Ten Things Thursday

I always love these "before and after" houses. 

I like that they added more dimension to this little house by adding peaks to the roof. The heighth allows it to hold its own with the neighbor's house.

I'm not really sure they did anything new to this house that was eaten by its landscaping. It looks like they just cut all the greenery away. If you look close at the before, there seems to be another part to the house that doesn't appear to be in this picture. 

White freshens up anything! I do like the new front doors and porch cover. The upper balcony was totally wasted. Not really a place where you would sit outside.

I'm so glad they kept the porch. I'm assuming you get to it from inside the house. I guess you can just walk to it from the front door, but that seems odd.

Do you drive in and park at the front door? I like the looks, but wouldn't like cars parked there.

I wish they'd show the longer view. I'd like to see what they did with the rest of the yard. The porch was the best addition.

This one is very striking. The porch and white paint make all the difference.

I'm not sure how I feel about this one. It's been updated, but I would have preferred that they left the porch. 

This looks like the most darling cottage! What a huge improvement!

Love the addition of the little guest house in the back. And I love the porch, but there's a significant problem with it. You cannot swing or you'll break the window!

This one probably makes the most impact. It's the little house that grew up! I don't ordinarily like this somewhat contemporary style, but here, it makes all the difference. I love the cute, little, well-manicured yard. Overall, this is my favorite. And of course, I love the white!

What I Buy Wednesday

I knew this would be a perfect thing to blog about. But then, time got away from me and I didn't get it done. So, here it is today.

Well, this is a crazy purchase. But first, the story. 

Years ago, I purchased dozens of stamps from Stampin' Up. My niece and sister-in-law sold them. Many of my friends invested in stamps too. We even started a "stamp club" where we got together and made hundreds of cards. We each took turns designing something and then we all made them. 

That ended--probably 20 years ago. Many of us still have a lot of stamps. I actually donated a couple shopping bags full to the art department at Overbrook School where my girls went. I kept quite a few to use in my scrapbooks. But, the truth is, I rarely have used them in my scrapbooking. 

So, fast forward to last week. I was at my new hair stylist's. She had a table set up with--you guessed it--Stampin' Up stamps. Some were new and some were used. She sold them for $2.00 a set--super bargain. I knew that I didn't need them, but I am a sucker for a good bargain! I bought 3 sets. I already put them away. But I kept this one set out because I knew that if I didn't type up the words included I would never use it. 

I would never take the time to see what words were included. 

This makes it much simpler to use. Now, I need to make using it a priority. That's when I decided that this $6.00--total-- purchase would be the perfect "What I Buy Wednesday" post! 

I'm determined to use them and then post a picture to prove it!!

What I Buy Wednesday

I did not buy this:

I wasn't even tempted. I came across this on another blog that I follow. These are lighter covers. What? Who needs a lighter cover? Here's the "kicker"--they are $85 each! 85 bucks--insane. I cannot believe this blogger paid that! She must have money to burn! Literally.

Travel Tuesday

So, this past weekend, the whole family was in town. Well, almost all of them--just 14. Mitchell and Emily were in Italy for a wedding and Greg and Graham had to work.

It was a busy, yet fun weekend. Cassidy was so good! She didn't mind being passed around at all. It was hot, so we spent a lot of time in the pool. Her time was very limited as babies cannot have sunscreen until they are 6 months old. She's only two months old. 

I cannot post photos of her, but I have a couple things that are pretty cute:

Two month old baby hand versus a 74 year old one!

After the first day, I was gathering towels to wash. I found Cassidy's tiny swim suit hanging on the doorknob, so I moved it next to a full size suit so you could see the contrast. 

So, darn cute!! Speaking of towels, I figure that I did 66 of them over the course of three days! After the pool, everyone needed a shower--so those towels are included too. Not complaining--there's nothing easier than towels. It's just about the numbers--I'm always counting things. Part of my obsessive tendencies. 

Morgan and Olly had planned to have a pool party on Sunday with their friends. She told me that there would be about 25 including a lot of kids. That caused me to have a nightmare! 

I dreamt that on Sunday morning, the doorbell rang at 7:30 a.m. There were 3 couples and 8 kids standing there. I greeted them nicely--although not very happy about it--and let them in. The kids took off tearing around the house! That party wasn't to start until 11:30! I was about to have a heart attack and that's when I woke up! Whew!

As it turned out, they had to cancel the party due to rain. There was a bit of nice weather, but several rain showers throughout the day. It was a good call! Plus, we were ready to just have a chill day! 

Butch and I are doing a little road trip next Saturday to Lynnville, TN for the "blackberry festival." 

You can bet I'll be having some cobbler!

Steph will be having a pool party here, so that's a good time to be gone!!

Monday Mystery

I haven't had a Monday Mystery in a very long time. This is a good one!!

A couple weeks ago, Butch found this in the front yard:

It was in the grass near the driveway--but on the passenger side. We couldn't think of where it came from or who could have lost it. Then I remembered that 4 of the neighborhood kids came by to sell me bouncy balls the day before. Long story short, I bought $10.00 worth. I didn't give them a hundred dollar bill. But, I had a thought about 10 yr. old boys. One of them could have gotten it for their birthday and thought it was fun to carry it around!

I texted my neighbor to find out if her son or his friends had lost any money? She got back to me and said that they hadn't. She said that I made their day by purchasing the balls. Okay, that was a dead end.

I wracked my brain to think who could have lost it. There was a guy that came by that wanted to inspect my roof. I turned him away. Even if he dropped it, I have no way of tracking him down. 

I've come to the conclusion that it must have blown from somewhere else. Although it will remain a mystery, it's definitely a nice find for us!!

This falls in line about what I've always said about Butch and money: he likes earning it, saving it, winning it and finding it! 

Scrapbook Saturday

This is my "Memories by the Month" for April. All the highlights!

Jeanne's AYM layout about her sauna.

Nancy's patio layout.

Susan's Patio and Backyard layout for AYM.

Friday Funnies