Stitch Fix

I decided to give Stitch Fix a try and I have to admit, it was fun! The older I have gotten, the more I hate to shop. Which is weird, because I used to list shopping as a hobby! I just don't have the time for it {ok, I don't make the time for it} and I usually shop more at places like Lowe's than I do at Banana or JCrew. It's so bad that I drove down to Old Navy the other day and I was shocked to see that an Ulta had opened right next to it. I had no idea. And don't get me started that the last time I went to the mall, a stand alone Sephora had opened, and again- I had no idea because I never go shopping!  So that shows how long it had been since I had been to the mall! But in my defense- I work on one side of town in Tallahassee and the mall is on the complete other side of town- so it's just a hassle to go!

So when I heard about Stitch Fix, I figured that I would give it a shot. A stylist picks out clothes for you and sends them to your house? Yes please!

I got my first "fix" yesterday. Overall, I liked what I got. However, I am only keeping one thing they sent and that is the necklace pictured above. Here is some other stuff I got:

 The first top was cuter on- I have to admit. But the Eiffel Tower thing it had going on was a little too "young" looking for this soon-to-be 32 year old. Plus, the off-white coloring did nothing for my skin tone. Moving on.

 I really liked this top. It was SOO cute on. I really wanted to keep it. But I couldn't justify the $78 price tag on it. Come on- it was 100% poly and looked like I could have got it at Forever 21 or something. So, back it went.

The last two items were this cardigan and a pair of charcoal pants? leggings? Not really sure. I liked the cardigan, but I already have a bazillion cardigans {one in that color, i'm sure} so negative. I might would have kept those pant things because they were super comfy and I could see me wearing them in the winter with a sweater and some boots. But they too were $78 and mama don't spend 80 bucks on a pair of pajama jeans.

What is nice about getting the clothes is that they give you styling suggestions. Usually it is a casual look and then a dressier look. That was pretty fun to look at!
I will probably do another one in the next couple of weeks- just because it kinda feels like Christmas when the box arrives!

Oh- if you want to give Stitch Fix a try use my code to sign up and hook a sista up with some credits :-)
http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3092624

Surprise, Surprise!

Ok, this really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone at this point. But David and I checked out yet {another} wildlife area this past weekend in Savannah. This one I was really fond of, because you drove through. So no walking needed. That's my kind of wildlife refuge! It is the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge and it's actually in South Carolina.

I won't bore you with all the details, but it was beautiful! We saw tons of gators and some birds of course! I'll just let the pictures do the talking.



Anhinga aka snake bird



Black bellied whistling-ducks (a rare sighting for this area!)

Great Blue Heron

American Alligator

Two {love!} doves

The rarest species of them all!

Green Heron

Wood Storks

Purple Gallinule

Belted Kingfisher

Tri-Color (formerly Louisiana} Heron

Thankfully the weather held out and we were able to get out of the house a little bit. I couldn't convince David to go up to Hilton Head to the outlets with me, so I guess the Wildlife Refuge was a good compromise.

Maybe one day I will update the blog with something other than birding pictures :-D

Labor of Love

I have been working on a {not so small} project for my family. I have been patiently scanning, editing, and uploading a lifetime of recipes from my grandmother's recipe box.

One by one. Precious word by precious word. The tastes of my childhood all written down. Old recipes that are hard to come by. So I am diligently trying to capture all of my grandmother's beloved recipes all in one place where we can all enjoy them. To enjoy the memories we have of each recipe that was made with love. Each card is aged and well-used. And each one is so special. Written down for many more generations to use and pass on.

It's been a tedious project, but worth the effort once it is finished!

My sweet cousin, Gary Wayne scanned a ton of old photos for me as well and it is fun to look at my grandparents so young! So, little by little we are capturing a lifetime of memories and it is nice to know that we can all look back on those old pictures and marvel at the lives of our grandparents.

I really loved this picture of my grandfather during WWII on what appears to be a ship {He is the 2nd from the left, standing}. It's just neat to go back and look at all of this kind of stuff.

Oh and to find cute pictures of my daddy <3 nbsp="">

It's truly a labor of love and time consuming, but its always worth it to help and preserve your past!

Here's to a Neverending Weekend!

This post is brought to you just because its Friday! Happy weekend everyone!

You're welcome :-)

Quick Door Hanging

My front door was screaming for a wreath or something to spruce it up. So, I decided to do a quick little DIY door hanging.

I've seen several versions of this around the interwebs, so I knew it would be an easy project to tackle. On the way home, I stopped by Hobby Lobby and gathered some supplies. Here is what you will need:

Once you have everything you need, it's time to get started! First, I simply outlined my letter and then cut it out.

The paper wasn't quite big enough to cover the letter, so I had to use two sheets. After everything was cut out, then I covered the letter in mod-podge and placed the paper on to let it set. I started with the smaller piece first so that the bigger piece could overlap. Once the paper was glued in place, I did a couple of coats of mod-podge over the top to seal it all in.

After the letter had dried, I simply attached the bow that I made to the back with some super glue, then hung it on the door. Told ya it was simple!

I wished I had picked different paper, though. The letter looks great by itself, because the paper gives it the illusion that it is real wood. However, I forgot about my slatted door, so it looks a bit off. But from afar, it looks great! I almost went with a black and white polka dot, but it would be super easy to change down the road!
There you have it folks! And all for {well} under $15!!

Savannah, Sand Gnats, and Skidaway

I finally made it back up to Savannah this weekend. It seems like I haven't been up there in quite some time, so it was nice to go this weekend and see some more sights (and see David, of course!). I drove straight from work on Friday and met up with David and his friends Robert and Meg at the Savannah Sand Gnats game. Robert and Meg are David's friends from college that just moved to Savannah from Germany (he's a JAG), so it was good to finally meet them and hang out. The game was nice- hot of course- but lots of fun.

I have to admit, I was a little spoiled, since about a month ago, I went with Stacey to a Pensacola Wahoos game. Pensacola just built a brand new stadium downtown, right on the water and it is so nice!

David said that Savannah is considering building the Sand Gnats a new stadium on River Street right off the Savannah River, which would be amazing!

Saturday we contemplated going to Tybee to the beach, but considering this was the first sunny Saturday in which it wasn't raining in well over a month, we knew it would be crazy at the beach. We decided to venture down to Skidaway Island and see what we could find.

We first hit up the state park to see what that was about when we got down there. It was absolutely beautiful down there. We did the 3 mile hike and did a little birding along the way. Ha!

The park boasted of old liquor stills, earthen works from the War between the States, and of course nature and the beauty of the marshland.

We spotted another painted bunting (and heard many, many more!), a few different woodpeckers, and a new bird we got to cross off our list. We spotted a great-crested flycatcher. Granted, I didn't know itat the time, but thankfully I got photographic evidence for identification later!

It was a great {and hot!} place to tour and I look forward to going back many more times in the future!

After the park, we drove around Skidaway to see what it was all about, since neither one of us have ever been down there. I fell in love with the area and tried to convince David to buy a house down there. This one would do. You know, in a pinch.

The next stop was the Aquarium. Which I wasn't expecting much from, but it surprised me!

 

Well- that's it folks! My advice is go explore your backyard. You never know what treasures are right there in your own neighborhood!