Happy 4th!

OBX is a loooong way from Alabama!

For the past month or so, our family has been looking forward to spending some time on the river. My husband and I both grew up camping and swimming there, and now our kids love it, too. Unfortunately, when vacation time rolled around, the river was out of its banks - flooded - and no good for fun.

So we started considering other options for fun family time.

• Atlanta - Stone Mountain, Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Zoo, Museum of Natural History, White Water . . . . tons of things to do!
• Chattanooga - Aquarium, Zoo, Ruby Falls, Rock City, Incline Railway, Caverns . . . also lots to do.
• Jellystone Campground - Water play for the kids, relaxation for the parents.

Those were our leading contenders. They were all good options, but they all had the same big drawback - the forecast! Rain, rain, and more rain - all with a chance of storms. =(  Close to home was just not going to be an option. We asked the kids what they wanted to do, and both wanted to go camping or go to the beach. So with the clock ticking down the hours to departure time, we decided on our destination . . . .

I honestly thought we were out of our minds, setting off on an overnight drive with the hope that we would find a campsite in the Outer Banks on Memorial Day weekend. Let me tell you, it was a LOOOONG drive, but my sweetie was up to the task. I mostly just talked to him (something I'm very good at!) to keep him awake.

We arrived mid-morning Friday and began the campsite hunt with a stop at the NPS office (I think that's what it is?) to talk with a ranger. He advised me that the Oregon Inlet campground was most centrally located, so we headed that way . . . and found a CAMPGROUND FULL sign on the door. I went in anyway, and found that some campers had just checked out - they had the perfect place for us!

Our oceanfront property at Oregon Inlet 

The wind put a whoopin' on our tent!

We had an amazing time! There is so much to see and do in this area.

Ready for our Jeep tour!

The beach was absolutely beautiful out past the end of the road. I would've never guessed that there was an entire community miles beyond where the road ends - they have to drive on the beach to get to their houses!

wild horse

The lighthouses are soooo pretty! 

We didn't get to see Bodie - it was undergoing some maintenance.

Ready to climb the lighthouse!

Logan loved the Wright Brothers memorial! He studied about them in school this year.

On our way back home, we took the ferry to Ocracoke Island, and then on to Cedar Island to get back to the mainland. The 30-minute ride to Ocracoke was fun, but the 2.5 hour ride to Cedar Island was a bit much!

The beaches on the Outer Banks were absolutely beautiful! 

No high-rise condos & hotels like we have on the Gulf.

Ocracoke Lighthouse

We didn't have much time in Ocracoke, but it was so pretty!

We had such a good time on this trip - and the kids got both camping and the beach! =) 

I am so incredibly thankful for this little family that God has blessed us with, and for this time away together. What a way to start the summer!

Mother's Day Fun!

Yesterday was such a fun day! The kids woke me up with a couple of surprise gifts (that I picked out Saturday night!), and Ben cooked pancakes for breakfast. After church with both of our moms, we headed out for a rare day of doing absolutely nothing . . . well, nothing but having laid-back fun together!

We hit the backroads. . .

. . . and enjoyed nature. 

As we drove slowly with the windows down, the sweet smell of the honeysuckle and hedge drifted in. Heavenly!

We spent some time down by the river collecting fossils out of a bank, which we all loved. 

It's amazing to unearth evidence that sharks used to swim where we live!

We had so much fun just hanging out together!

If you look closely behind Logan, you'll see a train stopped across the road. 

This is what he did while his daddy went to ask the work crew how long the road would be blocked.

What a blessing to spend such a fun day with the people who call me Momma! When were were about to start heading toward home, Logan said, "I been having so much fun that I forgot all about having a loose tooth!" His first loose tooth has been on his mind constantly, so I guess this means that he enjoyed our day as much as I did. =)  

Hope you all had a great Mother's Day, too!

Simple, Summery Door Hanging

Welcome!

Ever since I took down my Christmas wreath, I've been missing having something pretty on the front door. I guess I've just been waiting for some inspiration. Well it finally arrived, in the form of a cheese hoop lid.

I was plundering in my Momma's shed when I found this and a light bulb popped up over my head. It was already missing the ring around the lid - ready to use!

It was tongue-and-grooved together, so we took it apart and put some wood glue in the grooves to keep it together.

Then I transferred my initial onto it. I rubbed chalk on the back of the letter and outlined it with a pen. I expected to use the chalk outline, but it turned out that the pen imprint was more prominent than the chalk (guess I should have picked a darker color!). I just used a Sharpie to trace and fill in my letter.

I kept the accessorizing to a minimum with a little twine and a starfish. For a pop of color, I used bright pink ribbon to hang it, which I just stapled on the back. I also put some globs of hot glue on the back to serve as bumpers.

After I hung it, I decided that it would look better if the ribbon was attached on both sides instead of just in the middle, so I did a little reworking. And here it is!

It's simple and summery - just what I wanted!

Partying with:
Talented Tuesday @ My Frugal Family
Get Your Craft On Tuesday @ Today's Creative Blog
Make It Yours Day @ My Backyard Eden

Curb-shopping JACKPOT!!!

Such great things to be found curbside! My hubby and I spent Friday night curb-shopping with my brother-in-law . . . it was their town's annual big trash pickup. We had soooo much fun scrounging for treasures, and we found four truck loads of goodies! 

This vintage lace was among lots of old craft supplies I found.

I found two boxes of wooden hangers - one still perfectly 

packaged with a shipping label to Abercrombie & Fitch

Pickets, spindles & table legs for future projects

Love these cute old signs!

Anyone know if this bed will strip well? I'd love to refinish 

it for my son's room - it even came with the rails!

We even found some toys for the kiddies!

And last, but certainly not least - my strangest, most intriguing find . . . .

An old, black puppet wearing tap shoes!  

Anybody know anything about old puppets?

Linking up to:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays @ Coastal Charm
Thrifty Treasures @ Southern Hospitality 

Putting last week's thrifty finds to use

After my fabulous haul from the yard sales last week, I was excited about putting some of those finds to use! (My hubby is being very annoying encouraging in this area - he's tired of me piling up his spot in the garage with "junk"!)

Remember this little wreath?

I could not snip off those tired little flowers 

fast enough - and there were tons of them!

And this poor mistreated bottle?

They now have new lives, lives that bring me much joy!

I am absolutely loving these cuttings of native azalea. 

There's lots of them in our woods, and I anxiously 

await them blooming every year. 

 

I  have been told that my mystery metal 

tabletop is an egg tray from a commercial hatchery.

 

Doesn't every flat surface need a starfish? 

I found this old Joy of Cooking at a yardsale 

years ago, and the rolling pin belonged to 

my grandmother.

On a different note, I passed 50 followers this weekend!!! I have so much fun with this blog, and it's nice to know that there are people who actually read it. Thanks y'all!

I'm linking this up to Ready, Set, Vignette at The Stories of A to Z. 

She ain't no beauty queen . . .

 

In fact, she's downright UGLY!

When we designed and built our house, we did so with the intention of hanging a big swing (think four grown butts big) on the back porch. So one day my father-in-law tells me, "I've got a swing for you . . . so-and-so gave it to me." And proceeded to show me the ugliest swing I've ever seen. Ummmm, thanks . . . . but, um, I hadn't really planned on having harvest gold carpet on my swing . . . and, um, I kinda thought we might get something with the back completely attached. So FIL put the swing in his barn.

Fast-forward six months. We're in the house now, and spring is coming quickly . . . I want a swing, but I don't want to go shopping for one, and I sure don't want to pay for a pretty, well-built swing that big. So I tucked my tail between my legs and asked my father-in-law if he still had Ugly. He did, so I went and wrested the monstrosity into the truck and brought it home. 

After removing the carpet, attaching the back, and giving her a good coat of paint, she looks downright presentable now.

Please ignore my dirty porch - I'm well aware that I 

need to put down my paintbrush & pick up a broom!

She still ain't no beauty queen, but I'm happy with Plain Jane!

Want to see more fabulous projects?

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage

Frugaliscious Friday @ Finding Fabulous