Mirror Mirror On The Wall

I found this mirror at a yardsale a few weeks ago. Score! It was brown and was in good shape. You can't tell by my great photography skills but it has beveled glass. It was a bargain for $3. 

I decided that my 3 granddaughters who share 1 room needed a mirror. I wanted it placed low where they could stand in front of it.  They love to play dress up and well, just stand in front of a mirror and smile. 

I remember doing that when I was a little girl, now I just stand in front of the mirror and sigh. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.

Back to the mirror, so I painted the frame green to match their room color.  I free-handed a princess on the glass and did some dot, dot, dot, squiggle, squiggles around the outer edge. They love anything and everything to do with princesses. Not a great Iphone picture but you get the idea.

I don't know if you are familiar with Francis Chan. He is one of my favorite preachers. I found this quote & I it really makes me evaluate myself.

thanksgiving (con't)

23. lunch with mom & dad

24. no storms

25. peace

26. growing garden

27. date with Mark

I'm linking with Kristen's Creations & From My Front Porch To Yours

Best Ribs Ever

Whew! It was a close call. I was outside eating the ribs that Mark "the Grill Master" smoked. I took my first bite and realized that it would not be fair to the world to not share his finger licking good rub recipe.

I dropped my plate and ran inside to get a picture because I knew they weren't going to be around long.

I was correct. When I got to the kitchen this was all that remained.

They are like no other. They are better than anything I've ever tasted. Pure delight. Heaven. Ecstasy, ok maybe I'm getting carried away (but not to far, I tell ya.)

Here's his recipe:

2 C brown sugar

2 T garlic powder

2 T onion powder

2 T black pepper

1 T salt

2 T chili powder

2 T cumin powder

4 T paprika

cayenne pepper to taste

That's it, mix it all together in a bowl and rub it on anything you can. He let's it marinate for about an hour before throwing it on the smoker. This recipe makes a lot so I put the remainder in a ziplock until another day, which will probably be pretty soon.


Did someone say slumber party?

This is the last week of school in our county (squeal). I have many plans for around our house. To begin with, I'm going to empty my craft room and begin painting the dark blue walls. Any bets on how many coats it's going to take? Put me down for 1 primer & two coats of paint. I'm looking into putting a twin bed in there and making it a guest room too. It's oddly shaped so who know's what I'll end up with. I need a place for guests.
I will keep you posted on how it goes.
Have a happy day!

Tropical Storm Beryl

Beryl made landfall in Fernandina about 8:00 Sunday evening. 

We decided to drive over and see the ocean before it hit. Two mighty forces of nature, water & wind treated us to some incredible sights. 

The sand was blowing so hard that you couldn't stand out there. We found shelter behind a restaurant and got some pictures which can't compare to seeing it with your own eyes.

As we were driving off, we spotted a rainbow. I jumped out of the car to try to capture it with my camera. You can barely see it in the picture below.

We live about 30 miles from the ocean so we made it home safe and sound before it found it's way to our house. We lost the power from about 11:00 pm and it finally came back on around 4 am. Thank you Lord for air conditioning!

I love the promise of the rainbow.

I also love where God continually reminds me that no matter what comes my way, He is in control and I don't need to worry or be afraid.

Matthew 8:24-27

 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

YoHo! The Pirates Life For Me

Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. -Life on the Mississippi

Arrg! Captain Elijah turned 4! Isn't his "arrg" face the 

sweetest?!

It was an absolutely perfect day for having

 a pirate pool party.

All the family & friends gathered to celebrate the big day. The party began with a treasure hunt. Maps in hand, swords, hats & eye patches prepared the kids for their endeavor of finding the treasure. 

After much clever searching and even fighting off some evil pirates, the loot was found and evenly shared among the children.

(regrettably my camera didn't go on the treasure hunt)

Mark carved this amazing watermelon.

These cute cupcake picks and wrappers I found on another blog. The best part is they are free and you can download them by clicking here.

The treat bags were filled with all the things a pirate might need. 

We covered every table with red or black felt and I cut out some skulls & crossbones which we strategically used throughout.

I decided to make this photo-op the day before the party. It is very easy but hopefully the next one I do will be more properly proportioned bodies with the head. Ha!

Can you find the pirate ship?

Of course, Pirate Mickey had to make his appearance.

This pirate ship was a hit with the kids.

Do you think she could be a pirate?
Trust me, you don't want to mess with her. 


It was great to be with all the family and friends to celebrate our sweet Elijah's 4th birthday. He is so special and shows his thankfulness for every little detail. It's a pleasure to give to him.

The average man will bristle if you say his father was dishonest, but he will brag a little if he discovers that 
his great-grandfather was a pirate.

American Idol

Yeah! Phillip Phillips won American Idol!

Yes, I did vote for him about a 1000 votes 

through the last couple months.

Question is... what am I going to watch now? 

The Hatfields and McCoys start sometime this month and I think it may be interesting.

All the shows that I love are reruns right now.

Actually, I'm kinda glad because maybe I can get some things done around here.

I find lately that I've been pretty uninspired in my little craft world and it could be because I've been caught up in all the amazing finales of my favorite TV shows. I sound so lame.

I love gardening and dirt and hoeing. 

I have the caluses to prove it. 

Let's talk about my garden. It's just not as happy as I'd like it to be.

It is alive but not very impressive. My tomatoes look pretty good but my peppers and squash are slow to go. I have some watermelon planted and I'm hoping for a bumper crop this year. I started a little late so maybe it needs some time.

I wish I knew what to do to turn it into a lush gorgeous garden but so far, it's not happening. I'd love to post some pictures but I'm going to hold off for awhile.

Saturday is Elijah's birthday and we are doing a pirate theme.

It's going to be adorable. I've been making table cloths out of felt and appliqueing (glueing) skulls on them. 

They are going to stand out because they are black & red.

I am in charge of cupcakes so I've made some sails that are going to stick out of the cupcakes. I will post some pictures when it all comes together. Target has a great supply of pirate party supplies. Hobby Lobby has a lot too, so I've been told. 

Update on my list of things that I am thankful for, I keep forgetting to jot them down when I notice them. I'm going to work on it.

13. pressure washed fence

14. husband who pressure washed the fence

15. sunny days

16. swimming with grandkids

17. grandkids that can swim, 2 down & 2 to go

18. 2 more weeks of school

19. smoothies

20. a clean house

21. The Valley of Vision

22. waking up early

Adventures With Abbi

What a delightful weekend I had. D & D had been planning on taking their 4 kids to Disney World. Brave!

I begged and pleaded "please leave Abbi with me, she's too young, it's too hot, she'll slow you down." They really wanted to take her because they couldn't bare being away from her for 2 days. Just to shut me up, they gave in and what a wonderful "all to myself" weekend I had.

Kristen & I loaded her up and went to St. Johns Center, which is the best playground around. 

This girl loves to shop. She took out her paci for a photo op.

We shopped for 5 hours and not one fuss from Ms. Priss.

Kristen had way too much fun in Anthropology.  We hit Gymboree for Abbi.  That's where we got these styling sunglasses. My most fun was in Cold Water Creek. Everything was 30% off. I had a good time.

Dinner at J Alexanders, Yumm.

We didn't want it to end but the stores were closing.

Sunday morning I got to take her to my church and show her off. Of course, Kristen & I had to stay with her in the nursery, it being a new place and all. 

Then we went to Pollo Tropical which finally opened. It's hard to find good cuban food in Jacksonville, so when they moved this chain up here from south Florida, I was elated. It was packed. You'd think there was no other restaurant. Oh well, it was worth the wait and I can't wait to go back.

Mark & I played with Abbi and held her all day long. She is such a laid back, easy going baby and being #4, she has to wait her turn so we really enjoyed doting over her the whole weekend.

I think I'm going to make it a point to get her to myself more often.
Turns out she loves cheesecake and Diet Coke. We have much in common.  

Look Who's Staying With MiMi