{giveaways}

 Ashley at Under the Sycamore is having her monthly giveaway starting today!

There are thirteen shops participating including mine!

All you have to do is visit her blog and each shop has their own little post. 

Just visit the shop and come back and tell her what your favorite item is!

A Cottage Life is giving away a $25 store credit!

{sneak peeks}

 

Here are some little peeks into the treasures I have been finding for Farm Chicks!

Are you getting curious?

Come see me and the 199 other AMAZING vendors June 4th and 5th 

at the FARM CHICKS ANTIQUE SHOW!

{little fish. big pond.}

I received another vendor information packet for Farm Chicks today.

I am totally, newly, enormously freaked out once again.

Last year was my very. first. time. ever. in the whole span of existence. to do a show. 

Any show. 

And this year is my second time in the whole span of existence to do a show. 

And I don't just mean the Farm Chicks show. 

Any show. 

Get the picture? 

I am one of 200 vendors. 199 amazing vendors. 

From a lot of way more interesting places than here.

Last year I did the show with my super talented sister. She was in fact the one that said..."we could totally do that!" in reference to making our debut as vendors at Farm Chicks. 

This year I'm technically going it alone although my Mom and Sister will be here again to provide way more work and support than they should have to give! 

I'm thanking God for them...because without them I would really be shaking in my boots! 

So I am up to my ears in projects, and my mind is swirling with all the super fantastic ideas I've come up with since last year - but will run out of time before I can make them a Farm Chicks reality. There is so much truth in the statement too many ideas, too little time. 

That's where I'm at folks. Scared silly again. Going up with the bigwigs. The hotshots. 

Thinking, "how in the whole universe did I slip into this fantastic show?" 

And if you think I'm kidding....think again. If you are anywhere in a hmmm..I don't know 1000 mile radius? You should come to this show. 

It is CRAZY. 

So many people.

So much cool stuff.

Total sensory overload.

{By the way, someone asked about my polka dot trays I was working on here.
This turquoise one is my favorite!)

Oh happy day, it's Friday!

 

Well, it's Friday. And it's sunny again today!

Yesterday we had a huge temperature drop from the day before. I went from doing outside projects to doing inside projects. I added the cute mini bunting you see above in my shop yesterday. Definitely an indoor project. One of the fun things I'm finding about having a shop and sponsoring such a big and popular blog as Under the Sycamore tree is that some of my customers are people I "know" or rather know of from the blogosphere. A couple of times now I've realized I know my customers because I read their blogs! So fun to have people that I think are super cool buying the stuff I make! 

I'm also sponsoring a really cute blog called Marigold Road. Mindy turned the big 3-0 this week and has been doing lots of fun giveaways from really great shops. Head over and enter them all! They are open until Sunday. I'm giving away a $15 credit to my shop over there as well!

Head on over and say hello and Happy Birthday to Mindy!

(Due to the fact Blogger was down yesterday and removed a bunch of blog posts - the post that featured my shop is currently missing! Check back because I'm sure she will repost it!)

{Sunshine, scrubbing, and a makeover}

Today is another gorgeous sunny day. It's the kind with the cool breeze but the warm sun. You know. The kind where you whisper - perfect. 

All my indoor plans are shifting to outdoor plans. Instead of the sewing I was planning on attacking for Farm Chicks, I think I'll hit the paint store and get what I need to start refinishing some of my furniture - outside. 

It's just one of those days. 

I also need to finish scrubbing those trays in the photo above. I got them for a steal but they are so grimy!

I can't decide what I should do with them. I collect vintage metal trays...the kid with the flowers on them. My kitchen is covered in them. But these trays are just on the line.......cute?/ugly?, cute?/ugly?. I just can't decide. I'm still finishing up my small polka dot trays I talked about in yesterday's ten on ten. Which was really fun by the way...although it took a little focus to remember to take photos for ten hours straight. So anyway, thoughts on the trays? Paint? No paint? Tell me your thoughts.

In other exciting news...you may or may not have noticed how much cuter my blog is looking today. A few weeks ago Katy at Life Made Lovely Designs gave me a darling new etsy banner and avatar for my shop A Cottage Life. She worked her magic again and transformed my blog! Which I love, love, love! Did I say I loved it? Well, I do.  Go visit their site, look drool over their portfolio, you'll want them to work magic for you too. Trust me!

 

{ten on ten}

A friend of a good friend created this fun monthly activity for all of us bloggers who like to take pretty pictures.

Every month on the tenth day, you take ten photos of what you are doing for ten consecutive hours. 

I've wanted to join in the fun for a long time now but always forget! 

So here are bits and pieces of our tenth day of the fifth month of this year.

{10:00 hour}

Busily piecing together a bunting for Farm Chicks!

I'm a vendor and it is less than a month away...eek!

 

{11:00 hour}

Taking photos outside of a new bunting for my etsy shop...it is a gorgeous, sunshine filled day today!

{12:00 hour}

The kids waiting impatiently to go play outside. 

 {1:00 hour} 

Lunch time!

{2:00 hour}

Adding another coat of paint to these soon to be white polka dot trays!

{3:00 hour}

Nap time interrupted to pick big brother up from school.

{4:00 hour}

Not even kidding here folks. Didn't know this was possible. Driving home with the sun roof open....splat. A bird poops pretty high on my windshield. Whew, I totally thought. Escaped that one coming through the sun roof! I was giggling about it and called my sister to tell her how I had narrowly escaped bird poop catastrophe when I heard my baby crying in his seat right behind me. Lo and behold: bird pooping through open sunroof + moving minivan = poop on baby in second row of seats. 

They didn't teach me that in math class! 

{And FYI I was pulled over when I took these pictures - trying to help clean him up! Not just trying to get the best photos for ten on ten EVER! Give me a little credit...}

{5:00 hour}

E is organizing his Star Wars Legos for some epic battle happening at school tomorrow.

{6:00 hour}

Finally eating and modeling the finest of table manners: knees up and utensil of choice?

Star Wars Lego light saber of course.

{7:00 hour}

Sitting down at last for my own dinner.

{8:00 hour}

A blurry past her bed time girl jumping on the bed. Always conducive for sleepiness..

Edited to add:

Whoops! It was pointed out to me after the fact that I had actually done an eleven on ten. 

Oh, well...you got to see how crazy our bedtimes are around here!

Scenes from a Mother's day

My sweet girl falling asleep on my lap. That doesn't happen very often anymore..

 

My kids lined up for lunch at their Aunt and Uncle's house. There is something about seeing them all lined up like that - it just melts me a little bit.

Trying to get a shot with all three kids looking like they love me! I know they do, but isn't this funny?

What can I say? She is so darn cute.

This little photo shoot was after the one on the swing. She was suddenly a model, 

hamming it up for the camera!

This fresh little two year old (his birthday was last week) just brings me such joy. I'm thankful all the time that we didn't stop the babies at two. What would we do without him?

This guy is so good at being seven. I tell him that all the time now. (He just had a birthday a few weeks ago!) Like when he is repeating the same word in the car oh, for the 200th time...I say, "You are so good at being seven!"

These pigtails. What a lifesaver these pigtails are! Remember the mullet?

Oh, look at that grown up look. Did I tell you that since he is seven he is totally, and I mean TOTALLY into Star Wars? And Star Wars legos? I think it must be a seven year old rite of passage. 

I hope all you Mama's out there felt truly special yesterday. I really hope you feel special everyday. I know I do. When I stop and breathe and get over the sticky floor from the four year old who made her own butter and honey sandwich, or get over stepping on a toy for the 10th time in the middle of the floor, I am so grateful God blessed me with these kids. That I get to be here to watch all of their funny, proud, and tearful moments.

So happy to be their Mama.

Happy Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

My Mom is Sharon. She will probably be mortified that I put this picture of us up. She hates any picture of herself and isn't in many pictures. I am totally following her lead. In fact, I'm kind of mortified at myself for putting this picture up of me. Oh well. This is us. Mother and daughter. And I love it.

My Mom is one of those Moms that I want to be like. I've been a Mom for seven years and still have not even come close to emulating the qualities I admire in her. She is one of those Moms who sacrifices for her children. She is the one who will take the burnt piece of food for dinner or sit in the uncomfortable chair. She puts others first to the extreme. She comes to visit and she doesn't ever sit down. Not because she is standing around but because she is working....laundry, laundry, reorganizing my pantry, making beds, doing dishes, making delicious meals! She has always been like this. I don't ever remember our home being messy growing up! And it wasn't because she was making us work our tails off. She had keeping a home down to a science. 

And she isn't just a worker. I was sick a lot growing up. Of course, I always wanted my Mom. She was my comforter. Just having her near made everything better. I still remember the comfort she gave me just by rubbing my back or caressing my arm. Mom comfort. 

We had our moments (as I remember my Senior year in High School) and we still sometimes have our moments. Like when I just want her to sit down and relax at my house instead of doing the 100th load of laundry! But my memories of my Mom are good, all good. 

And one thing about my Mom. She has had to endure the thing that all of us as Mom's fear: the loss of a child. My oldest sister Chelle, died when she was 28. I usually think of her loss as how I relate to it, what I lost. Only sometimes do I take time to reflect on what my Mom (and my Dad) really lost, really went through. And only now that I am a Mom can I understand a bit more how hard that must have been and still is at times. My Mom didn't let that loss tear her apart, crush her marriage, make her bitter. My family is stronger now, in the Lord, in our relationships with each other - than we were before my sister's death.

My Mom is resilient, self-sacrificing, loving, a servant, committed, strong - so many good things. I'm so very thankful for her in my life. That my kids get to know her. That she makes such an effort to know and love them. 

Thank you Mom for giving me a great childhood, for being here for me all the time as a Mom myself and for loving your grand kids so darn much!

And to my little munchkins - thanks for making me a Mommy!

I love you all so much!

{double rainbow}

So we had our own double rainbow moment today. 

If you haven't seen the hugely popular "double rainbow" video on You Tube - go. 

Right now.

And watch it.

I promise you will laugh your pants off!

The really funny thing is that just a few hours before we had our moment -

I was sharing the video with my husband, who until today was a "double rainbow" virgin.

We had been playing outside in the drizzly weather and I had come in already.

Suddenly the kids are running in and yelling about a rainbow and Greg is yelling at me from outside. 

Luckily, my camera was right there. 

We had plenty of "Oh my God!" and 

"What does it mean?" moments. 

So many that my seven year old started asking, "What does it mean?"

"It means God loves us." we told him. 

It was really very cool and very beautiful!

And really bright!

I can now see a little bit why the rainbow guy freaked out. 

Just a little bit.

Have you watched the video yet?

No?

Oh, please go. Right now. 

It is - so funny.

Okay, I've been hearing reports that you ARE NOT going to You Tube to watch this video so here it is!

And I'm not sure why it is so small...I am so not video savvy...but the audio is what is important here anyway!

Get ready to laugh yourself silly!

(And mute my music player so you can hear this guy!)

{No Guts No Glory}

So Saturday we skipped swimming practice {boo us!} and I got to head to this Tag Sale with my friend and fellow Farm Chick vendor Becca. 

It was really fun, super low prices, and lots of goodies to be had!

I scored this extra large painting from Serena. I remember it hanging in her store last summer. 

Sadly, it had a tear in the canvas so she had it marked at $9.00!

I'm not a cowgirl type of gal so I bought it just for the awesome, huge frame. 

Didn't know if I was buying it to keep it or sell it but I quickly decided I needed this above average sized frame in my house.

And since I have decorating ADHD I decided to go all out and pull down this picture wall that I've had for too many years. 

It was good. I'd worked hard at it and it was many years of buying frames and finding the perfect picture to make it complete. I liked it. 

But then I had an idea. 

I'm totally spontaneous when it comes to things in my house.

Paint my kitchen twice in a matter of days? 

No problem.

Move my furniture around.....rearrange room decor? All the time!

But this wall has stayed in place for a loooong time!

So this was the wall before:

I started taking down the pictures AND taking the photos out of the frames. 

No going back at his point.

My crazy brain storm was to fill the canvas with all of my black and white photos. 

Not sure if it would be crazy or cool but I decided to jump in all the way.

First I tried tape and that was not working.

So I got out the glue gun and attached the photos to the canvas with little dabs.

Later I had to tape some of the edges of the photos down that were curling just a bit.

I filled all the holes in the wall and touched up the paint. 

There were A LOT of holes!

But the wall looks as good as new now....(ahem..all my picture hanging phobic friends out there..)

I still have a few spots to fill in the frame but I figured I could wait for the perfect photo.

I'm dying to get the disc from a photo shoot we had last week with this amazing friend and photographer!

I'm thinking I need some canvas prints from that shoot to flank this big frame. 

I decided to leave two of the red shutters up. I couldn't quite bare to take them all down and lose that red on the wall. 

So this is it for now. Not totally done. A work in progress. 

What do you think?

{Brave}

{Source}

So that is what I'm doing.....

Go check out Under the Sycamore today.

My little etsy shop is sponsoring her beautiful blog for the month of May!

And if you haven't visited my little shop yet...

be my guest!

And let me get the door for you....a cottage life.