Lovely snapdragons and such

I know I'm constantly singing the praises of Trader Joe's, but there's a reason for that. One big reason (besides their wonderful pretzel bread) are the gorgeous flowers. Every time I go there, I find a new selection to choose from. I've gotten everything from irises to carnations, and have never been dissatisfied with the quality. Plus the prices are great—these snapdragons were $5.59 per bunch (I have a bunch of white and a bunch of pink here). Most of the flowers run around $5 a bunch, and even the pricier ones, like lilies, are still a deal at $7 and some change per bunch.



And yes, that's this print...



...in the background on my living room wall. I love looking at its pretty colors whenever I walk in the room.



And I just finished placing an order at Michael's for this print (above) to be custom framed as well. It's going to look like this.



It's an odd size and large, so unfortunately I can't just grab a frame and mat off the shelf and do it up nicely.



These lilies were on my display table for over a week, but were starting to lose petals, hence the purchase of the snapdragons. But then I realized there were a few flowers that hadn't opened yet and the lilies had some more life in them, so I just swapped the lilies over to the tv stand, and the snapdragons to the display table.



And of course these mums were on the tv stand, so they had to move upstairs to our bedroom. Pete probably wonders why I've gone so flower crazy, but they're cheap and pretty and I have lots o' vases for them.



But I couldn't resist this pretty iridescent vase from Target. The color in the very first photo in this post is more accurate. It's normally a $40 vase (which I would never spend on a vase like this) but it was marked down to $9.98. Quite a bargain, eh? And the custom framing job on the black and white image was half off. Oh yes, I am forever finding great deals on the clearance shelves at various stores, as well as having become a coupon-weilding fiend!

A pretty (and hopefully secure) way to hide a few remotes

Hi, my name is Chris, and I have a dog named Adora that eats things that she shouldn't. I admit it. She eats lots of things. Things like remote controls, shoes, cordless phones...things you personally don't think are all that tasty, but that she enjoys destroying when she's home alone (with Spanky, Max, and Dollie, that is).



And it doesn't stop there. Adora is a master at opening bottles and packages and getting at food, especially when I take Spanky and her in the car with me, which is quite often. Not even a bottle of water is safe. She will take the bottle of water, carefully unscrew the cap (even if it hasn't been opened), and drink the water from the bottle without spilling very much, if anything. This happens almost daily when I take Adora with me in the car, so I've had to hide water bottles under the seats, but she still gets to things down there. The only safe place to hide stuff is under a shelf in the back of my CRV, where Adora can't get to things. If I don't hide stuff back there, I pay. I have caught her opening yogurt containers, bananas, chili dog containers, boxes of candy, candy bars, bags of chips.... Adora has even taken an entire cup of iced coffee and drank it, with barely a drop spilled, while I ran into Target.



Anyhow, I digress. I was at Michael's on Monday and found some pretty paper boxes of different shapes and sizes. I loved a particular bird box, but as always, I try to think of what practical use such an item will serve in my house.



I hadn't thought of one until the following day, when I realized the box could easily fit both our cable and DVD remote controls.



The previous cable remote had been killed by Adora in the past, and Pete and I always worry she'll set her sights on the humble replacement remote one of these days. But now I have a pretty box to hide both remotes from her ravenous ways.



Although I'm not so sure that she can't open the box and get at them. She has opened storage bins in my car to get at candy before. Well, I guess we'll give it a try and see what happens.



They always look so innocent, don't they?

Off to Michael's

I don't know about you, but I like to hit Michael's for my basic framing and craft needs. They don't have the biggest selection of frames, but I do like that I get a 40% coupon for a single item every time I buy something. And then they're constantly having sales, so you can often get a nice frame (or other item) for up to 50% off. That's where I'm headed today, to frame my vintage magazines.



I think I need a document frame for them because some are rather thick. Or perhaps a shadow box?




Oh yeah, and I have to mow the lawn, do laundry, get serious about a veggie and herb garden, too. Holiday weekend? What holiday!? I've been cleaning up a storm since Friday night. Oh well, at least it's been beautiful so far, and I have been able to spend some good quality time with my hubby, family, and pets.

Happy rest-of-the-weekend, everyone!