A Lettered Love, A Little Birdy and Some Flowers...

Have you seen these beautiful pictures over at The Lettered Cottage?  Layla and her husband, Kevin, have done a wonderful job decorating this beach cottage over in Tybee Island, Georgia.
Can we just say....Dream Job? 

She gave all of us the opportunity to name the cottage and some of the rooms, and one of the names that I submitted has been chosen!
They are naming the master bedroom "A Lettered Love."  I have been so busy this week that I didn't even know I'd won until Cha-Cha from Sit Relax and Read left me a comment congratulating me!  Thanks Cha-Cha!!!

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Kristy over at The Thrifty Gypsy had a give away in honor of her 100th post.  She gave away several really great things, and I won this beautiful creamy white iron bird stand that I can't wait to get in the mail.

Kristy has been so kind to me over the last few months that we've been able to get to know one another.  She is the one that helped guide me step-by-step through changing my blog layout.  If you haven't visited her blog, you'd really enjoy stopping by and hanging out a while...she and her family are in the process of building their dream home on the most beautiful land!  I'm looking forward to watching their process and storing away lots of inspiration for my files!
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Tara from blondie 'N' sc sent me the cutest "happy" in the mail weeks and weeks ago.  I saw the most adorable handmade flowers in one of her pictures and after leaving her a comment, she asked me for my address and sent me two of them!  just because.  She has also been someone who has been more than kind and generous and welcoming to me in blogland.  Her home is filled with every kind of amazing vintage goodness that you can find in one place!

It has been such a joy to get to know so many kind and wonderful people through blogging.  And, winning and receiving goodies is just icing on the cake!

Good Night Friends~

friendship.

I want her to experience the sweetness of true and dear and real friendships.


so we're working on being a good friend that....
listens.
loves no matter what.
lives in humility.
understands and appreciates who she is.
celebrates her friends' successes.
forgives quickly and ask others to forgive her when it's needed.



linking up with:

truth changes things.

Philippians 4:8-9

whatever is true,

whatever is noble,

whatever is right,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is admirable-

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-

think about such things.

whatever you have learned or received from me, or seen in me-

put it into practice.

And the God of peace will be with you.

well.  my husband and middle son, seth, left yesterday for a week long mission trip to a small village in the Bahamas with our college students.  i've got all kinds of plans to occupy myself and keep busy.  i plan to put a dime size dent in my kids' scrapbooks that i'm...ummmm two years behind in, finish reading a book, organize my home school materials, go to the gym every day, and take my other two kiddos to the pool for some daily r&r.

we're gonna have a good time, but i'm here to tell you....
when my man leaves home, i kind of feel like i've lost an arm or a leg.

the feeling of having a lost appendage leaves me thinking way too much.

i wonder about all the things that i normally feel content with in my life. 

i wonder when or if we'll ever live closer to family again. 

i wonder if our house in georgia will ever sale.

i wonder if we'll ever get to build our own house just the way we want it.  

i wonder if we'll ever spend summers at the lake in the mountains. 

i wonder if we'll ever stay in a place long enough to put down tent pegs and root ourselves in the community.

i wonder and wonder and wonder until i'm sick to death of my little discontented mind.

i love this season of life in orlando.  i love the sunshine.  i trust God with the sale of our home in georgia.   i love being able to drive to the beach.  i love that we can walk to our neighborhood pool.  i love our gym and the long walks we take on the trail.  i love this house even though it's not ours. 

and this is why today i'm focusing on the truth in philippians 4:8-9
i'm focusing on it and repeating it over and over and over until God renews my mind and it stops playing tricks on me.

The Perfect Solution

 I've been needing a coffee table in my front living area for two years.
I'm okay with waiting two years for something if it means that I can get the look that I want.
Anyway...
We found this old trunk a couple of months ago at a garage sale for five bucks.

Originally, we brought it home and put it at the end of our middle son's bed.

But, as you learned in this post, we've switched some rooms around this summer.
I realized in the room changes that this trunk would be the perfect solution to our lack of coffee table.

So, here it is sitting in our front living area looking perfectly at home.  for now.

Happy Weekend Friends....


Linking up with:

A Birthday Girl and the Perfect Gift...

It's been a super busy week. Our God-daughter and a friend came to visit us from Sun.-Wed.

I had a birthday on Tuesday...turned 37.  

Here's a funny story. 

I commented over at The Shabby Nest last week when she turned 38.
I actually said that I'd be turning 38 this year.
Not true.
I turned 37 this week.  I just lost my age.  I can't believe I lost my actual age...
Somehow I managed to give myself one more year.

Anywho, our family celebrated my birthday after our house guests left.
We went to The Cheesecake Factory last night and ate way too much.
My sweet husband gave me the most perfect gift.

Who else has a husband that gives better gifts to you than you give to him?
I think it's because I'm easier to shop for than he is.
~Well, that and the fact that he is just really, really thoughtful when he gives a gift~

He got me a necklace from Waxing Poetic.
I got the initial pendant that you see up above.
Don't think for a single second that this is not my new most favorite thing ever.
The whole idea is to wear their jewelry in layers..telling your life's story as you layer.
such a sweet concept.

You can kind of see mine around my neck in the pictures from our celebration last night....

oh.  and I promise that our children are happy people.
look at how thrilled they look to be taking a picture with me.
Can I just go on record saying that candid pictures of my kids are so much better than staged shots.
every.single.time.

Okay.  so I'm 37.
My God-daughter and her friend told me this week that I don't look that old.
They told me I don't look that old.
I think it might have been a compliment.

switcharie..switcharoo

 

here's the short of the long.  our boys asked us if they could share a room, and we gladly accepted their proposal because they are as different as night and day and for them to want to share a room together is nothing short of an absolute miracle.  we got back from visiting family in georgia for 10 days and started making the switch the next day. 

lydia had two twin beds and seth had a queen size bed so we just switched them.
i scored everything i needed at target this time.
soft white sheets and the shabby chic bedding for her...
soft white sheets and two comforters for them.
and those lamps in the boys room...target.  i love them.  really, really love them.
i used the colorful shams and one of her quilts to add the perfect punch of color to her white...
and all the pillows off seth's queen size bed got divided between the boys two twin beds.
i divided seth's closet down the middle and gave one side to him and the other to luke.

the only thing left to do is figure out lydia's headboard.  any suggestions?  help a sister out.
and, i'm on the prowl for a  huge mirror that i can paint to go above her english pine chest...the dollhouse needs to come down, but it works until i find that perfect mirror.

oh.  almost forgot to tell you what i'm doing in luke's old room.
we're making it the guest room/play room.
all of the boardgames and bins of toys got organized and put in his closet.
my husband found an armoir for $10 a few months ago and we painted it and distressed it and put it in there.  oops.  i did it again.  i said "we" painted it and distressed it.  it was really just him.
i'll show you pictures when we get closer to finished!

Delightful Randomness.

Sometimes, I talk in randomness, and this is one of those days. 

We're seeing Toy Story 3 today with this family.

I'm guest posting for Short Southern Momma today!

I wanted to remind you of  Dusty Lu's give away with Rachel Ashwell, Queen of Shabby Chic!

You get to pick one of these two fabulous books written by Rachel Ashwell.

Head over to Dusty's Lu's to enter the give away before it ends on June 30th!

Happy Weekend

My Style in One Picture.

wood floors.
rustic light fixtures.
texture with baskets.
mixture of old with new.
nature expressed inside.
a snippet of black.
huge mirror to reflect light.
warm and welcoming.


I've decided to join the challenge with from the right bank in their challenge found here.  I love everything about this clean, crisp space...I'd just love it perfectly with a little more color!

The City Sign

 

I realized after I took the picture and loaded it into this post
that our English pine chest is completely off center...
I did move the chest into it's rightful place, but I didn't take another picture.  
This is my attempt at working on my perfectionism.

And one more thing.   When I say "we" in this post, I really mean my husband. The idea was mine...he pretty much did everything else. :)

I posted a couple of months ago about this sign that I saw over at Lissa's beautiful blog, Humble Pie.  I love so many things about her home, and this sign that she bought was one of my absolute favorites!  I asked my husband if he would try to make it, and this is our version.

Linking up with:

 

Mr. and Mrs.

Meet Katie and Mason.

They are absolutely newly weds, who only got married in Dahlonega, Georgia a few Saturdays ago.

The venue was a place called Blackstock Vineyards and Winery, and 

it was just perfect.

There was...

perfect weather

a sweet ceremony performed by this girl's husband

prayers of blessing prayed
a calm mother of the bride

a delicious brunch

the most fun photo booth for guests

sweet toasts given by a tearful daddy

the best cake I've had in a long, long while
a sister wearing cowgirl boots with her darling dress

and bubbles blown

but.

the very best part of this wedding was knowing how they've worked so hard to prepare for their marriage.

They are going to make a really great team.
They are teachable and humble.
And, they believe in surrounding themselves with mentors who are a few legs ahead of them in the journey.
They won't be afraid in the harder times to reach out for help.

It's gonna be a sweet life together.

Linking up with:



and:

Steady Mom's 30 Minute Challenge

Snowcone Days...

Snow Cones and Silly Bands...the summer's rage.

Our Crew...Lydia, Luke, Seth, and Max

 The Ice Cream truck strikes again.

The kids put this on our summer fun list so I couldn't really resist.

Eclectic Style

Welcome to my sweet friend Joanie's house.  This is their family room...see that city sign by the armoir?  My husband made them one like ours except it has their favorite cities!

More family room.  The lamps came from Senoia and I talked her into painting her old world armoir a creamy-chippy white.

This is the library off of the family room and kitchen...you enter the family room to the left through those french doors.  There is a very noticeable hint on her mantle of the souvenir that I brought home to our house from Senoia!!

More Library shots...the walls will eventually be covered in old maps like the one in the frame above the table.  I love her two big white chairs from IKEA and her pillows and that lamp!

Laney's room was decorated around the piece of orange and turquoise art that she made herself above her bed.

More of Laney's room...love the panels, the lamp, the birdcage in the picture above...the details are so sweet!

Hadley Kate's room.  She's 2 and still in her crib so when she goes into her big girl bed, Joanie will add the other twin with matching bedding...

Miller's room.  He loves VW bugs so his mom provided him with a room that he adores.  He has quite a collection!

These are just some snippets of my friend Joanie's beautiful home in Fayetteville, Georgia.
They moved to that area after living in Dallas, TX for 4 years while her husband obtained his seminary degree.
It's only been about a year since they moved in, 
so I think she's accomplished a lot in such a short time with styling her home.

There were some things I could have showed you...
like her kitchen with white cabinets and white subway tile,
her mudroom with the most amazing wooden shelving and cubbies
or the dining room with her farm table, huge black distressed sideboard and beautiful framed bird prints.
But....I was enjoying our time together so much that I never got each room photographed.

You would love her home!  Her style is eclectic at it's absolute finest! 
She has the color and the texture and the love for mixing all things old with new.

Their home is so warm and welcoming because it's lived in.

I love that on top of the chippy white box that sits on top of the table in the library there are Legos.

She doesn't have toys hanging out everywhere, 
but there is evidence that 3 remarkable kids call the place home.

I have a true appreciation for so many decorating styles out there,
but my heart skips a beat with Eclectic style.

So, what style makes your heart feel at home?

*linking up with A Few of My Favorite Things*

Welcome to Senoia, Georgia

Senoia is a small town right outside of Fayetteville, Georgia.

On our way to see my family, we stopped in for the night to spend time with some dear friends.

Joanie and I went all through middle school and high school together and ended up rooming together at the University of Georgia.

We both met our husbands in college...

She was in my wedding and I was in hers.

I have Luke, Seth and Lydia.

She has Laney, Miller and Hadley Kate.

We both went to Seminary with our husbands, and we both homeschool our kids.
It's easy for us to "do life together!"

We had the most fun hanging with them for that short 18 hours!
We all stayed up 'til 2 am together after our kids went to bed...
which may not seem like a big deal, but for me, it's a BIG deal because I'm not sure if  
Joanie and I stayed up that late together back in our college days!

We have very similar tastes in decorating...both of us being truly eclectic.

I loved everything she has done in their new home...

So, when she told me that every one of my favorite pieces in there came from shops in Senoia...

I knew that I had to visit that place.

Honestly, it's the epitome of small Southern towns, in my opinion, and I loved it.

We got some sweet tea from a joint called The Redneck Gourmet.

And, every single store owner referred to us as "honey" or "sugar" as we strolled through their stores.
I'm pretty sure that some of them even said "bless your heart" as they watched us parent while we shopped! 
(which really meant..."your kids are cute but if they break something...you buy it!")

I kind of feel like I left behind some "new" dear old friends in those stores.

You may not yet to have heard of this gem of a town , but it won't be long before you do...

because one of Southern Living's new homes has been built there!

Some of these delightful store owners told me to look out for the issue that covers the new home in Senoia 
because most of the furnishings & accessories came out of their stores!

There were lamps and pillows and baskets and dough bowls and gorgeous wooden carved swans.

There were paintings and bird cages and grain sacks and candles.

There were burlap covered chairs and old suitcases and vintage signs everywhere I turned.

And the list goes on and on...

We took all of our kids and after bribing them with a pack of silly bands each 

they had a blast!

I can't tell you how proud I'm going to be when I open up my Southern Living issue and see their home and this town featured in their pages.

I fell in love with this place and I'm just sure that you will, too!

Can we just officially say that having a store front in a town like this is what I want to do when I grow up?

Frustrated.

I'm back from our 10 day trip to North Georgia to see my family.  And, I'm frustrated.  I have at least 10 great posts to share with you, and something is wrong with our USB connector or something crazy like that so I can't upload all of the great pictures that I took.  ugh.  frustrated.

I wanna show you my friend Joanie's house in Fayetteville, Georgia.  You're gonna love it if I can ever show it to you!

I wanna show you the shops that Joanie took us to that are 20 minutes from her house in a sweet little town called Senoia.  (pronounced Seno-EE)  This little place is where the new Southern Living house is located.  They have the most amazing shops...and restaurants...and people.

I wanna show you the cow print that I bought at one of those shops that is now proudly hanging in my house.  It reminds me of home, and I love it.  I'm pretty sure it's my favorite thing in our  house.

I wanna show you where we stay when we go home.  It's in a cabin that belongs to my friend, Kristi and her sweet husband, Ben. 

I wanna show you my parents' land and their barn.  I love their land.  You're gonna love the pictures of our kids playing in the creek.  They think they found gold.  They didn't.  But, they think they did and that's all that matters, right?

I wanna show you pictures from Katie and Mason's wedding.  They got married in the middle of the beautiful North Georgia Mountains at Blackstock Vineyards & Winery in Dahlonega, Georgia. She walked through the grapevines to her groom.

I could have just done a post today on some things out in "webville" that are inspiring me, but I'm so frustrated, and I just had to tell you all about it. *insert loooooong sigh*


The picture up above....it's from North Georgia, and I can't wait to show you some of the beauty that I find in this place that I call home.