paris market

our family vacation this summer was to Tybee Island, GA. 
we had such a fantastic time.
i've been meaning all week to get photos out here of our vacation.
but have been having fun with the boys pretending that we're still on vacation!

i'll get them out here after i return from scout camp this weekend.
in the meantime if you ever venture to Savannah, GA you'll have to check out this cute shop:  paris market

 two stories of merchandise, i was drooling as soon as i walked in the door.

 it even has a cute little coffee shop in it. 

 i could have stayed her for an hour or so...
but someone started being silly. 

when you shop with the boys...it's on borrowed time. 

update later with beach photos and a post on the most adorable cottage ever that we rented for the week.

enjoy the weekend!



summer

sometimes.
a change of scenery is all you need.
cheers.
to summer!

photo shoot

a crazy busy week last week.
and on tuesday gloria gale and bill mathews were in my house shooting photographs!
gloria will write the article for a magazine called small room decorating.

  watching them work their magic was so fun.   you can't even imagine how great your house looks when you look at it through the lens of bills camera.



 it was a joy to have them in my home all day.  i was fascinated with the entire process.



i will post more once it gets published!
thank you gloria and bill....you have the best jobs! 

big cedar lodge

we spent some family time last weekend at big cedar lodge.
just past branson, mo. big cedar is only about 3.5 hours from kansas city.
the kids had a blast!
such a fun weekend of no schedules, doing a ton of fun things and just being a family.

 it was such a hot weekend, that the lazy river was a favorite for everyone.

a quick break for lunch.

the feel of this place is amazing.  i love the history of it, and all of these old original (circa 1921) buildings.

we played miniature golf after dinner every night.  also a favorite was ice cream out of an airstream trailer!

 the setting at big cedar is just so beautiful and relaxing.  paddling around in a canoe was so fun and a first experience for the boys.

if you're looking for a family getaway this summer, i suggest big cedar lodge!

i went to a garden party...

and took home made cilantro pesto as a hostess gift.

don't forget to use your garden to make

delicious hostess gifts this summer!



it's more fun to think outside the box

who says?

i always say that to myself when i am out junking.

rules?  hate to follow them.

be different?  absolutely with a capital A!

who says:

that this huge iron pot rack has to be in a kitchen?

remove the chains and the hooks and it's a beautiful planter on my patio table.

who says:

that andirons have to be next to a fireplace?

i love to use them to mark my garden paths.

i encourage you to think outside the box this summer...it's fun!



how does your garden grow?

my garden has gone crazy this year. 

so fun to see some of the herbs come back from last year.

growing potatoes 'up' in straw...we'll see how that goes.

you can't get more local than your own backyard...enjoy! 



pretty vintage plates

out thrifting last week i found 4 of these adorable plates and one matching platter.

i am hard pressed to think of anything pink around my house,

 but i love these so much, that i am keeping them.

i wish there were 8.

but this just means i need to keep an eye out for 4 more

pretty plates.  that don't match.  that just coordinate.

these are perfect girlfriend plates.

because if i served dinner on these to my boys... oh heck they probably

wouldn't even notice! 

the leaves on the plates are more brown than green (difficult to see here).

and i love them paired up with my brown chargers.

it is the little things that make me happy...

 4 plates and a platter....$10

thoughts of lunch with girlfriends...priceless.

if you want it done right...

sometimes a girl has to do what a girl has to do!

and this time, it was brick laying.

for about a year i have had two brick columns, dry stacked, in my garden.

since i have been making some money (burlap junktion), i thought i would hire someone to do this small project for me.  i explained my project to him and he said no problem.

but this (pillar on the right) is what he left me with...

seriously?  you are proud of that?!

when i said it was "a little more rustic than i had envisioned" he assured me that

it was because i was using reclaimed bricks.

uh, how about it is because you used concrete instead of mortar? 

what a mess i had on my hands.

i fired him and told him i could not pay him for the work he had done.

then i started chipping off all the concrete and tackled the job myself.

the pillar on the left is the one that i did. with the same 'reclaimed' bricks.

mind you, i have never in my life done any brick work.

but with the right materials, and some determination

i am thrilled with the end result.

so here is to all you girls out there who think you can't

YOU CAN!

just use some common sense, prayers and determination.

this job was back breaking, but nothing that a hot shower didn't cure.

what projects have you tackled ...that you thought you couldn't?

inside, outside, upside down

i love spring.

i love spending all day out in the gardens.

getting the flower beds ready,

planning what to plant in the vegetable gardens.

but.

then the inside suffers.

and other things get put on the back burner.

i just can't help it.

i am so drawn to long days in my gardens.

inside, outside, upside down...cest la vie!

the last few years i simply had chicken wire around my beds to keep the rabbits out.

but this year my early spring project was to build a fence to keep our black lab puppy out.

i cranked it out in a weekend.

not bad for never building a fence before.

shear determination to not have my garden dug up by our lab

is what got me to get it done so quickly.



i'll show some more garden photos next week.

enjoy the Easter weekend and thanks for stopping by!

for the boys

my eight year old is in cub scouts and i am the leader of his den.  our group is large with 14 boys.  we recently had our annual banquet, the Blue and Gold.  this is a special night for the boys (the entire pack, not just our den) as they receive their advancement badges.   i (with my co-leader) was in charge of the centerpieces for this year....18 of them.

we needed to be creative, as there is very little budget for centerpieces.  we also wanted to create something special for the boys.  they all love to camp, so we focused on a camping theme.  this is what we came up with:

we started with the wood bases.  my dad, and his chain saw, helped with this part of the project.

(thanks dad!)

then with a power drill, i drilled holes for the flag and the evergreen branches.

the tents were made out of blue card stock.  i took photos of our pack number and american flag and then pulled them through my print shop program.  printed them off and taped them to the tents.

for the other side of the tent i used a giant fleur di lis rubber stamp (found at michael's for 99cents) and then stamped it on a gold stamp pad.

the fire pits were made out of small rocks and cut branches.  each rock was glued to the wood base as well as the fire sticks.  this made setting them up at the event so much easier.

creating 18 of these wasn't so bad, if you just tackle it assembly line style.

the boys absolutely loved them!  we had tables of 8 and on one chair at each table i placed a piece of tape.  whomever was sitting in the chair with the tape on it, got to take the centerpiece home.

the cost was minimal.  the flags, the paper for the tents, rubber stamp, gold ink pad and a bag of rocks.

and as if making 18 centerpieces wasn't enough....

i also volunteered to bring dessert.  so in keeping with the

 camping theme i whipped up these s'more cupcakes.

oh. my. gosh. they were sooo yummy!

all of this for the boys! 

such a great group of kids and glad i get to

 be part of their childhood.

to my boys in blue...cub scout salute to you!