#62 - Something new

This is my brand new Kindle (3rd generation)!

I received it as a birthday gift from my husband. He gave it to me the Friday before my birthday and before it was even my birthday, I had already read 2 books! :) I love it and I keep finding more and more things to put on it.

This is a wonderful invention. I'm so glad my husband is so thoughtful!

#60 - Blue

I have so many blue things in my house. This was the first thing to grab my attention. It's a tie blanket that I received from my little sister in the sorority a few years ago. On one end it says "Big Sis Bridget" (pictured) and at the other end it says "Little Sis Gillian".

I love this blanket and use it almost every day. Samus the cat loves it too. In fact, she's laying on it right now.

#59 - Something old

This is the handkerchief that I carried on my wedding day. It was my mom's and she gave it to me to keep. I think it fits nicely with the something old as well as the something blue. I'm glad I had it that day in my hands and I will keep it for as long as possible and possibly hand it down to one of my future children.

#46 - Celebrate Good Times

My birthday is coming up and since today's theme is "Celebration", I decided to take photos of the cards I've gotten. Here are the ones I have so far.

#30 - Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend

I thought I would share my diamonds. I don't have many, just these two pieces. The rings are my engagement and wedding rings. I picked them out. The necklace was my Christmas gift this past year from Ed. He put them in my stocking along with a letter from Santa. It explained why I deserved coal. Then, there was a post-it from Santa saying he accidentally sat on the coal in the sleigh and created the diamonds.

I love them!

#19 - Muffin the Teddy Bear

Say hello to Muffin my teddy bear. I've had him since I was about 2. He was a gift from my dad and I've cherished him all my life.

The reason I'm posting this is because I was recently "reunited" with him. Last Friday I was having pain in my legs and I couldn't sleep (it happens from time to time). Usually, I just need to squeeze something (like a stress ball). I wanted to use Ed's hand, but he wouldn't let me. So I told him to go get me muffin. He said after he handed him to me, I was fast asleep within 2 minutes. I think Muffin will always be a comfort to me.

(If you're wondering where the name Muffin came from, I apparently thought he had the coloring of my mom's muffins... I was very young.)

#8 - Finished Arbor

Ed finished the swing project. He was able to put 2 coats of paint on and it dried beautifully. He even hung it by himself. If it wasn't so hot (95 degrees) I would be out swinging.

Now we just have to figure out how to keep the neighbor kids off of it... (there are probably 15+ kids just our corner of the neighborhood).

#6 - Swinging in the rain...

We have a beautiful arbor in our yard that was built by my dad and brother, and was used in our wedding last year. My dad made it nice and big so it could support a swing. Well, he bought us a swing about 6 weeks ago. It needed to be painted though, before it can be put outside in the elements. Here is a photo of my husband painting our new swing tonight. He told me this morning to pick up some paint because he wanted to paint...

This crafty man of mine found a way to suspend the swing in the garage. Oh... he could have disassembled the swing first (which is recommended) but where is the fun in that?? I will have to post photos of the finished project when it's swinging in the arbor.

#5 - Early Birthday

My husband received a package in the mail on Monday. He was kind of quiet about it. I asked him to open it and apparently it was an early birthday gift for me (my birthday is 9/29). This is the gift he got me.

It's a Jared Allen jersey. He's a defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings. (The color didn't photograph well. It's suppose to be purple.) He's a sacking machine and my favorite player! I'm excited to wear this every Sunday. I'm so glad Ed got this for me. I love football (he doesn't like any type of sports... but he will watch the Superbowl). I'm also excited to wear it next weekend for my first ever Fantasy Football draft!

#4 - A Basket of Cones

This is a carry over from yesterday's post; things in our downstairs living room. These are scented pine cones. So, here is the story of how I came to own these.

My mother-in-law is a piano teacher. She generally teaches adults. One of her students is affiliated with the company Lightstone.They are the creators of these dipped cones. So, they were given to my mother-in-law who has, in turn, passed some on to us.

The large green one smells like evergreen and it gives our whole downstairs an outdoorsy-woodsy smell. It goes great with the ambiance of the room. The room is a nice chocolate brown (the top of the photo) with beige carpets and a mocha couch. The fireplace wall is painted a nice pumpkin spice accent color.

#3 - Mantel Piece

For today's photo, I wanted to show my mantel. After many photos I came up with this one.

The focal piece is one of the two lead crystal candle holders that we received as a wedding gift. I love the way it reflects the light. I usually put a pillar candle on it, but it also has a spot for a tea light.

The tall vases behind it are also from our wedding. We used them in our unity ceremony. We did unity water because we were married outside (we were afraid that a candle would blow out). They make a great addition to our mantel.