Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Fall!






Its no secret that I'm not big on summertime weather. So at the first sign of fall (like cooler weather) I started decorating for the season. I started collecting things to decorate my home last year. So this year I'm expanding to the outside. Who knew I would have as much fun decorating in the fall as I do at Christmas (and Valentines Day). Now I just need to figure out how to store all of this stuff! LOL

Its a Scrap!







I did it! I actually scrapped for the first time in a very long time. I completed two mini albums. This is the first album which is filled with "My Hero's"! The other one is a mini book I recieved as a gift a long time ago when I attended the Scrap Etc Weekend in Birmingham, AL back in 2007. I'm going to fill it with pics of my Valentine and our Valentine Weekend pics from last years Sweatheart Banquet (so I will post pictures once I add the photos to the album)!

I had a great time hanging out with my disneyscrappaddict girlfriends this weekend. It was good to just laugh, scrap, eat and have fun with a group of friends who get you! And it didn't matter that I was sick, and a bit cranky from a week without sleep.

Cruising through Life!



I just got back from a 5 day cruise aboard the Carnival Glory. Had the time of my life, did some things I have not done in forever (like dance) and tried out some things I never thought I would. I will be heading to DC in a few weeks to meet up with some special friends to scrapbook and then back to DC at the end of the month for a conference. In between that I will be spending a week with my mom getting her set up in her new house ( I can't wait to share pics of that). I went from hardly any traveling over the last few yrs to a flurry of travel this month (I will be unpacking my bags from the cruise just to pack them all over again for the DC trip).

I'm going to try my best to scrapbook something with all of those goodies I have been picking up from the stores the last few months! It will be nice to actually post some scrap pages on this old blog! Its been way too long.

4Th of July






We took it easy for the 4Th of July. Honeslty, look at that sky? What would you have done? LOL About the most I did this weekend was put up a flag! My tablescape needs a few more things. Maybe some red or navy bandannas as napkins. I have some white handled flatware and blue mugs, but I didn't pull them out. May have to make a trip back to Walmart for a couple more plates and bowls though. I hate purchasing something then kicking myself later for not getting all that I wanted in the beginning.

Heidi Luv!

Who can resist a little Heidi Swapp? I picked this up at Tuesday Morning last month. I think I paid like $10.00 for the entire kit and kaboodle! I resisted the urge to go back and get the other two kits, but now I'm kicking myself for not giving in. LOL

The kit included the heart mask, ghost alphabets, ghost shapes(flowers), florals in various colors, black chipboard letters, runway mask, clock overlay, foamboard alphabets in pink, and my favorite...clear extra's! See why I'm kicking myself? LOL

Scrappy Goodness!






It's been a minute since I posted. Ministry keeps us fairly busy. But I did want to share a few things I have picked up in the last few months (all in anticipation of my mini scrap weekend with some great gals in August). I'm hoping to make a few mini albums to highlight some of the trips I will be taking this summer. Including a cruise to Canada!

Most of the items came from Tuesday Morning (which I have been trying to stay out of because every time I go I find something else). I even picked up a Heidi Swapp kit, which I will share in another post.

If you like my table decorating then stay close by because I plan to do a 4th of July tablescape in a few weeks!

Summer Loving

I'm determined this summer to do some entertaining in our back yard. Recently I celebrated my birthday and thanks to my son I was able to pick up these lovely dishes from Walmart. The best thing is that almost everthing on this table was either $1.50 to $4.00 a set. I have a few more peices to pick up, but all and all I'm pretty happy with my choices.

Eye Candy!









I hate that word when it comes to woman, but if your talking scrapbook supplies.....Well, that's OK. LOL I have been collecting supplies for an upcoming trip this summer to meet with some longtime friends for a girlfriends scrap/Disney meet (no its not at Disney). We have all been friends for years, a few of us have met in person but this is the first time that most of us will meet together all at the same time. I hit the jackpot this past week at Tuesday Morning. Oh my goodness, I actually had to make myself leave the store (although I am already plotting how I'm going to go back this week. Figured I would use my birthday as an excuse).

O course we all know how much I love Heidi Swapp products. I was shocked when I relized I had a whole roll of Heidi Swapp stickers for less then $2.00 each. I plan to share with my girlfriends, but I also plan to share with some teen girls at an event I'm planning at our church. The mini album was less then $4.00!

The stamps are all from Ollies. And I think most of them were under a $1.50 each! The biggest bang for my buck went to the Martha Stewart punches at Tuesdays though. Those suckers were $3.00 a piece and the average one runs $9.99 to $12.99. I also got her rotary cutter ( $4.00) and additional blades (.99 cents). Not bad for a girl who's been out of the game a while.

Happy Valentine's Day (Early)!!!



Remember this tree? I've added a few new ornaments, although looking at this picture you wouldn't think so. Guess I will have to play with it a bit more.



What Disney girl could turn away from this? They were at Walmart stores over the Christmas Holidays. The price started at $12.00 I think. I picked up a few over the Christmas holidays for $5.00 each and then after Christmas I picked this one up for like $2.00!!!!



The centerpiece is actually a set of candle holders from Sam's Club. I watched them all through the holidays but refused to pay the $29.00 price tag. After Christmas I picked them up for $4.91!!!! Plus it was the last set on the shelf (you would have thought it was waiting just for me).The flowers are actually candle wrings from the Dollar Tree that I picked up ages ago.




I also picked up a lot of linen tablecloths, napkins, etc after Christmas from Target. The napkins were like 59 cents a piece from Ollie's. The tablecloth was like $6.00! I have had the red chargers for years. Christmas items are great for recycling over Valentine's Day.




My goddaughter and her parents gave Marc and I this basket for Christmas. We will be cracking the sparkling cider open on tomorrow to celebrate Marc's birthday. They also gave us a certificate to the Outback! Guess I will treat Marc on Sunday to dinner. LOL Well, I wish you and yours a very Happy Valentines Day. Tell someone you love them. Even better make sure you tell them each day and not just on February 14th!

Note: If you would like to see more Valentine Tablescapes then go visit here.

Snow Day !!!!!!!!!!

I did not expect to get snow this year so after Christmas I left the garland up outside, made a special wreath for the front door and added some winter wonderland lights. All with a snow theme in mind. Well guess what? The joke was on me! We got the biggest snow storm in years!!!! Its been fun taking pictures and I am so glad that I kept up the decorations. It sure added to the "Winter Wonderland" theme!

Determined in 2010!

Hope you all had a blessed and wonderful Christmas and New Years Eve. I have been spending the last two weeks hanging out with my family. I even took a blog break from my usual Sunday Mind Dump over on my personal blog. Can you believe its 2010? I'm excited about what's in store for us in this new year. In preparation for that I choose my one word for 2010. Its determined. At first I couldn't think of a word that would equal the words I picked the last two years but something said wait, pray, and it will come to you. Then I start thinking about all that I hope to accomplish this year and "Determined" came to mind. I am determined to do whatever I need to do this year. I am determined to do what God has called me to do. I'm determined to change some of my habits this year (including spiritual, physical, and mentally). And I am determined to make a difference is someones life. I realize that any order to do any of these things I have to first be determined to stay the course. But I am determined to do that also. So bring it on 2010. I ready for you!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!





Just sharing a glimpse of my diningroom redo for Christmas. I still have a few ideas that I haven't tried out, so don't be surprised if the table looks different next week. I still have my regular everyday tablecloth on the table (I brought it last year for my Christmas table). I have an older tablecloth from many Christmas before, just not sure if I want to use it this year. Its very traditional which was my plan for this year, but I'm hoping to find another choice within the new two weeks (before our Christmas dinner). The Christmas plates were a gift many years ago (the red charges are a gift from my husband who got them in gold and red a few years ago for $8.00 for a box of 8. He brought so many boxes I gave some as gifts and still had enough that I use them at weddings). I actually brought a new set last year but because our ministry schedule has been so crazy I haven't had time to get the decorations down out of the attic. I still have to decorate the two trees that are up, and I have two more trees to put up next week! I'm getting tired just thinking about it. The napkins are from the dollar store. I saw this idea on "Between Naps on the Porch" and now every time I go into the dollar store I grab a bunch of dishcloths.

Details






As an event planner I'm all about the details. This weekend Marc and I attended the 25th Wedding Anniversary Celebration of our friends Peggy and Willie. We had a great time. The entertainment was awesome, the company we kept was great and they had the most beautiful decorations I have seen in a long time. The event planner in me couldn't help but take a few pictures of some of the details. To me its all about the details. I set next to one of my girlfriends husbands who is a photographer and he did very good just being a guest at the event. He did tell me how hard it was to just sit (he even left his camera at home on purpose. Well, except when he took my camera to take pictures of Marc and I for our Christmas cards...LOL). I understood exactly what he was thinking. My mind wondered to what I would do if I was in charge. Instead I sat on my hands (except when I got up to take pictures of the "details"....lol)and enjoyed the party.

Fall Decor

Can you believe we are soo close to Christmas? Next week the fall decor will come down and I will start pulling out the Christmas stuff. I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year. Last year changed a lot of stuff for me (Marc and I went shopping after Christmas for our personal gifts). Not having to do a long list of Christmas gifts now that the children are grown has really changed my perspective and this year I'm excited about just hanging out with my family for the day and just enjoying the birthday of Christ. So before I take them down I just thought I would share my fall stuff (I add something new each year).



Our diningroom is going through major changes. Next spring I plan to paint the diningroom walls a sage green, and my beloved blue curtains will come down. They have been up for 15 years so its about time.

This is the mantle over our fireplace which also needs some paint. I saw these pumpkins at Sam's a few months ago but I wasn't willing to pay $30.00 for them. My lovely husband kept and eye on them and found the last box a few weeks ago for $10.00!

My kitchen is going through a transformation also. I'm going for a more neutral background so that I can easily change the colors on my kitchen table without them clashing with main colors of the kitchen. I started decorating our tables way back during my days in Germany when Marc was in the military. Of course I have always been a decorating junkie (sort of the same way I was about disney, scrapboking and now our ministry). Speaking of ministry...my life has been crazy busy. Marc just celebrated his 1st year as pastor at WABC and most of my time is spent working with the Youth and Women's Ministry. I would love to see your decorations, and if you would like to see more tablescapes you should visit here.

I'm in a Creative Mood

I have been in a creative mood. It might have something to do with the weather changing. I finished a centerpiece for my dining table yesterday and now I need to figure out what to do with the glass globes. Any ideas?

New Toy

OMG! We have a new SLR camera in the house (a Pentax). And can I just say....we are never going back. Of course I will have to take a class just to figure out how to use this thing! But I repeat...we are never going back! By the way do you like my hair?