A Giggle from our Gobble

Most holidays follow the same format in my parents house.

1. we set the table early. check

2. menu is planned weeks in advance. check

3. I always help do something. check

This year my "something" was providing wonderful yeast rolls. 

If you have read this blog for any amount of time you know i REALLY like to save a buck.

A dear friend of mine has a yeast roll business she runs out of her home. 

I decided immediately this would be my contribution to the meal.

I hyped these rolls up for at least 3 weeks. 

Giggle goes as follows...

We walked in the door of my parents, said our hello's and i popped in the kitchen to place the delectable delights into the oven.

I go sit on the couch with my mom and we begin discussing a new book I am borrowing from a friend and how wonderful it sounds. 

Then mom returns to the kitchen to finish prepping the meal and i transition into the den with the rest of the family.

We watch the parade, then some of the dog show then the soft smell of yeast rolls fills my nose. 

Someone screams, "The ROLLS!!"

I run to the double oven, {which i misread temp} grab a mitt.

And it was too late. 

My delectable delights... were well...

Delightfully overdone...

Oh well, my husband and i immediately laughed, dad got upset for a nanosecond, then he and i realized this is just another wonderful memory to add to the repertoire of giggles from thanksgivings in the past.

Like the year mom dropped the frozed turkey on her foot in Kroger's parking lot and broke her foot. 

This one matches in giggle factor. 

Hope each and everyone of you had a wonderfully memorable Thanksgiving. 

**pictures are from the dinner table at my parents. 

I am linking to 

@Between Naps on the Porch.

glasses and chargers- pier 1

dinner plates- vintage

napkins- william sonoma

napkin rings- vintage

candles and accessories found at local boutiques.

Lilly Pulitzer Birthday Party

When I think Lilly I think of the way it was when the line originally debuted.

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Sophisticated

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Bright Colors

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And Oh so Palm Beach

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This picture so perfectly represents what inspired me to have a Lilly Pulitzer party for my sweet baby girl.

On November 12th my little girl turned 2 yrs old.

I can not believe how fast time flies!!

{tad bit of background information, I have ALWAYS been in love with Lilly! At a young age i started to collect anything i could get my hands on. I have napkins, the old curtains to the fitting room at my local lilly store, an apron, print adds, cups, you name it and I probably have it! I even did a marketing project in highschool around a Lilly franchise store and used the Lilly line as inspiration for one of my clothing collections in college... I am a dork. i know..}

So without further adeau.....

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The Party!!!

Did you know the original four colors in Lilly's collection were pink, orange, yellow, and green??

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And it all started around a lemonade stand??

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Here is the link to the Lilly site explaining how the company came to be.

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I think you will really like the story!!

Recently, Barnum Animal Crackers partnered with Lilly designers to create a limited edition box for the crackers.

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Nothing says 2 yr. old party like animal crackers!

All the "party accessories" you see were designed by me.

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Inspiration was gathered from all over and I used Lilly as my launching point to create  continuity.

The Camera I am using is having some lighting issues, sorry for the brightness.

Here is the tag for the party favor.

And a sweet friend of mine designed all the cookies to look like a vintage Lilly dress.

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She did an AHMAZING job!!!!!

We used some postcards of vintage images from a Lilly ad to decorate as a banner.

And what party is complete without a lemonade stand??

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My daughter had a blast with this and it was sooooo easy to make.

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She has requested it permenantly stays in her playroom!!

And here she is.

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To follow within the theme of the party lil' bit is wearing a vintage lilly dress herself.

{dress adored with lemons and limes}

opening one of her favorite gifts.

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This family LOVES blabla dolls!!

Making an elephant noise!!

{so cute}

And after the party the lemonade stand made it's way into lil' bit's room for some real playtime!!

un.. oh...made a small spill!!

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I had such a blast getting everyting for this party together.

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The original plan was to have everything outside.

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Subsequently the weather dropped to low 50's and was cold and rainy.

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Not ideal for a outdoor party.

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So 4 hours before the party we improvised and made it work inside.

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guess i will have to save all the other items we made for a future party.

Items used:

found out about the straws from my friend Kellie @ thisblessednest.

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you can purchase the straws HERE. CKane59

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tablecloth purchased a long long time ago from our local Lilly store.

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all other accessories purchased at local party supply stores

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And yes.... we did break the theme of the party slightly...

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we served barbque...

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but hey, we live in memphis so its only fitting to feed this to out-of-town guests!

.Creating a Ballard Inspired Christmas.

Who Loves Ballard??

{cause lordy knows i do}

Well, I have an idea....

Over the next few weeks I have some ideas up my sleeve that I would like to share with yall on how you can create

The Look for Less.

Here are a few photo's of what has inspired me to create....

Anything you would like to see me do??

I also have another idea for my main christmas tree.. found it in Traditional Home Magazine a few years ago.

Can....

NOT..

Wait..

To..

Show..

YOU!!!!!!!

My Prima Ballerina.

Okay for halloween we went uber practical.

You see, in the spring lil' bit will begin taking ballet lessons, 

so i think to myself, "self, wouldn't it make sense to double this up for next spring?"

DUH!!

So that's just what we did.... I knew i wanted a super pouffy tutu 

and the ones I was seeing I just didn't like.

note: I did NOT pose her for this...she is just this full of sassiness. 

she was telling me "come mommy, skuhl!"

this picture is my favorite. 

yes, she is wearing tap shoes, because... well she is almost 2 and we already had ballet slippers

and these make alot more noise. {Lucky me!!}

once we got to the fall festival the sugar overload began!

she and daddy did a great job at the games.

Waiting in line to ride the hayride.

we thought she would be sooo independant and ride without us.

Then she chickened out!!

feeding the animals.

she was soooo bold and fearless, just walked right up with food, 

let the animals eat then she petted them!

We were amazed!!

Until......

She begged to ride the horsies!!

She hops on and realizes the man helping her isn't daddy....

insert mild toddler tantrum/mania attack..

Oh... daddy was standing on my other side!!!

I look at this picture and feel like she is 12!!!

Sorry it took me so long to record/takes me forever to blog somethings.

Short version... we live in a 1960's home with really old wiring. 

After going back and forth with our internet provider several times

it was concluded we would pay around $500 to rewire the house for DSL.

Ummmm wrong... So unless we switch to Hughesnet {strongly considering}

I may still be a week or so behind on things... Gotta love taking 3 hours in 5 different settings just to get a very simple post up!!!!

Baby Shower

A good friend of mine is having a baby. 

Well I can think of any excuse to throw a party!!

Here I am with the beautiful mommy to be!

My favorite punch in the whole world. 

The Jellybean/Mint pacifies I tweeted about!

Cupcakes !!

Dining Room Decor

Centerpiece

Pram cookie Favor

And just for my memory... here is a final photo of my 

front entry table all decked out in Halloween decor!!

Sentimental Sunday eh.. Monday

Cha Cha at Sit, Relax, and Read

is hosting a fun new linky party. 

Well I have had a small project I have been working on to go along with my Sentimental Post. 

Remember what my dining room used to look like?

Kinda boring, tan, and with alot of little furniture. 

It was great,I loved knowing we were keeping it in the family and it was my Memaw's. (dad's mom's) 

I really did love having it, that is until baby decided to start pulling on the corner cabinets.

they were top heavy and i just knew they were going to come crashing down on her. 

so we dropped the leaves of the table, put it in the organized tool shed, turned antique collectors shop 

guest house.

For a couple of days it set empty, then mom called saying I could have my Nanie and Paw Paw's dining room set (mom's parents) 

REALLY??

The set had this beautifully carved china cabinet that I have always loved... 

Swizzle SWEET!! 

did i really just say that?? anyway moving on.

Well this got me thinking, how much i HATED the color of the dining room, it was the color when we bought the house... so I got my wheels turning.

Yall haven't seen the bathroom 

{mainly because remodeling that room was put on hold when i got laid off}

but it is painted Notre Dame by Valspar.

here she is. 

a perfect dusty grey, picks up on the gorgeous veins in the carerra marble countertop!!

Well I thought i wanted something blue but the color in my kitchen was

Robin's Egg Blue by Behr

Well... I could use the remaining paint from the blue and dump in a little grey and see what happens...

what do i have to loose??

a beige wall??

So I tested and FELL IN LOVE

Here is the paint with the new furniture.

Yeah, the fabric on the chairs is oh, screaming 1992 but this is where 

we spent all the holidays of my childhood.

Aunts, uncles, cousins, both sets of grandparents, {Memaw came too} 

I distinctly remember being about 8 and wearing white tights with 

candy canes on them and snagging them on one of these chairs. 

soooooo many memories of happy times from my childhood, and I am sooooo glad

 I can create more memories around this table with my family!!!!

I also wanted to point out you can see the kitchen from this view. 

Can you see the vast difference in color between the dining room and kitchen??

Don't worry though, we won't be leaving the kitchen this color for long...

{we are thinking of using Abbington Putty by Benjamin Moore}

Don't you just love the carving in the legs and spindles in the china cabinet??

Best part.. cabinet is holding all of my sewing/crafting supplies...

Now just to find some new chairs, maybe parson's chairs.

What do yall think??

And artwork... 

botanicals?

mirrors?