Love...This...Lake

A week away...here...pure bliss even though there was a campfire ban going on. Being away from home, away from a phone, the hustle and bustle of life - priceless. To be at this remote lake destination to totally forget any responsibilities of home life or reality - words can't describe. JUST...TO...BE...that's all we had to do...

Luckily for us the week before was the wet, rainy one and the week we were there was sunshine and heat! Yippee!

All the relaxin' we could take - the Mr. and his pup Minnie...

Lucy-poo...

And the princess Lola...

Awweee...

Spendin' time with the girl that's movin' away to college in a week...

Love that scenery!

Soakin' up the last rays of summer...

Cards anyone?

Lucy has claimed her "own" chair...

My daughters get a hold of a camera and go on a "shooting" spree...

In the dark...

On the bridge...

Smoochin'...

Lovin'...

Posin'...

A girl and her pooch...

A hot Lucy...

Kissy, kissy...

This butterfly my daughter is holding followed us around all day long - even when we were floating on the raft in the afternoon it landed on the mattress!

Trying to cool off in the makeshift shade!

There they are with the camera again - camera shy they are not!

Will someone take that camera away from them??

Silhouette...

Yoga pose...

Big sis...

Minnie...

Little sis...

And Lola...

It was a wonderful week filled with suntanning, reading, crafting and EATING!! Just wish that campfire banned would have been lifted so we could've made some s'mores. I guess we'll just have to wait until next summer for those!

Truly Inspiring

This lady is very inspiring to me...one who has been through so much...and still has a positive outlook on ALL things...may she continue to beat all the odds...may I NEVER complain about anything again...

Read about her here

Leaving The Nest

In just a few short weeks this little girl (well, now she is grown up to be 18) will be leaving the nest...going away to university...8.5 hours away from home...away from her family and security...going to spread her wings...

Leaving this puppy behind who will sure miss her...

Those carefree days over...days of structured studying and practicing are in her near future...

She will still be able to show her goofy side to those she meets...

And no one will be able to turn down this smile...

Or this one...

Or this one...

She will always be mommy's "little girl"...

And always will hold a soft spot in her daddy and mommy's hearts...

This will be her new family of sorts...the girls from the university basketball team she will be playing with "UNBC Woman's Timberwolves"...

And she will be able to wear the #22 like she has for the past 4 years...just like her big sister here...

You go Becca...run toward your dreams...

And make them all come true...

We will miss your sweet smile around the house...remember you're only a phone call away...or a facebook message away...or a text away...

Vintage Luggage

Vintage luggage...nothing like it these days...so many of the new luggage they make now is made cheap and seems to fall apart the first time you use it. But these...these are sure to stand the test of time...they already have...

Look at them in all their pristine condition...

I can conjure up images in my head of what this train case would've been filled up with on some ladies trip in the 50's...I'm sure some real red shade of lipstick and some blue eyeshadow would be in her make-up kit along with some lotions and night cream...

And a portable mirror to boot!

And look at this...the original Samsonite tags inside...the staples aren't even removed yet!

Just like brand new because that's what it is - never been used! And, I got such a deal on these three "just like new" pieces - just $50 for all of them! These were found at that same antique mall where I found the other treasures...

And, the third piece...again in mint condition! I would love to go somewhere where I could take all these three pieces of luggage and dress stylish like they did in the 50's with some way cool vintage suit and white gloves and some funky hat. Don't ya think I would be stylin'?!

I can dream can't I? Dream, dream, dream of some faraway place to visit...

A Look Back

It's hard to believe that just a few short years ago our house and gardens looked like this...

And now...I am so pleased with the new house colors and the "new" look in the garden. I chose these colors for the house after seeing a heritage home in the House Exteriors magazine. This is where the inspiration came for the new colors. The previous gardens didn't have any color - everything was just green - so, I found many perennials that bloom at different times so all summer long there is some sort of color happening in the yard.

And here is a close-up view...home sweet home!

Have You Seen This??

This is so fun to do...go here to make yours...

This is what my caption would say:

"No thanks June. I will pass on the coffee this morning and have a martini instead."

Some Treasures!

While visiting my parents, and in-between bridal showers and planning, my mom and I had a chance to visit Albany's newly opened antique mall. This antique mall used to be housed in an old department store in downtown Albany, but now it is in a different location and I believe it has newer owners. It was so nice to browse up and down the very organized aisles and to be able to "see" the items. I remember the older place being very "mismash."

Only problem is on the day we went, it had to be about 110 degrees outside and the air-conditioning in the mall wasn't working! All I had to say was "oh my goodness" it was HOT!! But, that did not stop me and my mission of finding some treasures - if you do remember I was on a time limit in my previous post and was unable to find anything for myself at Ruthie B's - so, my mom and I stuck it out for awhile in the sweltering surroundings and then went for a drink break. We cooled off enough to continue for another round of searching....

I found some cool old rhinestone goodies to craft with and some other types of jewelry as well...

I love the detail on this brooch...and I have plans for this pearl collar on something I'm making...

Shoe clips, necklace, earrings...love 'em...

And here is the cute serving platter that they are sitting on...

Lovely hankies and oops! the crocheted dress that is my mom's (somehow it made the drive home with me!)...

And look, how darling this is - a red and white serving cart! I am still figuring out where to put it in my house...

In my next post I will show you the find I am most excited about...