an instafriday UPDATE!!

it's been so long since i've blogged,  and i had so many pictures and weekends to look through, i had to just pick a starting place!  it's crazy.  i can't believe how long it's been.  it wasn't on purpose, i've just been so busy.  it's crazy how things have changed since i started working part-time.  it's amazing and i love it, but getting on the computer to blog....well...it's just not as easy.

but a couple of days ago, even the hubs asked when i was going to blog again.  so this morning, i'm buckling down and doing it.

and since it's friday and i've still kept up with intagraming pictures, i'm going to do a big instafriday update!

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we are big UK fans in this house.  so celebrating the final games was a no-brainer.

we had a lot of fun, and partied like we were in college again!!

and even though she's little, and she definitely did not party with us, you know we had her decked out and ready to cheer!!

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after a week of recovering from staying up way too late on a monday night, we headed to western kentucky to visit some of our best friends!

 

we made it to a beach.....;)

 it's always so easy staying at their house.  our kids love each other, and it's sad to have to separate them when we leave.

we love the warning's and can't wait to celebrate baby #3 with them very soon!  C loved talking about the baby in cami's belly.  she doesn't fully understand the concept, but she was very sweet to cam's belly. 

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we got back saturday night, just in time for Easter sunday.  we missed all the egg hunts in lexington, so we obviously had one in our front yard.

she realized really quickly that most eggs were filled with either candy or coins.  it was pretty hilarious when she found empty ones....

we had a wonderful and relaxing day.  daddyboy made an awesome dinner and we were able to enjoy eating outside.

we spend a lot of time outside in the summer.  and now that we have our awesome new brick patio, and daddyboy is putting up a swing-set this weekend, i know that we will be out there even more!  can't wait to start planting flowers.  this early spring has got me chomping at the bit. 

 

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also, another little update that is kind of out of order, but one that i can't let go by.

shaun had been training for a half marathon.  and a couple of weeks ago, he killed it!

we are super proud of our daddyboy and were very impressed that he ran 13.1 miles in under 2 hours!!  good job boy!

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well, there's the update.  i'll try to stay more on top of things so that they don't all get jammed together in one picture overloaded post!

ok - here's one more picture. 

some "flowers" for you!

have a good weekend friends!!

craft weekend!!!

friends.  dear friends.  let me just start out by saying that craft weekend was amazing.  you knew i would say that, so i'm just getting the obvious out of the way.  it was everything that you would think it would be and way more.

meg and ashley (she goes by ashley, not ashley ann) and kimberlee and everyone else involved were so fun!  so cool and so beautiful and so normal.  seriously, just normal gals, raising families and being creative.

i took a lot of pictures, but they were all taken on my phone, so not the most amazing quality.  but i think you'll get the picture.  ha, picture...  sorry - still tired....  plus, you can always head over to meg's blog and see pictures that actually make the weekend look as wonderful as it was.

as soon as we got there on friday night, we started crafting.  it was something like a dream.  little stations set up with our 'swag'.  paint, fabric, ribbon, buttons, stamps, canvas, trim, skittles.  yes - she even had a snack bar set up for us.  perfect sugar pick-me-ups for when i was up past 2am!

i actually met up with a lovely lady on my layover in atlanta, and when we arrived at meg's house, it was glowing.  i'm not kidding.  meg's house is amazing.  gorgeous.  her pictures don't do it justice.  it's big and comfy and homey and colorful.  it's everything you would think it is, and more.

 and yes, i found her craft room!

it was small, but perfect.  just stuffed full of craft goodness.

on saturday morning, we go to sleep in a little.  i love so much that meg and kimberlee knew that we were a group of hard working ladies and mom's who loved to stay up and sleep in!  i didn't get any pictures of the food, but i should have.  kimberlee was an awesome chef.  amazing breakfasts and dinners and desserts.  someone bringing you cheesecake while your sewing at 11pm is amazing.  bad for my waistline, but amazing!

we headed out antiquing after breakfast.  we went to meg's two favorite places where she scores so much vintage goodness for herself.  and let me tell you, this place did not disappoint.  i went in looking for a quilt for C's bed, and bearly makin it antiques delivered!  they had so much fun stuff, it was overwhelming and amazing.  i walked away with my an awesome quilt (that even meg was jealous of) and a little blue vase for the kitchen.  i could have gone home with so much more, but i was flying, so i had to shop in moderation.

after the shop, we headed to the barn!  owned by the same people as the shop, this place was dusty and cold and awesome.  so many things i wish i could have walked out with.

after the barn, in true meg form, we stopped at sonic happy hour!  =)

saturday evening was more crafting and a lot of laughter.  i can't emphasize enough how wonderful all the ladies were from this weekend.  it's still amazes me how well we all got a long.  ladies from all over the country (every lady flew in) who i won't soon forget.  connections were made quickly, and tears were shed when goodbyes finally came.  it was like summer camp for grown-ups.  staying up past 2 (that 3am our time!), laughing so hard my cheeks hurt, sharing stories of heartache and fun, and extending prayers for future endeavors.  it was awesome.  i spent less that 72 hours with some of these ladies, and i have truly missed them these last couple of days that i've been home.

and that's waffle up there.  we are buds now too!

it was a perfect weekend. i know that sounds extreme, but it lived up to my expectations 150%!  if you're thinking that putting your name on the craft weekend waiting list is pointless, think again.  you never know.  and if you get the opportunity to do this, take it!  meg and ashley and kimberlee really are just as beautiful and normal as they seem on their blogs.

check out my new friends!  =)

kimberlee, amy, shannan, jessica

and if you didn't catch them earlier - meg, ashley and kimberlee

InstaFriday & a trip

well, i had great plans to blog earlier in the week, but time got away from me.  so, i'm doing a little combo post.

let's start with my Instagram pics...

i'm linking up with jeannette @ life rearranged.

we had a really nice laid back weekend, and saturday morning started out with my coffee in my new favorite mug!  the hubs surprised me with this.  i love it!  it's big and simple, yet very cute.  shaun said it was so me.  hmmm....big, simple, yet very cute?  uh....thanks.

the rest of the day i was busy sewing.  i instragrammed my new fabric last week and i couldn't wait to get started.  i had never worked with ball fringe before, but was ready to give it a try.  i used some around the pillow for C's big girl bed, then had enough left over to add a little fun to the bunting i'll be hanging in her little reading area.  LOVE it all!

monday morning we ventured off to IKEA.  the hubs was out of school for MLK day, so we went to get C a dresser.  we had a very eventful trip up.  for the majority of the time it was fine.  then, about 10 miles away, in the middle of nowhere (i seriously felt like i was in another country) C got sick.  like puke sick.  poor thing.  it was terrible.  i was completely helpless and shaun had nowhere, repeat NOWHERE to pull off.  poor thing just had to sit in it for almost 10 min.  but, once we got her and everything salvageable cleaned up, she was 100% fine.  no fever, had an appetite, totally fine.  so, we pushed through.  she fell asleep about an hour after we go there and woke up fine.  strange.  and stinky....

have you ever had these?  they are dangerously wonderful.  seriously.  they are kind of hard to find and i'm glad.  i bought them with the intention of just having a few and then saving them for later.  ate the whole bag before i got home.  dang.

love, love, love, totally obsessed with this little serious of pictures.  this is one of the reasons i don't think i could ever give up my iphone.  i love being able to capture stuff like this, quickly.  C is really into pretending she's asleep these days.  it's kind of my fault.  we like to "trick" daddy sometimes.  that 1st picture is pretty believable.  but i love the 2nd one the most.  she just couldn't hold that smile in any longer.  then "i'm awake!"  love this age, a lot.

more sewing for C's room!  when i cut the fabric for the 1/2 circle bunting, it left me with a lot of strips.  i didn't want to waste them and had an extra pillow form, so i went with this.  and i appliqued a little C on it.  love personalized stuff.

ok - so there's my instafriday.

so, what up with the trip?

well..... 

do you read whatever?  if you don't, you should.  meg duerksen is pretty awesome.  mom of 5, loves god, loves crafts and is totally funny and relate-able. 

well, have you ever heard of craft weekend?  it's an amazing weekend that she hosts, where all you do is craft.  yep, just craft.  her 1st craft weekend was back in september.  i was beyond jealous when i started seeing pictures on her blog documenting the fun they had.  so, when she mentioned she was having another one and the way to get to come was by putting your name on a waiting list, i thought, why not?  so many people read her blog and will be adding their name too, it's not like i'll ever have a chance.

and then, right before thanksgiving i got an email with the subject "Happy News!".  huh?

and then i almost ran off the road!  (just kidding, i never text/read emails while driving, serious.)  i read the email right after i left bible study and i couldn't get home quick enough!  I WAS INVITED TO CRAFT WEEKEND!!!

so, this time next week, i'll be on a plane, headed to wichita, ks!!!!  i've never been there, but from what meg says, it's cold.  but i can't wait.  seriously.  i'm going to meet 11 other ladies who will be complete strangers, so i'm a little nervous about that, but only a little.  i feel like i know meg, and ashley ann (eek!), and i know that the other ladies coming on this weekend feel the same way.  we all love to craft, so it doesn't matter if they are complete strangers or best friends!

so, there you go! 

we are working on putting together's C's big girl room this weekend.  saturday night will be her first night. and...we've been talking about giving up her paci.  she only uses it at night, we we've been talking about how she won't need it when she sleeps in a big girl bed.  wish me luck!  it might be a long weekend.

have a good one blog friends!

a wonderful weekend

this past weekend was so great! it was just what the hubs and i needed. it was time away from C, but she was well taken care of and we really missed her. but, we needed it. we had a really wonderful time.

shaun and i have both lived in kentucky our whole lives, but have never done much kentucky touristy stuff. we decided that we would drive down to the maker's mark distillery for the free tour.




it was pretty cool! we aren't really drinkers, but it was still neat to hear about the history and see the beautiful property. plus, they give you a free tasting and free bourbon balls!! YUM!

you can stick your finger right in and taste the new batches before they are barreled. cool, but kind of weird.

then we headed to our bed & breakfast. it was sooooo nice! maple hill manor bed & breakfast. wow. i can't even express how much we liked this place. from the moment we arrived, we were welcomed and taken care. we were barely there for 24 hours and we seriously were not ready to leave. we instantly connected with the inn keepers and had an amazing time. the area, the history, the people, the atmosphere, the breakfast. right up our alley and so much fun!



we had dinner at an awesome restaurant in bardstown called circa. it is in a beautiful historic home that was built in 1788. the food was outstanding. it was a cozy intimate atmosphere that was perfect for our little night away. definitely a good recommendation from the b&b owners that we are glad we took.

maple hill manor also has llamas and alpacas. pretty cute to watch and shaun couldn't resist feeding them.




the whole property was amazing. i wish we had taken more pictures, but we weren't there long enough. =( but, we have already decided that this will be an annual thing. we just loved everything about this place and look forward to going back.

they even gave C a little stuffed alpaca. we were excited to get home and see her, but sad to leave our new favorite getaway.

we definitely recommend this b&b and obviously had a wonderful time.

thank you shauny for my wonderful mother's day. i'm so thankful that you took the time to find this place and i loved every minute.

next - i PROMISE will be a post about our kitchen. we picked out counter tops on saturday and had someone come measure today. demo day is getting closer!!!!

fun in the sun

i just went a whole week without internet or computer! it's been a long time since i've done that, and i really liked it. i missed reading a lot of my usual blogs, but i really enjoyed the books i read instead.

i've been at the beach and we had a ton of fun in the sun!

i'm so thankful that we got the opportunity to get away and have some good quality family time. it was a wonderful week and just what we needed.

i took a lot of pictures this past week. i'm kind of proud of myself. usually i'm not the best at taking pictures. i just don't like toting my camera around. but this week i did good. i didn't want to miss or forget anything. C is at such a fun age for the beach right now. everything was so new and she had such a great time.

just a few of my favorites. enjoy!