As we get ready for our annual beach trip............

This is on my mind lately.......Balance. The importance of priorities and how they affect us and our everyday moods.
I find that this summer has been challenging in many ways. I have an online business that I love to nurture, but to do so every day can take away from my family (I know you can relate!)
So I'm in the process of forgiving myself for those things that I haven't focused on that I should be. It's crucial to do this! After all, none of us is perfect.
We leave for our annual beach vacation later today....it's much needed in many ways. I'm taking some great reads, a big puzzle, and not much else.
After all, vacation is a time to unwind, right?
I do hope to hear from you all as to your best ways to unwind and relax.....it seems to get harder and harder to do.
Please remember to take some time for yourself!!!
(image found here....www.someonelikeme.ca)

Where Bloggers Create....my creative happy place, warts and all~~~~

I so appreciate your peeking into my creative space...you'll notice I did NOT clean it up because....well, ain't no one got time for that! And it's not because I don't love ya, it's just that I REALLY don't have the time to straighten it up at the moment and I REALLY wanted to participate...so please forgive my jumble, k?
This year there are a couple of changes, pieces have been sold and moved onto new happy homes, I've added some treasured dolls, etc.
Without further ado....some pics.

HomeGoods chicken wire cubbies....love them!

My huge wallpapered cabinet panel finally got hung up, whew!

Pretty new doll, found the umbrella in a separate store but think they belong together.....after all it does rain quite a bit in Oregon!

I took the doors off several of my upper cabinets for display and so I could easily find what I need.

My favorite dress form, an ebay find. The angel wings were found at St. Vinnies.........

A bookmark I made.

Another HomeGoods find. They usually have fabulous storage bins.

This was a very happy find for my studio this year, a huge floral carpet....in case you didn't notice florals are my 'thing'. I love to surround myself with them! They make me happy, and unlike my garden I can't kill these flowers.
I adore my space, which is what it's all about, that and the inspiration that a space can give. I've loved seeing all of your gorgeous spaces so thank you for joining in and thank you to Karen of MyDesertCottage for hosting once again!

Sometimes it just takes a wheelbarrow to bring the goods home~~~~~~~~

Hmmm, where to start? O.k., I'll just jump right in. Last week my dd and I drove an hour over to the coast to spend some time with my Sis and her dh....you know shopping, eating, shopping....etc.
We were spending the night so we could take our time. I found so many treasures that I can't wait to go back! Not to mention just spending some great fun quality time with my sister. You see, we've been apart for the last 30 or so years, only seeing each other a handful of times...so sad. Now that she lives closer we're taking advantage of it! So we were in a shop at the coast and I saw this HUMONGOUS scale. The price floored me, but not for the reason you may be thinking...lol! It was priced at $15! Yeah, I know. Now here comes the dumbest part of this story....I didn't buy it! Yes, I'll repeat that for those of you who may have thought that you weren't reading that correctly....I didn't buy it!
Must be all that salty air that got into my foggy brain.

Anyway, we got home and I just happened to mention the behemoth scale to my dh and he said, "And you didn't buy it?" I was astounded when he said he thought I should have. Let me just tell you, no matter how many years you've been married they can still surprise you. So I called up my sis right away and asked her if she would go down there the next day and buy it for me. She, of course said no problem.

This is one side of the scale, unfortunately I can't display it this way because of the configuration of our countertop and the nearby window....nowhere else to put the darn behemoth!!!!
But no worries, it still looks cool when displayed on the other side.
I think it's beyond awesome, especially when I see how much many people are charging for these huge grocery type scales....wowza! And just in case you're wondering where the wheelbarrow plays into this story, we actually did have to use my wheelbarrow to haul this into my house because she weighs about 45 pounds! I'm sure my neighbors are still talking....:).

These are my antique tranferware platters that I'm going to hang right above my massive scale.....I kinda like that "farmhouse" vibe that they'll add to my kitchen, even though we most definitely do NOT live on a farm or anything that remotely resembles one.
It's all good, every time I gaze upon my super bargain of a scale I find myself humming the tune to "Green Acres".