Weekend Projects

What a wonderful weekend we had! My in-laws came to visit this weekend and helped us complete a few projects on our to do list! Things are slowly but surely getting finished around here and we love this house more and more every single day! 

Chris worked Thursday night so Friday was a pretty lazy day around the house. We straightened up and got ready for company. There were several things going on in Cartersville on Saturday: a fundraiser for the Humane Society, a Relay for Life fundraiser downtown, and artifacts day at the Etowah Indian Mounds. We had planned to stop in at these events but the rain kind of put a damper on our plans. 

We ate a midday meal at our favorite Mexican restaurant, wandered the aisles at Lowe's, and spent the rest of the evening hanging out at home. This morning we had a delicious breakfast at a local place, Martin's, before Chris's parents headed home. Chris and I lounged around the house for a while since it was raining outside before heading to the grocery store. We watched Home Alone 2 and Chris made me his delicious hot chocolate. He really does make the best hot chocolate ever! I don't love the rain but I have loved the cool weather this weekend. I am counting down the days until fall, y'all!

Here are some photos of what all we've accomplished this weekend:

I've been searching for a small shelf to put above my sink in our bathroom. The problem is, all of them have been too big and would be in the way. I found this small one on clearance at Lowe's for $13 (regular $34) and it is exactly what I was looking for!

Chris also hung my new make-up mirror. I found this mirror at Ikea a while back for $5 and I love it even more than I thought I would. I use it every day!

We finally put up shelves over the toilet in our bathroom! You can never have too many shelves or too much storage in a bathroom! Home ownership rule #1, y'all! This is the perfect place to keep our towels and other odds and ends. This is how it looks today, but I can assure you it won't last!

Excuse the dark photo - there is hardly any light in this little room!

We've been considering putting some numbers on our front door but haven't gotten around to it. While we were at Lowe's picking out shelving, I found these letters on a clearance table for $2 so I pounced on them! I am so glad I did! I love the way they look from the street.

I told you I have fall fever - I made this mesh wreath earlier in the week and couldn't resist putting it up!

I found this little garden cart last spring at the neatest junk shop in Dalton. It was faded black and blue when I bought it so I painted it red to add a little color to our bland front porch! Now I just need something to put on it. (Don't miss my little helper in the window!)

You've probably seen this sign before - it's the sign my sister and dad made for our wedding. It's been sitting in the basement and I couldn't stand it anymore! I love looking at it every time I walk out on the porch. Its temporary home is in between the hydrangeas my dad rooted for me. They are cuttings off of my grandmother's bush and I'm waiting to plant them this fall.

I couldn't get a very good picture but I stained this bench and put it out on the front porch. My dad built it years and years ago and I always loved it. I talked him into letting me have it for the new house! This is only one coat of stain so it needs at least one more. The blue potted plant is a cutting from a snowball bush from my grandmother's house.

My dad and grandpa built this swing together for my Meme. It's at least fifteen years old but it was inside so it's in great shape. I used a semi-transparent stain and sealant so hopefully it will stay that way! It's under our back deck so it's mostly out of the rain. We've already had a couple of fires out here and I'm anxiously awaiting cooler weather so we can have more.

The Farmer's Market is wrapping up but we still picked up a few goodies! This gorgeous bouquet of flowers had to come home with us since we were having guests. We also bought some peaches and some apple butter that I cannot wait to try out!

And, of course, one last picture of Darla cat for good measure!

While the weather may have been less than ideal, we didn't let it ruin our weekend. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend like we did! 

I hope your Monday is bright and cheerful no matter the weather today. I'm off to see one of my best friends, Jade, and her new baby girl, Kate! Babies, babies, everywhere!

Behind or Ahead?

Things were hectic around July 4th so I never got around to posting pictures of our decorations. I'm surprised I didn't get it done because I was so excited for the first real holiday in our new house! I've never been one to decorate much for the fourth because it kind of intimidates me. I think the colors are so beautiful but it seems difficult to put something together that looks decent!

I'm going to look at the glass as half full and say that I'm posting these pictures early for Labor Day decor instead of late for Independence Day decor... just go with me on this one will you?

Our front door is blue so it's sort of patriotic already. I got the flag and wreath holder from Hobby Lobby. I have something different in mind for next year if I can get my act together early enough to get it done. July 4th always sneaks up!

Flags are so beautiful! Maybe it's just the History teacher in me?

For the fireplace I basically stuck together things that I already had. 

I bought the large white frame at Habitat for Humanity a couple of months ago. It started out gold, but I ripped it apart and spray painted it white until I could decide for sure what I wanted to do with it. 

I used some Christmas ribbon and tied the metal wreath to the front of it. I found the wreath on clearance last year for only $2.00! 

The two red frames hold photos of my grandparents and Chris's grandparents. Both of our grandfathers are Veterans so this is our tribute to them. 

I threw in a little milk glass on either side since I'm always looking for ways to incorporate it. I just popped a couple of flags in the compotes and there you have it!

I bought the star garland at Big Lots for a couple of Dollars to string along the front. Easy Peasy!

I laid a blue quilt my Meme gave me across the bottom to add a little more blue to the fireplace. It seemed like it was all red without it. 

The flag tray was a Goodwill find last year and I use it all the time.

My Dad and I found the Coca-Cola crate at a Flea Market for ten dollars and it's one of my favorite things. On top of it is my beloved UGA plate and our 2013 memory mason jar. It really is all of my favorite things in one spot.

Lastly, I stuck my two candle sticks on the right side for some additional height and texture.

{Confession: it's already been taken down and I'm fighting myself tooth and nail not to break out my fall decor yet... please tell me I'm not alone}

The day we took a bus tour

A couple of weeks ago Chris and I took a fun little tour of Bartow County. Chris saw it advertised on Facebook and we thought it would be a good way to learn about our new home. We almost changed our minds when we walked up at 8AM (yes, you read that right) and saw this:

We have officially become "that old married couple." I mean seriously? We took a bus tour for heavens sake! My Meme used to take those road trips to Amish Country on these monsters. When did that become me? And what in the world is there to see in Amish country anyway? 

Once we got up the courage to get on the bus we embraced our inner retirees and were along for the ride. 

Here's some photos of a few of our stops:

We got NAME TAGS.

Touring Allatoona Dam

My sweet little power man

On Lake Allatoona at the first African American park in Georgia

Roselawn House Museum - so pretty

The gorgeous dining room

I didn't realize there was so much local Civil War history

This next picture was probably my favorite part of the whole tour! This dress belonged to one of my favorite Georgia ladies, Rebecca Latimer Felton. She was the first female US senator and a Suffragette. This is the dress she wore to her "Inauguration," as she called it. As the story goes, she wanted something new to wear but she found out last minute that she had won the race. She hurriedly ripped down her lace curtains and sewed this dress to wear that night. Supposedly, a dear friend of hers, Margaret Mitchell, fashioned the famous curtain scene in Gone With the Wind after that night. Goosebumps! How can people say history is boring?

I bet it even showed her ankles! Scandalous! You go girl!

A delicious lunch

But mostly this. Warm Coca-Cola cake with fudge icing. YUM.

The old covered bridge in Euharlee

Kind of creepy 

300 graves - this is where Confederate Memorial Day was started

Our last stop was the old African American school house where the sweetest ladies served us homemade ice cream and cookies!

We had the most wonderful time after all. I guess the moral of the story is that old people know how to have fun!

My love affair with Goodwill

I've come to find that everyone either has a love or hate relationship with Goodwill. 

Me? Definitely a love affair. 

I have always loved looking for a bargain - or what I call treasure hunting. I love antique stores, junk stores, yard sales, and thrift shops. There are definitely certain things I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, but those items are few and far between.

I became obsessed with Goodwill when I lived in Athens. My obsession hit its peak in the midst of wedding planning. I found the vast majority of my candlesticks and a lot of my milk glass by searching Goodwill. I still have to close my eyes and keep walking when I see a piece of milk glass... I'm still obsessed.

I was certain there would be a Goodwill in Dalton and I was excited to try it out! I was disappointed to learn that the closest one was in Chattanooga. I was beyond thrilled to find one when we moved to Cartersville, and there are several more nearby.

Here are some of my recent finds from our local Goodwill ~

Three small grapevine wreaths for $1.00 - Can you guess what they will become?

I'm obsessed with candle holders from BBW - $1.50 for this brand new one.

Now, I know that most people will draw the line at pillows and I can't say I disagree. This is the first time I've bought any so listen to my logic. There were four matching outdoor pillows in great shape. I can never justify buying them new because there are so many other things I want to buy! I brought these home, washed them twice on the heavy duty and hot cycle, dried them on high heat, and put them outside for decoration. Less than $8.00 for all four. I just love them!

These little shelves were $2.00 each. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them but they are made with grooves to hold a plate. I think they would be a great place to house my beloved Georgia History UGA plate. 

This is definitely the most random item we've found. It's a sweet little hand made wooden plane for only $4.00. It's probably a little over a foot long so it's the perfect size. It was just too sweet not to bring home with us. Chris adores it! I'm sure you'll see it again in a special place in the future. It just needs a good clean and shine and it will be good as new!

Lastly, I found this candlestick last week. It's large, sturdy, and has a $30 Hobby Lobby sticker on the bottom. Not bad for $4.00. I placed a bottle of water next to it so you could tell its size.

What have you found lately?

Happies and Crappies

Today I'm linking up with Stephanie and Sarah for Friday Happies and Crappies!

Let's get the Crappies out of the way first!

1. Darla is driving me INSANE! She is like that little Sour Patch Kid on the commercial! First she's sour, then she's sweet! She will snuggle with me then turn on me when I least expect it. I guess she really is gaining her animal instincts because she bites me with those sharp little teeth in the places where it hurts the most - like the underside of my arm or the back of my ankle. She also has recently decided she loves fruit. She will eat anything and will do anything to get it! Patience, Lord, I need patience!

Helping me set up my {Gallery Wall}

Desperately trying to get to my watermelon

Eating a banana peel? Seriously?

2. Have I mentioned I hate doing laundry? Well, y'all, I hate doing laundry. It is my least favorite household chore. Every time I wait until I have fifty pounds to do I swear I'll never do it again... but I do. This is the predicament I'm in again... so this weekend will be laundry weekend. Why am I such a procrastinator? Yuck!

3. Obviously I don't eat enough vegetables. There's a lot of evidence I could use to support this claim, but let's look at the most recent incident. I had big plans to cook some new vegetable dishes this week. Chris and I went to the grocery store and bought lots of meat for grilling and lots of vegetables. I bought some mini cucumbers that are so delicious and we've been eating them all week. I also wanted to grill some zucchini so I bought three big pieces. I get them out to put on the grill last night and I realize they aren't zucchini... they are cucumbers. DANG IT. So now we are up to our eyeballs in cucumbers around here! Anyone want to come over and have some cucumbers for dinner?

Cucumbers, anyone?

And now for the Happies...

1. After living in our new house for two months now, we finally got the garage cleaned out! It has been home to my ongoing projects and basically just a lot of random crap. We moved everything we don't use on a regular basis to the basement and now we can fit both of our cars in there again. Next up, we really need some shelving units in there for some storage. I've seen several I like on Pinterest.

2. Earlier this week I had a hankering for a donut. Haley and I passed Krispy Kreme when the hot sign was on and I surrendered to my craving... It was late so we were glad they were still open. We ordered a half dozen but since it was closing time they threw in the other half for free! What's better than donuts? Free donuts, y'all!

3. Chris and I met my dad in Canton for lunch this week. I love Which wich and was so excited to get to have lunch there! There was one in Athens that I loved but it closed down and I haven't seen another one since. His birthday was this week so this was his fancy birthday meal! ;)

Please note my giant cup - they are the best for watering plants!

4. We finally splurged and got some new bedding! I have had the hardest time sleeping lately because I'm so hot and uncomfortable. We got new sheets, a new quilt, and a new duvet, and it has made the biggest difference! These two approve too...

They love each other.

5. I'm a big fan of breakfast. It's by far my favorite food. I finally tried a biscuit from a local place in Cartersville called Martin's and it did not disappoint! There's nothing in the world I love more than a good biscuit!

Bacon, egg, and cheese, for the win!

Happy Friday, y'all! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!