Little Women

Jordan has always loved to play house. When she was little she always had a baby doll(Bitty Baby from American Girl) and she always wanted to help me do whatever I was doing at the moment. She hasn't changed much in 10 almost 11 years. She's still my partner. No matter what I'm getting into I can count on Jordan's inquisitive little mind to be right there with me. She gets her insatiable curiosity from me so it stands to reason we should explore the world together. Usually we get so excited we end up dragging Taylor into whatever project her teenageness is trying to avoid.

I love you Jordan. Thank you for your happy partnership in all that I do. You and sissy are my best friends. I love spending time with you more than anyone else in the world.

Do you recognize this teen-ager?????

Taylor, my first-born, my heart is 14. Compared to most she is a wonderful teenager--
Respectful, responsible, willing to help out.............

(texting instead of washing dishes) CAUGHT IN THE ACT

But every once in a while TEEN-AGE-DOM rears it's ugly head.

I love you Tay. Thanks for being so patient with a MOM who's a camera bug. You'll thank me one day. You're my world.

Waiting for WATERMELON

My brother Ben and his wife came over to cook out. We cut the first watermelon of the season for us. Here the kids are all waiting patiently for a sweet juicy treat and rolling it like a ball on table. Amazing what will keep little ones entertained isn't it?

See any family resemblance?

My new planters.....

I found these rain boots at a local thrift store. Aren't they CUTE! I'm going to use them for planters. Although I'm enjoying them just as they are sitting there all colorful and happy beside the front door. Even without flowers they're awesome. Have a great day!

My favorite spot in the world............

This is one of those random moments that happens at my house. One of the girls will jump in for a hug and the other one jumps on. I'm very, very thankful for these moments especially with my 14 year old. I'm thankful everytime one of them sits beside me on the sofa and leans over to lay her head on my shoulder or crawls up beside me with a book when I'm laying in bed reading. Just quiet ways they say, "I (still) like your company, Mom." They know they are MY very favorite people in the world, but it's nice to realize that sometimes I make the top of their lists too.

Ribbon--- The new Duct Tape

Have you ever noticed how a little scrap of ribbon makes anything look better? Just like duct tape will fix anything, ribbon will compliment annything. I don't know if I love ribbon because I have two girls, because I'm a girl or because by george it's just a great invention! But ribbon really does just make such a difference. Take for example these plain little notebooks. We bought them for Taylor to give her friends as end-of-the-year gifts at school. My scrap ribbon just transformed them. Now they're magic,they're majestic, they're.....well you get the point. We liked them so much she made some to sell in the store on Etsy. I mean who doesn't need a notebook all dressed up in ribbonry?

I'm the same way with curling ribbon on gifts and gift bags. I just can't get enough. So today dear friends I wish you lots of RIBBON!

Garden Upcycling Project-- Gazing Balls

In the spirit of recycling we try to use the same resourcefulness in our garden. Not only does it save our natural resources it saves us money. These gazing balls are one of our upcycling projects.


This pink ball sits on an old cement birdbath base. I measured the top and went to Michael's to buy a round glass bowl with the opening the same size as the top of my birdbath base. Then I bought 4 or 5 bottles of cheap nail polish in my favorite color and i dumped them all in the glass bowl. I swirled the polish around until the inside of the glass bowl was coated. Then I turned the bowl upside down and left it on the deck for a couple days to dry and cure. Viola my new gazing bowl in a custom color to match my impatiens.

You can also just sit the balls straight on the ground. This blue one is a thrift store light fixture I picked up for .25 then coated with blue nail polish. I have also heard that old colorful bowling balls make great gazing balls if you can pick them up for a good price. I just found a purple and a gold one. More pics to follow....

Yard sales or tag sales?

I have recently re-discovered my love of yard sales. You may know them as tag sales depending on which part of the country you're from. I don't know if I can explain to a non-convert the what it is that thrills me about sifting through other peoples junk. But I'll try..... for one thing it's like a treasure hunt. I never know when or where I'll undcover that really valuable piece that someone just doesn't realize the value of or just doesn't care what the value is. There is always a thrill when you do find those items and that can be a fairly regular occurance. This can becaome like an addiction, but in a good way!
Then there is the walk down memory lane. Every Saturday morning as I visit sale after sale I am reminded of some warm fuzzy from my past. Holly Hobbie, my grandma's china, a recipe I haven't had in years, a song my mom used to hum while she cleaned. Little snippets from my childhood and I can own them for less than a $1.00.
Add to that the bonding that seems to take place between me and my honey and you have a win, win, win situation. We not only always enjoy each others company we have now found a hobby that we enjoy doing together. Quietly in the early morning hours we arise as the birds are just beginning their predawn chorus. Almost wordlessly we put on our clothes grab a quick bite to eat and then race out the door looking forward to another Saturday of YARD SALING!

Do you know what this is????????

This is a table made from a shipping pallet. It has driftwood legs. My honey Rob made this and then moved on to bigger and better things...........................

This is a coat rack made from a piece of a shipping pallet and drift wood.

These are super cool chairs made out of pallets by my super cool honey Rob.

This shot reminds me of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears......"This one is just right! "

A big Papa bear chair, and itty bitty baby bear chair.


Mama Bear's cushions (I had to pretty 'em up).

We use these out back around our fire pit, near the glider and everyone loves them. I love the fact that we upcycled something that would have been thrown away! There are lots of things you can do with the wood from shipping pallets instead of letting it go to waste. We also have several birdhouses built out of pallet wood. Just don't ever burn them for fire wood because some of them have been treated and the smoke has dangerous chemicals in it.

You can make your own furniture. Here are some links to the sites we used. Send me your pics so I can see what you're making and upcycling. We also have made a pallet coffee table but that's ANOTHER DAY's blog.

http://www.greendaily.com/2009/01/23/got-pallets-make-tables-and-more/

http://www.instructables.com/id/Pallet_Compost_Bin/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qcXzdXnOQg

Sugar

This is our dog. She's a terrier mix we got from the pound when Jordan was about 2 years old and Taylor was 5 . So we've had her 9 years. In the beginning she was mostly Taylor's dog. She slept on the bottom of her bed and Taylor played with her more. Of course over time we've all bonded with her. Now she rotates sleeping between the botttom of Tay's bed and under my bed.

When we went to the pound to adopt a dog we picked her because they had her separated from the whole liter because she was the one who had figured out how to unlatch the cage and "release the hounds". I knew then she was a kindred spirit. She is very smart and knows commands like "pillow", "sofa", "cage", "bed", "water", "lay-down" and "sit". My brother has begun to yell those commands at his toddler because he says if she would listen half as good as my dog he would have it made. **smile** The other day when she was having the typical toddler melt down he just looked at her and goes, "cage". Guess we'll know how good that approach is in about 18 years........................................................

A cheery cherry dress made by Mom (me) for the 5th grade dance. Her first dance ever. (I'm trying not to cry!) I used to sew for her all the time when she was little. I'm glad she will still wear something that I made!

Ahhhh, the first strawberries of the season. We had strawberry shortcake all weekend.

Red is such a cheery color.............

This is the glider we painted red and put behind the old garage/ shed on our property. It used to be white but I decided a spot of color was in order. Then we had to give the door and the shutters a spruce. Otherwise I left the paint peeling because it gives the shed some character and substance.

All the glider lacks now is a quilt (pics later). It's nice here under the eaves when it rains, protected, with a good book.

Welcome Home.........

Don't those words make you feel good? That's what I hope this blog will accomplish for you and for me. I hope it will be a welcoming place to come and be together from our busy lives. A place to share ideas and laughter, the joys and trials of motherhood and womanhood. A place to let our hair down and let it all hang out. Mostly like the treasures we look so diligently for when we search for those perfect items for our homes, may we FIND each other.So welcome, make yourself at home.
Tracie