Happy birthday to my Daddy

Happy birthday to the most wonderful man in the world. He will forever be my hero. He would have been 93 years old today, but God took him in home in 1999. It's hard to believe he has been gone 17 years. I love you Daddy.

Happy birthday Daddy.

Happy birthday to my granddaughter, Shelby

This sweet little angelic face is growing up. Our Shelby Rayne is turning 8 today. It is hard to believe.

Over the years, she has developed a unique personality.

She has many looks and personas. Some days she tells me she is a movie star other days she's a princess from China. You never now what she will do. She is 8 years old today but sometimes I still see that little 3 year old that loved to dance and sometimes I see a girl that thinks she is already 18. 

She is the reason my daughter is constantly saying "Sometimes you just have to pick your battles." Especially when Shelby decides to dress herself and borrow her Mom's shoes. My daughter calls this Shelby's "Peg Bundy look".

But she does have a sense of style and knows what she likes. She's the only one I know who pics out a fancy dress for her cousin's Sweet Sixteen bash and then hula hoops in it.

This was last Halloween. You can tell by her stance that she puts a lot of attitude into her poses.

She marches to the beat of a different drum for sure. You never know what she is going to do. My daughter walked in their kitchen one night and this was what she found. Shelby in her Daddy's welding hood. Who knows why? She is always doing stuff like this and my daughter has gotten to where she doesn't even ask. She just shakes her head and moves on.  

And she can be so dramatic over the funniest things. One day at lunch, her mom and I were acting silly and Shelby just made this pose and informed us "I can't take you two anywhere."

She is definitely one-of-a-kind and keeps us on our toes. Hope you have a very Happy Birthday, Shelby. We love you, even though we sometimes don't quite understand you. 

New word for the day - Samovar

I was reading a book tonight and the lady was bidding online for a samovar that her daughter wanted. So I googled it to see what a samovar was. Turns out it is a highly decorated tea urn used in Russia. Of course, then I had to Google a picture. And fell in love. Of course it is related to tea pots so you knew I would like it. Here are some pretty ones I found online.

Fess Up Fun

Confession is good for the soul they say. There's a little game going around Facebook called Girls Fess up. I thought it would be fun to post my answers. 

GIRLS FESS UP

1. Hair down or up? Down

2. Jeans or yogas? Jeans 

3. Painted or non painted nails? painted ... ALWAYS

4. Favorite color? red

5. T shirt or dress shirt? t-shirt

6. Flip flops or sneakers? flip flops

7. Big purse or small? BIG

8. Tattoos? No way

9. Piercings? Just ears

10. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

11. Favorite animal? Cat

12. Favorite food? Sausage Pizza

13. Rap or country music? Country

14. Height? 5'0"

15. Sports or couch? Couch

It's that time of year...

Why is it every year when we get closer to August, I get in a fall mood. I have never figured that out. Summer is about 1/2 over and I am already looking ahead to fall.

I start thinking about fall crafts about now and looking for new ways to decorate. I don't always follow through, but I do enjoy looking.

This is a great gift idea for a "just because" gift to friends. 

Okay, I love this. Call me crazy, but why couldn't I just take some old books from yard sales and spray paint them and do this with it? I think I may just have to try that. You could cut off a piece of thick twig from a tree branch and use it as the stem for the "pumpkin." Hmmm....food for thought.

I love this. Spray paint the cheap plastic pumpkins for mum planters. You could even turn them around facing backwards so they don't look like jack-o-lanterns to use all fall. You could do any color you wanted to make them shiny and pretty. Or better yet use the new Valspar® Milk Glass Spray Paint to make them look like vintage milk glass. OOO! I love that idea.

This is a craft I know I could do. You wouldn't have to be very artsy to do a crow, ghost or jack-o-lantern face. Not to mention these rough wooden spoons come in three packs for about a dollar at most places.

This would be an easy DIY craft. Vase with candle stick hot glued under it for a pedestal and then put in a candle and cinnamon sticks. Super simple, super cheap.

Now this is really, really cute.

Well, I have some ideas at least now so if I do decide to make anything.

Laundry rooms

My laundry "room" for lack of a better word, doesn't have that much "room" in it. But I do have wall space above the washer and dryer that I want to fix up some. When I moved, there was a wooden shelf and a white wire rack. I just sat stuff up there that I normally keep in my laundry room. 

So, as always, I turned toward Pinterest for some ideas. Here are some things that might work. I love this, but the wooden shelf on top the w/d won't work because my washer is a top load. But the rest would work.

I love this one. And it would work because I could use shorter cabinets and raise that shelf so that my lid opens.

This is my favorite. The little small shelf over and behind the appliances would allow room for the lid to open and cover the pipes and hoses.

I also like this only I would paint it white. Simple and basic but very easy to do.

And this is one that a friend of mine did using Thirty-One storage bins, but I'm not a big fan of the metal racks.

This was probably my favorite. I just love how everything is out of site and how they decorated between the cabinets. 

Not sure how much of these DIY projects I could do, but I am going to start thinking about doing something in the laundry.

Weekend Wrap Up

I had an amazing weekend with three of my grandchildren. They are such a joy to be around. Lots of fun, lots of laughter and most importantly lots of love. 

There is nothing like spending time with them just hanging around the house. They say so many funny things that I should be writing a book about it.

My favorite moments are those when, for no reason, they just throw their arms around me and tell me they love me. Or the times when they want me to tell them funny stories about them when they were little. They are 5, 7 and 11 right now so it's funny when a 5 year old wants to know what he was like when he was little.

Then they all want to know stories about their big brothers when they were little (the big brothers are 17 and 13 so they weren't over this weekend.) 

But the best time of all was snuggling around in living room eating popcorn and Hershey bars while we watched movies. 

I really needed a weekend like this to just hang out and enjoy life. 

Beautiful sky after a downpour of rain....

Some of my fave photos are of the sky. It is ever changing. Here are a few photos from after Friday's rain. Only GOD can paint such pretty pictures.

My visit to Global Gifts

In the city of Columbus, OH there is a district known at "The Short North". It is a neighborhood centered on the main strip of High Street immediately north of downtown and extending until just south of the Ohio State University campus area. In that district is a store called Global Gifts. I stumbled across it last year at my Thirty-One National Conference and couldn't wait to go back this year. Check it out...

My friend Jenna who loves to do some Christmas shopping each time we go here.

There are so many unique items, I'll show you some of the different sections.

See that tea for two set in the back? I bought that last year on my first trip there.

Debbie at Jeremiah-2911.com will love the little owls.

Again some birds and owls for Ms. Debbie.

I love the jewelry area. Could spend all day just browsing all the choices.

So, with all these wonderful items available, do you want to see what I bought for myself.

Thirty-One has had a bicycle theme at last years conference and I bought a necklace charm and a t-shirt with a bike. This year, they have come out with a bicycle on some of the products. So needless to say, I had to have this bicycle.

They have a gorgeous polished rock collection in heart shapes. Last year, I bought IMAGINE. This year, I bought BELIEVE. I love these.

But my favorite purchase of all was this beautiful red and gold bracelet. I wear so much red, especially in winter. Plus red is one of the new colors in Thirty-One products this year which thrilled me because red is my favorite color. So I knew it was meant to be for me to buy this bracelet.

If you are ever in Columbus, you should visit this store out. They have three locations in Indiana as well. You can follow Global Gifts by clicking these links on:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

Global Gifts carries products that are fair trade, which means that any purchases supports fair wages, gender equity and safe and dignified working conditions. Global Gifts is a nonprofit organization. Their products come from artisans in more than 40 countries around the world, each with a unique story. (This information is from their website and you can learn more at http://www.globalgiftsft.com/)

Global Gifts

682 North High Street

Columbus, OH 43215

Phone: (614) 621-1744

Hours:

Mon -Thurs: 11am - 7pm

Fri & Sat: 11am - 9pm, Sun: 11am - 5pm