Home Tour: My Home Library

When we moved into our home (almost) a year ago, I promised myself that I would have a little slice of heaven all of my own... a sanctuary that I could go to to relax and a place that would provoke and inspire me. This place is my library and aside from all the reading I do here... it sometimes becomes my art studio to paint in, have long phone conversations with my mom and best friends from Florida in and a quiet space for the kiddo to relax and hang out to read her books in. It's truly my favorite spot in the house, my favorite space to decorate and no matter who comes to visit, this room draws people in like a magnet! So come tour it with me and tell me what you think!

Come on in! I love these plates! The top one is from my dad, he picked it up while stationed in Greece in the 80's with the Army.

I knew eventually I would find the perfect rugs and table for this room! The rugs are from Marshall's on clearance! They are also made with 100% recycled materials and assembled in India. The table up-cycled from goodwill! 

My "Chalkboard" style maps of all the place we've live in. Florida, Oklahoma, Georgia, Mississippi & Virginia. Its actually made with white paint and painted make look like a chalk board without all the mess.

Can you believe that this little vine growing plant and the aloe plant has actually survived a whole year! OMG! Right?!? Scary LOL! I love my conch shell chimes and the painting in the frame they are both from hubby's and I's cruise of the Bahamas in 2012.

The framed painting above the bookshelf I think is pretty much my favorite object in the whole room. It's a special painting my hubby brought back while he was deployed to Peru in 2012. I love it because not only is it beautiful but he brought it back for me... but he saw it, thought of me and knew I would love it!

One of my bookshelves with lots of world travel nick-nacks.

The kiddo's bookshelf & a few places where I keep my photo albums.

My British Phone booth bank that actually holds all of the money I've collected from traveling. The kiddo's Russian dolls she has collected over the years, The awesome Mayan medallion that hubs brought back from Peru, My little Buddha that a friend brought back from the Philippines and my voodoo doll from New Orleans! 

 

My Mexican pitcher, my wooden shoes from Holland, More Russian nesting dolls of the kiddos, A little wooden doll from Korea (from my bro-in-law) a Boomerang from Australia and my ticket from the Vatican Museum.

My view from the couch I often sit and read on.

I made these little heart window decorations out of an old map. I cut out all my favorite places on the map and just glued them on some fishing line to hang up.

 

Even Ace loves my library LOL!

My little wall of paintings has grown since we moved in also!

My hand made painted curtains, made to look like an air mail letter. They look uneven but I promise it's because they just need a bit of ironing but honestly... who irons curtains LOL! 

 

 

 

 

So Thank you for joining me on my home tour of my home library! Hope you liked what you saw!!! I'll try to do more of these as I update the house! And please, as always let me know what you think!

Book Review: The King by J.R. Ward

Long live the King…

After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle--with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything--and everyone--at risk.

Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response--or the distance it creates between them.

The question is, will true love win out... or tortured legacy take over?

Ohhh how I have waited sooo long for this book to come out! I seriously breezed right through it because like all Black Dagger Brotherhood series books, it's so damn good you just can't put it down! I am now sad though because it's over and it was over much too soon! I think I read all 500+ pages in about 3 days. Seriously though, its amazing and I can't stress that enough. J.R. Ward has outdone herself yet again! I also now canno't wait for Lassiters book come out and the Moor brothers iAm and Trez! This book gives a lot of back story about Wrath and it also gives a lot more page time to both Lassiter and the Shaddows. It does sort of leave a bit longing for more and wanting to know how its all going to work out in the end but, it is still very satisfying!

Here's just a few of my favorite quotes... if you don't want to know any details do NOT read any further! But you know you want to... just saying! LOL

“After shoving his former clothes inside, Xcor found himself bowing at the waist. "Your assistance has been much appreciated." Antoine raised his palm like he was getting ready to do a clap on the shoulder again. But once more, he caught himself and smiled instead. "Knock her dead, my man." "Oh, no." Xcor shook his head. "That shan't be necessary. This one I like. ” — J.R. Ward 

 

 “The angel popped his already mile high collar. "She said she wanted the holiest thing in the house to do it." "She got holey, all right," somebody muttered. "Is that Butche's Bible?" V asked. The angel flashed the goods. "Yup, and his BoC, he called it? I also got a sermon I did myself." "Saints preserve us," came from the opposite side of the crowd. "Wait, Wait, Wait." V waved his hand rolled around. "I'm the son of a deity and she picked you? ” — J.R. Ward

 

 “You love it right?" Lassiter asked, holding his Bible high. "I mean, you told me to go on the internet. I did. I even printed out my diploma or whatever the hell it's called." Opening the cover of the King James version, he took out a piece of paper and waved it around. "See? Nice and legal-like" Beth leaned in "Wow". "I know right? Just like Harvard" "Impressive" "I'm totally framing that shit, wha-what. ” — J.R. Ward

DIY Coffee Bar/Station: A Pinterest Inspired Project!

Hi guys! Have you been on Pinterest lately! Wow... apparently I am behind... I blame school getting in the way of all my free time LOL! Recently though I have seen these awesome pins about making a DIY Coffee Bar/Station for your home. I don't particularly drink a lot of coffee, but my husband is a completely different story. I also had this huge empty space in my dining room that really needed a bit of *something* and when I saw a few of these pins, I thought how cool would this be for my space!

A few weeks ago, I went on Craigslist and procured an old TV cabinet for free! YAY! Because we all love free right?!? And at the time I wanted to turn it into an extra book shelf for my library but... turns out it makes a great cabinet for my coffee bar/station instead! Once I gutted out all the shelves, wires, re-do the backing and put the doors back on it was ready to transform into barista heaven!

Between Kirklands and would you believe... Big Lots! I furnished the whole project with all kinds of cute coffee nick-nacks and signage! Our Big Lots and Kirklands both recently had a green sale and all their coffee decor at 70% off, and well lets just say I took full advantage of it LOL!

So... TA-DA! What you do guys think?!?

All Finished and soooo happy with how it turned out!

 

I just LOVE these cute little signs from Big Lots!

The tray, the ceramic coffee container, the coffee bean pillar candle and the coffee sign are all from Big Lots and cost me less than 10 dollars! You just can't beat that for cuteness!

Heartland Home Foods and A Recipe!

What my freezer looks like after it's fully stocked from Heartland Home Foods

Wow! I can't believe it's been February since I've blogged about something! So sorry I've been MIA for a while... Seems about right though. February was when I started going back to school (again) and well, most of my free time is stuck on doing research and writing papers for class. Hard work is paying off though and I am about done with my history class and so far so good... I've scored an "A"! Yeah baby! In the mean time we've been crazy busy as ever...

What my shopping for the week now looks like!

 Recently we started taking our health into great consideration. A few months back we went to a home & garden show here in the DMV and came across a really wonderful company called: Heartland Home Foods. They are a company that has been selling all natural and organic products in our area for over 30 years! All of their meats are 100% natural and organic. Their poultry has no hormones or antibiotics injected in it. Everything is portion controlled and comes vacuum sealed right to your front door! I now can go "shopping" in my basement in my giant freezer anytime I want! Best of all... everything and I mean EVERYTHING tastes amazing! My favorites so far have been the steaks, lemon peppered (per-marinaded) chicken breasts, and the salmon! I also made this amazing recipe of Rootbeer (yes, Rootbeer!) glazed pork chops! My hubby and my kiddo love it so much, they want them done in Rootbeer every time now! LOL!

Beef Tips, Stir Fry Veggies & Rice!

 Not only do they offer the meats but they also have fruits, veggies and just about any kind of grocery item you need. They have already saved me a ton on laundry soap, peanut butter, paper towels, dishwasher soap, pasta, shampoo etc.

Lemon Peppered Chicken & Stir Fry Veggies!

 I can't tell you what a difference using heartland has made all around. Hubs and I both have lost at least 10 pounds so far, and it's all just from portion control, eating healthier foods, and taking walks in the evening after dinner. He has had to put two extra holes in his belt just to keep his pants up lately! It's amazing! Even my kiddo now will eat her plate clean veggies and all! The food just tastes that good!

Sirloin Beef Medallions & Roasted Rosemary Garlic Potatoes! 

 This is not a sponsored or prompted post at all, I just truly love Heartland Home Food and can't stress how eating healthy has changed our lives recently! I feel so much better both physically and mentally for providing my family with better health! If you are in the area though, do check them out they are really amazing and caring company and their food is awesome! If your not and you would still want to check out a company that is similar that might be in your area you can always go to the All Natural Food Council of North America and check out their affiliated members at the top of the page. From there you should be able to find a company in your area that also meets the same requirements as Heartland.

Spicy Baja Citrus Shrimp & Rice!

And of course I have posted my families favorite new recipe down below... Rootbeer Glazed Pork Chops, so simple to make and you will be blown away at the taste!

Rootbeer Glazed Pork Chops & Diced Baby Carrots!

Marinade pork chops for 2 hours in Rootbeer
Pat dry and sprinkle with salt.
Then add to grill or brown in frying pan.
Then in another frying pan, add 1 bottle of Rootbeer, 1 beef stock,
1/2 cup brown sugar, Chipolte seasoning, and Worchester sauce.
Then simmer and reduce by 75% to the consistency of maple syrup, add rosemary
and serve over pork chops.