Dead Stingrays and Strawberry Freezer Jam {InstaFriday}

Date night.
Goodness.
My man is sexy.



Yard sale find.
Walked away from it to show I had restraint.
Spent the next 3 hours being haunted by the thought of not having it.
Told myself if it was meant to be it would still be there later.
It was.
20 bucks.
That little milk glass lamp?
$1
#score



My friends had a yard sale and posted a picture on Facebook.
I, being the good friend that I am, looked over their shoulders to see what was for sale on the tables behind them.
I spotted this and text her to say, "I need that crate behind you!!!"
She probably took a moment to question her friendship with me responded that she would set it aside.
5 bucks.



Meet "Quincy D"
No he's not a rapper.
At least I don't think so.
He's my teenager's dissected stingray.
The name affectionately given by his lab group...which consisted of him and two of his best friends.



This was his final Biology grade for the year.
Sophomore year...come and gone.
So funny...I am the mom that swore I'd never homeschool.
Especially through high school.
I'm a slow learner when it comes to telling God what I am and am not gonna do in life.



Poor Quincy D.



My mom and I drove about an hour North this week to Amish country in Kentucky.
It's one of my favorite places to be.



Reminds me of my Grandma Margaret and the farm I grew up on.
I want to be Amish.
Except with indoor plumbing.
And cameras.



We stopped off at a restaurant called "Earl G. Dumplings".
Oh. My. Word.
Kraut and Wienies were on the menu if that tells you anything.
I had fried chicken livers, mashed potatoes, turnip greens, pinto beans, and cornbread.
Once again, I'm back in my Grandma Margaret's kitchen.
Coconut pie and all.



Girl's Night Out.
A requirement in life.
In mine at least.



Real men skip {in public} with their daughters.
Did I mention he's the best dad ever?




If you follow me on Instagram you've seen a bazillion pictures of strawberries by now.
I can't help myself.
They are perfectly ripe right now here in TN.
This week Maggie and I picked up my mom and headed to the fields to get our "pick your own" on.
We came back to my house and proceeded to make this sweet red like crack concoction.
Strawberry Freezer Jam.
Click here for the recipe.
It takes 30 minutes.
Seriously if I can do it and not mess it up, anyone can.
Your whole family will thank you for making this delicious treat.

I got my freezer safe containers made by Glad at Kroger (my local grocery store). I have tile floors in my kitchen so I opted for plastic over the cute glass jars. They were cheaper too. :-)





"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Strawberry Pickin' Time {InstaFriday}

Started my Saturday off the proper way.

Yard saling at 5:30 am courtesy of Dunkin Donuts.

Is that even how you spell sale"ing"

Funny. I am not like don't even attempt to have a conversation with me before my first cup of coffee a morning person.

But land sakes, I sure do get excited about getting up before dawn to peruse one man's trash for my  possible treasure.

Every day should be yard sale day.



Jackpot.

Turquoise bench and Vintage Cosco stool were my fab finds for the day.

I should have checked the bench over a bit before putting it at my back door though.

While having breakfast Sunday morning my family hears the all too close sound of a buzzing bee.

Yep, wood bees were drilling holes up underneath it.

In my house!

Yikes!

I also found two chairs to add to my collection to put around my new vintage pedestal dining table.

Two down, three to go.



I promised myself I would not be sappy this week.

Dang if I didn't find this today.

Look at that little dimpled-knuckle hand holding onto that cookie for dear life.

My for real baby.

I will experience the last everything with this sweet little fella.

::sigh::

Let's move on to less snot inducing subjects shall we?

I know...how 'bout food?



How come a sandwich never tastes as good at home as it does at a restaurant?

Salads too.



These things are like crack!

If you like Corn Nuts you'll love these.



Yes, I set a reminder.

I know.

I need help.




Eating my first watermelon of the year is kinda like ushering in summer...officially.



So is pickin' strawberries.



Bring on the Sure-Jell!




"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Yard Sale Finds

I had a folder full of pictures I had taken of my adventures in yard sale'ing' this year. I stumbled upon The Nester's "Best Yard Sale Finds Ever" linky and figured what better time to show them off?



I got this really neat poster for $1. Yes...ONE DOLLAR! I cannot tell you how good this looks in my kitchen. The colors are perfect.



Ok this one just about made me pee my pants. I had just been in Pottery Barn about a week earlier and had priced their clear fillable lamps for $150 and up! Walked up to a yard sale and found this one for $5. Shells and all! Score. All I need to do is switch their shells out for my own shells and maybe put some sand in the bottom of it. Oh and get a shade.



This little coffee table spoke to me the minute I saw it. Friends from our church were having an adoption fundraising yard sale for their adoptions from Haiti. It is the neatest little table. See that line in the middle? It is for a leaf to be added just like a dining table. Except this is NOT a dining table. At first I thought maybe it had been and maybe the legs had been cut down but that was not the case. I'm not sure how old it is but the woodwork and mechanics underneath for the leaf say old. Very delicate. Yet the table itself is very sturdy. Since it had been donated there was no leaf so I just used wood glue to glue the dowels together. Now it is permanently one piece. Paid $10.

I plan to paint it the same color as Lindsey's entry table.





"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"