Scrapbook Saturday

Today, I am sharing some of my layouts.

I made this one about Mitchell and Emily's engagement months ago.

They are super busy with work and Mitchell going to school. So, they didn't have time to send me the story behind this. All I know was that they were in Ireland--Emily's parents own a home there.

This was one of my AYM layouts.

I love this layout and had so much fun making it. I cut the car, road trip title and the vintage car with my Cricut. This trip started the Thursday before Memorial weekend. We started at Morgan and Olly's in Bloomington, Illinois. 

The trip was 8 days long, so I divided the pages in to 8 sections--one for each day. Day one was Bloomington, Day two & three were St. Louis. After that, the rest of the days were Route 66. The insert with Cruisin' Route 66 added 2--6x12 pages.

I used my sewing machine to divide the last page in to 4--6" squares to represent 4 days. 

This page shows the other side of the insert which contains a pocket that holds our trip journal and extra photos. I used my labelmaker to add the states to the pages. We covered 6 states on this trip: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. We covered a lot of ground--it was so much fun.

I did this layout about our pool renovation for my AYM album. 

I included a picture of the stack of Ben & Jerries ice cream that my friends gave to Butch for getting the pool cleaned up and ready every week for us.

I also add the sweet "thank you" note that Susan included with the gift.

This layout is about the amazing thermal springs in Costa Rica at our fancy resort.

It was so lush and beautiful--truly "heaven on earth!" I would love to go back there.

Friday Funnies

Ten Things Thursday

Have I ever mentioned that setting the table is my favorite thing? Today, let's look at some beautiful--BLUE--table settings. 

1. I love this outdoor setting, but never do it myself. I do not want to deal with bugs and flies! 

At one point, I had planned to collect these blue vintage dishes. I have a few things, but never really bought much. I do love it--especially paired with yellow. Love the blue wine glasses, placemats and even how the napkin is folded. The hydrangeas are the perfect subtle floral.

2. OMGosh! This beauty table--so darn cute! I have some pretty peachy plates at the beach, but not all of the accompanying accessories. I'd love to set a beautiful table like this--but probably won't. It's usually just us when we go down and it's more about quick and easy!

Love the centerpiece down to the detail of the plump seagull sitting on the arm. Love the napkin holders. I could see putting a little votive candle on the chairs at the top of the plate.

3. OMGosh! Love, love, love the turquoise! It reminds me of having tea at Fortnum and Mason in London!

Love the pearls--such an elegant touch. But the ones in the wine goblets look to be loose. What a pain--what do you do with them while serving wine or water? Love the tablecloth--so much! The centerpiece--teapot dripping in pearls is exquisite!

4. This one is fun.

Love the "joyful" as part of the centerpiece. Love the houses and the flowers.

5. Such a pretty table setting.

Love the mixture of the green and blue with the yellow accents.

6. I think what drew me to this one was the blue liquid in the crystal glasses.

Don't know what it is, but it sure sets off this table.

7. This one isa beautiful everyday setting.

Love that tablecloth--always a fan of blue and green!

8. Another turquoise. Pretty in the outdoors.

These plates look like they can be melamine. Love the bird plates--and those cute milk bottle with the straws. I've never seen those before.

9. Another beachy scene for the east coast.

Love the table runner, simple centerpiece and candleholders. But my favorite here is the pearl handled silverware. Reminds me of seashells.

10. Another beauty scene with an anchor theme.

It's so much fun to me to take a decorative plate and use it as a jumping off point for the entire table! Who would have thought? Love it all.

Okay, now for my favorite--drum roll--number---

ONE with #FOUR as a runner-up. I might not love bugs or flies, but I do love outdoor tables!!

In fact, one of my most favorite activities when we were in Africa was the elegant outdoor lunch upon our arrival to our final resort. A scene from "Out of Africa!"

There was a chill in the air, so they had African blankets for us at every place.

So beautiful! And the food was delicious too! This was a great way to arrive!

And, in honor of Dolly Parton--one last table setting featuring dinnerware designed by her!

I love this so much--dedicated to her Imagination Library! I'll miss Dolly for sure! She's one I never got to see in concert. Butch has placed a cache at the Dolly Parton Truck Stop in June. As it turns out, when she made a surprise appearance at the grand opening, that was her last public appearance. 

Rest in peace, Dolly!

What I Buy Wednesday...

So, today this post is more about what we've saved rather than spent.

We've been having a problem with our fancy, schmancy, expensive sink sprayer.

Lately, it's been "sticking"--when you think you've pressed the button to turn it off, it doesn't press--keeping the sprayer on. We've made a mess more times than I can count. Butch realized that if you gently tap the sprayer on the side of the sink, it will pop up and disengage. That's been working for awhile now--although it's so hard to press, I can hardly get it to work.

Well, over the weekend, he was unable to get the sprayer to turn off. He ended up taking the entire thing apart--knowing that it might not be a good idea. But, I've said it before and I'll say it again. The guy can do anything!!! 

He said there were so many parts inside, he was afraid he might not be able to get it back together. He found what the problem was--a spring had rusted through. He went right to his little drawer full of springs. Who has a drawer full of springs? And where the heck did they come from? I swear, he saves and has everything. Unfortunately, amidst all the springs he has, none were the right size. Instead, he made his own!

The paperclip is just to show the scale. He had the right size wire. His homemade spring worked like a charm. He's not sure how long it will last, but for now, it's working! This little fix of his has saved us a decent amount of bucks rather than having to buy a whole new faucet system--because, of course, I would have to have it all match!

Yay for us! So instead of spending on this Wednesday, we've actually saved something!

Tuesday Thoughts About...

I've posted about being from a big family before. You might recall a couple of those posts:

What I learned growing up in a big family:

https://barbaraeads.blogspot.com/search?q=you+own+nothing+in+a+big+family

Today's post is a little more of #1 in the above post. First of all, here is my First Communion Prayer book (referenced in the above post) that my sister, Jennifer wrote her name in--with a red crayon:

That's my prayer book on the left. The one on the right belonged to my mom. I have no idea who even wants these. 

Here's where she wrote her name. I put a picture of me with my god-parents--Uncle Wes and Aunt Marie--in the book. I was not happy that Jennifer wrote in my book!

I came across this the other day as I was cleaning out stuff.

It's a "get well" card from my grandma Z. The funny thing about this is that she lived in Barnhart, MO--we called it "the country." It was about an hour and a half from St. Louis where we lived. It took a couple days to get mail to and from there. What's so crazy about this is that I most likely would have been back to school by the time I got this card--wishing me well!

My grandma sent me cards and letters all the time. When I was looking at this, I noticed something, so I opened it up--only to find that Jennifer was at it again!

This time, she wrote her name on the inside of my card!! Like I said, when you grow up in a large family, you own nothing!! Everybody messes with your stuff!

Here's another post you might find to be fun!

Bullying used to begin at home:

https://barbaraeads.blogspot.com/2017/11/bullying-used-to-begin-at-home.html

Okay, until tomorrow...

Me on Monday

So! I'm at the beach with my girlfriends for the next week. 6 of us from 72 to nearly 78. We've seen and done it all--mostly together!! So far, this is what's happened:

*Someone fell on the way to the rental car. She's fine--two skinned up knees, it was the heavy Coca Cola cake she was carrying that knocked her off balance. Luckily, the cake is okay!!

*I am determined that I am not going to be in charge.

*I'm just going to go along with everyone.

*But then, something so simple as going over the grocery list becomes a big mess--everyone talking at the same time, asking questions, not understanding the spread sheet Pam made. I just had to take over and go about it in an organized manner. So much for not being in charge.

*Still we managed to miss a few things on the grocery list.

*I am the boss of the tv because no one else can work it.

*Someone has a nightmare--I gently woke her. 

 

*One person "toots" whenever she makes a move.

*Another "toots" in bed! Guess who gets to sleep with her?

*3 of us went to the beach, 3 of us didn't--way too hot.

*Turns out a couple of us grabbed chairs from the wrong storage unit--but they did return them.

*Someone had to go for more sour cream because somehow we messed up the quantity. 

*Some people are hooked on a puzzle.

*Some of us are watching some interesting Peacock show about Doctor Death.

*Many of us are having either gin & tonics or vodka tonics. That definitely makes for a "happy" happy hour!!

*We all enjoyed a beautiful sunset--at least those of us who could actually see it!

*One of us falls asleep at any movie. And snores!

*One person lost her Ray Bans. She's really "bummed"!

I guess that's about it for the first two days! More to come!!

Scrapbook Saturday

These are AYM layouts from a couple weeks ago. Our theme this year is all about house.

This first layout was an extra from Susan.