rakin' it in

Wow. July.

Really? July?

Well, I'm a little behind :) I actually hate being behind on life.  It may not look like it or seem like it, but I do.  I'm working on trying to not be, but life happens.  Weird huh...

So, for now, I will just post something simple.  My newest addiction, unfortunately, is Pinterest.  I know I know.. I'm behind on that too (see...).. And actually, I haven't been on in awhile, but here is an idea I picked up from there and had to do myself.

the rake necklace holder

rustic. simple. {basically} free.

I picked up this rake head at a local boutique/antique store for $2.  I was just looking around their place outside where they have some items.  And what did I spy?  A rake head.  A red rake head.  I picked it up and looked at the price tag - holding my breath..how you do when you find something you have to have, but know it's priced way more than you are willing to pay... And to my surprise, it was only $4!! Well, they were having a sidewalk sale that day, and I got this rake head and a cute brown and black patent clutch for a total of $3.  Sold.

I took it home with me, sprayed it with a clear coat of spray paint (to keep the rust from getting on my jewelry, but still being able to keep the rusty look), and hung it in my bathroom.  It was perfect.

To top it off, I remembered we had an old rake that was here when we moved into the rent house.  On the end of this old, rigged rake that didn't work worth a you-know-what was a perfect rake head.  So instead of my husband throwing the whole thing away, I told him to keep the end, that I had a project for it.  Kind of confused, he went ahead and kept it for me.  I'm not sure if I will keep it for another necklace holder, a gift for a friend, or I've also seen them used as a wine glass holder.

I love that I have a [free] back-up rake head.

"the list"

so i just revisited "the list" i made for myself of things i wanted to accomplish in my two weeks vacation..

well, i finished #1 -- whoo hoo!! but only a brief celebration because it was not nearly long enough (which i knew it wouldn't be -- still need some more literature to review...) and now the "fun" part begins.. data processing and analyzing.. and then, eventually, writing the dang thing... the thesis.

#2 - well, it's always a work-in-progress.. with going out of town every other weekend or so, i feel like i constantly have a Vera Bradley bag half-packed.. i'm almost caught up on laundry, and i love having all my laundry clean, except that i run into the problem of where to put it.. i'm sure you have the same problem.. at some point in time, not all of your laundry is necessarily clean, so there's always room for everything else, not the stuff in the dirty hamper... ugh. hence, i need to go through my clothes i don't wear and shouldn't wear anymore, now that i'm a married, professional 25yr old, blah blah blah...  i have, however, gotten the quilt and comforter cleaned!!! this is a HUGE accomplishment.. and i'm forcing the hubs to join me in weening the dog from getting on our bed.. because the next comforter i buy for our bed (which will be in the near future since the current comforter barely made it through the industrial wash this time) will hopefully be this one or one very similar... and if you don't know Tank, he is a black dog.. a long-haired black dog.. black dog + white comforter = gross. and not a happy Danielle... i did get caught up on my filing and couponing though!  well, except for this past sunday's :) but other than that, i'm pretty caught up in that department...

#3 came and gone too quickly... oh how i loved getting my hair done by Aura and my massage and eyebrows by Jenni... *sigh*

#4 has definitely been happening... when he isn't studying for school or was studying for the GRE... however, now that i work during the day and he goes to the library all day, we have the evenings together.. for the most part...  we just enjoyed a wonderful weekend together.. just the two of us.. **post of pics to follow later... maybe tomorrow**

but for now, i'm hittin' the sack :)

night night

so far

1.) Write a proposal

2.) Clean the house - thoroughly clean the house (this includes, and is not limited to, cleaning out my clothes, cleaning and reorganizing the linen/hall closet, going through the stuff in the garage, and catching up on my filing and couponing)

3.) Get a haircut - scratch that - have a pamper Danielle day (massage and eyebrows by Jenni and hair cut and color by Aura and possibly a mani/pedi)

4.) me and the hubs time - this hasn't happened in I don't know how long - we'll hopefully catch up on Grey's and just chill out with cookouts in the backyard and play with our little dog child - Tank

This was the list I posted last Friday (the 13th) of the things I wanted to get accomplished in the 2 weeks vacation...

So far, I have not even put a dent in #1... started on #2, but not doing any of the things listed.... #3 will come on May 26th, so I can't really say anything about that one yet... And I would chalk up tonight and, hopefully, the rest of the week for #4... 

So, all in all, I've done pretty well :)  However, #1 is the main one I need to be working on... How does it always happen that way?

Anyways, this weekend I got some Stilwell strawberries from my mom, so I sliced some up this evening..

And they really are that red.. they're gorgeous... and yummy.

Well, got to get back to cleaning... Hopefully, since I'm on vacation and all, I can make a trip to the farmers market on a Wednesday morning for once...

Then, of course, work on that proposal...

"Vacation"

Well, today at 4:30ish, my life as an intern at Chesapeake ended and my 2 weeks of "vacation" began...

However, I don't really consider it starting until Monday (if not later) because I have a lot of stuff to do this weekend and the beginning of next week...

But, nonetheless, it has started...

And at the end of the 2ish weeks, I will begin my full-time, grown-up, big girl, 40 hours/week job at Chesapeake...

Once again, I'm excited/sad/scared... I don't know how many more overload emotion episodes I can take...

In these 2 weeks, I hope to:

1.) Write a proposal

2.) Clean the house - thoroughly clean the house (this includes, and is not limited to, cleaning out my clothes, cleaning and reorganizing the linen/hall closet, going through the stuff in the garage, and catching up on my filing and couponing)

3.) Get a haircut - scratch that - have a pamper Danielle day (massage and eyebrows by Jenni and hair cut and color by Aura and possibly a mani/pedi)

4.) me and the hubs time - this hasn't happened in I don't know how long - we'll hopefully catch up on Grey's and just chill out with cookouts in the backyard and play with our little dog child - Tank

It seems like there's so many more things to do in these two weeks, but I'm sure this will keep me busy...