Shopping Buddies

A few weeks ago after dropping Mallory off at school, Jack and I headed to Walmart to do some grocery shopping.  On the way we went through the Chick fil A drive-thru for some breakfast.  I LOVE breakfast at Chick fil A.  Well, I just LOVE Chick fil A anytime!  That place is so good!  Well, back to Walmart... Jack rode in the buggy and ate his breakfast while I shopped.

It just doesn't get much better than that, does it?!

Yesterday, I waited until after I picked Mallory up from school to do my shopping.  Mallory has always loved the "Customer In Training" shopping carts Brookshires has for little kids to push around.  This was Jack's first time to have his own cart!  He thought he was BIG STUFF!  :-)

And Mallory loved being the leader and teaching Jack all about  it!

It was hilarious to watch them push their buggies around the store.  He did everything exactly like she did, following right behind her.

It made for a slower shopping experience, but it was fun and since we only needed a few items, it was worth it.  Fun, fun memories!!

I have a new blog!!!

I am so excited to announce the beginning of something NEW!!!  I have just finished creating a blog for my Mandy Jane Boutique!!!  Please check it out and become a follower!  I'll be adding new things often and posting giveaways periodically.  Let me know what you think!!!

Click here to go to my Mandy Jane Boutique Blog!!!

WINNERS!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS

to 

KELLY for winning the Groove Kid Nation CD

and

EMILLIE ROSE for winning the Debbie and Friends DVD

and

ASHLEY for winning a SURPRISE GIVEAWAY!!! - A Mandy Jane bow of her choice!!!!

Ladies, watch for an email from me.  :-)

Plant Farm Fun

Last week, we took the kids to the plant farm to "help" my mom and dad pick out some spring plants.  The kids always look forward to it because they love to ride in and pull the wagons!

Mallory brought along her teeny tiny baby doll. Can you see it riding in the front corner of her wagon!?! HA!

 

Jack started out riding in the wagon, but when he saw how much fun Mallory was having, he quickly decided he needed to pull his wagon, too.

 

Until it got too heavy! :-) "Heh-bee" as it called it!

 

The weight didn't seem to bother Mallory. She was bound and determine to be a helper and pull her wagon all the way to the checkout. :-)

 

She was so proud of herself and having such a blast!

 

Jack abandoned his wagon and decided to check out the hydrangeas.

Thank you, God, for beautiful sunny days and spring time!!!

Then Sings My Soul Saturday - New Doxology

I just love this new arrangement of The Doxology.  The 2nd verse, 3rd verse and chorus were written by Thomas Miller and are SO good!  God has always blessed me abundantly, but lately I have received showers of blessings and I can't help but PRAISE HIM!  Good health for my family, a new home, a fun business that is booming and providing a little extra income that allows me to be a stay-at-home-mom, wonderfully supportive parents, precious children, and His constant faithfulness are just a few of the blessings I am thankful for today.  What are YOU thankful for today?  Join me and praise Him for all His many blessings.

I'm linking up with Amy at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders for Then Sings My Soul Saturday.

Decorating with Floral Arrangements

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite things to decorate with is floral arrangements.  I just love the warmth and elegance a beautiful floral arrangement brings to a room.  But, if you've shopped for floral arrangements you know how pricey they can be!  When Brad and I got married almost 13 years ago, there's no way we could afford those expensive arrangments and we still can't!  So, I got busy teaching myself how to arrange flowers.  It's not at all an easy process, but once you practice and give it a try, it's like anything else... the more you do it, the better you get.  But, I have to admit, I understand why they are priced like they are!!  Some of them are well worth it!

I decided to focus this post on floral arrangements because I have just finished making 4 of them!!  They are fresh on my mind!  :-)  You'll notice that I use a lot of burgundy and red in my arrangements.  Right now just about all of my decor is burgundy red and gold.  You should have seen the mauve flowers I used in my arrangements when I first got married!  OH MY!  ;-)

This large arrangement is sitting on my dining room table.  I actually bought a smaller arrangement in this pedestal container at Canton.  I used it in my kitchen and loved it!  But, when I got my dining room table, the pedestal base was just what I was looking for to put on it.  I bought some new floral stems and added them to this arrangment for a significant height difference and to make it look more formal.

I made the two arrangements on the sconces from scratch.  And one thing I know... it is VERY hard to make two identical arrangements.  It's even harder to make two arrangements that mirror each other!  Gracious!!!

Another view of the dining room table arrangement.

The wall sconce arrangements have feather trim at their base!

These were fun to make and I think they turned out great for this room.

I made this arrangement many years ago.  It sits on my entry hall table.

This particular arrangement has been everywhere!  Right now it is in my entry hall and is also visible from the window beside the door.  I just love the versatility of floral arrangements!  They look good just about anywhere!

I originally made this arrangement for my fireplace mantle.  But, in this house, I've decided to put it on top of my piano.  Do you see the red flowers trailing down the front??  Those are flowers made from crystal beads.  I just love them!!!

I made this flower arrangement to sit in my gold trinket box and have it displayed on my bedroom coffee table.

This is another arrangement that I originally bought, but I have put it in a new rooster container and added many more stems, feathers, artichokes, and berries.  It's home is my kitchen table.

And finally, this is a new arrangement I just made for my master bedroom.  I used a lot of stems, sticks, and greenery for this one.

Now, I really need to focus on some runners and scarves for a few of the arrangements to sit on.

I made this topiary arrangement almost 7 years ago when I found out I was pregnant with Mallory.  I made it for her room and it's still there today.  It got a little messed up in our move and the ribbons I used really need a good fluffing.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I'll be linking up with Savvy Southern Style, Elements Interiors, Tip Junkie, and DIY by Design.

My Office

When we moved 4 weeks ago, I knew that the most important areas to set up first had to be the kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms.  So, I quickly got those rooms done and began decorating all the other rooms - that's the FUN part!  I decided to put my office off until last because I knew it was going to take the longest.  I was using my office as the "catch all" room for things that didn't have a place yet, so it was FULL!

I finally got the room done and am very happy with it!  It's my DREAM ROOM!!!  I now have my very own room where I can blog, sew, craft, and CREATE!!!  And there's plenty of extra space for the kids to do projects, too.  It's such a blessing!!

Here are some pictures of MY CREATIVE space!  :-)

As you walk into the room, you'll see my "new" rocking chair and my project table between the two windows.  I love the natural light these windows provide!  You can also get a pretty good idea how much floor space I have from the picture.

I have a collection of silver crosses that I hung above the table. I am working on a quilt and plan to display it on the arm of the rocking chair as soon as it's done.

 

On the left side of the room, I have a sewing workstation and a computer workstation.  Remember how I told you about my love of dumpster trash?  Well, the desk where the computer is was actually sitting beside the dumpster at my Nanny's apartment several years ago.  It was in excellent condition and even has a glass top!!!!

This is my sewing area.  I hung my scissors and measuring tape from the Blessings sign and used all black and silver accessories to decorate the black shelf.

This cross-topped jar goes along with the other silver crosses in the room and holds a few spools of ribbon.

Here's a close up of the accessories on the black shelf.  My sister-in-law, Amy, made the frame on the left!  I love it!!!

I have a small bulletin board and another small black shelf above the computer desk.  And the treadmill is off to the left in the corner of the room.  It's still holding some papers that need to be filed and things that need a home.  ;-)  Obviously it hasn't been used since we moved in, but I hope to get it cleared of this week and get back on it!

The project table or what I call my "cutting table" is between the windows.  It's been in my family for many years!  My daddy made it for my mom to use in her sewing room for a cutting table about 25 years ago.  My Nanny also used it in her apartment and now I'm getting to use it, too.  The drop down sides both come up to give more table-top space and it has a cute little drawer on one end.  I especially love the spindles that go around the lower shelf.  And, since my daddy made it, it's extra special to me!

Immediately as you enter the office, I have this lawyer's bookcase filled with most of my Disney collection.  In our last house, I decorated my office area with all of my Disney stuff and had the entire room with the Disney theme.  This time I decided to put my collection in this bookcase and not have a specific theme to my office.  I kind of like this better for this house.

Would you believe this is only PART of my collection?!?!

Believe it or not, my FAVORITE part of the office is the walk-in closet!!!!!  With this closet I have the ability to organize everything, but keep it out-of-sight!!

I even have space on the side for my central vacuum and all it's parts!

These plastic drawers hold all my ribbon and bow making supplies, sewing stuff, pens, pencils, markers, glue, gift wrap sacks, tissue paper, and MORE!!  It's been SUCH a blessing to have this space and have it so organized!!!  I just love things neat and nice.

Aahhhhhh!!!

Gotta go make some dinner.  My family is getting hungry!  I hope you have a wonderful week and have a chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful spring weather we're having!!!

My Newest Trash to Treasure!

Hi friends!
About one week before we moved, I was driving Mallory to school and it just so happened to be trash day. Now you have to know me to know that I am no stranger to curb trash or dumpster trash.  While I have never been a "dumpster diver", I have been known to bring home a treasure that was left waiting beside the dumpster.

Well, like all trash days, I am well aware of my surroundings as I drive through the neighborhood and I always take special notice of what MIGHT just be waiting for me.   As I rounded the corner about 1 block from the school, at the curb of one house, I noticed a rocking chair sitting beside the trash can.  Well, it didn't take me long to whiz the car to the opposite side of the street and check out my FIND!  I popped open the trunk and loaded that baby in a heartbeat!!!  I knew if I waited and took Mallory to school first and picked it up on the way home, it wouldn't be there.  It was TOO good of a find!!!

I was so excited to get home and get a good look at the chair up close and personal.  I knew that there had to be something terribly wrong with it for someone to be throwing it away.  I looked and looked, but couldn't find anything wrong with it!  It was in need of a good cleaning, but that was an easy fix!  It was also painted red and the paint was chipping, but paint can cover a multitude of problems!

Since I've been in the middle of our move, I have just now been able to take the time to clean it up and give it a fresh coat of paint.  Here's a BEFORE picture...

Isn't it CUTE!?!?!?!?!

LOOK at those SPINDLES!!!!  I LOVE it!!!

And the red wasn't that bad, but I decided I wanted to put it in my office where the walls are painted a burgundy red.  It definitely clashed.

Here's the AFTER!!!!

Isn't it FABULOUS?!?!

I just love it and am so excited to have found it!!  I plan to show you pictures of my office soon.  I have ALMOST finished organizing and decorating it!  And, the black rocking chair goes PERFECTLY!!!

I hope you've enjoyed my Trash to Treasure find, too!!

I'll be linking up with several blog parties to share my fun find!

Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

CraftOManiac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac

DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff