Home Goods Happy

Home Goods is running a commercial with the slogan "Home Goods Happy" and that's what I am!  They have the best deals there and really cute thing for the garden.  Sometimes I find the things at TJ Maxx which is the same company and while they have a smaller section for items for the home, they often aren't as picked over as the actual Home Goods store.  I found all of these things at TJ Maxx which is literally just down the hill from where I live.  I've often walked with Jacob in the stroller there.  On Friday, I showed you the lantern I bought which I had planned on using on the patio until Jeff suggested using it in the house.  But I did buy these really cute planters that I used for herbs.  I don't think their actual color shows up too well in these photos but they have that green tint that copper gets when it ages.  In this planter, I have mint and oregano.

    

And in the planter below, I have basil and cilantro

I saw these exact planters at a nursery for more than twice the price.  I had my shopping cart full when I spotted something really unique.  It was a big wooden planter that was put together with pieces of wood like a puzzle.  It was by a designer named Danny Seo.  I texted Jeff to come meet me at TJ Maxx and I showed him the one of a kind (no others in the store) wooden planter.  He liked it but wondered what I'd plant in it.  I didn't have a really good answer for that so I said, "Okay, let's forget about it and just get the other things." I was still thinking about it a few hours later wondering how I could use that planter.  It had a plastic insert so all of a sudden it occurred to me that it would make a great fountain!  A few weeks before, I had seen at Home Depot a display that said, "Make any container a fountain with this kit!"  So I told Jeff my idea and off he went to TJ Maxx to get the wooden box.  Thankfully, it was still there.  The kit has 3 different nozzles so you can choose how you want the water to spray.  We chose the bell shaped spray.  It also lights up at night.  Since I didn't want to cut a hole in the planter for the cord, we just went over the side and I found a cute handpainted ceramic sunflower to hide the cord.  Of course, it turned into a much bigger project than anticipated because we had to run a waterproof extension cord out to the spa and Jeff didn't want it just laying on the ground so he bought black ABS (which is like PVC but not white) that he could run the cord through.  Here's Cooper and Kanan checking out our new fountain before I added the sunflower to hide the cord.

    

Shopping for Free!

The other day when Jeff and I went down to coast to Santa Monica, I had a couple of Pottery Barn coupons burning a hole in my pocket.  One was "Spend $50.00- get $25.00 Off" and then I was sent a "Reward Certificate" which you get when you buy things on a Pottery Barn credit card.  You get 10% rewards from prior purchases.  The reward certificate was for $25.00 so that meant I could get $50.00 worth of stuff for free!  How can you beat that?  Problem is, I have pretty much decorated out my living room so it's hard to find things I need.  I have plenty of Pottery Barn pillows and pillow covers for every season, lots of glasses, serving dishes, you name it so it's hard to find something I need and/or have room for.  Anyway, I was determined to find something so I bought got this oil-rubbed bronze bird sculpture/votive holder that goes perfectly with my fireplace screen and tool set.  I was also able to get a silver starfish and some decorative pebbles for a lantern I bought.  That's a whole other story...

If you browse the Pottery Barn catalog or website, you'll see lots of lanterns and they run from $100-$200.00.  I found a rustic-looking lantern that I loved at TJ Maxx/Home Goods.  It was so similar to the Pottery Barn lanterns and I even liked it more and it was only $19.99!  I had planned to use it on the patio but when I brought it home, Jeff liked it so much that he thought I should put it in the living room on our server.  During the summer, I have a beachy seashore theme in my living room so the silver starfish and pebbles from Pottery Barn and some shells and driftwood that I had were added to the lantern along with a battery-operated candle.  Here's a photo.  They look small in the photo but they are quite large and tall!

Here's the lantern with the lit candle before I added the accessories.  I love the rope handle.

More of my summer decor

Dining room centerpiece and shell placemats from PB

On Monday, I'll show you more great deals I got at TJ Maxx for the garden...some great planters for herbs and an interesting big carved wooden pot that we turned into a fountain!  Have a great weekend!

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Jeff and I took a ride over Malibu Canyon, down the coast through Malibu and ended up on 3rd Street in Santa Monica.  I had $50.00 free dollars to spend at Pottery Barn and wanted to check out the 3 story Pottery Barn down there.  I did get things but more about that another day.  3rd Street is a very popular tourist area with lots of cool shops, street entertainers and lots of restaurants.  While strolling along we came upon a Skecher's Shoe Store with an unbelievable array of shoes for men, women and kids.  I had to take this photo of the girls shoes because I would have loved to have choices like this when I was a girl or even when Jessica was a little girl.  Sadie, I thought of you and your daughter when I saw this display.  Wondering if you have Skecher's in Britain.  Click to enlarge and see these amazing shoes!

  

They had a spring sale where if you bought one pair, the second pair was 30% off.  I bought my first pair- the black with hot pink trim- at Kohl's but really wanted the hot coral ones but they didn't have my size.  I saw the coral ones at this Skecher's store but the ones that really caught my eye were a lace-up pair that I just had to have.  Even Jeff thought they were the coolest shoes ever.  I told him to find a men's pair and we'd be able to get the discount but he didn't like how lightweight they are... which is one of the things I like about them so he told me to get the coral ones along with the lace ups so here's my shoe loot.

I never thought I'd be wearing neon again- been there, done that- but they go really well with my workout outfits.

On Friday, I'll post the things I got at Pottery Barn and also some really great finds from HomeGoods/TJ Maxx!

Lemonade out of Lemons

I went to my first physical therapy appointment on Friday.  I have a nice, young, female therapist (Nicole) who went over my MRI report with me.  After hearing about all the issues I have going on with my back it's a wonder I can walk!  Up until the beginning of January when the sciatica pain began, I didn't have a clue I had any back problems whatsoever!  I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) in my lower back, a herniated disc in the lower lumbar area and also signs of (Annie!?) spinal stenosis (narrowing of the open spaces within the spine which can put pressure on the spinal cord and the nerves that travel through one's spine.)  OY!  It's so surprising to me because I've always been able to work hard, lift heavy things, do strenuous exercises and activities,,, so maybe that's the problem... me doing all those things like I think I'm still a teenager.  Well, despite all that, I still feel like a teenager.

Here's what my first physical therapy was like:  after we went through the report and she had me do a few things to show her my strength and flexibility, I spent 15 minutes on "the rack!"  That's what I call it anyway... it's actually called "traction."  You put two corset like things on:  one below your bustline and one on your lower hips.  You lay on your back on a table with a warm pad underneath your hip area and the machine alternates with 15 seconds of stretching you (like the Medieval rack) and 15 seconds where it releases the tension.  This is to help your spine decompress, I guess.  The I spent about 10 minutes on my stomach while a PT aide gooped my back with a warm gel and used a ultrasound wand-like device.  That was rather pleasant.  Then Nicole took me to their exercise room and showed me a few exercises on some of the equipment.  She was way "babying" me and it almost made me laugh... if she only knew the exercises I'm used to doing with weights, etc... Oh well, I guess it's good to go slow.

So I have to go to Physical Therapy (I will use PT from now on) 3 times a week:  every M, W, & F at 9 AM.  Caligurl (if she still reads my blog) will appreciate this... I'm looking at this as if I now have my own personal trainer so what do I need?  Outfits!  So I went shopping on Saturday and bought some cute exercise clothes and some new shoes.  Since I won't be running I thought these would be perfect.  They are Skecher's Go Walk.  My outfits have hot pink trim so I thought the black shoes with pink trim would be best.  They are very comfy and you can wash them in the washing machine.

Frolicking

We had a nice visit with Justin and Sarah and the dogs loved their visit to the Huntington Beach Dog Beach.  It was such a warm, summery day and I forgot it is Spring Break for many as the whole Huntington Beach area was packed with dogs, surfers and sun-worshippers.  Here's a photo of Cooper and Kanan frolicking in the surf.

On Facebook, Joan was reminiscing about Elliot the Mouse and his Excellent Adventures and many of his hostesses and fans chimed in and Julie suggested he should have his own Facebook page.  So now Elliot has a Facebook page where many are posting their photos of his visit.  He went all around the world visitng our blog friends and visited six continents only missing Antarctica!  Jackie feels that you may be able to view his page even if you don't have a Facebook account.  Just click on his url and then ignore the message asking you to log in and you should be able to view it.  Let me know if that works for you.  Here's the URL.  

Or you can copy and paste the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/ElliotsExcellentAdventure

Elliot with all his souvenirs and outfits after he returned

Souvenirs

We are all getting a lot of souvenirs from Justin and Sarah's travels.  Today, we are going down to visit Justin and pick up souvenirs that they have for Jessica and Pat and for the boys.  We will also see their trip photos and hear about their adventures.  We're taking the dogs and will go to the Huntington Beach Dog Beach, have dinner with Justin and Sarah, watch Survivor and then come back home.  When we picked them up at the airport, they gave us our souvenir that they bought in Venice.  They are Comedy and Tragedy Masks.  I put them on my console table in the living room.  Here's a photo.

The little silver compact in the photo is a gift from their trip last year to Istanbul.  I have placemats and coasters from Sarah's Vietnam/Thailand trip and a wine bottle holder from their Costa Rica trip last August.  We also have refrigerator magnets from exotic places they've visited.  Since they only travel with carry-on luggage, they have to keep their souvenirs small.

I saw my Orthopedic doctor on Monday and told him that, unfortunately, the cortisone shot didn't really help much.  He'd like me to have microsurgery because he's concerned about nerve damage if this herniated disk keeps pressing on my nerve.  The last three toes on my right foot tingle all the time like they're asleep which is a sign that it's affecting the nerve.  I'd like to give it more time to see if it gets better on it's own because it often does after 6 months or so and it's only been 3 months.  I'll try and wait until after summer before I consider surgery.  In the meantime, I'm going for physical therapy and I begin that on Friday.  Besides what they want to do for the disk, I want them to tell me what exercises I can safely do because I'm used to exercising 3 times a week and have been afraid to do that for fear of further injuring my back.  I'm not happy losing the muscle tone I've worked hard to maintain. 

Rattled!

Cooper and Kanan attended the Rattlesnake Aversion Clinic on Friday afternoon and I took a short video to show you what it was like. There were 4 stations. The first was encountering a baby rattlesnake on a dirt path. You probably know that baby rattlesnakes are just as venomous as adults so it's important for dogs to know that something this small can be deadly.  When our dogs finally noticed the baby rattlesnake, they were given a pretty good electrical shock from a collar they were wearing.  Cooper's reaction was much more dramatic than Kanan's which you will see in the video.  The second station was the scent of a rattlesnake and the third was the sound of the rattle.  These are good for them to know so they don't accidentally encounter one in tall grass or areas where they might be hidden.  Finally, they encounter a good-sized rattlesnake about 3 feet long.  By the time, they got to the last station, they had already learned to steer clear and wouldn't go anywhere near that big snake.  When they walked Kanan back to where we were standing, he was so cautious it looked like he was walking through a mine field!  Here's Cooper's encounter with the baby rattlesnake on the path.

Cooper Rattled from Darylynn Mills on Vimeo.

I know it might be upsetting to see Cooper yelp like that (it was for us) but it's far better than having him die from a rattlesnake bite.  They suggest coming back yearly for a couple of years to reinforce the training but I think we may see if their fear seems to still be in effect on our own since we do encounter snakes on trails every now and then.

Last night was The Game of Thrones Season 3 premier.  As you may remember, Justin and Sarah visited Dubrovnik where the King's Landing scenes are filmed.  We had to buy a special limited edition beer that was made for Game of Thrones.  Here's a photo.

There will be three more limited editions of Game of Thrones beers released throughout the year.  I want to collect all four and save the bottles for our bar.  We found ours at Whole Foods (it's 750 ml and has a nice cork and wire top like champagne bottles) but Justin could only find one bottle in all of Orange County.  He said we should buy it up and sell on ebay as they will be collector items.

Happy April Fool'sDay!  Be on your toes today and don't get fooled!