I'm Still Here... House Update and Vacation Highlights

Hi everyone!  Wow, has it been a wild ride!  We moved in to our new house on July 11th, also Ava's 7th birthday!  We had just two days to unpack before making our trip to San Francisco, celebrating my cousin getting married!  We enjoyed five days there, trying to cram in as much as we could!  

We went to Roaring Camp in Felton, CA and rode up to Bear Mountain in an old steam train. 

The kids loved it, especially Tyler!  

We experienced The Mystery Spot, a weird place up in the California Redwoods that will mess with your head and your stomach!

Walked the beach in Santa Cruz and rode rides at the 

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk & Amusement Park...

Took the kids to the Steinhart Aquarium at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco...

Drove over the Golden Gate Bridge on a beautiful California day!

We did ALOT of sightseeing while we were there.
Here is a roadside view of the ocean in Half Moon Bay, I was not expecting it to be so chilly there!
100 degree weather in Arkansas... 50's and 60's in CA!

I turned around and had this view...  Just breathtaking!  

On our last night there, we enjoyed dinner with family in Mill Valley.  It was fun catching up and talking about the beautiful wedding, Congratulations to Danielle and Michael!  

It was one of the most elegant weddings I've ever been to!  

So now that we're home from our much needed vacation... let me just say... much progress has been made!    A part of me was glad to be home, after all, it's fun to "play house," especially when it's a new one!  All of the boxes are emptied, broken down and almost everything is in it's place... for now.  I've been shuffling things around quite a bit, which is the fun part, right?  Finding just the right place for everything.  I have more storage than I know what to do with.  There are several cabinets that are still empty, give it time, they'll be full before I know it!

As far as a new email address goes, this blog is still linked to my old one in Texas.  I'm currently working on getting things updated, so if I don't get to your message, I'm not ignoring you!  For those of you that have had to make updates due to a move, any advice for making those changes would be much appreciated!

Hope all is well with everyone!  I've missed you and have a lot of catching up to do here in blogland!

PLEASE NOTE:
Pictures are courtesy of the locations website:
Roaring Camp Railroads
Steinhart Aquarium
The Mystery Spot
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk & Amusement Park  

Ch-Ch-Changes! We're Moving!

Hi everyone!  Thanks for checking up on me.  I didn't expect to be away for so long!
To say things have been crazy around here would be a HUGE understatement!  

In mid April, we began praying about making changes for our family.  After much thought and prayer, we have decided to move to Central Arkansas.  Hubby works from home, so we are blessed to live anywhere, really.  We had a few things to fix up before listing... stain the fence, stretch the carpets, get them cleaned, just to name a few.  Once all of that was taken care of, we were able to put our house on the market in early May.  We had several showings and were pleased with the activity the house was receiving.
On Day 12 of being on the market, we received an offer!
Whoa!  We were not expecting this to happen so quickly!  God is good!

SOLD!!!
It's been exciting to look for a new home and often frustrating too.  We've missed out on a few that we really loved, but we now know that was Gods way of telling us to be patient.  On our third trip to Arkansas, we found one last weekend that fits our family perfectly!  It is actually one we saw on our first trip to view homes.  We decided to add it to the list one more time, there was just something about it.
After spending a total of 2.5 hours (over the course of the weekend) looking at all the details, we put an offer in and it was accepted a few hours later!  Thank you, Jesus!  

The front of it reminds us of our TX home.  

One of my favorite features about this house... the laundry room is UPSTAIRS!!!  

I am SO excited about this, as I despise laundry, especially toting it up and down the stairs!  

Another favorite feature (there are several) is my long awaited WHITE kitchen!

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I've been "dreaming" of a white kitchen for some time now.  Hubby and I had plans of transforming ours in TX, but God had other ideas!

The house has TONS of built-ins, so I can't wait to organize and accessorize!

SURPRISE!  This explains my long absence.  I'll be absent a bit longer as we purge, pack and press on to our new home.  We hope to be moved in by early July.  What about you?  Do you have changes going on in your family?  Please share!  I'd love to hear what you've been up to!  

Hope you're having a great summer!

Joining the party at:

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

The Versatile Blogger Award

Yesterday, Cynthia @ Simply Chic Treasures awarded Sweet Ava Kate with the Versatile Blogger Award.   Thank you, Cynthia!  

Here are the RULES for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1.  Add the award to your blog.

2.  Thank the blogger who presented it to you.

3.  Mention seven random things about yourself.  (see below)

4.  List the rules.

5.  Pass the award onto 10 bloggers.

6.  Inform each blogger that they received the award by leaving them a comment on their blog.

Seven Random Things About Myself:

1.  I used to be a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator, but then painting, sewing and blogging took over.  

2.  I have two younger brothers.

3.  I'm the daughter of an identical twin.

4.  I met my husband on a blind date.

5.  I'm a christian.

6.  I played the flute in the high school marching band.  Our band was asked to play in the Fiesta Bowl Parade in Phoenix, AZ (1994) and also the Disney Characters Parade in California (1992).

7.  I have a Social Work Degree from Northeastern State University - Tahlequah, OK.

I have chosen these 10 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award:

Angie @ Flibbertigibberish

Angie @ Beneath the Magnolias

Kari @ A Grace Full Life

Cailan @ Everyday Lovely

Susan @ Mad Sky Designs

Laura @ Elegant Nest

Shannon @ Vintage Restyled

Megan @ Our Pinteresting Family

Jenny @ Days of Chalk and Chocolate

Mimi @ Blue Roof Cabin

I Think I May Have a Problem...

I LOVE Target... a little too much!  I can't seem to stay away from their clearance sections lately.  I've found some real goodies the past few weeks and have accumulated quite a collection of fixer-uppers and future project materials.

  Aren't they great?  I paid no more than $13.98 for one item.  I'm talking steals here! 

Here's the list of what I purchased and the price I paid...

Floral Shower Curtain:  Was $19.99 - Now $13.98...  I don't really consider this a great bargain, but I've had my eye on it for a while and it was the last one.

Gray Scroll Shower Curtain:  Was $19.99 - Now $5.98

Oval Bird Print:  $19.99 - Now $5.98 (had some chips and dings, but I have plans...)

Small Oval Metal Frame:  $11.99 - Now $3.58 (tiny chip in the glass, can't even tell)

Butterfly Vase:  Was $19.99 - Now $5.98

Gray Glass Tray:  Was $19.99 - Now $9.98

So excited about these finds!  Here is what I plan to do with them...

Floral Shower Curtain - I love this fabric!  I plan to sew pillows for Ava's bedroom makeover and use for other small projects.

Gray Scroll Shower - Make horizontal striped panels with drop cloth fabric for master bedroom closet window.

Oval Bird Print - I hope to create a gallery wall in Ava's room and the shape is perfect, who cares if it's a little distressed!  :)

Small Oval Metal Frame -  A little spray paint and I think this frame would make for a sweet silhouette, don't you?

Gray Glass Tray - Just picked this one up today (along with the floral curtain).  I almost walked away from this one, but then I saw another lady walking out with one and I bolted over to where they were.

On the way home, it dawned on me that I could use it in my gray and yellow office and bring the white one (that was also a bargain at $4.98, btw) upstairs to use in the master.

Butterfly Vase - This was the best one out of the other two I had to pick from.  It's missing half a wing, but I think using Centsational Girl's tutorial on making a clay petal vase will make her look like new again!

Have you been scoring good deals at Tar-jay?  Do you scour the aisles for red stickers?  

I think I may need to stay away for awhile, I have plenty to keep me busy!
Who am I kidding?  Staying away from that place is impossible! 

Come back soon to see what I'm doing with these letters and moss.  

Some of you may already know, as I've seen this repinned on my Pinterest!  :)

If you've read this post all the way to the end, you'll be happy to know I'm having my first giveaway when I reach 100 followers!  Have a great day!

I'm linking up to:
Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Easter Highlights

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!  We spent ours in Oklahoma with my parents, brother and SIL.
Thought it'd be fun to share some highlights of our (never long enough) weekend...

Egg dyeing with Gigi!  We used white crayon to highlight our designs.  

Ava decorated them by writing our names!

The kids discovering their baskets before heading out for Sunday service.  

The Easter Bunny tried to be practical!  

The day wouldn't be complete without an Easter Egg Hunt!

Ava found the Golden Egg!

Always good times with Uncle Kevin!

A long overdue family picture.  I can't remember the last time we took a decent one!
This is a framer for sure!  Hope yours was wonderful!  Check back soon, I've got some projects to share!