Lil more Easter decorating

Today I decorated a little more - and wore insanely loud Lilly Pulitzer outfit because - I’m ready for full on spring and warm weather! Can I get an amen?! 

I made my nest out of Easter grass for my cake plate and egg! 

Thought this little guy was just too cute for words- he may stay  out until fall 

Thought this ceramic rabbit was neat because the paper mache made him look like a chocolate bunny 

My loud outfit 

Everyone think warm 

Easter decorating

 I’ve done some Easter and spring time decorating- this is more of a pictorial blog - but I’ll share some of my progress I’ve made 

Front door wreath 

Office door on the front porch 

Centerpiece that is a work In Progress- visualizing Easter grass and smaller eggs or candy surrounding it 

Thought this felt little guy was cute he is on my side board/cubard/ butler pantry thing

And so is his girl

Friend 

Spring on the mantel 

Love

These Lilly Pulitzer material bunnies 

♥️

Project #1

Hi all! We returned from the beach Saturday evening, and yesterday was a flurry of laundry, grocery shopping and prepping for the upcoming week- however, I was able to sneak in a project Ive wanted to do for awhile- 

I had two old brown wooden barstools- that were left behind by the browns the family that owned our house before us- they left them in the garage when they moved to Florida in 2007- and we never really used them- they just sat in the garage for 12 years- 

So yesterday I painted them/ after the paint dried I distressed them with sand paper and a nail Emory board- 

Then I sprayed a clear coat of protectant on the chairs to weather proof them-

My plan is to use these on my back porch once the weather warms up- here are the pictures of the finished result :

On the verge of spring

Hi all! Well the last couple months I’ve been imerged in self improvement in the form of trying to go to hot yoga 4-5 times a week, eat healthy, run (shorter runs 3-5 miles) and being mega attentive to the kids and their many activities and petcare  Todd has lax  guitar and Jack is very involved in band music lessons and ffa - and they are both in the gifted program- so my evenings I am running a gauntlet of shuttling kids to and from their extracurriculars- 

Brock and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary: 

I felt I was killing it-  I wasn’t going to let cold weather get me down! and really gaining traction in my fitness when- it all came off the rails- in the form that I got sick. 

 I had some life stress in the form that mine and brocks trucks were each broken into- in our drive way  my wallet was stolen :/ bummer-  I am

Still working to get all my things replaced - plus it’s scary undermines my peace of mind and sense of security - so we’ve been working hard to put up more cameras - be psycho about locking doors and setting the alarm system for our house - and the three people who broke into my truck are in jail- we were just one of the many people they did this to- and I’m so thankful they have been caught. 

But with Brock working out of town - even though I’ve always felt brave strong and stoic - I think the stress from the break in- and me not wanting it to happen again - plus I had some

Issues a week before the break ins of kids in the neighborhood chronically pranking our house by ringing the door bell and running away-  I really just want uninvited people to stay away from my home- esp ones not there for positive good.  Also during this time I deactivated my fb- I still have my Instagram but have the settings to private - I honestly don’t really miss fb- initially said I was going to stay off until after Easter like for lent- but I really may not bring it back- who knows - May feel different later on but I just tire of it- seems to have way more negativity than Instagram and I just tire of the constant crap I see of people arguing - I’ve felt this way for 2 yrs- I just felt I needed to stay because I was connected to so many people

From my past - like every facet of my life A and so many running friends - but decided to just leave to see what it’s like. I life without fb is actually better 

Anyways: 

I started feeling bad/ and two days later finally went to the dr where I tested positive for both Flu A and Flu B and to add insult to injury, I also tested positive for walking pneumonia- what?! How is that possible?! With how “healthy” I am and taking all the supplements and exercising how I do- well I theorize that I probably over did it- in my zeal to get in shape  plus the stress from people messing around my house and lowered my immunity and guess I was exposed to a lot of crap and had no idea- 

So I needed rest and the flu/pneumonia combo sure brought me to a screeching hault. So in my week of pj wearing semi coma state- I decided when I get my strength back  and it warms up I am going to tackle some awesome house projects like - super cleaning out and organizing my garage ,doing the mulch for my landscaping myself, pressure washing and painting some things in the exterior of my house and getting some new deck furniture- out door living spaces ready for spring summer fall - I love my house but even better I love my porches and my yard- I will attempt to try to document some of my projects esp the painting ones- 

Right now (and I probably should of stayed home) but it’s spring break for the kids so we came to the beach- Brock was amazing boarding maverick for me   and doing all the packing and loading while I laid in bed wheezing- while weeks ago I had lofty goals of golfing tennis and running all week long- now my exspectations are dialed back to relaxing reading and short walks with Alice my little dog who never left my side while I was sick- we had to put down our Yorkie Fred who was 16 years old in February and that was Alice’s everything- she has clung to us since then because I feel she misses Fred so much and we miss Fred too- if anything I spend more time with Alice because I miss fred- little dogs are precious and sweet. 

 So we have been here a couple days I have to say the warm weather has felt so nice. It good to spend time with brocks family and our kids and everything be much slower in pace than at home - 

Walking on the golf course with Alice early this morning 

Brock and I before dinner last night- first time I’ve fixed my hair or worn any make up in 10

Days 😂 - felt nice to not be in yoga pants and a hoodie 

So yes- looking forward to spring - this late winter was a doozy but I’m not defeated- ♥️ I don’t feel sorry for myself for anything that’s happened to me - the last month or my entire life - I’m captain of my ship in and control of how I respond to negative things and people - 

I am excited to rest and build my strength and energy this week and get back home to start my projects and yes still be doing lots of  hot yoga, running and spring is always busy time

For the kids: with spring sports - Brock has several ultra marathons trail 50ks I plan to try to attend to cheer him on 

Me April means turkey season so I want to also make time to do more of this: 

And fishing with my brother Brian- trout fishing is always so much fun in the spring : 

 I’m excited after my massive clean up- of the exterior of my home to also get to golf on Tuesdays with the ladies and on Wednesday’s play tennis 🎾 

And I have plans for some over night  backpacking adventures on the AT but that will probably be in May 

 Easter! And a couple great parties in April-  so I’m excited for spring and all the awesomeness of changing seasons! 

If you made it through this post- I hope your late winter was less eventful than mine!! And wish you all happiness and health!! ♥️🙏

Some of my current favorite things

Hey y’all! Hope your new year is going great!  If you’re like me, perhaps you are trying to let go of some

Bad habits and establish some new healthier ones to replace them with: 

Personally I’ve been going to hot yoga every day- I’ve only missed one day in the last 8 days- and I truly am feeling so good 😊 inside and out! 

I also wanted to share some products that I absolutely am enjoying so much this week that I feel are helping me get healthier! 

 I usually take a shot of normal braggs apple cider daily- but the last time I was at the health food store I saw this and it’s heaven! I mix it with water but also just take a shot glass of it in the morning when I take my vitamins! It’s yummy spicy and I love it 🥰 

I truly am going to try to find this wholesale and get a gallon of it-  this is an aryuvedic oil for sore muscles (think tiger balm but better) where I’ve been working out a lot more I have been sooo sore the last week and using this before a workout or after I shower is just heavenly warm cinnamon/pepperminty smell 

Been replacing my afternoon coffee with matcha lattes made of unsweetened almond or coconut milk 🥳 I love this has added collagen 

If you love kombucha and coconut- yup well this is for you- it’s fizzy like kombucha but it’s a solid substance like yogurt- it’s Tart  and sour- not sweet- I eat it plain but I think it would be yummy with fruit- 

Coconut water. This is my treat- I have this every evening before bed- to rehydrate balance my electrolytes and get some potassium and magnesium- so. Good. 

Beyond that I’m just trying to sip on bone broth I’ve made myself in the instapot, eat a lot of veggies and healthy lean proteins (chicken, beef,pork, fish) 

 It’s feeling really nice to hit the reset button after the holidays and intentionally focus on my health and wellness  so much more than I have been. 

I hope everyone is having a great day today! Do one thing your future self will thank you for today! Also drink water! I really wasn’t drinking enough for a long long time- and I think that really effects how I feel energetically 

December was a blur

So this month really grabbed me by the nape of my neck and shook me hard- I can’t believe it’s dec 27th -  I am going to consistently make an effort to publish weekly 

So much to talk about! 

For those of  you following the front porch progression: 

My mom bought me an antique milk can- I have wanted one for years- and this particular one is very old and heavy and I say it’s safe to assume it’s going to stay on my front porch year round now 

Love it 

Other than Christmas and holiday celebrations last week- the  highlight of my month was getting to take my oldest son jack to go see the play “Hamilton” in Greenville, SC at the peace center. Jack has been obsessed with the soundtrack and so this was his big gift from his dad and I to him- lucky me got to go too! We had an amazing time and loved every second of it! 

After that, the kids were out of school and I’ve been in a hurricane of events, family visits and holiday fervor 

But I have also made time  and space for myself too- which I think is so important during the holidays 

I’ve done a lot of this :

I’m reading a great book about Alva Vanderbilt 

I’m

Almost finished with it and I love it so much! Been such a great read! 

I also repurposed a necklace (cut it up and made it to fit me better used a different design) 

It has a fairy stone on it! And I love this necklace it’s so meaningful to me! Very SwVA 

I also was able to go to the farm and feed  cows with my dad on Christmas Eve 

Such a great morning! 

I received some great Pyrex bowls from my mom 

And fire king mugs from my sister in law Tammy 

And even though I wasn’t expecting it and feel I don’t deserve it - ( because I feel I have too much and really need nothing ) 

Santa (in the form of Brock) came and left me something very nice 

So sweet ♥️

So now here I am present moment  I am thinking of taking down my Christmas decor either today or tomorrow - 

On the cusp of New Years 

I really don’t have resolutions- other than I want 2019 to be full of happiness and joy-  good health - fun adventures and I have a lot of home related projects I wish to tackle. 

If you made it to the end of this post- I truly wish you had a wonderful Christmas and wishing you a happy new year ♥️

Oh Christmas tree

Yesterday we were able to do some family bonding and get our live Christmas tree from Red Barn Christmas Trees near Damascus, Va. These trees are harvested locally from

white top mtn! One of my favorite places! Plus it feels amazing to support a local business and have locally sourced trees

We may have out did ourselves - we bought two trees a small one and a big one - I bought the smaller one for my front porch to go in my moms galvanized wash tub she lent me- and we bought the large 10 foot one for our living room

I was impatient and decided to decorate the smaller one last night 

Yay! I also bought the boys two new sleds for the impending snowmagedon this weekend- that’s what’s junking up the pic behind The tree :) 

We got the larger tree in the stand and let the branches find where they need to be overnight 

And decided to decorate it today 

We used all our ornaments we have amassed the past 15 years! So sentimental- and so us ♥️

Crafty beginning to December

This morning I awoke to a lovely sunrise 

I decided to treat myself to a craft day today: 

First I made myself a headband using a combination of knitting on a loom and crochet 

Warm and toasty- I got the yarn from “a likely yarn” in abingdon - it’s wool but feels so soft without feeling scratchy 

Then I made little gifts for the up coming Christmas season 

Yes everyone and I mean everyone is getting homemade soap and lip balm for Christmas! 

Lastly I’ve added some greenery to my front porch 

I am going to have a live  decorated tree on my front porch placed in a galvanized wash tub - but waiting until

Next weekend to do that 

 So this Saturday was nice and relaxing, productive