Beach Weekend: Fall Edition

A beach weekend was just what the doctor ordered.  We had some time to unwind and enjoy the sand, surf, and kids.  They had a true blast no matter how many showers rolled in.  A fun weekend at {Ocean Lakes Campground} in Myrtle Beach, SC.

We enjoyed four hours of sunshine on Saturday morning!

My silly sand babies!  They had a blast.

No that is not our camper but if it was we'd be living in it.  The kids were pretending to be ready for a walk.  Pretending....

A shot of our row.  Many folks from Charlotte and the Lenoir/Morganton.

That bait fish (yes its real) was my son's favorite toy all day.  Smelly oh so smelly!

The Diva LOVES camping!

Every time we come home from the beach we stop at Johnson's Peaches.  This time they had great pumpkins to go with our peach ice cream.  So much fun!

What I Want: Fall Fashion

Seasons have changed and we're all WELL aware of that!  Even though we've hit a rough patch I can still be human and go ga ga over fall fashion and dream of adding to my closet a little at a time.  (Of course adding to my closet these days means something totally different since said closet is ummm....well you know.)

1.  Over sized sweater cardigan



I'm cold natured.  That's new to me because all my life I was hot natured and then around 25/26 I started freezing easily.  I enjoy my NorthFace pullover but sometimes I want something a bit more feminine.  Plus these pieces are ever so versatile from fall to winter to early spring!

2.  Bangles



I love bracelets.  I have a small collection and unfortunately rarely wear them now.  Well...as of this point in my life I have began rarely wearing them.  I really like to stack bangle bracelets but I would like to have some new pieces to add to what I have.  The cool part about bangles is you can get some really fun ones for dirt cheap.  They are great for fall too...the golds and muted silvers look great.

3.  Watch



I love cheap watches. I have always had nice watches that are expensive but a few years ago I started buying knock off watches at Target and Walmart for $5-$10 and they lasted!  I normally wear a watch every day.  Since we had to get out of our house I left sans a watch.  Do you know how annoying it is to look at a bare wrist over and over?  Furthermore, can I tell you how much I hate pulling out my phone to check the time and getting side tracked by a FB or Twitter or Email alert?  Seriously!  So I like a tortoise shell/gold look this fall.  Turns out that one you are looking at is at Target.

4.  Scarves



This whole outfit really.  But I love that scarf.  Last year my students gave me a few scarves at the end of the year.  I loved them!  So this fall I have really been into wearing the few I have.  You cannot go wrong with a good scarf collection.  Its truly a fashion must have!  Here's the deal, if you're like me you have a lot of plain jane shirts...throw a scarf with that bad boy and you're refreshed and adorable.

5.  Pants



See these?  These are the elusive Danskin Now Black Bootcut Workout pants.  I love them.  I have a pair that I had to part with because I wore them until they started turning white.  Not kidding.  They are at Walmart.  I call them elusive because Walmart decided to clearance them without telling me and now I cannot seem to find them anywhere in a medium.  I can find XS and I can find XXL but no M's anywhere.  This disturbs me.  These are my go to pants for days when I have errands and chilly evenings when I pound pavement.  Be still my heart for one day we will meet again.

Friday Favorites

Here are my favorite things for this week!!!  These weeks are going by so quickly which is good but still saddens me at the pace which life moves.

By the way....this is the last Friday Favorites of September 2014.  Are you like me going, what?!



1.  The house is moved.

Guys this is the biggest praise of the week for us.  This puts us closer to the eventual move back in.



2.  Human Spirit

This week I have been overwhelmed by the kindness and caring that our community is giving us.  I have a blog post coming later about this.



3.  A Break

This week has afforded me two breaks from the craziness this month has brought us.  The first was a trip to walk around the mall and get a cookie with my friend Amy.  We took our kids and they had a ball just being together.  The second break comes today.  Before the madness of the house we booked a camping trip with my dad to the beach.  My husband and I questioned whether we should still go and everyone said YES YOU MUST!  Since its paid for and its low expense (camping people) we are going.  I am looking forward to the sand and sea and enjoying what I consider God's greatest creation in land/water form....the beach! I hope this will give me the rejuvenation I need to go forward with all the changes we are experiencing.  I will treasure this time with my babies and husband.



4.  Once Upon A Child

Clothing exchanges rock for little ones.  When I say little ones I mean those in sizes newborn to the T sizes.  My Diva is in an 8 and well its slim pickings for her. This week we had a true fall cold snap.  The first day of fall was a blustery 60!  For North Carolina that is doggone cold for the start of fall.   I had no real clothing exchange luck for her.  Since funds are tight I went to Once Upon A Child and really racked up!  For $30 I got a huge bag of cool weather clothes and shoes for her.   I am so grateful!



5.  My Dog

On Monday, when the house was moved, my nerves hit an all time kill me mode.  I got really sick.  I sat down in the living room and let all emotions loose.  Chippy came over to me, crawled up in my lap, put her front two paws on my shoulders and her head on my shoulder.  My dog hugged me and she wasn't about to move.   I started off sobbing and ended up giggling!  My sweet four legged baby knew what I needed and her sweetness turned into a funny moment.  The Lord works in mysterious ways including through our pets.

Thankful Thursday

Today I take a moment to be thankful (again)...

I'm thankful our house was moved safely

I'm thankful for the help from family.

I'm thankful for a husband who is an awesome partner.

I'm thankful for laughter.

Old pic from last year.

I'm thankful for children who give me more laughter.

I'm thankful for the cool snap just as the fall clock starts.

I'm thankful for toilets and good plumbing (long story...ok not long just gross).

I'm thankful for friends who have been better than wonderful and ever so thoughtful.

Find this on Etsy.

Halloween & Other Festivities

The holiday season kicked off in July when retailers started putting out Thanksgiving stuff.  You know, I always felt like Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) got shafted.  You see LOADS of stuff for Halloween and then Christmas stuff busts the stores at the seams.  Where the crap is Thanksgiving?  I'll tell you where it is...its in the home goods section of Belk's in late July.  You think I'm kidding but I'm not.  When we were shopping in late July I was walking through Belk domestics and there were signs up saying THANKSGIVING SALE.

Huh?

Yeah.

Weird.

Ok so it turned out they were just using those signs because they couldn't find their regular signs for that particular sale.

Poor Turkey Day getting duped and used.

For real...I guess the holiday season does kick off with Halloween now.  I believe that its the second biggest holiday next to Christmas.  A lot of people go all out decorating their homes with corpses and black trees.  It is a little weird for me.  I hate scary movies so why the crap would I be going all out for Halloween?

What I do love about it is dressing up.  I'm the kid whose mom had a crate of dress up clothes that I could pull from each year.  I never really had a store bought costume because we had plenty of witch hats and wigs.  (Is this starting to sound disturbing?)  I have carried that with me into my adult years.
I took to Pinterest to find some fun Halloween costume ideas....so here's your Wednesday smile.

Via

Via

Hahahah Dog & Beth!

Spice Rack!

Via

crazy cat lady

Rolling! Prince!!!

Lil Wayne For REAL!

See ya tomorrow!

The BIG Move: She's Moved!

We woke up early.

I let the Diva hang out for a while to watch the move.

Standing in the new spot of her old room.  When we move back in she'll have a new room and where she is standing will be the new master.

At 10:50 she decided she needed to go on to school.  Let's face it she was afraid she'd miss lunch time!

The house was finished in 1939....if they could see it in 2014....wow.  I bet they never would have guessed that this thing would one day be on the back of a Mack Truck being moved.

Today around 11:30 AM the house landed on her new resting spot. 

Bad picture but you know I'll have another one soon.

I was overwhelmed more than I thought with this whole shebang.  My nerves got the best of me prior to the last picture and I became pretty sick (ewww both ends TMI).

A blessing it is to have it moved.  Unfortunately, this is just the first step in many, many more ahead.  I am thankful to my family that have helped us out for this first step both financially, professionally, and by giving us a place stay.

My heart is very heavy today.  Thank you for your prayers and thoughts and kind words.

See ya tomorrow with a FUN post.

The BIG Move: Movement!

Guess what happened?

YES!  The house was moved half the length of the basement on Tuesday!!!

OK so that doesn't sound like a lot....but to me it is.

Today we should see her move all the way over to her new location.  

The BIG Move: Week 3 Begins

As of the end of last week the house was totally on steel beams.  I didn't get to talk to the movers on Friday but feel like we'll be in motion today or tomorrow.

There is a mound of dirt around the back of the house that any little boy could have a total field day in.

I'm excited to see what progress we make this week.

See you soon!  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!

Weekend Recap: I still live with my mom.

Hey ya'll.  How was your weekend?

Ours was great!  I think my new tag line is...


Friday was gymnastics and crock pot chicken verde.
 

Saturday was little league football (they lost), a church bazaar (bought nothing), and a happy birthday party for my college bestie's little man (he turned three).

Saturday night was free time for me and the hubby!  My mom watched the kids so we could go out for a little while.  We hit up a local establishment and enjoyed live music and good times with great friends.  I don't think I had laughed that much in weeks!

Sunday was greeted by a sinus headache from the pits of the southernmost place....yes Florida.

The Diva went to church with the g-parents and we slowly cleaned up and took the doggy for a stroll at the Tanglewood then followed that up with a Walmart run.  We closed the day out with dinner at my dad's and then I graded some papers for my mom.  Zzzzz...

It was a great weekend.

I hope yours was too!  Here's to an eventful week!