Summer Fun

The other night I took the kids for a walk in our neighborhood.  We have a small lake inside our subdivision, and there is a trail around the perimeter of it.  To our surprise, Addison and I discovered that the entire trail is lined with wild blackberry bushes.  We picked a few, but had nothing to cart them home in so I promised her that we would go back the next night.  All day long she kept asking if it was time - the anticipation was killing her!

So after dinner last night, with her bucket in hand, we set off.

 

Most of the berries aren't ripe yet, so we picked what we could and still ended up with 4 1/2 cups of berries (and Addie probably ate a 1/2 cup before we got home)!  We got stuck by the briars a few times, but Addie kept exclaiming "This is so much fun"!!

When I was a child, we had blueberry bushes in the woods behind our house.  My mom and I used to pick them, and those are some of my favorite memories.  It warms my heart to know that I can share something like that with my daughter.  Something so simple, yet so sweet...

XOXO

Friday I'm In Love with Outdoor Projects!

We have had some pretty incredible weather here in Atlanta the past few days, and the weekend is promising to be even better!  I am itching to get outside after working indoors all week, and was drawn to these amazing outdoor ideas!  Let's get started, shall we?

Andrea at Keeping it Cozy created this amazing space for tea with her daughter on her porch.  I just want to pull up a chair and spend hours relaxing here.  Isn't it gorgeous?

I love the front door makeover that Kerri from A Pop of Pretty shared this week.  This blue is to die for - so inviting!!  Hubby and I have been wanting to paint some doors around here, and this gives me the inspiration to do it!!  I'll have to start with the ones inside though since everything on the outside needs to be approved by the HOA - sheesh.

How awesome are these jute wrapped wine jugs?  These would be great to spruce up an outdoor or indoor space.  I just love how she numbered them!  Katie from Creatively Living shares the full tutorial over at her blog - head on over there to check it out!

Dawn from Making Home created this "Sunshine Garden" out of what she calls junk (looks like treasure to me).  Check out the old pot in the top left hand corner - so cute! 

And finally, I has made a few of these last summer as well, but I fell in love with these blue Placemat Pillows Crystal from A Pumpkin and a Princess.  Super cute, and it only cost her $6 a pillow! 

I hope you enjoyed my features this week.  If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar.

Now head outside!!  Have a safe and fun-filled Memorial Day Weekend!!!

XOXO

Congratulations to the Graduate!

My baby has officially graduated from Kindergarten- I can't believe it!   This school year has flown by and she has grown so much, both physically and intellectually.  I look back from the first day of school to now, and she has lost any baby that she had left.  Addison has transformed into a beautiful little girl - so sweet.  She is reading now, doing math...unbelievable.  I love her to pieces, and the waterworks were in full force on graduation day.  I was both a weepy mess and proud mama all rolled into one.

Here she is on the first day of school... so excited and a tad bit nervous....

And now, my big girl...she was so excited to receive her first bouquet of flowers!!!  She kept thanking me over and over again.

The whole grade sang a compilation of songs, including "I Believe I can Fly" - yeah, that got me...

Receiving her certificate...

Ahh, my little munchkin!!

With her Daddy...

These are her amazing teachers. They were a little weepy too, although I'm not sure if they were sad tears or happy tears.  I would imagine a class full of Kindergarteners get a bit rambunctious at the end of the year (oh yes, my daughter included).

I love you Addie. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you sweet girl!!  And now, let the summer begin!!

XOXO

Friday I'm In Love with Great Tutorials!

It's FRIDAY!!  Yippee!  In my household, it is also the first day of summer vacation - school is officially out!  I can't believe how fast this school year went.  This week, I am featuring some amazing tutorials, including one that might keep my daughter busy on those rainy summer days.

The first is this awesome Nautical Rope Spool DIY by Chrissy at My Hoot Designs.  I loved how easy this project was, and how expensive it looks!  Believe it or not, there is a tin can in there!  How great would this look on a summer mantle!! 

Next - check out this Monogrammed Burlap Pillow.  Pam from Simple Details used a Sharpie for this project!  Genious!!  I think this may actually be something I could do.  Uh oh, that means I have to bust out the sewing machine again.  Look out!

This next feature is an awesome tutorial that would keep my daughter busy for hours on a rainy summer day.  How cute are these paper beads?  Krista from MK Inspired has inspired me for sure!  I have a ton of scrapbook paper scraps, and now I know exactly what to do with them!
 

Shannon from Madigan Made did a guest post on Mod Podge Rocks a few weeks ago and shared this DIY Customized Sunglasses tutorial.  What a great way to transform a blah pair of sunglasses - and once again, a way to use up your favorite paper scraps!!  LOVE these!!
 

And  finally - I am a sucker for distressed signs.  I could never figure out how to make one that looks as authentic as this one from Desiree at The 36th Avenue.  Well...now I know!  I have some scrap wood calling my name in the garage!!!

Alright - there you have it!  I hope you are as inspired as me to get moving on some fun projects!!  If you were featured, feel free to grab a button from my sidebar.  Have a WONDERFUL weekend!!

XOXO

Our Little Man

I admit defeat last week and then disappear for 5 days?  Sorry about that.  Last weekend was a whirlwind - I had a wedding rehearsal on Friday, and then the wedding on Saturday.  Sunday was spent with my kiddos (and I may have been nursing a small hangover as well).  In any case, I'm back and I can FINALLY share my baby announcements.  They are in the mail (well most of them anyway).

I had done a little photo shoot when Morgan was about two weeks old, and decided to use one of those for the announcement.  I knew for sure that there had to be a mustache somewhere on that card, and of course - I love me some chevron!

I can't believe he's already 10 weeks old!  He weighs 11 lbs 7 oz now and it starting to get some more fat rolls on his legs.  LOVE it!  He is the sweetest little man.  

XOXO

Linking Up To:

Random Thoughts of a Sleepless Mom

I guess it's safe to say that I bit off more than I could chew with this writing challenge.  I'm admitting failure here.  I just missed two days, and come to think of it - this weekend will be tough to write. I'm in a wedding on Saturday, so I'm sure Saturday ain't happening either. 

You know what I am looking forward to most for this weekend?  Sleep.  We are kid free Saturday night, in a hotel.  Need I say more?  We are actually going to get the first solid night's sleep in months...and I cannot wait.

Poor little baby got his first shots yesterday, so I thought he might sleep through the night last night.  At least a good chunk of it.  WRONG.  After the 5:30 feeding this morning, I gave up.  I have to get Addie up for school in 10 minutes, so, here I am... up for the day.

I have been working on a few stationery projects recently, so if I can find the energy to take some photos today, I'll post something later on.  Thanks for bearing with me lately. 

Ooh, I just heard the coffee pot ding.  Coffee's DONE!  I'm out. 

XOXO

Front Porch Refresh

 I finally made some time yesterday to work on some projects, and it felt SO GOOD!!  My front porch was in need of much TLC, so I headed out early for Home Depot and Home Goods.  I knew I needed a can of white spray paint to start.  My friend gave me a red ikea table about a year ago, but I decided it needed to be white.  Then, for a year now, I have wanted to make a rug by painting stripes on a drop cloth canvas.  So, while I was getting my paint, I picked up a 5"x5" drop cloth as well.  

Lucky for me, Home Goods is in the same shopping center as my Home Depot.  I found two green and white cushions (the exact color I was looking for).  I couldn't buy them right away though - I had to run across the parking lot to Kohls and Target first to make sure I was covering all of my bases.  True to form, I ended up where I started and bought the cushions from Home Goods - does anyone else do that?  Find something at the first store you go to, run around to a million other places and then end up where you started?

Once I got home, I got to work on the table.  As soon as I started priming it, I realized I forgot to take a before photo.  This is what the table looked like before...

And here she is after... I love me some white furniture!

On a side note - I must have picked the hottest day of the year to decide to do all of this.  I was sweating my butt off!!

So next, I taped my stripes onto the canvas with painter's tape.

I used two different shades of green craft paint mixed with water. OK actually, it was not my intention to do this.  After I finished the first stripe I realized that I was only going to have enough paint for two of them.  So I skipped a stripe and then filled in the rest with another shade.

Here's what it looked like after I took the tape off...

And finally, my front porch is done.  Well, almost done.  I still want to make a wreath, and I have a planter project for next to the front door.

 

Can't wait to sit out there and enjoy!  The cushions are so cozy!!

XOXO

Linking Up To:

 

Say Cheese!

I am getting a jump on writing this morning so it doesn't come down to the wire again.  When my mom and sister came to visit a few weeks ago, my sis took a ton of pictures of the kids.  She is a great photographer (we keep telling her she should do it full time).  Well, she finally posted them to Facebook, so I was able to download them and share with you!

She took a TON while she was here, but I thought I would share some of my favorites.  I'll warn you, there are still a lot, but this by far is me editing WAY down.  LOL. 

Little Man

Morgan with his big cousin Brooklyn

Gone Fishin'

Caught a Fish - Just like Daddy!!

Sweet little face

Sweet little tootsies

Wrapped in Daddy's Camo

Love this shot of Addison and Brooklyn!

Addie and Brooklyn

Big Sister and her Baby Brother

Mimi with all of her Grands!

Addison is a whiz at the Monkey Bars!

Love this shot!

Me and my Niece

Kissing my Little Man's Sweet Face

Addie Hammin it up

We let Addison stay home from school for a few days while they were here.  She actually told her teacher that she had a "Photo Shoot" that day.  They thought she was modeling or something.  Too funny.

Thanks Nicole for taking such great shots!  We miss you guys so much!!

XOXO