Spring Market

I'm a big fan of public school, so when our PTA asked me to be a part of their Spring Market to help raise funds for their classes I was all in. My days and nights have consisted of sewing and crafting to get ready for the event. If you're in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area... come shop and say, "hi." I will have a lot of stuff that's in my Etsy shop and a bunch of new items as well. All of my bibs are discounted in hopes of clearing out some inventory. I'm strongly considering closing my Etsy shop... I just don't have the traffic and sales there that I did previously. Honestly, I just think there's too much product on there now and many shops get lost in the chaos.

A few of my new items include the owl mobiles seen above and new pillows like the reversible "Good Day/Night Night" one below.

For those of you wondering where I got the idea for my booth backdrop, take a look at the yarn backdrop seen over at Green Wedding Shoes. Amazing. I might do a tutorial on this soon because it would look awesome over a bed or crib and it's super easy.

Come see me and get some shopping done this Saturday at Wallace Elementary's Spring Market in Lake Highlands from 10am to 5pm. There's no entrance fee and there are a ton of great vendors. Until then, I'll be at Round Top with my sister... she's kidnapping me. xo

Weekly Challenge: Lover of the Light

There are times where I find myself clinging to the light. This week was one of them. Our neighborhood has been plagued by violent attacks against women recently and suddenly the precious neighborhood that once felt so safe seems more like a prison.

It's Spring in Texas and that usually means open windows, long walks and playing outside until dusk. Now there are just rules. Lock your doors. Keep your windows shut and locked. Turn your alarm on at all times. Play only in the backyard with the gates locked. It breaks my heart.

So we cling to the Light that we have been given. Our entire community rallies and organizes neighborhood prayer walks. What was intended as an act of violence against many is being used to draw us closer together. Those that were once strangers are now bound together. We encourage one another. We pray for one another. We pray for the perpetrators. We are strengthened! And we strengthen our Love of the Light! xo

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:5

Around the House: Christmas Garage & Estate Sales

'Tis the season to hear the following, "It's better to give than to receive." And while I know this is completely true, it has never had a major impact on me until this past weekend. Here's the background: My sweet husband had the idea of helping some friends in need. We came up with the idea of a garage sale. So, last week we worked our tails off preparing for said sale. Here's the cool part, when we told our friends, they pitched in with tons of donations. When we told our neighbors, they pitched in too! Amazing.

It brought us incredible joy to serve this very deserving family. Saturday we delivered tons of toys, clothes, diapers and lots o' cash. It was probably one of the best Christmas gifts I've ever received. This is pretty much all that was left at the end of the day. Everything that didn't sell got packed up and dropped off at the Salvation Army. Win. Win. Win. Happy Christmas indeed.

On the flip side of giving, I was also able to score some sweet finds at an estate sale that I stumbled upon by the Salvation Army drop off. (See how giving always comes back around? ha ha ha) 

My tree is trimmed with 90% vintage, so finding these goodies at 10 and 25 cents each kind of made my heart skip a beat. I got the jack frost coasters and a ton of snowflakes for only 10 cents! They are sure to adorn some Christmas packages soon or maybe a giveaway package (hint hint).

 OZ peanut butter jar with measuring marks on the side? Why don't they make stuff like this anymore?

vintage Dick and Jane flashcards - I see some art projects in the near future.

How was your weekend? What brought you joy? xo

Old School

This rolled down my street last week and I don't know who got more excited - me or the boys! They had never seen an ice cream truck before. Can you believe it? Oh my gosh, when I was little we got treats from the ice cream truck at least once a week. You know... the paper cones filled with blue ice cream that had a bubblegum ball at the bottom. Ohhhh... I die. Memories.

The options have changed slightly, but the music/jingle remains the same.

Jude got Batman - with gumball eyes! Oh yeah.

Liam got Scooby - with gumball eyes. Scooby was chocolate. Very chocolate. And guess what? That chocolate stains. Really bad.  He got this stuff all over his face. And now he looks like this...

C. Thomas Howell in Soul Man

I'm happy to report that after a nice long bath all the chocolate stains are gone. Man, I love a good ice cream truck stop on a hot summer Fall night. What are some of your favorite childhood memories? Gumball ice cream? Anyone? xo

Weekly Challenge: Early Mornings.

alarm clock

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. That is me - in the morning. Lately I  have gotten into the routine of allowing my husband to get up with our oldest at 6:45 or 7:00 am, while I sleep in until our youngest wakes up at about 8:30 am. It's been nice. Not. Gonna. Lie. However, now that "Fall" is here (by word and action only, as the weather is still thinking summer) school has started along with bible study and more. This has left me running around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to get everything done before I have to walk out the door. And since my oldest has to be at school by 9:00 three days a week, getting up at 8:30 is no longer an option.

a year or mornings

This week I challenged myself to get up at 6:00 am. Yes, I have cobwebs in my head right now, I can't seem to get enough coffee into my system and I'm having to go to bed much earlier. But, I  have also discovered some really great things about early mornings.

The air is crisp. Really crisp.

The silence that filters through my home brings me peace.

I get a lot more done.

The neighborhood looks really pretty as the sun is rising.

Front porch lights illuminate homes in an enchanting way.

Neighbors are up early and they're chipper.

Coffee tastes really good.

Bike rides are soothing.

My day is brighter.

I'm gonna try and keep this challenge up for life. Oh gosh... just saying that makes me squirm. But I must say, that getting up early to start my day versus being late to work and having my job (my sweet boys) wake me up is much better for me and them. What do you like about mornings? Anything? Do you like that today is Friday? I DO!!! Enjoy it. Live it to the fullest! xo

E is for Estate Sales

Our neighborhood is filled with homes from the 50's containing all sorts of lovely treasures and memories. To be honest, the neighborhood is filled with a ton of great stuff: people, trees, family, community, love. Riding around the other night I realized how awesome it is. But I'm getting a little off track. I dropped by an estate sale around the corner last week and found two items begging to come home with me. The abc pillow above and an amazing queen size quilt in the prettiest grey and blue.

The pillow now resides in our playroom. The quilt will go in the boys room. My only problem is that the quilt has a few age stains. Any suggestions/tips on how to get those pesky stains out? Out darn spot! Out! Not a bad pitstop in the midst of a busy day with the boys. Total dollars spent? $18.00. Thrifting feels so good.  Happy weekend dear readers! xo

Around the House: Lost and Found

Hello! Last week I shared that we had family visiting and I was gonna focus on them and the treasured moments that are created with family and friends. We did just that and are still in the process. Along the way we have made some new discoveries of things both lost and found.

found: a precious dress for anna (sister-in-law)

lost: jacket that accompanied said dress - roses will be made into a headband

found: delicious finds at estate and garage sales throughout the neighborhood
lost: the gold on that mirror - it's being painted asap

found: a lovely vintage embroidered pillow

lost: said lovely pillow to my oldest (he loves it and wants it for his own)

found: a white guest/craft room and a new love for the green room since adding robin's egg blue accents

lost: my baby - he's getting so big so fast (wasn't quite ready for the emotions of this)

found: a new favorite sport and hero (papa-dude)

lost: his desire to do anything with just mommy

found: treasured moments - painting, building, water balloons and reflecting
lost: absolutely nothing

found: my new metal garden tub (in the trash) and a baby quilt for picnics

lost: cool breezy weather - it's getting hot in texas, really hot

All in all, I'm pretty sure all that was lost pales in comparison to all that was found. I love my family and my friends. It has been a delightful weekend. How was yours? Care to share any of your findings? I'm so happy you chose to spend some of your Monday with me today. xo

Around the House: Neighbors

Sesame Street has sung about them for years. Mister Rogers wanted you to be one of his. They're your neighbors, "the people that you meet each day." Before I  moved into our  little neighborhood, I didn't give much thought to them. Yes, I've always been friendly to everyone around me. But now that I know we are pretty rooted and established in our home, neighbors have taken on a new meaning. And our church reminds us quite often that our neighborhood is a mission in and of itself.

The more I get to know those on our block the more amazed I am at how diverse and unique we all are and how similar we are as well.  Here's a look at a few of our neighbors and their gardens.

To our right we have Ronnie, a pastor, and his wife and daughter. They are lovely people and Ronnie's amazing garden has inspired me to tinker around a bit with an herb garden of my own. He gave me some mint and thyme to get me started. Since, I have added basil, rosemary and cilantro. My boys absolutely love Ronnie. They climb up the fence to say hello and my youngest even cried once when I didn't take the time to stop and let him say "hi."

cilantro

mint (it is truly amazing and delicious in person)

tomatoes and basil

To our left we have Stan and his wife Maxine. Stan is 89 years old and has lived in our neighborhood since it was developed in the 50's. He and his wife travel all over the world. When Stan is home, you are sure to find him in his garden. I think Stan is more active than I am. When we first moved in, Stan was growing cucumbers, corn and tomatoes. This year his garden is full of amazing Texas wildflowers.

Across the street live the Martins. Alison and her husband moved to Texas from up north and have a heart for adoption. They have adopted a beautiful girl and amazing boy. Good for us too because their son is 7 years old and plays very well with our son. The love to play basketball together.

A couple of houses down from them is the Kruegers. Sarah used to be an art teacher (more to come on that later - she is super talented) and is now a stay-at-home mom to their son Cole. They'll be adding another boy to their family this summer! Jeff dabbles in home improvements and blows me away with his creations.  He made their deck in back and...WOW. It's amazing - when you're back there it's like being on vacation. They're pretty outdoors-y too, which comes in quite handy for us because we lose power in our neighborhood a lot and we can always count on them for hot coffee no matter what!  Thanks guys.

Down the street, towards the end of the block, lives Rod, a single Dad raising an amazing young girl who will hopefully become our go-to babysitter soon. And then there's Mike and Tricia and their son Nicholas. They moved here after they lost their home to hurricane Katrina. Their son plays a mean game of football (pretending to be Drew Brees) and they throw some awesome parties. Everyone has a story and each one is just as engaging as the next. I love getting to know them and serving them in any way that I can. But, more often than not, they end up serving me. It's humbling and beautiful. Do you know your neighbors? When was the last time you said more than, "hello"? Stop and take the time to chat... I think you will be delighted that you did. Happy Monday friends and neighbors. xo