Grand-daughters

On Wednesday, February 12, 2014, I picked up my grand daughters and we headed to Greenville.  I had promised them that we would make valentine cupcakes for them to eat and we'd get cards and goodies for their classmates.  As luck would have it, time crept up on me and the weather didn't cooperate so our plans were very last minute but we had a blast.  The night before I baked the cupcakes so I could take them with me so with the cupcakes and girls in tow, off we went.  We were successful in finding valentine cards they both liked for their classmates and then we went to dinner at Bob Evans.  While we waited on our food to arrive we iced the cupcakes-oh what fun we had!  After our dinner (which was breakfast food) we filled out all the valentine cards for their classmates. 

Prior to dinner, while in Walmart, I told the girls they could each pick out a book for Valentine's Day from papaw and me.  Bethanie chose one of the books in the series Diary of a Wimpy Kid while Zoe chose a Children's Bible.  On the way home I asked them to read to me so Zoe opened up the bible.  She and Bethanie took turns reading and they read all about the first six days, starting with God created the heavens and the earth.  Bethanie was reading and she said "and on the 7th day, God declared it a day of rest" and then she said "I guess that's ok, he did have a pretty busy week".  Out of the mouths of babes. 

Girls Nite Out 1/20/14

Our first Girls Nite Out for the year 2014.  My personal goal this year is to make sure we have a GNO at least once per month, that was my original goal back when we started GNO but you know, life gets in the way and before you know it two or three weeks or even a month has past.

Brooke made us a darling LOVE banner for Valentine's Day, Mom made us an adorable layered puffy heart for hanging and I made a Valentine's medallion for the door.  It was kind of neat that we were all thinking about February and Valentine's Day.

Crafting, Crafting, Crafting

I love my craft room, it's my space and my space alone.  This weekend, after inspiration and tools from

my mom and sis I decided to give another go at making cards.  Guess what I found out???  It's a whole lot more fun when you've got the know-how and tools that you need.  I also made 20 candy packets and 20 purses that contained fuzzy socks with little rubber grippers on the bottom for the 20 shut-ins who are members of the First Church of the Nazarene.  And tonight I threw together this little jazzed up flower vase--been playing with glass jars of all kinds, hoping to inspire something inside of me :)

Do I have a favorite season?

Is it too early to decorate for fall?  I have been asking myself that question since the first of August and finally this last week the hubs gave in and let me decorate.  I've always said that I could never live were there isn't a change of seasons.  I enjoy the first budding flower as much as I enjoy the anticipation of the first snow fall.  But I have to admit that fall has all the components that make me so very happy; the changing of the leaves and the way they smell, the way they crunch when you walk thru them; the cooler temps, especially in the evening; the fire pit and all it's glories like roasting marshmallows :), the color scheme--I love reds and yellows and browns and oranges, pumpkins, mulled cider, fall festivals, a trip to the apple orchard and my list could go on and on. 


my hutch all decorated for fall
 

front porch & fall cart




front porch & mums

my beautiful mums my hubs bought

my pretty sunflowers

a girl can never have too many doors



kitchen window decor



family room door decked out for fall



this is "Hootie", family owl



dining room cornucopia



our beautiful fall decorated fireplace & mantel

~Thankful~

I am thankful for:
my family
my job
my health
my friendships
my ability to give to others
my ability to travel
my ability to try new things
daily blessings
my love for life
my love of laughing
my zest for life in both the big and small things
employees children who recognize me as 'aunt tonya'
the finches, all of them but especially the pretty brightly colored yellow ones
the hummingbirds that come to visit
the cute rambunctious squirrels that play in our yard
the precious bunny that occupies yard space
the sound, sight and smell of the ocean
the saving grace of my heavenly father
memories
the way the sand feels on the bottom of my feet
the soft cooling breeze
the change of the seasons
kitchen smells (especially mom's kitchen)
the sound of laughter from my loved ones
the innocence of children
my craft room where I am able to express my creativity & try new things
the live moss-covered oaks and the way they 'canopy' everything below them
willow trees and the way they blow in the slightest of winds
the bird aviary at the zoo, I love being in there with all of those winged beauties
the way the ground moves & roars down the home stretch at the horse track
the way the soft breeze blows my dining room curtains
the smell of fresh cut grass
the way a baby smells
the window and door in my office that opens up to the outside, i'm always connected to the outdoors
the way crème brulee fills like silk and shards of glass on my tongue all at the same time
color
unblemished fresh snow fall
huge, big white snowflakes
snowmen
the smell of fall
fresh tomatoes from the garden
fresh corn on the cob
aunt kandi's Christmas ham

A Make Over

I purchased this 'tired' Bless Our Home sign from a friend at work for $.50 (she was selling it in a rummage).  She asked me when I bought it "why do you want that tired old thing?" and then I told her I'd give it new life, just wait......well, at least two years later which brings us to today I have pictures to show that indeed I did give it new life AND that friend (Lisa Hess) I bought it from has a birthday tomorrow (8/7) and I'm giving it back to her----hope she likes it!

tired, worn out sign

 

 

 

  

with new life

I DON'T SEW!!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I do not sew.  My mom and sis can sit down at a sewing machine and make just about anything, well, not me.  However, I saw this little guy (pictured) on the web and immediately fell in love with his quirkiness.  So I purchased the adorable little pattern from BedBuggs thinking "I can make this".  I've had the pattern for about 8 months but today I decided I'd tackle it.  If I'm being honest I made two, but the other "Tweet" had a cone head --lessons learned, slow down on that pressure foot when you're sewing a soft curve :).

 The heart on his wing was not part of the pattern but I added it cause I like hearts.  He's pretty cute don't ya think???  I still need to master stitching up the poly fil hole but he's sitting on it so who sees it anyhow!