Thursday, July 8, 2010

Vacation 2009 - Part 1

I am so excited!  Saturday we are going on vacation!  We are headed to the beach and will be gone the whole week!  Woohoo!  I am looking forward to some fun and relaxation amongst the shores of Garden City Beach, South Carolina.  It is south of Myrtle Beach for those of you who aren't familiar with GC.  Everybody knows where Myrtle Beach is right?  We will be pretty much right there but out of the main hub bub!


This is one of our favorite beach's in SC to go too.  We have many favorites right here in SC.  Since our children are at that age where they still want other activities to do at the beach we decided to go here again this year.  They are getting older but are not quite ready for the quite beach's that the Mr. and I enjoy.  We tried that last year and it went well but the boys really wanted to head back to GC this year.  It' never a problem with me because this area is loaded with great shops, outlets, outdoor mega malls and such.  I always feel like I never have enough time though to squeeze in everything I want to do in one week.  LOL!


While I'm gone, I wanted to share with you some photos from our vacation last year.  We went to Wild Dunes on the Isle of Palms, SC.  This beach is a resort area on the Isle of Palms which is just outside of Charleston.  It has beautiful manicured lawns, bike trails and wide open beachs.  A swim club,golf course and a few shops and boardwalk.  It really is a beautiful place.  I was so captivated by the homes in the resort and took lots of photos.  Sit back and enjoy! They are gorgeous, lot's of eye candy here!
















Wait..stop..did you see this photo?  LOL!











Pretty pink!!!

 







Be still my heart!

 


















Well, that should hold you for awhile!  Beautiful isn't it!  I got up everyday while we there and rode my bicycle all over just so I could feast my eyes on all this loveliness!  Wouldn't you?  I've downloaded quite a bit more pictures I'll show you later during the week.  Since I'm on vacation and won't be doing any of my regular posts this is my gift to you.  Keep watch, there's much more coming! 

I'll also be posting a very special post I've prepared for Marty's Cloche party.  Hope you come back for that one too!

I hope you enjoyed my vacation pictures from last year!  Thanks for coming by!
Mary

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Creepy Crawleys and Hitchhikers


Please join me and my friends over at Susan's for Outdoor Wednesday @ http://www.asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/.





This afternoon while taking a break (recovering from a very active weekend) on the screen porch I spotted a very unusual guest.  Mind you this guest was not actually in my screened porch, thank God, but was perilously too close on the outside.  I literally jumped in my skin when I saw him because I had been sitting out there awhile before I spotted him.

Here he is..just look at this thing!  OMG!

This is no ordinary lizard..I think it's a skink??

He was at least a good 8 to 10 inches long!

And wedged in between my screen porch post and the downspout.  Yuck!

This was a big fat chunky thing too!

With a tail that went on forever somewhere I couldn't see!  Eueww!!!

Now on to another unusual visitor we had, this time on the sailboat!

There she is... Ms. Dragonfly! 

Look how she latched on quite comfortably there.

We called her the hitchhiker, because she jumped on somewhere in the middle of the lake...

And rode for so long until we neared the land, then made a hasty exit!

Be sure and let me know if you stop by as I love to hear from you!
Happy Outdoor Wednesday!
Mary

Monday, July 5, 2010

Hobby Lobby Bargains!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!  I certainly did!  We had perfect weather here too.  The lake was quite choppy for motoring on Saturday but fun all the same and Sunday was custom made for a beautiful afternoon of sailing simply!  I loved it!


Last week while preparing for the holidays I did quite a bit of running around.  Our Hobby Lobby is a bit of a drive for me so I don't get out that way often.  But, since I was out that way already I had to stop in.  Boy am I glad I did!  I felt like I hit a yard sale.  I have been wanting to share these finds with yall so bad!   Now, I just couldn't break the rules on Debbiedo's Garage Salen Party since this is all retail.  Luckily for all of us there is Linda's party @ http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/ for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday.  If you enjoy the deals I'm about to show you be sure and check out more thrifty finds at the link above.

Hobby Lobby was having an 80% off clearance sale!  What great timing for me to stop in, I was so thrilled !  If you haven't been by your local Hobby Lobby lately, now is a great time to go!  Let's take a look at my finds....

These cute little acrylic bird napkin rings were what got me started.  I just could not leave them behind at $1.02 for a set of four.

Nor could I leave the butterfly acrylic napkin rings in the store when they were only $1.36 for  a set of four. A girls gotta have cute napkin rings when she table scapes you know!

Then I saw this wire cloche and was trying to make my way to it but there were two ladies standing in front who were talking and I had to wait for them to move.  They were talking about how many good deals they were finding and what they were getting.  I was praying they wouldn't spot this!  Luckily, they moved on and I snatched it right up.  It was originally $14.99 now only $3.00.  I'm not crazy about the way the cross looks on the top and would rather have some sort of knob.   I'm hoping I'll come across something that I can switch out easily enough some day since this screws right in to the top!  I love it!

Next, I spotted this wooden tray.  I adore the way it looks right now, but it would be so easy to spruce up even more if I want too.  It was only $2.00!

I especially love the handles on this tray!  Fantastic!

Now, this sweet little chicken wire basket was just the right find for me at $1.70.  There were 2 large chicken wire baskets exactly like this for $6.00 each and a larger round one similar to this but with General Store on it for $6.00 also.  I really wanted that one but was trying to be really thrifty so I passed on it.  I am going to the beach next week, and want to save my spending cash for that!

This sweet little ceramic creamer makes rooster #4 for me now, and was only $1.00.

This little black tin watering can was only .50cents.  It will be cute for a small flower arrangement.

My final item was this pretty ceramic wall decor for only $2.04.  It has some slight coloring worn off some of the edges but no major chips or anything.  I sure can touch up this with some darker glaze paint easy enough!  The lighter spots you see on the bottom is not what I am talking about.  That is the reflection from the camera and my counter top.  You can barely see the areas I need to touch up in this photo!  Look closely on the top edges of the piece and you might see some areas.  It was regularly priced at $19.99.   I even remembered seeing it before at regular cost and really liking it, but didn't buy it.  Whew!

My total cost spent was only $13.50, tax included!  Now that was a bargain and you know it!
I love days like this, don't you?

Let me know what you think, and if you've been to Hobby Lobby lately too.  I'd love to hear all about any great deals you found there as well.  It's such a cool store when I get to make the trip.

And don't forget to check out all the other great deals for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

4th of July Boat Parade


Happy 4th of July fellow Bloggers!  I hope you are enjoying spending time with your family and friends this weekend.  I am very thankful for the opportunity to celebrate our freedom!   It feels great to be an American!  God bless those who have fought for us in many ways to maintain this freedom.  I hope there will also always be plenty of people around who show their joy to be an American by displaying such wonderful visions of grandeur for the rest of us!  Those who are not afraid to show the American spirit!


I am sharing our communities boat parade held on July 3rd this year!  Hope you enjoy!




















I am joining http://smilingsally.blogspot.com/ for Blue Monday!
There is certainly alot of blue in these photos especially red, white & BLUE!
Also joining http://www.dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/ for Mosaic Monday!

Please visit the links above for more fantastic mosaics and blue photos!
Thanks for visiting me please let me know if you stopped by!
Happy 4th of July Yall!