Unexpected Warm Glow

Hi everyone!

On our way home from leaving Little Bluebird in Virginia for graduate school, we happened upon an awesome shop off the freeway in Centerville, Indiana - about an hour south of Indianapolis on I-70 and just across the Ohio border.  Apparently, on  the way TO Virginia, yours truly was asleep and missed all of the signs leading up to this gem of a place.  Much wiser on the return trip (due to a slip of the tongue by Mr. Bluebird, lol), I was wide eyed and ready to roll once we made it to Centerville.

And there it was, a ginormous candle - a beacon for the traveler - and the iconic symbol of the Warm Glow Candle Company!  It is 11,000 square feet of "scentsory" overload.

 Inside the store, there was one amazing display after another.

Tons of realistic faux florals.

Cute displays were everywhere.  Here is a massive area of candle rings.

Of course, amidst all of the home decor were the stars of the show - the yummy scented candles.

There is even a selection of specialty wines.

And of course, chocolate and wine are perfect companions!

Look at the size of the candle on the top shelf - huge!  I regret not picking one of those up to bring home now.... sigh.

If you get hungry while you are shopping, there is a cute little cafe right inside with all kinds of treats.

Candles are one of my downfalls, so I showed great restraint at this store.  I picked up two candles (Apple Cinnamon & Banana Nut Bread) and a big bag of Cinnamon Bun scented rosehip. I paid about $44.00 for all three items, which is a really great price.

The Warm Glow Candle company has a huge scent selection, many of which can be ordered on line.  I am still thinking about the huge Cinnamon Fried Ice Cream candle I left behind and may be placing an order soon!  The candles I did choose are also quite large, weighing in at two pounds and boasting 150 hours of glow time.  I am saving them for September, when I get the fall harvest bug!

I am so glad Mr. Bluebird spilled the beans about this super neat store and that we were passing by during their operating hours (9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. every day).

How about you? Have you happened upon any great shopping spots lately?

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

Linking with these fun parties:
Treasure Hunt Thursday

Pawsin' With Palmer

Hey y'all! Palmer here.  My new mom said I could take over her blog today so I could introduce myself.

Three months ago, I found myself homeless in Alabama (that's why I can say y'all and my Midwestern mom cannot!) along with my dog mom and my many brothers and sisters.

Jr Pups-N-Stuff

That's my mama in the center and I am in the upper right. Some people say I look a lot like her and I think that's awesome - she is a beauty.

 Lucky for me, some loving people scooped us up, gave us some love and before you knew it, we were in foster homes in Wisconsin through the efforts of the amazing rescue group, JR Pups-N-Stuff. They sure took good care of me, and even my mom got  adopted and has a new family! Some of my brothers and sisters are still waiting for the right homes and since they are (almost) as cute as me, I know it won't be long before they have a home to stay!  Even though we were from Alabama, we all had Arizona foster names starting with mom who was called Arizona! There is Mesa, Yuma, Parker, Flagstaff, Sedona, Tuscon and may be more, there were a whole bunch of us! Me, I was called Prescott, which actually was a pretty cool name, but my new mom and dad thought Palmer was the right name for me. So, Palmer it is! (Although, sometimes I think my name might be "No!" or "Off!" or perhaps, "Don't Touch!" or "Drop It!"  But, they tell me it really is Palmer.)

On Sunday, I moved to my furever home with my new mom and dad. I wish my new sister was here, but as you know, she is away at college.  I did get to meet her and play with her a few weeks ago though and I already love her so much! We even Facetimed last night!

I'm a three month old, hound mix and I weigh in at a svelte 31 pounds! I am a pretty fun guy who loves stuffed toys, stealing my mom's throw pillows (all you other bloggers out there know the huge assortment of pillows I can get at) and treats...Love my treats!

And napping. Lots of napping.

I kinda dig - no pun intended (well, actually, pun intended!) - this blogging thing and I will be back every now and then to show what's going on in my world, share my thoughts on nutritious dog food and treats, cool toys and all kinds of stuff. I may even throw in a decorating idea or two.

Until then, remember: "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, "Wow, you're right! I never would have thought of that!" - Dave Barry

*I would love it if you would follow my mom's Facebook page! Just click on the word Facebook on the right and never miss one of my guest posts again. You also may see pictures and stuff about me not included on the blog!

Keeping it pawsitive,

Palmer

Linking with these fun parties:
Make it Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
Wow Us Wednesday

I Left My Heart In Virginia & It's A Boy!

Hi everyone!

Just got back from a whirlwind road trip to Blacksburg, Virginia to help Baby Bluebird move into her new apartment at Virginia Tech, where she will be attending graduate school for the next two years.  She and I left on Wednesday, Mr. Bluebird caught up with us Thursday and  then, by Friday afternoon, the Mr. and I started for home.  1400 miles round trip! We would have stayed longer, but our wonderful nephew was getting married and we wanted to make at least part of the celebration.

I don't know where the time has gone or how we ended up with a daughter that is 24 years old! (Well, I guess I do know the answers to both those questions, lol, but time has passed quite quickly!) We are so proud of her, but I am not going to lie:  it was very hard to say goodbye on Friday and leave her hundreds of miles from home.

But, on the flip side, Mr. Bluebird and I are excited at this opportunity for her and the life is she is making for herself! So, through the tears, I left her there with a smile!

As part of her work/study program, she has an on campus apartment in one of the dorm buildings.  She is looking forward to making it into a comfortable home for herself. By college standards, it is quite spacious and she has it all to herself!

When we arrived Friday morning, she was greeted by this sweet sign from some of those students and staff in her program.  We met several of them on move in day and they were so sweet and helpful.

Her entry way is huge. She brought the wire shelving unit from home.  It was originally white plastic coat, but she updated it with some gold metallic spray paint. It will make a nice landing spot for shoes, purses, etc.

Her bedroom is large and came with a dresser, night stand and desk.

This is the view from within the bedroom  - you can see how large it is. To the right is a walk in closet.

We moved her bed into an angled corner and dressed it up right away - in the midst of chaos, it's always nice to have your bed made up.

Her bathroom is tiny and pretty industrial - but, it's her private bathroom and that's the best part! It also has gray tile, which goes perfectly with the gray, white and yellow bathroom accessories she chose.

She has a cute, light filled living room with tons of floor to ceiling windows and the campus provided a brown microfiber sofa.  This actually is a good neutral that goes well with her gray, yellow and mint living room color scheme that she wanted.

She has a large kitchen with a peninsula and table & chairs. She loves to cook, so this is a real bonus for her! You can tell by the expression on her face that she is feeling a little daunted by all the unpacking and organizing she has ahead of her.

I will post more of her apartment progress as she gets settled in and decorated.  She has some super cute ideas and plans for the space and will be doing it on the cheap!

As for me, I found an amazing store off the freeway in Indianapolis that Mr. Bluebird and I stopped at on our way home and I will share that with you later this week.  Really fantastic and some great deals!

Lastly, yesterday we added a new addition to our family - Palmer!

Isn't he cute?  Palmer has a lot to say and he will be doing periodic guest posts on my blog. The first "Pawsing With Palmer" debuts tomorrow. I hope you will pop in and see what's up with the pup.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jane

Linking with these fun parties:

Make it Pretty Monday

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Coastal Charm Show & Share

Inspire Me Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

This, That & The Other Thing

Hi everyone!

Today I am coming to you with a smorgasbord of "stuff."  That's kind of how life at the Bluebird household has been these past few weeks - just a lot of everything going on.  I debated whether to post at all, as I don't have a big thing to share at the moment.  But I wasn't sure when the next big thing was going to make it to my blog and decided to bundle all my little things up and share them with you!  So here goes...

Our one and only child is headed off to Virginia Tech for grad school later this week.  It has been an exciting time here at our house as we help her get prepared for the move across country to start her newest chapter.  Mr. Bluebird and I are so very proud of her and all that she has done and continues to do with her education and her life.  She is one over achiever!  Of course, I am also feeling a little blue...coming to grips with how far away she will be from home.  She broke our lifelong deal - she was never supposed to move further than the tri-county area, lol!

But anyhoo, mother's problems aside, this is one amazing beginning for her and I am excited to be roadtripping with her to Virginia to get her settled into her new apartment!  She has been working on getting a few things to make her new place feel more like a home.

 She loved the metallic frame and font - and she is all about inspirational sayings.

This quote sums up our daughter perfectly.

Starting the throw pillow obsession early - her color scheme is mint, gray and yellow.

Love the grommet detail in this pillow.  It helps tie in the metallics she likes.

The gray graphic pillow adds a fun texture.

I will show you more of her apartment once she gets settled in - I know it will have a fun and hip vibe.

As for around here, I've been busy painting both my kitchen and my living room areas.  I used to love the golden tones of this wall color - Yankee Gold was the paint name.  But it was time for a change and the dark color really needed to go!  I went with Bone White which still has the warm undertones that I  love, but the new, lighter shade just went a long way in brightening and freshening everything up.  In this photo it looks very white next to the old gold, but it has a lot of warmth. My rooms needed to be toned down - way down.  You can read about that here.

Here you can get a better idea of the true shade on the wall above the hooks.  Just enough warmth to keep things cozy, without the rooms looking like clownville or dark & dreary.  Hopefully things will slow down a bit and I can get some pictures up of the finished kitchen and living areas soon. (My picture quality has gone way down because, being Mother of the Year, I gave my Canon Rebel DSLR to my daughter to use for her blog,Bows for Justine.  I am using a lesser Canon that I think will work out okay once I learn how to use it, lol!)

I recently put together a new piece of furniture for my kitchen that came with all of these parts!  In reality, it was all organized very well and it was easy to assemble.  The piece brings out the blue you see in the fabric, which is one of my living room chairs.

 And last, but not least, a little sneak peak at something extra special arriving at the Bluebird house in just a few days...

Have a great rest of the week you all.  I will be back soon with lots to share!

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

Linking with these fun & inspiring parties:
Make it Pretty Monday
Amaze Me Monday
Party in Your PJ's
Wow Us Wednesday
Inspire Me Tuesday

The Color of Change

Hi everyone!

I have been busy the past few weeks making some big time color changes around the Bluebird household.  Last week, I hit up the kitchen and now that it is finished, I have to say I am loving the light, bright new color.  I will have some pictures of the finished room soon - I am waiting on a few things before the "big reveal."

This week, I am starting on our entry hall, foyer and living room. I have been a fan of dark, fall colors for like ALWAYS, but I recently started to feel that I need to lighten up my spaces just a bit.  You can read about my color crisis here.  I am still using the dark colors I love, but am using them with a lightened up background.

So, goodbye drab gold paint.....

Hello, glorious, light reflecting cream (sorry about the wonky pics - I just got a new camera and there has been a big learning curve that I have yet to master, lol)....

BY
I am looking forward to this lighter color so much, but don't worry - there is some color injection for one of the walls that I will show when the room is complete.

In other news, there are a few nifty add-ons in my kitchen.  Today, I am just giving you a little tease.

Rusty, crusty, glorious goodness:

Stained and leaded glass:

And a new piece of furniture that came with a package of mannnnyyyyy fasteners:

It's a busy week for me with all the painting and my daughter's going away party on Saturday. I am also going to be sharing a fun addition to our home that we will be getting in about two weeks that involves a new blog series.  Stay tuned!  What are you up to on these summer days?

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

Linking with:
Coastal Charm Show & Share
Metamorphosis Monday
Make it Pretty Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
The Scoop
Wow Us Wednesday
Party in Your PJ's

Relax, Spray Paint to the Rescue

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had an outstanding fourth of July.  We kept it pretty low key, but it was wonderful nonetheless.

Awhile back, I shared that we are expanding our patio and adding a fire pit area.  This has not happened yet and we are awaiting our landscaper who is backed up with work.  It will probably not get off the ground until August or possibly even September.

With that thought in mind, our daughter's going away party is fast approaching and our existing fire area really needed an overhaul.  But, it needed to be a face lift for little or no money since it is going to be completely replaced.

Here is a before photo:

Our plastic Adirondack chairs were discolored, dirty and no matter how hard we scrubbed, nothing any one wanted to sit on anymore.  Frankly, they were gross!

Enter one of my closest and oldest friends: spray paint!  Spray paint you can use on plastic!  A quick couple of coats in Key Lime and presto change-o! Cute, revitalized chairs!

The firepit topper needs a quick coat of black spray paint - just pretend it's already been done!

I had the lime Pier One cushions in my stash and the Pottery Barn bolsters have been used on these chairs for a few years.

I picked up the  wood "Relax" sign on deep discount at Hobby Lobby and I think it adds a cute touch to this little area.

I am pretty impressed with the coverage of this spray paint and the finish it gave to the chairs.  I am also happy that for about $6.00 I was able to breathe new life into them and make this an inviting area for the remainder of the summer. I am so looking forward to our patio extension, but I will be toasting my toes (and marshmallows) in this cozy area while we wait!

Have you tried spray painting plastic?

Thanks for stopping by,
Jane

Linking with:
DIY Sunday Showcase
Amaze Me Monday
Make it Pretty Monday
Coastal Charm Show and Share
Metamorphosis Monday
Inspire Me Tuesday
The Scoop
Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
Party in Your PJ's
Wow us Wednesday
Sizzle into Summer
Share Your Style
Grace at Home