{Holidays} Fourth of July

A special Saturday post for you… we'll be back next week with a bathroom update! 

As I was reading The White Buffalo Styling Co's blog post Americana Home Decor, I started thinking of the past few years we've celebrated as a family. 

We typically go to my dad's uncle's place out in the middle of the nowhere. There's food, family, fun, fireworks and water… what's more summer?!? And of course, I try to bring something every year.

Cupcakes, just waiting to be frosted. 

A delicious poke cake covered in whipped cream, strawberries and blueberries. 

Chocolate covered marshmallows with extra sugar on top. These were a giant hit with the kids (teenagers and younger) as they were easy to grab and run out the front door. Plus, see picture of Lily below for her feeling over them. 

And these chocolates and chocolate covered pretzels were actually for my brother's college graduation years ago, but the colors would work great for Fourth of July, plus everyone loves chocolate covered pretzels! 

 Here's Lily at my dad's uncle's place when she was 1. Her dress was just adorable! 

  

Here's Lily when she was three, sporting both red and white and a Statue of Liberty crown. 

And those chocolate covered marshmallows I mentioned before… yep, here's one super happy girl! 

And the fireworks, oh the fireworks! I think this may be the best way to use pegboard… a bottle rocket in each hole, tied together to all go off as the flame goes across the board. Talk about a time consuming project though that definitely takes everyone's help! I've helped a few times, but usually it's done before I get there. 

And this was for a friend's wedding but I painted these 8" by 8" canvases and they can either hang this way or in a row. They can even sit by themselves too. They have just a bit of silver on them too which I liked. 

Happy Fourth of July! 

{Holidays} Halloween

Miss Lily had her mind set on Tinkerbell for months. We borrowed a Tinkerbell costume from my cousin but were afraid that it may be ruined, so when we found one that Lily just had to have for less than $15 at Marshalls, we went ahead and bought it. The blue wings are from Walmart that we bought before we found the Tinkerbell dress. The adorable pink flower basket was from Old Navy and I'm glad we bought it because it goes along with her outfit just perfectly!


Lily waiting on someone to answer the door at my Aunt and Uncle's House.

I love this photo! It's of my uncle and his adorable Boxer, Bennie.

Batman (aka Daddy) and Tinkerbell going out to start Trick or Treating.

 

Lily went to maybe 12-15 houses before wanting to go back. That was more than the few we started out with (we had to go back out later) and more than last year. She started to get the hang of it, especially because there were a lot of other kids around, but she still was being shy and not fond of ringing people's doorbells.

Independence Day

Pics from the 4th.

I know this one is blurry but I swear she looks a lot like me here. I need to find an old picture of me to compare...

Yes, the boat wasn't close to the lake. We didn't feel like taking her out and she was completely content to sit on the edge. Doug was on the other side to keep it from sliding down.

Looking at the big kids jump off the dock.

Walking with Daddy, watching cousin Ella's dog play.

The finale...

Happiness is chocolate covered marshmallows...

Part of the show...

Happy 4th of July!

Every year (or the past four or so) we've been going to my Great Uncle's house. He has a great location for large family gatherings plus a big lake to go swimming, boating, and fishing in. He's the proud papa of 9 kids and almost (I think) 30 grandkids. It can be a lot of people! Last year a bunch of them came in from out of state but I have no idea what today will bring. Anyway, I thought I'd post pictures of Lily over the years...

2009 - She had the cutest outfit given to her for the Fourth and we didn't take a good picture. She handled the noise well but it was hot, she was tired and so this is the best shot of her - sleeping away in her cute outfit.

2010 - This doesn't even look like her! Cute dress, my necklace on and a giant flower.Don't even get me started on me in this photo...

2010 - Lily and her Bapa.

2010 - that's the lake in the background. Isn't it great?

2011 - She had changed after swimming and it was cold enough last year to allow pants. That will definitely not be the case this year!

2011 - Playing ladder ball with daddy, Bapa and Uncle Charlie.

2011 - Fireworks and family. That's not even half of the people that were there! Every year they set up a large board with pre-drilled holes that then get bottle rockets in them. They are all tied together so when you light one end, it'll go across the board and go off in a line. It's a lot of fun and definitely a sight to see and hear. I'm not sure what it'll be like this year with the drought and heat issues. I'd like to have Lily try a sparkler or snake at least.

{Holidays} Halloween!

Happy Halloween!!

Last year I remember walking into Gymboree and they had an adorable peacock costume. I was slightly obsessed with it. I was NOT obsessed with the $50+ price tag. And I thought I could do a better job. But I was also super broke last year due to student teaching and not having a paycheck. So enter this year where things are slight different (I have a paycheck!) and I kept thinking about the peacock. By the way, last year I found a super cheap and super cute giraffe costume at a garage sale that was in perfect condition.

So I continued my obsession with the peacock but I didn't want to pay more for something I wasn't too fond of (the Gymboree costume). It was cute but just not THAT cute. Know what I mean?

Enter Pinterest. Have you heard of the site? It's awesome. After looking and pinning a few awesome ideas, I came up with her costume. It was a giant tutu and although it hung a little lower than I wanted (more of chest high than where it ended up), it still looked great. I bought all different colors of tulle - black, teal, purple, light blue, light teal, blue glitter, and purple glitter. I wrapped them all around an elastic circle and added a bow and the neck piece to help hold it up. We ended up tying part of the back to the neck piece too in order to hold it up more. After the skirt was made, I added the peacock feathers to the back and hot glued them all.

This head piece was bought at Hobby Lobby, pre-made and was great. I want to keep it for future use for her or me. ;-)

Eating dinner before the fun begins!

Ready to go!

Mommy and Lily!

Her favorite item of the whole night - a teeny tiny mini pumpkin.

Walking with Babby and Papa.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day!

I found a few good pics of my mom on my computer (not many of the two of us, but lots of her and Lily!). So I thought I'd share. There's one of Lily, me, my mom and my grandma but I can't seem to find it... I'll keep looking!






Here's a pic of Doug's mom and Lily.


And because I found this while looking for other pics, I thought I would add it. She was just a few days short of arriving on Mother's Day two years ago. :)

{Holidays} Christmas Decorations

A close up of one of many Santa ornaments. I have a thing for Santas and this one is no exception.


The mantle. The trees and wreath are full of my vintage ornaments. The majority of them are from my Aunt Deb who just recently gave me some of her's, but some I started to collect a few years ago.


The tree. I need a new skirt.


A close up of the wreath. Isn't it pretty?!


The room needs painted, the border needs removed, and the fireplace needs a complete redo. It is all from the previous homeowner and it's one room I just haven't gotten to; however, I hope to get it done by next year. The ceiling is already painted and I need to touch up a few spots. But the trouble is is that I have three pieces of furniture all in a shade of green that could go really green if paired with the wrong paint color. I will try to get a pic of them on here for suggestions. I'm thinking of the same color that's in our bathroom right now (which I LOVE!) but I also thought about a pale blue or a grey/tannish color. Suggestions?!

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I'm doing a Blog Hop!

{Holidays} Thanksgiving

Although my life is stressful right now (can ya say PORTFOLIO?!, among other things), I wanted to focus on the positives right now...

1. My family. They are wonderful and I love being so close to my parents, brother and extended family. I couldn't imagine living far away from any of them. My family obviously also includes my great hubby and my beautiful daughter. This is her second Thanksgiving season and I'm sure she'll enjoy it much more than last year.

2. My friends. They know who they are and the majority of them are friends I've had for over 10 years (two are going on 25 years!). They help me relieve stress, have fun, and I can talk to them about anything and everything.

3. My pets. Yes, I am thankful for them. After waking up from my nap today, my three babies were all cuddled up in random spots on my bed. I love my pets and they are my babies no matter how many real children I have. Zoey was underneath Doug's blankets, Taz was right next to her but on top of the blankets, and Rocky was cuddled up by my feet with his paw around his face. All three of them were strays before I adopted them so I like to believe that they are also thankful for me. Rugby is my baby too and I'm thankful for him but more so my parents who have adopted him and let him live out at the farm because the boy is just SO big when you have a toddler running around.

4. The fact that I am THISCLOSE to finishing my certification. I will be more thankful if I had a job and the paycheck that goes along with it.

5. My house and belongings. In this time of our economy, I am thankful that we own a house and can afford the payments, even it means we can't buy clothes or go out to eat without stressing me out. We have a home, a roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in, and toys for Lily. A lot of this is also help to the family who helped buy some of our possessions and to help with our house, both financially and helping us remodel the rooms. There is a lot we'd like to continue working on, but everything is in working order.

I think that covers everything. For the few of you who read this, Happy Thanksgiving and I hope to see you all as we start the holiday season.

{Holidays} Halloween

Enjoying her very first piece of candy! She realized she could take the paper off of what she must have originally thought was a toy and soon realized it was SWEET! And of course, in Lily fashion, it was BLUEBERRY. She LOVES blueberries!

Posing by the merigolds.

My little giraffe!

She now knows how to "drive" her little horse.