WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look what my BEST FRIEND gave me for my birthday!!!!!!! If she wasn't my best friend before she certainly is now:-) Especially since these would look great in her sewing room too (when her sewing room is done)

She listened to me whine about wanting a pair of big wooden scissors after I read this post and this post and this post. I went on and on about how I'd wanted them when Pottery Barn had them but wasn't about to spend $80 on them. Anyway, seems she found these at TJMAX and has had them awhile and happened to think of them. (I think she probably just wanted to shut me up, don't you??!) I am so excited about them and can't wait to decide where to put them. Thanks sooooo much Jess!

A Hot Day in May

This is what the 3 sisters did the other day when it was hot. They wanted to get the sprinkler out and I finally caved and said yes. I was convinced they would not play in the water any longer than it took to get all wet and drippy and then they would trail back into my house, bringing water, grass and dirt with them. But they REALLY wanted to so I said yes and tried to forget the messes they made last year with water.
They proved me wrong and stayed out till suppertime, came in, ate in their swimsuits and headed right back out. This is what they did instead of hooking up the sprinkler!

There's nothing quite like playing in the water on a hot summer day! The pool is filling as I write this so the next hot day we have all 4 of us will most likely be 'playing' in water;-)

35 Years.

**Updated!**
I hadn't taken pictures of what my sister sent me so I just did that and added them to this post.

I'm amazed when I look back over my life. Didn't I just graduate from high school? And yet, that DOES seem like a lifetime ago. But didn't I just get married? Have my first beautiful little girl? Second? Third? Where did the time go? Amazing. And how blessed I have been. I don't deserve it. A couple of days ago when I was 'fluffing' my living room and rearranging my decor I was trying to decide if I was going to include my old scales or store it again. The verse from Daniel 5:27 came to me: "thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting." So I paraphrased it a bit and made a banner that said, "(I am) weighed in the balances and found wanting." I hung the banner from the scales and tucked it in my old cupboard. A reminder that we are ALL 'wanting'. And yet God loved us so much He provided a way that we can be weighed and the scale will balance. Through Jesus the scale will balance every time. HE IS THE ONLY WAY. Praise His name that he was willing to be that WAY. I'm thanking Him today for blessing my life for the past 35 years and I'm trusting Him to be with me in all my tomorrows, come what may. Hallelujah!

Thanks to Joni, my sister got into Beth Moore - and sent me this book for my birthday! Thanks to BOTH of you! And thanks to Joni for her blog post today. Go check it out!

Isn't this the cutest pitcher? We got my Mom one at McMaster and Storm when they were still in their building in Greenville and I've wished I had one ever since. So my sis got this one when she found it in a store near her.

It now sits on my dining room table with a ranunculus bouquet in it.

Travis cut down a bunch of my chives that were blooming and made me a 'bouquet'! How's that for birthday flowers??!!

This is my present from Travis. I've wanted one for a long time so he surprised me with one last night. I'm loving it already. Gentle rainfall in the shower!

My Mom and Dad gave me this!!!!!! I was so surprised:-) I'd wanted one ever since Kara told me they might be getting them for the store. Mom remembered and got me one. I didn't know she got it and I hadn't thought any more about it since McMaster and Storm closed their brick and mortar store and went totally online. Thanks Mom, I loved being surprised with it. Now I've GOT to go to a flea market this summer.

Life Lessons...

If you are checking in here for something new, I'm sending you here. This post is very inspiring and worth your time!
Praise the name of our Heavenly Navigator!

I'm still around - just busy! I have a bunch of pictures on my camera to post, but for some reason they don't get posted while on the camera. Hmm.
I picked up my VCT tile for the kitchen floor today so I should soon have finished pictures to post of the kitchen!!!!!!! YEAH!
And I have some more ideas rolling around in my brain for making skirts. I'm considering an etsy site. This friend of mine says I should go for it. What do you all think? Anyone have any advice to give me on Etsy? (Barbara are you reading this??? I may be calling you:-)
I promise to try to get pictures downloaded sometime yet this week. I just spring cleaned my living room and dining room and thought I'd share some of my 'fluffed up decorating'! So nice to have it clean, now if it could only stay that way. Sigh.
Gotta go pick up 'the sisters' at Grandpa and Grandma's. Thanks Mom, for babysitting, I got a lot done.
Oh yes, school year book is on it's way to the printer too! And all the girls in this family (including me) have sparkly clean teeth. All that today - WOW:-)
Toodle-oo

Beautiful

Just some old photos of some of the beautiful flowers God has blessed this world with. Thought it sounded good to look at something besides skirts and a kitchen remodel:-)

Skirts are now 'IN STORE'

...and here are the latest. Get yourselves over to Barefoot Living and buy them so I can make some more!!!
Vintage seam binding makes for a great hem trim~

This was for Big Sister but she didn't like it. So maybe someone else will~

More vintage binding~

Front

Back

Front

Back

Front

Back

And for now this is the tags I put in them all.

Oops! Missed one!

I know this picture isn't great but it's what I have. The other one was worse! It got deleted. I need a new camera. Soon. My birthday is next week. Hmmm. Except I was hoping for a wedding ring from my hubby!

SKIRTS!!

OK, I hope you enjoy these, I stayed up late just to get them posted for you!

Should have taken a close-up of the band detail. Click to enlarge, that may show you what really makes this one:-)

I wanted this one for me, but alas, I haven't perfected the pattern size for me and it is a little too straight for me:-(

I think I'm keeping this one! {It's the only one my size:-)}

Barefoot Living

This is where my skirts will be for sale come Thursday. No, the ones pictured are not mine, Tonia and Shelly can take the credit for those! I know, I know, I said I'd post pics of mine. I WILL, I just don't have them pressed and photo worthy yet:-) I'm sewing some more right now to add to my stash, I'll try to do a photo shoot tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. Check out 'Barefoot Living' in P. Hill this Thursday, you won't regret it! With over 400 skirts you will surely find something wonderful! See you there!

After.

OK, I know, that wasn't very nice posting only 'before' pics. Sorry! Here are the 'after' shots I have right now. Flooring is ordered. When that is done and everything is in place and clean I will take some more and try to get the whole room photographed better. I'm really liking the way it has all come together. Best part is, Travis really likes it too:-) He wasn't sure, he likes everything in shades of white, so I have to 'convince' him every time I want to use a color. But he always likes what I do and thinks I've done a good job. (Maybe someday he'll learn to trust my judgement on these things??)
He ISN'T impressed with all the paint I got on my floor:-( But we are covering that up next weekend, Lord willing!


Light cord will eventually be concealed a little!

I'm thinking about painting a black '5' on this little cupboard. Or a silhouette of something. For now I put a removable sticker on it that a friend just gave me for an early birthday present.

Before.

I had already carried a lot of the stuff out of my kitchen before I took pictures. And shuffled other stuff around. So the red shelf has stuff piled on it - didn't always look like that!