Where have I been all this time?

I can not believe it has been 5 months since my last post! SO much has happened over the summer!
Over the summer, I changed the color of the shutters and front door on the house. It was tan siding with burgundy shutters and doors but it looked too stark for me. Way too much of a contrast so this time I went with a olive green and I really am pleased with the way it turned out. I actually just painted the garden shed with the same olive green so it would look nice beside the house. I will have to get some good pics to show you.

My kids also had their big birthdays this summer. My daughter, Miranda, turned the big 16. Planning a girls Sweet 16 party literally took me months for it all to come together. This is Miranda with a group of her friends. The place was so big I couldn't get them all together at one time!Miranda is the one is the front (with the Zebra print top) and that is me back there in the brown shirt (yeah, the oldest one in the picture). We are doing a line dance just goofing off. The DJ played it so we danced to it!

My son also had his 13th birthday this summer. His was a little easier. Invite a bunch of teenage boys, take them to a skate park, load them up on Gatorade and Water. Pick them up a few hours later, feed them hot dogs, they go home, SIMPLE!

I went to the beach a few times over the summer, twice with family and once was a well needed girls only trip. Needless to say, plenty of fun was had that weekend!

I am so lucky to have such amazing friends! We only went down for the weekend but I don't think we could have lasted much longer anyway!

Well, that explains why I left blogland for a few months! But I think I am back! Hopefully it won't me another 5 months until my next post!

Nicole

A morning full of yard sales!

I finally made myself get out of the bed early this morning to hit some yard sales around the area. The paper was full of them so I had to go check them out! I feel like I hit the jackpot!

I usually only take $20 with me to yard sales. That is my limit. Only once have I found something that I had to have and went to the ATM for more money. That was an old antique quilt made from feed sacks - and he was only asking $30! I had to have it of course!

Well, today started off like most yard sale days. They are hit and miss. For the first hour I found yard sales that had nothing but clothes. UGGH! I hate shopping for clothes anyway so I just bypass them.

Then I hit the jackpot! I found a neighborhood having a Community Yard Sale. The first place I stopped I found this cute wooden sewing box. It is stamped "Made by Singer" on the inside. I loved it! It is going to be great beside my recliner to store my stitching goodies! The next one I came to I found this lamp - it looked pratically brand new! I think it is going to look great in the dining room on the piano! The lady gave me those adorable grapevine hearts too! I am going to find something to do with them!I also picked up a bunch of cute tart burners and candle holders! I found this really neat bench - It was covered with clothes but I seen it hiding under there - waiting for me to come along!

Is this not a great wall hanging? It has a place for pictures on it too! What a neat idea! Can't wait to hang this in my new bedroom (once it is finished!)

Finally I came to every prim lovers dream . . . a yard sale held by another prim lover! She had so many wonderful prim things I bought them all! I cleared the whole table!Love these great pillows! One is made from muslin and homespun and the other is an American Flag tapestry pillow. They look great on the sofa now!

She had a table full of candle holders, wax warmers, and this cute birdhouse night light. How could I resist right?

And finally, this was my FIND OF THE DAY! This is a floor lamp made from wood with these great saltbox houses on the arm. It has wooden pegs which let it slide up and down to adjust it to different heights. I couldn't believe it was sitting there all alone when I got to it. It really wouldn't fit in my car but I hung it out the window! (The things we do when we find a great item right?)

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Finally back from vacation!

I can't believe it has been so long so I last posted! There has been so much going on!

During Spring Break, my son had plans to go with his best friend, Payton, and his family to Atlanta. Both boys are big into skateboarding so while in Atlanta, they were going to take them to Woodward Skate Park. Apparently it is the largest skatepark on the east coast. Who knew? He had been counting down the days since he was asked to go. Excited does not describe what he was feeling. With all of his Spring Break anticipation, it had me and my daughter a little sad that we weren't going anywhere and were just going to be at home. Then the thought hit us, A GIRLS VACATION!!!

We decided to take a trip to Myrtle Beach for a few days. Now we were counting down the days! It was me, my daughter, her best friend, and my mom. It had been about 5 years since my mother had been on any type of vacation so we made sure she had a good time.

I couldn't wait to share some of our pics with you all! What a beautiful view huh? I could have stayed out there all day!

This was the resort we stayed at.

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was so much fun but so LOUD!
This is a cute picture of the girls in front of the Giant Crab Seafood Restaurant.

We all came back a little sunburnt but it was well worth it. We are already planning another trip! Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

What a busy week!

Things have been so hectic for the past week that I haven't even had time to post anything! That is very rare because I look so forward to sitting at my computer and catching up on my friends out in Blogland! I am in the process of adding an addition to our home. We desperately need another bedroom so it has been in the works for a while. Now that it is warming up, I think we may have it finished soon! Every day it seems I am working more on home improvement than crafting and blogging.

I had a plumbing issue and the plumber told me that he would have to bring out his Bobcat and dig up the pipe (which is an additional cost of $300!). I quickly told him to give me a day and I would dig it up with my shovel and save me $300. So, I spent a whole day digging in the yard to get to the pipe that he needed. It was a lot of work but with every dig I knew what I was saving.

I had also been trying to come up with another color for my shutters and front door. The house is a tan color and they were already painted a barn red color but it was just too much of a contrast for me. It had been that way for 3 years and I had enough of it. Yesterday I went to Lowes and stayed in the paint section for over an hour looking at paint samples. I finally decided on an Olive Green color. I immediately came home and started painting and I LOVE the new color! I think it looks more like a little cottage now! So homey looking!

I have been working on a few projects lately though . . .

I made these Spring Birds for my booth at Curious Cat. They started as a Robins Egg Blue color and then grubbied. I love how they turned out!

I have also been working on some large prim pears that still need a little finishing touch. I still have to put on their stems and leaves and prim them up!

I found this vintage table cloth at the Waxhaw Antique Mart over the weekend. I just angled it across my table and put this old wooden bowl in the middle. It really lightened up my dark table!

Well, guess I am off to deal with more Home Improvement issues! UGGGHH! Wish me luck!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

Weekend Thrifting!

We have had such a rainy weekend! I did not even attempt to find any yard sales. I know there were a couple that were advertised as Rain or Shine but I guess I just wasted dedicated enough to go out and find them! I did, however, go to a few Thrift Stores and the local Goodwill. I found a few things that I couldn't wait to blog about!
The first item was this great wooden slat ladder. It came with a strand of grapevine tied to it.

I think I am going to use this to display some vintage towels and linens that were my grandmothers. I just have to find the perfect place to hang it!

My next find was this big green chippy basket. I put it on a side table and filled it with pinecones for now. I have to find the perfect filler for this because it is so big!

I am going to leave it as it is too - I love the paint chipping off!
I also picked up some great prim fabrics but the batteries died before I could get a picture of it to share.
This week I have been working on a few Robins Egg Blue fabric birds and a few prim pears. I am trying to wait until Wednesday to share. (As long as I don't get washed away with all of this rain!)
Have a great week!
Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

So great to meet some blogging buddies and a walk around town!

On Friday, I had decided to take a few finished projects down to my booth at Curious Cat. I stopped by the computer to check my emails on the way out and I had one from Pam at Antique or Not. She told me that she was closing her store so that she and her hubby could make the big move out of state! I always love going to her store to pick up Pip Berries and Swags! She told me that she was having a big sale - everything was at 30% off!

I quickly decided to stop by her shop before going to my booth. Pam and I chatted for a bit - she always takes the time to make you feel so welcome when you come in. I picked up several pip berry picks for Spring and a few burgundy ones for year 'round. I also found a few primitive blocks and a great basket hanger that holds about 8 baskets!

Of course, I found a lot of other things that I wanted but I am going to have to come back for! I hope that I can make it back to her store before she closes. I love all of her things and she promises to keep her website and blog going after she moves. Good luck Pam!

I worked in my booth all day Friday but had a few larger pieces that needed to be moved in. My friend, Sandy, helped me on Saturday bring in an old prim farm table and 2 old rockers that I had in storage. I still have more work to do on the booth to fill it up but it is coming along nicely I think.

A lady came in to the market while I was there and asked me did I bring my rabbits. I thought to myself "they are in the car but how does she know I had rabbits made?" That is when she told me she saw them on my blog when I had listed my Spring goodies and she thought they were so cute! I sold 2 rabbits before they ever got to my booth!

While at the booth on Saturday, I got the chance to meet Susan from Primitive Preachers Wife. Her family stopped into Curious Cat to do a little shopping and we had talked a bit before we realized who we both were! It is funny that we are on each others blog all of the time but we didn't know we were talking to each other at all! Her family is so wonderful! Her husband, Jimmy, was as excited about the yard sale finds as she was! (Not my husband, he just grunts!)

I have met the greatest folks since I started blogging - I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

The weather was so beautiful today! It was over 70 degrees here! The kids and I decided to take a walk around town so that we could enjoy the weather (and I wanted a little exercise!) We walked along the main highway so that I could get a few pics of some remodeled Victorian homes in our area.

I remember playing along the sidewalk in front of this house when I was little. I was just remodeled and looks great!

This house is now the location for a Photography Studio in town. I love it!

I couldn't resist taking a few of the kids while on our walk. The sidewalk wraps around this old tree so it just seemed to be a perfect backdrop!

By this point they were getting annoyed with my picture taking! But I love this old porch!
I had the best time just walking around town with the kids. They talked about things that happened at school, I talked about things in my day, I can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. Of course now, they want to make it a daily walk around town. As long as my legs and big butt will allow me to go, I am definitely up for it!

Prim Hugs ~ Nicole

A day at the DMV

My daughter finally finished Drivers Ed at school and could not wait to go for her Learners Permit. We had snow on Monday so school was closed. She was so upset! Tuesday she went to the Guidance office to get her driving certification and . . . the Guidance Counselor was out that day! Now she is even more upset!

Finally, she gets everything she needs from school. I show up around 1 pm to pick her up to take her to the DMV. I decided to go ahead and pick my son up early too because I wasn't sure what time we would make it home. We make it to the DMV and we don't have the right forms - the birth certificate I have is the "Mothers Copy" and is not the "Certified Copy". Upset is not the word for what she is at this point.

We run to the courthouse to get the Birth Certificate and . . . you guessed it, I forgot my ID. I had to call my mom who lives nearby and ask her to come to the courthouse and bring her ID.

At this moment, my daughter is freaking out! "I'm not going to get my permit . . . It's going to be another day!"

We get the Certificate, race to the DMV, (they don't take anyone after 4 pm) and get in line. She gets called back to take her test and they tell her she can not miss more than 5 on the test. She is so nervous! My son and I are waiting in the lobby for her and then finally she pokes her head out of the testing door. SHE PASSED!

Thank goodness too because she would have wrecked my nerves if she hadn't!

So was so excited to get to drive us home from the DMV. Not me, I was a bundle of nerves! She kept this smile on her face for hours after we left. I can't believe my daughter is driving me around town! I think I have aged 10 years in the past 2 days!

We went by Lowe's tonight and I picked up a gallon of paint. I love the color - it is by Olympic and it is named "Green Tea Leaf". I think it is a great prim green! I am going to paint some shutters that I have at Curious Cat this new color. They are now a barn red and I want to change things up for Spring.

I have a few pieces around the house I want to paint too! It's like I have a new box of crayons - everything is going to get a new color!

Have a great weekend!


Prim Hugs ~ Nicole