Living Life

The smell and taste of hot coffee in the morning is one of life's sweetest pleasures for me. I find it to be an immensely soothing way to start my day.

Setting up a beverage station was a guilty pleasure that my heart desired for a very long time. The idea of corralling everything into one place for easy access was very appealing. I just didn't know exactly what I wanted to do until I saw THIS. While you're there, I recommend that you check out her other videos. Nikki definitely has great decorating sense and style.

I am using The Brisbur Cabinet from Pier 1 as my beverage station. I have been on a hunt for a cabinet or table (or even a dresser as I was getting pretty desperate) for quite a while, until I came across this beautiful piece. It is both elegant and functional and fit my needs to a tee. It's height, width, and length was the perfect size for the little corner space in our dining area.

I am currently using a sheet of plexiglass to protect the top surface of the cabinet. It makes clean-up very easy and removes any fear of causing damage to the wood.

There are three drawers in the upper part of the cabinet where I keep Vue Packs, creamers, and sweeteners. I love how easy everything is to access.

There are shelves in the bottom of the cabinet where additional supplies are being kept. The brown canvas bins were purchased at Target. They have a hard inner core, are very sturdy, and I am very pleased with them.

My goal is to keep the surface of the beverage center as uncluttered as possible. There you will find the Keurig Vue (adore this machine), mugs on a mug tree, a container of snacks (for a quick grab and go), a small trash can, and a towel for quick wipe ups.

You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to find a mug tree. I was so happy when I finally found one (almost threw a party) at Bed Bath & Beyond. I am certain that it is because mug trees are kind of passe, clearly out of vogue, and while I'm at it, probably oh so 70's too. Blah!

The wall hanging is actually a photo holder. There are small coils in the backs of each of the leaves that you can place pictures into. The coils act as veins in the leaves when viewed from the front. I probably will not be using it for pictures, instead, will opt for a cleaner, less cluttered look. This was also purchased at Pier 1.

Many of you have probably wondered about the meaning of mousechirpy at the beginning of my blog address. It is a combination of our pets names. This past year has been a very sad one for us due to the loss of both of our pets.

We lost Chirpy, our love bird, this past November. He was old and lived a long life. After having him for so long, I could usually understand the differences in his chirping and what they meant. The one that I miss the most is the sound of his chirp (actually, more like a screech) when he saw me for the first time each morning and knew that he'd soon be getting fresh bird seed. He expected so little, but gave us so much.

Mouse passed away in March of this year. I still cry for him, like I am doing as I'm typing this. He was my boy and I miss him dearly. For those that don't know, he suffered with a kidney problem for several years. His treatments were very stressful and took a tole on my spirit. He, too, lived a long life and was usually by my side in the craft room almost every day. My craft room is still filled with his presence. I find it both comforting and sad at the same time.

A few months before Mouse's passing, this bright eyed, bushy-tailed little bundle of energy came into our lives. He belongs to my son and his girlfriend.

This is Marlee, a dappled mini Dachshund, who has taken over the reigns as keeper and protector of our castle. He keeps us all on our toes, and has brought so much joy to our home.

I haven't been sewing very much of anything lately. My poor sewing machine is slowly growing cobwebs. What I have been doing is making handmade mini albums and journals and that has been keeping me quite busy.

This is the cover of me and my hubby's album. Once completed, it will reflect a progression of our lives from past to present.

A 1/2-inch margin along the spine between each page allows this album to accommodate bulky embellishments without distorting the pages. It will end up being quite a thick album.

I chose to do some over-the-top embellishing on this album as my usual style is pretty simple. I think that I have achieved this goal because this album is as gaudy as I will ever allow myself to create.

I have also learned that creating a handmade December daily journal is a fun concept, and one that I will be repeating again this year. This is the front cover of last years journal.

There is a lot of work involved in chronicling a full month, but it is very rewarding at the same time. It was fun bringing it out this year and looking back at the day-to-day, somewhat mundane things that we did.

Although it is a very time consuming thing to take pictures every day and then journal about it, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I hope that all is well with each and every one of you. I apologize that I haven't been around to man this blog and I am very sorry for being so out of touch. Unfortunately, it takes motivation and commitment to run a blog and sadly, I seem to lack both of those things at this time. At this point, I am uncertain about what the future holds for Polka Dot Pineapple.

Over the past year, by choice, my life has slowed down quite a bit. I have grown to enjoy it that way. I chuckle at the thought that the only quandary that may possibly exist in my day is whether to have Italian or French Roast coffee in the morning, and then, what to have for dinner in the evening.

At this juncture, my life feels complete the way it is. I have been keeping busy in my home, doing things for myself and for my family. It is really amazing how acutely aware you become when you have the time to slow down and tune in to all that surrounds you. I hear and see things that I never did before and I appreciate everything so much more too. I am enjoying life and I wish the same for you too.
Take care!
Aloha,