A WEDDING AND A WINNER

A couple of weekends ago, we traveled to my hometown of Morganfield, Kentucky. 

We made the trip to attend the wedding of my beautiful cousin, Kailin. 

We also managed to squeeze in my nephew's birthday party, 

the local high school football game and a day at annual Corn Festival.  

It was a jammed packed, fun filled, memory making kind of weekend. 

My favorite part was getting to see this amazing couple begin their journey as husband and wife. 

I already mentioned that Kailin is beautiful - 

like, jaw dropping, stops you in your tracks kind of beautiful. 

And she has the personality to match. 

Here are a few of my favorite photos from her wedding day. 

All photos were taken by Rachel Houser of Rachel Houser Photography. 

I mean, seriously, how sweet are these two. 

May aunt and uncle, parents of the bride, are responsible for the fabulous decorations. 

They are one talented couple. 

We are blessed to have been able to be a part of their magical day.

Switching gears:

Thank you to all who entered the $100 Staples Gift Card Giveaway.

The winner is Sarah from 702 Park Project.

I know my posts have been quite sporadic. 

I appreciate you hanging in there with me. 

I have another fun giveaway coming up next week.

SPRING BREAK 2014 - MEXICO

Well, it's only taken me a week and a half to get back to normal after our Spring Break trip. .

Our trip to Mexico started off with a little snafu. 

We had this trip planned for quite some time. 

About a month before the trip, my husband found out he had to be in Milwaukee for work,

four of the seven days we were planning to be in Mexico. 

There was no getting around it. 

We tried to arrange for him to come down for the last couple days of the trip, 

but the difference in airfare didn't make financial sense. 

So off to Mexico I went with these three......

Oh, and we met my sister, her family and my parents in the Charlotte airport.  

After a six hour delay, and a little time at the airport bar with my sister, 

all eleven of us continued onto Mexico.

We rented this house. 

It was AMAZING! 

It was big enough for everyone to spread out and have space, 

but it also had several common areas where we could all hang out together. 

Our trip consisted of plenty of adventure and tons of relaxation. 

I think I can speak for most everyone, especially the kids, 

that one of the most memorable parts of the trip was our day trip to Xel-Ha, an ecological water park. 

Everyone had so much fun.  

Most everyone zip-lined and it was a blast. 

Even my mother did it!

That's me at the top.  Don't worry, I'm not scared out of mind, just screaming my nephew's name. 

Later in the week, we visited the ruins in Telum. 

We left the little guys at home with my dad and brother-in-law.

We were afraid they would be bored and tire easily touring the ruins. 

Wish we would have brought them along.

The tour was short and sweet and they definitely could have hung in there. 

Just outside the ruins was a fabulous beach. The little guys would have especially loved this part.

Other than those two outings and a golf day for the guys, 

we just hung around the house and relaxed. 

and kayaked in the bay.......

and swam in the pool.....

and did a lot of hammock hanging....

and cousin time......

And then there were those really sweet moments.

Like when my five year old niece collected shells with tiny holes in them. 

  And with the help of her daddy, 

made all her classmates palm leaves and shell necklaces. 

And when my middle son wrote his daddy a message in the sand 

and asked me to take a picture and send it to him. 

And when my youngest son found the most perfect heart shaped piece of coral 

on a walk with my mom and brought it back for me. 

Lastly, I just couldn't resist turning a few of my favorite vacations pictures into water colors 

via the Waterlouge app. 

It was certainly a vacation to remember. 

I will cherish those memories with my family forever. 

Now that our kids have their passports, they are ready to travel the world. 

I am already looking forward to our next adventure!

WELL HELLO THERE

I kind of fell off the grid, didn't I?

Actually, I was just breaking in my new passport.  

I took a little trip down to Jamaica, with this guy!

The weather was warm and the drinks were cold. 

What more can you ask for.

I love my children dearly, but getting away to unwind and relax makes me a better mother.

 I normally come back from a childless vacation ready to take on the world 

(well, after a week of re-cooperating).

It's hard to reenter the "real world" after "not having a care in the world". 

This is me "not having a care in the world".

Gosh that sure felt good!

  Back to reality.
My days have been filled to the brim lately.
I have been working like crazy on e-designs and local client projects.
 I am looking forward to sharing more soon.

Oh, I also did a quick count of chairs in my home and I came up with 37.
Only seven of those are being stored in the basement. Yikes!
I snapped some pictures yesterday and I'll give you a glimpse of my chair hoarding this week.

ADVENTURE AWAITS

Call us crazy, but we are going to cross the border with these three.

 These look more like mug shots than passport photos.

The latest adventure involves Mexico and, most certainly, a few margaritas for me. 

Funny, when I told them to go get themselves ready to have passport pictures taken this happened:

- my eleven year old daughter showered, put on nice clothes and braided her hair

- my nine year old son skipped the shower and put semi decent, but clean clothes

- my seven year old threw himself on the ground and protested the mere idea of putting on clothes

(three outfits later, he declared himself along with the maple syrup on his face ready to go)

We still have plenty of room on the "Travel Wall" for more adventures. 

Clearly, I'l be praying about this upcoming excursion.

SPRING BREAK 2013

Last week we packed up the mini-van (yep, I drive a minivan - I'm cool like that) and hit the road.

We ended up in Blue Mountain Beach, Florida.

We didn't really just end up there, we had a reservation, just clarifying. 

My in-laws joined us this year and we had a fabulous time.

This was our first trip to the area during Spring Break and I dare say, 

most of America made the same travel plans this year. 

However, we didn't let the crowds and cooler weather slow us down.

My daughter didn't want to fall behind on her gymnastics training, 

so she practiced her skills on the beach.

My middle son braved the frigid water and tried his hand at boogie boarding.  

His lips were a little purple when he got out, but he didn't seem to mind.

My little guy spent most of his time goofing off in the pool

He requested that I document all his amazing canon balls. 

(Notice his toothless grin - he lost his two front teeth the week before we left.)

My husband persuaded my daughter to venture out into the cold water.

She was reluctant at first and didn't stay in long, but she had a great time.

We also saw some gorgeous sunsets.  

A good time was had by all, beautiful memories were made and we all came back rested and relaxed.

That's what vacations are all about, right?

However, it is now Wednesday and I am still playing catch up.

The only drawback of vacation. 

Oh well, it was worth it!

I have quite a few design projects I am working on, and I hope to share a few of them with you soon.

I hope you all have a great week.

READY FOR THE BEACH

I came across this lovely water color on Pinterest (originally from Lonny) a while back.  

It had me dreaming of putting my toes in the sand.

In a less than two weeks, my toes will finally be in the sand.

Here are a few things, inspired by the water color, that I hope to bring along.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Are you dreaming of warmer weather and the sound of crashing waves?

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

2013 kind of snuck up on me.
When the kids are off school, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to our days.
No complaints here.
I did my annual purging and organizing, 

watched way too many movies, 

went on a little blogging hiatus,

and I stayed in my PJs for days on end. 

Not my normal productive routine, but it sure felt good to ease into 2013.

Party's over, folks!  Back to reality.

Before I get going with 2013, I thought I would take a moment to re-cap 2012.

JANUARY

I finally tackled our master closet makeover and learned a few lessons along the way.

FEBRUARY

I had to pleasure of working with a few new clients 

on a bedroom makeover and a family room re-vamp.

I welcomed a ghost into our house.

MARCH

I added some (yet to be sewn) valances to our master bathroom.

APRIL

We took a little Spring Break trip to Islamorada, Florida.

We had a crew take over our house to film a local commercial.

I revealed some "after" photos from one of my design projects.

We bid farewell to our year old sectional and replaced it with a traditional sofa.

MAY

I added some glam to a gallery wall in the master bedroom.

I took a paintbrush to this tufted ottoman.

I added more blue to our home.  This time in the mudroom.

We spent tons of quality time enjoying the outdoors.

JUNE

I revealed more design project updates, here and here.

I helped an e-design client with the family room in their brand new house.

JULY

As Michelle so eloquently put it, I spent time with some strangers 

I met on the internet (at the Haven conference).

I finally settled on a rug for the foyer.

I continued my obsession with Rub N' Buff and a pimped out a sunburst mirror.

We made our sixth trip the ER with our youngest child.

We sadly said goodbye to our beloved 13 year old dog, Charlie.

I showed the newest changes in our constantly evolving family room.

I finished up a design project.

AUGUST

I wrapped up two more design projects, here and here.

We sent those crazy kids of ours back to school. 

I finally got around to showing you the back porch.

I introduced the newest member of our family, our mini golden doodle, Willee!

SEPTEMBER

I lucked out and found the perfect lamp for our family room, for only $5!

I re-capped a trip we took in August to Michigan.

OCTOBER

I got busy organizing my boys' closet. 

I officially started my "green" collection, which has grown quite a bit as of recently. 

NOVEMBER

I re-capped my little guy's 6th birthday party.

I got a crazy idea to switch up two rooms in the house, which resulted in the creation of "The Nook".

The big switch also allowed us to create a new dining room, 

which came with a whole new set of problems.

I also finally got around to having the $10 thrift store chair reupholstered.

I made a few updates to our master bedroom.

DECEMBER

I hosted a birthday party/cooking class at my home.

I did a little "pair" shopping and got to hang out with a great friend.

I cozied up a corner in the new dining room.

And lastly, I shared a few Christmas scenes around our house, here and here.

WOW, longest post EVER!! 

If you are still with me after all that, as we say in the south, "Bless Your Heart".

Bring it on, 2013!!