Yumm

We had some of these wonderful beauties this morning

fresh picked from our garden.

Sweet and chemical free!!

what have you harvested out of your garden this year?

Celebrations

A few days late, but HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my dad's and all those other dad's out there.

Ahhhh

I may not be a Duggar, but this is how I feel right about now.

In the Corner

I love my dogs. They have the best personalities and are just so darn funny. We take our shoes off when we get into our house. Often times I still have my socks on but after a while they start to bug me so they have to come off. So I just take them off where I am (usually at the computer - so they are under the desk). Or next to our slider door cause I need to put them on with my boots next time I go out to the farm animals.

Cooper loves to redecorate and rearrange things in the home. Cooper also loves corners. Sometimes when I go back to grab the socks to put in the laundry I only find one. Sometimes I start looking for them and other times I just figure I will find them later. Lately I have been doing LOADS of laundry, a never ending feat - even with just two people in the house. So I was searching for the missing socks. Cooper loves to hide things, sometimes between the seat cushion in our chairs in the living room or in the corners. Surprise!!! my missing socks were in the corner in the dining room, practically pushed under the baseboard. I had to smile.

Cooper is the cutest and if you ever have a missing sock...check the corners!

Celebrations!

June is a full month of celebrations, like the end of the school year and Summer Break beginning.

My favorite celebration in June is my wonderful Husbands birthday.

Happy Birthday Thomas, I LOVE YOU!!!


Well I am off to dinner to celebrate his birthday.

Difference of a Week

What a difference a week makes. Here are some pictures of our garden from last week and how much they have grown to today!

Lettuce and Spinach June 9th


Lettuce and Spinach June 16th.

Strawberries June 9th.


Strawberries June 16th.


Tomatoes June 9th.


Tomatoes June 16th. We have a blossom!


Lemon Cucumbers June 9th...they are getting a little bigger this week!
Lupine and some front bed plantings June 9th.
Lupine and front bed June 16th (above and below)


Mystery weed that looks interesting so I am letting it grow June 9th.
Mystery weed a week later June 16th - Its a volunteer Foxglove. I love these and really wanted to plant them but they can't be in Full sun -- Well apparently they can!! So happy. I have no idea how this got here since I have not ever bought one or any seeds for that matter!
Lavender by the front door and the hydrangea's (hopefully they will flower this year - but they are in almost full sun so who knows!)


How is your garden coming along? Anything exciting?

the BIG project

Well its not done yet. But here is a sneak peak of what we - I mean my husband has been working on. Actually I did help a little bit, like the design and color, and maybe I hit in a few nails.

We are building a new Chicken Coop to replace the Temporary One. (notice how flimsy and terrible it looks with the tarp on the leaky roof). The floor frame.

Floor is level and installed. The boys working on building the walls.
Siding is almost all the way up and putting on the rafters.
Framing all the way done. Just have to finish up the roof, put in the windows and door (both were great deals 3 1920's windows for $25 and a $35 exterior door with windows already painted the right color!!). It also needs the inside walls put in, a nice paint job and the outside coop attached, but we are well on our way!You can just see Penelope in the foreground. It was challenging to get pictures without the goats since they are so curious. Out temporary door installed to keep those crazy goats out!

Will post pictures of the finished product when its all done. It happens to be taking longer than anticipated, as goes the story of my life.

Have you been working on any BIG projects lately?

RHONYC

I am a fan of all the Real Housewives shows on Bravo TV. The drama and pure ridiculousness that goes on on all of these series. On the first season of the New York Housewives, I was intrigued by LuAnn. I thought that she was an individual that had her head on straight. Then the subsequent seasons came on and she proved me wrong with ease. The last two seasons I have watched her turn into a bully and mean spirited individual. She really needs to think about her single "Money Can't Buy You Class" because she definitely does NOT have any. She is constantly criticizing others, picking fights and taking sides. While I do not think its a problem to take sides I do think that she needs to learn some common decency and get some class. Watching her in Morocco is APPALLING.

Does anyone else feel this way? Which City is your fave? Who gets under your skin?

My Best Friends Wedding

My best friend and her new husband (well first husband..scratch that..ONLY husband!)

My best friend, Laura, got married this past weekend on June 4th. Actually she got married TWICE on June 4th to the same guy.

She and I have been friends/best friends since forever. We were Bump Buddies and somehow were able to form a lasting friendship outside of the womb that has lasted us 27 years. Ok I just aged myself - and her, how embarrassing. She is by far one of the most caring, loving, supportive individuals I have met in my life. We went to school together 15 years from Pre-school through 12th grade. Then we went to different colleges but stayed in touch. It doesn't matter how much time has passed between our conversations or get together's we always seem to pick it up where we left off. It hasn't been all fun and games, we have had our arguments, but our friendship is as strong as family. We have some similar interests and others that are way off but we make it work. I have been so lucky in my life to have a friend like Laura, I would not be the person I am without her.

It has been such a blessing since she met her beau, Joe. I have been ready for a long time for Laura to settle down, so that we can do married couple things together but she knew she was waiting for someone special, and she found him in Joe. He compliments her so well and they are perfect for each other. I also know that they are great together because whenever we talk she always has such good and wonderful things to say about him. Not once have I heard her complain about him. Its in relationships like those that are sure to last.

The wedding was beautiful and totally LAURA. We were so fortunate to have beautiful weather in the Seattle area in the beginning of June, but not surprising a beautiful person like Laura would get a BEAUTIFUL day for her wedding.

Please enjoy the following pictures of the wedding.



The Bride and her Father.


Her Beautiful Bouquet.
Praying for a blessing of the ceremony and marriage.
The KISS!! It was so long I was able to get 4 pictures and I have a delay on my camera between shots.
Pronouncing Mr. and Mrs.
Boogie down the aisle, no they didn't actually boogie but they sure are happy!!
My beautiful friend in her Reception Hat!
Congratulating!
Posing for a pic with the Bride!

I love you Laura and may your life and marriage be full of many blessings! Love you too, Joe!!


So my lovely readers, do you have any weddings that you are planning on attending this summer? What is your favorite part of weddings?

I love the ceremonies, especially when they are personal and you get to learn more about the couple.

Long Weekend Project

I am sorry that it has been so long between posts. We have been working on a couple projects and I wanted to get them finished before I started posting about them. So here is the first one that I completed today. When we first purchased our house, Thomas got to get a new TV for the living part of our Great Room. He went to the TV store with out me and purchased this "great" TV Table to go along with the TV. As soon as he brought it home I was upset with his choice of table because it was not the look I was hoping to go for in our house. It is a modern contemporary chrome and tinted glass open table. I was thinking more along the lines of wood with doors or something. Never the less. It is his house too, so until I was able to find something that I liked better for a good price, we were stuck with it. I get these great ideas from this wonderful blog I read, you can check it out here. From following this blog I have seen the value in visiting Goodwill for great bargains. So that is what I did this past weekend, checked out Goodwill (they were also having a Memorial Day Sale = even better deals)


I picked up this beauty at the Goodwill by my house for $19.50 including the 30% off!! Good deal? I think so!! Who would have thought that I could find such a great piece on the cheap? I have been searching antique stores for something similar to no avail. Oh the generosity of others, dropping off their "junk" for my cheap "treasures"!!

This is the way that our living room used to look with Thomas' choice of TV Table. While it serves its purpose and is sturdy, it just doesn't go with our decor. So with my $20 bargain, some sandpaper and two cans of Rustoleum spray paint and 48 hours of drying time I got what is pictured below.

Isn't it a dramatic change? Oh what a little bit of paint can do to completely change up the look of an old dumpy piece of furniture. If it has good bones, but you aren't a fan of its finish DON"T disregard it, think about painting it! The thing that I love the most about it is its color. I am so proud of myself for choosing something other than green or white!

And here is the finished product. A million times better huh? I am so proud of how it turned out!

Have you been working on any projects lately? What are they?

May joy be your companion through each and every day. Bringing lots of Irish luck and happiness your way.