my Dad's birthday

Four years ago we gathered together to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday. It will long be remembered as one of our favorite family gatherings.


We knew that Dad was in the early stages of Alzheimer's and so we wanted the event to be all the more memorable for each of us to reflect on someday. And it was. And we do. I came away with images & memories that remain vivid to this very day.


My Mom & sisters spent the morning of the party watching my Dad and my three brothers clear and burn brush near the cabin. What a sweet memory. I was reminded of my Dad telling us that he did field work the morning that he & my Mom got married in 1950. So it only makes sense that my Dad would do something like this the morning of his birthday party. He always did love working outside.



We had a John Deere themed birthday party. I found those framed JD tins at Walmart. I bought one for each family member and had pictures of Dad & his favorite JD tractors over the years, inside each tin.


And then the sewing sisters got busy. We sewed & sewed. And talked & talked. And then...


... got up the next morning and went to a farm auction. But first we put on layers of clothes. Lots & lots of layers... over my Dad's long-john thermal underwear... and thick, heavy snowmobile boots. Because it was 6 degrees. And because you can never be too warm.
But my toes still froze.


But I love, love, love auctions. Even auctions at a bone-chilling 6 degrees.

Happy Birthday Dad. I miss you.

(clic each pic to enlarge)

Emolyn's 2!

Happy Birthday Emolyn Kate! She turns 2 years old today. Her Mommy & Daddy had a party for her over the weekend and she was a picture of sheer joy and delight. She really is the sweetest little girl.


She simply adores her Mommy & Daddy. And they really are the best parents.


She also adores her Aunt Miranda & Uncle Tyler too. So much so, that she gave her Aunt Miranda a back massage and manicure when the party ended. I'm not even kidding you. I can already tell that Emolyn has the gift of serving. We actually got her a pack of Handi-wipes for Christmas, cuz she loves to clean so much.


Ok, so Elmo just may be her favorite of all. Her Elmo cupcake was a big hit. Watch as she's about to dive in.


And she does it with such grit & determination.


And I must say, she wears her frosting well.


Emolyn happens to love crocs (all shoes for that matter) and owns several pair in every color. So when I found this baby doll wearing purple crocs, I knew it would be love at first sight. She was smitten all right... but mostly with the purple crocs.


Crocs on... crocs off... crocs on... crocs off...
Notice the earrings that Miranda got her. Also came with a necklace & bracelet. Oh how Emolyn loves her bling.


I found an unfinished pine bench that I painted for her. I love that Emolyn can easily pick it up and relocate from kitchen (to bake) to bathroom (to wash hands) and be her Mommy & Daddy's best little helper.


But to be honest, the watering can that Tyler got her was the biggest hit of all. First of all, Emolyn loves water. I mean, really loves water.


And even though it had been pouring rain, she insisted on having her Pop pop fill her watering can over & over so she could water her Grandma Becky's backyard.


Emolyn was so giggle-happy watering the already soaked grass that her Mimi could not help but capture her every move.


Emolyn, you are truly a miracle. And we're all the better for having you in our lives.
Read about her miraculous birth HERE and holding her for the first time in the yellow blanket HERE.

call me mellow yellow

Em 'n Em

Emolyn and her great-mamaw Emolyn got to hang out together Friday morning. And Emolyn could not have been more excited as her Daddy & I drove her out to Surprise! She loves her Mamaw... and sunglasses with bling. Have I told you that Emolyn has to be one of the most loving and affectionate little girls I've ever known? And she's so nice and kind and so pleasant to be around. Oh, and yesterday she sat perfectly still and quiet next to her Mommy during the hour and a half church service... all the while watching her Daddy play lead guitar, her aunt Miranda sing and her Pop pop lead the worship band. So. Precious.


Nothing makes Mamaw happier than spending time with her name sake... watching her play the piano so gently and singing songs ever so sweetly.


Love my two favorite Emolyn's in all the world.

my Valentine sweetheart

This picture was taken a year ago at the Valentine's Dinner & Dancing fundraiser hosted by the A Time For Us marriage ministry at our church. Randy & I are a part of the teaching team and have seen God free marriages to live in health & truth through the awesome material we use. We have another marriage retreat coming up in a couple weeks and I am so excited to see how God restores & reignites the couples that are attending. It's truly one of the most humbling experiences that we get a chance to witness.

31 years ago Randy asked me to marry him on Valentine's Day. For those of you that may not know the whole story, you can get the scoop HERE. Oh and you have to come see what Randy got me for Valentine's Day 25 years ago that made me (and someone else) very, very happy.
Have the sweetest day!
Thanks to Sandi Shipley Photography for the sweetheart portraits!

I'm a basket case

I am. What can I say... I love baskets. This just happens to be my picnic basket collection. I know! I'm a mess. But they're not just for decoration. Trust me, they earn their keep. Like I've said before, I'm all about storage. So each and every one of these beauties store something of importance. My goal now is to actually label them so I don't have to open each of them to find what's inside.


One of them contains all my cupcake decorating goods. Another has toys for my granddaughter to play with. One of them is filled with my vintage hankie collection, and another has special cards & letters that I've received over the years. You get the picture.

I don't think I spent more than a dollar or two for each of these either. Which makes it all the more fun.

Hey, check out these sites for more inspiration-

***Show & Tell Friday

***Frugalicious Friday

*** Thrifty Thursday

thank you Debbie!

My dear friend Debbie from MY VINTAGE DAYDREAMS sent me the sweetest gifts! She knows my love of all things aqua and sent me this gorgeous vase. I love it! And then I open up the box that says Southern Living at Home and I could not believe my eyes! Inside were two of their signature square plates!! Oh my gosh, and what a beautiful shade of aqua! Thank you sooo much Debbie. We both share a love of decorating using thrifted vintage finds. I am so envious of the amazing treasures she uncovers at thrift stores and flea markets throughout CA. Thanks Debbie!

favorite thrifted coats

We buy all our coats in Wisconsin. At thrift stores and yard sales. In the dead of summer.
Why, you ask? Cuz everyone is selling their perfectly good coats. And here's my theory as to why... because they wear their coats every single day for months and months and they get sick of them and most likely buy a new one every year. So, we are the beneficiaries of those coveted coats every time we go thrifting back there.

My favorite thrifted coat stories of all time-

*** Many years ago we were visiting my brother Gary and his family in Appleton and spent the day yard saling. We arrived at this one sale and Randy saw the jacket of his dreams. A dark brown suede bomber jacket with fur lining. (probably retailed at $150.00 or more) It fit perfectly and was priced at $25.00. I rarely ever pay what they want... so I encouraged Randy to go up to the lady and offer her $20.00 for the jacket. So he did. She about had a cow! "Oh my gosh, NO, it's TWENTY-FIVE CENTS!" So I told Randy to offer her twenty cents. JUST KIDDING! We quickly gave her 25 cents and got out of there before she came to her senses!

*** Same day. Randy finds the leather jacket of his dreams. And I mean, real leather. That soft quality leather that we could never afford. The guy wanted $5.00, we offered him $4.00 and while he is taking our money this gal is telling him that his wife is going to have a cow when she finds out he sold his leather jacket. Needless to say, we ran lickety-split just as his wife was coming out of the house. We did not want to be witness to the melee that was surely to come.

*** Same day. We check out a Catholic Church rummage sale. We're talking a basement sale. Need I say more... church basement sales are the best. So, I see the coat of my dreams. A down-filled jacket. The down-liner zips out and becomes a rain trench coat. And it's below the knees. They wanted a dollar. A dollar! My only hesitation was that it's going to take up a ton of room in our already overstuffed van. This is back when our kids were young and traveled with all their toys and dress-up clothes. We would now be bringing back three big, bulky coats. Well, this is the part that still makes me laugh to this day. My brother tells me that everything is marked half-off the next day (Sat.). So I sleep on it and the next day my brother goes back to the sale and gets it for 50 cents. It was meant to be. Hey, I'll make room for a 50 cent coat.
As a side note...
#1- In Wisconsin they often have a cow rather than a fit.
#2- Randy & I wore those jackets for many, many years. You see, we rarely wear our winter coats here, so we rarely get sick of them. Randy recently walked out the door wearing that brown suede jacket and I was reminded of that warm summer day many years ago when we bought three amazing coats all for under $5.00!

my yellow ranunculus

Yesterday I came upon a yard sale selling potted flowers. Beautiful blooming potted flowers. I had to come home with this beauty. A yellow ranunculus. I love flowers, especially flowers with roots. They aren't going to die... you know, like cut flowers. It least I hope not.


I have always loved Peony and Ranunculus flowers. And then yesterday the Pioneer Woman posted about her love of Dahlias and I remembered that I love them too. Ok, so I love most every bulb and tuber ever created! Anyway she posted some gorgeous images courtesy of iStockPhoto. And I will leave you with one of my favorites. Have a wonderful weekend.

buried treasures

I thought I would show you a couple treasures I uncovered yesterday while reorganizing my laundry room. I love my laundry room and it was THE reason I fell in love with our home 16 years ago. It's big. And I am all about storage. But it has become a major catch-all. And we need it to become our make-shift kitchen during the remodel, so I had my work cut out for me.
But it actually became more like weeding through a real awesome yard sale. I found some cool treasures I did not even know I had!


I can't even say for sure where I got this. But I'm quite certain I stuck it away thinking it was pretty worthless. But yesterday I googled it just to be sure. And man oh man was I surprised! What I had was a piece of history!!

Beer mug celebrating the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt and the repeal of Prohibition, c. 1933. Glazed ceramic, in the shape of a beer keg.

*** $45.00!!! I WAS SHOCKED!


Then I found these- googled Bodum and found out these were Bodum espresso cup & saucers.

CHAMBORD CLASSIC
espresso glass and saucer, set of 2

*** $54.95!!! Again, SHOCKED! They are so tiny!


I had never googled this little conversation piece. Mine is pretty worn, unlike this one that I found posted HERE.

Vintage Hand Carved Wooden Smoking Pipe
Anri Italy Figural Bearded Man Face

*** $49.99!!! As you can imagine, even more SHOCKED when you consider I only paid a quarter!

Whatever will I uncover today? I'll keep you posted.

My Romantic Home is having Show and Tell Friday. So if you like what you see here, check out all the others HERE. And I'm also linking you to Frugalicious Friday and Show Off Your Stuff. Come on, join in the fun! Inspiration galore!

coping with stress

It's 11 AM and I am eating a Schwan's SilverMint bar. And it won't be my last either. I am sure I will enjoy a few more while watching Biggest Loser tonight. What's up with that? Rather than inspiring me to eat healthy, I get all emotional and eat throughout the whole show. I think because some of them have stories that hit a tad bit too close to home, I go to a weird place and medicate with a tad too much food.

See, just talking about this made me go get another SilverMint. This is not good. This madness has to stop.

Seriously, I'm hoping when the kitchen remodel starts and my home is ripped to shreds, I will embark on a health plan that hopefully will be my sanity as I cope with various stages in the remodel. I am hoping that a walking/hiking regime along with healthy eating will get me through what some say is a nightmare of gargantuan proportions.

You see, we will be exposing our attic for a time. Need I say more. Yes, we are doing some serious reconstruction... removing ducting... raising the ceiling... scrapping more pop corn... tons of drywall and texturing. That's on top of new kitchen cabinets & counter tops as a result of the flood! So ya, it could be a nightmare... or I could choose to make wise, healthy choices in which to help alleviate those inevitable melt downs... or at least keeping them to a minimum.

I have a feeling I'll be blogging more, because I'll either be confined to my bedroom (to blog) or my craft room to escape from the mess. Hopefully it'll unleash my creativity to scrap and sew more. Or I could chuck it all and choose to go live out in my cozy cottage on wheels. Or maybe park it somewhere remote in the White Mountains till it's safe to return home. We'll see.

Anyway, here is a picture of Miranda's two couches in my sunken living room. I love my new beige slipcover on the love seat. And as you can see, Wiley loves the other couch.

Wiley, you're in for a rude awakening when I finally get around to purchasing my first ever new couch someday.


Which is probably why I never will.

Aunt Miranda & Mem

Miranda loves teaching her little niece catchy little songs with the sweetest of motions. I'm not sure which one I delight in watching more. They both melt my heart. I get all emotional remembering Miranda at Emolyn's age belting out Tomorrow from Annie... or Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins. I'm serious, she sang every word. OK, it was rather muddy, but you got the jist. She would sing with such joy and passion. And so does Emolyn. You give her a mic and she will make up the cutest songs and be so serious and dramatic about her delivery. Just cracks me up.
This morning I am grateful that I get to be a Mom & Mimi to these lovely girls.