The Hunt for Red October

No, I'm not searching for rogue Russian submarines. I have been searching for a cute camera bag for when we travel to California next month. Yes, I could go with a standard black, blah bag, but I'm a little bit more stylish than that! The hunt lead me to the epiphanie website (http://www.epiphaniebags.com/). They have the cutest bags, that actually look like real purses. Love it! They are slightly pricey, but I figure that I pay more than that for a regular purse and this one I will always be able to use. They are so cute! Take a look. They only have three styles at the moment, but are in plans of coming out with new styles. I chose the Lola bag. I think it is a nice pop of bright color.

The nice thing about these bags, other than being so freakin cute, is that they have compartments for all of your camera gear.

And there are places to put your phone, makeup, etc in there as well. I think it will make the perfect travel bag and keep my camera nice and safe! So, if you have a really big camera and want a stylish way to carry it to and fro, check these girls out. They are fabulous!

A Little Bathroom Redesign

I want to redo one of the bathrooms. I just have to convince Joseph first. Right now the shower in our bathroom looks like this.

Yes, we are using it as a closet. As you can see, the shower is itty bitty. We don't ever use it. My poor 6'5" husband and this shower just don't jive. So, I am thinking of a slight bathroom redesign to make this bathroom more functional. Here is the basic layout, off course, not to scale.

This is kinda what I have in mind to do.

I want to seal off the door to the hallway and have the closet open up into the hallway. Then expand the shower to make it bigger. I drew this picture before I went in the bathroom to see what kinda space I would have. I can nix the bigger vanity, so that area will need a little bit of work. But, that is what I have in mind. I'm thinking I can probably get it done (doing it ourselves) for well under 1000 bucks. I'm sure the hubs will veto this, but maybe he can be seduced with the thought of rainfall showers and maybe a few shower jets. Stay tuned for the verdict! Ha ha!

Perfect Saturday Morning

Nothing is better than sleeping late, getting up, having a cup of coffee while reading the new InStyle magazine and then doing a little online shopping. I finally got around to using my gift card from Christmas. I knew there was a reason why I Heart J Crew.

They love them some Dachshund as well! Happy Saturday, ya'll!

100th Post and One Year Blogiversary (that's late!)

This is my 100th post (and 4th today). Wow! Time flies. I can't believe that I missed my one year blogiversary. My first post was published on March 5, 2009. So, I am a few days late. Oh well! This past year has been filled with lots of new, exciting stuff. First, we added to our family by bringing home JR and Brutus. They are now a big part of our home and have made it their home as well. We also had the addition of a new nephew, Alex. We went to the beach, Savannah, and celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. We will soon be leaving at the end of April for California for a little getaway to Napa Valley. We are both looking forward to that one! I have lost my job and Joseph's job has taken him to places such as Tennessee, Kentucky, Washington DC, and Virgina. We redecorated the guest bedroom and then turned it into Joseph's man cave. My sister-in-law was in a horrible accident and is finally able to see a little light at the end of the tunnel, as far as her injuries go. My cousin, Stacey moved to Thomasville and I have enjoyed having her so close. There have been ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and somehow we have made it through another year. We are truly blessed by God and are so thankful to be called His children. So thank you for reading this little blog of mine. I truly enjoy having you fly through our window to get a little peek at our lives! Thanks for letting us share it with you.

Spring is Right Around the Corner!

Moday and Tuesday were gorgeous days here in Thomasville and that brought on Spring Fever for me. I was tired of looking at my sad little flower bed that took a brutal beating over this cold winter.

Even my Evergreen Wisteria vine lost all of its leaves this winter and it isn't supposed to do that. Hence the name evergreen. Maybe it is because it was in super vine mode and was taking over the whole house and had made its way all over to the fence. That is when I took to whacking branches off left and right. My hydrangea bush didn't fare any better. The only thing that really survived was my daylillies and the easter lily bulbs that are just sprouting up. With a little trip to Lowes, I grabbed a few flowers to spruce up the garden a little bit.

This is what I got:

• 
  
  Tulips
• 
  
  Hyacinth bulbs
• 
  
  Snow Cone Candytuft (the white flowers)
• 
  
  Snapdragons
• 
  
  Creeping Phlox (purple butterfly/hummingbird bush)
• 
  
  Merritt's Supreme Hydrangea

Then came the work part. Planting. Yay.

Got the tulips planted. I thought they were so pretty, even if they have a short bloom time. Plus with them being a bulb plant, they should come back next spring.

The hyacinth. These are still little babies. They should shoot up a good bit and just be gorgeous.

Here is the after. Still have to grab a few more plants to fill it up a bit more, and get some fresh mulch. But it looks a bit better. I guess if the wisteria doesn't come back, I will have to find another vine to cover up  the phone/internet box. My poor hydrangea plant. I keep murdering the poor thing. I guess I should do research before whacking on it. Figured out why it didn't bloom last year. Yeah, I cut all the buds off. You shouldn't prune hydrangeas after August because you cut away all the buds for the next season. I didn't cut it back to the roots like I did last year, so hopefully I will have a few blooms this year. Just in case, I got this.

I planted it in a planter to get it established then I will plant it somewhere later on. Especially if I have totally ruined the other hydrangea. But it is just so pretty!

I also need to get some more flowers for my flower boxes. I haven't had to do so because every year the flowers always come back. I doubt that they will this year. Everything seems to be dead. Maybe the gerber daisies made it, but that might be about it. Whenever it stops raining and we have some more sunny days, I will get out there and work on these flower beds some more!

Just for fun here is picture from last year to show off how huge my lillies were.

Notice the big gap in front. Yeah, me and my clippers are dangerous things. If I don't like you, I get rid of you.

I'm Baaaack!! With a Little Bit of Sweets for My Peeps

Oooh, peeps, yum. Okay, on a fluke I thought that I would try to see what mood the computer was in today. And today it seems to be working fine. Considering I didn't get this screen when I turned it on.

Now on to my girl scout cookies. I love cookie season. I am also very sad when it ends. So, I took to the internet to see if there were any copy cat recipes that I could use to make GS cookies year round. And I found it!! Samoas are my favorite and of course they would be, because they are probably the most labor intensive ones to make! I took a few shortcuts, but they still turned out great. And very yummy!

Here was my shortcut.

Keebler Fudge Striped Shortbread Cookies. Way easier and quicker than making my own shortbread and then having to dip the bottoms in chocolate.

For this recipe, you need some caramels (14 oz) and toasted coconut.

Melt the caramels with 1/4 tsp salt and 3 tbsp of milk for about 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute. I did this in the microwave.

When the caramel is melted and smooth, fold in 3 cups of toasted, shredded coconut. (bake the coconut for 20 minutes at 300 degrees. Stirring the coconut every five minutes)  Then get to putting the mixture on your cookies. I used a small offset spatula to do this.

I also had a few rejects because the cookies were so thin and the caramel has a mind of its own when it starts to cool and harden a bit. But when it does, just pop it back in the microwave for a few seconds.

But here they are in all their yummy goodness!

Just finish them off by drizzling some semi-sweet melted chocolate over them . I got this recipe from http://www.bakingbites.com/ . It also has the recipe for the shortbread cookie, but who has time for that? There is also a recipe for Samoa bars, if you don't have time to individually ice each cookie. I have had requests to make thin mints and tagalongs, so I might be trying my hand at making those as well!

Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout at heart. Courage~Confidence~Character

Rain Rain Go Away

The computer is still broke and it is storming outside. That equals a boring day. So I am stuck in the house with the pooches with nothing to do but housework. Blah. Joseph will be happy since he will have some clean work clothes I guess. Hopefully when the computer is up and running I can share some pictures of what I've been up to. I have done a little spring gardening and some baking. Made some samoa girl scout cookies. I will be sharing that recipe with you. They are super good a you can now enjoy them all year long and not just during cookie season!

On another note I have decided to take a part time job as a favor to a friend. Yes. You are now looking at the beautiful waitress at the Corner Cafe in Pavo. Ha ha. This should be interesting considering I have never worked in a restaurant in my life. But it will help the owners out and get me out of the house a few days a week for a few hours. I am still looking for a real job, if I have to. I have really gotten used to being a stay at home mom/wife. But a job is a necessary evil. Hopefully I will have some good stories to share if anything. My cousin Stacey is also going to be working a few nights a week after work. She is a trooper! But it gives us a little extra mad money so we can spend the money on something fun for ourselves. Perhaps our adventures to local parks and attractions? So that's what's going on. Maybe my computer can get back online and I can post a little bit more interesting than random facts about my life.

Blogging may be on hold!

I am writing this from my blackberry. Seems that the computer is in major melt down mode. I am in the process of finding someone to fix it. So hopefully I will be back soon with some more posts. Sorry everyone!

Blogging may be on hold!

I am writing this from my blackberry. Seems that the computer is in major melt down mode. I am in the process of funding someone to fix it. So hopefully I will be back soon with some more posts. Sorry everyone!

A Project Finally Finished

I have been looking at this for probably about 3 months.

If you notice the top half got painted, and well......I never found the time to finish the bottom. For three reasons:

1.) I ran out of paint

2.) It has been constantly raining

3.) I am lazy

So, I finally made myself get crackin' because I was tired of looking at it. Now if I can find some place for the dog bed to go...another day.

Here it is all the same color.

Notice when the bed is gone, you have a clear view of the missing paint. Yeah, I guess you can add paint-eating to this list of stuff that the dogs do. I don't know how they did it, but the paint is gone. Maybe the lead in the paint is the reason why they act all crazy!

While I was at Lowe's getting the paint (I was super lazy and used spray paint) I decided to tackle a few more projects. #1 the kitchen. I hate the cabinets. They are just the stock, cheap cabinets that Lowe's keeps in stock. And they had just plain jane knobs on it. So I grabbed a few knobs and switched those out.

I wanted some different pull knobs for the pull out drawers, but since the holes were already drilled for just one hole, I decided against defacing the cabinets with me trying to drill holes in them just right for different pulls, so I just went with all the same brushed-bronze knobs.

Not much of a difference, but it makes me feel better. Then I decided to change out door knobs to match the new kitchen knobs.

Granted, these weren't my first choice of knobs. But the ones I liked were $25 and these were just $10, so I just went with those since we will hopefully move out of this place soon. But I thought that upgrading little things like that would help. I just did the doors in the kitchen, dining, and living room. I might splurge and get a little bit more fancy ones for the back of the house, but I doubt it. I also want to change out ceiling fans, bathroom light fixtures, and vanity fixtures one day. Just trying to decide if I want to put that expense into a house that we will be putting back on the market soon.

Another completed project was the kitchen island. Remember that it looked like this:

It also got a coat of paint. Now it looks like this:

It has since been moved back to the kitchen because the pups no longer have the desire to chew on it like they did before. But I did have to do some repairs on the bottom with wood filler to fill in a huge chunck that they ate off the corner.

One day if I ever get really brave and can figure out a good way to paint fake plastic cabinets I want to do this to them:

As the Rolling Stones would say, I want to Paint it Black.

Another project done is installing the new light fixture in the dining room. My parents gave us this for Christmas. Joseph had a wonderful time installing this heavy, bad boy.

That's about it on the projects I have going. But just to keep it real here is one project that will probably never get finished.

My poor quilt. I do have the front done for the most part. I still need to go buy a few more honey buns to make it just a bit bigger. But somehow, I don't see that happening for a while!

What do you have on your honey-do list? I have a long one, I just doubt that my honey will do them!!

I've Got Some Ocean Front Property....

FIELD TRIP: Part Two

After our visit to Wakulla Springs, we ran down to St. Marks. As many times as I have been to St. Marks, I have never visited the lighthouse or the wildlife refuge. Let me preface this by saying, it is absolutely beautiful. I can see many summer afternoons with the pooches walking and taking in the beautiful scenery. Especially since the company that my husband works for owns a plantation only about 15 minutes up the road, and he is usually there at least 2 Saturdays a month. Perfect! There are trails for walking, hiking, biking, horseback riding. You name it. Take your boat, and go fishing in the bay. Or just take your fishing pole and fish in the many estuaries there. If you have ever been to the State Park at St. George Island, it reminded me a lot of the scenery on the bay side of the park. Sorry, just no beaches to enjoy with the masses, but I like that. I generally HATE tourists. Maybe thats just a Florida thing.

Anyways, here are some pictures that Stacey took. We switched picture taking, since my arm was still hurting from holding up the camera so long on the boat ride at Wakulla! I am trying to convince her to buy a camera like mine so we can share lenses. Keep your fingers crossed, but I doubt it!

And because Stacey is so obsessed with an alligator doing a death-roll on unknowing prey, I made her take a picture of this:

Too bad those dozen or so alligators we saw at Wakulla Springs weren't hungry so she could see it first hand.

State parks can be a gem, if you know that they are there. What parks do you have around your area (or local-only knowledge) of beautiful places to visit? I would love to hear about them!! Stacey and I are going to try and visit a local park/attraction at least once a month. Hopefully we can find places just as beautiful!

A Little Field Trip to See the Creature From the Black Lagoon....

.....ok not really. But close enough, since Stacey and I went to the place where it was filmed (and Tarzan, too). None other than Wakulla Springs. Granted, I haven't been to Wakulla Springs since a field trip in elementary school, so it was great to go visit as an adult. Plus, it was great to spend some time in my native lands and get out of the GA for a little bit. Sadly, the water at Wakulla Springs has gradually become darker and darker, and not the clear blue it once was year round, therefore no glassbottom boat ride. However, the regular boat ride was just as great! Although, for some reason I, of all people, made me some little friends. It really put a damper on my ride, since my personal space/bubble was WAY over-invaded.

Disclaimer: I love children and I know how they can be. Believe me, I do. They are sweet, little curious things, but if I don't know or are related to them, I really don't need them all up in my face. With that said, here is the boat that we took.

And of course, Stacey getting ready for the ride!

If you can tell we are on benches. And of course, on the bench behind me contains two little girls. Who thought I was their new BFF. This girl practically was hanging off my neck. If I turned my head, I could probably kiss her by accident. Um, yeah. Your kid is cute, but how about keeping them off the stranger. Yeah, thanks. So the whole trip, I was having to carry on a conversation with this little girl, all the while, her little sister tapping on my shoulder telling me what to take a picture of. Babysitting was just not what I was in the mood for, but I went with it because I didn't want to hurt the little girl's feelings. Oh well..... NOTE TO SELF: one day you will have a child like that, so don't complain too much. The little girl could be quite comical though. Everything ended with a big sigh, like "ugh, I want to go over there." "Ugh, I already saw a bird, ugh."

We got to see all kinds of good creatures. Everything from egrets, herons, ducks, turtles, alligators, and manatees. I even practically stepped on a snake trying to board the boat ride. Um, yeah. It didn't look like a harmless water snake to me. It looked more like a water mocassin. But what do I know?

Just take a look at these pictures.

That one underwater picture is of a manatee. Turns out they have found the spring and are frequent visitors to it. How exciting!

If you are ever in the Tallahassee area, you should go check this place out. Especially if you have children. They would love it. I know that a lot of people vacation in St. George Island, and its not a bad drive from there either. Maybe an hour and a half, give or take. Wakulla Springs offers a lodge and restaurant.

A little history, first with "Old Joe" the alligator and of course, the Wooly Mammoth that was extracted from the spring. The bones can be seen at the museum in Tallahassee. Think it is the Natural History Museum, but not sure.

And just for fun, here is Stacey pointing at the stuffed bird saying that it will peck your eyes out.

Here we are posing with the sign about Henry the Fish.

Great place, lots to do. Would be great for children in the summer. They have a roped off area where kids can play in the shallow part of the spring.

Tomorrow I will post about the St. Marks Refuge that we also visited.