Mission Accomplished!

My mission was to enter a 5K this year and finish it. Well, Mission accomplished!! AND I ran the whole thing! That's a big deal for me because I am a newbie to running. I can't say that I actually love it yet but I do love how I feel after running so I will continue with it. I hope to do several more 5k races this year and then...gulp...a triathlon next year!

Have a great weekend!

I love Etsy (and blogs too)...

...for bringing people together that may not have ever met otherwise! My friend Laurie from Mermaid Glass invited me to go to dinner with her and one of her Etsy/blog friends named Lorelei Eurto. It was so much fun! These ladies are both so talented. Laurie makes gorgeous lamp work beads and Lorelei makes beautiful jewelry. You should really check out both of their shops and blogs. Very inspiring! It was great chatting with them about their world (jewelry and beads), Etsy and life in general. I'm always amazed at how much we really all have in common as people.

Have a wonderful day! :)

Thanks for the inspiration mystery blogger!

I'm joining a bunch of other bloggers out there that are making this project. I don't know who made it originally but if I did, I would thank them for the inspiration b/c this project was EASY and fun! I present you with...drum roll please....The Cheese Dome Pedestal!!!
Isn't she a beaut?? All the components that make this up are from Goodwill. Here is what she is made from:
Glass cheese dome-$2.99
ceramic candle stick-$.99
brass plate (LOVE the scallop edge!!!)-$1.99

The plate and candle stick got spray painted black (took 10 minutes in my backyard). Then I Gorilla Glued them together and let it dry for about an hour. Then just that easy...DONE!
Where's my "That was easy" button???

Bye for now! :)

Linked up to these wonderful parties:

And we have a winner!

Congrats to Anne Molino for winning the set of Vintage July 4th Blocks! Thanks to all that entered and for your sweet comments on Amy's blog. Reading them made my day!

It's Time For A Giveaway!!!!

I love giveaways, don't you? My friend Amy has several F.U.N. giveaways happening right now on her blog. One of the giveaways is a set of my Vintage Patriotic July4th Blocks! Check her blog out to enter! http://amypaul.wordpress.com/

Focus On The Positive...

I'm kind of in a funk today. Nothing really "major"...just little things that have built up and gotten to me. Getting ready to head out for a walk/run which usually does a nice job of clearing my head. The good thing about having a blog is that you tend to focus on the positive. So here are some Mother's Day gifts that I received this weekend. Very positive in deed! Maybe this day will turn around after all!
This flower is called a Fushia. I've never seen one before.




Made by my sweet daughter :)




My son was very excited about this plant because he said that now we don't have to buy strawberries at the store anymore! When I got this on Sunday the berry was white. As you can see it's turning red. Hope it ripens and that we get to try it before an animal or bug gets it!

Try to have a good day today...I'll be doing the same!

I've got summer on the brain

Will I regret saying that 2 weeks (or less) into summer when the kids are driving me crazy? Well, ready or not it's coming....they're coming...in less than a month! Here are some peeks of summer in my shop!

Great Way To Start The Day...

I am a little obsessed with making this smoothie these days. It's refreshing and high in protein! The high protein comes from the Greek yogurt. Sometimes I switch it up and use strawberry Greek yogurt and fresh strawberries instead of a banana. This recipe is for 2 servings so I half it when necessary.


Banana Breakfast Smoothie (from Cooking Light Magazine)

1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 cup crushed ice (I sometimes bump this up to a cup if I want my smoothie a little icier...don't go crazy though b/c your smoothie will get watered down. I speak from experience on that one)
1 tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 frozen sliced ripe banana ( I have actually never used frozen b/c I am usually making this on the fly...but I plan too!)
1 cup plain 2 % Greek yogurt

Combine first 5 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Add yogurt; process until just blended.

Yield: 2 cups. Serving size 1 cup. Cal. 212 Fat 3.6 g protein 14.2 g carb 34.2g chol. 9mg sodium 75 mg. calc. 200mg
Enjoy!

This is my month people!!

Today is my 16th wedding anniversary, Sunday is Mother's Day and my birthday is next week! Here's hoping my husband doesn't try to combine all the gifts into one. Lol....I kid, I kid! :) In all seriousness, all these things correspond with some of the greatest blessings in my life. Here are some old school pics as proof:
My husband ( this is us on our honeymoon....BABIES I tell you!!)

my children (YES, those animals are real....just proves how much I love my kids b/c I REALLY, really HATE snakes!!!)

Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend! The grandparents are watching the kids tomorrow AND tomorrow night so we get an overnight date!! Woo hoo!

Why Hello There!

April ended up being a very busy month around here so my poor blog was neglected. Hopefully it will get a little more attention in May. Here are a few snapshots to re-cap April!

We hit the beach a few times

Decorated eggs...have to sneak this stuff in while I still can :)

celebrated my daughter's 12th birthday! (these are favors from her party)
We visited a chocolate factory (for Riley's Birthday)! That's a Twinkie getting ready to enter the "Enrober" :)
watched a lot of soccer (both husband and son play)! Go Deuce and Fiasco United!!
My daughter took a surf lesson at Ron Jon with her Girl Scout troop. It was an absolute blast to watch. I want to take one this summer too! It's never to late to become what you might have been, right?? :)

So all of the above, plus daily monotonous stuff and then add in my Etsy shop and it made for a hectic April!

How was your April? Are you ready for summer? I am...and I'm not. I was anxious for some beach days...but then this oil spill happened! It makes me sick thinking about it and it's effects on our environment!

Anyhoo, I hope you are doing well and I hope to check in more this month! Bye for now! :)

Dear Couscous,

I just wanted to let you know how much I am loving you right now. In addition to being super tasty, you have been a break from the norm for my family...and my son will eat you! That is huge because he doesn't like pasta, rice or mac & cheese (crazy, I know!)

You have many sides, lovely Couscous. This is one of our favorites (found at my local grocery store, Publix). It is made in several flavors and all that we've tried have been delicious!
Here is what it looks like cooked and ready to be devoured! I'm obviously not a food photographer. ;)
We haven't tried the variation below...but I am really looking forward to it. I've had this size Couscous at restaurants and it's sooo good! After some searching I found this at Fresh Market. I'll report back and let you know how it is. :)
If you haven't had Couscous before...consider trying it. The closest thing I can compare it too is rice but the texture is much different.

Have a great evening!!

There is still time...

at least that's my hope. Time to relish sweet childhood moments that seem to be slipping away too fast. My daughter is turning 12 next week and has been showing all the signs of passing over into the tween phase....then she does this
making mud pies in the backyard with her brother. Yes, that's our backyard. We've been needing to replace our sod so we let the kids (mostly Coop) dig in the dirt...and it turned into "The Hole". Gasp, I know...kids outside in the dirt!! Unfortunately they don't have much time left with it b/c we are going to be re-sodding very soon. And look what they made...
This is Riley's...it's Mrs. Mud Lady!
This is Coop's...it's Mud Turtle!
That's all for today. As the commercial for Rice Krispies says, "Childhood is calling". ;)

Mid-Week Fun!

My husband's birthday was on Tuesday. We celebrated by traveling to Clearwater to see one of our favorite bands, Wilco, in concert. We were able to sneak away during the middle of a Tuesday and hit the road (thanks to my wonderful MIL and our kick butt dog sitter)! Felt like a little adventure right there in the middle of the week! Our first stop was lunch at a place in Tampa called Datz...OMG...SO GOOD! It has a really cool vibe and the food is amazing!! That's where we're at in the photo above.
Here's the interior when you walk in the door.
and THIS is the best rueben sandwich I've ever had! In addition, the chips were homemade and truly not of this earth! Seated next to this wonderful-ness is a glass of Southern Pecan beer. Kick butt lunch for sure!!!
How cool are these handmade chocolates? They taste amazing too. I tried the Key Lime, Peanut Butter & Jelly and Creme Brulee. Yum-O!

My sister and her husband were meeting us and going to the concert too...so after connecting with them at the hotel, we hurried out to eat and then got to the concert just in the knick of time. I unfortunately do not have photos from the concert b/c they were crazy strict about cameras and cell phone pictures. I cannot say enough about what a great concert it was. They played something like 30 songs in 3 HOURS. It was amazing and I love them!

The next day my sister and I dragged our husbands around to hit a few antique stores.
Here they are. They are troopers!
Here are my sister, Betsy and her husband, Jeff...or as I like to refer to him "Jeffro". We hit one really good shop and the rest were just okay. Scored some great treasures though! Wish I would have taken photos of them...but I'll do that next time. Lots of sibling rivalry going on about purchases...generally our M.O. is: If you like it than I want it and vice versa...so we get fake mad at each other when one finds something good. :)

After antiquing we took Betsy and Jeff back to Datz and they loved it just as much as we did! The perfect ending for our overnight trip was splitting a huge piece of red velvet cake...again O.M.G.!

Today, it's back to the grind..but I have memories of Tuesday night to carry me through the rest of the week! :)

Barely Blogged Monday

Barely Blogged Monday. That's what I am naming today and possibly every Monday. I am usually dragging so bad and don't feel like I get in the swing of things until late afternoon...if at all.

So, I'll leave you with a little song. This one is by The Everybodyfields. I love them...A lot. Unfortunately they are broken up. Fortunately we still have their music. This song may seem to start slow...give it a minute. :)



and some words of inspiration:

"Use those talents you have. You will make it. You will give joy to the world. Take this tip from nature: The woods would be a very silent place if no birds sang except those who sang best."-Bernard Meltzer
and the hope that you're Monday goes well!

xo, Kelley

Gift Ideas For My Girl From Etsy

My Etsy-loving daughter is turning 12 in less than a month. I thought I would showcase some Etsy items that I'm considering as gifts for her!

Eeeek! How cute is this tote?! Guess I better order today b/c it's coming from England!
By Gemmabear <---Click here to view the full listing I am in love with these! This listing is for a custom version. One of my favorite shops to visit! By Lemontreestudio <---click here to view the full listing My daughter has had 2 other kits from this seller and they are super cute!
By Fancytiger <---click here to view full listing Make your own Frustration Pencil Kit! By junepfaffdaley <---click here to view the full listing This is right up her alley! Nightmare Snatcher Journal by Spiderbite <--- click here to view the full listing My girl is very crafty so I think she'd love this! Remember making these back in the day? I think my loom was plastic.
By Craftsanity <---click here to view the full listing Cutest magnet ever! I have a stamp by this seller with a little monster and it says "I make stuff!" By Vozamer <---click here for the full listing This is Percy P. Monster. Riley put in her request for him as a birthday gift about a month ago...so I've already purchased him. This is going to be Riley's 4th "stuffy" by this seller. My son has 2. We are obviously big fans! By plantsandanimals <---click here to view full listing



I could go on and on because there are just so many cool things for kids on Etsy. I'm so glad that my daughter is such a fan!

Have a great day today! It's almost weekend! Yay!