Strawberry Fields Forever ( & House Pics)

Despite my wicked cold this week, we ventured out with friends & fam to the strawberry capital of the world - Plant City, Florida. We took the kids and it was the perfect day to pick some amazing strawberries. I will forever now be aware of how much I'm being ripped off at the grocery store as we were able to fill up 5 freezer bags of strawberries all for a mere 6$. And they looked perfect. It could become an addiction if it wasn't 45 min away - the more you picked, the more you had to pick. Lots of fun.

Next up I wanted to share a few pieces around my house that have been provided for free from wonderful people who are above and beyond generous and kind.

My lovely view - free table from our neighbor put out by the street. Bench from my mother....The light was not free but for 6.99 at Goodwill it might as well have been. Boo ya.

I am obsessed with this desk. Kathy S. in my church gave it to me & besides adding my own hardware (which was not new) it is perfection. The garden stool is my hobby - I could seriously go on the hunt all around the county for them & buy one in every color. I love those things. I know if it makes it through years of small children it was meant to be. Lamp base was a steal from salvation army & I had a giftcard to penney's where I picked up that cute little frame that's from the new Jonathon Adler line. I waited 10 min in line for that baby so I feel kind of attatched to it.

This book case was free from the lovely Jan K. at my church. It is the perfect comparison to the Expedite Ikea bookcase & used to be cherry wood until it stepped foot in my white loving home (only things , not people!). I have big dreams of what to do with this, but for now it works the way it is. And contrary to popular opinion, I LOVE my reindeer & keep him out all year long. I'm thinking about naming him Finn or Knox since that's not going to work for a baby name.

This desk was also a gift from Jan and as much as I want to paint it some amazing color it's kind of perfect to me the way it is right now. The chair needs some love, but in time...in time...Can't wait for Joe's ugly alarm clock to die, but it just keeps on going...

Where I rest my feet at the end of a long day. I'm over my ikea lack tables& wanting their coffee table version, but alas, I wait. The dresser really needs to be in our room / changing station for baby so I'm on the hunt for a credenza if anyone hears of something. I'd love something much longer and narrow that I can paint :) That brass tray is a favorite 1$ find at salvation army.

The tea cart is also a generous donation that was given from Kathy & it has moved from a kitchen island to a nightstand back to a different place. I love it, but don't know what to do with it. Now that I see this pic I realize how high my little sunburst mirror is flying there - must change! Yes I'm brave to have cake plates with two year olds who play but I like living on the edge like that. And I ran out of paint so that wall is crying out to not be naked anymore. (hint hint Joe)

This room needs the most love, but I wanted to show how pretty my view was compared to looking at a dead tree and my condo's neighboring front door. We just got the cheapo ikea dresser as nightstands and I'm so excited to transform them from looking like 10 bucks to atleast 30 bucks :)  On the agenda? New lamps, different pillow, paint, ceiling fixture...too many to count.

Hope that gives you a little glimpse into our home that has been so welcoming to us....so thankful for the generosity of so many. We were given two kitchen appliances as well that makes cooking functional, but with now dish washer it was in no state to be captured. One more week of having Joe around and then it's the start of our new reality here in Florida.
A special birthday shout out this month to Danielle my sister in law, Jack, my nephew and on the same day my lovely grandma, Luke my nephew & then celebrating our family day with Iris. It's been a year since we had Ethopian food so I think I'm finally ready for it again.