tales and trials

some homemade ice cream

2010-07-30T04:23:00.000-07:00

This past week I finally got around to making Darby's homemade ice cream. She posted it on her blog forever ago and I was intrigued that you could make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker. Since the heat index has been sitting at 106 degrees I figured this would be a good a time as any to go ahead and make some!

{mocha ice cream}

Last weekend I made a batch of the chocolate ice cream. It was SO good! Very rich and creamy. It wasn't quite as icy as regular ice cream but I actually prefer this to regular ice cream. Yesterday I made two batches of her mocha ice cream recipe and OH MY GOODNESS YA"LL, it is SOOOOOOOOO good. If you like coffee flavored ice cream you need to run to the store right now and gather up all the ingredients {all five of them!} so you can make this tonight. I may never buy store bought ice cream again! Here is the recipe if you are interested.

Darby said it would be hard to keep your fingers out of it when you were mixing it up and boy was she right. I may or may not have eaten some of the mocha mixture before I even froze it. It tasted like a mix between a coffee mousse/light pudding and was pretty much heaven.

{mocha ice cream + thrifted ramekin}

And while I am already talking about Darby if you don't already read her blog {Fly Through our Window} you really should. It is my ALL time favorite blog and if I could only read one blog for the rest of my life I think this would be it ya'll. She mostly writes about day to day life with her family, her faith, photography, and occasionally a craft or a recipe. I have tried several of her recipes and they have all been fabulous. She also has a twin sister, Erica, who is a very talented designer. To be honest my SIL and I kind of want to be Darby and Erica. They're just so dang cute and fun! :)

Do you all read their blogs? Are you in love with them too?

::Edited to add that the coffee flavored ice cream totally reminds me of Braum's cappuccino chunky chocolate ice cream. I may have to just add in some chunks of a chocolate candy bar to try to recreate one of my all time favorite ice cream flavors. If you don't live in or near OK then you have probably never heard of Braum's but it is a local dairy and restaurant/ice cream shop that has the best ice cream.

BEFORE & AFTER: a frame + a book makeover

2010-07-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

For some reason here lately all I want to do is decorate, craft, spray paint, etc. Mainly I think I am bored with trying to keep the house spiffy for potenitial buyers so I am coming up with "things" I NEED to do instead.

This frame I bought at hobby lobby last year for half off. It was fall and I liked the fall colors and the swirly pattern on the frame. I got it home and I never really liked it in any of our rooms. I kept it out for a while but then put it in a drawer and forgot about it. I was trying to spruce up our master bedroom the other day and wanted a frame on our bedside table. I was really wanting a non-silver frame but almost every frame we own is silver. I remembered my hobby lobby frame but it was not the right colors at all for our bedroom. I didn't really want to paint the frame in case I wanted to use it as is someday but then I said heck with it and painted it anyway.

I am so glad I decided to paint this frame. I used some white satin spray paint that we had on hand for my frame makeover. Luckily I had just the perfect amount of paint left in the can to cover my whole frame. I love my frame SO much more in white!!

I wanted to set my frame on a book but most of the larger books we have tend to have really dark colored bindings. Enter some burlap I had left over from the table runners I made for the nautical baby shower. I simple wrapped a book {my husbands high school year book!} in the burlap kind of like a book jacket and then taped it down on the inside of the cover. It still wasn't anything too special so I took some left over raffia and looped it around both ends of the book just to add a little more texture. I'm so happy with my little makeover and the best part was that it was free! Of course I had to throw in one of my yard sale moss balls for good measure. These are definitely coming in quite handy!

::I'm linking this mini makeover to the Shabby Nest, Somewhat Simple and the Shabby Chic Cottage.

a guest post:: Melissa Pepin Photography

2010-07-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today I have a fun guest post from my friend and one of my favorite photographers, Melissa Pepin. Melissa is one of the sweetest and funniest people I know. She's very generous with the talents that God has given her and I am so excited for you all to meet her!

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Hi everyone! My name is Melissa Pepin. I am a photographer based out of Athens, Georgia and I am so excited that Abby asked me to do a guest post on her blog. I just love her family and cant wait to get them in front of my camera again this fall!

I am a Christian, a wife, a mom, and a business owner so sometimes my sentences run on and I think with my heart more than my head...but that pretty much sums me up to a T. :) I have owned Melissa Pepin Photography for almost 5 years and when Im not behind my computer editing or sneaking in snuggles from my 1 year old, Im out shooting weddings, families, seniors, and doing all sorts of commercial projects. Its a busy life...but I wouldnt trade it for anything!

Being a new mom (our son is 15 months), I can now fully understand why every time I shoot a family session the parents have the phrase, " Im so sorry my child is running around and won't sit still for pictures," on repeat. They never seem to want to sit still EVER, much less when you have a big ole camera in their face! :) So, I'll let you all in on my little secret for getting the best images of your kiddos without the "sit still!" battle. Its simple...its easy...and ANYONE can do it. (drum roll please.....wait for it......) MOVE!

Chase your kids around...let them play...and dont be afraid of a little blur in your images. Movement is one of my favorite things to work with and has this magical way of transforming a single shot in a way that makes you feel like you are REALLY there. When we are shooting a family session, it's so important to make the kiddos feel comfortable and special and we have found that if we just ask them to do something they love (swinging, jumping rope, going down the slide, making silly faces at their reflection in my camera lens), we get those genuine smiles and real giggles that photograph so well! So, dont be afraid to get up and get moving...you'll be SO happy with the results!

Thanks for having me on your blog Abby and I'll leave you all with a few images that we love from a variety of our sessions that incorporate movement and produce those real faces that we love!

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

Thanks Melissa for your great advice! I totally thought that any blur in my image meant that my image was no good. I'm going to go ahead and embrace the blur, seeing as my kids probably won't be slowing down anytime soon!

**Melissa is generously offering my readers 25% off a standard portrait session. You can check out her website here and her blog where she shares her most recent work.

some inspiration and the house 09 giveaway winner

2010-07-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

First things first, the winner of a new blog header designed by house 09 is Julianne. Congrats!! I hope you enjoy your new look. :)

I was inspired by a few projects around blogland this weekend. I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you.

Have you seen this pantry makeover from House of Smith's? I love that she used glass jars with labels and other fun bins {both wire and wood} I'm such a sucker for organization, containers, and labels. I am in love with the grey color and the quatrefoil technicque she used in the background.

I love this framed tea towel diy project from Decor mama. I think I need to hit up Target for some fun printed towels. I think it would also be fun to frame some thrifted/vinatge tea towels or bed sheets. Maybe you already have some in your stash?

I love seeing lamp makeovers and this one over at Cottage and Vine definitely caught my eye. Check out the before and after! If this doesn't convince you that spray paint is a miracle worker I don't know what will. Aren't the "after" lamps AMAZING!!

I also love this chippy paint lamp from Sweet Something Designs. Check out the tutorial to see how she turned a brass lamp into this beautiful lamp with a textured finish. I really can't get enough lamp makeovers lately. Probably has something to do with the fact that I am in the middle of my own lamp makeover at the moment. I can't wait to share it with you when I am finished.

I hope you all have a great week!

some recent thrifty finds

2010-07-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

Lately all of my thrifty finds seem to fall into the category of glass. Most of them are containers of some sort, which I love! My neighbor had a yard sale last weekend and I picked up two jars there. He had over 30 of these aqua mason jars in varying sizes. I paid $2 for this one which seemed like a good price since I had recently seen them on etsy for $15 or more per jar. I probably should have snagged a few more but I don't really need more so I refrained.

I added the aqua jar to a shelf I have hanging above our bed. I was trying to bring in different shades of blue to play off of our bedding. This shelf holds our framed wedding invite {which was designed by moi} and our favorite wedding picture. If only I still had my bouquet from our wedding to place in my new aqua jar.

I also picked up a square glass jar at my neighbors sale {pictured on the left}. I instantly fell in love with all of the detail on the sides. And look there is even lots of detail on the bottom corners of the jar. These pictures really don't do this jar justice. I'm learning it's a little tricky to photograph glass objects. I have no idea what I am going to use this jar for but I just couldn't pass it up.

I'm in love with the rusty old metal lids on these jars. Talk about character!

I found this small glass apothecary jar a few weeks ago at a thrift store run by a local hospital. I had just seen the same jar over at the party perfect blog so I was excited when I found a jar of my own. I paid a whoppin $.50 for it and then the following week I saw the same jar at Goodwill for two dollars. Apparently it pays to comparison shop even at thrift stores ya'll. :)

Last week while I was having our car serviced I ran into Goodwill to waste some time. I stumbled across a glass dome that fit perfectly on my new {to me} thrifted cake stand. I wasn't sure if it would fit but for $3.50 I was willing to gamble. Now I just need a yummy cake to place on my completed cake stand.

p.s. I'm linking my thrifty finds over at the Shabby Nest, Southern Hospitality, and Finding Fabulous.

a dump truck cake and a birthday!

2010-07-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

Last week was Noah's third birthday and we celebrated with my dad and Noah's bf. I went all out and made a dump truck birthday cake for him. Before you get too impressed with my smooth as a baby's bottom icing and perfect piping {major HA! on that one} let me just tell you that I made this cake entirely out of cupcakes. It was sooo easy and not to mention fun. I used a Wilton cupcake kit that my friend found on clearance and then gave to me. It had instructions on how to make three different types of cakes, one of them being a dump truck. The kit also came with silicone cupcake liners in different shapes that you put together to form the cake design.

My favorite part about making this cake was picking out the candy to use for the "gravel" in the back of the truck. I decided to go with m&m's and dots. I also used half an m&m for the door handle on the truck

Of course Noah loved his cake and didn't mind that his momma has NO icing skillz what so ever! If you can't tell from the pictures Noah was singing happy birthday to himself while we sang. This was the first birthday that Noah really knew what was going on and definitely soaked up every minute of it!

And just for my own personal memory keeping.....................

You still like Lightening McQueen and Toy Story in case you can't tell from this picture! Not pictured are your bucket o' soliders and your rex flash light. ha!

You've recently discovered jigsaw puzzles and will seriously do them over and over again. Looks like you take after your Mimi in that regard. Your favorites right now are the Melissa and Doug puzzles in a box.

{via}

You also love for me to read with you and your favorite author of the moment is Richard Scarry. You love Cars, and trucks, and things that go and have already memorized where Goldbug is on each page. You really like "Where's Waldo" sort of books like this one and can't seem to get enough of them.

If I send you to your room to pick out some shoes for the day then you ALWAYS comes back out wearing your beloved cowboy boots. What I love most of all about you at this age is that you are chatting up a storm and I routinely refer to you as my chatty cathy because you are always a talkin. Your papa, my dad, mentioned on his recent visit that you remind him a lot of me at this age and that made me smile. We love you sweet boy!

a giveaway:: new blog header from house 09

2010-07-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

You might remember a while back I introduced you to house 09 when they fancied up my blog with a total blog redesign.

Well, today is your lucky day because one reader will win a new blog header design for their blog from house 09!!

You can check out the web design portfolio of house 09 to get inspired by the blog designs that they have created recently. I don't know about you but I'm pretty smitten with the brand new house 09 header you see pictured above!

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

To enter the giveaway simply leave me a comment on this post!

Don't forget to include your e-mail address in your comment so that I can easily get in contact with the winner.

:Followers get an extra entry! If you follow my blog, please leave one additional comment letting me know you follow along.

::For one more entry become a follower of the house 09 blog. Please kindly leave a separate comment for each entry!

This giveaway is open until Friday, July 23rd at 10pm EST. Good luck!

how to help kids cope with military deployments

2010-07-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

After reading my Good Old Paper Chains post my friend Michelle emailed me a few suggestions on how to help your kids visualize how long daddy will be deployed {or away on a business trip for all you non-military families!}

{via}

Michelle has a friend named Sarah whose sons are currently 4, 2, and 6 months. Sarah let the oldest child eat a piece of candy each day until dad came home. Before his dad left on deployment he would sit down and count out with his son enough pieces of candy (small ones like M&M's, skittles, jelly beans, etc.) so that his son could eat one each day until he got back. Michelle added that she thought it could be fun to let the child have a special treat at the end of each month as a way to signify that a whole month had passed by already.

I think this would be a really fun idea and of course I think that that the moms should get to join in on the candy eating too don't you? I could not have a big jar filled with m&m's sitting on my kitchen counter without sampling a few!

Michelle also passed on another great idea from a podcast she listened to by Focus on the Family. They were interviewing Sara Horn, an author and military wife, and she shared something that her husband did for their 6 year old son while he was deployed. He wrote a bunch of notes up ahead of time for his son and left them with his wife. Then when his son was having a bad day during deployment, she could give him a special note from his dad reminding him how much he was loved and missed.

If you are interested in listening to the Focus on the Family podcast with Sara Horn you can do so here and you can also check out her blog here. I just listened to the podcast myself and I would really encourage you to listen to it as well {whether you are a military mom or not}.

If you have any friends in the military this might be helpful to you. Towards the end of the podcast the hosts asked Sara what civilians could do for military moms and families while their service members were deployed. She said it was helpful if people would offer to do a specific thing {mow the lawn, bring over a meal, babysit for an hour or two} versus when they say, " Let me know if there is anyway I can help you out." When someone says that generic phrase to me I am more likely to thank them and then say, "Ok, I'll let you know if something comes up and I need help." Sometimes I am stubborn and don't want to ask for help even if I really could use it. I know personally if someone {usually my bestie!} says, "Hey we are having you over for dinner next week what night would be good" or "I'm going to come watch the boys for you so you can grocery shop in peace." I am much more willing to usually automatically say yes when somewhen offers to do something specific that they have picked out.

There was another thing Sara mentioned in her podcast that she did with her son to help him through deployment that I really liked. They would take a long sheet of butcher block paper and trace an outline of her husband on it before he left on deployment. Then they would hang this on the back of their son's bedroom door. When her son was a having a really tough day when daddy was gone Sara and her son would go and write something fun about their daddy/husband on the paper. Anything that they loved about their dad/spouse that came to mind would go on the paper. As an added bonus when dad comes home he gets to see all the wonderful things you wrote about him.

:: If any of you think of any more ideas on how to help little ones visualize how long daddy is gone or other ways to help children cope with deployments feel free to leave them in the comment section or email them on over to me.

homesick + the stella and dot giveaway winner

2010-07-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

{cousins 09}

I've been feeling a little homesick as of late. Probably has something to do with the fact that I haven't been home in a year and half. Plus my SIL is at home {and by home I mean our hometown in OK} visiting with her family/my in-laws. I would love to be there too, visiting with them and my family. The boys haven't seen their cousins in almost a year and it would be so fun to let them play and interact together. Lucky for me though my dad decided to fly out and stay the week with the boys and I while Hubs is out of town. This will be the second birthday of Noah's that his dad has had to miss and I'm thankful we will have my dad here to help celebrate.

Before I forget the winner of the Stella and Dot giveaway is Tricia S. I hope you enjoy your new Goa Pendant Necklace!! I'm so jealous. :)

Didn't win the giveaway? Lauren is extending all my readers a 20% discount on any Stella & Dot purchase before July 15th and a 15% discount on orders before July 31st. You can shop at http://www.stelladot.com/editbylauren and then email your orders to lauren@editbylauren.com in order to receive your discount.

Lauren is also generously offering my readers at $50 Stella & Dot Gift Certificate with any Edit by Lauren booking before August 31st!

this. and that.

2010-07-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

I wanted to thank those of you that left me sweet comments on my "What I Wore" post. " The reason for that post was to help me branch out a little bit when it comes to my wardrobe. I love to just wear my favorite OU tee and my favorite nike running shirts when I am at home with the boys but I have really been trying to break out of that rut. I would love to do more "What I Wore" posts in the future but as you can imagine it's kind of hard to find time to take semi-decent pictures of yourself every morning. Right now I have more important things to do. LIKE SELL THIS HOUSE ALL READY!!!

We had our first showing last night {just 24 hours after I put it up for sale by owner} and I got some really good feedback from the lady about our house. Hopefully we can get some more people to come take a look because it really is such a cute house and I am going to be sad to have to leave it.

This is a this. and that. post so get ready for a subject change right about now. I've always had a thing for red geraniums. No other color of geranium will do. Ever since I have had a place of my own I have had a planter or two of red geraniums on my porch. This year was no exception. I love to mix different shades of greens in with the my red geraniums.

Lately the boys naps have not been lining up at all. Graham will take a morning nap and then by the time he gets up Noah is going down for his nap. And then Noah wakes up and Graham goes down for his second nap of the day. It's been nice to be able to spend some good one on one time with each of the boys but I tell you what by dinner time I am a little worn out from not getting a few minutes of downtime.

Often when Noah goes down for his afternoon nap Grammy and I will head outside to play. Graham doesn't seem to mind the heat at all so we'll find a shady part of the yard and play for a while. I remembered seeing how Ashley Ann gave one of her kiddos a plastic bin full of water to play in so I got my handy red ikea recycling tote and filled it up with water. We stole big brothers toys from the bathtub plus a bowl and a cup from the kitchen so Grammy could have some playthings for the water. He had such a blast! After about thirty minutes I had to refill his tub with more water because he kept drinking it and pouring it onto the grass.

While Graham played I was able to get a few things done around the yard. Mainly I needed to touch up some exterior paint on the outside of our sunroom. I also needed to snag some pictures of the backyard and the freshly painted barn. {It's not actually a barn it just looks like one. It's a workshop complete with electricity and eight gazillion outlets.}

{new barn}

{old barn + new cutie}

{old barn}

When we bought our house there was this little green house {pictured above on the left} attached to the workshop. We tore that down back in January and then recently Hubby replaced all the rotting wood on the outside of the barn. He also power washed the heck out of it {and our whole house for that matter} and then repainted it. And yes that little red head in the chest carrier is Noah. He was so little then!

Cody says he hopes you all are having a good week!

good old paper chains

2010-07-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

For the most part whenever my husband travels he is gone for about 3-4 weeks at a time. I thought shore duty meant your husband was at HOME! As you can imagine it can be hard for a toddler to grasp just how long his daddy will be away. To help Noah get a visual picture of how many days his dad will be gone we use a good old fashioned paper chain.

Usually a few days before hubby leaves, Noah and I sit down together and make our paper chain. I grab a few sheets of construction paper and cut them into roughly two inch strips. I then let Noah go to town decorating them with markers, crayons, stickers, etc. I always pick up fun stickers when I see them in the dollar section at Target. This particular time around we had a sheet of farm stickers on hand so that is what Noah chose to use. After he is done I take the strips and number them. "26 days, 25 days, 24 days" until daddy gets home. For the last day I write something along the lines of "YAY!! Daddy comes home today!"

This was the first time that I let Noah help me staple our paper loops together to form a chain. He is Mr. Independent lately so he thought it was neat he got to use the stapler.

After our paper chain is complete we usually hang it somewhere in Noah's room. Then once daddy has departed I let Noah tear off a strip of paper from his chain before he goes to bed. I tell Noah how many days we have left until daddy comes home as he is tearing off his paper loop for the day. And he usually replies with "____ days closer to daddy being home"

I'm not sure what we will do the next time hubby is on sea duty and has a deployment of 6+ months. I'm thinking a six month long paper chain would be a little ridiculous! Any military moms out there have some tips on ways to help children grasp how long daddy will be gone?

*Just in case you were wondering about the winter clothes....we made this paper chain back in April. Our a.c. actually went out today {TWO HOURS after I put our house on the market. Good timing and all.} so we are sitting here sweating.

a giveaway:: Stella and Dot

2010-07-05T03:38:00.000-07:00

Recently I was introduced to Lauren Lefevre by a mutual friend. Lauren's company,Edit by Lauren, offers Wardrobe Consulting and Personal Shopping for men, women, and children of every age, lifestyle, body-type and budget. Edit by Lauren is based in Atlanta but travels to clients nationally. Lauren also has a blog where she shares great fashion finds and deals.

As if Lauren doesn't already have a really fun job already, she is also a Stella and Dot Stylist. I know, I'm jealous too! :) I'm sure by now you are familiar with Stella and Dot. Maybe you have seen Stella and Dot jewelry around blogland? Or maybe in a magazine? Stella & Dot is an affordable, celebrity-coveted boutique line of jewelry that is featured monthly in magazines like In Style, Lucky, People and worn by celebrities such as Heidi Klum, Rachael Ray, Penelope Cruz.

I am so excited to be partnering with Lauren for a Stella and Dot giveaway. Today she is offering one luck reader a Goa Pendant Necklace!!

I love the simplicity of this necklace and the combination of the gold, turquoise and yellow quartz drop. So pretty!!

In addition to the giveaway Lauren is extending all my readers a 20% discount on any Stella & Dot purchase before July 15th and a 15% discount on orders before July 31st. You can shop at http://www.stelladot.com/editbylauren and then email your orders to lauren@editbylauren.com in order to receive your discount.

Lauren is also generously offering my readers at $50 Stella & Dot Gift Certificate with any Edit by Lauren booking before August 31st! Isn't Lauren the sweetest?

To enter the giveaway for the Goa Pendant Necklace, please visit Lauren's Stella and Dot boutique and leave me a comment with your favorite piece of jewelry.

Don't forget to include your e-mail address in your comment so that I can easily get in contact with the winner.

::My followers get an extra entry! If you follow my blog, please leave one additional comment letting me know you follow along.

**Extra entries are also available if you become a fan of Lauren's stella and dot boutique or edit by lauren on facebook and/or if you follow Lauren on twitter. Please kindly leave a separate comment for each entry!

This giveaway is open to U.S residents only and will end Friday, July 9th at 10pm EST. Good luck!

a thrifted cake stand

2010-07-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for pretty cake stands when I visit my local thrift stores. Recently I happened upon one that was worthy of coming home with me. I love the pattern on the top and the simplicity of the base.

The cakestand you will find is the most cherished piece in your entertaining arsenal. -Matthew Mead

*I'm linking this post over at Southern Hospitality.

birdies, friends, and a giveaway winner

2010-07-01T18:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I celebrated my 29th birthday. Three friends each surprised me with a little birthday gift. My sweet and thoughtful friend Kelly made me some peace birds. On one side there is a gorgeous print and on the other side of the birds are three verses that Kelly wrote out for me.

I have them hanging in the window in our master bath right now. Every time I see them I smile. As I am blow drying my hair I like to read through the verses and have a little quiet time to myself.

Kelly is such a great wife and mother and I am beyond blessed to call her friend. Funny story about how we met... We had a mutual friend who knew we had kiddos close in age and thought we might get along. So one day I invited Kelly over and we walked with our kiddos {we just had the older ones at the time and were both pregnant again} down the block to chick-fil-a for lunch. And as they say, the rest is history!

While we are on the topic of friends....I had a farewell lunch with two of my {military} friends today. Each of them is moving away in the next few weeks. As I was leaving lunch I started to tear up at the thought of my friends leaving and then at the thought of me having to leave in six months. It will stink to have to try to make new friends in New England and then to only be there for a year. Sometimes it's hard to get to know people on a really intimate and close level in a couple of years let alone twelve months.

When we moved to GA I already knew a few people but they all worked full time and only one of them was a mom. I really needed and wanted desperately to have some other mom friends that were my age. I prayed for a few months that GOD would provide me with the friends I was seeking. Then one day I met my friend Kelly. Soon after she invited me to a women's bible study at her church. On the first day of the bible study I met several ladies, all of whom are some of my favorite friends to this day. I also was invited to a play group called Toddle Time in my area by a military wife and it was there that I met my best friend and two other friends. All of these ladies that showed up in my life around the same time all are in the exact same stage of life as me. And most all of their kiddos are the same age as mine. God was so good to hear my prayers and provide me with more amazing friends than one person should even be allowed to have. I don't even know if our house will sell or if I will get to join hubby in R.I right away but I have already been praying for months that God will go ahead of me and set in motion relationships with other mothers and Godly women.

And because this post is crazy long let's wrap things up with the giveaway winner of the Alphabet Poster from Sparkle Power ..... Congrats Abbie!! Perfect timing too because she just announced to the world this week that she's expecting a little boy soon. Looks like double congrats are in order!!

what I wore wednesday

2010-06-30T04:11:00.000-07:00

I thought I would do something new today. Inspired by my friend Beth I documented each outfit I wore last week. Pretty exciting huh? I'm linking up to the creator of wiww, Mrs. Pleated Poppy.

SUNDAY:: I worked in the church nursery so I needed something cool and comfy. Whoa looks like have some major guns there on the right! I don't really.

white tee- Banana Republic

linen pants- Old Navy

necklace- thrifted from Salvation Army

MONDAY:: a day at home meeting with realtors and running a few errands.

white tee- Banana Republic outlet

white tank under tee- Banana Republic outlet

navy shorts- Jcrew outlet

sandals- Jcrew

TUESDAY:: Mops pool party in the a.m./home the rest of the day

swimsuit- Down East Basics

white ruffled swim cover up- Target {pretend it's not crazy wrinkley!}

flip flops- Teva

yellow monogrammed beach tote-gift from a friend

{And yes I am totally standing on my FIRM step/bench! Our mirror is high so I felt like I needed a little lift}

Noah wanted me to take a picture of him too but of course it's fuzzy because he was moving!

navy swim shirt- Target

striped swim trunks- Target

WEDNESDAY AM:: We took a walk around the neighborhood in the early a.m. so I could get in some cardio. Then we went to our neighborhood park so the boys could get in their cardio.

hot pink tank- Jcrew oulet

navy nike running shorts- Academy sports

new balance running shoes- Navy Exchange

{Can you tell I took this photo post workout? Sorry I totally forgot to take one before.}

WEDNESDAY afternoon and evening: mostly hung out at the house with a trip to Goodwill in the evening.

navy Lacoste polo- thrifted from Goodwill

white shorts- Target

extremely white legs- I get those from my dad :)

THURSDAY:: walk in the a.m. {spare you the repeat picture of that!}, lunch with a friend at our house, and then a hail and farewell at the base in the late afternoon.

navy tank top- Jcrew outlet

ae skirt- thrifted from Salvation Army

gladiator sandals- Target

necklace- Boutique in NY

***{I'm on the fence about this skirt. opinions?}***

FRIDAY:: Playdate in the a.m. at our house, lunch with hubby, and errands later in the day.

purple ruffle tee- Jcrew outlet

blue skirt- Old Navy {love the pockets!!}

navy and white flops- Jcrew outlet

SATURDAY:: home in the a.m. and Noah's birthday party in the afternoon

white shirt- H&M

navy shorts- Jcrew outlet{noticing a trend here?}

sandals- Target

Fire Truck birthday party!!

2010-06-28T11:19:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend we celebrated Noah's 3rd birthday with a party at the local fire station. His actual birthday is a few weeks out but we wanted to have it before hubby had to leave on travel again. This was his first ever party with friends so I wanted to do something really fun. I wasn't quite ready to have a party at our house with a bunch of toddlers so when my friend suggested the fire station I thought that was a great idea. Plus it was really in-expensive to have his party there {only $10 ya'll!!}.

I ordered these adorable fire truck invites from the etsy shop Chickabug. I thought they were so cute and apparently so did everyone else because I got lots of compliments on them from the momma's when they called to RSVP for the party. Check out Chickabug's shop the next time you need some party invites. The owner Heather is so sweet and was great to work with. Very prompt and that's a big plus in my book! :)

I kept the food low key since I had to transport everything from our house to the fire station. Noah's only requests were chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-a and pupcakes {cupcakes!}

I ordered the matching cupcake toppers from Chickabug in the fire truck and fire dog designs. They turned out just as cute as the invitations!

I found these little wooden fire engines in the $1 section at Michael's a few months back. Each child got one as their party favor to take home in addition to a fireman hat.

After we ate the kids got to go on a short tour of the fire station. Unfortunately they had just started letting a few kids get in the trucks when the fire alarm went off. They had already instructed us on what to do in case a call came in so we all immediately headed for the outside walls while they put on their gear and headed out. Having had my house burn to a crisp in 3rd grade I would not wish a fire on anyone but I think it did add a little bit of excitement to the fire station tour to see the fireman in action.

A few fireman remained at the station and kindly finished our tour. Here the fireman was showing the kids the tools they use to pry cars apart. YIKES! I hope that none of us ever see those tools again.

One of the fireman put on his fireman getup so the kids could see it. Can you believe that all their gear weighs around 70 pounds? Can you imagine wearing that much gear into a blazing fire? A few of the kids liked seeing the fireman in his uniform but some of the kiddos got a little scared when he put on his face mask and started talking through that {my kid was included in the later group} Look at poor little Will below. His daddy was trying to get him closer to see the fireman but he didn't seem too excited.

If you are looking for a venue to have your child's birthday at I would highly suggest looking into your local fire station. All of the kids seemed to enjoy it and the best part was that there was little clean-up required!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our favorite little fireman!!

Philly

2010-06-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

Hey check it out! I am finally getting around to posting about the final two days of the trip I took way the heck back in April. Go me!!

Sunday afternoon we said goodbye to New York and headed to Philadelphia. We had the whole rest of the day to ourselves so after checking in at our hotel we set out to explore the city. Hubby has been there many times but this was my first time in Philly.

Aren't we cute in our matching shoes?

Behind me is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Do you recognize those steps leading up to the museum?

Those were the steps that Rocky ran up when he was training. Sidenote:: I swear one of the Rocky movies is always on t.v. and hubs is always trying to make me watch it. Last year when I mentioned that I wanted some new music for working out Hubs took the liberty of downloading some music from the Rocky movies for me. Gee, thanks that's exactly what I was wanting. :)

If you can't tell from the pictures it was an absolutely gorgeous sunny day. Yeah, not so much!

That night we walked around the corner from our hotel to The Melting Pot. I wanted to have a nice slow relaxing dinner since we were kid free. I can't think of a slower dinner than fondue. It was so tasty and the best part was of course the dessert. Here's some photos I found on my phone of the yummy-ness we ate.

The next day we headed out in the rainy weather to see more of the city, this time with the international students.

That guy behind us would NOT move. at. all. The lady taking our picture was trying to hint for him to move but he would not budge one bit.

Here I am in the room where the Declaration of Independence was signed and I am eyeing the chandy!! Isn't it a beauty?

My second day in Philly went by way too fast and before I knew it I had to leave Hubby and catch my flight back to Atlanta. Or rather I had to go sit at the Philly airport for a while since my flight home got delayed.

Remember how a few months back Hubby had his first celebrity sighting and I was saying I wanted mine to be Jack Bauer? Well as I was getting off the plane the guy that was walking next to me mentioned how he heard that Queen Latifah was on our plane. Since neither of us saw her I didn't really know if this was true or not. So fast forward a few minutes and I am going down the escalator and talking on the phone to hubby telling him that maybe Queen Latifah was on my flight. I hang up and look in front of me and there was a person wearing a black hoodie with the hood pulled up over their head. The person turned around to talk to the person behind them and low and behold it was Queen Latifah! At this point we were stepping off the escalator and boarding the trains to get to the baggage area. Of course I totally jumped on the same train as Ms. Latifah {it also happened to be the closest train to us} Anyways, I was literally standing right next to her. Some dude was totally pulling a "I'm your biggest fan" and chatting her up but good. I thought about asking to take my picture with her but it was about 10:30 p.m. at this point and I was tired and didn't want to bug her. The girl next to me totally turned to me and mouthed, "OMG, I think that's Queen Latifah!!!!!!!!!!!!" I think she is so pretty in her movies but in person she is seriously drop dead gorgeous. I wish I looked that haute without make-up on.

Sorry Jack that you weren't my first but I still think it would be cool to run into you sometime. Until then.....

a giveaway:: Sparkle Power

2010-06-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

I recently featured the blog sparkle power in a post about new {to me} blogs that I am enjoying. Candace, the writer behind this lovely site also has a cute etsy shop where she sales her handmade vintage flag garlands, posters and a few things for little the ones.

Today Candace is generously offering a lucky reader one of her ALPHABET POSTERS from her shop!!

This modern alphabet poster is available in FIVE different colors and would be perfect hanging in a playroom, kids bedroom, or even a nursery. I think this would also make a great gift for a momma-to-be or a child's birthday. And look what it says at the bottom of the poster, "Next time won't you sing with me?" So CUTE!

Want to win fabulous alphabet poster in the color of your choice?

::Simply leave me a comment on this post telling me which room in your house you would hang your alphabet poster if you win.

::Want another chance to enter? Become a follower of the Sparkle Power blog and leave me a separate comment telling me that you follow along.

This contest is availbale to everyone and will be open until Wednesday June, 30th at 10:00pm EST. Good Luck!!

a recipe:: grilled asparagus

2010-06-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

When the weather turns warm we cook a lot of our meals out on the grill. Asparagus is just one of the many veggies we grill on a regular basis. I don't think I can technically call this a "recipe" because grilled asparagus is not labor intensive but just go with it.

Coat a grill pan or some tin foil with some olive oil spray or regular cooking spray and place asparagus on top of your pan/foil. Brush some olive oil on to the asparagus and then sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper {or you can use your favorite seasonings}. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until done, turning your asparagus half way through.

Enjoy!!

Humor me will ya? Do you say "BBQ" or "Grill" when you refer to cooking on your grill outside? We grew up saying "grill" but we have a healthy debate going on with our good friends Heather and Jim over this. They say "BBQ" for some reason. :)

everything but the kitchen sink!

2010-06-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

Lately all of our time and energy has been going into prepping the house to sale. Ben is doing some final touch-ups around the house on top of his job and his last semester of school {thank goodness only four more months of that}. There are so many unknowns right now that it makes my head hurt: Will our house sell? Should we try to rent it? If it sells should we rent another house until we move to R.I.? Should the littles and I move home to OK for a few months? AND will we get our orders soon so we can actually have the Navy pack out our household goods should our house sell. AHHHHHH. I'm trying not to get too stressed out and really trust that God is in control and remind myself daily that I am indeed not. If you have a second a prayer would be greatly appreciated.

Now on to some more fun and interesting happenings...........

Last Wednesday we went to Lake Harwell with Hubby's department and his international students. Every once in a while families or couples in the community invite the international students to their homes. Often it is for dinner or BBQ but sometimes it is to their lake homes in the area. I always try to go to these event if I can especially to the lake ones!

We went on several different types of boat including a paddle boat just the four of us. Went to this same lake house last year when Noah was just shy of 2 and Graham was only 4 months old. It was fun experiencing the lake through their eyes this year.

I love this shot of Grammy sitting with his daddy. Check out his new mini Sperry's!

The boys swim hats always remind me of Will Smith on Fresh Prince. Did he have a baseball cap similar to these with the flap flipped up or did I just make that up?

This is what the Georgia humidity does to our hair! Myself included of course.

On Friday night we left Graham with my friend and Ben and I took Noah out to eat and then to see his first ever movie at the "eater" {that's theatre for all of you not verse in toddler lingo} We saw Toy Story 3 in 3D which he loved even though the glasses were giant for his face and wouldn't stay on.

On Saturday evening we went to a minor league baseball game with our good friends. They have two little girls almost the same age as our boys. Actually our little guys are going to marry their little girls. I have already pre-arranged their marriages! just kidding. sort of.

We bought tickets for the lawn area as we thought that would be best for two families with four kiddos under the age of three. As you can see they had oodles of bouncy things but only one of them appropriate for our toddlers. Talk about a tease!

Graham's future wife!

What's funny is that I couldn't even tell you who won the game or who the Braves played! Actually I know it was the chiefs but I couldn't tell you what city or state they were from. I really don't think I actually watched one single play. How sad is that? Going to a baseball game with little ones is definitely not relaxing but I still thought it was fun and I'm glad that we went.

I think this might have been the only time Graham actually sat down on our blanket. The rest of the night either hubby or myself had to walk with him around the stadium. That child is definitely always on the go!

We ended the week on Sunday with a lazy Father's day. We got hubs a few small presents one of which was a gallon of his favorite sweet tea from a local eatery. We don't get it very often {actually we never have before} because it is almost $5.50 a galloon. Maybe I should go into the sweet tea business?

Happy Wednesday everyone!!

antiques and some more goodwill hunting

2010-06-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

I feel like Georgia has Antique stores galore {or maybe that is the case with all of the South?} Either way I feel like there are so many fun antique stores around our area to go to from time to time. A few weeks ago we went to one of the larger antique markets called Queen of Hearts Antiques that my friend Beth had introduced me to. As we were leaving I spotted these wire baskets. I have been searching for something similar to these for a while now. Right now I am using them under our coffee table to hold books and magazines. Later down the line I plan to use one basket for each of the boys for homeschooling. I figure it might be nice for each child to have a place to put there papers and the stuff they are working on.

We have a fun little antique store literally down the road from our house. I pop in there from time to time since it's so close to us. We have had our eye out for a drop leaf side table for our living room but everything we had seen was more than we wanted to pay. Last fall I found this table and loved it right away. I came home and told Hubby about it but we decided to wait on it. A few months later they had marked it down 25% but we still decided to hold off. Then we were in the same store about a month ago and they had "my" table at 65% off and as is. There was a small piece of the mahogany veener that had come off so that was the reason for the "as is". Hubs said he could fix it so we loaded our new table up and brought her on home. And guess what? The little part of veener that had come off was inside the little drawer. A little wood glue and nobody ever knew the difference!

I love that drop leaf tables are so versatile. We could have both sides up if we had a bigger space or put them down for a smaller table. Now please ignore the fact that our rug doesn't extend out past the table. What? You didn't notice that until I just pointed it out? Great! Moving right along...

The sun finally came out last week {it was sure gloom and doom there for a while} so I was able to snap a few shots of some more of my recent goodwill finds. I found this small silver cup for 99 cents and I love the detail at the top and bottom of the cup. I had some hydrangeas from my friend Darien so I put some in my silver cup and set them in our master bath.

Look I found the long lost baby sister to the christmas topiary that I found and gave a makeover to a while back. A little moss and the topiary was looking a little more presentable. I ran out of hot glue sticks one night as I was attaching the moss so I improvised and used my craft spray adhesive. And you know what? It worked awesome and NO hot glue gun burns ladies!! Try it for yourself next time.

I'm thinking we may have reached our topiary limit in this household. I don't want Hubby to think he lives in a little forest or something. :)

This wooden beaded necklace I found at Goodwill a while ago but I kept forgetting to post a picture of it. Sorry you are stuck with an Iphone photo but at least I finally remembered. Don't pass by the jewelry counter at your local thrift stores with out taking a quick look under the glass. I have seen some really fun stuff at our stores!

my curly hair essentials

2010-06-18T09:45:00.000-07:00

01:: Humidity!! Yeah I know that looks like a picture of a sun but pretend the sun represents humidity. My curls love the humidity even though I am not a big fan myself.

02:: Paul Mitchell Round Trip liquid curl definer I have been using this lightweight gel off and on for the last three years. If my hair is short I can use just this product but if it is longer {like it is now} then I need something more. See #4.

03:: Bobby Pins I almost always have two bobby pins in my hair when I wear it curly so I can keep my hair out of my face. I usually part my hair to one side and then take and pin one side back. I criss cross two bobby pins to make an "X" to get my hair to stay put. My hair is so darn thick that is the only way I can get bobby pins to even stay in place.

04:: Frizz Ease Style holding gel This is a new product to me. I have been using it for a few weeks now and I really like it. I asked me friend Marisa a while back what she used in her curly hair and she introduced me to the frizz ease gel. She also told me she mixes it with Round Trip {#2 up there!}. I had never in my life mixed two hair products but I'm always up for an adventure. The Round trip and the styling gel actually compliment each other nicely. The Round Trip helps define while the gel gives you enough hold. Be careful not to go overboard on the gel though. Crunchy is not such a good look.

05:: Curling Iron{s} I have a 1/2 in and a 1in. You might be wondering why in the heck a girl with curly hair would need a curling iron? Well sometimes some of my curls don't behave like I want them to so I fake it. Yeah, you heard me right. I was complaining to my stylist last year about how sometimes I have a few pieces that just don't curl very well or that are all out straight. She told me to curl them with my curling iron and no one would ever know. Except for now of course. Anyways, I used to have ringlets but now after two babies my curls have become much more relaxed. I am now left with some curls and mostly beachy waves. A lot of time I use my curling iron to help "freshen" up a few of my curls if I try to get two days out of them. But that's between you and me right?

06:: Curls Rock Curls Booster I have been using this product for going on six years know. I have used most all of the Curls Rock products but this one is my favorite. I try to only wash my hair every other day so on day two I spray a little of this in my hair and give it a little scrunch. I feel like it helps define my curls and sort of acts like a hair spray at the same time. Again I have to be careful of how much of this product I use. A little bit definitely goes a long way.

So what about you? What are your curly hair essentials?

guest post:: Under the Sycamore

2010-06-16T09:38:00.000-07:00

A while back I asked one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE bloggers, AshleyAnn from Under the Sycamore, if she would write a guest post for me. It must have been my lucky day because she said, "Yes!"

Last year I was browsing through the diy project archives over at design*sponge. I came across a doily canvas tote project I was intrigued by and quickly followed the link over to Under the Sycamore. There I was met with not only more fabulous craft and diy ideas but the most delightful blog. I love getting a glimpse of AhsleyAnn's day to day life {with her hubby and four super cute kiddos} via her camera lens. Read on to learn more about AshleyAnn and to know doubt get inspired along the way.

``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Hello all - I'm AshleyAnn! I'm excited Abby trusted me to share a bit on her blog today. I am also jealous of her recent NYC trip. That life sized Lego Batman she posted caused some excitement in my house. My boys (ages 2, 4, 6) are borderline obsessed with Legos. Their 11 month old sister is sure to follow their lead soon. In fact I spend most of my days buried in Legos, dirt and crafty stuff. I write a blog called Under the Sycamore that is just a random collection of things I like...kind of like my house. If you read my blog long you will hopefully quickly see that I relish capturing the everyday of life with my camera. My favorite pictures are the ones that capture the essence of my kids and what life was like for them at that particular moment in time.

Today I wanted to share how I try to capture a very mundane, everyday occurrence through the art of photography. My favorite photography tip (at least my favorite right now) is to CHANGE YOUR ANGLE. Every angle communicates something new, fresh and interesting.

From Spring to Fall in Oklahoma we have weather that works for outdoor eating. My kids eat nearly every meal at the picnic table under the sycamore tree (hence the name of my blog). It is a seemingly boring, everyday event. However, I love to capture just those types of things. Maybe because my day to day life doesn't involve many frills or glamour!

The kids eat outside for several reasons...no sweeping the kitchen floor is the biggest. One other reason is they are ALWAYS dirty from playing outside. In this picture I changed my angle to focus just on capturing that sweet little dirty leg.

Part of the story of lunch is what they are eating - right now in summer life it is a lot of sandwiches. I could have cropped out my feet, but I think one day I'll like to look back and remember my flip flop tan lines!

These two are ages 4 and 6 right now. They are best of friends, but also have their share of daily fights. As they were eating and talking about whatever is exciting at that age for boys (probably the crawdads in the yard). They didn't seem to notice what they were doing with their feet. It was a sweet moment, one that I will be so grateful one day that I happened to be laying on the ground with my camera at the right moment to capture.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I hope your imaginations and creativity are sparked a bit to capture the beauty in your everyday life...even if all that is involved is a lawn that needs mowed, shirtless boys and some PB&Js!

```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Head on over to Under the Sycamore but be prepared to fall in love with AshleyAnn's site. Stop by the fridge first and pour yourself a tall glass of sweet tea because you'll probably want to sit for a while and soak up all of AshleyAnn's wonderful images and her fun projects/crafts. If it's more photography tips you are interested in, you can find those here.

Also don't miss my personal favorite diy projects: her doily table runner, the anthro inspired pendant light and the mini globe collection in her kitchen remodel, and of course baby sister's nursery. What I wouldn't give to have that nursery as my own little sanctuary. AshleyAnn really outdid herself with that one!

a few thrifting tips

2010-06-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

A while back I shared some thrifting tips over at make happy. In case you missed it I thought I would share a variation of my guest post today.

Last year out of the blue I started shopping at thrift stores. At first I felt a little out of place but soon I got over that and started to have some fun. Often I come up empty handed but it's all worth it for that occasional trip when I come home with some amazing finds. I love the thrill of thrift store shopping and also the fact that I often save our family some serious money too. For example I have started finding some great name brand clothing for the boys in excellent condition at our local thrift stores for less than two or three dollars per item. You can beat that!

I am by no means a thrifting expert but I have learned a few things over time {often the hard way}. Today I am going to share a few simple guidelines and tips for you to keep in mind the next time you visit your local thrift store. These tips can also come in handy for shopping at yard sales and antique stores too!!

:If you are looking for a particular item be patient. I am the worlds worst at being patient so I have to really try hard to enforce this one for myself. Sometimes there is something particular I am searching for at thrift stores or yard sales. This past year I really wanted a new lamp for our bedroom and a globe for the boys room. I took me a while to find both but I did eventually find them. Several times I almost bought a lamp I kind of liked but I held out though and eventually found a lamp that I REALLY loved. I brought it home and gave it a new look with some silver leaf.

If you are looking for a specific piece of furniture for a space in your house it might be wise to know the exact dimensions of the piece you want. That way if you find a dresser that you love you don't have to try and eye ball wether it will fit in your room or not. You can measure it {if you keep a trusty tape measure in your purse or car} and know right then and there if it will work in your house before you load it up and take it home.

::If you have extra storage space you might consider buying items you don't necessarily need now but could use down the line. Sometimes I come across something at a thrift store that I don't need right at that exact moment but know that I could maybe use in the near future{within a year or less}. If the item is a good deal, on the small side, and easy for me to store then I will usually go ahead and buy it.

A while back I found a set of four plate hangers for $1.51. If you have ever bought these at your local craft store then you know that just one of these alone would cost more than what I paid for all four. I would like to hang some plates and platters on one of our walls someday soon so I bought these plate hangers to save for that particular decorating project.

::Use your imagination!! As you can probably imagine, you are going to run across a lot of outdated and ugly stuff at thrift stores. Most of the time you may find something you like but maybe it's not the right color or finish. Now everyone repeat after me, "Spray paint can transform ANYTHING!! "

I found the bunny on the left at a thrift store but didn't love the purple flowers. Of course this was nothing that a few coats of spray paint couldn't change.

When I first started thrifting it was hard to look beyond the uglyness and old school factor of everything in the store. Then being inspired by thrift store makeovers on other blogs I slowly was able to use my imagination more and more to see the potential in thrift store "treasures".

Obviously a little bit of imagination was needed to look beyond the hideousness of the topiary I found at Goodwill for 99 cents.

::Don't buy an item just because it's inexpensive. There have been many times that I kind of liked something at the thrift store so I went ahead and bought it because it didn't cost very much. Most of the items that I did this with are now sitting in my closet untouched. Make sure the items you buy are things you really like or that you can makeover easily. Sometimes it seems silly to leave something behind at Goodwill because it only would have cost me 99 cents. But seriously that is a dollar you could have spent on something else and you may not realize it but it's all those little purchases that we make that really add up!

::If you love something you come across and it won't break your budget then by all means buy it all ready!! If you spot an item from an aisle away and your heart starts going pitter patter from the excitement of finding something amazing then snatch that item up and run directly to the cash register. There have been a few times where I was really in love with something but I didn't buy it for one reason or another. Sometimes I don't know where I would put an item in my house so I talk myself out of buying it. That's OK and all but I have kicked myself for doing this when I was really in love with something. I've actually gone back to the store a day later to find an item again because I had decided I really couldn't live without. And I'm sure you can guess where this is going. The item I loved wasn't there anymore. Thrift store merchandise generally moves fast so you can't guarantee the same stuff will be there the next day.

This past Spring I purchased two white milk glass planters. I loved both of them right away but I sat there and debated about getting them because I wasn't sure they would go with my existing home decor. Then I decided it was silly I was hemming and hawing over something that cost a dollar and that I really liked! In the end I was able to find a spot for them in my kitchen and whenever I see them they make me smile. I am so glad I didn't pass them up!

:: Ask for a discount and pay attention to the specials that your thrift stores have. Our local Goodwill has a deal every week where a certain colored tag is 50% off all week long. Of course every item I want has the wrong colored tag. Another local thrift store always has yellow tags at 70% off, green tags at 50% off, c. Also, don't be afraid to ask the cashier for a discount, especially if an item is slightly damaged. It never hurts to ask! {Definitely ALWAYS ask for a discount at antique stores!! They will usually give you one.}

{image source}

Well there you have it. Some simple things to remember and think about the next time you go thrifting or find yourself at a yard sale! These tips weren't meant to overwhelm you so keep them in mind but don't stress over them. Just have fun and of course enjoy the thrill the of the hunt!!

a little gardening and lawn mowers

2010-06-14T12:40:00.000-07:00

A few months ago Noah and I planted some tomatoes together. Luckily I had my phone handy because I couldn't pass up capturing this moment. Publix had just sent him a chef's hat in the mail that day in case you were wondering about that. He was eager to help so I put him in charge of filling our containers with potting soil. What little boy doesn't like to play in the dirt?

We also planted some basil and rosemary. Every time Noah walks near the rosemary he says, "Mmmmm, smells like mashed tatoes." { I occasionally put fresh rosemary in our mashed potatoes so I guess that is what he is referring to.} I love walking out my door and having the smell of fresh rosemary and basil hit me every morning. We have lots of maters popping up but I am still patiently waiting for them to turn from green to red. I'm liable to eat them like an apple the instant they look good and ripe!

Usually while I water our plants Noah busies himself on the porch with chalk, his cars or animals. Apparently elephants like to dine on azaleas with their dinosaurs buddies. Who knew?

Remember the little tykes mower I got for $2 at a yard sale last fall? We are definitely getting our monies worth out of that. At least several times a week Noah likes to push it around the backyard. Surprisingly, he will "mow" the yard for upwards of twenty minutes straight. If only his mower actually cut the grass!

A while back when Daddy was mowing the yard for reals Noah of course had to break out his mower and follow in his foot steps. I couldn't resist taking a picture of Noah trying to imitate his daddy. I grabbed my camera and hurried outside to capture the moment.

I left Grammy inside the kitchen {don't worry I could see him the whole time and I was only outside for a second}. He was watching us outside the whole time with his little face pressed up to the glass.

Grammy just started walking a month ago and it's so cute to see him tottle around. He loves to take the mower for a spin around the yard. It has always been a little too heavy for him to push but now that he can walk he can manage. My, my can it be possible that I have two toddlers on my hands?