Calla Lily Wreath (Link to tutorial)

I came across this wreath and tutorial and had to share it! Its from Positively Splendid and is a great twist on the burlap wreaths we are seeing a lot of lately.

Photo from Positively Splendid

Isnt is great? I have some material left over from my last quilt and think this wreath would be a great way to use it! 

Go check out her blog- there are lots of great goodies over there!

Wreath Tutorial Link

Kate Spade Bali Bound Sweepstakes

Who doesn't want to go to Bali? And who doesn't love Kate Spade?

Click below to enter a 5 day trip for you and a friend to Bali, and stay in a suite overlooking the Indian Ocean, courtesy of Kate Spade. Sounds heavenly doesn't it? Good Luck! And if you win, remember who clued you in to this great sweepstakes :-)

Kate Spade Bali Bound Sweepstakes: "Kate Spade Bali Bound Sweepstakes"

Redbull and Perrier

That is what I require in order to drive 600 miles twice in 3 days. Insane, right?  But it was worth it. See, when I move into our house down in Georgia ( 8 more weeks- woo hoo!), I will live in a house off a dirt road. So, Mr. Sassy Pants decided that my BMW 328i would not work as well in the mud as he would like. So, he gave me his car and bought himself a truck. Win-win!

So, I packed up my son, and my dog Max (because who doesn't want a white dog to shed all over their black interior *rolleyes* ) and headed down to Georgia on Friday.

Here the two boys are napping together about hour 9. 

See that black spot on the very top center of Maxs head? Its his "kissing spot". ;-)

We had a great evening and then took my old car to its new owner on Saturday morning. It was hard to see my little Bimmer go. It was my moms, then mine. She bought it in Germany and we had both frequently opened that little car up on the Autobahn. I will miss it, but I do love, love, love my new car. 

My new X5. Isnt Mr. Sassy Pants just the best?

One of the things I'm most excited about? In Georgia you don't have a front license plate so I can put a cute monogrammed or UGA Bulldog tag on the front!  Check out 2 preppy girls for some really cute monogrammed tags! 

As for the Redbull and Perrier method of fueling for a long distance drive? I don't advise it. Its 11:40 and I am still wired. Heres hoping I get to sleep before the alarm goes off at 6:45 am. 

A parting shot of my old car. I loved that old girl. She was zippy and fun!

 I hope her new owner appreciates her as much as I did!

A Little Pink in a World of Camo: Memorial

A word of warning: if your husband is deployed, or about to be deployed, dont venture any further into your post.

For the rest of you: go visit the link below. Im not even going to try to put anything into words about this- just go read it. And if you aren't in tears at the end, you aren't human.

This womans husband gave everything to his country, his own life. Her ability and willingness to continue to blog in the days that followed his death is tremendously courageous.

Just read it. Please.

A Little Pink in a World of Camo: Memorial

Baseball Quilt- Link

I found this adorable quilt over at Life as a Punk Mom. Click on the link to see her blog- she has some great ideas!  I need to make this quilt for my little man- I really think he would love it. 

You might be from the south if...

The Easter Bunny hides eggs in the tread of your daddys dirty truck tire. 

You can ride a dirt bike through the mud at the age some kids 

are just taking off their bikes training wheels. 

Dirt on your face and sweat in your eyes is just all in a days work. 

You and your daddy have matching dirt bikes!

You enjoy having your own fruit and vegetable garden. 

And that garden must include watermelon.  

Tassels, my new obsession

I just started learning to make tassels and I am already becoming obsessed. I look at everything and wonder "can that be used as the top of a tassel?" Seriously, nothing is safe- Max better watch out or I might just tassel his greenies or something.

Max: wonder dog, greenie afficianado, 

uncontrollable licker. 

So, after I completed the quilt I decided to start on a few smaller projects. These tassels were the perfect choice. They are easy to make, and fun too!

Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam was my first attempt at making a tassel and I think he came out quite nicely. I can just imagine him hanging inside a large patriotic wreath or on a glass doorknob. So.Stinking.Cute!

Bird is the word

This adorable little bird was my second attempt at making a tassel. I am pretty pleased with the final result, but I think I'd like to make another one- this time making it a bit "fatter". 

You should give the tassels a try! They are so much fun and can be made in about 15-20 minutes! I plan on making more for the grand opening of my etsy store ( keep checking here and I will let you know when it finally opens, and offer blog follower discounts). 

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I finally finished the quilt! Thank Goodness!

Well, I got distracted a few times so it took me far longer than it should have,but I have finally completed my quilt! I am excited to finally have it finished and cant wait to take it down to our house in Georgia this weekend and see how it looks in the guest room! My friend Jeanette bought me this kit some time ago and I cant believe I just now got around to making it. *blush* It was pretty easy and definitely a great beginner quilt.  It is a full sized quilt so really the hardest part was dealing with all the fabric while I quilted it- I just did the "stitch in the ditch" technique to quilt it, but my next quilt I think I am going to try something a bit more challenging!

Amy Butler fabric quilt

Full size

Now, I have about 5,000,000 (ok,ok I may be exaggerating just a bit) other projects to do before I move down to our house in Georgia in 59 days! Woohoo I can not wait!!!

A giveaway!!!

 I want to tell you about an awesome giveway over at Tatertots and jello. She is giving away a gorgeous mothers necklace from Crimson Clover's etsy shop. Click on the link above to her blog  for a chance to earn 4 chances to win!
This necklace would be my choice if I won:

Isn't it cute?

Best of luck!!!

Sacrifices and being a military wife

The life of a military wife is tough. Its not for sissies. My husband, who is a Navy diver, and I have been married 10 years. And to be honest, we came thisclose to getting divorced this year. Thank God we were able to work things out. 


There are many things that make a military marriage difficult: 


 There are the obvious problems that come with being apart so often the fear and stress of having the love of your life constantly in danger,  the anger and resentment that comes with the realization that your husbands job and all that it demands must come first- if you planned on having a career you may find it stunted or killed altogether. For me this was the toughest part. Growing apart. Two people who spend more time apart than they spend together, may find when they do come back together that their goals and dreams have changed. This happened to my husband and I- it created animosity, resentment and all sorts of other emotions that slowly poisoned our marriage. Reconciling has taken some big compromises on both sides. 


But the darkest obstacle (and the one military wives rarely talk about as if we fear it will happen if we speak about it )is the fear you will be widowed. I've had many nightmares that my husband is killed, and in those nightmares I felt a terrible pain in the knowledge I would be spending the rest of my life alone, raising our son, without the love of my life.  I've been reading A Little Pink in a World of Camo which is the blog of a widowed Marine wife.  Originally, she was just blogging about the deployment of her husband to Afghanistan, but 2 weeks into that deployment her husband was killed. Reading her blog is heartbreaking, but it forces me to remember that I am so lucky to have my husband, and that out there in the world are many women who would love the opportunity to be angry at her husband, to hold him again, to even have the opportunity to grow apart. Reading her blog makes me appreciate my own position. The blog is truly inspiring and heartbreaking, and Mrs. P is a brave woman to share this time with us. 


If you are married, kiss your husband when you see him next, for all the women who can not kiss their own loves.  


And Mr. Sassy Pants, I love you and I am proud of you. And I am so happy you are still in my life *kisses*