Fore!

I shot a 60 at golf this week!  One minor detail... it was mini golf.  :)  I began with a couple of hole-in-2s {is that a thing? it is now!} but things went south very quickly.  I even lost my ball in a shrub during the game!

There was ONE almost-magic moment during my game where I ALMOST got a hole in one.  It was close.  Really close.

So Close Yet So Far Away...

the blue ball is mine!

Oh well, I may have tied for last place but at least I had fun!  And, I learned that there is a mini golf course in downtown Manhattan, which I never knew before!  It's right near the river so there were some very nice breezes, which definitely helped since the humidity was out of control as usual.

So tell me, what's your best mini golf score??

Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday, America!

Wishing all of you a great day with friends, family and hopefully BBQ'd hot dogs!

Adios, Google Reader!

As many of you already know, Google Reader will be retiring on July 1.  Don't care?  That probably means you never got hooked on it like I did!!  I am sangry {sad and angry} that I must bid farewell to my favorite RSS feed reader.  We've shared lots of blog reading together!

If you're like me and rely on a feed reader to help you stay up to date with your reading:

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

OR

You can find me on Feedly!

If you're not into feed readers {and who could blame you after getting burned by the sunset of Google Reader!}, please enter your email address in the white box to the right of the posts on http://thisislifeatourhome.blogspot.com/ that says "Follow by Email".

Happy Friday, and thanks for reading!

Fantastically Free!

This edition of "Fantastically Free!" is super belated, but equally as impressive (if I do say so myself!) as the first edition...

After we purchased our living and dining room furniture from Raymour & Flanigan, we received a $100 "thank you gift card" in the mail from the sales agent that helped us in the show room.  At first I assumed it was too good to be true -- one of those "coupons" you can't redeem without being lured back to the store and tricked into spending a bunch of mula you didn't originally intend to, in order to get a discount you on items you didn't need in the first place.  I knew we couldn't buy any furniture for $100, so a repeat visit to the show room would not be worthwhile.  Instead, I decided to take a peek at the website to see if they carried any small items we could order online and get delivered.  To my surprise, they did!

This silk flower arrangement sits in our office, and sure pretties it up!  It's a real nice size for an end table, and even though they're faux, these blooms bring a smile to my face whenever I walk in the room and see them.  Silk flowers are not for everyone, but I consider it a bonus that they "bloom" all year long and can't wilt!  ;)

Mixed Flowers in Silver Pot

And speaking of brightening things up...

Silver "S" Desk Lamp

This lamp fits perfectly with the decor of the room.  We initially had it atop our computer armoire, but we recently upgraded to a full-size computer desk with hutch, so this guy now sits on a little cabinet and looks just as nice there.  I thought the curvy shape was unique, and love that the "S" design signified my hubby's first name!

At just under $100 for both items, I was very pleasantly surprised to be able to use my coupon without breaking the bank.  I just love me a good deal!  :)  The cherry on the sundae is that I'm still loving both of these fantastically free items 15 months later!  Bonus points!

Have you scored any noteworthy free or discounted items lately?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Note:  I was not encouraged, paid or perked for writing this post.  These opinions are purely my own -- I can't help bragging about such a good fantastically free find!

Charity Spotlight: One Simple Wish

Shep and I both feel very lucky to have been given the opportunities we have in life, and we strongly believe in supporting our communities to help those who are less fortunate.  One organization that's quickly becoming one of my favorites to follow and support is One Simple Wish.  One Simple Wish was founded by a NJ mom in 2008 with the mission of brightening the lives of foster children.

As of today, One Simple Wish is less than $50,000 away from raising ONE MILLION DOLLARS of support for children in foster care this year.  That is a huge milestone, and a goal I certainly want to help reach!  One of my favorite things about One Simple Wish is seeing the very large impact that many small donations can have.

If you're inspired and would like to make a small donation to help reach the million dollar mark, please visit:  http://www.crowdrise.com/onemillionstrong.  Every dollar helps!

For more information about how One Simple Wish makes the lives of kids in foster brighter each day, please check out:  http://www.onesimplewish.org/howitworks.  Granting wishes is simple, fun and most of all, very impactful!  Something as modest to you and me as personal toiletries, a class photo, or a new pair of "cool" sneakers can make a big difference in the life of a foster child.  Many foster children face incredibly difficult circumstances in their lives -- if something as simple as a new book, toy, game or item of clothing can bring a smile to their faces, I'm honored to be able to provide that for them!

Happy 4th to my Hubby!

Four years ago today, Shep and I tied the knot!!!!

To quote a friend upon hearing we've been married for 4 years:  "Holy Sh*t!"  ;)

Sometimes it seems likes just yesterday that we walked down the aisle, pledged our lives to one another, and then boogied until the wee hours of the morning.  Yet sometimes it's hard to believe that it's been only four years because it's nearly impossible for me to imagine a life without my hubby.

Shep, four years ago today I promised to love you, in front of our friends and family -- in good times in bad, through sickness and in health, as long as we both shall live.  Today, I renew those same vows to you, sincerely thank you for the years we've had together and the millions of smiles you've brought to my face, and promise to love you for a thousand more years (at least!)...

You are the light in my life, the person I lean on and laugh with, and the best thing that's ever happened to me.  I still don't know what I did to deserve such a wonderful partner, but I won't question it!  ;)  Happy Anniversary!!!!  I'll love you forever, and then some!  XOXOXOXO

Reduce Reuse Recycle

Remember when I revealed my minor obsession with adoration for address labels?

Vistaprint is the source of many of my personalized address labels and, unfortunately, the smallest batch of labels one can order from the site is 140, which means I have looooooots of extras.

In addition to these beauties, though, I also receive a ton of address labels from the various charitable organizations we support.  In fact, the number of labels I get sent by charities is totally overkill -- it would be MORE than enough for a business, and I'm just one person!  I don't even KNOW that many people to send cards to!  ;)

When we moved last year, that meant the many address labels I'd been hoarding storing quickly became useless.  Technically I could have still used them (because luckily, mail never really comes back to me as undelivered) but there was no need, since I quickly received new address labels in the mail with my new correct address information on them.  So, what to do with all those old labels??

Reduce, reuse, recycle, of course!!!

I cut them up and created homemade stickers for a special set of twins I know!  There are pumpkin stickers, snowflake stickers, cartoon animal stickers, shape stickers, and more...

I simply hate waste, so my first instinct is always to brainstorm a creative way to re-purpose an item in lieu of tossing it.  I don't know if it's the good example my mom set for me as a kid {she did work for the town supervisor's office so knew all the recycling rules!} or my elementary school science fair project of creating recycled paper out of shredded newspaper that set me on this path, but I am a recycling addict!  This was a very easy way to re-purpose address labels I no longer needed AND create a little DIY gift for Lauren & Natalie... a win-win!  I'm not sure if they ever actually used them, but I sure had fun creating them.  :)

Happy Belated Earth Day!!!  What did you do to celebrate Earth Day?  Any recent recycling projects you care to share?  I love me a good recycling experience!!!