My Birthday Boy

Can you bear with me through one more birthday?

My dear son is turning twelve today. Time is going by way too quickly. You always hear that you will turn around one day and they are gone. Well, I'm here to say that it seems to be true.

Ian is a true delight. He is growing in maturity and is becoming a little man. He is helpful and can do everything that I can't do on the computer. He still loves Legos and can build amazing things. He is into Lego Robotics.

Last school year he worked hard with his team and they were able to win 1st place in our GA regional competition for First Lego League (FLL) and 5th in State for research. More than the winning, we saw him grow in maturity, confidence and he was learning to work well in a team situation. He is looking forward to this year's competition.

I'm so proud to be Ian's mom. Happy 12th birthday son!

{Christina}

Don't ya want to be a P.O.O.P.I.E. too?

The Nester is having a P.O.O.P.I.E. party. Victoria and I are joining in to show off our fakes. We do both have a few fake flowers/branches/grasses, but we are fine w/our choices despite what HGTV says about them. There are plenty of things that I see on HGTV that they should never do either. : )hehehe

Today, just to be ornery, I made a little fall bouquet. I used a few flowers out of a big bunch of fake flowers that came in something I bought from goodwill. It was probably one of those bushes that you buy for $4.99 and just stick in something. No--not me. I cut all the leaves off of the stems and added some sticks. The flower center looks the most fake, but I'll probably hot glue some of the extra petals from the leftover flowers over it to hide it more. It works and it's fake. So sue me. : )

Here we have the above mentioned fake flower bush straight from the vase I bought at Goodwill.

Way too many leaves adorn the stems.

Better, I think.

I have lots of the same types of berries/branches/grasses. I realized how much most of them look very similar while taking these pictures.



Here is a little fern that is hiding some of our charging cords on the kitchen counter. It does look very plastic in the picture, but doesn't in real life. I love the little unfurled fern fronds.

How about a little topiary that I recently acquired at a yard sale. I added the little "grow" letters.


Victoria has some fakes at her house too. A fall bouquet of sticks/weeds and dahlias grace a chippy painted side table. She always has such lovely little vignettes around her house.

I also love this little house plant. She moves it from here to there and it always adds just the right cottage touch.

And last but not least a delish bowl of apples.

Oh, but what's that?...teeth marks?? Yes, our sweet nephew decided to eat a delicious red apple on a visit a few years ago. I guess the first one didn't taste so good, so he tried them all. Vic, I hope you keep those forever. So cute.

a good book and various other things...

Last night I was weary and while hubs was bathing my sweet girl I decided to grab a book off of my bookshelf and put my feet up and read. Every year about this time I find myself wanting to read Jan Karon's Mitford series. For some reason it makes me think of Fall and warm soup bubbling on the stove. Yes, it was 87 degrees here in Atlanta yesterday but again I have been thinking and dreaming of Fall.

We had a baby shower this weekend for my SIL and I made a frame for the baby's room. Believe me, I am NOT a crafty person, or rather I haven't been in several years, so this was a big deal to me. The pictures aren't great but you'll get the idea. I bought the wooden frame on clearance at Michael's for .79 cents. I bought a sheet of scrapbook paper and modge-podged it on and then glued ribbon across it. I kept wanting to add the baby's name but wasn't creative enough to come up with the best way to do it.

Her gift was a mixture of diaper products, plus changing pad, pad covers, sheets, etc. I used a tag from last Christmas that I had dipped in coffee as shown here on Dawn's website last year and stamped Caleb's name on it.



Lastly, my green lamp I showed in this post caught on fire the other night! We were sitting in the LR when hubs said "oh, oh" and jumped up and turned off the lamp and unplugged it. Now he thinks I am out to kill him with my antique lamps!!! He he he.

~ Victoria ~

Goodwill finds

I ran by Goodwill on my lunch break Thursday just to kill some time and came away with some great finds. Typically I don't hope for much. Our Goodwill is expensive (compared to the great deals you all find at Goodwill in other states) and most days doesn't have a great selection.

I picked up several Spring/Easter decorations. I will probably spray paint the bunnies and the eggs are sidewalk chalk to put in Sweet Girl's Easter basket.

The basket and wooden bowl I might just send to the cabin my in-laws just bought. It is unfurnished and they will be furnishing it over the next several months.


My best find though was this dresser painted robins egg blue. It is dirty and will have to be repainted but I just loved the feet!


Oh and the big fork...my hubs looked at me like I was crazy when I pulled it out! :) Maybe when I finish with it he won't think I'm so crazy anymore (wishful thinking I'm sure).

Hope you all have a great weekend!

~Victoria~

When PMS calls....

Chocolate Rum Cake answers!

My sis Beth (the cake baker/sewing queen) mentioned casually through email the other day that she was hiding from her kids eating Chocolate Rum Cake. Mmmmmmm....I was jealous of her and her cake. All afternoon I thought about her cake. That night I finally frantically went through my pantry checking to see if I had all the ingredients and amazingly enough I did! It is one of my favorite cakes ... I don't make it often because I tend to eat most of it, but while hubs was out cutting the grass (2 hour ordeal around here) and sweet girl was reading books in the bathroom I made my cake. Mmmmm...

Chocolate Rum Cake

1 cup sour cream

1 package devils food cake mix

4 eggs

1 small package instant chocolate pudding

½ cup oil

¼ to ½ cup rum

½ cup coffee

1 package chocolate chips

Mix first 7 ingredients then fold in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt pan and bake for 50 min in 350 degree oven.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top once it has cooled.

If the "rum" turns you off, use rum extract or no rum at all. Of course the rum cooks out so never fear, you won't be drunk on this cake but you might just be happy from all the chocolate!

Next time PMS comes calling try it out...I doubt you will regret it!

~Victoria~

Fall love

So all you gals that joined the Fall love party over at the Inspired Room got me out of the doldrums of Atlanta heat and motivated me to go to the basement and lug up the "tote" of fall decor. For a little while with Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra playing and my sweet girl helping me fill containers with pine cones I forgot that it's not really fall here in Atlanta. I forgot that is, until I went outside with her to pick up some colorful leaves. We walked around until I was hot and came back inside where I could pretend for a little while longer.



When we moved into our house 9 years ago the living room was a boring gray that had no personality. I lived with it for awhile until I convinced my FIL and husband to put bead board up. I wanted the bead board about 2 feet from the ceiling but hubs thought I was outta my mind! I finally convinced them both to do it halfway up the wall and put trim on top. I have absolutely LOVED the bead board and think it was some of the best money I've ever spent.

I decorated the living room then and have pretty much left it alone since. It really is time to update the decor...for instance the hydrangea pictures on the walls and the fake hydrangeas really need to go.

The green rocker which was my hubs Grandmother's has a split now in the vinyl (yes, I said vinyl) so it needs to be recovered and overall it is a little more country than I would like it to be. However, that being said, there are so many rooms in my house that need my attention and I find this room comforting so it will stay like it is for awhile longer.

I love our bookcase and as you can see, we USE it! All of sweet girl's books, puzzles, etc are on the lower shelves and she puts them away herself (can you tell?).

This wicker desk my MIL found for me at a yard sale years ago and the lamp she bought me for my birthday one year.

Now for some fall love... Sweet Girl and I enjoyed
pulling out "pumpkin stuff" this morning. I have to admit it is nice to finally have a little buddy that is old enough to enjoy this yearly tradition with me! We danced to the music and she "helped" me. It was such a special time for me!















That's all for now. Hopefully we will get a little more fall love going on around here in the next couple of weeks and will be able to share more.

~Victoria~

September

September is finally here, school is in full swing and it is about time for some fall love. Make sure you go over and enjoy the Fall Nesting Week Party over at The Inspired Room this week. Vic and I hope to participate at some point. From the few blogs I've seen so far, I'm definitely inspired.

I found this "something" at Goodwill recently. Not sure what to call it. I need to find a place for it and something to go inside.


Chloe and I started this wreath today. These white tipped pine cones came from my Uncle and Aunt's cabin on Lake Rabun, in Clayton, GA. We have enjoyed going there for the past so many years. Swimming in the lake in the summer, or cuddling up and feeding the wood stove in the fall was always such fun. They are selling their cabin, and I told the kids today that we will have this pine cone wreath to remind us of the good times there. I had never seen the white tipped pine cones until we started going there. They almost look snow-tipped.


We also found a hand-full of these tiny pine cones during a hike to a waterfall near the cabin last fall.


On a walk last week Chloe picked up these interesting acorns. She is my nature girl. As soon as I saw them I knew they were going into her pocket. We also saw a persimmon tree loaded with small fruits. So, even with the 85 to 90 degree days, fall is slowly making an apperance. I, for one, welcome it with open arms.