Weekend of Fun & First's!!!!

We were invited to spend the weekend with our friends at their grandparent's cottage that is located in Michigan. We headed up late Friday evening and stayed until Sunday afternoon. It was such a great weekend filled with laughter, fun, food and a lot of first's for Reese. We started out on Saturday with mine and Reese's first ride on a Jet-Ski....and it was a blast!!!! The faster I went, the more Reese loved it....We are definitely in trouble since we found out our little peanut is a flat out dare devil! My first words to Lee after getting off was, "we NEED one of these!!!"

We took the boat out a little later and had fun speeding around the lake and pulling everyone around on the a tube. I forgot to take my camera :( Again, it was the first time to ride a tube for me and Reese. She had a blast, but unfortunately, our ride ended with both of us in the lake. I was much more worried then Reese and Reese was more worried about me being out in the lake still then getting back to the boat safely. It was a lot of fun...to bad I have no pictures to prove all the fun time. Reese loved the boat ride and squealed for most of it.

After the boat ride, we came back to the cottage and grilled out for dinner and the kids and Uncle Kevin did some fishing. It was Reese's first time, and she was thrilled that she caught her very first fish. I think we were all in shock that she caught it all by herself!

We followed dinner with Oreo's and sitting around a fire until bedtime......

Sunday was a lazy day thanks to off and on rain. We were able to get a few more rides on the Jet-Ski and some swimming time with daddy.....and one last first for Reese....she had her hair in a pony tail for the first time. My baby has turned into a little girl....sigh.....

It was such a great week-end filled with lots of F-U-N!!!!!

Yummy Garage Sale Finds

I love Garage Sales!!!! But I love leaving them with a lot of fun goodies even more!!! I found a good one last week and thought I would share some of the goodies I found with all of you.

Lee and I decided to build Reese a play kitchen for her birthday (her birthday is in 3 weeks and the kitchen isn't started yet...eekkk!) I've been keeping my eyes out for some fun play kitchen items to add to it. I was so excited to find these: (total was only $4.50)


I also found some fun sewing notions to add to my stash. I bought a big bag of vintage buttons (still on the cardboard) for $5. I also found this pretty crochet "lace". Not sure exactly I will do with it, but I am in visioning it attached to the bottom band of a dress....maybe for Christmas. It will look so pretty with some vintage looking fabric that is maybe brown, red and cream......

Love these wooden spools to add to my collection.....

A bag full of ric-rac, bias tape and trim......

This is my favorite! Any ideas on what or how to use it????

I love the colors in these 2 pillowcases.....so many options here. Pillowcase dresses (maybe with a band on the bottom that has some fun vintage looking hand embroidering on it), pair of ruffle capris for next summer with a pretty aqua shirt or even a fun twirl skirt......

Keeping my fingers crossed for many more yummy garage sale finds this summer!!!!

Strawberry Princesses

Wow...was this a busy weekend. My niece, Taylor, is turning "5" tomorrow and we celebrated her birthday this weekend. My sister let her decide the type of party she wanted, and all she wanted was a girl's weekend. She did have a few request....she wanted to wear a tutu, she wanted her nails polished and she wanted cheese sticks :) After much discussions and many changes, Taylor decided she wanted a strawberry theme as well....with a little pushing from Auntie Amber. I was so thrilled!!!

We started off the celebration on Friday evening. My sister, Taylor, Reese and I loaded up in my car and headed to Mamaw's house (Papaw was out of town, so it was just us girls). We went and grabbed a quick dinner and headed back to my mom's house for some yummy jello cake. Her is the birthday girl posing with her requested cake :)


Then it was time for some pampering! Last year Reese fought me every time I polished her toe nails.....and as a licensed cosmetologist, I thought they should be polished all the time. I just haven't been in the mood lately to fight with her, so her toes have just stayed unpolished so far this summer. She surprised by asking my to polish them and sitting like a big girl the entire time. I was one proud and excited mama!!! She is thrilled that she has pink toes!!! So much so that she made me take of her shoes and socks at church this morning so she could show them off. Let me also add that she has a new obsession with pink (and I love it!!!). After every one's nails looked pretty, Taylor opened one of our gifts....pink horse PJs that match a pair Reese has. They looked so cute! And since it was a slumber party....we stayed up until 11:00 and Reese still wasn't ready for bed :)





Saturday was the big day!!! The birthday girl was just stunning and she knew it...hehe. I taught my sister how to make a tutu for Taylor, and she did a great job on it!!! I also appliqued a strawberry shirt for her to wear and topped of the tutu with a bow. Of course, she had to have a cute bow for her hair as well. Also note her new "high heels"....another request from the birthday girl. And yes, she is turning "5" not "15"!

I was thrilled to have an excuse to make Reese a cute Strawberry outfit. I ordered a shirt off ebay and used some used knits to make this cute, comfortable dress (look for the cute detail on the back below).

We first stopped at a fun local spot for some pictures and to feed the ducks......

Loved this duck, but not sure why.

We also stopped and smelled the flowers.....

And was even surprised by an airplane flying over (Reese's new obsession is noises....she asked me at least 50 times a day, "What's that noise?" as she puts her little hand to her ear....so cute!). Can you tell she was very excited :)

We played in a fountain.......

And said "c-h-e-e-s-e" many, many times.....

And we where able to find a bunch of tadpoles that were just getting there legs....

Of course, we had to stop for a photo shoot with Mamaw......

After we finished up there, we moved on to the Carousel located in down town. It was a big hit!

We went to dinner at Red Lobster where the birthday girl ate yummy cheese sticks. The little peanut asked me to hold her half way through dinner and was out in less then a minute...she was so tuckered out :) Of course, we had to make a stop at Cold Stone when on the way home!!




It was a great weekend!!!

We all had a B-L-A-S-T!!!!

Labor of Love

Reese's big girl room has been a work in progress since February....and I am so happy to say it is finally completely finished!!! She has been sleeping in her big-girl bed since the beginning of May, but we were finally able to complete the finishing touches in the last few weeks. It has truly been a labor of love, but I am so happy with how it turned out.....and yes, I doubted myself through the entire process!!!

I thought it would be so neat to make her quilt for her bed...and I asked myself many many times what I was thinking :) It was my first quilt, and let me tell you....a 96"x96" is not the best size to be your very first quilt :) There were many tears, lots of joy and even more frustration during the making of it...but I am so glad I was able to make her something she can always hold on to!!! My dad's amish friend, Esther, helped me hand quilt it along with help from many of other Amish friends. I love to look at all the stitches and remember all the conversations and love that went into all of them. It is an experience I will cherish forever!

Here is a peak into what Reese is enjoying so much!

Here is a look into her room from the hallway.....I absolutely love the wall color! We decided to buy Reese an nice set of Amish made oak furniture. It will last her for a long time. We were also very lucky to find the exact bed we wanted 50% off....$250 is a steal for a solid oak queen bed (which is why she ended up with such a big bed, but she loves all the room).



Her nice roomy bed :) I bought the vinyl wall decal off esty from happy tree graphics. I love the sweet birds, and Allison was very helpful!



I made all the pillows for her bed, and had alot of fun coming up with a few different things. I fell in love with this verse when I saw it on a pillowcase on esty. I knew I wanted to include it in her room somehow. I decided to hand embroider it on a pillow along with a sweet bird.

A close-up of the sweet bird.....

I really like how this pillow turned out. I first quilted the white part, then I attached the birds on it using steam-a-seam. I then hand stitched around each bird. I attached the back of the pillow and then added binding all the way around (like you would on a quilt). I used an envelope style back on both pillows so I can remove the pillow and wash if ever needed.

Reese's name and small note from me pieced into the back of her quilt....love all those quilted rows of hearts!

I found the frame on the left at Goodwill and the one on the right at an antique shop (it had a not so pretty picture of a lady in it that ended up in the trash). I spray painted them off white and covered a plain white mat and a mat I cut out of thick cardboard with fabric that matched her room.

Here is her night stand. I scored the lamp at an antique store for $15. The wood piece was a dark green so I took the lamp a part and spray painted it aqua. I then bought a cheap lamp shade at Target and covered it with some fabric that match the curtians. Her night stand is topped off with a few fun, antique books and a picture of Reese's best bud, Jerzee.

I thought there was something missing above her dresser and was happy when I found this cute bird cage in Amish County last week. Maga was so nice to buy it for Reese! Love how it matches the wall decal!

I have to have a clock in all rooms of the house. I was so excited to find this cute clock at a local store that was going out of business. It was only $3.00 which I knew was a great deal. It wasn't until further inspection that I realized how great of a deal it was...the original price was $96!!!

Of course I had to include our love of horses in the room. These are boots that my sister and I wore. I love that Reese was able to wear them and decided to make Reese's Halloween costume around them last year. Love this picture of Reese...definately one of my favorites (thanks Ty!)

I didn't get a picture of the shelf that hangs to the left of the room in the very first picture. It was a shelf we bought for her nursery and painted white. I bought some pretty aqua paint that matched her curtains and painted it. I decided to distress it and love how it turned out. Here are the fun things that are on the shelf.

I bought this cute bird doily at an antique store for $3. The flowers were made from scraps using a great tutorial from Dana over at Made. I decided that the "stems" needed something, so I covered them with fabric as well. The little doll is from my Mawmaw that passed away in 2001. I only have two things from her, so I was so thrilled that it matched Reese's room. I love that I can look at it everyday and think of her!

I sanded down the "R" and repainted and distress it (it was from her nursery). A fun, little, red teapot I scored at TJMAxx for $3. The dolls are from ebay.

The neat blue jars are from my mom and dad. I found the wooden spools of thread at Goodwill for $3 (such a fun find). I was going to use them in my sewing room, but since it will probably never get decorated, I thought they would look great here. These dolls are from ebay as well (shouldn't have bid on both sets at the same time...hehe).

Cute embroidery hoops that are on the wall above the rocking chair (which Reese was definaltey not ready to give up yet). I love how they turned out.

Close-up of the hand embroidered bird.....

Here is a close-up of the ruffles on the bottom of the curtians and a sweet dollie. The dollie is how I first became friends with Angel. I am so grateful for being able to become friends with her! I am also greatful for being able to meet Jessica through her as well! Two friends that I know were sent to me by God!

Cuteness on the dollie's bum :)

I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into the peanut's room. Now onto to decorate the rest of the house....sshhh...don't tell Lee :)

This Little Piggy

It is the time of year where we have to water our flowers morning and evening, unless it rains. Reese has really been having fun helping us, but hasn't really been able to help much. I told Maga (Lee's mom) that I was looking for a watering can for Reese so she could "help" us out. The next day, Maga came with a gift for Reese....and boy is it cute!!!! Meet the peanut's Oink Oink......

She is having a blast and wants to water all the time!! Unfortunately she finds it more fun to water the concrete more than the flowers :)

We are loving these warm days of summer. Reese's favorite place to be it ou sigh (out side!!!)

We hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!!!