Our {Fake} Campout

Fall weather means it's time to spend as much of your life outside as you can! But being the technology junkies we are it means, moving things you love like Alabama football games and The Wizard of Oz outside with you.

Enter homemade drive in movie theater.

 

Here's how we did it, not rocket science. And it cost $0, because everything we needed we found around the house.

1 piece of plywood, laying in the attic. 1 white bed sheet, stuffed in a box in the attic. And a staple gun. That was our "screen"

Then I found hooks and metal rings in the basement that attached to the porch decking to hang the screen up.

Then we hooked up our projector to our laptop and voila!

And now that we have the set up, we are looking for every opportunity to get outside in nature and watch TV.

Like a kid's first "Wizard of Oz" experience!

 But this time I ramped up the outdoorsy experience. I added a fire pit, hotdogs on a stick and marshmallows for roasting! That's downright camping y'all. I mean, as long as you define camping as having a bed, blankets, access to a fridge, bathroom and wireless internet, right?

I think I earned a merit badge on this one, for reals.

It's Fall Y'all

It is finally October again. I love Fall, along with everyone else on the internet. The heat finally breaks, everyone gets outside, and you get to eat and drink every thing in pumpkin flavor.

But before we start instagramming our pumpkin beers and pumpkin lattes check out what the Kid President is trying to do this October...or should I say "Socktober!"

I know I know, get over Kid president already...but I dare you to watch this and not feel inspired and not have a grin on your face when the 4 minutes are up.

If you can watch this and you are annoyed when it is over, we can't be friends. I said it.

Happy Fall Y'all!

DIY:: Home Decorating

We are slowly but surely updating the decor in our home. You know how you just need a fresh look every once an awhile?!?!

So here's what we've done so far, some rooms are close to done, some rooms only have one step.

Bedroom:

Our bedroom got a fresh look using old ideas. We purchased a mid century modern bedroom set from an antique store and it made the room SOOO much better! Turns out giant furniture from the 21st century just doesn't fit a tiny room built in 1922. The lower profile furniture looks so much cleaner and the room looks more spacious!

So of course I don't have any before pictures cause I'm a great blogger like that. But here is our updated (vintage) bedroom:

Chest of Drawers

Side table ( I spy little lambs....)

Console Dresser

Still looking far a few wall accents for this room. But other than that it's done for now!

Next two rooms is just a sneak peak. The official revel will be by the end of September.

Here are some hints from what's happening in the dining room.

It may be a new color

New chairs are involved...

And some great new lamps

Up close

And a brand new, antique, china cabinet ( I spy missing French Doors)

This is what is so hard about decorating for me....it is a process. Unless you have A LOT of disposable income and you can just open a West Elm catalog and buy every piece in the room, it comes together pretty slowly. We have learned from some very gracious friends (hm hm Lara and Aaron) that it takes patience and "just trying it out" to find out what really fits in a room and what should be returned. Even if you have to return 18 curtain panels and an 8 x 10 rug.

So last set of sneak peak pics are of our guest bedroom, that may or may not contain our future Mid Century Modern buffet ( if my massive Art Deco monster ever sells on Craigslist, I'll move it to it's rightful place in the dining room). 

New bed and new bedspread

I spy a rug that needs returning!

So thats my horrible post about our decorating journey, that is far from finished. But we are beginning to see the end....

Happy Friday

Just cannot help but smile when I watch either of these videos today. Be Happy. Teach someone to be awesome.

Go Jump in a Lake

Norfork Lake that is. This Labor day weekend, that's what we did. And it was Wesley and I's first time ever. For her that makes sense, being that she's 4 and we don't live near a lake. But for me it was a little bit of a bigger deal.

See I'm not the bravest of people. I don't do heights, planes, open water, falling, roller coasters, or roaches to name a few things that send me over the edge. So jumping off a boat into open water that you cannot see through....a murky 100ft abyss that possibly had roaches.....Ok maybe I didn't think there were roaches, but still.

But here's the other side of it. I don't enjoy being a fearful person. I don't choose to lose control of the volume of my voice when I fly somewhere. I don't like having heart palpitations when swimming a few extra feet out at the beach. And therefore I certainly don't want Wee to get that from me. I want her to be safe, but not anxious. Anxiety is no fun.

And so I vowed to try new things at the lake and not be {openly} fearful.

Saturday morning we loaded up the boat and headed out. See how excited I am.

I actually did really enjoy being in the boat. Norfork Lake and the surrounding forrest and mountains are gorgeous. I could lay on the boat all day long. But about 30 mins in, the boat stopped and we dropped anchor and it was time to jump in. Moment of truth. The kids jumped right in. My sweet angel baby girl was in deep water without a care in the world. 

And that was what inspired me to jump. Not a conscious choice to just "stop being scared" which is what my husband wants me to do all the time. Nope, I just transferred my fear. I was more afraid of having my 4 year old in the water without me, then me being in the water. And so I jumped.

The day continued. Everyone swam, and tubed and lived. And the weekend was a success. I am currently scouring websites for cabin deals, and craigslist for boats. So I say, "go jump in a lake!" You just may have the time of your life.

What did you do for Labor Day? Have you ever tried something you were terrified of, just to fall in love with it? What will you do for your kids even though you hate it?

Family Fun Weekend

This weekend we were lucky enough to have out of town family visiting. Aunt Sue, from Birmingham, and Uncle Randy all the way from Ft. Lauderdale. Friday night we went to Overton Square and had a delicious dinner at Local and dessert at YoLo afterwards. Sorry no pics, we were busy eating crazy amazing bar fries.

Saturday all us girls met for lunch and a little pampering. And lucky for Wesley, her Sissy and Aunt Sue convinced me she should be included in this... So here are some shots from the nail salon.

I think she likes it!

Ridiculous and Adorable all at the same time.

Tiny Hands

Drying

Man it's hard work keeping up appearances!

After a quick nap, we got ready to meet back up with the whole family for dinner and catching up. And whole lot of storytelling. Man, that is my absolute favorite part. Especially as the "outsider" I love hearing all the stories from when Matt was little, or his Dad or Mom...anything. I find it all fascinating.
Needless to say, we had a wonderful time catching up. As you can tell from these snapshots.

Uncle Matt is hilarious!

This is Wesley trying to teach Olivia how to color.

She wouldn't cooperate, so she taped, with a bandaid, the crayon to her hand.

Birthday hugs for Aunt Sue before we go.

Don't forget sweet snuggles with Uncle Randy!

It was a great week and we miss you guys already!! 

First Day of School

Well it the day finally came. Wesley has started big school! Granted, she is in the preK room, so I tried not to get too sentimental because it's not kindergarten yet.... but it's still school. She is at my school this year and we have made a whole week. Which is a miracle, let me tell ya! I barely make it out the door with all I need everyday, and now there's two of us! Matt may have driven to Bartlett twice this week, already, to bring things for us. Thank goodness we have the most organized and patient husband/daddy ever!


Here are a few shots from our first day as a Singerella Sea Turtle (Class mascot).

First time she has ever been up and dressed by 6:50am!

Already sick of pictures and mommy just started.

Showing off her sea turtle necklace from Gamma.

Daddy drove her and walked her in the first day.

The eyes say make it stop people.

We're here!

Looking for our name.

Already busy, no tears, no big deal.

Schools out! The backpack is bigger than she is!

One more grin for Mom!

When we got home we realized the back to school fairy had visited! You know she only comes on the first day of school each year. The picture is really blurry because someone was just too excited to play with her princess present, and she was also D-O-N-E complying with the photographer.

How were your first days back? Everyone liking their new schools/teachers?