Welcome Heart, Sue Donaldson, Speaker

When life throws you lemons (you know the drill) -- catch them before they fall, and make some homemade lemonade, even in January.

After living without a kitchen ceiling for 7 years of remodeling, I decided to make something beautiful from cobwebs and pipes. (The good news is: my husband is doing the remodeling and...we are still married!)

I found cute mason jars at Pottery Barn (easy to make with wire and jars but, I work there so the 40% discount made it an easy decision!) and candles from the dollar store, added twine and hooks and -- voila! Beauty from the beast!

Then, my builder-hero decided to put in a ceiling, right before Thanksgiving...I didn't dare complain - progress, you know. But, what to do with my new pretties??

Last week I tackled the black-hole (laundry room) and found a new beast to beautify. First, I discovered an iron baker's rack at my favorite thrift store. I removed the top glass shelf so I could hang clothes right out of the dryer. Then came the mason jars.

Then came my Christmas present from Lisa - a cute "Give Thanks" plaque which was on its way into the Thanksgiving decor storage tote when I recognized some year-round "gratefulness cultivation" was in order for my least favorite room.

(You, too, can get an original print of laundry entitled: "Hanging Out" - see www.annesprints.com for purchase)

After that - a little humor...

... lo and behold, my half-finished -- okay, a quarter finished-- laundry room is a thing of beauty. If I don't love laundry, I can at least love the room, right? Right.

What black hole do you have that could use some beautifying?

Take something simple combined with some color, add a bit of humor and you will be delighted! (Now, the closets...sigh.)