What's Up Wednesday?

As you know we have put the house up for sale, so what we have been trying to figure out for the last month is where we are going to live. If I could live anywhere I would choose to live in The Shire. I would pick a lovely house inside a grassy hill and have hobbits for neighbors. Well as nice as that sounds it is not a possibility. We thought about renting a home for awhile but just did not find anything we liked plus the rental costs were just as high as buying a home. While driving around we stumbled upon a new neighborhood building site. We checked out their model home, and drove around to look at all the lot locations. Chris and I took the information and discussed the possibilities along with the pros & cons, and finally decided to build a new home. Once we made the decision and signed all the paperwork it has been nothing but pure excitement buzzing around. The neighborhood is close to our dental office so it will shave off about an hour of commuting for Chris, which will give him more family time in the evenings with us. They are projected to start building next month and won’t be finished till the end of summer. In a perfect world we will sell our house at the perfect time allowing us enough time to build our new one and move in right before closing on the sale of our old one. We will see how all that turns out. In the mean time I will keep you posted on the progress of our new home being built.

Spice Up Your Kitchen

I just wanted to mention that Noodlehead was having a 10 day crafty marathon with tons of tutorials from guest bloggers and herself on things to make for your kitchen. It started on the 17th of May. There are a couple things I plan to make and I am certain the kitchen curtains & the stay put kitchen towels will be first on my list.

Wandering on Wednesday

Since the weather has been so nice I have been doing a lot of wandering around outside. I spotted this Momma bird and her nest made in the overhang in the front of the barn. Normally they fly away from their nests when I come near. She must be sitting on some eggs ready to hatch for her to stay there for me to take the photo. Walking around the barn I spotted at least 5 different nests. I know some people are irritated by the sound of birds chirping in the morning but not me. I love it.

There is a house across the street from our post office this time of year that showcases a ton of purple bearded irises. From what I can tell they look like the same species so she probably has divided them many times through the years. Who knows how many she will have in another ten to twenty years. Here are some more photos of them.






My neighbor whom is a wonderful character and at any given time spotting him he looks as if he stepped right out of a Clint Eastwood western, wearing full on cowboy hat, red handkerchief, chaps, and well worn boots. He recently put up this amazing windmill on his property.

I will leave you with my favorite tree on our property. It is way in the back behind the barn. It was pretty pathetic looking when we first moved here. A couple years ago I got up in the tree and cut loose any dead branches that I could get too. We had a very wet winter and I think it will benefit this year from all the moisture. If I was a kid I probably would be up in that tree now as high as I could climb and dreaming about fun filled summer days.

Friday Favorites

One of my favorite things at the moment is the sunshine. I am Looking forward to all the long sunshiny days ahead.

My favorite tea at the moment is Orange Spice Black tea by Stash. It is a wonderful blend of Black tea with orange peel, cloves, and cinnamon.

Another favorite is Chloe’s Disney Princess’s ride on she got for her birthday. She is starting to get the hang of it. Here are some photos of her enjoying her pink ride.

Sweet Shot Tuesday

Looking Back at My Mom

Here is my Mom in the 70’s back when I was a kid. There are so many things I am grateful to her. Thanks Mom for always being yourself. Thanks for always being honest with me. Thanks for all the great summer vacations. Thanks for the designer jeans when having them meant everything. Thanks for the 10 speed bike. Thanks for never judging me and loving me no matter what. Here is to you Mom, have a wonderful day.


She was looking good even after having 2 kids.


This is my inspiration this summer, a bikini after baby.


I Love You, Mom.

Fill in the Blank Friday

1. My favorite book growing up was:
I read a lot when I was a kid and I loved them all. The ones that are sticking out in my memory right now are The Donna Parker series & Little House on the Prairie books. When I was a little older I started reading V.C Andrew’s books starting with “The Flowers in the Attic”.

2. The funniest book I’ve ever read was:
“Bridget Jones’s Diary” by Helen Fielding

3. The one book that has truly changed my life is:
I think books in general have changed my life and all for the better. The book that comes to mind is “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” by Lisa See

4. If you’re looking for a real “tear jerker” you should probably read:
I try not to read sad books. A good book about many hardships is “Mrs. Mike” by Benedict & Nancy Freedman

5. If I could meet any author living or dead I would want to meet:
John Steinbeck, I love the way he writes and I would probably love to listen to him talk.

6. The next book on my “to read” list is:
“Divisadero” by Michael Ondaatje
“Girl in Translation” by Jean Kwok

7. If I was snowed into a remote cabin in the woods and could only choose three books to bring with me I’d bring:
“Pride & Prejudice” by Jane Austin
“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Visit from Grandpa

My father, Chloe’s Grandpa came for a visit last weekend. He traveled with his wife and her parents from Florida to come see his granddaughter.

This is Chloe’s Grandma and her great grandparents on our front porch. They all enjoyed being out in the country and taking in all the nature around us.

They stopped by on their road trip to the Grand Canyon. They planned to spend a few days at the canyon seeing the sights.

We had a wonderful time visiting with them and catching up. Chloe loved spending time with her grandpa and was particularly fascinated with his mustache. Here are some more photos of the 2 of them playing around.

Wordless Wednesday