Big Bubba eludes us and other randomness.

What a pleasant surprise! The lovely 'HeadHen' at Runnin' the Roost awarded me the 'Nice Matters' award. How very sweet to even be considered for such an award. Thank you!!

As I understand it, I in turn nominate 7 fellow bloggers to receive the prestigious award. :) Sorry, if you've already been nominated. Guess that just means you're super duper nice!

1. CJ Savvy Momma

2. Bon Bon Boutique

3. Seeker FunkyJunkCo

4. Happy Homemaker

5. Perfectly Pink

6. A Passion for Scrapbooking, Decorating and Shopping

7. Preppy Napkin

Ok, so I'm adding an 8th because she is beyond nice. :)

8. Workin' That Preppy

*********************************************************
Busy, busy, busy....

- Went for our second annual family trip to the Iowa State Fair. Apparently a friend of my Dad's had an award winning pig, Bubba, that was to be there. Aidan was terribly excited to meet Bubba. Unfortunately we looked all over that darn swine barn and could not find the elusive pig. Knowing Aidan would not let us leave until we spotted him we eventually found a random, non-exceptional pig, and dubbed him Bubba. We stopped for a quick visit with 'Bubba' and took lots of pictures. Aidan was happy and we were finally able to leave the stinky swine barn. :) Although I love a good tradition and the IA State Fair is one of the best of its kind, we have decided that perhaps going annually may be a bit much.

- Aidan starts preschool on August 20th. He has a school supply shopping list! How fun!

- We're planning for Aidan's big 3yr b-day. Keeping it pretty low-key this year. Rented a little shelter at a nearby park. The theme is dinosaurs because he is obsessed with them at the moment. In the process of trying to come up with a few dinosaur themed games.

- My in-law's are moving to our suburb today and my brother-in-law is flying in from Ft Meyers to help with the move. They lived about an an hour and 15 mins away before, now they will be 7 minutes away. This should be interesting. :)

- Almost done with the hardwood floor project. Next projects I'd like to focus on; repainting the living/kitchen/half bath, replacing the half bath fixtures, make home office desk. Bought several little test cans and am thinking we like Bamboo from the Eddie Bauer Home paint. Seems to be a warm brown/beigey color. I don't suppose by chance any of you have used this color?

It has almost been to hot to even work on projects. If it requires any work in the garage to get it done it's just not worth it at the moment. However, it does look like we might finally be getting a break from the high 90's. Woo hoo!

*********************************

Now that our little IA trip is behind us I'm hoping to get back to regular posts and more projects.

Sources of Inspiration

Unfortunately Handsome Hubby and I have been sick the past couple of days. Started with a scratchy throat on Friday and went downhill from there. Nothing like having the flu in the dog days of summer. I think I've left the house a total of two times over the past 3 days which leaves me with not much to say and in desperate need of some inspiration.

One source of inspiration that I can always count on is my HGTV. I love HGTV and could watch it for hours. Thanks to my dvr I don't. :) I have lots of favorite shows but my very favorite of all is Divine Design. Candice Olson rocks! (If you've seen her show you know why!) I love her design ideas so much that I even ran out and bought her book when it launched. She has a way of making everything sparkle and I think I'd let her have free reign on any room in my house.

I, along with many of you it seems, enjoy seeing other people's homes and how they decorate. It's a fun way to get ideas and I think a person's home says a lot about them.

Well, awhile back the super fab Christy at Bon Bon Boutique blogged about 'Rate My Space' on HGTV's website. Rate My Space is the ultimate sneak peak into other people's homes. How fun!

I'm thinking I might have to start snapping more pictures around my home and post them on Rate My Space. I'd love to get other people's opinions. (I think.) :)

Here are a few beautifully decorated rooms that I found but these are really just the tip of the iceberg.

How beautiful are these walls? And the subtle colors used....

Love the 6' beadboard used in this bathroom as well as the rich color used above it.

Just my kind of colors. Love the under cabinet lighting, something I'm looking at for my kitchen. Could do w/out the rooster but I think this room is great.

Since I'm a magazine fanatic over the years I have collected tons of clippings from magazines for what I call my 'dream maker' box. I love going through my box now and again to get ideas. Some of my favorite magazines for inspiration are; Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens and Country Living.

What are your sources of inspiration?