2.29.2012

MOSAIC - February 2012

Monthly Mosaic Feb2012


My Life Recap / February 2012
*Loving our plant based diet!
*We went to the Brass Armadillo in Denver
*Finally recovered my ottoman
*Planning a trip to visit Ohio
*5 years of My Mod Style
*Posted pictures of my Whale Bathroom
*Finally found wrapping paper for my bookcase backdrop
*Reconnected with my best friend of 13 years!

It was an awesome month!

2.28.2012

Missing Ohio & Calling Myself A Military Wife

I don't know how I feel about announcing to people that I am a Military Wife. Some are stuck up, some are crazy and some are just normal like the rest of us. I have learned in the last 6 months of living at our first stationed base, that Air Force couples have a hard time being faithful. Everyone seems to cheat, lie and get divorced. Okay,...that's not fair, not EVERYONE. There are so many people who rush into getting married because they feel they have to. A lot of them have never even had a job or lived away from mommy and daddy. It's really sad to see all the failed marriages. For Cody and I, we are still "us". The Air Force is just part of our life now. We have embraced the changes, but we aren't going to let it change us.
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I have met some cool people. I am not as scared as I first was, to make new friends. Everyone is a person and everyone is different whether or not they have the Military Wife title. I work with a few cool people also. A few are Military Wives. Being a part of the military is weird because you kinda feel like you shouldn't ever get attached to people. I kinda think to myself, "Well I am only going to be here a few years, so why make friends?" I think this because I do get attached easily to people if I think they are awesome or they make me smile. I also really hate goodbyes.

Also, something else I am feeling is having a career as a Military Wife seems hard. Unless you work from home as a web designer or blogger where your business can go with you where ever you go, then it's not so hard. I just have this attitude towards everything right now, that where ever I work it doesn't matter. As long as I bring home some kinda of paycheck to help save money or whatever. I know this sounds negative, but I don't mean it to. It's just that you never feel like you can really settle down into anything for to long.

My job is probably going bye-bye soon. I say probably because I am having a hard time accepting it myself. I wanted the job so badly! I was so excited when I got it. I do plan to give notice, not just quit. Hopefully this will give me a chance to go back someday if I want to. Why am I planning on quitting? Well because I want to go to Ohio and visit. I want to visit for at least 2 weeks and my job can't allow that. Soon it will be 6 months since I have seen my family and friends. That is hard. Again, it all goes back to the whole Military Wife thing.
ohio postcard

The happiness you feel from a familiar face is like no other happiness I personally can feel. The happiness you get when someone you miss also misses you just as much. How their face lights up with joy when they see you. That happiness is not here for me,...yet. No close friendships or family. I miss my parents most of all. It's strange not being able to jump in the car and go over to their house.

I knew when Cody signed up this was how it was going to be. I am not complaining. I actually am very proud of myself for how strong I have been. Now that it has been 6 months though, the time feels right. It sure as heck doesn't feel like it's been that long. I am sure it does to the people in Ohio waiting for me to decide when I will visit.
pink map

My job has helped pay for some car repairs in the last 2 months and it will also pay for my trip to Ohio. I suppose I will go visit and then come back and get another job. It's okay though, because I do like to try new things. I love the animal shelter job, but I understand that they can't let me off for such a long period of time. Also, I want a 401K plan and they don't offer that. (I am getting old!) The job at the shelter has caused me unnecessary stress also, so it may be for the best anyways. The shelter made me realize that I would like to work with animals in the long run.

I tend to over think things and worry, worry, WORRY. So to keep it simple in my brain, I look at it as what is more important to me.

Going to Ohio to see my family and friends
or
Keep my job at the shelter

Like I said, the time is right to go visit. Everything for me has been falling into place. In the past few days I have reconnected with my old best friend of 13 years. We stopped talking for the last 5 years. It broke my heart like nothing else has in my entire life. Now that we are speaking again, I can't wait to go to Ohio and see them face to face. Things really do happen for a reason. I can get another job or go back to the shelter later if they would take me back.

My Ottoman Makeover

After months of trying to find fabric that was affordable, durable and large enough to fit my ottoman, the search finally is over! With the help of my awesome husband the ottoman is recovered and looking good. Here is a reminder of what the ottoman looked like when we purchased it...
My Living Room - Feb 2012
Of course it's no surprise that I would pick a hot pink chevron fabric to cover it with....
My Living Room - Feb 2012
The chevron is a big deal to me because I love the pattern so much, but yet didn't have it anywhere in my house. I don't care if some people hate it or are sick of seeing it. I think it works well on the ottoman and in the room...
My Living Room - Feb 2012
Now if I could only get myself to buy a new pretty gray sofa! That's not happening anytime soon. We love our ugly vintage couch. The empty wall over my sofa is killing me. I have ideas, just haven't been able to apply them yet.
My Living Room - Feb 2012My Living Room - Feb 2012
My living room has so many things missing. I don't know if will ever get it finished. I have blank walls everywhere. I feel if I painted the room, it would feel more homey. This cream/off- white/antique color isn't working for me. Even if I painted the room a bright white it would be better. I also rearranged my Billy bookcase...
Base Living Room Feb2012 6Jonathan Adler Bookends | Vintage Ceramic Kitty Figurine
Base Living Room Feb2012 7Base Living Room Feb2012 8
I still have my sad little sitting corner. I have been looking for some arm chairs to put here. For now I borrow 2 of our dining room chairs, because this is where we eat dinner. We like to watch TV while we are eating. I have thought about doing a photo frame collage corner or hanging some wall shelves for some Vinylmations. I can't decide!!!
Base Living Room Feb2012 9
For now I just keep searching for goodies to put in the room.
Fabric purchased from Denver Fabrics
You can see my original post of the living room {HERE}

2.27.2012

Pinterest Bandwagon

So it took me what feels like forever to join the Pinterest bandwagon. My boards are very empty still and I try to pin things often to fill them. Honestly, I forget. I am just not used to it yet.
My favorite boards are "My Favorite Places & Spaces".....
Picture 6and my "ART" board....Picture 5
I really love Society 6. There are so many great artists on the website and the prices aren't bad. You can upload your own artwork and sell it. Most of my pins seem to be from artists selling their stuff on the Society 6 website.
You can see all my Pinterest Boards {HERE}

2.25.2012

WALL-E

I love Flickr. One of my contacts that I follow is Cranium Command's. Cassie takes these awesome photo's of Wall-E. A photo a day of Wall-E doing things like painting, playing outside and getting a cup of coffee from Starbucks...
Wall-e Paints a Self PortraitSalted Caramel Hot Chocolate for Wall-eSnow love.Dirt cake!Relax.
The pictures make me smile and I think they are very creative.
You can see all of them {HERE}.
Cassie also takes great photos with Vinylmation figurines.

2.24.2012

Fashion Friday: Marilyn Monroe

This week I found inspiration from Marilyn Monroe...Fashion Marilyn Monroe1
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Fashion Inspiration Marilyn Stripes2
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Go over to Kori's blog, Blonde Episodes to be part of Fashion Fridays!
You can view all my Fashion posts by clicking {HERE}. Have a great weekend!

2.23.2012

Working with Animals {month 2}

It's been 2 months and a few days since I started working at the animal shelter. Everyday I get more and more interested in having a Pit-Bull. When I started working there, I was a little scared of the breed. Now that I have worked with them one on one, I know they are just like any other dog.
Powder and Precious

Powder was hit by a car and we nursed her back to health. When she first came in she was in so much pain and so scared. It just broke my heart to even look at her. If I didn't have any pets, she would be my dog. When I get into her kennel to visit with her, she showers me with love. Precious is a dog that is so ugly she's cute. She reminds me of a little gremlin.
Gremlins-picture
She is very sweet but has a very deep bark. She sounds like a big male dog. It's really funny to hear. It's no wonder some people are really scared of Pit-Bulls. lol

I mostly work with cats during the week. I really only see the dogs, when an adopter comes in to see them. I go get the dog out of it's kennel and introduce it to the adopter. It's hard when you think the dog is perfect for the person, yet for some reason they don't see it and don't adopt the animal. Powder is very shy when people walk by her kennel. That makes people not want to see her. I have told many people about how sweet she is, but no one looks at her. Now when myself or other co-workers walk by her cage she runs to the door wagging her tail. She knows us. Animals in the shelter are not always themselves. They are so stressed and most of the time in a depression. Even with all this said, I like my job. I am have been emotionally stronger then I thought I would be.

Sadly, the only thing keeping me from not loving my job, is the people. I am sure all of us have had a job where someone has ruined it for us. I have already experienced this before at other jobs, so I find it very hard not to just quit. I hate drama. Unfortunately there is a lot of drama between the employees and I find it draining the morale out of me when I am there. I wake up every morning feeling happy inside, then I go to work and the happiness fades away. I can't stand when people in a work environment just can't be adults and work out their problems. Or at least agree to disagree. I have been a manager before, and the thing that worked for me was, treating the employee's the way I wanted to be treated. It's basic, simple and it works.

I am in a place in my life where I have found true happiness within myself. To work in a place that sucks that out of me on a daily basis is so depressing. I really want to work with animals and I really want at least 6 months of the work experience for my resume. It has left me in a very bad position. I feel I am going to be forced to make a decision I don't want to make. So, that's where I am at right now. It's a real bummer. I am strong willed and don't give up easily. I am planning a trip to visit Ohio in late April, so my current goal is to at least work at the shelter up till that trip. My paychecks will pay for that trip and then I can look for a new job when I get back. We'll see.... Day by Day I guess. I don't think anyone should stay at a job that they hate. Life is way to short to be miserable everyday.
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If only everyone could just live by those words....
You can read my post about my first month {HERE}

2.22.2012

Please Keep Calm and Carry On

Today I am a nervous. Nervous to go to work because of drama. Nervous because I found out some news about an old friend. Nervous because I have decided to mail that old friend a letter after not speaking to them for over 5 years. All day I am going to have to Keep Calm and Carry On....
Collage Keep Calm1
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Collage Keep Calm2
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Does anyone ever tell you to listen to your gut? Well I am doing that, and I hope my guts right this time. lol What's life without some risks?
All images are from Decor Pad

2.21.2012

ORGANIZATION: For The Kitchen

I can't stand NOT being organized. With our new diet, we are loving cooking again! We are planning a trip to IKEA soon and hope to get things like spice jars and food savers. Eating a plant based diet and whole foods you need lots of canisters to make everything look pretty and stay fresh! Here are some things that I found that would help anyone get more organized in the kitchen....
Dot DividerFor The Kitchen organized1
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7Dot Dividerhappy kitchen

2.20.2012

Denver Brass Armadillo {trip 2}

When I am antiquing I am truly happy. I love spending hours at antique malls looking at tons and tons of stuff.
The Brass Armadillo is at the top of my list!
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The chair I am sitting on was only $62 and in fairly good shape. It was a great chair from the 1950's era. We got some coffee from the cafe that's in the Brass Armadillo. It took us almost 5 hours to go through the place. We needed the caffeine boost! I would have loved to have had the pink cat clock below. She had eyelashes!
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Yes, I found Domino magazines! I know most of us miss Domino and I thought about buying them, but didn't.
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I love license plates that look vintage. I may buy one of these next time I go back to the Brass Armadillo.
Look at this beautiful picture of Marilyn Monroe...BA 9What we foundBA 11
Toy Figurines - Flower & Flounder | Star Wars Pez for Cody | Cody with his Star Wars Figurine
Ohio Jim Beam Decanter | Kitty Figurine & Kitty Tin from England | Garfield "Born 2 Party"

I was super excited to find the Ohio Decanter for only $3.80! I don't collect Jim Bean Decanters, I just wanted it because it's Ohio. The Garfield made me laugh! I have many Garfield stuffed animals, but I have never seen the "Born 2 Party" Garfield before. He is now my favorite. The kitty stuff was just adorable!
BA kittys

I highly recommend the Denver Brass Armadillo if you enjoy antiquing. It's one of my favorite malls. Just make sure to wear comfortable shoes! They have a small cafe' where you can eat or get some coffee!!! It's a great place to go this time of year.
See my other post about Brass Armadillo {HERE}
Did you find anything cool this weekend? You can link up over at Her Library Adventures.


Brass Armadillo Antique Mall (Denver)