School - Day #7

For fun I'm going to be taking random shots of the girls before school on different days in the school year. (Note: Fun for me. Not them. In case you hadn't figured that out.) This is Day #7. Don't they look excited about school? For them, Day #7 actually falls in the 3rd week of school and probably first round of tests, so I'd say the new has actually worn off the old school year already.

Still, when I scrapbook all these before school photos on the page I have designed in my mind, it's going to be fantastic! Of course, at the rate I'm going that will be sometime around the year 2016. Better go draw out that page now. To be sure I won't remember it then. Does this mean I'm already planning to forget something I haven't had the chance to remember? Wait...I'm confused. What was I going to write down again?

Perfectly Pink

These cupcakes were made for a sweet friend who just had surgery. Aren't they the most perfect shade of pink you've ever seen? Maybe it's my love for baby lotion that makes me love this shade, but oh...perfection.

Pink Lemonade Cupcake with Pink Lemonade Frosting

A Cupcake By Any Name Would Taste As Sweet

 I'm convinced that I can almost make a cupcake taste/sound better just by how I label it. I'll give you two examples. I made both of these cupcakes in the last week or so. They are both a chocolate-style cupcake with a light beige-colored frosting. They look tasty. They WERE tasty. (Why does "tasty" look misspelled?) 

Here's the fancy description:

Devil's Food Cupcake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting and Butterscotch Ganache

Mocha Cupcake with Espresso Frosting Topped With a Godiva Dark Chocolate Pearl

In both cases, delicious!

Just for Fun - Second Day of School

So, who takes "Second Day of School" pictures? Well, I did this year, just for fun. I thought the girls were cute because they switched hairstyles from their first day photos. Straight hair went curly and vice versa. Cuties, both of them!

First Day of School - 2012-2013

August 20, 2012 - also known as the first day of Becca's senior year! Yikes! How can it be? Here are our usual forced "first day" photos. Rebecca said it best when Abigail complained, "Just smile and take two pictures and she will leave us alone!!"

Becca

Senior Schedule: British Literature, U.S. Government, Forensic Science, Senior Seminar, Journalism 2

She has also just been named Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, GPA Today. 

Sports Played: Cross Country, Basketball, Track & Field

Absie

Sophomore Schedule: Art, World History, World Literature, Honors Chemistry, Algebra 2, Spanish 2

Sports Played: Basketball and Tennis

Love my girls. Wishing them a great school year.

Final Touches

The search for my final decoration for the fireplace became known in the family as "Search for the Holy Grail" or "The Holy Coral." I wanted a piece of white coral to put on the fireplace - simple and matching my beach theme. I had no idea how expensive it would be! My thrifty nature would not allow me to spend a lot of money on something that was just going to sit on my mantel, no matter how much I wanted it. After scouring pretty much every souvenir shop in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, I finally found what I was searching for. And, at a price I could live with. (Sorry that I just ended two sentences in a row with prepositions. I hate that.) The coral made it all the way home to its resting place and I really love looking at it every day.

Thanks to my mother the hydrangea wreath has been completed! I wish the photo did it justice, but the lighting is just not great in that corner of the room. The subtle hues of blue, green and purple are just perfect to display on that wall. 

And here they are together. As you can see, Betty Lou has been demoted to sit in front of the fireplace for now. She's about to hit the pageant circuit (my words for traveling around to various art contests) and will eventually end up in College Station on Grandmother's kitchen wall.

I'm looking forward to taking a little decorating break for now. School has started, so other projects are calling my name. 

Vacation 2012

Looking at someone's vacation pictures is somewhat akin to enduring a root canal, I know. "And here we are at....and here's when we went to...and oh, this was amazing when we..."  So, I've selected only a few photos from our AMAZING vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama. If you were to go there today, you will probably still see two drag marks in the sand where Jeff hauled me to the car to leave. And if you do go there, I hope that you will consider taking me with you! Without further ado, here's the travel monologue...

View from our balcony

Hitting the beach for the first time right after we arrived

Romar Beach Baptist Church where we attended on Sunday. Their motto is "Taking a stand on the sand!"

Before church

Me in my happy place

Love this picture of a storm coming in. It's amazing how quickly it arrives and how fast the beach can clear of people.

We got in as many activities as we could...beach volleyball,

hermit crab catching...

resting...

taking photos of God's glorious creation...

making beachy cupcakes...

catching waves on the boogie boards...

eating at Lambert's, where they throw hot rolls at you...

making our mark in the sand...

Good times.

My "Beach House" in Fort Worth

Well, I can now officially go on vacation because my remodeling project is finished! I have brought as much of my love of the beach in as I possibly could into my traditionally-decorated house. From the gorgeous blue in the kitchen and back of the bookshelf to bits and pieces of beachy items, I love how it has turned out. I even surprised myself with some bright yellow pillows to give the rooms some "pop."

My old checkerboard table is now a nice ottoman.

Katherine wrapped two canvasses with bright fabric to add some fresh artwork.

Well, look who just happened to find a nail on the wall? She's just hanging around until Katherine sends her off to an art contest. Eventually a hydrangea wreath will occupy this spot. (But don't those yellow feathers really look nice in the room?)

China cabinet has been redone to display my favorite items

Shells and beach photos...

Love this in my kitchen window

Also in the kitchen window, just waiting for a beach picture from our 2012 vacation

Table Decoration

Now, I'm off to the beach...the "real" beach, with white sand, and waves, and such...

Rebecca in Rhode Island

Rebecca is spending the week in Providence, Rhode Island ministering to children through summer Bible club activities. She is having a wonderful time so far and has already said I would want to live there due to the large numbers of hydrangeas growing everywhere, even on the sides of the roads. This picture was taken before they went to church on Sunday. They decided to bring a little bit of Texas to New England.

What Were They Thinking? Edition - I'm Imelda Marcos

Remember Imelda Marcos, wife of the Philippine President, who owned 2,700 pairs of shoes? I believe I'm just about as fascinated as she is when it comes to shoes. That, and shopping at Ross. Every time I go into the store I am strangely drawn by the eerily high heels on the latest crop of shoes. I believe this first picture takes the cake on shoe design. These are literally scaling the heights of fashion. I can literally imagine that little pencil heel just snapping off the minute someone takes a step. I wonder if the shoe manufacturers' test these babies for weight limit. Just wondering...

Sorry for the blur. I was laughing at Abigail trying to stuff her foot into some heels.

This is a little design I like to call Cruella DeVille. Only one dalmatian was harmed in the making of these shoes!

And for your outfit that needs that extra "pop" of color we have these beauties. And don't even get me started on the moonboots in the background. I don't have time to segue into any Napoleon Dynamite one-liners. I've gotta go get some chapstick. My lips hurt real bad.