Bring on the bangle

Summer is in full swing and one of my favorite things about the summer in terms of fashion 

are showing off a little arm accented with some great bangle bracelets.

Here are a few I've been scouting out lately from the magical land of Etsy.

Love me some copper

{1}

big, bold, and beautiful

{2}

gorgeous horn

{3}

love the intricate focal

{4}

 

sweet and delicate

{5}

birch trees are my favorite

{6}

flirty fringe makes wearing this fun

 {7}

1.Christina Steward

2. William Morris

3. quecraft

4. Frosted Willow

5. ADelicateWorld

6. RosellaResin

7. btmbeadworks

Which one is your favorite?

Go on....bare those arms and embellish those wrists!

Summer Eats

I've been pinning like crazy lately and figured it's high time 

I actually make some of the things I pin.
(see my side bar to follow me on Pinterest, I'd love to follow back)

I thought these would be great for summer with all sorts of picnics and get-togethers coming up.  

Now I just need to decide which one to make first!

Pinterest via: source

Chicken can get kind of boring so I'm always looking for new recipes to keep things interesting.

This one looks simple....my middle name.

Pinterest via: source

 Seems like avacado is the food of choice right now. 

Everywhere I look there are recipes or sales on them at the store.  

I think this recipe looks unique and delicious.

Pinterest via: source

I adore zucchini, pretty much in any form.

Pinterest via: source

 You can't go wrong with cheese, just look at that ooey-gooey goodness!

Pinterest via: source

This grape salad looks like the perfect refreshing summer dessert, sign me up!

I tend to fly by the seat of my pants, trying new recipes when it's time to contribute to a party.  

Hubsy doesn't necessarily think it's wise of me to experiment on others :)

How about you?  

Do you like to experiment or do you have a 

go-to recipe you use for summer picnics?

Thank you to everyone who expressed sympathy on my last post, 

it really is so appreciated!

Good-bye's are just so damn hard

My pretty girl at my Dad's farm. Look at that gorgeous Boxer stance :)

I've been a bit MIA in blogland lately.  It's been a rough two weeks that culminated in a very hard good-bye on Wednesday afternoon.  My sweet Sienna girl has gone to be with the Lord.

I know pets have different meaning to different people but to me Sienna was my first "child" and it is so hard to accept that she is gone.  Two weeks ago we had a normal healthy dog, at least we thought.

We went for a visit to my Dad and Stepmother's farm and she tore her ACL while chasing one of their cats.  Given her age (10yrs which is pretty old for her breed), it just couldn't take the activity I guess.  We took her to the vet where they confirmed the diagnosis.  Surgery would be $2500, it was out of the question for us financially.  We were advised that there was a good chance that the same thing would happen to her other leg now that it had to bear all her weight.  Bad news certainly but Sienna didn't seem to mind using only 3 legs too much. Even though my heart ached for her to not be able to run or climb steps I thought we had some more time.  I was prepared to baby her for some time yet :)

Then the next weekend we went on a camping trip but she was not eating (was drinking though) and started to throw up a few times.  This was not necessarily out of the ordinary for her.  She often does not eat or drink normally when we are on a trip but will seriously wolf down once we get home.  She still would not eat when we got home and the vomiting was getting a little worse.  We went to the vet for an injection to help stop the vomiting.  By the time we got there, she would not even move much, she was totally wiped out.  Thankfully the vet tech that was going to give her the injection recognized that she was worse off than they thought and called the vet in to look at her.  

They immediately put her on an IV for fluids and gave her the injection.

The vet said if it was just a dehydration issue, we could expect to see an improvement by the morning but she still may not want to eat for a day or so.  He did caution us that given her breed is extremely susceptible to all sorts of diseases, we could be looking at a much more serious issue.  We did not have a good feeling about it but just prayed for a miracle.  

The next morning I went to take her out and she could barely move and was very wobbly.  Needless to say this was definitely not an improvement.  We decided to give it a few more hours and then call the vet.  Things got progressively worse and we knew it was time to end her suffering.  She was essentially beyond help, to find out what was wrong would require more tests to be done and too much time she didn't have.  I made the appointment so I could take her after work.  It was really important for me to be there with her to the end.  Not long after, Hubsy called with a new development and was afraid she would not make it that long.  If I wanted to be with her, I needed to get home.   It was so very hard to see her suffering like that.  I was blessed to get the appointment moved up several hours and I was indeed with her to her last breath.

I'm having a pretty tough time with the loss.  

Like I said she was our first child, the first thing that made Hubsy and I start to feel like a family.   She was rescued by the Humane Society in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Laurinburg NC and became our baby in the summer of 2002.  She has seen me through two pregnancies, never leaving my side during those hard months of morning sickness.  She always just "knew" when I needed her.  For me, Sienna was like a physical manifestation of God's loving presence.  She was always there, a peaceful presence amongst the craziness of life, ready to give complete and undying affection.  The loss of that presence has left me heartbroken.

She had a good life.

 And a long one.

 And was very happy and healthy up until the last week or so which I am extremely grateful for.  

She was a gentle playmate to my boys and an irreplaceable joy to Hubsy and me.

She will always have my heart and I can't wait to see her running to greet me in heaven....

smile on her face, tongue hanging out, and ears flapping in the wind.  

Goodbye sweet Sienna girl..

*I needed to write this as part of my own grieving process.  

Thank you for listening.  I'll be back to more uplifting posts soon I promise.

A moment like that

Have you ever had a moment when an image or memory just hits you square in the chest?

image via

Here I sit at my computer with tears stinging my eyes and a lump in my throat.

All from a simple song lyric.

Corn fields swaying, clothes on the line
Tumbleweed is a turnin like the hands of time
"Sugarland" by Sugarland

I don't know why it hit me but it did.

I instantly had a flash of walking under the clothes on our clothesline as a kid and feeling 

the fabrics run gently over my raised arms.  

I could hear the quiet, and the birds.

See the sun in the sky with just a few clouds here and there. 

Feel the gentle breeze and the fabric, and smell the country air.  

It brought such a yearning my heart actually hurts a little bit.

A yearning for my childhood.

The house I grew up in.

Our family unit before my parents got divorced.

Wow, it was powerful.

You see I had a wonderful childhood.  I grew up on a 3-acre spread of land out in the country.  My dad was a banker and my mom was a nurse.  My sister and I attended Catholic school "in town".  I had my own room with shag yellow carpet.  Well it was the '80's after all and yellow was my favorite color :)  

Our summer days were spent playing with our neighbor boys that were near our ages, 

building forts in the woods, fishing in their pond, and petting the horses.  

I may have punched one of them in the gut for trying to kiss my sister but that is beside the point :)

And on the weekends we played all day with our cousins that lived close by.  I'm talking about 11 or more of us total.  Running around outside, playing on the trails,
and swimming in my grandparents pool.  

We had a garden and a German Shepard.  I even got to mow the lawn on the tractor which I thought was fun back then. We always had a real Christmas tree that we would plant in the backyard when Christmas was over.  My sister and I would sit in front of the oven and sing songs while my mom made cookies and pretended our reflection was us on television. 
We rented movies when the VCR first came out.  

We watched Solid Gold (I wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer when I grew up - 

boy what happened to that one?)

We had a boat and went camping and boating and fishing all the time.

It was simple.  It was joyful.  It was mine.

And God do I miss it sometimes :)

New to the Shop - Book bling (Plus a chance at FREE Jewelry!)

Got a new summer read your itching to get your hands on?  

Don't spoil it with a crumpled up scrap piece of paper as your bookmark.  

You need to get you some book bling :)  

A great story deserves it!

And my new Book Bling Bookmarks happen to be new to the Shop this week!

Talk about the stars aligning :)

Fossil Coral Bookmark

Mabolo Wood and "Turquoise" Bookmark

Amber Glass and Flourite Bookmark

I also have my first giveaway today!

Head on over to The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart to enter.  

Oh.  And be sure to follow along with Miss Ruthie,
she has a heart on fire for God, a hilarious poochie, 

and all sorts of awesome goings-on.  

You DON'T want to miss out :)

You know you have boys when...

Dirt and rocks are the preferred way to pass the time, anywhere.

Squeezing any condiment container brings on a fit of giggles.  You know....."the" sound :)

A clean house is an automatic alert to go into destruction mode...immediately.

You are always tripping over some sort of vehicle on the floor.

Words like butt, underwear, and poop are uttered multiple times daily.

God is thanked for waterguns during nightly prayers.

You walk outside to find your 3yr old with his pants around his ankles (for the whole neighborhood to see) peeing on a tree because "he had to go".  Totally logical.

You have mini-defenders of your honor at all times.

You are told you are as pretty as the sunset.

You're told they don't want to marry anyone but you :) 

aaah if only it would stay that way! 

I love having my little men.
I adore their boyishness, most of the time, unless a situation calls for them to sit still because 
that . just. ain't. gonna. happen.


Raising two boys is unfamiliar territory, I don't have any brothers, but it certainly brings new joys
 with it everyday, and a whole lot of humor.

They are definitely one of my favorites :) 

finding joy

Life rearranged

New to the shop - Pretty in Pink

I'm so excited to be adding some new designs to my Etsy Shop!

Feast you eyes on Pretty in Pink

A 36" long necklace with a fun delicate beauty.  

Pink is not really my color, doesn't look good on my skin tone,

but I love it so I satisfy my need with some pink accessories :)

I'm absolutely in love with this one.

Some great pairings for pink include...

Chocolate

Aqua

Buttercream

Olive

Just have fun with it and feel utterly "Pretty in Pink"!

Interview with a Dad & a Sale

I recently saw a wonderful little interview series that Lisa is doing at Lisa Leonard Blog to celebrate fatherhood and I thought "I'd really love to hear what my own husband has to say".

So I asked him :)

1.  What is something you love about being a dad?
Just looking at my boys everyday.

2.  What is one of your proudest moments of being a dad?
I have lots of them.  Every time I see one of them learn a new skill/discover something new 
or express happiness.

3.  What did you learn from your dad that you want to pass on to our boys?
How to take care of things and not have to rely on others. My Dad taught me how to fix things around the house, work on cars, change oil, etc...

4.  What have you learned from your kids?
To find the good in simple things and have patience. Both of which I am still learning from them.

5.  What is one of your funniest dad moments? 
 Potty training our boys.  We would "house break" them naked outside on our deck.  There's something about the fresh air and being naked that seems to help push things along.  Plus boys just love peeing on plants/trees. 

So there you have it, straight from me Hubsy's mouth :)


Love that man!  He is a wonderful dad to our two boys.  Firm when necessary but loving always.  He never ceases to go out of his way to make our kids happy.  If he can do some small thing to bring a smile to their faces you better believe he's gonna do it.

Since Father's Day is fast approaching I thought I'd run a little sale for that special dad in your life.  

Be it you own dad, your husband or any other special "dad' you may want to celebrate.  They play such an important role in all our lives and deserve a little something special don't ya think?

So from June 5th to June 12th, I'll be offering 20% off my Unisex designs in my Etsy Shop.

Lucky you :)

Mabolo Wood Necklace

Wood Agate Necklace

Just enter coupon code "DAD2012" when checking out.

Happy Father's Day to all the loving 
and encouraging dad's out there!