May 2013
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Maggie is Three!
Today, our sweet Maggie turned three. We decided to combine her birthday with our Mother’s Day celebration, and had a family picnic at a beautiful local park. I made spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting,( a family favorite), and we feasted on hotdogs fresh from the grill, pasta salad, potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs. All of...
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Sandpearl Resort, A Love Letter
I’ve just returned home from three days at the Sandpearl Resort on Clearwater Beach. We take a beach staycation every year around this time to celebrate the warmer weather, and my birthday. Yesterday, I turned thirty-six. I have spent the last few days eating gelato, drinking Blue Hawaiians, dining on seafood, swimming in the warm...
April 2013
6 posts
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A Little Disney Magic
We’ve just returned from a short 24-hour trip to Orlando. We decided to squeeze in another quick visit before the heat & summer tourists arrive. I am so glad we did. We had short waits, comfortable weather, good food, and lots of fun.
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one- a ham & mozzarella quiche. We have had an abundance of eggs from our sweet hens lately.
two- pretty roses Maggie insisted I buy when when we went grocery shopping this week.
three- baby mugging, my new favorite internet thing. That’s Maggie in my favorite tea cup.
What a weird week it’s been. With all the craziness on the news, I must admit, I have felt out of...
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Sunken Gardens
We took the girls to Sunken Gardens this morning to explore my favorite not-so-secret garden. Sunken Gardens is a 100+ year old, 6 acre botanical garden in the middle of St. Petersburg, Florida. This beautiful garden was established in 1906 by a single man with a love of gardening, George Turner. Sunken Gardens became a...
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La Dolce Vita
This morning while scrolling though my Facebook feed, I was reminded of how uncertain life can be sometimes. A second cousin of mine passed away recently, and today would have been her 36th birthday. I will be 36 in three weeks. It inspired me to blow off my to-do list, keep Amelia home from preschool, and head out to the beach.
I...
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Sunday, I Like You Best.
March 2013
12 posts
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Our Easter in Pictures
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Strawberry Fields Forever
The weather was a bit too cold for our usual trip to the beach for spring break, so when one of Amelia’s friends mother asked if we’d like to go pick strawberries, I thought it was a fun idea.
We live about an hour away from several strawberry farms, and this time of the year, some of those farms open up for “you pick”. You pick the...
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Safety Harbor Chalk Festival
You can see last year’s chalk festival here, and the year before that here.
The annual chalk festival has become a spring family tradition for us. This is the third year we’ve attended, and we always have a great time. The artists are so talented, and I am so inspired by their work. The girls and I always start at Starbucks, and walk down the...
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A Sure Sign of Spring
New sand for the sandbox is a sure sign of spring at our house. The girls were more than happy to plant their feet in the sand and spend an hour building sandcastles, and shooing our Italian Greyhound out of the box.
Maggie had to chase a chicken or two out of her playhouse, too.
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A Thrifty DIY
thriftyisnifty:
I recently found this mid-century magazine rack at a yard sale for 75 cents. I gave it a fresh coat of enamel paint, and now it’s the perfect place for my children’s spring books.
I am trying to be better at updating this neglected Tumblr blog of mine. I love the way this magazine rack turned out!
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Happy Chickens
If you want happy chickens, you feed them live crickets. I’m not brave enough to touch them, so the kids and chickens rely on my mom to bring over this cherished snack. The girls squeal as the bugs jump around, and the chickens can’t gobble them up fast enough.
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Good Morning.
Sundays are my favorite. A day to sleep in, a day when no one has to work or go to school, a day for relaxing or getting stuff done. Today will be a little bit of both for us. I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and served them on my favorite green vintage dishes in honor of Saint Patrick, and in a bit we will head to the mall to meet the Easter Bunny. Later, we...
Maggie + Amelia
I took the girls to a portrait studio today. It has been a while since we’ve done that. I think there are some pretty cute shots of the little ladies.
Spring-a-Ding-Ding
We have finally had a string of warm weather days, and it’s got me singing like a bird. I am just so happy to see the spring like temperatures return. The chickens are, too, because we’ve had handfuls of eggs every day. The mister and I have been working in the yard, getting ready to plant our garden, and I’ve been working on some cleaning projects indoors, as...
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Port Orleans Disney Weekend
We spent three chilly days at Walt Disney World last weekend. We stayed at the lovely Port Orleans Riverside Resort in their new Royal Guest Room. We spent time at Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and the Magic Kingdom. It was a fun weekend filled with roasting marshmallows, horse-drawn carriage rides, Disney movies on the lawn, Ghiradelli hot...
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February 2013
4 posts
Love
I have always loved Valentine’s Day. Any holiday that celebrates love, flowers, the color red, and any thing heart shaped can’t be bad, right? Now that I have two little girls, it’s an even sweeter holiday.
Tonight, I made a yummy dinner with some of the girls favorite foods, corn & homemade mashed potatoes, and we also had broccoli and cheese stuffed...
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Everything's Coming Up Roses
This is the valentine Amelia chose to give to her school pals. You can find them over at Tiny Prints.
My new heart dress for my Valentine date with the mister. You can find it at Old Navy.
Valentine’s Day card I got for my husband. You can find it here.
(Don’t worry, he rarely reads my blog, so it won’t ruin the surprise)
I am looking forward to Valentine’s Day...
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A Love-ly Lunch
Today, I surprised the girls with a special Valentine’s Day themed lunch. I found the cutest heart shaped shortbread cookies with strawberry jam at the store this week, and had the idea to put together a special lunch a little early, since Amelia will have her school party next week.
The girls ate heart shaped peanut butter sandwiches, pretzels (which...
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Small Adventures
On weekends when we have no plans, I love nothing more than getting up and taking the kids on small adventures to some place new. This morning we checked out a park about 20 minutes north of where we live, that I had heard many good things about. The weather here in Florida has been so pretty this winter, that it’s hard to stay inside. Our...
January 2013
5 posts
Our Weekend in Photos {Tarpon Springs Sponge...
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Mama Loves Thrifting
I haven’t shared any of my thrifting finds with you for a while, so I thought you’d like to see some of the highlights from recent weeks.
one-a plastic doe I found last weekend at the flea market.
two-a Fire King bowl I found at my neighbor’s yard sale.
three- vintage Disney Bambi planter I found for a steal on Ebay. I decided to store my vintage brooches in it.
...
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Preschool Style {Winter}
Florida winters really aren’t that bad, so my girls can get away with an outfit like this, even on a cold Florida day. When we woke up today, it was 58 degrees. We over slept this morning, so I decided to take some photos of the girls since we missed Amelia’s preschool start time, and were having a slower than usual morning.
Amelia’s shirt is from H & M, her...
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Catching My Breath
The last few weeks have been hard. Two weekends ago, my entire family came down with the flu. It was awful. It took me a whole week to feel better, and just as I was coming back from being ill, I was told to visit my grandmother in the hospital because she was dying. The very next day she was gone. We just lost my grandfather last June, and my grandmother was so sick with grief, that in the...
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Our Weekend in Photos
one-Amelia’s first pair of Mickey ears.
two-A tramp at our hotel.
three-A happy Maggie on the carousel.
four-We took a ride on a fancy steam boat.
five-Thunder Mountain
six-The hottest ticket in town. (well, in Maggie’s town anyway)
seven-Cinderella’s Castle all gussied up for the holidays.
eight-Main Street Electrical Parade.
nine-Walt...
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Welcome 2013
Tonight, we decided a family date was the best plan for our New Year’s Eve. Beau and I took the girls out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, then we headed home for a fire and a dessert of s’mores in our back yard. We let the girls have a few sparklers, drink some sparkling cranberry juice, and had a little 80’s dance party on our deck. The...
December 2012
13 posts
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Oh, Deer
I found the cutest doe sweater for Maggie and shirt for Amelia at Old Navy yesterday in their holiday clearance. They look so sweet in them today.
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Jolly Good Fun
Here are a few photos from our Christmas Eve & Christmas morning. It was a great holiday for us, and the kids were very pleased with Santa’s gifts. I am always a bit sad to see this time of year come to a close, but I’m very much looking forward to see what 2013 has in store for us!
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A Cup of Cheer
We had a little cocktail party this week for one of our favorite couples, Jenna + Ian. That’s them in the photo above, posing with our girls, who were very excited to be able to be at our get together. We had boozy eggnog, listened to some Christmas music on vinyl, and ate lots of yummy food. I am always excited to use my vintage serving pieces, and I decided to keep the...
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Christmas at Our House
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Old Saint Nick here at our house. The girls are counting down the days with their chocolate advent calendars. It has been a hectic month in the best kind of way. This weekend we will be baking Christmas cookies, watching our favorite holiday movies, and drinking hot cocoa. I hope you enjoy this little peek at...
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Christmastime at Disney World
We had a fabulous weekend in Orlando. Beau and I took the girls to Disney World, so we could experience a little of their Christmas magic. We stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort for the first time, and we really enjoyed the hotel. I requested we stay in the 1950’s section, and it did not disappoint. I failed to get a photo of the pool, so...
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November 2012
10 posts
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Vintage Baby Dress Giveaway
As November comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank you, dear readers, for contributing to this little space of mine. Blogging has become more than a way for me to document my life, it has become a space to share stories, and create friendships with other like-minded people, and for that, I will always be grateful.
I recently found this vintage dress. I instantly fell in love...
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Christmas Traditions
My mom recently shared a Christmas memory with me from her childhood. She said when she would go over to visit her grandmother on Christmas, there would be a gumdrop tree waiting for her and her siblings as a treat. My mom’s grandmother would find a branch, wet it and cover it with flour, put it in a pot, and cover it with gumdrops.
My mother decided she wanted to bring back this tradition...
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Christmas Shenanigans
one- I introduced my girls to the pomegranate. Amelia said the juice looked like blood, and wouldn’t eat it.
two- We got our Christmas tree decorated, but Maggie thinks it’s her new job to redecorate it every few hours. Thankful I decided to hang the glass & vintage ornaments up high.
three- Our Elf on a Shelf is back, only he has a skirt this year since Amelia...
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Happy Thanksgiving
I hope you all are enjoying some delicious food with your family and loved ones. I was happy to host my family again this year, and it was my first year cooking the turkey. It turned out great, and I am glad we decided on a free-range organic turkey.
The turkey cupcakes were inspired by a photo I found on Pinterest. Aren’t they adorable?
I was excited to...
