My Bookcase Decision and Several Fun Ideas and Tips I’ve Been Meaning to Share

Good Saturday Afternoon! I hope your weekend is going awesome! Today I thought I’d create a quick catch-up post. I have a little folder on my computer that I occasionally drop pictures into when there’s something I’d love to share with you that I think you’ll find helpful or interesting but perhaps isn’t worthy of a full post. Periodically that folder gets a little fat and I know it’s time to pull those topics/tips all together into one post.

Before I share those fun tidbits, just wanted to let you know, I have decided to not go through with adding the bookcases to this wall in the upstairs family room–at least not at this time. Actually, I think I came to that decision during the midst of getting the estimate. As the estimator and I were standing here talking, it hit me how off-balance the bookcases were going to look because there’s much more wall space on the left side of the window than there is on the right. The estimator never mentioned that issue, it’s just something that I suddenly realized since you guys had kinda convinced me I should not take the bookcases on down the back staircase.

Upstairs Family Room, Antique and Painted Furniture

 

If we continued the bookcases down the staircase, I think that would have helped the symmetry/balance issue that was bugging me, but the estimator and I measured some of the books I have, and the shelves in that area would really have needed to be around 8 inches deep to hold a lot of the books I wanted to store there. Currently, there’s only about 6 inches to work with, so 8-inch deep shelves would have taken another 2 inches from the width of the staircase.

 

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about that once the shelves were there since I carry a lot of things up and down that back staircase. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to give up two inches of width/space.

 

Another little niggling issue that was bothering me is the estimator said that he has had a lot of trouble finding/employing good craftsman/installers over the past year. He mentioned that he’s had to go back on several jobs to fix things that weren’t done quite right during the install. Right now, coming off the year that we’ve had, it just seems like this may not be the best time to jump into a big project, not that bookcases are that big of a project, but you know what I mean. If I had hired him for this job, he wasn’t even going to be able to start my bookcases until August.

The estimate for the bookshelves and a new window seat came to $6,457. With 2 bathrooms that could use full renovations, I think I would do better to spend that money on those. You usually recoup a significant amount back on bath and kitchen renovations when you sell your home. Built-in bookshelves, though beautiful and great for us book lovers, don’t usually add $$$ to a home when you decide to move.

So, in the end, I decided to not go forward with the bookshelf idea, at least not for now. I still think it would be pretty cool to see that whole wall (including the stairs) covered with fabulous bookshelves and books, but the bathrooms really need to come first!

Create Upstairs Family Room from Bonus Room

 

Remember the stamped spoons I ordered a while back. I’ve been meaning to share them and keep forgetting. I love the designs and I’m looking forward to using these in a table setting this summer. Sooo cute! (Spoons are available where I purchased mine here: Stamped Spoons.)

Stamped Spoons

 

So you know how I love doing puzzles, especially on my puzzle board here in the office. (Puzzle Board is available here: Puzzle Board.)

Tilting, Slanting Puzzle Board, Easy on the Back

 

After doing a lot of puzzles, sometimes the board ends up covered in what puzzle aficionados call “puzzle dust.” You can literally see the outline of where I’ve done puzzles in the past. Do you see that sprinkling haze of puzzle dust across the surface of the board?

Puzzle Dust on Puzzle Board

 

Here’s how it looked about 1 minute later. How did I clean all the puzzle dust away so quickly?

Puzzle Board after Cleaning

 

I did it with this little device that I’ve shared before. I LOVE this thing–so much so, I purchased a second when I was staying/visiting family so much this past year in Ohio. It’s a mini-vacuum that I use to periodically clean my keyboard and the large mousepad I use with my laser mouse. Laser mouses (mice?) don’t work as well as they should on a mousepad that has bits of lint or dust on it, and this little vacuum keeps my mousepad nice and clean. I also run it across my keyboard about once a month to help keep it dust-free.

Mini Vacuum for cleaning mousepad, keyboard, puzzle board

 

When I purchased it, I never thought of using it on a puzzle board but it works great for that. After vacuuming the puzzle board, here’s what the little vacuum picked up. Amazing! (Mini-desk-vacuum is available here: Mini-Vacuum.)

Best way to clean puzzle board

 

I also like how it sort of brings the felt on the puzzle board back to life–makes it a tad fluffier for grabbing hold of those puzzle pieces so they don’t slide down on the board.

I do so many puzzles, I can usually do a 1,000 piece puzzle in 2-3 days, depending on the complexity of the puzzle. I just finished a few new ones over the past few weeks that were so much fun! I have finally figured out the type of puzzles I enjoy doing the most and stick to ordering just those now. Below are three that I completed recently and loved doing. This “Bookstore” puzzle below is available here: Bookstore Puzzle.

Bookstore Puzzle, Beautiful

 

If you love bookshop puzzles, here’s another one that I loved doing a while back. It’s available here: Bookstore Puzzle.

 

One more that I loved featuring a wonderful old book shop…it’s available here: Beautiful Book Shop.

Book Store Puzzle

 

Is this not the cutest? It’s a puzzle of a puzzle store! lol I recognized many of the puzzles in the shop window as being puzzles I’ve completed in the past. This Puzzle Store puzzle is available here: Puzzle Store Puzzle.

Puzzle Store Puzzle

 

Here’s one more that I completed recently. It’s a lot more vivid and colorful in person than this photo shows. It was perfect for this time of year! For the bird lovers, you’ll find this puzzle currently on sale here: Bird/Birdhouse Puzzle. There’s also a coupon so don’t forget to check the box to get the extra $$$ off! That’s an awesome price for a 1,000-pc puzzle!

Puzzle for Bird Lovers

 

One last tip/idea to share…recently I mentioned in a post how I like to reuse candle containers once they are empty. I had repurposed this Ballynahinch Castle Candle jar…

 

…to hold spoons in my little beverage/drink station here in the office. (See that previous post here: Creating a Pretty Beverage Station for My Home Office.)

Stamped Silverplate Spoons, Blue Martini Glass

 

When the candle was almost gone, but not quite (sorry–didn’t think to take a picture of that) the remaining part of the candle was all liquid since it was burning at the time. There was so little left, the thin, metal base part of the wick was literally sitting on the bottom of the Ballynahinch glass container in about 1/2 inch of liquid candle. I only have two of these candles, hauled them all the way back from Ireland in my carry-on bag. I wanted to keep and reuse the little jar, but I didn’t want to waste a single drop of the candle since it smells wonderful. So I got an idea.

 

I took the candle downstairs and located a small votive holder I had stashed away in my laundry room. I blew out the Ballynahinch Castle candle and using needle-nose pliers, I reached in and removed the hot wick. I then poured the remaining candle/liquid wax into the votive holder and using my pliers, reinserted the little wick. The candle hardened up in a matter of minutes and I had myself a new, tiny candle to burn. lol

Just wanted to share this tip in case you have a larger candle that’s almost all gone but there’s still a small bit of candle left that you don’t want to just toss out. Find a small votive holder and just transfer the melted, liquid wax (and wick) over to a small votive holder to finish it off.

Using up the last bit of a candle

 

Oh, one more…if you use Gmail, did you know there are different themes (all free) that you can use as the wallpaper/background of your Gmail Inbox? There are a bunch to choose from under the Settings/Theme part of Gmail and all are very scenic and pretty! I just discovered this feature in Gmail a few weeks back and this is the one I’m using for spring. So much better than the glaring, harsh, white background that’s the normal view in Gmail.

 

Hope you found some of these ideas helpful! Have a wonderful weekend!

*If a post is sponsored or a product was provided at no charge, it will be stated in post. Some links may be affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. *



 Never miss a Between Naps on the Porch post! 

*Subscribe to have updates delivered to your Inbox. 



Comments

  1. I think you made the right decision on the shelves. Plus building materials are scarce right now (in Indiana at least) and the shelves would probably have cost you more than the estimate.

  2. Brenda S Lawrence says

    All valid points about the bookcases Susan. It is hard to get good help these days. My son is always complaining that they can’t give work away. And you certainly don’t want to lose any stair width. I love your spoons, they are so fun! The bookstore puzzles are my favorite, but the birds and the puzzle store are good ones too. Glad you were able to vacuum up the puzzle dust off your mat puzzle table. These little vacuums come in handy, I have one too and I love it. Great idea for the left over candle wax. I reuse candle jars all the time. I did not know that Google had this for gmail! I will have to check it out. That is really pretty for spring. Always learning something new! Hugs, Brenda

    • I’ve heard that from so many people lately, seems like there would be a lot people looking for work after the past year.
      Thanks, Brenda!
      XXX

  3. I agree w/ you. The last year has been too weird. Just my .02 on the book shelves: I keep my book collection at the library. (And thank goodness b/c we’ve made two major moves.)

    Love what you did w/ the candle glass. Very cool.

    • lol Most of mine are kept at Audible but I love the idea of collecting some of those special classics, just a few favorites, but I don’t really need a whole wall of shelves for that, at least not right now.

  4. Love the spoons! Do they tarnish?

    • These are all silverplate so I guess they would if they were left unused. I used all mine daily throughout the day. I keep some on the kitchen counter and some here in the office. They get used for adding milk and a scoop of whipped topping to my iced coffee during the day—and for eating cereal and other things like that during the day, so they never get a chance to tarnish.

  5. I think you’re smart to at least postpone the shelving. You can always make your bookcase wall in whatever place you land next. 😉 Focusing on the baths for added value is a good move. I love those spoons (and yours, particularly. I had to blow them up to read the messages but they are all good ones for a strong woman.♥). I tried to order some of those but the artist’s inbox must’ve gotten blown up after you last posted because she had to take a break, lol. They look good in your candle jar. Happy [hot] weekend.

    • Hopefully, I’ll get excited about renovating baths once I get going on that–def more practical in so many ways.
      You can see the spoons a lot better in this post where the pics are more zoomed in: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/creating-a-pretty-little-drink-center-for-my-home-office/
      Funny you say that because after I created that post, I started following her on Instagram and I noticed she said in a video reel there that it was so strange that she had gotten so many orders for her Christmas/holiday spoon and certain other spoons. All the spoons she showed in the video were the ones I had ordered and had shown in my post. lol She had no idea about my post since I never mentioned it when I ordered mine so she was confused about why there were so many orders for those specific spoons.

  6. I love those spoons! I bought one but clearly need to get a few more!

  7. Great idea on the candle wax! I have thrown some away in the past that I would have liked to finish.

    • I have too so many times. I wish I had thought of doing this in the past. Next time I do it, I’ll take some pictures. It was really, really easy.

  8. All fabulous tips, and great puzzles Susan! That little vacuum had me perking up my ears – I could really use that. 🙂 Hope you find a good, if more temporary, way to store your books! Happy Saturday!

  9. This is from far out left field. I love your furniture, but the room looks tired. Which is why you want to do “something”. I would get a professional to give you the latest update colors that would compliment your existing furniture.
    There are many HGTV shows that do Reno working with what you have.
    Just an idea.

    • Mary, I guess your comment is meant to constructive, but here’s the thing: I still love this room! The denim sofa is super cozy and comfortable and I still love the plaid chairs and the antique pine furniture I chose for this room. Wishing to add bookshelves around the window has nothing to do with the furniture or the decor in this room. I actually got the idea because I was toying with starting a vintage book collection…just purchased two older books on Etsy this past week. I love built-in bookcases and love seeing them around a window seat–it’s one of my favorite looks for walls with window seats. Not sure if you saw a post I shared recently where I changed my winter bedding out for summer bedding, the same bedding I’ve had for 20+ years–because I still love it, too. If you’re looking for rooms that reflect the latest trends in decor as seen on HGTV, I’m afraid you’ll be pretty disappointed by the decor posts you see here. I do write posts on other topics, though–so hope you find those enjoyable/helpful.

      • Once I find something I love I keep it forever! lol Same with placing furniture. I have a wreath on my pantry door that is at least 25 years old but I love it to this very day! I just dust it off or wipe it off and it’s good again.

        • I tend to do that, too. I have a hand-sewn patchwork wreath that I purchased in a crafts fair many many years ago, probably 25 years ago and I still hang it every Christmas on the pantry/closet door in my kitchen. It still looks as nice as the day I bought it and I still love it. So I def understand, Anita!

      • I love that room just like it is too-classic and comfy. I am not trendy. The bookcases would be really nice by the window but now is not the time with a lack of workers and sky high prices. They said part of the problem is the Canadian border is closed and that’s where lumber comes from today.

      • Oops, sorry. I truly missed your idea about wanting the bookcases. I have bookcases in all my rooms. Been a reader for many years and even today went online to order the spoons. But, they are not available. Please accept my apology.

      • Oops, sorry. I truly missed your idea about wanting the bookcases. I have bookcases in all my rooms. Been a reader for many years and even today went online to order the spoons. But, they are not available. Please accept my apology.

  10. As great as it would look, you made the right decision on the bookshelves. If you just did not feel it – and you might not get good craftsmen – then it is not the time. Looking forward to seeing the work on your bathrooms. I reuse all my Yankee Candle containers all the time – never thought of doing something with the ones that don’t have a lid. Thanks for the inspiration!

  11. Bobbi Duncan says

    Susan, I think the bathroom projects are a great decision. I know you will benefit financially if and when you wish to move on to your retirement home, plus you can enjoy them in the meantime. You can always incorporate the bookcases you desire later or when you move. I’m glad you stick to what you love (referring to your FROG ). Homes should be decorated to suit the people living in them, not by trends that are here today and gone tomorrow. Trends are designed only to initiate $ for the manufacturers (learned that years ago at design school), whereas style endures. You always find the most adorable puzzles. Glad you are enjoying a lovely spring, as are we…best one in years! Hugs!

    • Thanks, Bobbi! That’s a very good point. I know once I do them, I’ll be glad they are done.
      I’ve kinda always suspected that about trends. It def can be nice to freshen up a room if you’re in the mood and ready for a change, but I think the average person doesn’t have the desire, money or time to update every time the decor winds blow a different way. I’m sure if I ever move and downsize to a cottage-style home, I’ll probably change quite a few things to fit the rooms in that home. That’s what I love about classic styles and design, it really lasts forever,

  12. I agree with doing the bathrooms. I know you’re thinking of downsizing and bathrooms would be a better investment. The bookcases might not appeal to everyone when you try to sell. But, that said, I totally trust your judgement.

  13. Susan, I am in awe of your speed at completing puzzles! I have a few of the puzzles that you have done. I really don’t have a particular theme that I like the most. I guess I’m an eclectic puzzler.

    • I didn’t use to really have a particular style/theme so much, but over this past year, I’ve really discovered the type I enjoy the most. I really like puzzles that tell a story and are themed around things I really love, like homes, gardens, books, birds, beach themes, etc… I still love the occasional random puzzle. There’s one I’ve been eyeing that’s all pencils, many of which have writing on them. That would be a fun challenge! lol

  14. Great post today! I’m starting to look at puzzles as a past-time and would like to know if those sorting trays would really help. Your puzzles are BEAUTIFUL. How should I start out? One thousand pieces sounds really overwhelming, but I do want a challenge. I’d love to see how you start one of those 1,000 piece puzzles!
    P.S. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about your going down those backstairs with bookshelves impeding your way!

    • Sorting trays do help tremendously. I have several sets and use them all in different ways. I just purchased this set of large trays recently and they are awesome: https://bit.ly/2SsMSIA
      I use those really big trays for sorting out the parts of a puzzle that I know will have a lot of pieces.

      For example, when I was just starting the Rare Book Store puzzle, (shown above in this post) it features that amazing blue ceiling. I knew there would be a lot of blue ceiling pieces since that’s such a big part of the puzzle, so I used one of my large puzzle trays to hold those pieces as I found them during the sorting process.
      I have smaller trays that I often use for sorting out/holding smaller objects in the puzzle, like the green chair.

      I just saw these trays today and ordered them. https://bit.ly/3fb7KNm . I like their rounded hexagonal shape.

      Rosie, you may want to start out with a 500 piece puzzle. Many of the 1,000-pc puzzles that I buy are also available in the 500-pc size. There are also 250-pc sizes you an buy. Just type into the search bar at Amazon “500 piece puzzles” and you’ll see a ton.

      It’s best to buy quality-made puzzles so def read the reviews. A poorly designed or cut puzzle can really put you off doing puzzles forever. White Mountain, Ravensburger, and Buffalo are good brands.

      I start every puzzle the same way. I spread out around me a few of my large puzzle trays and a few of my smaller ones. After studying the picture on the box for a minute (or the poster that sometimes comes inside the box) I take out big handfuls of the puzzle pieces, put them on my desk and start going through them looking for certain elements that I’ve identified in the puzzle. The number one thing I’m looking for are the edge pieces because I always assemble the “frame” of the puzzle with the edge pieces before I start assembling any other parts of the puzzle.

      If you find it too confusing to sort out several different parts of the puzzle as you are going through the pieces, just start by focusing only on finding all the edge pieces. It can be a little overwhelming if you are looking for too many elements or objects in the puzzle at once–so just focus on finding all the edge pieces. Those are super easy to find since one side of the piece will be perfectly flat.

      After I’ve gone through the entire puzzle pulling out all the edge pieces, I will begin assembling them on my puzzle board, referring back to the picture on the box (or the poster) so I know where various edge pieces fit in. If I’m missing an edge piece, I don’t worry about it because I know it’s going to turn up as I work the rest of the puzzle.

      After I have the “frame” of the puzzle together (made up from all the edge pieces) I start putting together elements in the puzzle…like the blue ceiling in the Rare Bookstore puzzle. With that puzzle, I think I actually started at the bottom with the checkered floor because those pieces really stood out and were easy to spot when I was initially sorting out all those edge pieces.

      The open book pieces were pretty easy to spot so I assembled them as well. The stairs and the chandelier pieces were easy to spot when I was sorting the puzzle, so I started working on those next.

      So I don’t start in one spot of the puzzle and work outward, although that kind of happened when I did the ceiling and the floor first. Instead, I just put various objects I find in the puzzle together and lay them on my puzzle board approximately where I know they’ll end up when the puzzle is finished.

      As you work the puzzle, you’ll start to spot pieces that you recognize…like say all the globes that are on the desk in the room.
      When I come across pieces I recognize, I start another small tray to hold those and sort them out as I come across them. Then I’ll scoot over to my puzzle board and start assembly them all together on the board in the area where I know they go.

      Before you know it, these little sections of the puzzle that you’ve assembled will start connecting to each other and the puzzle/picture starts really filling in.

      So start with a 250 or 500 pc puzzle and find all those edge pieces first. Puzzling is very addictive! When I do a 1,000 piece puzzle, it’s so satisfying placing each piece. A 1,000 pc puzzle is 1,000 little wins/celebrations! 🙂

    • Rosie, one thing I forgot to mention is I normally do the sorting part (and sometimes the puzzle part) while I’m listening to a documentary or video on Youtube–or while listening to a book on Audible. That def makes the sorting part at the beginning a lot more fun.

  15. Based on your opinion about the puzzle board a while back, I ordered one then for my husband. He had been complaining that his back hurt when he stood over a table to do a puzzle. You also used puzzle sorting trays, so I also ordered two different sets of those (the ones that look like huge puzzle pieces). At first my husband was hesitant about it all. Your opinion was spot on and my husband now love, love, loves his puzzle board and trays. Plus, his back doesn’t hurt when doing his puzzles!

    • Linda, I know exactly what he means. I when I first started doing them a few years back, I had the same issue. Often I would have to stop because my back was killing me, even though I really wanted to keep working on my puzzle.

      I should take photo and show this but I’ve discovered that I can move the little support even closer to the front where it straight up and down to tilt the puzzle board even more upright…which I love. I thought about adding another notch in the wood to hold it there but I’ve done so many puzzles now with it in that really upright position and it’s never fallen, so I don’t really need to add another notch to hold it there. The only puzzles that I’ve found don’t work as well on a puzzle board are the puzzles that have letters on the back, thus they have slippery paper on the back of each piece. I don’t like those puzzles since I never refer to the letters on the back for help and the slippery paper on the back makes it harder for the puzzle pieces to grip the felt on the board. So avoid those types of puzzles if you can.
      The trays are awesome! I can’t imagine doing a puzzle without them. I’m so glad to hear your hubby loves the board and the trays! He needs to listen to you more often! Wives always know best! 😉

  16. Hi! New here to write a comment, but I have a question about the puzzle board. When using it, where are your loose pieces? When I do a puzzle it takes up my entire kitchen table and since we downsized that’s our only table. Thank you and happy day!

    • That’s why I love using my puzzle trays. The trays are stackable so you can get a 1000-pc puzzle in these 8 trays: https://bit.ly/2SsMSIA
      I also have smaller trays that I use for sorting out a small section/object in a puzzle.
      I just ordered these today, I love their shape and they are stackable, as well:
      https://bit.ly/2SsMSIA

      Regarding the puzzle board, when doing a lot of puzzles, there’s a good bit of room around the puzzle to place pieces but my favorite puzzles to do are the White Mountain puzzles that are designed with “Large Pieces.” Those puzzles are 30 inches wide and 24 inches tall. If they literally added one more piece to the height, they would not fit on my puzzle board at all. Argggh! So I hope they never do that.

      If you scroll back up to the puzzle of the Rare Book Store…the one with the pretty blue ceiling, you’ll see what I mean. The puzzle literally fills up the whole puzzle board with only an inch or two left on either side. I LOVE that! Sometimes after I complete a puzzle, I will leave the puzzle board up in my office here to just enjoy the big, beautiful scene for while.

      Dorothy, scroll through this older post and you’ll see how “normal” or “most” size puzzles fit on the puzzle board that I use and love: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/the-best-puzzle-board-for-working-puzzles-makes-a-great-gift-for-christmas/
      In that post, you’ll see a “library/books puzzle with cats” and you’ll see there’s still a good bit of space around the board to place the puzzle pieces. I guess when doing a smaller puzzle, say a 500-pc puzzle, there’s probably plenty of room, as well. I always do 1,000-pc puzzles though, so not positive about that.

      In that same post I linked above, you’ll also see a 1000-pc White Mountain Florist Shop puzzle that I did and it had those “Large Pieces” that White Mountain is known for creating for their puzzles. Again, that puzzle almost filled out my entire puzzle board and I LOVED that! lol

      Even when I do a smaller puzzle that won’t take up the whole puzzle board, I still use my puzzle sorting trays because they are amazing at helping me to organize my pieces. Say if I’ve sorted out all the sky pieces from the Rare Book Store puzzle into a sorting tray. Now I can just walk over to my puzzle board with that tray and start placing the pieces, holding the tray in one hand or in my lap if I’m sitting. Sometimes I stand when doing a puzzle, depends on what part of the puzzle I’m working on.

      I hope this helps explain a bit how I use the sorting trays and how various size/brands of puzzles look and fit on the puzzle board.

  17. When you do return to the bookshelves idea, check with a realtor about it. It just might be something that restricts the use of the room and puts off buyers. And instead using the funds for built-ins in your future home. So funny about the surge in spoon sales right around your posts about them.

  18. Marguerite says

    Yikes! I cannot find the info on my gmail account to add a background…can you give more specifics how to find under “settings” tab?

    • Sure, when you have your Inbox open, just click on the little wheel-looking “Settings” wheel in the top right. Across the very top of the “Settings” screen, you’ll see a bunch of choices like: General, Labels, Inbox, Accounts and Import, etc… You should see the word “Themes” option across the top. On my desktop computer, I can see it as the last option across the top of the Settings screen. Click on Themes and you’ll see a ton of choices. One of the choices will say “More Images.” Click on More Images to access even more themes. I didn’t see the theme I’m using initially until I clicked on “More Images” and was able to see all the themes that are available. You can even upload your own full-size, horizontal-shaped photo to act as your background/theme.

  19. Tina W Reynolds says

    Some time ago I read an article featuring a young woman who purchased two narrow IKEA bookcases. In your case, you’d get the max width that would be accommodated on either side of the window, still leaving ample room for stepping off the stairway. She attached crown moldings to the top and a wider molding to the bottom. I believe she attached narrow trim to each shelf front. To make them quite stable, she attached them to the wall with angle cleats. A paint job finished it off. They were impressive. Moldings really made those IKEA book cases look beefed up and built in. I know that a lot of cutting miters is required in a project like that with so much trim to cut. Still, you have done some impressive projects in the past so I could not resist mentioning this.

  20. PatinCal says

    Has anyone let the “spoon lady” know about your blog post?

  21. Susan, couldn’t you just crawl into one of those Bookshop puzzles and just happily live there? They are all so pretty. That would be a lovely way to while away your day. Especially if there were a pretty French Patisserie next door. 😀 I love the liquid candle idea!! That’s the sort of thing I do, see a problem or an opportunity and think, now what could I do about this? Love that you are creative like that. ~ Well, tomorrow is a new day. Let’s see what this week has in store. Have a good one, Susan.

  22. Ohhh…fun! I did NOT know that about gmail. Thank you! Have a blessed week! ✨

  23. Michele / Finch Rest says

    Makes perfect sense to hold off on the bookcase. Maybe down the road – maybe just skinnier matching cases and not go all the way down the stairs. I think you’d love the look and storage for books. Later.

    LOVE you discovered GMail background – soooo much prettier, agreed!

    That cute bird puzzle made me squeal. It is awesome!

  24. I love those puzzles. You did a nice job rearranging things. Thank You for sharing.
    Marilyn

  25. Ann M Butler says

    Hello Susan! I do not comment much on your posts, sorry about that but wanted to let you know of all the great ideas in this post that I loved. The puzzle board is saved in my wish list along with the mini vacuum. I could use one and I know my son could too for his computer set up. I love the idea for the remaining amount of candle wax for favored and loved candles. I always save votive holders and the idea is just perfect. Thank always for your lovely posts.

Leave a Reply to Barbara at Mantel and Table Cancel reply

*