Mountain Magic

I'm not sure what it is about the mountains...

if it's the fresh mountain air,

lots of activity,

 

busy days,

fun days,

family,

good food,

or all of the kids running around to play with.

 But this pretty lady has been sleeping GREAT at night! 

Gone Fishing

Yesterday afternoon we headed to a trout farm to do some fishing! We had a lot of fun and the weather was wonderful!

I was totally unprepared for how beautiful the fishing spot would be. It was breathtaking. I took about a hundred pictures. Surprising, right? ha!

 

Just beautiful, and so peaceful.

We took turns wearing Miss EC in the baby carrier. She loved it. Best $7 yard sale find!

Fishin' with Daddy

My mother in law was the fish queen. She caught five or six fish...aka more than anyone else! The hubs and I didn't catch any and my father in law caught two!

EC and the fish. She wasn't sure what to think.

Emma Claire and I made a friend. Ralph followed us all around the property. EC loved him.

It wouldn't have been a day trip without a Mallorie moment. I didn't fall IN the pond but I did step in a HUGE mud puddle! Typical. 

 We had the trout for dinner but at dinner time I was fighting a certain little lady at bedtime. So I didn't get to snap a picture of the fish. It was really tasty though!

Giveaway WINNER!

I always LOVE drawing giveaway winners, it's so fun! Although I seriously wish that I could send a package to every one of you entered!

 

 I was SO EXCITED to see that NATALIE from Extraordinary Love was the winner! Natalie is one of my fav blogger friends and has the cutest little girl, Callyn.

Here was her "winning comment"! ;-)

If you don't read her blog, Extraordinary Love, then you should. ;-) Callyn is just the cutest baby and Natalie is so sweet!  

Thank you to everyone who entered! It was so fun to read what y'all love doing in the summer! And congrats, Natalie! Can't wait to ship the package to y'all so you and Miss Callyn can have some fun with it!

Emma Claire's First Road Trip

Yesterday Emma Claire went on her first road trip! We traveled from Virginia to Georgia and spent nine hours in the car. She did great and so did the dogs. Yes, we traveled in the car for nine hours with an eight month old AND two dogs!

Don't the pups look thrilled? ha! This was before we pulled out of the driveway!

Handsome hubs SO happy to be on vacation! He doesn't have to be at work for the next NINE days!

Mommy and Emma Claire! (In the mirror! ha!) This is the only picture I have of myself on the road trip! 

 

This was our view for several hours as we drove through the Shenandoah valley. So pretty!

 

Morning nap in the car was a success!

She kept holding on to both sides of her carrier! It cracked me up!

Backseat baby sitter/entertainment!

REST STOP! Can you tell she was excited to be out of the car! We ate lunch and let EC roll around the picnic table!

How the dogs spent the road trip!

All in all we had a great trip and made it to the mountains! 

 

Good Ol' Goodwill

A few days ago Emma Claire and I headed to Goodwill in search of a few things. I thought it would be fun to share our finds!

I have been looking for a fun frame to turn into a chalkboard for our master bedroom and I found the perfect one!

 

$1.96. I love the details in the corners. I'm planning to paint it white and distress it a little bit. 

I'm always looking for milk glass and I love this vase!

Only two bucks! 

How fun are these trays?! I think they were all under a dollar!

I plan on painting the inside with chalkboard paint and turning them into chalkboards. How cute will they be?! I think one will be in the kitchen, one in the guest room and maybe one in our master bath! They also had some round ones that I was so tempted to get, but I'm going to wait and see where I want them in the new house.

I also snagged a really neat looking $3 chair. Saying it needs some help is an understatement. Here's a little peek at what I've been working with.

So cute right? HA! NOT! I just THOUGHT this fabric was horrible. 

Turns out there were FOUR layers of gross fabric underneath the initial 1970's nightmare fabric!

I also discovered that the chair is 82 years old! It's a chair from the very early Bassett furniture company, made in the early 1930's. Also, I didn't know that Bassett furniture was created in Northern Virginia! 

I plan on using the chair at my desk! It's a great, sturdy, old chair and I think it will be just perfect! Can't wait to finish it and share!

You just never know what you will find at Goodwill!

Don't Blink

2 weeks

7 and a half months

I have become so nostalgic lately and I can't quite put my finger on why. I think part of it has to do with the age Emma Claire is at right now. She is just such a joy and I am honestly loving every moment. She is learning new skills and developing SO quickly. Watching her grow and change before my eyes is just amazing. Part of me can't believe that she is a few days away from being EIGHT months old, and the other part of me feels like she has been in our lives forever. 

Tonight before bath time I laid on the floor and watched Emma Claire play in our bedroom. She was rolling around, rocking on her knees, trying to pull up on everything, and I had one of those "mommy moments". You know the one when you almost can't imagine loving your child even a tiny bit more than you do right in that moment or your heart might explode. I know I'm rambling and can't quite put into words what I was feeling tonight, but I am just constantly reminded how blessed I am. 

"Keep your love for one another at full strength, because love covers a multitude of sins." I Peter 4:8

 

Another reason this moment was special tonight is that there really wasn't anything "special" about it. I didn't take pictures, video tape her, or even interact with her that much. I just watched her and absorbed the moment. I couldn't help but think that In the blink of an eye she went from a newborn, to a baby about to crawl, and I just know the next time I blink she will be a teenager when I open my eyes. 

 Love those baby blues

 

Garage Sale Goodies

I have to say...of all my great garage sale days today might have been the best! I always have things in mind that I am looking for and today I found several of them!

I FINALLY found my kids table and chairs! It was just meant to be. I pulled up to the garage sale and they were just starting to pull stuff out of their garage. EC and I ran up the driveway to ask about the table and chairs. They wanted $20 and I offered $10. Sold. And I tried to contain my excitement as I loaded it up in the car! I have been looking for this for MONTHS! The table and chairs are VERY sturdy and in great condition. I couldn't find this exact set but usually they retail from $100-$175!

 

The next garage sale was WAY over priced but I did find four books for a dollar. I LOVE the board book with toys attached. Perfect for a little one with teeth. And I couldn't pass up the Christmas Mice touch and feel book. Love anything Christmas. 

When I was pregnant I stumbled across the blog Just a little Creativity and her post "Pimp That Cozy Ride" and I knew I could totally do that. Since then I promised myself that if I found a cheap enough little coupe that I would scoop it up. Well today I found one for $3, THREE DOLLARS y'all!. I know EC doesn't need this yet but I just had to snag it. And if you want more toy up-cycling inspiration go HERE!

When I see "boy" garage sales I usually don't stop but I was in a cul-de-sac of garage sales and had EC in the stroller so we rolled on up to see if there was anything good. I saw these baskets and thought they would be perfect for the new playroom. When I asked how much she said a dollar and I didn't have any ones so I offered .50¢ and they were mine!

We walked across the street to another baby garage sale and I initially didn't see anything but the woman saw EC and literally pulled an entire box of baby toys out of the garage behind her! I shuffled through and we had a few of the toys already and then I spotted the baby keys. They were brand new still in the package! I asked how much and she said $1 so I looked around and grabbed a few more toys and offered a dollar for all and she agreed. The turtle is practically brand new, not a scratch on it and all of the sounds/lights work perfectly. And the book is crinkly AND has a squeaker. EC goes NUTS for anything crinkly so I knew we had to have it!

I almost didn't stop at the last garage sale. We had been to a TON of sales and I was done. But I saw a few wooden toys and I'm always on the lookout for anything Melissa & Doug so we stopped real quick. I did find this cute little baby bead puzzle but it was $3 and I wasn't crazy about that price. I offered a dollar and the woman said I'll take .50¢! Ha! It pays to bargain, y'all!

I am just tickled about all of the fun goodies I found today! I am pretty much a garage sale junkie and am preparing myself for next weekend...we will be out of town and I won't be able to shop! Which is probably a good thing considering that we are moving right when we get back ;-)

 Do you love a good bargain as much as I do?