Goodness! Gracious! Good Will Goodies!

Sweetwater Style has it's roots in thrift store shopping with panache!

pa·nache

noun

noun: panache

1.flamboyant confidence of style or manner.

flamboyance, confidence, self-assurance, style, flair, elan, dash, verve, zest, spirit, brio, éclat, vivacity, gusto, liveliness, vitality, energy

I am not so sure about the flamboyance, but I would like to think that I approach thrift store shopping with gusto, confidence and zest!

I have decided to post "Goodness! Gracious! Good Will Goodies!"  every week or so.  The series will be all about how to get the most out of your trips to the thrift store.

How To Revive a Droopy Hydrangea!

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope your day is filled with hugs and kisses....especially the chocolate kind!

AND

I hope that you have flowers!

Mr. S surprised me with a lovely bunch of flowers from the grocery store!


Now before you go thinking...."what a cheapskate"!  You need to know that  my favorite part of getting flowers is the fun of doing my own arrangement!  It is sort of a gift within a gift..

 Thanks Mr. S!

Do you see the lovely Hydrangea in the center of the arrangement?

I do love me a Hydrangea....even one that has been DYED pink!

If you are also a Hydrangea lover, you know how persnickety these lovelies are!

YUP....THEY SOMETIMES DROOP!

Flower Arranging Hacks You Need To Try!

Seems like so many of the popular web posts I read have the word HACK in them.
Seems like that word can make a post popular!
But what exactly is a HACK?
Inquiring minds want to know!

A hack is an easier way to do something, a shortcut.

Sweetwater Style is all about making things easier and taking some thrifty shortcuts! 

For your viewing enjoyment, here are my favorite Sweetwater Flower Arranging HACKS!

How to Make a Birch Branch wreath. Repost

For your reading and crafting pleasure I am reposting the directions and inspiration for the birch branch wreath that was a feature in my Minimal Valentine Decor post.
Enjoy:


This Birch Branch wreath in this photo is one that the Sweetwater Sister-in-Law made for me long ago.  It is a perfect accent for any Valentine display.

(BTW..I found this photo on last year's post with a round up of other people's Valentine Ideas....VALENTINE IDEA POST)

 Back to the wreath tutorial....

I have a whole bin full of birch branches leftover from Christmas....
They are cluttering up the garage.....

HMMMMM....I was thinking I could make a smaller version of the Heart Wreath...

How hard could it be???
Well it turns out it was a tad bit harder than I thought....but I did figure it out (with a little help from a friend)!

A Minimal Nod to Valentine Decor

Here is the great question I pondered as I wrote this post title.

Is it Valentine or Valentine's???

I think it is properly Valentine's.....but that sounded silly....so I went with Valentine!

All you grammarians out there need to weigh in on this and help me out!

In any case, Valentine's Day is only 10 days away.

Source

Somehow, in our empty nest, all out red, pink and purple hearts and streamers seem a bit much!  

I have been adding a few touches of the season.  

I am going for a minimalist theme here.

Painting the INSIDE of the Kitchen Cupboards!

Cleaning and organizing the kitchen cupboards is a great project at this time of year.  I started to do just that at the beginning of the month.

In the process....I looked...really looked at interiors of the cupboards!
YIKES!

The melamine laminate has the scratches and scuffs that come from normal use over time. The original white has become dull and yellowed.

I decided that they need a fresh coat of paint.

"I Recognize that Voice"

I seem to have been blessed with a distinctive voice.

I often have people say to me that they weren't sure they recognized me....but they knew it was me when they heard me speak!!!
 

HMMMM....I am not so sure that having a distinctive speaking voice is all that great.
I am sure that having a distinctive WRITING voice is something to aspire to!


I want to give a shout out to a couple of my favorite bloggers who have the most delightful "voice" in their writing.
Yes...the content on these two blogs is terrific....but the WAY they write is what makes them exceptional!  Every post usually makes me laugh out loud!

Things To Do With Travel Photos!

Are you old enough to remember....?
Back in the day....
We actually used FILM in cameras!

 It cost bunches of money.....and even more to get developed!
AND....you usually took very few pictures....and were stuck with them whether they turned out or not!

I remember rationing how many rolls of film we would use on a vacation.  Four or five rolls of 36 pictures was a pretty big extravagance for us!

 Then....along came the Polaroid!

Instant gratification.....but kind of lousy quality!

And Still.....super expensive....especially if your photography skills (or your subjects) were not up to par!

Too funny that all of the Instagram photos are a take off on the old look of polaroid prints!




Enter the 21st Century and Digital Photography!

Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with Great Kids Books

Next Monday is Martin Luther King Day!

In honor of the life and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I usually share a list of my favorite read aloud books that encapsulate the ideas we celebrate on our day of recognition of the life of this American Hero. 
Here is a link to one of those old posts. 

This year I decided to go out and look at what kind of lists that other "experts" have put together.
WOW!  There are so many great titles....and I am happy to see that many of the books I recommend are included on many lists.

Relishes to Relish!

RELISH is my 2016 word!

That is all about taking time to relish everyday things.

HMMMM......relishing below zero weather can be a bit of a challenge!

How about......?

• there are a lot of birds at the bird feeder when it is this cold 
• my car has a remote starter
• I save money because I don't go out shopping

Of course, relish can be a noun as well as a verb!