Isn't the baby one adorable?
Dave and I chilling on the boat
Little man is loving life and floating on the water - can you see his smile?
The little lady was a bit cranky from her late night the night before but one jump into the lake and she was all smiles! She's also not shy about letting me take her pictures which I absolutely love, I'll have to practice my skills on them more often.
Here's Jen trying to warm up little man because the water was a bit chilly at this time.
Here's Shawn swimming in the deep water with the kids because it was just too cold for us girls, we liked watching more.
Captain made sure we got to and from the dock safely.
You may have heard about the Better Homes & Gardens 48 hour challenge that took place this spring/summer between 5 bloggers. They were given $500 to spend at Home Depot and 48 hours to complete a weekend project. Well there was very stiff competition between Making It Lovely and This Young House (now known as Young House Love) but I think the hand-painted floor that looks like a rug cinched the win for Making It Lovely. It was the most beautifully painted floor I've ever seen and did I mention that Nicole was 9 months pregnant when she did it?
I know you are dying to see that floor and as you can see they redid their front porch for the challenge. Isn't the green and pink so refreshing and relaxing for a porch?
And look at lucky Eleanor's nursery......ahhhh!
She put together the details of the nursery for her readers. I love that she is so generous with sharing every detail of her rooms including where she got the various items. This is so helpful when you want something that she put in a room. (Note: I'm not putting together a nursery but this was just one example-sorry.)
Didn't get enough of the front porch? Here's a before and after, what a difference and it only cost $500!
Last but not least, here's her business website Pink Loves Brown.
Thanks Nicole and keep the inspiration and beautiful pictures of Eleanor coming.
After I whipped up the dough and baking the cookies in the oven for 12 minutes, I made the cream cheese frosting which I slathered in between the two cookies and wa-la, lemon whoopie pies. My mouth is watering as I look at these whoopie pies and I wish that I had some left overs because I'm really craving another one of these. I'm off to make another batch. Oh, are you looking for the recipe? Here you go!
ENJOY!!!
Cardstock paper, gluedots (adhesive), and scissors
All you do is trim the cardstock to the size of your shadow box and adhere the seafan to the paper. You need to use a shadow box versus a picture frame because of the end of the seafan that is 3 dimensional but if you want to cut that off you could use a frame.
Here's my Seafan in the 2nd bathroom next to the beachy picture already framed.
Our little window with some birds and toiletries for bathtime.
Another view of the bathroom
This was a super quick project and I love that I finally have some artwork hanging up in the bathroom. I'm thinking about framing a starfish into a smaller shadow box but I don't want this room to be too themed which is always a problem for me. In addition to hanging these 2 frames, I pounded about 20 nails into our walls today but you'll have to wait to see where the other 18 nails went. 
Pumpkin Pie Bars - I LOVE pumpkin and will be whipping these up shortly
Red Velvet Black and White Cookies
Peanut Butter Fudge Treats 
She even makes her own Vanilla Extract and I'm really excited about trying this because I go through this stuff like water and it's not cheap. I think this would make a great hostess gift or holiday gift for the baker in your life. Warning - it takes 2 months to make so make sure you plan ahead with this project.
Root Beer Float Cake - oh my, this has me dreaming about the floats from A&W when I was a child and I am itching to try this as well.
I make the best Carrot Cake ever (I know but it's true) so when I saw these Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream, it was love at first sight. This combines my love for cupcakes with my love for carrot cake, what more does a girl need?
Are you drooling over these recipes or have I already lost you to your kitchen to begin some baking? I should have put a warning at the front of this post but if these recipes don't have you running to the kitchen and you want something a bit more unique why don't you try her Vegan Chocolate Avocado Cake, Fresh Mango Lime Bread, or Blueberry Sour Cream Ice Cream with Fudge Sauce. I wasn't kidding when I said Joy bakes up some "creative creations" did I. Instead of baking another dozen chocolate chip cookies why not try one or two recipes. Have I convinced you to try one of these delicious recipes, do you promise to try one of them soon? I know I will and I'll follow up with all of you on the outcome, if there is any left of course. Also if you need a taste-tester, I'm always available. 
Peach and Mint Green - how can you not love this color combination? Grey Likes Weddings put together this Peachy Keen inspiration board and even though I'm not getting married, this is one blog that is plump full of inspiration and will have you think - should we renew our vows and have another wedding celebration?
Oh my oh my, how gorgeous are these place settings? I wouldn't want to dirty up the place setting after seeing this, I would prefer to stare and admire the colors. I love the mason jar wrapped in twine with beautiful roses. For more inspiration, check out this post on hostess saavy for more inspiration.
And I'm proud (please don't be "green" with envy) that the garden is flourishing and I'm so happy that we took the challenge of growing our own veggies this year. We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, dill, basil, and parsley - needless to say I can't wait to bite into those juicy tomatoes in a few more weeks.
AFTER - LOOK AT THAT BABY GROW!!!
I was so ecstatic to see my picture from the "What was I doing at..." challenge on the one and only Elizabeth Kartchner's blog - Just Us. Seriously out of the 123 bloggers that participated in the contest, she thought my sexy turquoise blue pj's where too exciting to resist. That's me in the lower left hand corner digging through my closet trying to sort out my wardrobe picks for the following day. While I didn't win the give-away, I feel like a winner after Liz posted a comment on my blog (gush) and then included me in her "group hug" picture. What can I say, I love it when "famous" people drop by to say hi. If you aren't a scrapbooker you may be wondering what is the big deal but let me tell you ladies and gents that she was Scrapbooker of the Year from the all famous Creating Keepsakes magazine and is a force to be reckoned with. Need I say more? Don't believe me, check out her blog post here.
Here's the beauty that has seen better days.
Lots of sanding
2 coats of primer
2 coats of white paint
After seeing how gorgeous this new headboard looked in the guest bedroom, I decided that the room needed a face lift and some new bedding. I hit the jackpot at TJMaxx/Homegoods and got a great deal on this coverlet and pillows. Also can you believe that I got that little table for $10 at Target? It ties in beautifully with the black frames and slipper chair next to the dresser. 
What do you think - do you like the white headboard and new bedding? Any other suggestions to make this even more comfortable? The room has a yellowish/taupe paint color with white, black, and taupe accessories. This guest bedroom also is where our little Tanner hangs out in his crate all day - he seems to like the new look thus far.