Instagram Weekend /// 6.8.12 - 6.10.12

SugarPlum bugging me while painting the fence.

Before /// After:  A little weatherproofing on the fence.

On one of the many trips to Home Depot.  Shorts & Boots!  Rock on my Little Man.

Love my boy!

Crazy Kids!

Fun in the Summer Sun.

Tough lesson on the farm on Saturday.  Something, assuming a cat, got our chicken Elizabeth.  Just a couple piles of feathers and the saddest part...an egg,  :(  

Before /// Beer Butt Chicken

After /// Beer Butt Chicken

Midas is here!  Our first horse!  So excited.  We were gifted Midas from Greg's uncle.

Can you tell she is happy!  

Boy:  A noise with dirt on it.

Geoffrey Beans!

Passed out waiting for dinner.  Look at those lippies!

Stopped by Goodwill on a whim to see if I could find any treasures.  And, I did!  Two PERFECT vintage Pyrex pieces that I did not already have.

Yep, they get a kiddie pool!

Splish Splash!

My Old Puppy Milo - King of the Barnyard

The Girls:  Bessie & SugarPlum

Kids live here!

My heart belongs here.

We love him already.

Mowin w/ Black Beauty

My favorite time of day.

Planting flowers with my babies!

Dead gopher.
There may have been tears from a certain little girl who thinks "this is just unfair and every animal deserves their habitat!!!"
A certain little girl may have gotten the "life isn't fair" talk too.

Yep, I love cheesy Garden Gnomes!

A perfect, perfect weekend!

♥♥♥ 
Olivia

I Hope She Never Changes.

One of the things Penelope detests most is the fact that she has to wear uniforms to school.  I love it, from an easy-morning-routine perspective, but I get where she is coming from.  She likes to wear clothes that she likes. She likes to have a choice.  I love when she puts outfits together.  I am not a mom who censors (within reason of course, no micro-mini skirts, short shorts or plunging necklines for this kid) her kid's clothing.  Meaning if Penelope comes out wearing a tie-dye skirt, cowgirl boots, and a plaid top; I'm not stopping her.  I LOVE this about her.  She could care less what anyone else thinks.  I'll be honest, there have been a few times, I've raised my eyebrows and she replies with her 15-year-old-in-a-6-year-old-body response, "What Mama?  I like it."  Rock on Peeps.  I tell her, but I know it doesn't quite register with her yet, that this uniqueness she is creating is one my most favorite things about her.  She just thinks I'm nuts, because to her it is simple...she is just wearing what she likes at any given moment.


So, the other day in the grocery store, I snapped these photos.  I had just picked her up from school and we were running a quick errand before picking up the Jr. Mint at daycare.  The other thing I love about her (most of the time) is her tenacity to bend the rules.  I love that she doesn't follow the herd.  She is not a sheep.  Never has been.  I pray that along the way in life, she never loses these things.  That she doesn't let society sensor her individuality.  Most days, she plays along and follows the rules of  her school dress code.  Other days she does not...sometimes she wears crazy colored knee high socks, maybe a crazy hair accessory, or simply just her favorite boots.  Rock on Peeps.  Rock on.

♥♥♥ 
Olivia  

Hipster

My little Hipster.

This was on his 3rd Birthday.  I can't believe it's already been 3 years!


This little boy...is A BOY.  That's the only way I can explain it.

Boundary pusher

Stunt Man

Jr. X-Games contestant

Fearless

Strong Willed

Button Pusher

Fiery Independent

Devious

Sly

Caring

Loving

Bratty

Bashful

Exuberant

Serious

Heart Melter

My sweet boy.

♥♥♥ 
Olivia 

Geoffrey Beans.

Fate works in mysterious ways.


Remember Lucky?  One day, driving down the exact same road I drive down every single day, I just happened to see a "Lost Dog" poster with Lucky's sweet face on it.  Weird thing...it was a weathered poster.  It had been there for a long time.  Why didn't I notice it before?  Greg didn't notice it either?  After noticing it, it was so blatantly apparent.  We relentlessly searched for Lucky's owner before we called him ours...and then the poster appeared out of thin air?


Even more bizarre?  The night before we found Lucky's poster, a new little friend appeared out of nowhere.  He wouldn't leave.  We chased him away and he found his way into the back yard.  He kept coming back.  So,  on the same day we had to give Lucky back, Geoffrey Beans graced us with his presence.  Needless to say, Geoffrey has found a new home.  It took a little prodding and creative "begging" on part for Greg to agree.  Greg does not like small dogs.  But, I think little GB is wearing on Greg...in a good way.  


Geoffrey Bean is a little lover.  He loves Milo.  He loves us.  He loves the kids.  We love him.


Without further ado...meet Geoffrey Beans (anyone have a clue what kind of dog he is?  We don't.)

♥♥♥ 
Olivia

Drink Up!

Went to Total Wine on my lunch today and got SCHOOLED by my "Old Lady" drinkin' buddies.  Those girls love their cocktails and I enjoyed learning a few things today.  


I resolve to drink more this year.  I'm a total lightweight and want to build up my tolerance a bit.  I'm a cheap date, but sheesh...motherhood has, uh...left me rusty.


So, I don't like wine.  **GASP**  I know.  I know.  Most people look at me like I have 3 heads when I tell them I don't like it.  However, I am more willing to give it a try these days.  At a recent Christmas Party I had a Pinot Noir that I actually liked...too bad I didn't pay attention to the name.  So, my "Old Ladies" are going to help me out.  I'm such a rookie now!


Anyway, with the help of this 457 page guide, I hope to learn a few things about wine.

And, I would buy this tequila just to have the bottle. I have had a long term love-affair with anything skull, sugar skull, dia de los muertos, etc.

So, do any of you have any favorite wines this newbie might like?


Cheers!


♥♥♥ 
Olivia

Scraps

What do you get out of a pile of vintage sheets?

A lovely blanket of course...

This blanket is for Penelope's bed.  I love the fact that the binding I made to put around the edge is a completely different floral pattern than the main sheet, but it has all the same colors. 

This literally took me about 2 hours to make from start to finish.  If you're interested the process is below.

I'm calling this an "Arizona Blanket" because the thickness is just 3 sheets.  No batting or filling.  Just enough to keep the chill off but not hot enough to be uncomfortable.  Even in the winter I still get too hot with too many blankets.

So, I had 3 full-size sheets (the floral and green ones you see and a plain white one which is in the middle and not visible) that I trimmed down with my rotary cutter so that all sides were equal.  I pinned the sheets together and serged all 4 sides.  Since I knew I'd be putting binding around the edges, I was not concerned with how I actually sewed the pieces together.  Then I "quilted" it together by sewing pieces of yarn into knots through all 3 pieces of fabric.  You can't really see them in the picture, but by doing this it just keeps 3 pieces stabilized together.  After you wash it once you've quilted it, it becomes slightly "puckery" around the yarn knots...I love this!  It just oozes coziness!.  Once I completed the yarn quilting, I made the binding out of another vintage sheet, ironed it, and then pinned it all around the blanket.  Once in place, I topstitched it to the blanket and then I was done!  Easy Peasy.  My Penelope was over the moon with her new "quilt" to put on her bed.  

You could easily add warmth to this by omitting the third sheet in the middle and add batting made especially for quilts.  

I typically scour garage sales, thrift stores, and antique stores for vintage sheets.  I don't care what anyone says, they do not make crisp sheets like the old vintage ones.  The way I look at it is, "one man's junk is another man's treasure."  I was able to make my baby a blanket she absolutely loves for about $3.  

This really isn't a tutorial, but more of an inspirational piece...to get you thinking about what you could make with things you already have on hand!  

Enjoy!

♥♥♥ 
Olivia

Welcome to the Barnyard

We have goats!

We welcomed our first barnyard beauties to Serendipity the day before Christmas Eve.  The kids (and me too!) were so excited.  Greg's uncle brought them for the kids.  They are just adorable.  SugarPlum is the smaller of the two and was pretty skittish, but she is warming up to me.  The other day she escaped her pen and I was trying to "round her up" as Greg would say.  Really, it was me darting back and forth trying to persuade to jump back to where she belonged.  Greg asked, "Why don't you just grab her?"  Oh, duh.  That really didn't dawn on me.  I've never wrangled goats before!  So, I grabbed her and scooped her up and she went limp in my arms and...for real...started cuddling.  At least that is what I think.  She nuzzled her head against my chest and let me pet her for about 5 minutes.  Now when I go out to feed her, she talks to me, comes right up to me and follows me around.  When I feed them, she jumps in the trough and lets me pet her the entire time.  Bessie on the other hand is sassy and wants nothing to do with any of us still.  She's better than the first night, but is still in flight mode whenever we get too close.

My Junior Mint got his first head butt by the goat which in turn ended with him face flat in the dirt.  His eyes were as big as saucers.  After making sure he was fine, I just about died laughing.  That will teach him to get too close.  Goats 1 - Baby Greg 0.

As for the names, those were all Penelope.  At first we just knew we were getting two goats, but we didn't know the sex.  So, obviously you get her choice for female names, but if they would've been boys, they would've been Carlos and Lightning.  Right on Peeps. 

I can't wait to add more creatures to our barnyard brood.  Thinking maybe a couple more goats, maybe a sheep, a cow, and a mini donkey for sure!  I'd have whole zoo if Greg would let me!

♥♥♥ 
Olivia