June + Friday = YAY!

Happy Friday!  How exciting is it that this is the first Friday of what I say is summer time - yes I know it is spring (technically) but to me summer hit last weekend.  

Speaking of last weekend - Memorial Day Weekend was a blast!  We were so lucky here in my neck of the woods of North Carolina that the Tropical Storm Bonnie stayed away from us.  Thoughts go out to all those in South Carolina and Georgia who had a rough holiday weekend.

Some of my favorite things from the weekend include:

Pool Time -

Yes the water is cloudy in this picture but after the clarifier hit it was super clear and nice!  Saturday was balmy and pure perfection for the pool to be christened.  The kids had a blast as did the adults.  

Date Night -

I cannot express how fabulous it is to have the best babysitter ever in our lives.  Once a month we get to sneak out of the house and leave our kids to the great care of Taylor.  She is just phenomenal.  Over the past few years we started making Memorial Day Weekend Date Night a ritual.  Our favorite spot is a fun little place on Lake Norman called The Blue Parrot.  It is so laid back and super fun.  Oh and this sugar free girl did let her guard down and have a lot of Rum Runners over the course of the weekend.  I'm human and when it is warranted (think - holidays, vacation) I'll slide and let myself have something with some carbs and sugar in it.  You don't even want to know what I ate that night.  OK I'll spill the beans - fried shrimp he size of my head.

Chicken Coop -

My husband spent about 15 hours constructing our chicken coop over the entire weekend.  I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to finally have birds again!  For a girl who grew up hating birds it is baffling how much I adore them now.  Maybe that is a sign I am getting old?  Nah just seasoned!

We are actually still working on some of the aesthetics of it so stay tuned for a post to come soon highlighting this whole chicken coop construction shenanigan.

Amanda's Rum Runner -

My favorite drink of all time is the Rum Runner.  However, most days I find myself missing orange juice, or pineapple juice, or blackberry liqour.

That means I make my own.

1 tall shot of dark rum

1 tall shot of light rum

1 tall shot of banana rum

4 oz of orange juice

4 oz of Simply Raspberry Lemonade

Pour over ice, shake, drink like you are hanging out with Captain Jack Sparrow.

And that is Memorial Day Weekend in a nutshell.

School is out in four more days.  I'm really ready for it to be out and then again not.  Is it safe for me to admit I'm already being the slacker parent who is letting her kid sleep way past the alarm clock and no paying too much attention to bed time?  Eeeek, yeah I am that mom.  

I'm totally loving that my daughter is going to her favorite summer camp the first two weeks school is out of session!  She's stoked too!

What I'll be kind of sad about is the fact my time with the hubby will be diminished.  With school being out and his hours changing we'll miss out on a lot of the us time we were getting used to.  On Wednesday we had a mini date morning at a local park (Tanglewood, great place just a few miles away.)

This weekend I'm looking forward to my bestie coming down with her cutie pie boys.  We're going to have a fun pool day while the kiddos play and we gab.  

Maybe, just maybe I'll get a garden planted.  I have high hopes for some tomatoes, spaghetti squash, and peppers to be growing in my back yard.

Here's hoping you guys have had a terrific week and a safe, healthy, and fun weekend awaits you!

Tomorrow I'll have my blog recap up!

xoxoxox

Linked up with the beautiful Katie over at Cup of Tea Blog

Linked up with Mrs. Marcellino over at Carolina Charm Blog

Friyay!

Well hello most magical day of the week!  Alright for this week it is the most magical day and I'm so totally excited to admit that while you are reading this I am on the way to the beach with my most bestest friend in the whole entire universe.

And that makes my No. 1 -





Headed to the beach with my best friend!

I'm working backwards for this Friday 5.  Today I am cutting the apron strings, putting the Kool Aid and crackers back in the cabinet, and leaving my babies to spend the weekend with an assortment of their beloved family members (their delicious daddy, their favorite nana, and the other grandparents.)
Yes, my best friend and I are busting county and state lines to hopefully a warm and sunny South Carolina coastline.

Check out my post from Wednesday where I pulled the first five things from my Pinterest search on Girl's Beach Weekend!

No. 2



School is out for summer!

For me!  I wrapped up my stint at school on Wednesday.  Though I love it there I am glad to welcome in summer time and get ahead on some other things before my own kids are out.  Now my focus is on growing my cleaning business.  Oh and some blogging stuff :)  Like paying more attention to the series I want to do on giving up sugar, cooking, etc.

Check out my Tasty Tuesday post - yes I brought it back this week!  I talked THM, Sugar Free Living, and Aldi!

No. 3

Did any of you catch this episode of Psych? Haha.

Appointments everywhere!

This week has been very busy.  My daughter's vision has been growing worse so we were out to get that checked.  She really wanted contact lenses because she is suddenly self conscious about her glasses, eyes, and mouth - don't ask, I don't know.  I hate that she received my screw ball genetics for vision.  At least she didn't get my math genes.  Anyway, no contacts this year but we made a deal that next year she could try them.  Thank GOD for some Walmart glasses - I got my girl a brand new pair of glasses that are super adorable for a total of $38 (that is lenses and frames!)  We purchased her last pair at the Walmart Vision Center and were very pleased with the price and quality of what she got.  I tell you they will one day take over all markets...groceries, tires, glasses, hair, meds, clothing, banking....

Wednesday was a super happy appointment - hair day!  I celebrated finishing up the school year by getting my horrible roots and brassy ends remedied!  Lizz is the best of the best and I love that crazy girl to pieces.  We have some hilarious discussions while the bleach is eradicating my gray hairs.

My bestie had an appointment on Tuesday to get her nails did with her mother-in-law.  Oh it was funny she was texting me play by plays. Apparently the pedicurist was wearing a questionable outfit that led us to talking about massages and "happy endings" and then I got the text of all texts - a vomit face with "MY EYES!  I JUST SAW UNDERWEAR!"  At least it wasn't vajayjay!!!!  But still yucko.

Did you catch my Monday post - every Monday we're at the horse farm.  My girl is doing fabulous in learning the necessary English riding skills.  I'm so proud but find out why we are all also so sad.

No. 4

Mother's Day Rocked!

I had such a nice Mother's Day!  Actually the whole weekend aside from a brief tummy bug was fabulous.  Saturday we went on an adventure to the next county over for plants and it was a bust.  Then my stomach waged war against me.  My husband had a stomach virus the entire week before so I figured I was succombing to it.  He took the kids to a family get-together with some visiting family members from Atlanta that he hadn't seen in years.  I laid around reading Where'd Ya Go Bernadette and willing the stomach bug to pass.  Good news is that it did!  I made a delicious pineapple cake (sugar free) and did my nails.  The kids ended up spending the night with their nana - the hubs and I enjoyed the weather and watched The Cobbler.  Have you seen it?  Sunday was church, a trip to Lowes where I scored lots of gorgeous perennials for a romance garden I planted that day, and lunch at Sixty-Six Pizza.  Come to Winston-Salem and eat there.

If a day is spent with good food, family, and my hands in the dirt planting pretty things I am super happy.

Yesterday I posted quick tips on getting your home all ready for the upcoming summer!  Check it out by clicking here!

No. 5



This week I have been super engaged in my Twitter feed.  Probably because I'm crazy about live tweeting while watching my favorite shows.  It is my new wind down method - weird right?  Which reminds me if you are on SnapChat add me!  abullnojoke is my name on there and I would love to be friends! What you see above should snap to add me on :) My IG is more active than normal (did you catch the night of the bobcat?) @abrownieworld.
 




Five things I pinned this week!

Low carb doesn't always mean low sugar but I may just scope this baby out for a treat one weekend.

I want this house.  I was on a moving kick all week.  I want to pay off all my debt and move really badly.  No, it isn't happening.  I'm just dreaming.

For the rest of my life, please!

So true, so freaking true...I blame my kids.

H54F #17 of '16

Happy first Friday of May!!!  I feel like saying hello summer but this morning it was forty something degrees - say what?!?!

A lot of awesome sauce stuff happened around here this week and I am so ready to share it with you - let's do this!

1.  I had chickens on my Spring Bucket List...

And I moved them to my pending summer bucket list.  Well last Sunday after church I kind of sort of ended up buying seven little chickies.  If you have followed the blog for a long time then you know I love having my chickens.  My last flock died off - some to disease and some at the jowls of some adorable Labradors.  After our house incident in 2014; chickens were the last thing on my mind.  However, after re-establishing I have been ready for more backyard birds.  Here's to raising my babies (praying they are all girls) and to a really cool coop (my husband has set the bar high) in the coming weeks!

On another chicken note - they are the best animals for kids.  Dogs are great, cats are meh, fish die but chickens are fabulous animals for kids to learn and practice responsibility.  My daughter has had chickens since she was two and she adores caring for them and interacting with them.  I think it will be the same for my little man.

2.  My Reading Rider...

Monday was super insane busy.  Not only was it Monday it was day one of my sugar detox, riding lesson day, and Meet The Author Night at my daughter's school.  Yeah - we all kind of hit the ground running.  Oh and did I fail to mention that I had no childcare for my H-Man so he accompanied us to riding lessons.

3.  Muffins With Mom...

I will so miss the preschool days when they are a thing of my past.  This week I had a busy Wednesday but in the craziness I had a special little breakfast with my son at his awesome preschool.  It was difficult attending a carbs & sugar bash when I'm on a detox and maybe I did cheat and have a little indulgence.  Seriously ladies, how do I say no to an excited little face?!?!  Did you catch my Mother's Day (Another 5 Pins Post) and my very special from the heart Mother's Day post??

4.  4 Days & 6 Days

As of this morning I have four days left working at the escuela and 7 days until the beach weekend with my BFF.  Unfortunately, I still cannot find a bathing suit I like.

5.  Mother's Day

I wish all the good mommies out there a very happy weekend ahead!  I hope you are celebrated in whatever way is the best for you.  This week I had two mom posts.  My Pinterest 5 - a fun post I do weekly - was based around gifting ideas for mom.  Maybe you will find you feel the same way as I do on some of those ideas!  My second post was a more serious and heart felt look at moms...maybe my gift to you.

And speaking of Pins....this week I pinned these five to try, love, use, etc!  Get these pins by clicking my Pinterest link on the side bar!

This looks like my meal for the weekend!

This will be made this weekend!

I'm insane over pineapples right now!

I'm slightly in love with this dress and I want it badly for the summer.

Yes, please.

Linked up with:

High Five: I Love Friday!

Hello gorgeous people!  It is Friday and that means I am super happy.  I'm also super happy to be linked up with #H54F today - since I haven't had a chance in a week or so.

So...here are five things I want to share with you on this glorious end of the work week day!

1.  I posted a video!

If you are not aware of my blog's Facebook page then please check it out!  (facebook.com/abrownieworld)  This week I was too lazy to type up my Walmart Beauty Box post that I just videoed it.  Yes, it is rough (I promise to work on my skills) but it was super fun.  Oh and my sweet four legged baby is in the video too!

2.  I'm on Snap Chat!



And I know nothing about it.  I downloaded the app a month ago.  Maybe you can teach me how to use it?!?!  Add me (abullnojoke) :)  This could be fun...

3.  Our yard is nearly complete!



Maybe I should say our land?!?!  Last week we were in the beginning stages of the grading and excavating period.  As of today, all that is complete and we are moving on to sowing our yard this weekend.  I'm so not excited.  Ha!

4.  Compliments are fabulous!



I have had an endless array of compliments on my tan this week.  No, I do not utilize a tanning bed (bad stuff, y'all.)  I also haven't had a chance to lay out (use SPF!)  But I am a HUGE fan of Banana Boat Endless Summer Deep Tanner.  It goes on so easy and doesn't leave me looking like a bag of Cheet-oh's!

5.  Antiques



I'll have a post out next week but...my husband bought me two new antique pieces of furniture last week.  I am super excited.  He is such a sweet guy - it was unplanned (the expenditure) but it really made my day and two of my rooms!

Last Week's Saturday Post
Catch up on what you missed last week on A Brownie World.  Six things I felt like sharing, the recap, and the Pins that spoke to my heart (or something.)

Tales From The Pasture
This week I share a little bit of my own seasoned parenting advice.  A little humor and a little heart and soul.  It is funny how much stuff you learn from being in a pasture, ring, or with your animals.

Around The Home
Check out what has been going on around our place this week!  We're up to something big (per the usual, oh my goodness.)

Bathing Suit Season: A Pinterest Fun Post
I share the first five suits to pop up on my Pinterest feed.  This was fun (and scary!)

5 Reasons: I love Southern Charm
My television pleasure is Southern Charm (on Bravo).  I couldn't pin point a real reason I loved it until I sat down to write this post.  Can I just say....Shep.

For my kids...my son wants to eat 24/7 so this would be super helpful to have on hand!  Plus, my daughter could enjoy it too!

Skippy that, y'all.  Don't waste your time on people who do not treasure you.

I need this fire pit...at some point.

These are my new favorite shorts.  I purchase mine at Walmart (jr's section) for $7.96.  They are fabulous.

Question of the day....is this a human or a mannoquin?

Get these pins by clicking the link to my Pinterest Boards on my side bar!

I hope you each have a wonderful weekend!!!  Get some Vitamin D and enjoy yourselves!

H54F: The Week of Brrr

Greetings beauties!

Happy Friday to you!  We are having a pot luck lunch at work and I'm so excited to be totally, disgustingly unhealthy.  Seriously, it is a carb and sugar overload menu!

Here are my five...

1.  Carolina Blue Sky

This is in no way a reference to the Tar Heels.  I am NOT a Tar Heel fan.  This is actually a true reference to my home and our beautiful skies this week!  It has been super cold but super gorgeous with sunshine and clear crisp skies.  I love it!

2.  Southern Charm

It is back!  I set my DVR to record it since I knew there was no way I would be able to watch it on Monday.  Tuesday evening while the kids were gone out with their step-grand I took full advantage of turning it on while I devoured dinner.  I'm so sick that Landon is back (did you see my Twitter?) and T. Rav is soooo gross.  Really?  You had to let Craig be in it again?  Can't we just have a Cam & Shep show?

3.  I actually opened a book!

I haven't had a desire to read at all.  Then I took a nice long shower and realized it was read or fall asleep to Peppa Pig.  So guys my nose is in an old Sophie Kinsella book - I have already read the entire Shoapholic Series and a few other books she has written so I'm good to go.

I was going to put up the video but it is so stupid with their hokey pokey white boy dancing that I was like - nope cannot do that.  

4.  FL GA Line

If you a "liker" of my old Facebook Page (A Brownie World Blog) then you totally know I'm all about their song Confession.  This is a duo that I have hated for years and now in my old age I am like, "Well turn it up."

5.   Blessings in your face.

This week has been a constant reminder of amazing grace.  I've had several situations where I really see things I take for granted as completely immense blessings of grace on my life.  I can never be thankful enough and in a way that bugs me but then again it is awesome.  Every day is another day to say thank you and to see a simple miracle occur - one that we normally take for granted every single second.

Tales From The Pasture
A little something new on the blog - chronicling the new phase in our daughter's ascent into maturing, growing, and finding her way.  Maybe our own too...

Are You Gonna Eat That?
Meet the new way I make a menu...for the month!

It Is OK, okay?
Totally fun little link up where I somewhat confess to some things...I'll leave you hanging!

North Carolina in April
I have to show off my state - I cannot stop with these posts!

The $#it Holes I've Stayed In....
Hello vacation season - oh my goodness some memories from the horrible places I have paid to stay!

Find these on my Pinterest Boards!  Click the icon over on the right side of this page!

I love this dress...love, love, love it.

Ain't that the truth!

I want this for my room.

We planted bulbs this past weekend and now I'm plotting my flower take over 2016!

For my daughter...

Happy weekend friends!  We were hoping to do a little fishing but I'm thinking the projected cold temps will keep that at bay.  Praying for warmer weather!!!

xoxoxox