Finally washed the dirt away

Happy Sunday!
My family just returned from a long weekend of camping. It's our first since the kiddos have entered the picture. Long overdue, but we have been trying!

When my oldest (now 6) was two we tried going tent camping 20 minutes from home. 10 minutes into the drive, she surprised us all by throwing up over herself and all our gear. Poor dear. Of course, we turned around and went home! We've tried multiple "back yard" camping trips since our now 4 1/2 year old was born, and finally last year we all slept soundly in the back yard.

And I am happy to say we had a successful first camping trip this weekend! The weather was beautiful. Our tent-site looked back on a woods with a meandering creek running through it. A fabulous adventure following this creek to the placid lake and beach area. Well worth the trip, if just that!

But, there was more. Sweet times with special friends who refresh like a cup of cold water on a hot summer day!

I was reminded of this verse from Psalm 11: "He who refreshes others, will be refreshed" I want to be refreshing, don't you?

All images found at: http://stinemos.blogspot.com/

Interior Spaces

I'm all about decorating and design, just like the next girl!

But today my decorating thoughts went Heavenward. It was with one thought. Interior Spaces. It was a breath of fresh air. A quiet whisper. A provoking thought. Profound.

I began to ponder if I take care of all my interior spaces -- heart, soul, body -- like I do my home. I'm still pondering that one, and thanking God for such a wonderful thought.

Enjoy your own weekend ponderings!

Three in a Hammock

I know my title says "Three in a Hammock" .... I can explain.
You see, I'm keeping this joy journal this summer. A little book that lists all my thanksgivings to God. It's in response to a book I'm reading called, "One Thousand Gifts." Have you read it? I highly recommend it!
Anyway, I really had a blissful time with my two girls today on the hammock. We sucked in the perfectly warm, sunshiny summer and laughed loudly with each swoosh we made in the hammock.
REALLY laughed. Laughed so all the neighbors could hear, I'm sure! (I hope they could laugh with us!)
It was great fun! Just that exchange of summer breath for summer breath. Squealing. Tipping. Swooshing! (I'll have you know, nobody fell out!! )
But, you know how it is when you are the sole cameraman and you are in the action. So, the picture I am sharing is not the three of us, but the beautiful children that are my girl's missionary friends to Africa. They visited with us last summer.
Oh, the joy of a hammock. Thank you Lord for such fun!
Smiling,
Tammy

Makin' Iced Coffee

Wish you could be here right now! It would be fun to have a little "girl's night" and sip some brewed java in a blue mason jar!
Ya gotta love those jars! And ya gotta love the coffee!
On my recent trip to Lucketts I picked me up some eight blue mason jars. They proudly sit on my kitchen shelves.
But this is where it gets better ......

When I make my own "home brew" and pour it into my quart sized jars -- now my drinking glasses -- and sip away.
Here's how I make mine: (the easy way!)
One Keurig Coffee Maker
One Donut Shop K-Kup Chocolate Glazed Donut
Large vintage coffee mug
Two teaspoons of Coffee Mate Hazlenut creamer
Pour it all over cubed ice

Somehow these darling little jars are even cuter when I'm drinking my iced coffee from them!! Y.U.M.

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Shots from my weekend .....

Happy Saturday Everyone --
What delightful weather we are having here in Central PA. FAB.U.LOUS!
I thought I would share a few photos from my laid-back weekend!

I'm sooooo lovin' the warm weather here. Especially these beautiful and fragrant peonies I found at market this weekend. I was delighted. Never did I find these so local and so fresh and so irresistible! Perfect!

My youngest girl and I went strawberry pickin' today. It was wonderful fun. She begged me to make her a strawberry cake all the way home, so I thought it was only fitting that I do since she helped pick three quarts.

Doesn't it look like a big candied apple? I forgot to put the chocolate covered strawberries on the top before I took the pictures. It was quite yummy. Only one big piece left at press time!

Hope you are enjoying the sunshine where you are!!
Tammy

(Pinterest)
Just love this sweet little flower arrangement. It really says, "SMILE" to me!
I am enjoying Pinterest as many others are. It's a place to view beautiful pictures and graphics from people from all around the world. Here's a few pictures that I enjoy looking at:

Love these ruffles!

And I'll leave you with my current favorite ... until next time!

Saying Thank you

Happy Monday Everyone!
It's been wonderful to have the weekend "off." As a stay-at-home mom, to have "off" means my husband is not working and is equally at home and in charge of the kiddos! I love that. It changes up the whole atmosphere. Does that happen for you?

For us, weekends are about getting outside and having fun. My honey and youngest had fun building their first bird house together. He reluctantly gave in to painting it pink in the end. It made me smile.

This has got to be one of the coolest ideas for weekends or weekdays! We love pancakes especially on lazy Saturdays. Clean out an old bottle of mayonnaise or ketchup or whatever is handy. It makes the best container to store pancake batter and is great to create the perfect - sized pancake!

I hope your weekend was fun!!
Until later,
Tammy

Learning a lot from a little

For three days my girls and I were "holed up" if you will in our home -- our basement to be exact -- while two, nice carpenters banged and thumped and ripped our kitchen apart. It sounded worse from below. (Our floor boards are thin!) And we had the satisfaction of peeking upstairs every so often to check in on the progress.

Isn't it fun to see things take shape and unfold?
This is the first year I have had flowers in my garden. The first year we moved here was all about ripping things out. The second year I planted a little. Tore those out. Not the right sun/shade. They weren't making it. Last year we had a few cone flowers growing and put down black mulch on a pretty bare bed.

This year I am happy to see that the peonies I planted last year -- left for dead -- have been resurrected and are now flourishing beside some purple salvia that I dug from my front flower bed.
I have some areas to work on over the years, but I finally feel like I am getting somewhere with my garden.
Oh, what a good feeling!

Cucina

Rainy greetings from PA!

I am still fine tuning my kitchen here. I thought you might like to see what I did over the weekend. I am very fond of open shelving. My honey was so good to put a couple up for me to display my new blue ball jars I got at Luckets Spring Market this weekend! (What a place!!! That's another post!)

I go out of town for one day and all the best yard sales happen in my neighborhood. I was bummed. But I did find some treasures in Virginia as well!

I hope you are having a great week and enjoying some nice weather where you are!

KITCHEN PHOTOS!!!

Finally I got everything back in place today. I'm sure we are a lot alike. We lovingly place each plate and glass where it belongs, while enjoying the whole process. It's like we are an artist creating a portrait. It's a wonderful feeling!

I'm always open to suggestions and input! The thing I want to do now is warm it up a bit. I am looking for some cute window blinds. Count them...three! I love roman shades. But I'm willing to look at others. Just something with some pop and elegance. Any ideas where to find some?

It's a small, eat-in kitchen. I'm looking to hang some open shelving on the wall where the clock is now. I also have an empty wall between the fridge and cabinets that is really "dead space." I'm considering making it a chalkboard wall.

I'm so glad to now have this yummy space to create some goodies in for my family!

My youngest is eager to make chocolate chip cookies. Hmmmmm...maybe tomorrow!

In two days I am headed to a major flea market. Lots of pictures to come. Stay tuned!

A Kitchen Photo

Hi Girls -- (Julie and Tina - please don't look. Come visit instead!!)

The carpenters just got done this afternoon with our kitchen and I couldn't be happier! It looks just like I hoped!
Here is just a little sneak peak ... more pics to come.

Wish YOU could stop by in person too!
Tammy

Moving Out

Sunday I am officially "moving out" of my kitchen!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!! That means the carpenters are "moving in!!" I couldn't be happier!

Hopefully by the end of next week I will have some before and after pictures to share!
Here's hoping all goes according to plan!

Until the kitchen is done,
Tammy

Mud Sale

Am I the only one that has never heard of a mud sale?  
While having our car checked out a couple Saturdays ago, my husband and I met a

man who is an auctioneer. He was a lively old gent and full of stories about auctions he's called. He told us about the mud sale. It seems they are widely popular in the Lancaster county area and thousands of people attend what is a GIANT yard sale of sorts. There is everything there from the bathroom sink to potted plants and so much more. It's really a must see if you live in my area.
My husband was a dear and arranged for us to have babysitting last Saturday and we drove the 1 1/2 hour drive to Gratz. Although we didn't find what we were looking for (a farm table! Yes...still looking!) We had a wonderful time gawking at everyone's' stuff. Here's a few scenes (including those two trucks under the tree above) that we saw along the way.

One of the best things about this mud sale were the beautiful horses pulling the wagon for the ride into the sale.

Have a wonderful week!

Until Next Time,
Tammy

Cream and Sugar?

Hello!
Here are some more pictures from our evening at church. It was great fun and the first time I have ever decorated a table to this extent. I'm thrilled with the way it turned out, and the way it blessed the seven other ladies that sat at my table.

I gave everyone a ladies' devotional book and vase (lipton bottle!) of daisy's as their favors. I had fun wrapping the books in burlap and wrapping it up with twine. Then I found the most adorable mini chalkboards at Joann Fabrics that just made the final touch!

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed decorating!
Have a great day!

coco bean's cafe'

I'm going to tease you a bit!
Here's a little sneak peak of what is to come at my little cafe' table.

It was such a treat (and blessing!!) to come up with ideas and a wonderful cafe table scape theme for our ladies' spring event at church.

Of course the treats were going so fast, I barely got a picture of them!
More tomorrow .....