two things i love around my home

It's time for another round of home decor show and tell! If you want to join in, you can leave a link to your post in the comments, or go link up on Kassi's blog.

The first item is this beautiful vintage brass turtle trinket box. You may remember me telling you about my super sweet (so sweet she'll give you cavities) friend, Christin. Well, she's outdone herself again! I got this little beauty in the mail last Friday afternoon, and there was no note or anything to let me know who it came from. She saw that I liked it decided to surprise me with it! You already know how much I love birds, but I also love turtles just the same! I took this picture on my living room mantle, but I've since found it a home on an end table in my den so everyone can see it!

After my grandpa died, I brought some of the flowers home that were at his funeral. Once they started to wilt, and I knew I'd soon be throwing them away, I decided to take some pictures so in a way I'd always have them. This is my favorite picture, and I put it in a vintage frame and displayed it in my living room. I think of Grandpa every time I see it. ♥

Ch-ch-check us out on Cole's blog. She's doing a series on love!

giveaway winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway; there were about twice as many this time as the last time I had a giveaway! The vintage apron, vintage Dutch planter, handmade poppy bobby pin and handmade earrings will have a new home with......

Alex from The Sugar Tree! Please email me at kissparrotkiss@aol.com with your mailing address so I can send your winnings!

I'm sorry I don't have anything else to tell you about today, but since our power came back on last night, I've spent the day today doing laundry, washing dishes, vacuuming, all the things that need to be done but can't without water or electricity! I promise I'll have something a little more exciting for tomorrow!

I totally want to win this giveaway! I LOVE t-shirts, and every little counts has some pretty great shirts!

snowbound and without electricity

On Friday evening, after watching Paranormal Activity and having the crap scared out of me, the power went out. Perfect timing, right? We got snow on top of snow on top of snow, and about an inch of ice, so we pretty much knew we'd be without electricity. Chris got the generator and we barricaded ourselves in the bedroom with a space heater. There is only so much two people and a parrot can do in a bedroom, but we tried to make the most of it! Flojo played under the covers in a "birdie cave," Chris played imaginary instruments (a flute, a saxophone, a trumpet and a trombone) on my arm, and we took these pictures. See, we didn't go crazy!

How has your weekend been so far? I'll have a giveaway winner to announce tomorrow, so be sure to come back and find out if it's you!!!

And one more thing, it seems like a whole lot of people could relate to my drooling in my sleep info on fill in the blank friday, so here's something even better (or worse)... In my 9th grade science class, I kept talking too much and wouldn't be quiet, so my teacher moved me from the lab table with my partner to an individual desk beside his. Lucky for me, he stood in front of his desk to teach, so he couldn't see me. I took advantage of the location and decided to take a little nap until the end of class (because really, I didn't care about a lecture on clouds). A friend woke me up on his way out of the door, and when I tried to pick my head up, I picked the cover of my book up as well because I drooled and the book cover was stuck to my cheek! How's that for embarrassing?!? I was mortified then, now it's pretty funny.

fill in the blank friday

These always look like fun, and I always enjoy reading everyone's answers, so today I'm joining Lauren and everyone else who plays! If you decide to fill in the blanks, you can leave a link in the comments, or you you leave a link on Lauren's blog.

1. If I had two hours to myself today, I'd read, call my grandma and make something .
2. If I could travel anywhere today, I would go to California .
3. There's no one thing that I could say is my happiest memory.
4. Sometimes you're shy other times you're really outspoken .
5. Beauty is just being happy and confident with exactly who you are .
6. I would be embarrassed if anyone knew that I'm scared of the dark or that I drool a little when I sleep .
7. Love at first sight is kind of shallow .

I wanted to thank everyone who commented on my last post. It really means a lot that we don't technically "know" each other, but you still care enough to send your thoughts and prayers. I knew I had the best blogger friends a girl could ask for ♥

pretty: dads

I love my dad. A lot. More than words could express. I have some things involving my dad weighing heavily on my mind, and I wish I could just bear hug him and not let go. I wish I could fix everything so that he'd never have a moment of sadness in his life. This "pretty" post is inspired by my dad, the man who can make me laugh like no one else, and the funniest, craziest, most awesome person on the planet!

If you are a follower of this blog and you haven't yet entered the giveaway, please do! Also, if you signed up for the knick knack exchange but didn't receive an email with your partner's info, please let me know!

Daddy images from weheartit.

wishlist wednesday!

Today's wish list is brought to you by bright pops of color. I'm a sucker for white or really pale shades with a few bright colors thrown in the mix, so I can honestly say that I'd like to have every single one of these items!

From the top: Lots of dots pitcher from ninainvorm. Ethnic jacquard necklace scarf from nitca. Pink hearts fabric mini garland from deardesire. My love is weird miniature ring from staroftheeast. Sorry, I can't remember which etsy shop the embroidered birds came from. Jester checker shirt from jessalinb.

What's on your wish list?

paying it forward & exchange update

I know that there are a few emails regarding knick knack exchange partner info that didn't go through. They were all sent last night, so if you signed up and didn't receive an email, please let me know! You can email me at kissparrotkiss@aol.com

Next on the list, I saw this fun pay it forward idea on Brittan's blog and decided to join! Details under the mailbox (it even has a little flag on the other side)!

How it works:

-I will make a little handmade something for the first 3 people who comment on this post and would like to play along.

-I have a year (365 days) to complete my mission and send off the goodies!

-There is no telling what the gift may be, or when it will show up, it's a mystery!

The fine print... Since this is "Pay It Forward," you, fair readers, must do as I have done and post a similar blog entry, thus paying the handmade goodness forward!

two things i love around my home

Before I get to the two things I'm loving, I wanted to thank everyone who joined the knick knack exchange! I finished sending all 68 emails last night with the name of address of your new exchange friend, so we can all look forward to a fun package in the mail!

The first item I love is actually two. I got the set of vintage tins from ebay about 4 years ago and I have them setting in my kitchen to hold sweetener for coffee. The second item is an antique hand mirror I have hanging in my bathroom. I love old mirrors, and this one was given to me by my father-in-law.

If you're a follower and you haven't yet entered the giveaway, be sure to do it!

the giveaway...a day late

Okay, I know I said that I'd do another giveaway on Saturday to celebrate the 100 (now 107) followers mark, but I got a little behind. Blame it on the snow, blame it on the phones not working (thus, no internet), blame it on me being lazy, it's all true! So here it is, and it's only open to followers since I think you're the best!

The first half of the giveaway is a bit of bright and sunny vintage to liven up the dull winter. A vintage apron with pretty floral pockets, and a sunny yellow dutch shoe planter.

The second half of this giveaway is handmade at the dinosaur toes factory. Since these citrine earrings seemed to be a favorite, I figured I'd include them! Also included is a fabric poppy flower poppy bobby pin.

All you have to do to enter (aside from being a follower of this blog) is leave a comment with a random fact about yourself, doesn't matter what it is! I'll use random.org to select a winner on Monday, February 8. This giveaway is open to international followers, too!

I'll send the partner info for the knick knack exchange in the morning, and I wanted to thank everyone who participated; you've made this a huge success, and I'm hoping everyone enjoys it!

and the answers are...

Before I get to the answers of all the questions you asked, I wanted to share this super sweet gift I received today. Micaela surprised me with the sweetest book, and I can't wait to curl up with it while the snow comes down (hopefully) tomorrow afternoon!

-How did you and Mr. D-toes meet? This is pretty embarrassing. When I was 17, my step mom blocked me from sending and receiving IM's, so a friend from work and I decided that we'd meet in the Roanoke, VA chat room on AOL because we had things to talk about. Who knows how Chris and I started talking, but we did, and he was actually kind of rude to begin with, but we ended up discovering that our families knew each other, and things moved right on from there!

-What is the difference in age between you and your brother, and who's older? My brother Derek and I are 4 years and 356 days apart in age (to be exact), and I'm the oldest. Although he's almost 23, I'll always think of him as a little boy!

-Are you from this area? if not, where are you from and what brought you here? I'm from Lynchburg, but I moved to Pennsylvania when my parents divorced. I couldn't get used to it and I was REALLY homesick, so I moved back down to VA to live with my dad. Unless I have the opportunity to move to SF, I'll stay in VA.

-Favourite excerpt from a novel? I don't have one favorite, but I always love when Becky Bloomwood from the Shopaholic Series says that she did things, "accidentally on purpose." It always makes me laugh!

-What is your favourite book? At the risk of sounding like a nerd, I really love Beowulf. I also love The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, and every book in the Shopaholic series.

-How did you begin making such unusual and beautiful jewellery? I never thought I'd end up making jewelry since I don't wear much of it, but I really started to love metal after Chris taught me how to weld and use the torch, so I guess jewelry is sort of a toned down version of what I originally started doing. I always thought I'd do something more along the lines of fine art as I really love drawing.

-Hey, how old is Flojo? She'll be 5 on Valentine's Day.

-When did you first know you were in love with Mr. D? When I was moving out of my dad's house and in with my grandparents, my grandpa asked, "Would you marry him?" That was the first time I really, truly thought about it, and I knew that I would!

-If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be? That one is easy! Skinny jeans, a t-shirt, sandals, sunglasses and a messenger bag.

-Do you have a secret talent nobody knows about? I wouldn't exactly call this a talent, but I've never been beat in a burping contest. ;) I've also played several instruments and was invited to play with the Lynchburg Symphony when I was in middle school, so I think I used to be musically inclined. I'm not as good now that I'm old.

-What's the one makeup item you could not live without? The only type of makeup I wear is eyeshadow (because my skin is pale and my eyelids look purple due to the veins), so that would be it!

-Can you tell us more about you bird? How old is she? How did you decide to get a bird? How old was he when you got her? Flojo will be 5 on Valentine's Day. When I was younger, we had a parrot named E.T. that lived with us, so I've loved their beauty and personalities for a long time! Chris surprised me and drove me 9 hours to South Carolina to meet my new baby. She was only a few weeks old, and she was completely bald! We hand raised her for a couple months until she was weened and would eat on her own. She's owned me since then!

-When did you get married and how long have you been married for? Chris and I got married on September 30th, and we'll celebrate our 10 year anniversary this year!

-Any kids in the near future? Hmmm, I'm not sure. Chris is ready, but I'm still not sure if I am. I know we will one day. People give me a pretty hard time because I'm nearly 28 and haven't had any, but I try to ignore it.

-What is your favourite piece of art in your house? My favorite piece of art is this Sharpie drawing done of Chris and I at my high school prom. Chris says it's weird to have a picture of us hanging in our den, but I told him that unless we've commissioned a large masterpiece of ourselves wearing fine furs and silks, it isn't weird.