Happy 19th Birthday!!!

Today my oldest baby turns 19.   Nineteen! Where on earth did the time go?  There is no way I have a baby that old. I got married at 19~ wasn't that just yesterday?

I really was doing better these last few weeks, adjusting to him being out of the house and only communicating by letters. He's doing great in boot camp and seems to be enjoying it.  But today, I'm a bundle of emotions. I hate the thought of him being without all of us on his birthday and not being able to celebrate.  I couldn't even send him a birthday card because he said it would make him stand out and would probably get more sand pit time.  I did write him a birthday letter though.   

Here are all my boys...

 In a month and half he will be a real Marine and we are so proud of him.

If each of you could wish my Cameron a Happy Birthday, maybe he will "feel"  it and have a great day. Thank you.                          I love you Cameron, Happy Birthday pumpkin!!


Tiff

Gimpy Chick...

                                          Photo found on BackyardChickens.com


The storm has passed and we are all safe and sound. We lost power at about 8 last night and got it back at around 2 this afternoon. The generator kept the food safe and the only real damage we had was a piece of the picket fence out front blew down.  Say a prayer for those less fortunate who were in the direct path of it.

About the picture above....  I have been wondering what ever happened to a baby chick I remember reading about on someone's blog.  The poor little thing had a gimpy leg and the blogger was taking care of it in her home. It was a dark brown chick I think and I recall seeing pics of it on her desk or by her laptop, maybe?  This may have been up to a year ago, I don't really remember that well.  Does anyone know who I am talking about? That cute little thing pops into my head every so often(crazy I know) and I just wanted to know what happened to it and if its leg got better.

Count your blessings,


Tiff

Friday Surprises are Always a Treat...

Somehow  I always seem to forget how busy Fall is...soccer, plays, school conferences, afterschool clubs, etc.,  and we are a laid back family when it comes to things(I don't believe the kids have to do everything!).  Anyway, so that is why things have been quiet around here.

Our new kitten is doing great and fitting right into the family. Mason just loves her to pieces and thank goodness the little thing tolerates him.

I got a call yesterday from a local florist who is retiring. I was at her yardsale in the Spring and she took my number down and told me she would call me when she had her Fall yardsale.  I had totally forgot about it, but it turned out to be a great Friday surprise treat.  The kids had off school today, so my daughter babysat while I went to the sale all by myself.

OK, I don't want to hear anything from the peanut gallery about how I don't need more stuff :)   I've been very good lately, so I don't feel too guilty about today's haul!  And the vast majority I already know exactly what I'm going to do with it. Plus, the prices were so darn cheap that come Spring I can resell it at a yardsale if need be. It's these kind of yardsales that really make me hate Goodwill. When everything is 10 or 25 cents it just makes goodwill look so expensive. Which I have to mention, has anyone noticed the insane prices there lately.  $9.99 and $7.99 for a lot of their shirts! I could buy new cheaper.  And some of the dresses were marked $49.99!!  I know the money goes to helping people, but come on.  Anyway....

So here are my treasures....

 Lots of wood boxes. She used the big one to deliver her orders in.  I'm going to put a Christmas tree in it. And see the black box on the right, it's an old mail box.

 Here is a vintage wire basket with some velvet deer.

 A fantastic old basket and a bunch of faux greens. The greens were only .25.

 Another box of green and pics and berries.

 An old store stand. If actually folds up flat for storage.  I will spray paint it, add some wood to the shelves and it will be a new plant stand.

 Love the greens!

 And a ton of little loot!

 And I found these bells at goodwill a few weeks back. I'm spray painting them and turning them into something nice for Christmas.    I'm going all out this year with decorations since Cameron will be home from bootcamp and it may be his last Christmas at home for awhile.  I actually plan on starting to decorate the day after Halloween ! :)

Happy Friday everyone!


Tiff

Winter Wonderland Giveaway, Enter Before it Ends!

Just a reminder that the Winter Wonderland Giveaway is ending soon. If you haven't entered, be sure to do so.  Go HERE to see my original post.

Have a great weekend!,

Tiff

Got a Baby...

This week has flown by and I can't believe it's already Friday night!  No chalkboard Friday as I was busy all day and just didn't get around to it.

But I did get around to getting a baby!!!  Ok, so it's no secret that I have baby fever(for the human kind), so it shouldn't come as a surprise to you all when I share the newest addition to our family.

Please give a warm welcome to Zoe :)  Shhhhh.... she's sleeping.

 Ah, waking up and stretching those claws on those 4 white paws.

 Isn't she cute?  We went to the animal shelter where we got Phoebe and the bunnies from, just to look(ya right!).  She was the last of her litter found as strays in Portland.  She was so inquisitive in her cage and kept playing with anything she could find. But when we got a chance to hold her, she calmed down and almost fell asleep in my hands. She kept stretching her head to look at each of us and was putting on the major cute act and it worked.

 Love the little spot on her chin.

 She is so tiny and petite and is about 10 weeks old.

 Hopefully Phoebe takes a liking to her. But for now she is residing in the downstairs bathroom and only meeting the pets from sniffing under the door.

 I can't wait until we can let her explore the whole house.  The one odd thing about her is that we haven't heard one single peep from her. No little mews or loud cries to come out of her room, seems a bit strange. But then again, we are used to Phoebe who is very vocal and meows back at us when we talk to her.


Have a puuurrrfect weekend,

Tiff
(ps, Thank you Hubby for being the sweet understanding man that you are)

Tuesday Display Chain!...

I didn't forget this week! YAY!  And I felt so honored when I read Misi's of 1890 Gable House Musings blog post today, that I was the inspiration for today's chain "See it- Do it!". Really, I think we are all the inspiration because I'm sure we all have at least one thing that has been Pinned and has inspired someone to make something :)

My See it-Do it is actually three different things inspired from pinterest.  Here is Mason and "Rosa"(he named her and she goes everywhere with us lately) showing off two of the inspirations that I whipped up last night.

 There are so many cute doll clothes tutorials out there that I was inspired by all of them and came up with my own little design.  I'm not a pattern person, I just kind of wing it. I think she came out super cute. The striped print is cotton and the tiny dot print is an uber soft flannel.

 The collar of her dress is elastic, so no buttons or anything to mess with, just on and off over her head.

 Here is Mason modeling his new pants that match Rosa's outfit.  I saw a pin with lined toddler pants and new this would be perfect for Fall and Winter in Maine.

 I did draw up a pattern for these because I wanted to make sure they fit well in the bottom(diaper) region.  Again, cotton on the outside and the soft flannel on the inside with a rolled cuff so you can see it.

 When I had him try them on I asked him if they were "OK", his reply was "actually they are perfect"! LOL, he loves to say "actually".

 They wore their matching outfits to the Maine Wildlife Park today as we chaperoned a school field trip.

 And last but not least, my third See it-Do it!   My oldest daughter is a master at Sharpie tattoos. I let her do this one on my leg when I found a similar one on pinterest.  I love the squirrel in the acorn.

Thank you again Misi for the sweet post, it made me smile!  And be sure to head over there and check out the rest of the chain :)

Tiff

Chalkboard Friday...

Today's chalkboard is simple because I'm trying to keep stress at bay and I need to remind myself to Smile more.

 And I thought I would share what the backyard looks like now.  Remember that lot they were clearing?  Today they are finishing up the roof framing, it's going up pretty fast.  I'm interested to see what color siding they will put on it.

Have a fun and relaxing weekend,

Tiff

Pinterest Success

It's been a busy week and  blogging kind of got pushed to the back burner. All day Tuesday I kept feeling like I was missing an appointment or something. Then I Wednesday evening, I realized what it was, I forgot display chain Tuesday!  And here it is Thursday night and I still haven't blogged since Monday. That's why I'm here now, I just had to pop in and share this super quick and easy recipe that I found on pinterest for homemade cheez its.  My kids love these, but I stopped buying them as much because of all the crap in them.  I was searching my recipe board this evening for something easy to make as a snack for the kid's lunches tomorrow and I came across this homemade version.

Photo from Amy at New Nostalgia

This recipe only has 5 ingredients and is so easy to make. I did substitute the cayenne pepper for paprika and it came out great.  Head over to New Nostalgia for the recipe.

Have a lovely evening,

Tiff (who is happy because she has gotten two nice letters from her son in bootcamp!)

Winter Wonderland Giveaway!!!

Happy Monday everyone!  I just got back from doing the bulletin boards at the school and I was going to share them with you, but I forgot to bring the camera!!! I have to go back up this evening and I will snap some pics then and share them tomorrow.

Today I'm sharing with you a fantastic giveaway put together by Brenda of The Rusty Thimble.  There are 24 prizes for 24 winners!!  Each item is handmade and donated by other lovely bloggers. And after all the prizes have been awarded, everyone's name who entered will be put back in the hat and a winner will be drawn for a $20 GC donated by Brenda.

So head on over to The Rusty Thimble and check out all the wonderful prizes close up and then enter for your chance to win. I know you won't be disappointed!!  Giveaway runs Oct. 1st through the 22nd.
And comment here too for an extra chance to win :)


Have a great day,


Tiff