Come Here My Pretty!

Ok, so I was just perusing my blog because I went and bought that desk I was in love with and wanted to look at the pretty pictures!

When I went to put it on layaway, the older gentleman remembered me and I got it for $300! I am super excited and can't wait to see it in my new, old home someday. . . 

I have been crazy busy cleaning out crap, junk, and more crap. Goodwill and the Salvation Army love me! I have plenty more to share but that is for another post!

P.S. I have some ads on my page and one of them said, "Is He Cheating On You?" Think the ads are based on words I use in my blog or is it just one big coincindince?

Keeps on Going and Going . . .

Ok, so in 2002, we bought a Chevrolet Suburban. Now I did not want this car, it was too big and too much of a gas guzzler. My hubby was the one who kept insisting we needed the extra row.

However, while driving to Miami for our annual Stone crab trip, I had a 3-year-old sitting right next to a  4-month-old in a Jeep Cherokee. Now the oldest daughter wanted to love on the baby and kept touching her, squishing her cheeks, and making her cry (not a 100% sure it was all loving but let's just go with that). By the time we had driven to Ft. Myers (barely an hour and 45 minutes from home), I was convinced we needed a bigger car. Thus the Blue Burb, as we sometimes call it.

Now I will say, I have really come to appreciate this car. The most important reason is that there are three rows and still enough room in the back for lots of anything and everything you need to haul. Plus, if someone rear ends the car, they are not in the back seat with my family - big plus!

So my sister and I took a quick trip to Atlanta to head to the Gift Mart for our on-line store Two Chic Gifting Gals. Going to market is super fun, especially when we discovered the vendor giving away tumblers full of wine!! On the way home from Atlanta, something big happened, or at least it was exciting to me. No explanation needed:

200,000 freaking miles! That's amazing and a heckuva lot of miles!! After dropping off my sister and picking up my girls (a row for each of them!), I started thinking about everything this car has been through:

- driving Girl Scouts to meetings for 9 years

- 8 Girl Scout camping trips

- 10 years of school carpools 

- driving family members home from the hospital after three surgeries

- tons of trips to Gainesville for Gator games

- driving to West Virginia with 6 family members for skiing for my parents 40th anniversary

- driving the Masellis and Hutchisons to Kentucky for the Gator game

- being hit in the front by a KY Wildcat trying to jump the car and instead jumped the curb

- trips to New Orleans, Tennessee, Atlanta, and yearly pilgrimages to North Carolina for fall leaves

- my 15-year-old daughter learning to drive (if she can handle this car, she can drive anything)

- my 15-year-old daughter stopping at her first red light and being rear-ended TWICE by some crazy man (no damage to our car)

- too many to count field trips

- 2 sleepovers at Sea World

- 1 sleepover at Busch Gardens

- hauling furniture, supplies from Home Depot, you name it

- home to a lizard for one, very long, week

- trips to Disney, concerts, the beach, dinners out, church

- no tickets (knock on wood)

- no major accidents (2 fender benders not our fault)

- backed into a pole and scrapped a stop sign (both not visible to driver and both the driver's fault - that would be me!)

- has a J carved in the passenger's, backseat door (oldest daughter to blame for that)

- still has a VCR installed in the ceiling (yes, we were trendsetters at the time!)

- brought home our new puppy (now she's 9)

- no major repairs

I imagine in the next year, the Blue Burb will conk out on us and no longer want to take us where we want to go but all-in-all, this car has served us well. While I will happily go look at new cars (who doesn't love that new car smell??), I will not happily look at the price tags. We have not had a car payment in over 9 years! Oy vey! Off to go load up the car for a sleepover with 10 teenagers at the Tradewinds, but that is for another post!

Loving Me Some Dowton Abbey . . .

Ok, so I can become a completely obsessive person. With that being said, a lot of the time, once I make my mind up, there is no stopping me (remember I painted 18' high walls!?!?!).  So I was sitting down to fold several loads of laundry and I turned on the TV. With nothing being on, I switched to Netflix and came across Downton Abbey. For those of you not in the "know," it's a PBS fiction series set in a grand house in England beginning in 1912 with the sinking of the Titanic. It follows the lives of the wealthy family who live in the house and the servants who are at their beck-and-call. Little did I know, when I innocently played that first show, that the next 36 hours of my life would be in front of a TV and computer! I was completely hooked in the first five minutes (I am a bit of an Anglophile).

I love the grand home (they use the real English estate Highclere Castle) . . .

the amazing costumes  . . .

A staff (who wouldn't want a staff???) . . .

the great, can't-stop-watching storylines  . . .

Shirley MacLaine as a sassy, outspoken, ridiculously wealthy American . . . 

but best of all, Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess of Grantham 

(Lady Grantham)!

Every family needs a dowager. Here are some of my favorite lines she has spouted -

Lady Mary: "Sybil is entitled to her opinions."

Lady Grantham: "No. She isn't until she is married, then her husband will tell her what her opinions are."

Lady Grantham: "You are quite wonderful the way you see room for improvement wherever you look. I never knew such reforming zeal."

Mrs Crawley: “I take that as a compliment.”

Lady Grantham: “I must have said it wrong.”

Tom: "They turned everyone out of the castle. Lord and Lady Dromgoole, their sons and the servants. And then they set fire to it."

Edith: "What a tragedy"

Lady Grantham: "Well, rather yes and no - that house was hideous. Of course, that is no excuse."

Lady Grantham: "I do think a woman's place is eventually in the home, but I see no harm in her having some fun before she gets there."

Robert: "They do say there is a wild man inside all of us."

Lady Grantham: "If only he would stay inside."

Lady Grantham: "Parenting is difficult enough even when you like the child."

Lady Grantham: "Don't be defeatist, dear. It's so middle class."

Sir Richard: "I am leaving this morning Lady Grantham, I doubt we will ever meet again."

Lady Grantham: "Do you promise?"

Lady Grantham: "Judas was only trying to help."

Lady Grantham: "I will applaud your discretion when you leave."

Lady Grantham: "I do hope I am interrupting something."

So, needless to say, I watched Season One on Netflix. Immediately had to switch over to Hulu.com (signed up for a free week, watched my stories and then canceled it) since Netflix didn't have Season Two. After watching Season Two (took a short break to sleep), onto Amazon Prime (free membership for 1 month) to watch Season Three. All that rushing (literally would have been a page turner if I was reading it) and now I have to wait until January 5, 2014 for Season Four. Bummer! Something MAJOR happened in last minute of Season Three but I won't be a spoiler. Go see for yourself! It's really good!

Now off to get something finally done but that is for another post!

Summer Goals . . .

Ok, so my life is start to finally calm down a little. School is out (even though my oldest is currently in Driver's Ed, good luck Coach Blackwell!) so I came up with a list of things I want to accomplish this summer.

1. Paint living room and stairwell - just a note on this. We have 18'  ceilings so my goal is to paint as much as possible and then have professionals come in and do the "dirty" work. Hoping to start that ASAP.

2. Find table and chairs for outside. My GTG (go-to-guy) has not contacted me back (not sure what's up there) so alas, I am left to my own devices. I have been cruising the Internet and have not found anything I truly like (under $2,000) but thought this might work:

Ikea outdoor table and 6 chairs - $399
I like that the table can extend to sit more and I really like the color.

Now it doesn't have the trough in it that I was going to have GTG build for me, but I can either add one to the table top or maybe pull a board out if I kept the table always larger. 

We are even thinking of getting 2 table sets if we really like them. That is still to be determined.

3. Hang outside curtains - yes, I am talking about the ones I bought last summer. 

4. Make pillows for upstairs porch - yes, with the fabric I bought last spring (2012, not 2013!).

5. Paint upstairs porch table and all the chairs - so glad I waited until summer in Florida to start that project!

6. Debating whether to paint the outside walls on the porch - just make a decision!

7. Organize all photos - on-line and in all the boxes I have (have been putting this one off for YEARS!).

8. Finish craft room - need I say more!

9. Finish Liv's room - again, need I say more!

Do you sense a pattern here??

10. Paint the back of the front doors - leaning towards black or a fun color.

Dark photo and yes, it's old. Valentine's Day was put up
weeks ago! Ha, ha!!

11. Find doors for office.

Something to block all this loveliness!

Like this -

or this - 

or maybe with glass insets.

Still can't decide!

A girl can dream right? Maybe that will be my reward to myself if I manage to get all my other "chores" done!

My other plan is to have a week of Pinterest. Find Pins I have been wanting to try and take one and do it each day. 

Now, off to start my "summer"! But that's for another post!

Candy Land Photo Booth . . .

Ok, well we had some really nice folks volunteer to take photos of the kids at our Candy Land photo booth. They came in with all the cameras and lights and set-up. Now remember the nice frame my friend B and I made?

We thought it looked great but apparently the photographers didn't think so. We just got our disks with all the photos and our frame barely makes the cut! On the other hand, our props were a hit!

All-in-all, the kids had a great time and had a blast in the photo booth (even without our frame!).

So I only have one last task to complete before I can officially retire the Candy Land party. Do I keep all the "candy" I made or do I just ditch it? On to another project (what to choose, what to choose?) but that will be for another post!

Dancing the Night Away - Part 3

Ok, so I have shown you all the prep work and setting up for the party and now it's time to eat and get our party on . . . 

Our candy table was the first thing the kids saw after
playing the Candy Land game.
It was great to stand here and hear the kids
cheering and gasping with glee!

We had bags they could write their name on
and then store their goodies!

These cupcakes are from Sam's and we just added the toppers. 

My friend Michelle was in charge of all the food
and decorations and I think it all
looks delicious!

This shot is so blurry but I love the action of it!

Converse were the shoes of choice.
I like those over those high, hoochie heels!

Candy Land game in action!

As a tornado just came on shore blocks from my house, I am logging off and we are hunkering down. I have fun photo booth photos to come, but that is for another post!

Dancing the Night Away - Part 2

Ok, so we left off with my loaded up car -

But before we could leave, I had to get my little one ready . . .

Her sister doing her hair.

Because we had to go early to set-up, Liv put her dress on at her friend's house. I thought they all looked cute (note the shoes!).

My baby is in the polka dot dress.

I have no idea but Liv's pose in this one made
me laugh so hard!!

Pretty girls!

The entrance to the dance -
looks delicious!

My friend B came over and we cut out the Candy Land men. 

Another friend of ours painted them.

After checking in, the kids came across a life-sized game 

of Candy Land. Instead of drawing cards,

the dad who made this game came up with a super-sized

die that the kids rolled to see what color they landed on.

This was a HUGE hit!

At the end of the game, the kids each got a piece of candy from

the Peppermint Forest.

Our party favors. We found these little gems at Sam's.

We added tooth brushes donated from a local dentist. 

Candies on the wall - we had them all over the place
to add color.
They look a little anti-climatic here but trust me,
they looked great! 

We had long garlands between the each of the openings.
We then dropped down large lantern candies
because we had them - SO. MANY. CANDIES! 

The gumdrops were lined up along the edge of the stage -
so cute!
Some A lot of the Epsom salts fell off but there were so
many layers of them, they still looked great.

The beautiful food display and live action shots to come, but that is for another post!