Goin' to California...

I'm sooo excited, because in two days from now I will be in California!!!!  I finally get to meet Jenny and Emilie!!!  I will be staying with Jenny{my bestie from the westie, you may know that already}...I "met" Jenny{on the left} from a swap Emilie{on the right} hosted a few years ago.  I will definitely back with tons of photos, as we plan on lots of thrifting and crafting!!!
Happy Trails to you, until we meet again...

How about I leave a favorite "California song"...

My Joy-FULL Journey to Fingerville...

This is the story of two girls, a vintage sofa, and a small town. I was looking on Craigslist in early December for a vintage couch and found one. I recruited my friend, Leah{pictured above with her husband-my husband's best friend from high school...they lost touch, and have recently rekindled their friendship, but that's another story for another day...}

My new-old couch...Ain't she a beaut?? I swiped this pic from the Craigslist ad...It was love at first sight!! She needs a lil lovin' and I'm open to any ideas y'all have...

I did have to trave out of state to get her...Thought I was goin' to Inman, SC.
Uh hmmm...


Whilst driving to get my newest love, we passed a sign that said Fingerville. I knew I *had* to get a pic!! Doin' my best Vanna White...

Driving thru, I may have belted out a line or two from "Coal Miner's Daughter"...Seriously, the town{?} reminded me of Butcher Holler. I met the sweetest girl there, Ashley, who is gonna start blogging. Right, Ashley?!?! Funny little side story...I emailed the standard C-list link thing{help...} and Ashley writes me back and gives me a little info about the sofa-yes, it was still available, was passed down from her Grandmother-lovin' that history!! Then she emailed me back saying she had read my blog. So funny!! I'm always shocked and amazed to hear people come here!!

I really don't know what struck me so, but we took a slew of pictures of me with this sign!!

I mean, really...It was so funny!! I promise I am not poking fun, just loved the name...Only in the South...

I'm pretty certain I was catching my breath here...

"Oh..." Might I add a little disclaimer here?? In addition to my camera hating me on a regular basis, it also adds about 80 pounds. I swear I'm a size 4. Okay, size 6. ;)

Now this is a little out of order, but you'll get to the other "Joy-FULL" part of our trip later. Anyways...after all of our fun, Leah and I decided to go eat at Cracker Barrel. If you've never been to one, you are missing out on a real treat!! They have awesome country cookin' and a super fun shop!! In fact, Leah and I got matching blue chicken mugs. So cute!!

Anyway, the decor there is very vintage country. This sign was above our table and I had to take a pic for y'all...

She's lookin' at the shoes and he's checkin' out something else, if you get my drift...

Then there was this sign. Seriously, strap, street, strip, stroke, strut are the only "str" words?? I need to go pray now...

Now for the best part of my journey...

Drumroll please...

I MET JOY OF JOYFULLNESS!!!!! I thought she lived on the way to where I was going and indeed she did. We decided to meet up at Chick-Fil-A. Let me tell you, Joy is the sweetest person and such a great Mom to her little guys. And those boys are even more delicious in person. Looks like I ate one, doesn't it?!?! ;) Seriously though, Joy has the sweetest temperment with her little men and makes me want to be a better, more intentional Mom. Joy, I cannot wait to get together with you again and CRAFT this time!!!

Oh, we met up with Joy after picking up the couch and just as Joy was answering her phone, Leah was telling her husband about Fingerville, and I lost it!! Completely lost it!! Poor Joy had to listen to me laugh for probably a minute until I could gain my composure!!

What happens in Fingerville, stays in Fingerville!!

Happy Birthday, Jenny!!!!

Today is my best friend, Jenny's, birthday!! Y'all go on over and wish her a Happy One...I'm pretty certain she's 29. Again. ;)
Happy Birthday, Jenny!! Love ya!!!

Just poppin' in...

Where to start...
*Well, my computer decided to crash right after I finished my last post. I was without a computer for over a week, but thankfully, my dad had one. It wasn't his, just left where he lives. I am very grateful to have this computer but all my photos, etc. are on my other one and I have to figure out how to get them. I hope they aren't gone forever, because they weren't backed up. :(
*Amy and I held a Vintage Barn Sale at her house a few weeks ago. It went great!! So much fun!! Y'all can go see a few photos on her blog.
*My van decided not to crank-story of my life. We were loaded up the Sunday after the barn sale and it wouldn't turn over. With six people we can't go anywhere without our van. We called a mechanic and he kindly offered to come to our house Wednesday to see if he could fix it here, but never showed and never called. How we are going to work out going to church I have no idea. I am extremely frustrated with all of our car troubles lately. Out of three cars we have, only one works. Thankfully, it is the one I know how to drive.
*I am doing a craft boutique with a friend the first weekend of November and so I'll be busy making and doing for it. I plan to have a couple of tutorials for y'all as I make things. Great for Christmas gifts, etc!!
*Jackson's birthday is the end of this month, so I am also busy preparing for it. We are going with a camping theme and I am so excited by this one!! I plan for the boys and girls to take a nature walk thru the woods to gather fire-making supplies. We will roast hot dogs and have s'mores also. I would love to find a projector and show a movie on the back of the house. We'll see how it all pans out. You know I'll be sharing more about that later.
*Ooh, we are finally getting to our master bedroom and I am EXCITED!!! I finally have a vision and it includes burlap and pallets!! Cory and I will be painting tomorrow. I found some gorgeous bedding at Ikea, but they were out when we went last, so I am waiting for it to be restocked. I'll definitely share the outcome of that, also.
*Violet is 9 weeks old now and will probably think her name is Tinkerbelle as that is what I mostly call her. Lilly loves her and treats her like she is her little doll. She is such a great helper. Fisher loves to give her hugs and points to my upper regions and says, "Vivet eat." Oh that boy...I could just about smooch him all day long!! I have a special breakfast date with Jackson tomorrow and I am so excited about that. I feel like he is getting the short end of the stick sometimes. I have no idea how big families fit everyone all in.
* We painted our chalkboard wall and the kids are lovin' it!! As soon as I figure out how to upload my pics{I assume I'll just plug in the cord??}, I will show that to y'all. I also am working on my ever-evolving foyer. I found a really cool bench at an estate sale. I am finding my style veering off ever so slightly from my vintage farmhouse and wow, its fun and yet throwing me for a loop. Can y'all believe I've hardly decorated for Fall?? Two or three years ago it was balls to the wall Fall in August.

Well...I think that's about it. See you soon...

Thank you, Jenny!!

My dear friend Jenny, whom many of you have heard me speak of quite frequently, sent the most fun box to me. Most of these goodies are for the new baby, Violet. Jenny made this gorgeous quilt for her. She had her mom crochet the pink edging on these cloth diapers turned burp cloths.

Look at the edging...so pretty!! I also got one of Jenny's tags. You can get your own set from her etsy shoppe.

I had often admired a necklace Jenny made and lo and behold, I now have one!! Oh, and a box of Special K Chocolatey Delight-yum...

The embellished dresses are adorable!! Can y'all guess which one is my fave??

The little stitcheries are either going into embroidery hoops or frames. What would y'all do??

Thank you so much, Jenny!! I love it all!!!

Makin' and Doin'

I was so excited to have another craft night with my friend, Amy, the other night!! They are always fun. It feels great to have a project crossed off my list. We decided to tackle these rouched burlap table runners. Inspired by these.
I love the way all the different textures and finishes look on this centerpiece. Lovin' the sweet smell of summer!!


I've had this blue floral Ralph Lauren sheet from Goodwill for sometime now. I just made a pillow cover using it and burlap. The big pillow in the background came from Goodwill for just over $3. It happened to be a Tommy Hilfiger and the pillow insert itself is from Dillards. I just love it when rich folk take their castoffs to the thrift shops!! ;)

I wanted to try my hand at button flowers and love the way these came out. I could not photograph them to save my life, though...

I made Amy one of the blue floral pillows and she made this one above for me. I believe she is going to start selling them.

Here is a little sneak peek at the my master bathroom. I've had this window treatment made for a year and finally got it hung!! The walls are Comfort Gray by Sherwin-Williams.

Want to know what the big news I had to share was?? Remember it from this post?? Well, my friend, Amy, and I were going to have a booth at a local antique shop, but it wasn't meant to be...I am bummed and relieved at the same time. I know that now is just not the right season. It does mean, though, that I have extra furniture, chandeliers, a child's kitchen, and other wonderful bits to sell. Maybe I'll list them on Craigslist or something. Still pondering the right venue...

Well, thanks for dropping by!!

Doll Makin' Tea Party!!

This past Saturday we celebrated Lilly's fifth birthday with her closest friends. We had decided on a theme once I saw Crystal's post that y'all may remember me posting about here. This was a fun one!! Oh, if you want to make your own dolls, you can find the tutorial here.


Here are the dolls the girls made. I tried to make the dolls look like the girl who was making them. I thought they turned out so cute and the girls had fun with them, too!!

Here is Lilly{in the purple shirt} with her friends.

"I'm not listening." :)

These photos are not in party order, of course.

Makin' wishes, blowing out candles...

This was while the girls were eating.

Not the best picture, but this is the banner I made from old hankies. I was pleased with how it came out. We will hang it above Lilly's bed once it comes down.

The table all decorated{simply-let go of a lot of plans and ideas}. I ran out of time, otherwise, I would have written birthday wishes to Lilly on the chalkboard.

For the drinks, we had pink lemonade and hot tea. I decided not to use disposable dishes for this party.

Here is the food all ready to be eaten. We had pink cloud, cheese, fruit, pbj pockets, and chicken salad on croissants. Fun, girly, tea party food!!

The fruit was served up in my cute sherbet glasses.

Chicken salad and pbj pockets. Oh, and the wonders of photoshop and friends named Jenny. But we'll go there another day!! ;)

I loved this party and I know Lilly and her friends had fun!!

Oh, one honorable mention...I could NOT have pulled this off with out the help of my WONDERFUL, AWESOME neighbor, Brittny. She sensed the panic in my voice when I called to borrow a glue gun{because I couldn't find mine-story of my life...} and came over to help. So thank you, Brittny sooo much!! Amy, Amy, and Michelle deserve some props, too. I have wonderful friends!!

Homeschool Craft Day...

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of hosting our homeschool group for brunch and Christmas crafting. It was so much fun!!
Fisher discovered a little carrier and had a ball playing in it when a sweet baby girl wasn't occupying it!!

My pictures are so blurry...The kids are painting paper mache Christmas balls here-inspired by these. They also colored bookmarkers and other ornaments.

More painting...

The Moms made signs. I love Julie's signs and since I've had a Cricut, they have been so much fun to make!!

This SNOW sign is my favorite so far.

Here are some of the other signs that were made. I love how one lady did her last name. I am so gonna make one of those for myself!!

Have y'all been crafting for Christmas lately??

Christmas swappin' with Jenny...

Y'all know by now that Jenny and I are swapping crazy!! Here is some of what I sent to her. I have a few more things that need to go out.

Old-fashioned candy canes and my favorite Bob's candy sticks.

A couple tags I made...

I glittered up chipboard letters and wired them to a mini garland.

Had to make a tassel for Jenny. I loved how this one turned out!!

A fun kitchen wreath rounded out this box of Christmas goodness!!


What did I get??

Super cute snowman doily ornament greeted me as I opened the box!!

All my goodness!! A cute, Christmas plaid basket, Gooseberry Patch Christmas book-LOVE it, fun kitchen towel, a snowy scene embroidery{I have two already-one for summer and one for fall}, primitive candy canes{Jenny has a tutorial}, little Christmas cottage and tree, R typewriter key plaque, cute ornaments, AWESOME handstamped metal ornaments with my kids' names and the year, snowman tag, and an ornament/keychain combo.

See the ornaments?? Jenny stamped those onto washers. I love me some personalization!!

Thank you so much for a fun swap package, Jenny!!

Christmas Goodies

I went to a couple Christmas Open Houses this past Thursday and I got a few little goodies. It was so much fun!!

This NOEL sign is HUGE!! Now, I just have to find the perfect spot for it...

Love the candy cane sign and it will look cute hanging on my backsplash by my jars full of candy canes. The cards and snowflake ornament were from Amy{for my birthday}, along with a gift certificate to one of the antique shoppes we went to. Thank you so much, Amy!!

Are y'all putting out your Christmas decor yet??