Life Lately

Happy Monday! 

Here are a few photos from life lately.........

We enjoyed some Huckleberry preserves that we bought in Montana.  It is fun to still savor the taste of vacation!

Avery and I stopped by Graceland last week because Hallmark was in town filming a movie.  We didn't see any filming action, but no trip to Graceland is wasted :).

I now arrive to work at 6am.  Needless to say, it is a pretty quiet scene at that time of the morning, but I am loving the shift of getting off work much earlier!

My girls spent last week roofing houses in the inner city.  Brook is in the picture above and Isabella is in the picture below. 

We attended a first birthday party this weekend, which was basically a hangout for the adults!  I enjoyed being with the adults and the kids!

We also attended an art show this weekend and Brook's design from fashion camp was displayed.  She made this romper and we were very impressed with her first sewing project! 

We also made a quick visit to the homeowner where Brook worked roofing last week.  It was nice to meet her and see where Brook worked.

Enjoy your day!

What's Up Wednesday ~ July Edition

What we're eating this week............

Monday - turkey sausage, onions and peppers

Tuesday - Chick Fil A

Wednesday - out with Isabella

Thursday - alfredo chicken and veggies

Friday - ??

What I'm reminiscing about...................

That time I took a week off work and went to Montana with my family :)

What I'm loving.......................

I started a new shift at work this week, so I am loving getting off work at 2:30!  However, that means my shift begins at 6am, so I am up and on the road pretty early.

What we've been up to......................

Keeping up with the girls schedules!  They have had an activity or trip almost every week this summer.  This week, they are serving doing local missions in Memphis.

What I'm dreading........................

The firs thing that pops in my head is the week of Christmas because unless something changes, which it could, I am working the entire week of Christmas. That includes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day :(.

What I'm working on....................

School starts in less than 2 weeks and I am still trying to get the girls registered for classes and find out what to expect.

What I'm excited about.........................

I am excited about the weekend and afternoons at home...basically, anytime off work :).

What I'm watching/reading...................................

I am not honestly doing too much of either these days.

What I'm listening to..........................

I am still addicted to my podcasts though! My favorites are Greg Laurie and Downtown Presbyterian Greenville, SC.

What I'm wearing..................................

I have been enjoying my new pair of jeans from the Nordstrom sale.

What I'm doing this weekend.....................

Isabella leaves on another mission trip and then the rest of us are going to a sweet girl's 1st birthday party. 

What I'm looking forward to next month......................

School starts for the girls and we have a weekend trip planned next month also.

What else is new.......................

The weather has been a tad bit cooler this week so that has been nice.  I also received another batch of digitalized home videos.  It has been so fun to watch these!  I need to blog about these soon.

Hope your midweek is going well!

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale Items!

In the wee hours of July 12th, I woke up at 3am and did a good bit of Christmas shopping, thanks to the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale.  I had my alarm set for 4am, but woke up at 3 and saw the sale was live, so I began shopping.  The past 2 years, I have woken up early on this day because I know some things sell out fast and it seems like the later in the morning, the more problems occur with the website because it is so overloaded.

I am not a fashion blogger, but I do like fashion and I certainly like a good deal, like everyone else.  I had a budget of clothes for me and then I did Christmas shopping for the girls.  I had a few things in mind for them and then I did a search to see whatever else came up that I thought they would like.  That gets a little harder for the girls now that they are both teenagers!

My girls don't read this blog all the time, but in case they do, I won't share what I got for them, but I thought I would share what I bought for me.  The order came in this week and I like everything I ordered!

1.  My favorite jeans

I bought my first pair of Wit and Wisdom jeans during the sale last year.  I have the boot cut style and this year bought the regular cut of jeans.  These jeans are so comfortable, fit great, and I like that it comes in petite sizes.

2. Plaid shirt

I always enjoy a good plaid shirt and this one caught my eye, although I did order it in a different color than pictured above.  I have 2 other plaid shirts, but they are pretty worn, so I am glad to have a new one for the fall.

3. A new cardigan

I like having cardigans in some basic colors, so I ordered this one in black.  I had a lightweight black cardigan that I lost last summer, so I've been a while without one.  This is one is a little thick, but not too heavy.  I like that it is long and I can use it to layer in the fall and winter.

4. Sweater

I also have been wanting a new sweater, but haven't found many styles that are flattering to me.  I saw this online and took a chance.  I ordered it in a different color, but I really like it.  It can be worn with jeans or it is long enough to wear with leggings. It has a seam on the front on the sides, which gives it a little bit of unique detail.

5. Candles

I bought these candles to use as gifts.  They are pretty, good scents and natural.

6. Stila eyeliner and lipstick

I am a fan of Stila eyeliner and this is a great deal because it includes their lipstick, which stays on almost all day.  I bought this last year and I will put this on repeat every summer.

7. Murad age spot serum

I am always working to remove dark spots and this is a brand I have wanted to try.  I do use my Rodan and Fields, which I sell in case you are interested in any products, but other brands intrigue me as well to know how they work.  I bought this gift package, which I noticed is now sold out.  It did come with a cute travel bag.  

Everything I bought, except for the age spot serum kit was under $50.  The anniversary sale is live until August 5th.  Normal prices resume on August 6th.

If I remember after Christmas, I will share some of the goodies I ordered from the sale for my girls!

Friday Favorites

Friday, I am so thankful for you.  It has been an extremely busy week at work and hard in a lot of ways too and I am just tired.  So today, I am counting my blessings on the simple things to name some favorites. 

1. Every day this week, Brook has attended a fashion design camp.  She has done great and learned to sew!  Seeing her embrace something new is a favorite thing of this week.  And we've had car time every morning too. 

2.  I'm jumping back to last week for this one, but Avery and I had a date night.  The view, food and the company were great, however, the humidity....not so much.  I did go back to this same restaurant with a friend this week to honor her wedding anniversary.  She is a widow now and we go out on her anniversary every year.

3.  I am really going back a long time with this picture...This is Isabella 10 years ago talking on a flip phone :).  I am so thankful for time with my girls, especially when they were young. 

4.  I blogged this week about painting this dresser, and am still counting this as a favorite. 

5. I also blogged about my quick weekend get-a-way to Pittsburgh to attend a wedding.  It was a favorite. 

Hope you all have a fabulous and cool weekend. I am so looking forward to my Saturday and Sunday!

Girl Chat: Painting Furniture ~ Best Paint to Use

 Today, I am linking up with Girl Chat this month and talking about my recent experience painting furniture.

I read many blogs about painting furniture, but haven't done too much myself.  I did paint bathroom cabinets and a mirror frame, but those are the biggest projects I have done so far....until last week. 

Bathroom cabinets 

Brook's mirror

 A year and a half ago, we bought a dresser from a re-sale store for Brook.  She has been asking me since then to paint her dresser.  While she was out of town last week, I painted every morning before work to get it finished.

I read and made lists of what I needed to do this and wrote out all the steps.  I did my research, went into Lowe's, and bought a completely different product!

These are before pictures.   

There were definitely some scratches on the dresser, but they were all on one side.

I was prepared to prime and sand between each coat, expecting to paint 2-3 coats, and then finish with a topcoat for protection. I saw this Valspar furniture paint and was quickly convinced to forego my original list of supplies.

The can says it requires no priming, sanding or top coat and it was right! I did use some wood filler on the rough spots in the photos above and sanded it with a fine sandpaper.  Then I began painting. 

This is such a heavy piece of furniture, so I decided it would be too hard to move downstairs.  I put plastic underneath the dresser and painted it in the bedroom. I did move the drawers to another room and painted them there.  It took 3 coats and I let it dry 24 hours between coats. It saved so much time not having to sand between each coat.

This is the finished product!  Once it was finished, my husband installed the new hardware on the drawers.  I let it sit for 2 1/2 days before anything was put on top of it. 

We were all pleased and Brook is so glad to finally have her dresser painted.  Now I am going to use the rest of the paint on a desk in our guest room.  I will keep you posted on how that goes!

The Wedding Where I Cried......

Last Friday, I took a super early flight out of Memphis to Pittsburgh.

I had comfort plus and it was so nice :). 

My connection was through LaGuardia in New York City, just my favorite town.  I didn't see the skyline when I landed, but I did catch a glimpse as I took off for Pittsburgh. 

I was so excited to see the city and Lady Liberty for a quick glance! 

Friday evening, I was able to tour downtown Pittsburgh. 

There are so many rivers and bridges in this city, but it is pretty.  In this picture, you can see where the Pittsburgh Steelers play football and where the Pittsburgh Pirates play baseball. 

We ate dinner downtown and saw this original piece of steel, since Pittsburgh is known as the city of steel. 

We took a funicular to an observation area to see the city. 

This is Kim, my tour guide for the evening and my host.  I stayed in her home for the night.  Our mutual friend set this up, so we just met that afternoon. 

Now, the real reason I went to Pittsburgh...

My sweet friend, Leah, got married!   

She was looking beautiful!  I was able to help a little with breakfast and lunch before the wedding and it was so nice to finally meet her family. 

Their wedding was so sweet.  You could see and feel the genuine love between these two.  I am so happy for her.  I cried so much during the wedding.  It was especially emotional because her two brothers could not be there due to being in the Marines, and they were facetimed during the wedding. 

So a Pittsburgh tradition is to have a cookie table at the wedding.  Family members make cookies and they are served at the reception before the bride and groom arrive.

I was in Pittsburgh less than 48 hours, but I was so thankful and honored to be at their wedding.  I stayed at a hotel near the airport Saturday night because I had another super early flight on Sunday.  I was glad to get back home and have time with the family before another busy work week.