MADE

I have been in love with Dana and her designs over at MADE for quite some time now.  When I received an email from her about hosting a giveaway for her special MOM's segment, I was ecstatic!  If you would like to visit her blog, you can enter to win one of 3 teacups that are up for grabs.  Even if you don't care anything about winning a teacup, you must visit her blog because I know that you will be adding it to your favorites list :)

Talbots

Over at GRITS there is an amazing giveaway!  $250 gift card to Talbots :)  Apparently Talbots has their own blog as well...

I love this bathing suit cover up:

Thanks GRITS :)

Flea Market Makeovers

I have a few flea market and thrift store makeovers in process right now but I wanted to share a few of my favorite thrift shop makeovers.  I get so inspired when I see other people turn "junk" into beautifulness (is that even a word?)  

Footboard turned message board via centsational girl.

Tacky brass table turned spa solution via centsational girl.

Boring chair to brilliant chair via back garage.

Funky and chic table via much to do with nothing.

before:

amazing after:

Blah and dated dresser turned retro chic via savvy housekeeping

Do you have any thrift store find makeovers?  I can't wait to post mine when I get them done!

Ciao,

sweet sweet summer

1.  Posh Beachy Blue Weighted Drink Cover by LeliaMae

2.  Snap Clutch in Yellow Roses by ModDotTextiles

3.  Turquoise Russian Birdcage Veil by WeddingAisle

4.  Birds y Nubes Mexican Vintage Embroidered Dress by AidaCoronado

5.  Decorative Glass Plate by Juliesadorabowls

Here's wishing to a sweet summertime filled with many pretties,

Starbucks Winner!

#7- Sarita! :)  Send me your info and then you can have your super fun, fake spilled coffee!!!

little blue box

We had a little fun...

with our little blue box

crawling in

crawling out

over and over

and it was so much fun

The New Stache'

I decided to do a glass version of The Man Mustache Mug.

This is what it looks like empty...

Personally, I like mine to be full

What do you think?

How we met our home

I am doing my first link up from Our Suburban Cottage called, "How I met my house".

Here goes!

After moving 6 times in 2 years, Seth and I decided that we would celebrate our first official duty station by buying our own home!  We were tired of landlords, deposits, people randomly showing up in the house to replace filters and loud neighbors...and mostly tired of throwing our money away every month when we handed over the rent check.

This is how it all went down.  We (mostly me) looked online for houses in the Fort Benning area.  We contacted a realtor regarding a particular house that we just knew was the one.  He was a very nice guy and was very helpful.  We told him that we wanted to come down (9 hour drive!) for a weekend and look at as many homes as we possibly could.  So, we packed up and headed down for our first house hunt, in which we HAD to find our house because we didn't have any more time to make a second trip down there.  When we got there, he showed us the house that we originally were in love with.  The only problem was that it was about 30 minutes from town!  We had no idea that it was going to be so far out of the way and we were really upset because it was a deal breaker for us, but we loved the house and the yard so much!  We expected to be able to come, check it out and make sure it was what we thought, then put an offer on it.  So, here we are back to step one.  Our man realtor called for reinforcement the next morning and a lovely lady realtor, Kim, came and took us to so many houses.  By the end of the day we still  hadn't found our dream home, although we found a short sale house that would work if it had to, but it was smaller than what we wanted.  We were almost ready to part ways when Kim remembered a new subdivision that we might be interested in.  Sure enough, we pulled into the subdivision and loved the quaintness of the homes.  They were all unique and craftsman style. 

 As we were driving to tour the first house, Seth and I both spotted a cute green home in the distance and said, "I hope that's the one she is going to show us!"  Sure enough, we pulled into the green house driveway and as soon as we walked in, we just knew that it was the house we wanted.  That afternoon, we put an offer on the house and purchased our first home!  We really love living here. God has been so good to us and has blessed us more than we could have ever imagined.  It is the first place I have felt was a true home for us and I hope we will be here for a few more years :)

When should you buy organic?

I worry about chemicals and pesticides and all that other junk that is added to our fruits and veggies, especially now since Caleb has started eating food.  But, if you are on a budget, buying everything organic can end with a daunting price tag. If you visit foodnews.org you can find a full list of the produce that has the highest amount of pesticides.  If your pocket book won't let you buy everything organic, this list will help you figure out which organic ones you should not scrimp on and which ones won't be a big deal if you don't buy organic.  Here is a quick list of some of the worst and best:

Worst- peaches, apples, nectarines, strawberries and celery

Best- Onion, avacado, pineapple, mango, asparagus

A Birthday and Giveaways!

This is the most unique giveaway I will probably ever have!  It is so cool, I really wish I could win it.  It is a fake spilled Starbucks coffee!  Over at FakeFoodDecor, there are tons of really neat fake food and spilled items.  Great for a joke, a prop or just an interesting decor piece on your table!  

To enter, simply leave me a comment telling us a time when you or someone else in your family spilled something.  I will start.  When Seth was in college, he worked at a Japanese restaurant.  He was the only caucasion that worked there and all the ladies that worked there called him "Sessy Seth".  For a long time Seth didn't understand what they were saying and then one day someone explained what they were saying to him...they were calling him "Sexy Seth"- hahahahahaha, okay I am getting side tracked.  He was a waitor and a terrible one at that (at least that's what he says).  One day he spilled an entire cup of water on a lady's head!  Not her dress or lap, but her head!!!  I think I agree with him on the "bad waiter" thought.

Now it's your turn :)

For additional entries:

1.Visit FakeFoodDecor and tell us your favorite item.

2.Become a follower of  my blog.

Be sure and leave seperate entries for each.

Also...today is my mama's birthday!!!  Happy Birthday mama, KK, mammy, grandma, and any other name you are called (the good ones at least, haha)  We love you!!!

My mama and Caleb when he was 2 weeks old

My mama holding me at the hospital with my older sister, Donna.

Last but not least, today I am hosting a giveaway over at www.thetuckerstaketennessee.com.  Go take a peek!

Mr. and Mrs. Prep-P

Caleb and I wore our seersucker pants to church yesterday and I had to take a picture.  

Caleb got so many comments on how cute he was.  I think he looked like a little preppy man.

He had a short sleeve oxford shirt on with blue and white striped seersucker pants, and argyle sweater vest and a cute belt and loafers.  I don't think it could have gotten any more preppy.

Now I will tell you the best part.

Caleb's outfit was Izod that I got at a consignment sale for $7.  I paid $2 for the Circo brand loafers at a different consignment sale (At Target, those would have cost $12.50).  His super cute outfit that was originally $40+ was only $9.  I love consignment sales.

Then there is my outfit.

Everytime I wear these seersucker pants, at least one person tells me they like them.  Guess where I bought them?  At Walmart!  I bought them in a small Walmart in Corpus Christie Tx the summer before I had Caleb. I think I paid $9 for them.  My white t-shirt was $5 at Old Navy and my short sleeve cardigan is a brand new Anne Taylor loft that I got at Goodwill for $3.99.  Our Goodwill here is like a department store.  Everything is organized, color coded and I am always finding new stuff there.  Some people think that only "poor" people should shop at Goodwill, but the whole purpose of Goodwill is providing jobs to people who wouldn't otherwise have a job.  A lot of them have special needs and without Goodwill, they would not be able to work. So, go shop at Goodwill everyone!  Don't feel bad, you are NOT stealing from the poor.  Goodwill would love to have everyone come in and buy from them so they can provide even more jobs to people!

Back to the outfit.  So for $17.99- I have a preppy outifit that should have cost me a lot more.  My pearls on the other hand were a gift from my sweet husband.  He bought me the Mikimoto earrings when we were dating and then he surprised me last Christmas with the matching necklace.  Pearls are something you just can't scrimp on!

All of this to say, you don't have to spend a lot of money on clothes!  AND being environmentally friendly does not just mean recycling and switching out your light bulbs.  A huge way to cut down on your carbon footprint is to buy second hand clothes and second hand doesn't mean old and worn out :)

Now, I am off to take Caleb to the library for storytime.  I have felt bad lately because I have been dragging him around, trying to get caught up on my etsy orders.  I skipped aerobics today so I could take him to have fun.  I will let you know how it goes.

Happy Monday everyone!

I had a mommy day

Since I have gotten home from Virginia I have felt so overwhelmed with everything that needs to be done.  I have been back for 3 days and have barely scratched the surface of my "to-do" list.  This week I could really use my husband back.  I love my Caleb, do not get me wrong, but he is getting really mobile and he is interested in anything new.  When I was outside trying to plants my plants, he kept taking my shovel.  He also kept sticking his hand in the bag of potting soil and throwing it.  He even tried sticking some in his mouth and quickly starting spitting it out, which ended up in both of us laughing.  Then I was trying to put a bookcase together, but he was determined to put every screwdriver in his mouth, no matter how many times I said no.  He was scared of the vacuum when I was vacuuming the floor, but I can not get around this one.  If I vacuum while he's sleeping, he will wake up- but if I vacuum while he is awake, he is scared, so I just have to vacuum quick!  Honestly, I am 99% sure that he is teething because he is extra grumpy and trying to chew on everything.  He just happens to be teething on a week that I have sales to catch up on, craft projects that need to be done, and a house that needs to be cleaned.  I love my little man, I really really do and most days I love his curiosity and his sense of adventure.  But today, I just needed my husband to play with him for a couple of hours so I could cross off a few of my "to-do's".  Our day ended fun though.  We took a trip to Sonic and split an Oreo Blast.  He took the spoon from my hand and attempted to feed himself- he was pretty good at it too and he even fed me.  On the way home, I looked back at my cute little sweetie bear in my rear view mirror and I was overwhelmed by how fast he is growing- then I reminded myself that in 17 years I will not remember how clean my house was or how many cute crafts I made but I am going to remember the time I spent with him and all the fun things we did together.  So I will try my very best to enjoy each moment with him and love him the best I can!

Anyone else ever have overwhelming mommy days?

On another note, I found a message in my etsy box today saying that I was featured in an online magazine!  Here is the link- look for my "La Moustache" print :)  

And now, my eyelids are blinking really slowly...which means I am off to bed!

Mooooo

We have cows in our back yard.  I like to think we are the mullet home.  You know how they say "business in the front, party in the back"?  Well, our home is city in the front and country in the back- and I quite enjoy having both.  Although now all I can think about is a big mullet wig sitting on my roof...

It is out of focus, but if you look close, this moo moo is the only one with a white head.  Poor thing probably gets made fun of by the other cows.

What's in your back yard?

Serenity NOW

Amanda, over at Serenity Now is hosting a giveaway of one of my onesies- take a look!

My first show

A couple of weeks ago, I participated in my first craft show!  It was at The Springer Opera House, a historical landmark here in my town.  Let me just tell ya, it was a LOT of work and even more work because I brought my little munchkin with me, but it was also a lot of fun and a great first time experience.  I wanted to share some pictures with you!

The beautiful Springer Opera House

They are getting ready to show "Patsy Cline" there.  I love Patsy Cline.

I am not barefooted- I have on clear jelly shoes :)  Comfy shoes were a must...and to think I almost wore heels!  For my next show, I will do a little better with the table cloth but I decided two days before the craft show that I was going to do it, so I had to improvise!

A couple of my friends were at the show too.  Caleb loved playing with one of their little girls.

This is how I kept my sanity with Caleb there.  Portable DVD players are my best friend these days.

There ya have it!