My Week In Pictures: June 27, 2014

Happy Friday, everyone!  It's time once again for another "My Week in Pictures", so without further ado, let's get started.

This week, we begin with the RC Cola and Moon Pie Festival in good old Bell Buckle, TN.  I thought it might be a fun event, and since it's an outdoor activity, it would be a good one for little Lex in case she got a bit on a noisy side it wouldn't be a problem.  So we traveled down to Bell Buckle last Saturday, and arrived just in time for some ice cold RC Colas (which I haven't had in YEARS), but we didn't partake in the moon pies.  Neither of us are fans. 

The festival kicked off with a parade through the streets.  So naturally, we pulled up a shady spot and settled in to watch.  The next thing I know while I was busy snapping pics, who should appear in the parade route but my husband and baby girl.  That's them getting in on the action by the red truck.  

And if that weren't enough, John actually stopped the parade to get a pic with Honest Abe here.  Abe was walking in the parade, when John ran out into the street (once again) to pose for a picture with him. Sheesh...  Incidentally, you can see how happy Lex was about all this.  

However, she did settle down long enough for a photo by the grand marshall fire truck with her mommy.  But let it be known that this was not one of my finer ideas.  It was about 400 degrees out that day with 99.9% humidity.  We lasted less than one hour before we were headed back to the comfort of the AC in the car, and on the road again.  :)

But all was not lost.  On the way home, we stopped into a little antique shop we have passed by many times but never stopped at before.  This time, we decided to go in.  And what should I spy, but this old Mother Goose book.  It's special because I vividly remember owning a copy of this book as a little girl.  

As a flipped through the pages, it all came racing back.  I loved this little book, the rhymes, and especially the illustrations.  This one was always my favorite.  I remember those pretty maids all in a row.  

You will notice on the cover that the asking price at the time of publication was only $0.25, but as of last weekend, this book cost me $4.  That's inflation for you!  But worth every pretty penny when I read this to my little girl.  

We also were very fortunate to score this nearly life-sized pup for our living room.  I love him.  We have already named him Berkeley.   And as you can see, our sweet Izzie Lu is already making friends with him.  

Also this week, hubby brought home a bag of limes from the grocery, and we made homemade margaritas!  You know the saying.  When life gives you limes...

In all my spare time (ha!), I've been doing a little light reading (double ha!)

Babydoll has officially started zeroing in on mobiles, lights, and her absolute favorite- ceiling fans.  :)

And she's been holding her head up really well for a while now.  Here she is in Mommy's bed.  She hangs out here with me most mornings.  Sweet, sweet girl. 

And speaking of sweet girls, here's my other sweet baby, up to a bit of naughty. Izzie is the stealer of the binks.  For some reason, she LOVES them.  But she doesn't hide them like she does with most contraband items.  She usually steals the binkies when we aren't looking, but then plops them down at your feet like she's showing off her loot. 

In other news, we tried a new Chinese restaurant this week.  The food was only so so, but my fortune made up for it.  As it turns out, all my dearest wishes have already come true.  I am one lucky girl, and I know it.  

And finally, as we approach the Fourth of July, I thought I might share how to wear red, white, and blue without looking like you draped yourself in a flag.  Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that either.  In fact, as we get a little closer to Independence Day, I usually start pulling out the red and white stripes myself.  But since we aren't quite there yet, I think a hint of the right colors, but in a different pattern usually does the trick nicely.  Add some jewelry in the same colors, and there you have it.  Instant patriotic outfit.  

So that does it for another week.  This weekend, we are preparing to welcome Harris Sister, Donna, and family for a visit.  So we will no doubt have a fun weekend ahead.  Will be great to see all of them and catch up.  I hope your weekend is just as fun!  Enjoy!!

One Man's Trash - Vintage Baby Scale

In today's edition of One Man's Trash, we take a look at a sweet little vintage baby scale from the 1950's.  We are seldomly actually looking for our vintage finds when we stumble upon them.  Somehow, they just seem to find us.  Such was the case with this sweet little baby scale.   

We were actually out to lunch in a small neighboring town a few weeks ago, when we saw a little lamp shop across the street and decided to walk in.  Incidentally, if you've never been inside a vintage lamp shop, you should find one and go.  Those lamps were gorgeous.  In any case, somehow in the midst of a shop dedicated to lighting and lamps, there was a small vintage baby scale on the counter in the back.  We took one look at it and decided that it would be perfect in our old fashioned nursery.  And so it is.  

However, it is missing the tray that sits on top to actually hold the baby.  But in this case, we aren't actually using it for it's intended purpose, and it fits the space so much better without the tray.  

Here's a close-up of the dial.  It is definitely 1950's at it's finest. 

 

Just goes to show, you absolutely never know what you might find when you are out and about.  Just keep your eyes (and your mind) open, and you might be surprised what you will luck into finding.  As always, happy hunting!

Free Fourth of July Printables

Today's the first day of summer, and the July Fourth will be here in a few short short weeks! Who? What? Huh?

Exactly. It surprised me too.

But, we've got you covered with these Free July 4th printables. From party invitations and decorations, to party and parade hats, to photo booth props, to crafts and games for the kids, it's all here in red, white, and blue.

Make sure to check out my Free Fourth of July Printables and Fourth of July Pinterest boards. I'll be loading them up in the days and weeks to come with my findings of FREE Fourth of July printables and decor ideas.

In the meantime, here are my latest findings. First up are party printables.

Free party invitation printables at Moritz Fine Designs (5 designs available):

Free party printables from 36th Avenue:

Free party printables at Skip to My Lou, including soda tags, favor bags, and sparkler tags:

Free BBQ/Fourth of July Party printables at Embellish Goods:

Free printable bottle labels from The Idea Room:

Free party printables at Betty Crocker, including treat cones, cupcake toppers, water bottle labels, bunting, and pinwheels:

Free printable ice cream cone wrappers from Chickabug:

And what better time for a hat than the Fourth of July? Kids will love these for parties or parades.

Free printable party hats at Mr. Printables:

Free Statue of Liberty crown printable at Paging Supermom:

Free printable mini-top hats at Happy Thought (3 designs available):

Here's another fun craft that will keep the kids entertained.

Free patriotic moustache and lipstick photo booth props at Fox Hollow Cottage:

And don't forget to decorate!

Free printable paper chain craft at Love the Day:

Free printable patriotic decorative fans from Tatertots and Jello:

And if you have very young kids who can't use sparklers just yet, these are some great ideas for them.

Free printable pinwheels at Alphamom:

Free printable glowstick holder from Homespun with Love. Tip: use glowsticks for younger kids and sparklers for older kids - same printable will work for both:

Free printable Disney flag from Spoonful:

Free printable patriotic paper airplane craft from Spoonful:

Free printable Bingo game (that shows items you might see on the Fourth of July) from Studio DIY:

My Week in Pictures: June 20, 2014

Happy Friday, everyone!  It is time once again for another "My Week in Pictures", so here we go.

Oh, and in case I haven't explained it before, these posts always start with pics from my previous weekend.  Since I post these entries on Fridays, my "week' technically begins on Friday night and continues through the following Friday when I post again.   Ok, enough of all that.  Here is how it all shaped up this week.

You might remember how I was just saying last week that we needed to find a cool wagon for Lexi. Well, we happened to be out last Friday night for dinner in Spring Hill when my husband and I were having the same conversation.  He quickly did a search on Craigslist, and wouldn't you know this little beauty was for sale in Spring Hill!  We called from our restaurant and stopped by after dinner to close the deal.  I am in love with this wagon.  What a cutie!  Sometimes things just all fall into place.

One of our favorite Nashville neighborhoods was having a community yard sale on Saturday morning, so we got out and about early to check it out.  We found lots of treasures, and even got to mill around inside one of the houses for an estate sale.  What fun!  Here's a look at a "designer" birdhouse we picked up at the sales.

Little Lex needed a bottle break midway through, so we plopped down on a bench in the shade and fed her.  She loves the outside air.  Maybe not the humidity so much, but she does seem to enjoy being outside.  

Later that day, we poked around downtown Franklin.   I always loved the doors on this little house.  It's now a coffee shop, and as you can see they are open for business. 

But a couple years ago, this coffee shop wasn't there yet.  It was just a cute little house that was vacant at the time.  We used it as a backdrop for these fun photos with Misty and Howard. 

Of course, Sunday was Father's Day.  Here is our new dad and his little girl.  That look on her little face says adoration to me.  We went out for brunch to start our day.  Later, I cooked dinner and dessert. and we spent some quality family time at the park.  

This week, I also managed to get all my springtime decor packed away, and put out my cherries just in time for summer.  Here's a look at the kitchen table.  You will see I also incorporated some of my favorite jadite pieces into this table setting this year. 

And I'm sure that like your yards, ours is abloom with color.  Here are some of the pretty hydrangeas coming up in our front yard. 

And I always love bringing in flowers from the garden this time of the year.  I usually line the kitchen with them.   Here's what is brightening up that space this week. 

In baby news, Lexi has officially found her hands and is particularly taken with her right thumb.  She also loves being naked, and her changing pad is her favorite spot in the whole house, all of which can be seen here. 

Also, we tried out her playpen for the first time this week.  She seems to like it just fine.  

And as you can see, her bed bud is never far.  What would I do without these two?

So that's it for this week.  We are planning to hit a small town festival tomorrow and spend some time working in the yard a little later this weekend.  Whatever your plans for the weekend, I hope you make it a good one!