So...

wandering...meandering...lollygaging about in Bloglandia
as i occasionally do, i see things...



lots and lots of things!
things i want...things i have...things i want until i remember
that i already have them...things that are cute...things i could
make myself for waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheaper!
do you ever have this conversations with yourself?
"cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!!!!"
"what?! how much?!!!!"
"nuh-uh!"
"yuh-huh!"
"not hardly!"
{sorry, that escaped from the part of my brain that is
still holding on to jr. high!}
"get outta town and take a bus...i can make that myself!"
ok...maybe you wouldn't use those exact words, because maybe english
isn't your first language or maybe because you were never a teen-
age girl living in Cali...but you get my meaning. And you would have
had the same reaction when you saw a frame used as a dry-erase
message board...
pay for that? nuh-uh!
even lazy girls have to man-up and exert when it comes to
squandering the cold hard cash that could be better spent on
a spicy chicken sandwich combo at chick-fil-a{extra polynesian
sauce, please!; }is being jeopardized!





and i have to admit, when i spotted this on PINTEREST , the 1st, 2nd & 30th time, i
didn't even pin it...
it all seemed pretty badda-ding to me...at first blush!
a frame...
cute paper...
a dry-erase marker...
how hard can that be?
badda bing!
{and feel free to use my signature flaming hot cheeto shooter-
on-the-half-shell at your next soirée...it just screams classy, no? ;}






but for someone...uh-hem, namely moi...
who has spent the better part of a decade buying a cute
frame, promptly divesting it of its innards and then
painting it white...ok, sometimes pink...i had a doozy
of time finding one single solitary frame that still had
the original glass in it!




but when i finally did...i just went to town!
i used vintage wallpaper...bits & scraps that we semi-hoarders
hoard...
and even a cute map print from The Graphics Fairy...
{how sad is that? i don't even have a thomas guide to cut up!}
seriously as easy-peasy as they come!
for long lists...or short reminders...you can match your decor
in two shakes of a lamb's tail!
and still have $$ to spare for life's necessities...like Fiddle Faddle! ;}



and one little f-your-i...
don't just use those dry-erase markers on white boards and
plates! anything with a nice smooth surface is fair game!
use your imagination and go wild!!! ;}

{for many more examples with WAY better pictures...i am feeling so
nikon-challenged lately, i couldn't "shoot" the broad side of a barn!...
check THESE out!}

Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
The Pinterest Challenge @ Young House Love
Met Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Showoff @ The DIY Showoff
Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy

Surly Teens!

This is my Sammy...
a very skinny...
very small...
very demanding torty!




She has always been a bit quirky...
she's afraid of the rain, but runs to the door and
meows when anyone knocks or the mailman comes.
And she is a bit too fond or "writhing"!




She also prefers to travel by way of the backs of chairs...
no matter how precarious...she was obviously born to be
in the circus!



And she has a pretty darn surly disposition!
A first I thought it was because she was holding
a grudge about this bath...note the eyes!
Whewwwwww! If looks could kill!



But I believe the arrival of this one...and his mere existence
is what began the downward spiral of all things surly!



Well...I suppose he could be a tad annoying!



And ever-present!


OK...so, he was a bit of a brat!



I think this was the final straw though...




Can you see the daggers flying from her eyes??!




So, she likes to lay where she wants to lay...
{#1 spot is BETWEEN me and my laptop!}
dismantle blinds if she wants to see out the window...
and sasses a blue streak if you tell her "no!"

But she is still my pretty girl...who has all her perfect
kitty poses down pat! So, what I am I going to do?
Yes...Nothing...nothing at all! ;}

{the thing she hates THE most is whistling...she will come
from any part of the house to make her feelings known
should I DARE to pucker up...she smacks me...
right on the mouth...}



{I know this is the worst quality video EVER...but you get
the idea...major cat-itude! So, you know if you don't see a
post from me for a while...it just might be because I dared to
whistle Dixie a bit to loudly! ;}

Am I The Only One Who...

{**circuitous post alert** sorry...i am just full of words and pictures
today! can't be helped...it is what it is! ;}



so, am i the only person who saves things...
TOO many things...
bits and bobs...
scraps and such...
CUTE PAPER!



this bit came from a magazine ages ago...
i have NO idea what the ad was for...
i just LOVED that print...like old fashioned wallpaper!
{neither of my shots did it justice, so the above shots are
edited and enlivened! a visit here is like the MATRIX isn't
it? what's real?...what's true?...oh! i think i can walk up that
wall while wearing black patent leather!}



{scanned image for you...don't tell!}



this is from a tissue box...
seriously!
the cutest tissue box i had ever seen...so i saved it!
it's just enough to scan or copy and make a cute
trinket every now and then!




{scanned image...shhhh..don't tell!}



this is from a box that something or other came in...
roses AND stripes!
be still my foolish heart...ok, be still my whole foolish me!



just look at the adorable trailing rose border!
shut up!
not a very wise marketing plan to make the box SO
cute that the purchaser cannot even remember what
the contents were! ;}



{shhhh...don't tell!}




which, in a very roundabout way, brings me to these!
{i know...don't worry if you are feeling a bit dizzy or
disoriented...i changed gears without using the clutch there!
sometimes being with me is like having a double martini...
without all those pesky calories!}

when i said circuitous, i meant it...
i didn't just say it because it makes me sound like i
know what it means...which i do...therefore, i used it!

so, since i have several of those cans...uh, i LIKE pasta
and i LOVE that sauce! what did you expect from someone
who bleeds flaming hot cheetos? to say that my palate is
less than refined would be an understatement! ;}



but being the "queen of green" as i am...ah-hem...ok, that was a lie!
al gore sooooo has me on his hit list...but then al has a home up the
road with 9 fireplaces...by oprah's house...so i'm guessing that his
"footprint" is a tad bigger than mine! but that is just a guess...





al gore-schmal gore...the real reason i used them is because they were
there! and they were there because i am lazy! which would you do?
schlep cans alllllll the way down the stairs and to the trash...or set
them on your counter? see! i rest my case!



besides, they are a really good size! they hold all my brushes, scissors, glue
pens, etc, etc!
on this one i used a copy a piece of the spendy scripty burlap i have.
the detail is pretty darn cool! and paper is a bit easier to work with
than all the fraying edges that burlap tends to have!







on this one, i used a copy of the cute-box-that-i-don't-know-what-came
in!



those are some dreamy roses! and a smidge of rick-rack too boot!







this one got a little help from The Graphics Fairy ...she's just a peach!





then i added a little bit of hand-stamped seam binding and sealed it
with fleur-de-li-y stamp! tres...uh...add something french here!








and lastly...yes, only because i was out of cans! {but i will have another
just as soon as i finish this post and make dinner! ;} i used a copy of
the stripy section of the "cute box"...and added a little trinket that
Freckled Jami sent me.




all that to say...
that the moral of this VERY long story is...
you can be green and lazy...
and eat a lot of pasta...
AND have a place to store all your necessities!




i'm exhausted!
time to break out the pasta!!!!

Whattcha Got Weekend @ Lolly Jane
Saturday Night Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
White Wednesday @ Faded Charm Cottage
Good Life Wednesday @ A Beach Cottage
Mosaic Monday @ The Little Red House
Met Monday @ Between Naps On The Porch
Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative
Brag Monday @ The Graphics Fairy
Showoff @ The DIY Showoff
Motivate Me Monday @ Keeping It Simple
Mad Skills @ Mid In Crafts
Inspire Me Monday @ Singing Three Little Birds







{shhhhhhhh...}

Gray Matters...Pass The Ginkgo, Please!

Welcome to Lazy Pink Mosaic Saturday! What? You were unaware
of this blog event?! Well, don't fret! It only exists for me...in my mind...
a cluttered place, where angels fear to tread! ;} Today, it's also a place
of indecision and wavering gray matter!



I made and edited a mosaic...but when I uploaded it...it appeared to me...that all
my editing magic was gone...had I not saved it...was Picnik messing with me...I
knew not. I tried again.
But I couldn't remember exactly what I have done before...oh where, oh
where, has my gray matter gone? So what I thought I had done...apparently,
I didn't do, because I ended up with 2 different mosaics!
So, I just decided to use both "DISHY" mosaics...you decide which one floats
your boat!
Me? I'm gonna go start an IV drip of Ginkgo while doing a crossword
puzzle...I seem to be losing brains cells by the second!


We'd be so pleased if you'd join in our GIVE AWAY !

Teacup Tuesday @ Martha's Favorites
Mosaic Monday @ Mary's Dear Little Red House
Pink Saturday @ How Sweet The Sound

It's A Give Away!

How's that post title for getting straight to the point!
A give away from me to you...with a little help from my
friends. And what is better than having friends with
cute stuff...that they want to give to you? Now, if you're
thinking a fresh warm box of Krispy Kremes is better...
I am right there with you! But it's SUMMER girls and
you can't wear Krispy Kremes {tell that to my bum! ;}
but you can wear a brand spankin' new dress from
SHABBY APPLE , the on-line boutique with some of
the cutest darn women's dresses I have seen in ages!



Ok, I know she is probably all smiles because she is in Rome with
that cool Vespa...but if I looked THAT cute in that adorable dress from
their Roamin' Holiday Collection ...I'd be smiling too...whether I
was in Chula Vista or Chilliwack!




This one is simple and sweet...and just plain darling!
And doesn't it just scream mele kalikimaka??!! Well, ok, maybe not
but you will want to scream when you see all the other aloha-inspired
dresses in their South Pacific collection! Where is that puka shell
necklace of mine anyway??!!




Ring, ring...calling Audrey Hepburn!
What is that you say? You're not a dark-eyed Belgian ballerina?
Pish and tosh! Just pop on this, or any of the other stylish
women's dresses from Shabby Apple's
Manhattan Collection and you will be all
set for that date with George Peppard!




Chips ahoy, matey! Sorry, that's about a nautical as I get...
but then who would really care whether you know a jib from
a bowsprit if you were wearing a dress like this! {no, I have
not the foggiest what I am talking about and yes, I had to
look those seafaring words up! ;} Unfortunately, those legs
are not included with this navy charmer from their
Set Sail Collection !
ARGGGGG!




But THIS is the one YOU want to focus on today...
the crisp blue & white ticking stiped MARSEILLES !
Feminine and flirty with that up turned collar and sassy sash at the waist!
And in SHABBY APPLE'S inimitably merciful manner, the
faux-wrap design, as they say, "avoids unintentional exposure"...
and let's be honest girls, for most of us, what's happening from our
waist to our knees...is best kept shrouded in mystery...and possibly
a Spanx!;} And did I mention that's it's made of stretch cotton poplin too!
I know stretch cotton is a thing and things can't be canonized...
but someone really ought to consider it!

So, if you would like to win the excruciatingly Summery MARSEILLES
for your very own, just leave a comment on this post until midnight {pacific},
Monday the 25th.

Winner to be notified by email Tuesday, the 26th.
You don't have to have a blog, but PLEASE remember to leave
your email address in your comment.
Open to US bloggers only, sorry!

For an extra chance, head over to Shabby Apple's Facebook page and "like" them!
You will also find special promotions and exclusive discounts there!
Be sure to come back and let me know you have.

And visit SHABBY APPLE to peruse the clothing for kids, maternity wear and even jewelry and accessories!
And use the offer code "occottage10off" for an extra 10% off your purchase!

Good luck and have fun shopping!!!!





Marseilles dress will be shipped to the winner directly from Shabby Apple.
No exchange available for winning dress.
10 % discount expires in 30 days.
Prize provided by Shabby Apple, I received no form of compensation.