Friday Links

Well, after battling a week of sickness, things are finally starting to look up. The "viral something" I was diagnosed with last Friday got worse, and gave way to bronchitis as well as a "bacterial something" which has kept me out of work and on my back most of the week. What a bummer. Today I am finally feeling better! Still pretty wiped and not well yet, but definitely better. Thank goodness. Looks like I will have a pretty boring weekend as I just plan to rest up and try to get my healthy self back. The only thing I may do besides church on Sunday is get some new plants tomorrow for the front yard. You know, something you'll notice after laying in your house for a few days is all the stuff you want to do to it when you feel better to fix it up! I feel like everything is dusty, dark, and wintery. I am planning on (once I'm up to it) going out, buying a bunch of cleaning supplies, and attacking my house. Then I want to brighten everything up - declutter, make some new certains, get a new bedspread, cover or get new pillows, etcetera. I'll keep you posted..maybe do some before and after shots? Who knows.

Anyway, on to this week's links. Unfortunately I just have a few this week due to the sickness, but...hopefully you'll enjoy them anyway!

Baked Pasta Casserole
This looks absolutely splendid. Like it could please both me (pasta fanatic) and my husband (non-pasta fanatic) in one sitting. Maybe I'll try it for our Italian potluck next week at church?

Creative Candlescapes at Real Simple: Simply Stated
Great roundup of tablescape ideas using candles - with more non-photo ideas at the bottom. This is the kind of thing I never think I'll use, and then wish I had saved for when we *do* decorate a party spread at our house...and I'm clueless.

decor8
Yet another adorable homey, crafty, inspirational blog...can you really read too many?!

The Crafty Cow
Bella Dia's new blog, focusing on children's crafts...great for kids, or if you just also like kids' crafts like me even though you're a grown person. :)

The Container Store: Shop By Room
Umyesplease.

Logo Design History
Famous brands glossary of old and neboth w logos for major companies...great reference, with quite a few awesome examples of brand makeovers over time.

Tiny Terrariums at Cottage Living
Oh how I love terrariums...I am so glad I have re-discovered this adorable tutorial on how to make mini terrariums inside glass ornament globes!

Recycled Album Fans via Craft:
This is totally fun. Thrift stores generally have awesome record sleeves with goofy/cool pictures on them for cheap.

Adobe Photoshop Express
For once, not too good to be true. It's exactly what you want it to be - a simplified, web-based, free version of Photoshop for public use. Create an account and you can even store up to 2 gigs of files. Fabulous!