Self-Serve and a French Post Office Box

 I used the small chalkboard we had at our 'real' lemonade stand and put it with our indoor cart.  With so much family, self-serve is a must! Some of you will remember this from last year!

 You can see this old French post office box in the top picture (background) as a centerpiece on my table.  This would make a nice Christmas gift.  Start looking for unusual containers to hold poinsettias or other arrangements for your gifts!

This one still has the key!

Thanks for stopping by!

Precious Life

We are saddened this morning by the death of a boy who drowned yesterday at our neighbor's house.  We love to go boating in the evening when Rob gets home from work.  It is quiet on the lake and not so many boats.  Our young kids are just learning to ski, and I feel better, when it is not so crowded.  

We passed this family and friends on their dock last night many times and heard them laughing and enjoying the cool of the water.  As the day came to an end, we saw lights and police cars and heard the ambulance surrounding their home.  

Rob's pager went off as we approached from the water.  We immediately knew what that meant.  My children are young, but even they knew.  Rob handles the difficult part of life...death.  A young boy, only fifteen years old had drowned on a Friday evening while enjoying a pleasant evening with his family.  

 Some folks think we are a bit strict, because we make our children wear a life jacket on the dock and in the lake at all times.  They are all capable swimmers, but the lake is dark.  Cramps happen.  Injuries happen.

We can't live in fear, but we can learn from these sad experiences.  We have seen it so many times over the decade that we have lived here...family and friends enjoying the lake and each other and children falling in or wandering in never to be seen again.  It absolutely breaks my heart.  

Please lift a prayer for this family today.

Hug your little ones.  Hug your big ones.

Make your little ones wear life jackets around the water.  Start early and they will accept it as a way of life. Let them scream, if they don't like the jacket.  I have seen too many parents take it off, when their child started to scream.  Leave it on. Their life is worth it.

Life is a gift.

Life is precious.

I have shared this story in the hopes it will bring awareness to water safety for children.

Blessings to you this Saturday morning,

Red Paper Straws

I think it is fair to say that many of us are crazy about pretty paper straws!  Sur La Table carries  a box of 144 red or blue straws in their store for $5.95!  In the past I have ordered some from the web and can tell you that this is a pretty good deal!  

I am shopping with my kids for school trying to find 'good deals' on school supplies, clothes, and shoes!  Of course, these straws are not on the shopping list, but what a good deal!  I am processing some fun ways to use them for gifts for Christmas!

What good deals have you found lately?

A Children's Gardening Gift

Brooke and her little friend, Molly aren't real big into vegetables.  For Molly's birthday, we decided to give her a little basket of 'vegetables.'  She loves to play waitress or chef in the kitchen, so the hope is that maybe these pretend vegetables will appeal to her!  I added some gardening tools and seeds to encourage her to grow her own vegetables!  With little ones, you never know what will work!

I am sharing gift ideas to encourage all of you to prepare your Christmas list early!  Lots of fun things are on sale as the summer season ends!  If you have any great gift ideas, please share them! 

Book and felt vegetables: IKEA

Basket, garden tools, gloves, & seeds: Michael's

Red & white gingham ribbon: Hobby Lobby

Thanks for stopping by!

A Kitschy Kitchen Gift

My friend loves all things vintage.  She has the most beautiful home filled with fun vintage finds!  She and her husband remodeled a 1950's ranch-style home and it is a fun mix of modern and old!  This set of stacking bowls will go great in her kitchen!

For her birthday, I gave these mixing bowls filled with some retro-looking kitchen wares and dish towels.  I will be posting a few simple gifts this week to inspire you to plan your Christmas gift list now!

What ideas do you have for Christmas gifts?

Retro mixing bowls by 222: Ross

Red utensils: Tuesday Morning

Red & white check dish towels (set of 3): Tuesday Morning

White towel with watermelon and ric rac: Sur La Table (on sale now)  

Wooden rolling pin with red handles: Sur La Table (my great-grandmother had one just like this!)

Vintage looking kitchen timer: Anthropolgie (available in many colors)

Red polka dot and floral journal:  Michael's (dollar bin)

Red polka dot tissue paper: Target

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Summer Celebrations

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the summer is filled with red, white & blue.

These little IKEA cushions are a bit small for these big Adirondack chairs, but so easy to throw in the wash!

...a few more cushions in blue flank these chairs!

I found these skimmer hats last year at Target...cute for photo ops!

I love quilts!  My sister gave me the (Pottery Barn) red and white quilt for my 40th birthday.  The flag pillow came from Target a few years ago, and the square pillow came from Kohl's.

Homegoods...I love pillows, too.  You can change a space with pillows and blankets and make it feel cozy and new.

This little vintage-looking string of lights gives off just enough light in the evening.  (It is on clearance at Kohl's now!)

So...I am not real proud of the acquisition of these vintage beach chairs...twenty plus years ago...old boyfriend...lifeguard...you get the picture.  He said they were being thrown away.  I gave them to my parents and hadn't seen them in years, until my dad recently came across them and asked me if I wanted them.  Ummmm...YES!  Ballard Designs has similar ones on sale.

  The little cobalt pot was my mom's 'potty' when she was little.  Now, it holds pretty flowers!

There is just something about the bright yellow Black-Eyed Susan's that look so sharp against the red, white & blue!

The little vintage linen table cloth seems to tie it all together.

With so much family in town and the occasional BBQ or celebration with friends, we are never lacking in moments to entertain!  My husband organizes the life jackets (we call 'boat coats!') on a rope for all ages to easily find their size!

I set out a bucket of sunscreen and some bug spray for our guests...necessities around here!

I hope you are enjoying your summer celebrations!

Thanks for stopping by!