Farm Fun

I'm so thankful that Ron has been off work a lot more often on Saturdays!! Today was a great day. After my yard sale & mom/sister time, I went back to sleep until noon! Then we took Ava to Cedar Hill Farm (http://www.cedarhfarm.com) for a fun afternoon of walking, riding a "train," petting zoo, meeting the Easter Bunny, hay ride, & Easter egg hunt. It's a great place to go especially in the fall to the pumpkin patch...

This was Ava's first Easter egg hunt.

She was fascinated at the colored chickens & ducks. We brought home an orange one and call him (?) Pumpkin. The chick will be going to Mimi & Papa's house on Monday morning to live with their rooster! Ha.

Singing Chicken Show

The weather was beautiful!

I am so blessed.

Brooke's Bargains 17

Today, our mom joined us for yard sales, and afterward we ate breakfast at a local spot. We started early- 6 a.m. and including a leisurely breakfast, we were done by around 8 (I'm going back to bed since Ron & Ava are still asleep:). Not sure why people were having them that early! It's a gorgeous day, but very chilly outside!!

I spent only $3 today.

Here's what I found:
turquoise pillow with sequins, decorative pear, Beauty Control moisturizer, small easel, small Vera Bradley change purse, Gymboree & Target shoes for Ava

Enjoy this weekend! Do something fun:)

I LOVE TARGET!

Target has been my favorite store for a long time!! I love just going in on Friday afternoons as I wind down from teaching...Ava & I went today. It's the best:)

I got these cute green & white polka dot plates to add another layer to my table setting...$1.99/plate:

It was just time to get Ava some spring clothes! Three good things about my local Target today:
1. They were stocking new arrivals while I was there.
2. They had several sales.
3. They actually had stuff in Ava's size! A lot of times they're out of the stuff I want for her...
I bought 5 dresses, 2 rompers, 6 shirts, & 3 pairs of shoes for around $150. Not bad.

Have a great weekend!! :)

Dora, Friends, Babies, & Ebay

I love spring, spending time with family & friends, & good deals! :)

Ava helped me make brownies for our guests last weekend. She loved it!

Davis-Kidd Booksellers had "Breakfast with Dora." It was fun; after breakfast, a lady read a Dora book to the children, then they worked on crafts until Dora could make it around to each table to take pictures & autograph & give out balloons. Ava said, "Mommy, I want to hug Dora." Too cute!

Our friends from Alabama, Lonnie & Nicole, spent the weekend with us. Ron has been friends with them all of his life. He remembers playing GI Joe under the church pews at his dad's church:) We took them to Texas de Brazil- wow, incredible food! Then we walked around downtown Memphis for a little while before heading home to watch Kung Fu Panda.

Below is the "housewarming party" invitation for Brittany & Job...I think her friend, Angie, likes polka dots as much as we do!

I need to get some pictures of the inside of their house. It seriously looks like they've lived there for much longer than a few weeks. Everyone has worked hard to get them settled in. It does blow my mind when I think about what the interior looked like a month ago!

Here' s my mom (Mimi) and Ava at the party. My mom is the BEST!!! My cousin, Tracey, brought her the pink poms & she didn't put them down all night.

Some of Job's family at the party:

My gorgeous sister (who apparently is the only one who knew I was taking a picture! ha) & our dad & Tracey.

Here's Christie, one of my best friends since 4th grade, with Ava.

I had to work of course before the party, and Brittany called & was rushing me which is nothing new- we always want each other to be early if we're having something at our homes...Then she was a bit irritated that my parents are always late. I was thinking, "What's new? Don't worry about it." Then I was upstairs trying to fix Ava's hair when Britt insisted that I come down stairs & help her with punch...kinda weird. Then she said, "I know we talked about how Ava has too many toys, but I got her a little something." Again, nothing new. I saw that it was an Etch A Sketch--Britt likes getting Ava classic toys (like Mr. Potato Head). Anyway, she said, "Let your Momma help you open that." I noticed that it had already been 'sketched' on...Here's what it said:

I read it twice. Showed it to our mom and then got SUPER EXCITED BECAUSE I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNT AND AVA'S GOING TO HAVE A COUSIN CLOSE TO HER AGE TO PLAY WITH AND I'M GONNA SPOIL THAT BABY!!!!! :)
Later, when more friends & family arrived, Job prayed over our food- at the end he talked about the extra space for the new baby! Everyone went crazy! Tuesday, March 23 was a great day!

And last but not least, I got a fabulous deal on curtains for my living room! I've been eying these at Pier 1 for a few years & hadn't made a decision (not sure why picking out curtains is hard for me). For the 96-in length in the store, they were $49.95/panel, & I needed two. I found them on ebay and paid $32 total--including the shipping for 2 brand new, in the package panels! What a deal!!

Spring Break Part II

Oh my goodness! I cleaned, organized, & re-decorated so much this week that I am sore! Aside from home stuff, I took Ava to see Dora, visited with my aunt, sister, brother-in-law, two of my high school friends, and our friends from Alabama. I have had a wonderful week away from the stresses of teaching!! If you looked at my "Spring Break Part I," you know that I have been BUSY!

Here's some things in my kitchen...
I love all of my colorful printed hand towels except they don't really dry well. I just use them for decorations.

I redecorated the top of my 'fridge. The super cute polka dotted invitation is for my sister & bro-in-law's housewarming party! More about that later this week.

chalkboard/back splash

I added this plate and red towel (love the Better Homes & Garden line at Wal-Mart) to my master bathroom to help it 'flow' with my new red curtains.

My sweet hubby gave me these curtains for Valentines Day- I love them! They're from Pottery Barn, but he ordered them from eBay which means half the price for these! Well, I really like them against my blue walls, but my comforter was white....I tried dying all my bedding in tea. Wow, what a mess! I'll try anything once though. I did find this queen-size duvet cover at Goodwill for less than $10. My friend, Jamie, gave me these lamps last week because she bought new ones- yay!

The great room- I re-hung a few things in here, painted the coffee table from cream to orange (left-over from my dining room: Sherwin-Williams Foxy) and distressed it a bit. I love it! The room really needed some more color!

re-decorated this table...changed lamps...

front door decor
not finished with it...

I love fresh flowers!

temporary dining room table centerpiece

My "new" buffet!! This dresser was my great-aunts, then my parents, then mine, then Ava's changing table, and now it's a buffet. I painted it Sherwin-Williams Watery (I borrowed it from Brittany- she painted her master bedroom this color). I bought the value package of pulls from Target.

I hung plates over my window- all yard sale & Goodwill finds. I brought in the rug from my bedroom. Remember, I am planning to recover these chairs & have curtains made, but I'm really proud that the dining room looks like a room now! We've lived here for two years, and I'm just now getting it looking homey in this area.

Hearth room/Breakfast area

Ava's big girl room update:

I changed the pulls on this chest of drawers.

Ava's twin bed- I picked up this piece of fence from a dumpster over a year ago. It works now for her headboard. I got the shabby chic sheets from Target and the comforter from eBay.

Ava's bathroom:

Guest room/Ava's library:)

Remember my list? Well, I have marked off all but 5 items!

Happy Spring.