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**As always, pardon the picture quality… my life is always through the camera of my iphone.**

So here you see the couch with the decorative pillows. I love the base of the couch! i really didn’t want anything wood, because I wanted a more contemporary look, but still comfortable. My husband and a friend from work brought all the furniture up the 3 flights of stairs. The one down side to living in a top floor apartment I suppose.

Over the holidays we picked up some cinnamon scented pine cones. They lost the small so I’ve had them bagged up and stored for a glittery winter piece for later in the year, but I decided to utilize them now, rather then take up space in the storage closet. My husband got me some roses for valentines day, so we had a spare vase taking up space in the cabinets. After I added just the pine cones, it came apparent that it just wasn’t saucy enough of the plain living room. It needed a more conversational piece. Inspired by the pillows I remember i had some appropriate ribbons to lace in between the cones. I layered the ribbon, then added some cones, and etc. After completing the layering  I added the black ribbon around the top.

All pieces of the center piece compliment the couch, and I didn’t have to go out a buy anything else. I used resources I had lying around the place, and utilizing things for holiday decorations. So now, my storage closet has more space, I have more room in the cabinets, and my sewing bag is ready for more goodies! (BTW I am horrible at sewing, I just keep things around for dance costumes.)

Here is the before picture. My husband is getting ready to drill in the first bracket. Jina, my mother-in-law on the right watching.

First mirror up!!! Looks pretty good too, if I don’t say so myself.  Pardon the picture quality. This is my life through the iphone! We do have a digital camera but I never use it.

I’m on the left, Jina on the right. We are taking a break before we measure the first between the waves. Jina found the fish at goodwill. A great find for a set 5 of $5! When she was waiting for the sales rep to take them down for her, at least 4 other people including other sales rep where sad to find they were already taken!

It’s a duo wave! It was starting to come along really great. We did none out of some supplies, but Eric found a way to fix it up so you could even tell.

Now we just need to add the fish between the waves. We set up the mirrors like this because that is how Ikea had them set up. Did i forget to mention that the mirrors where only $9.99 per mirror? Love ikea!

The finished product! Looks great! I know I said this was a 3 person job, but Eric and Jina really did everything. I just marked the walls and took pictures.

I’m looking forward to the improvements in my life, and to see if I can actually keep them! Every other year in the past I have failed…epically. I’m grateful that I have support from my friends and family. Hopefully, as you read my new years resolutions, it will inspire you to come up with a few or your own, or even feel inspired to continue to support me.

*photo from vinfolio blog

• Stop buying fancy drinks from coffee shops. This will be very hard for me because I am rather addicted. As I  evaluate myself I find that the fancy drinks made from coffee shops are typically packed full of un-necessary fats and calories.
• Cardio workout 3 days a week. I eat great foods, but I lack the workout..
• Lose weight!
• Test out a more vegetarian diet.
• Move forward in the business my husband and I have started.
• Try not to pay full price for any home decor item, and when possible, make it my own.
• Start scrapbooking again, and only buy supplies when on sale.
• Spend more time reading books to influence my personality.

So I realize this post is a little early with Christmas coming first, but I thought it was a good idea to start thinking about it now. I can’t wait to post the pictures of my christmas wrapping job. Since I didn’t do any decorating at the apartment, I did a saucy job at the gift wrapping department. My husband bought one gift at a book store and they had gift wrapping for a donation. The volunteers did do great, but i took it off so it matched. Hey, at least they still got a donation!

Chicken wing

Originally uploaded by amberfleming

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup garlic hot sauce
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

4 pounds of chicken wings.

We broiled the wings at about 500 degrees for 15-20 mins each side. This may be too long normally, but the wings were still pretty frozen. Mix all the other ingredients together and slowly microwave till butter is melted. After the chicken was done was tossed them with the sauce and served/ate immediately.

The recipe for the sauce said it was for 1 pound of wings, but plenty for 4 pounds. Maybe it was intended to soak for a while but we were hungry. The original recipe also called for a full TABLEspoon of cayenne pepper, but we opted for the teaspoon. It also called for Louisiana style hot sauce but we had garlic hot sauce, so used that. We broiled ours in a glass pan, not the best idea, needed some crunch. If we had a real broiler pan we would use that. I suggest using that pan.

All in all the taste was AWESOME!

Not this year. Picture here is taken last year up in northern Michigan outside my work. You can’t tell but behind the trees is a 4 lane road and a mall! I’m going to miss having snow for Christmas. I never thought i would admit this, especially since this is only my first Christmas without the fluffy cold cotton.

With the countdown in gear, it is just that time to start decorating your home or workplace. Hey, yesturday I saw a truck covered in twinkle lights! All of the our Christmas decor is still in storage back home. Since we have no plans to visit the winder wonderland, well till after winter we settled for this little pine. Courtesy of the dollar section of Target we picked up our 6 inch Christmas tree. Though I am hoping the presents under the tree are not small! Enless jewelry, that it fine by me!

I must admit this morning while driving to physical therapy, I felt very foolish singing along to christmas. No snow in the near by tropics!

It was Friday, November 5th 2009, around noon. The day was sunny, breezy, and perfect for moving into a new place. The apartment community even had a nice welcoming package for us! I mean who doesn’t need an extra roll of TP? I was most excited for the reusable grocery bag! I love those things! Now I just needs to remember to keep a couple in the trunk of my car .

It’s the one device that I have found that manages my life 100%. If only it could do the dishes, clean the litter, and put my laundry away, I would give it a 200%. I could go on for days how my phone has changed my life, but I’ll just touch(no pun intended) base on a few things. First, you are probably reading this thinking “changed my life?” “Are you serious?” Well yes actually, I am serious.

I start my day off by waking up to an alarm, that I pre-set for the week for each day. I customize each day with an alarm, or not. After my shower (no steam water damage for me) I take the phone to the bathroom and place on ledge.  I turn on an application called pandora which most people are familiar with. Depending on my mood I will chose a station, that I have already customized for personal taste. I double check my calendar,  that I already have synced with my mobileme account for any additional stops, meetings, or appointments I may have.  All my “sticky notes” are no long sticking but in an electronic form called notes. Now I realise I could go on for days about how my phone has changed my life. What it really comes down to is personalization to a device, to be all-in-0ne and fit YOUR needs. Rather it be fitness, budgeting, or just entertainment, an iphone can do it. My purse size has went down drastically, and my husband no longer needs a briefcase.  

If your ever questioning the purchase of the iPhone, or the monthly cost, it’s a good investment. Coming from a girl who likes the look of the riches, on a frugal budget… do it!