rhoda, Layla, and Kate.

Yes, I had an awesome time at Blissdom. It was blogging brilliance, layered with a slumber party, all wrapped up in an Opryland bow. There was (lots of) learning, (tons of) laughter and a few tears (cause we’re girls, you know). There was Harry Connick Jr, wild dancing and yummy food. I heard rumors of mechanical bull riding, but I don’t have independent confirmation of this yet.

It was sheer joy to see all of these fabulous women step out from behind their laptops and discover that they are just as fabulous in real life. All fears that they were middle-aged, bald men living in Iowa were put to rest.

I could write post after post about all I learned, all the fabulous women I met and all the fun stories I collected. But I won’t. If you were there, you already know. And if you didn’t get to go, you’re probably totally sick of all the Blissdom talk. Blissdom, Blissdom, Blissdom.

Instead, I’m going to snuggle up with my kiddos because I missed them terribly.

I nearly didn’t get home because of Snowmageddon 2010. I was supposed to fly through Baltimore on my way home and they received 3 feet of snow. Can you say “canceled flights galore”? Instead, I was rescued by Jessica of Muthering Heights, who drove me nearly home where my husband was able to pluck me out of the snow and bring me the rest of the way. At first, I thought she was crazy for driving that far. Now, I’m sure she’s a genius.

Next up?  The Relevant Conference in October. I’d love to meet you there.

Alternate post title: I Went to Blissdom and All I Took Was This One Lousy Picture. I was so busy loving all the fabulous people I was meeting, I kept forgetting to take pictures.

If you have one of us together, I’d love for you to email me a copy!

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork

I guess it’s no secret that I’m attending the Blissdom Conference next week. I’m speaking on one of the panels too, but that’s not the point of this post. I may or may not fall off the stage when it’s my turn to talk. Stay tuned.

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve read countless posts and tweets from women going to Blissdom. And most of them have been talking about their fears. There are a lot of fears…that they won’t be dressed right, that they won’t know anyone, that they simply don’t belong. I know that these fears and insecurities extend far beyond the woman attending this, that or the other blogging conference.

I find this phenomena interesting not because I can’t relate, but because I can. And because these fears seem so universal. Let’s be honest here…most of us still feel like an awkward 7th grader on the inside even if we look pulled together on the outside.

There are probably a few who feel utterly confident in themselves, their purpose and their place. But those people are rare birds, indeed. The rest of us carry around a big bag of insecurity that we can either choose to succumb too or we can overcome. It’s a choice.

So I’ll be worried about all sorts of foolishness like:

• Will you realize that I’m way more interesting from behind my computer screen?
• Will you notice that I laugh too much when I’m nervous?
• Will you be shocked when I snort as I’m laughing too much?
• Will I start to sweat? Note to self: Go buy Clinical Strength Secret.

And if I’m lucky, I’ll muster up the courage to introduce myself to Amber, Megan and Audrey. And I’ll be thrilled to finally meet so many of my house-blogging friends in real life. I can’t wait to hug you all!

If you’re going, please don’t be afraid to introduce yourself and say hello! And if you’re not, then we’ll just do virtual hugs right here. {{{huuuuuugs}}}

Do you still feel like an awkward adolescent on the inside?

PS…Did I seriously use the words “succumb” and “muster” in this post?

Here’s a great post from Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam that talks about the masks that we wear and the beauty that is behind the mask.

photo: Irina Sltusky

Thanks to my sponsors!

• Burlap+Blue ~ vintage inspired goods for your home
• Leen the Graphics Queen ~ decorative vinyl wall decals
• Pink Pig ~ cottage furnishings, antiques and vintage finds
• Purple Lemon Designs ~ custom stamps and stationery
• The Vintage Pearl ~ boutique quality hand-stamped jewelry
• Ruby Plaza ~ making you and your home beautiful
• My Design Guide ~ room designs in one week
• Wish You Wells ~ storybook look artwork