Louisville....Here We Come!

This weekend me and the girls are taking Melissa to Louisville, Kentucky for a little birthday weekend getaway. We have a fun-filled itinerary that includes eating at fabulous restaurants, shopping...of course, staying at a beautiful hotel downtown on the river, and going to see my favorite, Jersey Boys!! And if you know me at all you probably assume that Jersey Boys was my idea considering I've seen it on Broadway in NYC and at the Fox in STL and I absolutely LOVE it and can recite the entire show line by line. Well, I can tell you you're wrong, but I can assure you no arm twisting was involved! I jumped at the opportunity to see it in Louisville too!!


I hope you all have a wonderful weekend as well!!

The Road

Just like with my decorating, I often get specific picture taking ideas in my head. Sometimes they work out...sometimes they don't. I think this little photo shoot was the latter of the two. Now don't get me wrong, I think I got some cute pictures, they just didn't turn out quite like I imagined. Maybe I'll try again another time, but this is what we got last weekend.


(*Disclaimer: I usually don't condone such behavior as playing in the middle of the road, but it was an adult supervised activity. No children were harmed during the taking of these pictures. Please don't call DCFS! )

My Latest DIY Project

I often picture something very specific in my head of what I want and then spend lots of time looking for it just to realize it's ridiculously expensive or doesn't exist. Neither of those options are acceptable. So, I usually wind up doing things myself. It's always great when I wind up with something I like even more and paid much less then if I would have bought it.

That leads me to my latest project. I wanted two very wide, square picture frames to accommodate two square pictures (8 x 8 pictures to be exact) that also had a "weathered" look. Just let me save you the time and trouble and tell you if you're ever looking for a square picture frame larger than a 5 x 5, don't bother. It's impossible to find something decent or that you don't have to take a second mortgage out to pay for.

So I went to Lowe's, bought some pine stair risers, and went to work. Okay, let me tell you the truth now.....after I bought the wood I called my dad to ask if I could use his saw and in a round about way he said "no". I'm not sure if he thought I would tear the saw up or the saw would tear me up, but several weeks later I had two beautiful picture frames ready to paint! Thanks, dad!!!


Here is a picture of the frames with one coat of paint in semi-raw form.





I used a sandy tan color for the base color, then applied the weathered-finish clear coat and then an off-white for the top coat. I couldn't be any happier with the frames! Jack's room still isn't finished yet, but it's getting closer.

Melissa's Baby Shower

Thursday evening we had Melissa's baby shower to help celebrate the arrival of little Lauren Olivia! Even though I had been gone the entire week and actually didn't get back into town until Thursday, it went on without a hitch. It was thrown by me, Courtney Church-Dunning, Beth Brooks, Michele Meyer and her two sisters, Sami and Jessi.

Of course our goal was to make sure everyone in attendance had a wonderful time, but our most important goal was to bring tears to Melissa's eyes (now if you know her you understand that's not too lofty of a goal. Melissa and I can both cry watching the grass grow). But I have to say, our mission was definitely accomplished. She loved our decorating and food and I know she felt so loved. Melissa is such a special person and has touched so many lives, it was truly heartwarming to see everyone come together to celebrate the Farley's newest addition.



We had a nesting themed shower and served a dessert buffet. On the main wall we used Uppercase Living for Lauren's momogram and on the sides we used Uppercase Living birds to look like they were siting on the real branches we used. It turned out REALLY cute. The birds are a little difficult to see in the pictures because they are white.




The favors we made.




The favors Melissa made: homemade strawberry jam (yes she made her own favors unbeknownst to us). That's Melissa for you!!







Fruit we used cookie cutters to make in the shape of birds and flowers.




The cupcakes had icing and toasted coconut on top with jelly beans in the center to resemble bird's nests. The were absolutely adorable!!
















Our take-home sacks: We used brown paper sacks that we stamped with a bird's nest and pink clothes pins (we painted) to hold the bags closed.












My gift to Lauren: two adorable outfits from Janie & Jack (one of my favorite children's clothing boutiques), an adorable bag I ordered from Land's End, Llama Llama Mad at Mama (Jack's favorite book), a Swaddle Design swaddle blanket (which are the best), Rockabye Baby CD Journey Renditions, Burt's Bee's Lotion, and a bath time cup to keep water out of baby's eyes.
I also got Ryan a picture frame that says "Born to be an Illinois Fan" since he's a U of I grad.
Also, my mom got her a Brighton bracelet very similar to the one I wear and love. Needless to say, Melissa loved it!!




Beth also picked up two books from The Apple Tree in Carbondale as grandmother gifts. They were adorable and a huge hit!







And for our next surprise.....Melissa's birthday celebration next weekend! It is a little early, but we want to ensure we get to celebrate this milestone considering Lauren is due less than two weeks after Melissa's birthday.

Covered Bridge Pictures

Here are some of my favorites....

Farewell....

...but just for a few days. I'm headed to Dallas for a business meeting tomorrow and will be back later in the week. So I'll be MIA for several days and just wanted to give you all the scoop (in case you didn't already know.)






But Jack and I drove to the covered bridge in Chester today and got some cute pictures. Although it was miraculous we got any at all. Let's just say he's been in a foul mood for two days now, plus I woke him up from a nap, it was hotter than blazes, then, once he was nice and sweaty, he fell down a hill and was covered in grass that stuck to him and for the finale....he pooped in his underwear! WOW! It was truly miraculous that we both made it out alive much less got any good pictures. But here is one to tide you over. I'll post the rest when I return!

And the Winner Is....

....NINA! Congratulations! You will be receiving the $40 coupon code via email. Thanks so much to everyone that entered!

Jack's Mean Face

Jack makes "mean face" a lot these days. He usually makes it to be silly, but he also makes it sometimes when he doesn't like what I'm saying to him (ie., "No, Jack. You can't have any candy before dinner" or "Come on, Jack. It's time for bed.")

So I usually make the face back and we look at each other until we both start laughing. This morning I got it on video......

My First Giveaway

I think you all know by now that I'm a self-confessed shopaholic who loves a good bargain. I rarely buy anything of substance without first doing my research to not only find great quality but the best price as well. So I often find myself doing my research online. Along the way I come across fantastic websites and CSN Stores being one of those great places to get high quality items for the home at lower prices than most places.

They carry all things home-related like a great table lamp I want (which I find very hard to find lamps I like at a great price)to sleek Herman Miller Chairs (that my husband has had his eye on for quite some time now). Other great brands include Calphalon and Le Creuset for the kitchen to Kartell and Heller for the other living spaces.

So the great folks over at CSN Stores would like to offer a giveaway to my readers. All you need to do is leave a comment containing your name and email address so I can contact you if you win the $40 gift card that can be used at any of their sites. The winner will be chosen by using random.org and only my American and Canadian readers are eligible. I also know I have a lot of readers that aren't bloggers, so make sure you put a comment in so you can be considered for the giveaway too!

You must submit your comment by Friday July 16 and the winner will be announced Saturday July 17.

Good Luck!

Our New Toy

In the last several years we have had several "fun" cars. We really enjoy and have a great appreciation for classic cars, so our first purchase was a 1957 Pink T-bird. It was quite the looker, however, we quickly found out you don't just hop in a car that's 50+ years old and head down the road. There is A LOT of maintenance and expense in restoring and keeping old cars. Not to mention power-steering is something most of us take for granted!

So then we traded up 20 years and got a 1977 Corvette. Bronson and I are huge fans of vettes. Without a doubt the greatest American-made sports car that would even give most European sports cars a run for their money! But again, we realized even with a car that's 30+ years old, it's just not really something you jump in and drive.

So we decided to get what I'm pretty sure Bronson has wanted since he exited the womb....a new corvette! Yesterday we drove to St. Charles, MO and traded the old vette for a new one. Yes the yellow is pretty flashy, but I have to say it's growing on me. So we've been out on the town cruising and we couldn't be happier with our decision!















And When Jack got home he got to go for a little spin too! The dealership even had a giftshop with a toy version of the same car. Needless to say, we got Jack a little car just like daddy's!