Enjoying Fall

I haven't blogged in awhile, so I thought I would do one post (it's a long one) to show you what I've been up to. Our fall always starts with this little guy's birthday. He turned 2 on Sept. 30th. Happy Birthday Brayden!

He loves Bob the Builder so I made him this cake. I got the idea from my favorite cake website, http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/ . This was a pretty easy one to make.

The gifts consisted of a lawn mower, weed eater, tool set, and some guns. He is the third child, so he has to keep up with his big brother and sister. I would never have bought my first son a gun for his second birthday. Things change people!

Brayden is our most spirited child, and most strong willed, but he adds so much fun and joy to our family. He is really starting to talk and even say sentences like, "Bryce pushed me" and "I love you mommy". It is fun to hear his new words and little ideas. He really makes himself known in our family. He does have a case of the terrible two's already, but is also such a sweet kid, that he melts my heart daily. You are special Brayden and I love you very much! You will go far in life!

He loves his Grandma and Grandpa. He actually would rather be at their house than our's most days. He calls them "paw paw" and "ge ma". I am very thankful that they are in his life!

I did my first sprint triathlon Oct. 3rd. The race consisted of a 1/4 mile swim, 13 mile bike, and 3 mile run. I did it with a few of my favorite girls. Here is my sister and I before the swim.

She was my toughest trainer preparing for this!

My good friend and training partner, Amy talked me into doing the tri. I was not really a strong swimmer or biker before this. We meet early two mornings a week to run or bike. We have some great girl talk while we run. As you can imagine, it was COLD that morning on the beach! Finishing up the bike ride...Finishing the run....almost there!

Our families came out to support us which made it so much more fun. Our hubbys had to have the kids up and out the door by 6:30 to make it in time. Very impressive guys! It meant a lot that they were there. I look forward to doing another one. It was so much fun!
We have enjoyed some time outside using Brayden's new finger paints.

The other two love it just as much.

We've made a few trips to the pumpkin patch, but not as a family yet... I have discovered that white pumpkins are hard to find in the south and those are my favorite.

We have become friends with a horse that lives near us and have been bringing him snacks of apples and carrots. Brayden asks to feed him just about every day. Bryce stepped in an ant bed this day and had to lose his shoe.

Makenna took her first school field trip to the pumpkin patch. I actually learned a lot about growing pumpkins too. I might try planting some this summer and see what happens...

We just returned from a camping trip too. We had some good laughs around the fire and ate lots of smores, one of my favorite things about fall!

Played some games...

Drank lots of hot cider and hot chocolate...

Played on the rocks by the lake for hours...

And did some hiking through the woods... Lots of memories were made that I will never forget and hopefully the kid's won't either. Some highlights of our trip were:

*hubby having to "borrow" someone's canoe without asking to rescue a ball from the lake

*Brayden using his hiking stick as a horse and laying down during the hike, saying "horsey nap"

*Makenna holding my hand while we were hiking and saying, "I love camping"

*Laying on a big rock in the sun reading a book for a few hours while the older kids played together.

*sitting around the fire cooking hot dogs, warming our hands, and talking at night about granddaddy long legs and whatever else came to mind.

I have been doing some fall decorating too, although I kept it simple this year. I will share what I have been working on very soon.

Happy Fall to you!

Our Barn Sale was a Success!

Our sale was a blast and we sold a bunch of stuff! After it was over, I realized that I didn't get any pictures of the set-up right before we opened. It looked so full and pretty! These are the pictures I took the day before so there we lots of goodies that are missing. It got busy even before we opened so I did not get a chance to take any more pics.

This is a flour sack towel pillow I made backed with red ticking.

The blue chairs were not for sale, but everything else was. I made the ruffled burlap pillows. This spot looked so cute once we got it all done.

I am thinking of opening an etsy shop and might start with a giveaway of this pillow... still thinking....

Elise brought over her adorable vintage baby bed setee. Wish I had a spot for it!

This is the headboard bench my dad and I made. I used this tutorial and it sold for full price! I also made the blue ticking pillows.

Some dessert pedestals I made on a sweet vintage table.

This one was made from tag sale dishes and glasses. I love how it turned out.

Some burlap "art" with an awesome frame.

This was Elise's cool vintage hutch that sold. I wanted this one too. She made the "boo" garland and it just fits perfectly here.

A cool, green king-size headboard. I am thinking another bench....hmmmm.

Some country goodness. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us. We hope to do it again!

I'm havin' a Barn Sale!

My friend Elise and I are having a "Vintage Barn Sale" this Friday and Saturday in my backyard. I don't have a barn; I just like the name. We are selling some awesome vintage furniture and decor that we no longer have room for because we both like to shop (a lot)! We also are fixin' up some tag sale finds, making some signs, and pillows, and whatever else we have time to do before then. We should have started preparing much earlier!

I found some cabinet doors and made this sign using this tutorial on one of my favorite blogs,

My Pink Life. Aimee is always very helpful in answering all my crazy questions. Thanks Aimee!

I love how this sign turned out! Hopefully someone will want to take it home.

Here is another one I came up with for a narrow cabinet door. If it doesn't sell, I want this one in my home!

I found this old wooden cutting board at a garage sale and painted and distressed it, then added the letters. I might be sad to see this one leave too!

A few more things that will be for sale is a watering can planter, a vintage collander, and this great orange crocheted throw for fall! I'll share more later. I've got to go sew some pillows!

Celebrating 15 years and a cool souvenier

This summer my hubby and I celebrated our 15th anniversary in Charelston, SC. I have been wanting to visit here for years so this was a weekend of pure bliss!

This was the few from our room and laying out by the pool with no kids was SO relaxing! We didn't want to leave!

We ate out by the water our first night there. The weather was just perfect! This might have been my favorite meal spot ever.

We are new at this skill of taking pictures of ourselves...

We celebrated my birthday there too at a cool dessert cafe. I had Toll House chocolate chip pie with ice cream. It was so rich and good, I couldn't even eat any dinner!

This was another dreamy dinner spot that I saw. We didn't eat here though.

Sounds crazy, but I just love old graveyards. These graves dated back to the 1700s.

The gates outside the houses were beautiful. This was a house number on the gate inside this climbing vine. The plants there were amazing!

A true Southern porch complete with hydrangeas and spanish moss. Look at that grass too!

We shopped at the market and brought back these pictures. They are architectural photography that look like different letters. I framed them and put them above our robe hooks in the bathroom. I decided to use two different hooks. Now just need two fluffy white robes to hang here.

Here is the "B" in bricks.

And the "A" in a window frame. These were actually the hubby's idea....very impressive. He surprises me sometimes. We had a great time together and I am so blessed to still be in love with my best friend after 15 years.

First Days of School

I can't believe it's that time again already. We had a fun summer, but it sure did fly by! Bryce started third grade last week and he is doing really well.

Brayden is not going to school, but wanted to be in the picture. First days always make me cry even with a third grader. It makes me realize that he is growing up, but we are so proud of Bryce and the character he has.

One week later (today), Makenna started Kindergarten. I had mixed feelings about sending baby #2 off, but she was so excited, her face was glowing. That helped me to know it was time for her to be a "school kid".

She is wearing her sparkly shoes for the big day.

We made back to school cupcakes for the class. We made them last night and put them in a cupcake carrier on the counter. This morning, the icing had melted and slid off and the buses slid off too. It was a mess! I had to put them in the refrigerator (should have done that last night) then fixed them the best I could. The buses look like they have been traveling for awhile...

The kids liked them though. Lesson learned...put cupcakes in the fridge when it is humid and 90 degrees outside!

Off she goes...

She arrives ready to color her picture. Her classroom is so cute! Makenna, I have so enjoyed your time at home with me! You are such a special girl and a gift from the Lord. I will enjoy watching you grow and learn this year in kindergarten. I know you will shine and do your very best and make some special friends. I pray that as you go out, you will glorify God in all you do and put Him first in your life. I look forward to learning along side of you this year! You will always be my little girl though!

Whew! No more first days for awhile. I don't handle them well...

A $4 chandelier makeover

Has it really been a month since my last post? Where does the time go???
Here is our dining room when we moved in almost two years ago and this is the light fixture we inherited. I have been waiting to buy a new one and living with the brass one all this time. I hated it! The budget didn't allow for a new one, so I decided to makeover this one.

Here is the new chandy after one can of Krylon Ivory spray paint (Wal-Mart $2.50), and a few sheets of scrapbook paper (Hobby Lobby $1.50) and some Mod Podge. I love it! In case you haven't noticed, I just love lighting and what it does for the feel of a home. I did take the fixture down before painting it, or should I say my hubby took it down and hung it back up for me. Thanks Honey!

I love how it changes the feel of my dining room. And yes, that is a paint test under the chair rail. I thought about painting the bottom a greyish blue, but changed my mind. I would really like to do some board and batten under there. Just need to paint back over that and haven't done it yet.

Here is a close up of the paper I used. It's subtle, but gives it a little character. I distressed it some too, but it is hard to tell...

I was inspired by all things Coastal after our family beach vacation this summer. I used some starfish I bought there and some garage sale plates (brown and white) that I finally found recently, and some blue glass jars to create a centerpiece.

I will be posting some pictures from our trip very soon!