Friend, Flea Market and Fun

Angela and I met up for a quick visit this weekend.  I've talked about Angela and her brilliant blog Unexpected Elegance before here, here, and here. She's in Texas visiting family and her father-in-law has a lake house about two hours from where we live.  Mark and I loaded up the boys and drove to Cedar Creek Lake on Saturday.  Will was so excited to see Madelyn and Claire.  He kept asking over and over if we were almost there.  The kids had the best time playing.  Angela's husband, Scott, and Mark watched football, and Angela and I snuck away for a little bit to a local flea market.  We found a few deals, but mostly we had a lot of fun hanging out.

Angela and I had just returned from the flea market.  Mark took the photo and said, "Is this for a blog post?"  Of course it is :)

Trying to get a group photo of the kiddos.  My boys are impossible to photograph.  They don't cooperate at all, as you can see.

Madelyn and Will

Ben and Claire

Today we had an unusual amount of snow.  Since it's Texas and we don't know how to handle three inches of snow we're shutting everything down.  We don't have school tomorrow--SNOW DAY!!!  I'll have time to photograph a couple of the things we found at the flea market and I'll show you some photos of the boys having a blast in the snow.

I hope you had a lovely weekend!
I'm off to sip some hot chocolate.

Treasured Quilts

I’m very sentimental about the quilts I have. My grandmother and my husband’s grandmother were extremely talented seamstresses.  Sometimes I wonder if the talent stemmed from creativity or necessity.  I know that sewing, quilting and embroidery are now forms of artistic expression, but when our grandmas were growing up they made everything by hand because they had to.  My grandparents and my husband's grandparents lived on farms in rural Texas.  They were farmers and sharecroppers who picked cotton and knew firsthand what it meant to work hard.  They made practical items, such as quilts, into things of beauty in the midst of hard times and that makes them even more precious and beautiful.  Quilts were a thing of beauty but they were always used for the practical purpose of keeping warm. To this day, handmade quilts are the only bedding that my grandparents feel comfortable sleeping under. My grandparents never liked any store-bought blankets or comforters because they always seemed too bulky or fussy.  It never felt right to them. Only the layer and warmth of a handmade quilt is what felt right.

I am lucky to have a double wedding ring quilt that my husband’s grandma, Mamaw Morrow, made. We have a Dutch doll, pinwheel, patchwork and fan quilt made by my grandma, Mama Winnie. My great-grandma made my grandma a graduation quilt when she graduated from high school in 1940 with an individual quilt block that had each classmates name embroidered on it. My grandpa still uses it on his bed at his assisted living home. I don't have any photographs of it to share.  My grandma made each of her grandchildren a graduation quilt when they graduated from high school.  My graduation quilt was made with my school colors, blue and white.  She wrote the name of each student on an individual quilt square using a fabric marker.  My grandma also made me a butterfly quilt in the 90s.  I used it on my bed when I was a teenager.  I remember her letting me help pick out the fabric.

 I have a nine patch quilt that I bought at an estate sale about 8 years ago.  It has the most wonderful, muted colors, but I'm not really sentimental about it. 

I brought my quilts down from the attic so I could photograph them and share them with you.  I'm going to have a difficult time putting them back in boxes and storing them in the attic.  I may just try to find a place to keep them in the house.  Seeing them again after they have been stored away has evoked such happy memories.

Mamaw Morrow's Double Wedding Ring Quilt

I love the colors, especially the red.

The scalloped edges are such a beautiful and unique detail. 

Mama Winnie's Dutch Doll Quilt

Each doll has different fabric.

The embroidery detail on each bonnet is different. 

Mama Winnie's Pinwheel Quilt 

I like the mix of vibrant colors in this quilt.  It reminds me of something I'd see in Anthropologie.

Mama Winnie's Fan Quilt 

This quilt looks like it was pieced together in the middle.  It has muted colors with a pop of red.

Mama Winnie's Pinwheel and Nine Square Patchwork Quilts 

These quilts are old and tattered.  My grandmother had them between her mattress and box springs.

Graduation Quilt made by Mama Winnie 

The quilt has the name of each student in my graduating class of 1996.

Mama Winnie's Butterfly Quilt

This was a quilt that my grandma made for me in the 90s.

Nine Patch Quilt from Estate Sale

I'll be sharing my treasured quilts at Sit Relax and Read.

Milk Glass Mania {Part Two}

I had a lovely visit over the Christmas break with my dear aunt and uncle.  My aunt is one of the most thoughtful gift givers I know.  She always surprises me with several little items that she knows I will like.  She's so considerate, and I appreciate the effort she puts into making the gift special.  My uncle is as equally thoughtful and considerate. 

I've written about them before and their adventures in hunting milk glass here, here and here.  My aunt writes down all of the places they find the milk glass and includes unique information and interesting stories about each piece.  I started collecting milk glass this summer and I already feel as if I have a sentimental connection to the collection.   My aunt's milk glass tales have helped me become attached to each piece.

At this visit they brought me a wonderful assortment of milk glass. There were so many beautiful pieces that it's taken me a little while to inspect and admire each piece.  The milk glass has found a new home in my kitchen above my cabinets.  I plan to photograph it in it's new home once I've cleaned and dusted.  Don't hold your breath for a photo of it displayed anytime soon.  I promise one day to share it.

I photographed the milk glass so I could share it with you.  I know most of you are anti-flash, but I had to use the flash since I haven't been home during the day to get natural light photos.  Despite my poor photography skills, I hope you can still appreciate each piece as much as I have.

What I Wore Wednesday {Christmas Vacation}

 Hello What I Wore Ladies!

What I Wore Wednesday {Christmas Vacation}

I was home for two wonderful weeks and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I love my job as a teacher, but I love being home with my family even more.  I only have a few outfits because most days I didn't bother getting dressed in anything other than pajamas or Nike athletic pants that are only one step up from Pajama Jeans (Has anyone else seen the Pajama Jeans commercial and thought they were watching a SNL skit?  My husband and I die laughing every time it comes on!)

I'm back to school, and I'll be back with more outfits next week.

Here's what I've got for ya :)

Sunday: church and Holiday Cookie Exchange party with the ladies from my church. 

You can check out the fun we had here.
Black Pea Coat: Gap Outlet
Skinny Jeans: Target
Black Boots: Gap Outlet
Scarf: Gap
Gray Cardi: Old Navy
Yellow/Gray stripe top: Ann Taylor Outlet
Ring: Sundance
Ben's Clothes: Baby Gap & Shoes: Squeaker Sneakers

Friday: Christmas Eve with Mark's family 

Jeans: Hudson bought at Piperlime

Gray top: Gap

Bird top: J Crew outlet

Black scarf: Gap

Shoes: Privo bought at Nordstrom Rack, So comfy!

 

Thursday: Celebrating New Year's Eve a day early 

Skinny Jeans: Target

Black top: Gap

Gray tank: Wal-Mart

Olive ruffle scarf: Charlotte Russe

Black flats: Gap

Ring: Sundance

Sunday: Ladies Bible Study  

Jeans: Seven A Pocket bought at amazon.com

Black sweater: Old Navy

Scarf: Anthropologie

Green/Blue top: J Crew outlet

Black flats: Gap

Can you tell that Ben got a little attached over the holidays?  He's just a tad bit of a Momma's boy, and I'm totally okay with that.  In fact, I love it!  He ended up in almost every photo I did for WIWW.  

I'll be linking up to Lindsey at the Pleated Poppy to share my outfits.  If you didn't know, she has a fun link up party for everyone to share their outfits.  It's great motivation for getting dressed in more than just PJs and sweats.  It's also a great place to meet other neat bloggers.  I've made some great blog friends through WIWW. 

Thanks for checking out my WIWW!

Mission Organization {Before}

Mission Organization is taking place at our house so we don't end up on an episode of Hoarders.  Someone should declare a state of emergency in our garage.  This unfortunate manmade disaster has been here since the end of November when we brought down all of the Christmas decorations from the attic.  We decorated the house, but we never put the boxes back in the attic.  If you look closely you might even find some left over Halloween decorations.  Yep, it's pretty bad in there.

Mission Organization started about a week ago and it has gone on about a week longer than we wanted it to.  We all came down with a stomach virus several days ago, and that put an end to any cleaning and organizing we had planned for the garage.   I have "After" photos to share, but I don't have that post ready yet.

Before

When we'd pull into the garage, we'd know we pulled up far enough when the front of the Highlander bumped the boxes.  We'd see the stack of boxes shake and then we'd know we'd gone far enough.  Seriously!

This view shows how we could only enter the Highlander from one side when leaving the door from the house.  The closest path from the house to the driver's side door was blocked by the big stack of boxes.  Whoever was driving had to walk around the passenger side and around the back to get to the driver's side.  It was pretty inconvenient and kind of funny, too.

This is in front of the Passat.  I cleared a few of the boxes out of the way so we could walk in front of it.  We had so many boxes left over from Christmas that the trash pick up looked like we'd just moved in.  God bless our garbageman. 

I'll be back later this week to share Mission Organization {After}. 

Some of you are sharing your organization post and it's been such an encouragement to me.  If you have any helpful tips or advice to share, I'm all ears.

Big Finish...

Our big finish to 2010 was not what we'd planned.  Ben came down with a stomach virus on Thursday night.  We'd just gotten home from eating at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate New Year's eve a day early.  I was on the phone with my cousin and Ben threw up all over me and him.  I'm so glad we made it in the house and he didn't get sick in the car.  He was sick all night so he and I didn't get much sleep.  Sick babies are the worst :(  The next morning he felt better and no one else was sick...until I got sick on Friday night.  What a way to ring in the new year!  I was sick all Friday night and felt pretty weak on New Year's day.  If you noticed that I posted a couple of things, it's only because I had the posts already written and all I had to do was hit publish.  On Saturday night Will came down with the stomach bug.  He had complained all afternoon with a tummy ache, but we couldn't tell if he was acting or serious.  Unfortunately he was serious.  Poor little guy.  This morning he's feeling much better.  He's even up and playing.  The boys always amaze me at how quickly they bounce back from an illness.  They are way more resilient than Mark and I are.

Well, today is Sunday.  Mark thinks he might be coming down with it now.  He's been such a big help through it all.  I'm the one who usually stays with the boys when they are sick, but he helps with the clean up.  I think we've done about 25 loads of laundry and he's probably washed 20 of those loads.  I'm so thankful for a husband who helps out. 

This is definitely not the start to 2011 that we had planned.  Tonight we are starting a women's Bible study at church that I'm helping teach/facilitate (I like to say facilitate because teach sounds like I might actually know something) and I'm hoping to have a little time to prepare and get ready for that.  We missed church this morning, which always disappoints the boys because they love going.  I think I'll be ready for work tomorrow.  Now we're just waiting to see if Mark comes down with it. 

2011 is off to a rough start but nothing too serious that we won't look back and laugh at in the future.  We'll just file it away as memories made.  We'll look back and say, "Remember that time we were all sick with the stomach virus at the New Year in 2011." 

11 For 2011

I know many of you are anti New Year's Resolutions.  I understand.  I get it.  It's almost as if you are setting yourself up to fail when you make a resolution.  Last year I wanted to read through the Bible in a year, and I didn't.  I always want to lose about 10 pounds and that didn't happen either.  I usually start out the year determined and ready to change and by the beginning of March I'm over it.  Why bother with a list of resolutions when I'm not likely to keep them? For me, it's good to make a formal acknowledgement of things that I need to change.  This has led me to make a list of eleven things I'd like to do in 2011.  Maybe I'll see it through and maybe I won't.  At least it's a start and it can only make me a better person so why not give it a shot.

1. Read and study the Bible more

2.  Read more to Will and Ben

3.  Eat more meals at home

4.  Turn off the computer and go to bed earlier

5.  Save money

6.  Lose 10 pounds (or 15 pounds)

7.  Exercise

8.  Organize my digital clutter

9.  Plant a vegetable garden

10.  Play outside more with Will and Ben

11.  Learn to use Photoshop

Good luck with your New Year's Resolutions! 

Happy New Year!