Instagram and Photo Dump!

Thought I would take some time to share some pictures with your guys from my iPhone-mostly Instagram. Anyways, let's begin!

The above picture is summer salsa, I made it over the weekend and it was DELICIOUS. There is a very small amount left-we put a hurtin' on it y'all!

Last night the weather in Manchester was beautiful so we took the bikes out for a spin. It was a great night to ride! I really love evening bike rides with the hubs, especially when it is cool enough to breath outside. But wait, that cool weather won't last long...the high is 100* on Thursday. Ugh!

Our first stop on our bike ride was the birthplace of Thomas R. Marshall, the 28th Vice President of the United States. I wanted to stop because this location was part of this years garden walk (which we didn't do) and I wanted to see the pretty flowers. The pink hydrangeas did not disappoint. So beautiful!

We also rode around Manchester College a bit too...and took at break to read some historical signs near the chapel. Neither of us knew that Manchester College started out as a Bible School before becoming a Liberal Arts College-interesting!

This is the bell tower at the Peabody Retirement Community. They always have beautiful landscaping here and I love it. From the outside the facilities are beautiful and full of front porches with wicker chairs. I don't know that I would ever want to live in an assisted living type place, but if I had to pick Peabody might be the one. I promise it's so pretty!

Double Knock Out Roses @ The Peabody...see what I mean? Beautiful landscaping!

The above pictures were my craft project from last night. I can't say this idea was my own, but I am so pleased with how it looks already. I plan on distressing the edges a bit before hanging in our living room. Everyone needs some initial wall art, right?

Now I will leave you with some super cute Louie pictures and a sweet video. I took this video this morning while I was getting ready for work, he was cracking me up with him tongue. Oh how we love this puppy!

Have a great Tuesday!

Flower Walk

Double Impatient-these may be my favorite little shade lovers. They look like mini-roses. Beautiful!

Well hello, friends! It's been a wild and crazy week in our neck of the woods! I apologize for posting so late in the week...again. Sometime other things just take priority over blogging, yes? Anyways, most of the pictures in this post were taken on my Monday night flower walk around the house. Enjoy!

Our snapdragons bloomed. This was exciting because we weren't sure they would ever bloom. They just kept getting taller and taller!

Pretty Carnations that smell WONDERFUL!

This one is a new addition to our flowers...Stephen is literally banning me from Garden Centers until Fall!

Our new Double Knock Out Rose bush...I love love LOVE it!

Soon to be Hibiscus flowers. They are purple and gorgeous!

The grass is growing...praise the Lord!

Another new addition...

Tomatoes! Is there anything better than garden fresh tomatoes? They are always SO good!

In other news this week-Louie was groomed on Monday and got his "summer cut". It looked like he lost 5 pounds in fur! It has taken me a couple days to get used to his new look, but since I know it's the best thing for him during summer I am starting to love it. He has been running around a lot more and not panting nearly as much, so I bet he is feeling lighter and cooler already! Do you get your dogs cut for summer?

How cute is he?!

We also had a fun little project this week: cleaning the porch for our new wicker furniture. I have spent several evenings on the porch already just reading, watching people or crafting and I LOVE it. It's a work in progress as I have many, many ideas for this little space-including: painting (stripes?), curtains, wreaths, and artwork. I will try and post as things progress so you can track the changes with me!

Last night I actually starting working on some little projects for the porch/outdoor living area. I had this idea and vision of what I wanted...in the end the outcome was pretty close, so I was pleased. Don't you love when that happens? Well here is the new handmade wreath that now greets you inside our porch, near the entrance to the house:

I am working on a larger one that will match (mostly) and that one will hang on the exterior door of the porch. It was a fun evening project and stress reliever. Win, win! :)

Well, I need to get going this morning so I must be leaving you. Have a great weekend everyone!

Me :)

Oh and I almost forgot... 14 DAYS UNTIL FLORIDA VACATION!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up...in Pictures!

First of all, Happy week of Thanksgiving! Can you believe Thanksgiving is already here? Didn't we just start this month? Regardless of how fast time is whizzing past us, I am excited! Though, I am not sure if I am more excited for Thanksgiving or Black Friday shopping...? Let's just say both!

Friday night we did our usual thing...grocery shopping and getting dinner. We are crazy, y'all! We also ran to Big Lots because I was in search for some specific garland that I was pretty sure they would have (and cheap!), which they did! We had planned on decorating for Christmas on Saturday, so the boxes had already been brought up from the basement and I had started sorting what I wanted to use:

Yep, this is what our dining room table looked like Friday night and Saturday morning. Talk about overwhelming me! :) It is no secret that I like organization, so this mess was just a little much for me. I am glad to tell you that it is no longer there and the house is mostly decked for the Christmas season!

Saturday we put up tree #1 in the living room. We plan on getting a real tree this weekend to put up in the dining room. I.cannot.wait for the fresh pine smell-that is the best! Here the lights are starting to go on:

And this was Louie all day on Saturday:

I think he was confused by all the boxes and activity and smells I am sure. He just laid on the sofa and watched us for most of the morning. The sweet pup approves of the new furniture...but he is not allowed on it directly. Please picture me following him around with a blanket and putting it down before allowing him to jump on the furniture...I am not sure how long that will last yet. We will see!

I just realized I never posted about getting our furniture. There is a story there! :) I will try and get that post scheduled for tomorrow with pictures from delivery day!

The tree is done and wrapped presents are underneath it:

LOVE :) We decided to add aqua to this tree to tie in the colors in the living room and I am so glad we did that. I love they way it looks and blends with the art and pillows in the room!

The banister was almost the death of me. Seriously. I could not get anything to look "right" for me and was getting irritated with the task pretty quickly. Thank goodness Stephen is patient with me! After wrestling with ribbons and garland for awhile I decided to tie big bows and call it a day. I must say that I kind of love the result. We have wooden clothes pins to pin Christmas cards we receive up on the garland and I can't wait so so that!

Speaking of Christmas cards...when are you sending yours out? I think I may mail ours next Monday. They are already ready to go out!

In the dining room we hung ornaments from our light that is over the table. We used all the colors on both trees to tie it all together. Surprisingly, this was not a Pinterest inspired idea but an idea I got from an old co-worker in Jacksonville. There is not a centerpiece on the table yet, and there might not be...the ornaments just kind of handle it on their own and I love it!

Here is a view of the living room from the entrance. You can see our new loveseat and ottoman!

And the fireplace:

Up close and personal :) This one is for you, Mom!

And the glowing tree:

I just LOVE Christmas time, it is the best. The lights, the smells, the garlands, the baking, the presents celebrating Jesus' birth. I love all of it! I cannot wait to put up tree #2 this coming weekend!

On Sunday we went to church and out to lunch before heading to the gym to watch our niece's basketball games. After the games, we went out to dinner to celebrate Stephen's brother Greg's birthday. We ate at a Chinese Restaurant that was SO good. We really enjoyed the company and getting to celebrate Greg's birthday with family. It was a great time. We ended the night by watching a Christmas movie at home...my idea of perfection!

And lastly, our sweet pup Louie who may be just a little bit spoiled. He is so sweet, don't you think?

That's all folks! Hope everyone has a great Monday and short work-week, yay!