Home again, home again jiggety jog!

I'm home....finally!!!!!  The laundry is finally all caught up, Clarice and I are settling back into our routines and I have even cooked twice so vacation time is officially over.  It's nice to be home again because I am such a homebody and nothing makes me happier than to putter around my home and play "house". 

The trip to DC was just the best and most challenging vacation that I've taken in the last few years.  Traveling with teenage girls is both so much fun filled with laughter and drama filled, hormonal meltdowns but those meltdowns were mine!  My poor daddy had to deal with all four of us women so he really deserves a medal of honor for not strangling us all.  We laughed so hard and made so many new family memories but it was the little things that I loved the most.  These girls are just my heart and soul so getting to spend time with them just thrilled me and of course, spending time with my momma and daddy is always wonderful. 

We did all the normal stuff that you'd expect to do while in DC but watching the fireworks on the 4th while sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was just breathtaking. Yes it was crowded, hot and everything else you'd expect but it was also so cool to being sharing it with everyone that was brave enough to wait out the heat and crowds.  And being at Arlington on Independence Day was just so very special uplifting and heart wrenching at the same time.

And it just cracks me up when I see Josi's expression of just one more picture.  I can't say that I blamed them because you can see what my response is to the picture taking.

 

Then we were off to Virginia Beach which was so relaxing compared to DC. 

 

We went to the Cheesecake Factory one night to celebrate Rachel's graduation and there was a brass band playing in the square so we stopped to enjoy the end to a perfect vacation! The girl's spontaneous dancing on the street was a highlight for me just seeing the smiles and joy on their faces made all the other petty stuff not matter one little bit.

 

The packing fun started and keep in mind this was the girl's stuff only!  So funny trying to cram it all into the trunk of the car

 

 

 

It was a fabulous trip and I loved every minute I got to share with my family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way overdue post but it's gonna be short

Hi everybody and hope your summer days have been sunshine filled.  This is a very, very short post because in spite of long summer days, I never seem to find a spare minute.

I just returned Wednesday night from family vacation with my folks and 2 nieces.  Rachel graduated so her gift was a trip to Washington DC to watch the fireworks on July 4th then on to a few magical days in Virginia Beach.  We watched the fireworks from the steps of the Lincoln monument and what a magical night that was.  I'll share all the details and pictures later.
My family left yesterday and arrived home safely late last night in Arkansas.  Did I mention this was a driving trip so 5 of us crammed into my folks car along with all the "stuff" the teenage girls brought along?  They had suitcases, shoe bags which were duffel bags, makeup bags, beach bags, pillows, blankies, ect..... UGH!  I packed for the 8 days in a overnight bag and still had room to spare.

Anyway, I got back just in time to do my laundry, clean my house and love on my Clarice before Mark and I leave on Sunday for Jamaica for 10 glorious nights!  I'm only packing the overnight bag's worth of clothes but I have to take huge vats of sunscreen since this beautiful freckled skin just don't tan.  I'm so looking forward to taking this vacation to recover from the other vacation.  I just hate leaving Clarice again but Jamaica only allows animals from the UK or Ireland into the country and they must be unvaccinated....huh...go figure!

So off to start downloading many, many books to get ready to leave in the morning and I'll post more after we return.

Do something today that makes you smile my friends!

Family Treasures

I don't know if I ever showed this tool box before but it's one of my favorite things in my whole house.  It belonged to my grandfather and possibly was his father's but it is still full of all the machinist tools with dirt, oil and all.  Every time I look at it, I think of my Pa and what a special relationship we shared.  I was the first grandchild and he called me Pa's Doll my entire life.  He used to pick me up when I was a toddler and take me to get an icee which I still love to this day.  

On top on the cabinets is the Owl cookie jar that belonged to my Mamma and sat on her kitchen counter since my daddy was small. I see it and just have to smile.

 

This table belonged to Mark's Grandmother Harris and I just love it.  We have painted the bottom 3 different times in the 27 years we've owned it and it makes the best bedside table ever because it's huge!  It also holds the lamp I made out of a crock jug that belonged to my PaPa's family.

And here's my Pa's toolbox again and it's sitting on Mark's Granddad Harris' old trunk which he's has since his university days.

 

 

 

Here's one of my favorite things which is a 4 year old Mark with his Granddad Harris and dog Cuddles.

 

 

 

These are Mark's bunny slippers

 

I have so many favorite family treasures so I'll post more pictures really soon. 

 

 

 

 

Finally starting to take shape (Pic heavy)

Well guys and dolls, I think I may actually be seeing this becoming a home that we can enjoy.  Wahoo the boxes are dwindling and I can breathe a little easier.  Clarice is getting settled in and just full of playful mischief again but still a little unsettled because she's a lap kitty in the evening when we are watching tv.  She's always been my snuggle bug in the bed but not a lap kitty so this is a little different but I'm enjoying the extra love.

So here's a few pictures of things starting to look like home:

 

 

 

 

I just got these awesome strawberries today from Karen at My Colonial Home.  Aren't they just perfect in this yellow ware bowl?   

alright all my Canadian friends, why haven't I ever heard of Crown Jars? I found this at an estate sale the day before we moved from Atlanta and I love, love it!

 

Also found these 2 butter molds at that same sale.  It was an amazing collector's sale.

 

 

This is my favorite spot right as you come up the stairs.

This is a split level house so there is a lot of open space which is wonderful for light but it's difficult in furniture and décor placement.  Ignore the orange squirt bottle which is Clarice behavior method.

 

Master bedroom

I was gonna move the Hot Flash fan out of the picture but decided to keep it real!  I need for Mark to hang the huge mirror above the dresser.

My laundry closet which has been a huge adjustment to me but I do like that it's in the master bathroom so it's convenient to do laundry.  Oh and I got a new washer and dryer after 20 years it was much needed!

Alright I've bored y'all long enough so I'll get back to unpacking now or maybe I'll just watch trashy tv instead. 

We're Moved!

Well we have closed on the house and officially now reside in Tennessee.
I just don't know if I'll ever finish unpacking us.  My first plan was to only unpack the rooms that we would actually be using (remember the rental home is a third of the size)  but unfortunately the movers don't always pack the rooms in the order you think they should be packed in. We had awesome movers and they worked their butts off to get us moved a day earlier than scheduled so I'm really not complaining.  I had decluttered and squirrel away so much stuff that I really can't blame the movers for not packing it into the correct room boxes because for example family room decor was being stored in multiple chests and trunks in various rooms like guest bedrooms, basement, garage and sometimes in really strange places like hidden closets under the eaves.  I know it's not a race to get it all finished but my attitude improves greatly when I'm settled in somewhere so I really would like to get 'er done.  Clarice is having some anxiety since this move so we both need a peaceful, restful home to reassure us both.  Mark left on Tuesday for meetings in Germany/Switzerland and he'll be home Sunday night so I'd like to be done with at least the first floor.  I'm making good headway because I finally got the master bedroom/bath, living room and kitchen set up properly but I still need to finish the guestroom/bath and his office area.  This is a split level home so we're living on the first floor and using the finished basement and over sized garage as storage space.  We really wanted to store on site to avoid the chance of losing our stuff and also to avoid the huge expense of paying for monthly storage fees.

My sweet niece, Rachel graduated high school last weekend and I'm just so proud of her.  She has matured into a beautiful, smart, funny young woman and I'm so grateful that our family was blessed with her.  She's got a huge heart, musical laugh, quirky sense of humor, sweet soul and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.

Just look at that smile

Pretty little lady

Daddy's little girl

Rachel and her Bubba

Ok it's time to get my shoes on and continue getting this house in order.  Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend!

Godslaw

Ok sometimes I agree that my elevator doesn't go to the top as my Granny used to say about me.  Other times I think I'm just too tired to think things thru before I say them but whatever the cause is the last one was a doozy!  Mark and I were headed to grab a bite to eat on Easter Sunday and we were stopped at a light when I noticed the car ahead of us had a vanity plate.  I'm always intrigued by those and what they mean.   I'm studying it and I said "Now what's God got to do with Slaw? And who decides if the Slaw is good enough to be called God Slaw?"  By this time Mark is laughing so hard he has tears running down his face and he finally gets control of himself long enough to say "God's Law not God's Slaw"  oh well that made a heck of a lot more sense!    And as I get older the worse it gets so watch out people 'cause the stories are only going to get better.

We are now officially in moving hell because the packers started this morning.  Last week I moved us from the fully furnished studio apartment into the rental house in Wal Mart sacks.  We had no boxes and I didn't think we had that much stuff at the apartment so it would be a quick move.  Wrong!  How much crap can a couple and one little kitty cram into an apartnment in just a few months?  Well if those 2 people are us then it's about 2 truck loads.  We had no furniture or even closets to stuff full so how did it all fit into that apartment?   Ugh! Mark Harris is a clothes wh@re in the worst kind of way.  I moved no less than 4 suits, 7 coats, 36 dress shirts and don't even get me started on his shoes.  I swear this man could outfit a nation and never miss anything.  I made so many trips up and down those apartment stairs that I gave up counting.  But we're done with that so one down and one to go except that house deal is unraveling. We are suppose to close a week from today.   We had an offer back in March, home inspection and appraisal down when their financing fell thru so move past go and don't collect $200.  Then we entered into another contract, home inspection, financing is good and appraisal is finally done on Friday.  Well it comes in $20,000 less than the appraisal just done in April and $16,000 less than purchase price.  What the hell?????  So our realtor and I started going over this appraisal line by freakin line.  Well the appraiser missed a bathroom and a bedroom so that's a huge error, left off the fridge, wine fridge and bar fridge but also the granite and slate in the house so that should bring the values back up.  Well it's now 3:00 PM and we still don't have an answer from the agent, appraiser or banker as to how we need to proceed.  Mark and I are not unreasonable people and if the appraisal comes in for less than purchase price then we need to work with the buyers to come up with a solution.  But as of now, we haven't heard a peep and to say things are tense around here would be an understatement.  The first thing the buyer's agent said (who by the way is the buyer's mother) "Well you can't count that bedroom in the basement as a bedroom because it has an outside door."  Wait, building code in GA states that any room can be a bedroom as long as it has 2 ways out in case of fire which this one has 3 since you can escape by interior door, exterior door or the 3 huge windows that are in the room.  It has a closet, is fully sheetrocked, painted trimmed and the floor is painted so it's a bedroom.  Then she came back with "It can't be counted as a bedroom because it has no carpeting on the floor".  Hmmmm really so hard wood floors, tiled floors or stained concrete floors aren't allowed in bedrooms? Wow!  I may very well end up having another heart attack just dealing with all this bs.  I may never buy another house again!  Here's pictures to prove we have a bedroom and bathroom down in the basement

Ok enough of a rant for today and just think Mark and the packing crew are stuck in the house with me today.  You should take pity on them!