Things I'm loving today...

I saw this on Pinterest (of course) and fell in love. Aren't they precious. 

If you shop like I do, this has probably happened to you before. 

I may have posted these before, but sorry if it is a duplicate. I just really love these and want them for Easter if I can find something to match them. They come in white and black as well, but I really like this color.

I would also like to find a pretty white shawl for Easter since it will probably be cool that day.  

I saw this little owl on Craig's List. It is a planter. I thought it was so adorable.  

Not even sure where I saw this, but I would love to find a cute little Snoopy for Easter. I need to go hit some thrift stores this weekend.  

I'm not sure why I fell so in love with this, but I did. 

My kitchen table looks like this right now. And I am so tired of the fall/winter tablecloth. It's about time to make the change.  

Last year for Easter, my table looked like this. I am about ready to bring it back out again. I need some spring pick me up around the house. 

Can you tell I'm coming down with a bad case of spring fever?

Craft Time

It's been awhile since I have shared any crafts or decorations that have been made by my family. Mom has been busy and she shared some of her recent items with me. I love how she has done this table. Of course, the fact that it has my grandbabies in it just makes it even more special. She did the frame with a collage of pictures from when we went to the lake with my son and his family on Mom's last trip down. She made the birdhouse planter out of plastic canvas and yarn. Isn't it gorgeous. And she made the runner from some material she had. I love this whole display. 

She made yo yo's using home spun fabric and sewed them on this little doily. I love how the material blends with the home spun fabric on the lamp. This is just too cute. I am going to get some doilies and material and she is going to make me some of these for my lamps on my end tables. 

Check out the runner under the birdhouses. It is another of her recent crafts. She also painted the wooden birdhouses on the table. I wish I was as crafty as Mom. I love the little tray in the middle. She simply put a piece of fabric in the frame instead of a picture and has a neat little tray for displaying her bird items. Isn't that just too cute. 

But my absolute favorite is the pillow on her bed. She took another doily and made some yo yo's to sew on it and then attached it to a pillow she made. Isn't it gorgeous. 

Mom is such an amazing lady. I hope I am like her and that when I am in my 80's I will still be doing crafts and still enjoy changing the decor in my house like she does. Thanks Mom for letting me share all your pretty things. 

Weekend Wrap Up

Friday started out great as hubby and I had our date day. We ran around several places and did some window shopping. It was a pretty day but windy so we decided not to do any antiquing. We did end up the day at the new Russell Stover outlet just up the road from where we live. Not so sure it was a good thing for them to be so nearby.



It was HUGE. I just thought it would be boxes of chocolates. But I was wrong. They had the standard Russell Stover boxed sets, but they also had display cases where you could make your own. Imagine buying a whole pound of chocolate caramels. Wow. We did good though; we mostly just looked.



It was actually so overwhelming that I wasn't even sure where to start.



My favorite part was the blooper room. Apparently, the rejects are bundled and sold in bulk bags. You could get a pound of disfigured turtles for around six bucks. It was a neat area to go through.



I did have to buy something. I couldn't go to a candy store and come home empty handed. So I bought a bag of the chocolate mints for just $1.59. They were delicious.

Since caramel is one of my loves, I couldn't pass up this Wilderness Bar for .49 cents. I haven't tried it yet. I'm saving it for "one of those days". 

What really surprised me was the ice cream section. Oh my gosh! They had so many to sample that I couldn't even make up my mind. I might go back soon and get the one I tried that had caramel and chocolate fudge and pecans swirled through vanilla ice cream. It was divine. 

You could get it by the cup, the cone, or the pint. They also had either a quart or a gallon but I can't remember what the other option was. But we decided to get a pint for hubby to take home.

He picked the blackberry cobbler. He said it even has broken up pie crust in it. He loved it. Said it tasted just like cobbler with ice cream on it. Next week, he wants to try the peaches and cream. 

Saturday was a busy day. We had our local Celebrate and Connect meeting for Thirty-One. As always, it was a blast. I have so much fun connecting with everyone and learning new ways to grow my business. I like to collect the buttons and badges to add to my rewards board to remind me why I do Thirty-One. 

And I love getting the free amenity just for showing up. Thirty-One is awesome for rewarding us every time they can. It is always one of the products that we get for free and it is always something that thrills us. But they outdid themselves this past meeting. I was blown away. I couldn't believe what we got. But I can't share it yet. The meetings vary on location and they have them for a full week so you can select what one you want to attend. I don't want to spoil the surprise on what we got until all the meeting are over and the other Thirty-One gals get to experience the thrill of seeing what they get. So I'll have to wait until after the 23rd to let you know what it was. 

Then after the Thirty-One meeting, I went to a birthday party for the children of a friend of mine. The little girl turned 4 and the little boy turned 2. They had the party at Pump It Up in Knoxville. The kids had a great time and a lot of the parents were tumbling down the slides as well. It was a great evening and a couple of the other grandmother's from church were there as well so I got to visit with some friends at the party. 

Sunday, I got up and went to church, but when I came home I ate some lunch and then started feeling queasy at my tummy. I tried to read the paper but couldn't even make it through the comics.

I had a horrible headache so I took a little nap. After I woke up, I felt a little better but still had the upset tummy so I laid around in jammies and did some Facebook-ing and the snuggled with my blankie and book on the couch for awhile. 

Hubby came home and fixed us some supper while I took a long, hot shower and then we spent the evening watching We Are Marshall. How many of you have seen the movie? If you haven't, you should watch it. It is the true story of the Marshall University plane crash from 1970 that killed everyone aboard which included the Marshall football team. It's not a movie just about football. It's a movie about a town that suffered a great loss and had to rise up out of the ashes. It is from my hometown area and I was 13 when it happened. But I remember laying in the floor playing bingo and they broke into the regular program to announce what happened. I love this movie, but I usually cry most of the way through it because I remember a lot of it so well. 

That's a wrap for my weekend. What did you do with yours?

When it touches your heart....

These past few weeks have been rough and it seems like every time I turn around the enemy is just around the corner. There hasn't been anything major, just those multitude of "little" things that combine together that make you want to just scream in frustration. 

Then I stopped and took stock of my life and all the blessings God has bestowed. I realized that my faith that has always been such a key component of my life was a little out of whack. I had faith for others and I pray daily for their concerns, not doubting that God would provide for their concerns. And though I still had faith that He would answer my prayers as well, I was having trouble leaving Him in peace to do the job. I've been trying to "help".  So I had to step back and have faith for things in my own life. 

During my struggles, a dear friend posted a blog about faith and prayers and it really helped me get my focus back where it needed to be. It reminded me that our greatest victories sometimes come from our hardest battles. That all our worst trials and tribulations bring us to our greatest blessings. 

Then, for the icing on the cake, I was driving to town by myself and decided to put on my favorite CD by a dear teen at church. It came on at the beginning of one of my favorite songs. I love that song so I had to go to You Tube to see if I could find one with the lyrics for my post today. The chorus is so beautiful. 

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights 
Are what it takes to know You're near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

If you are going through anything in your life no matter how great or how small, please take a moment to  listen to this song and to read the lyrics for the full impact. This is my new "go to" song for those times when my faith gets a little shaken.

These are a few of my favorite things...

I love Thirty-One. I'm going to a meeting today and can't wait to see what are amenity is. We always get great products for attending the meeting. I got to unpack an order this week that had some really cool items. Thought I'd share some of my faves today. 

I love this little piggy coin purse. 

His little curly tail on the back was too precious. 

I've been trying to decide if I want an organizing shoulder bag. I wasn't sure. My daughter has one and I've been growing to like it. Then I saw this pattern in it and have decided it is going on my wish list. 

Same purse in a beautiful gray. And that lavender initials just sets it off. Love this one as well. 

This new cosmetic bag with a coordinating zipper pouch is just too cute in the Woodblock Floral pattern. It's one of my favorite new patterns. 

This was the first time I got to see a bag in person that had the new collegiate logos. They are awesome. 

This organizing pack turned out really nice with the personalization. It is going to replace a diaper bag for a toddler. What a great idea. 

I am loving the new Your Way collection. This cube is gorgeous in the new Party Punch pattern. 

The Easy Breezy tote will be a favorite for the beach this year. I'm thinking about getting one of these in the Island Damask pattern. They are perfect for holding plenty of towels, lotions and a good book for a day at the beach. 

This is probably my favorite item of the party. I love the Cindy Tote anyway, but this new railroad denim with the orange lettering turned out gorgeous. 

My other most favorite item is this Organizing Utility Tote for baseball games. 

I use one of the Organizing Utility Totes to carry my crafts and goodies to Sunday School class for Pre-K. It is an older pattern and has my initials on it. But seeing this gave me an idea for a new one for my Pre-K SS class. I'm getting one in black from the Spirit Collection. I'm going to have the crown icon-it on the background in lavender and then in platinum lettering I'm going to have it monogrammed with Kids of the King. I can't wait to order it. I hope it turns out as great as this one did.  

Remember my Inside Out Tote I earned for free? Well, here is the same bag in the Lotsa Dots/Island Damask pattern. This Island Damask is probably my favorite of all the new patterns. 

Now that I have actually seen one of the Retro Metro Wallets, I am going to have to get me one. 

They are super soft and have plenty of room.  

My other wish list item is the new Keep It Caddy. I think I'll order my Organizing Utility Tote this month so I can add this little cutie onto my order for just $5.00. I love a bargain. 

I love the assorted pockets on the back and the ends. 

I love the way this zipper pouch turned out. Isn't it cool how her initials when monogrammed like this end up being aBc. Love it. It's going to make a little girl very happy.

The turquoise pop pattern sure makes a neat zipper pouch. I love these big zipper pouches. I want one for my bible to go in to put in my new bag when I get it. 

I need a new thermal tote and I think I might get this pattern. It is so whimsical with the combination of patterns on the front. 

And this pattern on the back. This one was just too cute for words.  

What is your favorite Thirty-One product or pattern?