our Spring Mantel

As far as I'm concerned pink makes the world go round!  It's so refreshing & girly all at the same time.
With a little help from some spray paint & the thrift store, my figurines got a makeover so they all look like they get a long.  Because getting along is important, when you're in a small space, ya know.

My forced branches are from a flowering peach tree.  It's my favorite of all the trees that bloom during Spring.  Hopefully my neighbor wont notice that I grabbed a few branches off her tree.  :)

We're suppose to hit 86* tomorrow.  I'm hoping Spring will stay around for awhile.  I'm not ready to get rid of her just yet

Have a lovely week!
xo

Seasonal ADD

Seasonal ADD.
I have it.
If it's not a word or a diagnosis already, it should be.  I'm going to go ahead & claim it for a word.  Because I know I'm not the only one who suffers from it.
Not to be confused with SAD.  No, this is Seasonal ADD.
You see, I cannot stay focused during the changing of the seasons.
I think you all know I am a seasonal loving girl.  Spring & Fall, ohdearheavens.  They're my favorites.
I literally squeal everyday during these 2 seasons.
Please don't ask me to remember anything during this time frame.
The only thing I know is that March 20th is the first day of Spring.
What a glorious day that will be.  It's right around the corner, you know.
I can't focus on anything longer than a minute.  Because I'm already talking about Mrs. Moore's tree down the street that's blooming  that I need to take a picture of & then I'm off & thinking of Sue & her pink cherry tree.  Of course, I'll grab a sweet tea while I'm there.
But before long, I'm thinking of the new colored cropped jeans I need to get at Ann Taylor Loft, because I *think* I'll look so sassy in them.
And let's not forget lunch at Panera, to try the new seasonal spring salads.
Ohdearheavens, it's Monday - I've got to look at Pinterest & see all the new Spring projects.
Can you believe Sally Sue, thought of that first.  Oh I am so going to copy her idea for a Spring project.  It is fabulous!
I have got to get me to Hobby Lobby & get my Spring craft fix on!
While we're on our way to Panera, let's stop at Starbucks & try their new iced espresso for Spring.
Oh My Gosh, did you see Leah's Spring pedi in tangerine tango?  I have to get that color for my toes.
Wait.  Stop the car!  I need to get a picture of those pink tulips.  Oh my gosh, they are gorgeous.  Wait.
Oh dear heavens, what am I going to do for my Spring mantel???  I've got to think of something.  ~ All while munching on pastel Spring M&Ms, of course.
Did someone say chips & dip al fresco?  You betcha!
Holy cow - did you see that???  For the love of all things holy.  Krispy Kreme has seasonal Easter donuts & they're  hot n ready light is flashing.  Look at those pastel sprinkles.  Stop it right now.
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You see, this is what goes through my head on an average day, in a short time span.
It's Seasonal ADD.  Every Spring & every Fall.
It's a serious issue = for the love of all things seasonal.
;)


all pics via my cell phone.  Yes, while I did U-turns, stopped the car in traffic or went down to see Sue's Cherry tree.  :0)

Have a lovely Sunday!  2 more day until Spring officially arrives!

I'm linking this with my sweet friend Stacy & her weekly Life in an Instant party.   Do you take cell phone pics?  Link up your post & your thoughts about the week with Stacy!  She is one of the sweetest people I know!!!

Did the Grass Sing ~ Did the Earth Rejoice ~ printable

I do believe I've referenced this song every Easter on this blog. It never gets old.

The message in this song is like our anthem for believers.

Back in January I heard Was It A Morning Like This being played on the radio & the idea came to me then, to make a printable of my favorite part of the song for Easter.  I know it's not the typical printable, but I am thrilled with how it turned out.  The pastel shades & message when printed out, reflect Easter in such a perfect way.

I had the privilege to hear Sandi Patty sing in person, during my college days ~ long ago.  It happened to be close to Easter & when she sang this song, I tell you I had triple goose bumps.  I think everyone in our row was holding hands, tearing up & as Southerns would say "snotin" all over the place.  It was beautiful, powerful & left me with a lifetime of memories of that particular day.   I'll never forget it.

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As I've said before, I'm not tech savvy.  You'll need to copy/paste this in your picture files & then print from there.  

I highly recommend using white cardstock.

Each of these should print out to be an 8x10 size, like the one above.

One of these days, I'll teach myself how to do a "printable" in the real zip file way, but until then...this will have to do. 

Enjoy.

linking with:
Tatertots and Jello, Tidy Mom, Positively Splendid, Oopsey Daisy, 30 Handmade Days, Tip Junkie, The Shabby Creek Cottage


come hang out with me elsewhere:

FIZZ ~ my new go to drink

Can we talk about my new obsession?

FIZZ

Don't you just love the name?  There's so easy & fun to make + there's endless possibilities.

But let's talk about what you may not know.

There guilt less!

Lo cal

I'll go ahead and add the word healthy

Refreshing & thirst quenching too

Perfect for one serving or more

Y'all know I'm on a diet, right?  It's been almost a month now.  And let me tell y'all something,  I had to give up sweet tea.  Lawd have mercy.  That first week, I about drove my husband insane.  Remember I live in Tennessee.  The heart of sweet tea nation.  You have sweet tea with everything in the South.  Even breakfast. So, I had to come up with something that was lo cal, fun, would work well in my mason jars & of course thirst quenching.

FIZZ was my answer.

Here's a run down of some of my favorites ~ remember your imagination is your recipe.  And seriously, they take very little effort for fabulous results.

You know that trick with the mason jar & the blender blade.  It works!

I cannot say enough about the easy clean up as well.  Single serving or for more.

I think this would be fabulous at a party.  Just have a friend or two bring their blenders over & everyone can do their own concoction in a mason jar!

This one below, is my fave.  I love them all & I have different ones all the time.  Because let's face it, drinking water all the live long day gets boring.  But there's something about this combo, I love cilantro.  I know some would find this odd in a drink, but it's good.  You can also use, rosemary, basil or mint.

The basic recipe for any FIZZ -

fill your glass of choice 3/4 full of sparkling water 

add juice/nectar of your choice of fruit(s) to your desired liking

(blackberry, blueberry, pomegranate, lime, pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, orange ~ etc)

herbs if you like

(rosemary, mint, basil, cilantro)

ice, ice baby

some may find they have to add additional sweeteners

or whatever else your imagination can think up

the sky is the limit

Now I know that some of you are wondering - what in that can?  Where's the coconut?
Well, just because I knew you all would ask, here you go...

 It's at Target for heaven sakes.  Can't get anymore convenient than that!
It's zero in everything.  Calories, sodium, sweetener = ZERO!  I love this stuff.

The possibilities are endless.  You can add anything you can think up.  It almost becomes addicting just to think up a new one a day.  I want to throw a party just to have a FIZZ bar.  I think it would be so fun.

Trust me when I say, it has really helped on the 'ole diet & scale by turning in my beloved sweet tea for FIZZ.

So what would be your FIZZ of choice?

linking with:
Tatertots and Jello, Tidy Mom, Positively Splendid, 30 Handmade Days, Oopsey Daisy, Tip Junkie


you can also find me here:

the birth of Spring

It's happening so fast.  Every where I look Spring is arriving & I'm trying to take it all in. 

I have a gazillion things started for Spring, but not one thing done to share.

Instead, I'll let this Mama cow & her freshly born calf be the star of this post. (if you look close you can see the umbilicord still attached to the calf)

It was just me, my cell phone & them on a country road this weekend.  I couldn't believe me eyes when I walked around the corner. 

 It was a beautiful beginning to witness. 

A glorious start to the Spring season. 

I could not have planned it better.

Have a lovely day, my friends!

botanicals, butterflies & specimen book collections - free printables

Since we have now "officially" sprung forward, I thought I would re-publish these rare specimen printables.  You may use, however you like in your decor, frames, crafts or however your imagination sees fit. 

   Please know, that these images below were scanned by yours truly from the original books via 1919 & 1922.    They are not perfect.  They are not in a zip file, you will have to copy/paste in your computer image file & print from there.  I recommend printing on cardstock. 

I am not very tech savvy, nor will that ever be an adjective I use to describe myself.  I will however say, I love a freebie or a creative way to change up my decor for the season. 

 So yes,  yes, I am a seasonal junkie, and very proud.

Enjoy.

linking with:

The Shabby Creek Cottage

and the 2 winners are....

photo via flickr

well...the birthday giveaway is over.

the chocolate cake with raspberry sauce was amazing.

the bianca cannoli was to die for.

and i absolutely hate, that i must go back on my diet tomorrow...but a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do.

however, i get to do one last fun thing to end my birthday on a high note...

and that's announce the winners of the birthday giveaway!!!

the winners are....

you both have 48 hours to respond.  i have sent one of you an email.  the other one...you don't have an email set up with your commenting or with your profile settings.  so i really hope, you see this post!!!  i have no other way of letting you know you won!

***as a side note, everyone, please take the time to make sure your email is connected to your comments & your profile!  if not, you may be missing out of future giveaways from any blog!!!  not just mine.***


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now...if you are really wanting to order something - anything from the shop...for a limited time, you may use the discount code:  BIRTHDAY
for 20% off anything.
So basically, that means a blog name bag with embroidery stitching + 6-7 flowers will be $32.00.  People, I promise, it's NEVER been *that* low before.

;)