Relaxing Weekend at the Lake

This  weekend my sister and I will have our yearly “girls only” weekend at the lake….that means no kids, no grandkids, no husbands!     Last year we had to skip being at the lake because the horrific tornados that hit Alabama on April 27th.    The storms came so close to her lake house but fortunately she suffered no damage.     According to the weather reports, we shouldn’t have any weather issues this year!

Here are a few pictures from past years….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from my chair on the dock looking back toward the cabin

 

And here’s how we end our days….at the end of the dock with a glass of wine and taking in the beauty only God can create

Saturday we hope to visit a local flea market and we might head over to Auburn which isn’t too far from the lake.    But mostly we’ll just relax and enjoy each other’s company.    Hope you all have a great weekend!

Weekend At Mimi’s

This weekend has been filled with fluffy girly stuff.    Both my granddaughters, Taylor and McKinley, spent the weekend with us.    McKinley’s parents spent their yearly weekend in N’Orleans so after Taylor’s ball practice Saturday she joined us too.     McKinley’s baby brother Cade was at daughter Shannon’s with his cousin, Jackson. 

After we picked up Taylor on Saturday afternoon, we all got manicures.    Of course, they both wanted the same “look”….navy blue polish with orange polka dots (which is their favorite teams colors – Auburn University)

Love these sweet little hands!

 

 

 

After a late lunch, we went shopping.    I had in mind to find them some kind of matching outfits or swim suits but their independent little spirits chose completely different styles

Here’s Ms. Taylor in a ruffled white top and gray leggings with ribbons….I’d love to wear something like this myself!    She was a little worried that her hair wasn’t’ rolled and she didn’t have a white ribbon but I don’t have any of her hair things at my house so we just went with a side ponytail.  

McKinley modeling her cute little dress.    She really wanted the same thing Taylor got but they didn’t have her size….she really prefers dresses anyway.     As you can tell, both girls are no strangers to posing! (….and she insisted on fixing her own hair!)

They put on a little fashion show for Pop when we got home….he was suitably impressed!

 

The girls are only a little over a year apart but Taylor towers over McKinley who is really on the small side

 

McKinley just adores Taylor

 

Then Saturday night after baths I fixed them Coke floats

McKinley didn’t care for hers so Pop “helped” her drink it

 

Sunday morning I was lying in bed between them listening to this very interesting conversation:

T:   Do you have to rub your dad’s neck?

Mc:   No.

T:   I have to rub my dad’s neck sometimes because he’s tired after work

(McKinley then has to agree that she does rub her dad’s neck as she never wants Taylor to one up her)!

Mc:   Well, I rub my dad’s neck too but your dad’s neck is sweatiness and my dad’s neck is lotion-ness….

T:    No it’s not!

Mc:   Yes, your dad is all sweatiness and my dad is all lotion-ness

I buried my head in the pillow cause I was dying laughing!

Another conversation centered around Taylor telling me McKinley was jealous of her to which McKinley readily agreed….several times she said she was jealous of Taylor and then McKinley asked me what did that mean?

By lunchtime Sunday they were really getting on each other’s nerves so Taylor’s dad (a/k/a Mr. Sweatiness) came to pick her up and take her to buy a new baseball bat and then ball practice.    When son and DIL get home we’ll meet them half way to reunite kids with mom and dad and then we’ll come home to recover!

Kari and Kijsa (a/k/a Thistlewood Farm and Kijsa Studios)

What a treat I have in store for ya’ll today!   Two of my favorite blogs….and they are sisters too!!

First a little background….around the first of the year I discovered Karianne’s blog Thistlewood Farms….I’m sure many of you are familiar with her beautiful farmhouse.     Then just recently I found her sister Kijsa’s blog.    I was so excited because when I first started blogging 4 1/2 years ago (!) I ran across a blog called “Ask Kari & Kijsi”.    They really inspired me with their talent and “awesomeness” but one day they just sort of disappeared from blogland.    I never realized that Karianne was the Kari of that one time blog but when I re-discovered Kijsa’s blog I put two and two together and bam……there they were again!     Kijsa is a fabulous artist so we’ll look at some of her items she sells in her etsy shop first.

 

 

I want….no make that need….one of these for my front porch bench!

The girls are from Kentucky…in fact they live pretty close to my brother there…maybe a little road trip is in order?

 

Monogrammed burlap pillow anyone?

 

 

How about this stenciled burlap chair that Kijsa recently re-did?    Fabulous job!

Please check out Kijsa’s blog here and be sure to see her etsy page here

 

She’s also had her home featured in a couple of magazines

Kijsa tells me she took off a couple of years from blogging while they adopted a sweet little boy

 

Dining room with hand painted mural

 

 

 

I can see myself soaking in this tub…how about you?

 

Master bedroom….love the grouping of black and white photographs

 

Now what can I say about Karianne’s house?    It is my dream house and I didn’t even know it until I saw it (does that make sense?)

Here is her b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l kitchen…..love at first sight

 

Her “famous” hutch

 

You have to see how she transformed this plate rack with stencils (and no level!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s some of Kari’s house at Christmas time

 

 

 

 

 

And finally her back deck this spring…

 

Please be sure to visit these talented sister and tell them Judy said “hey”!

You Know You’re From Alabama (or the South) If…..

This was on a friend’s Facebook page and I just had to copy and share!

You know you're from Alabama when:

-You have a party or a barbeque when Alabama plays Auburn in football.
-You go to Gulf Shores every summer.
-You call the Atlanta Braves baseball team “us” like they’re actually from Alabama.
-You have family who would much rather visit Florida than California.
-You don’t “take”, you “carry” or “tote”… as in “You want me to carry you down to the 7-11?”
-A soft drink isn’t soda, cola, or pop, it’s Coke.
-You call it a “buggy” and not a shopping cart.
-You’ve said “fixin’ to,” “might could,” or “usetacould” during the last week.
-Someone you know has used a football schedule to plan their wedding date.
-You can properly pronounce Arab, Eufaula, Opelika, Loachapoka, Bayou La Batre, and Oneonta.
-You know exactly what chitlins and mountain oysters are, and though you may not, you know someone who eats them anyway.
-You think that people who complain about the heat and humidity in other states are sissies.
-You aren’t surprised to find rental movies, groceries, ammunition and bait all in the same store.
-Asian food is always “CHINESE” regardless of the fact that it may actually be Korean or Japanese or Thai.
-People actually grow, eat, and like okra.
-Mamanem means the whole family. (“Are mamanem comin?”)
-You measure distance in minutes or hours.
-You’ve ever had to switch from “heat” to “A/C” in the same day.
-You know what “cow tipping” is.
-You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still
summer, and Christmas.
-You know whether another Alabamian is from east, west, or middle Alabama as soon as they open their mouth.
-Visiting Wal-Mart is a favorite pastime.
-You know the difference between redneck, hillbilly, and southerner.
-You think everybody from the north has an accent.
-Y’all is a word.
-There is no such thing as tea.. it’s sweet tea.
-If a single snowflake falls, the town is paralyzed for three days, and it’s on all the channels as a news flash every 15 minutes for a week. All grocery stores will be sold out of milk, bread, bottled water, toilet paper, and beer. If there is a remote chance of snow, all schools will close.
-Your directions include “when you see the Waffle House” or “turn on the dirt road.”
-You say “sir” and “ma’am” if there’s even a chance someone is even thirty seconds older than you and it is just the polite thing to do.
-The falling of one rain drop causes all drivers to immediately forget all traffic rules; so will daylight savings time, a girl applying eye shadow in the next car, or a flat tire three lanes over.
-There is nothing but country, gospel, or classic rock on the radio.
-A tornado warning siren or sever thunder storm is your signal to go out in the yard and look for a funnel.
-Almost everyone you know is Baptist or Methodist.
-A Mercedes Benz isn’t a status symbol. A Chevy Silverado Extended Bed Crew Cab is.
-You know everything goes better with Ranch dressing, especially hot wings.
-You learned how to shoot a gun before you learned how to multiply
-Krispy Kreme doughnuts are the only doughnuts that exist.
-You know at least one Bubba, and maybe a few guys named Bo.
-You don’t assume the car with the blinker light on is actually going to turn anytime in the near future.

You actually get these jokes and your friends do too

And as we like to say here in the South:   “American By Birth, Southern By The Grace of God!”

New Family Member

Last week my nephew David popped the big question to his girlfriend Stephanie.     You can’t help but love that girl….she is sweet, silly and very pretty.   

She was totally shocked!

 

 

 

 

 

Stephanie has a little boy and David has a little girl….their families have blended together so sweetly

 

Congratulations David and Stephanie….I wish you both years of happiness!