Fun-Filled Weekend

I started out last weekend with a day off work. I planted marigolds, coleus, and Mexican petunias around the chicken pen to brighten it up until the daylilies grow. I also planted about 30 amaryllis bulbs I got for FREE off the side of the road. I am so glad folks are generous with their bulbs when they separate plants.

  

After I got the flower gardening out of the way, I blew off the driveway and our brick paths and began to spray round-up on the weeds that have just about taken over in every crack and crevice. After that, Justin and I planted tomatoes, bell peppers, and banana peppers in the garden. He got the corn planted a few days earlier and our potatoes are taking off like crazy! We even discovered that my vintage Tupperware sewing box makes for perfect seed storage!

Justin was helping Uncle Glynn when Daddy called him and said he had something for us. Justin went into town and came back with this beauty! It is simply amazing. It was in an old building that was being torn down the next day and Daddy knew it had my name all over it! Justin is going to leave it in its rusty state and add a butcher block to the top. I think it will go nicely with our brick floor in the kitchen.

Saturday was a long day of riding for us. A friend on Facebook has apparently noticed my infatuation affinity for Tupperware and told me about a vintage kitchenware sale in Douglas, so Justin, Wyatt, and I loaded up and checked it out. It was primarily Pyrex but there were still tons of Tupperware and other vintage kitchen stuff to scoop up. I was totally in my element and could have easily spent hours pouring over each piece.

 

After the sale, we went to several antique stores and visited a man that had some industrial barrels for us to store our animal feed in.

We realized we were only a few miles from the Okefenokee Swamp. None of us had ever been so we decided to stop by. It was late in the day when we reached the visitors center but we did see this huge alligator sleeping on the bank right outside. We will definitely be back to spend the weekend at the nearby state park and take full advantage of the train ride and boat tours that are offered!

 

We rounded out Sunday with lots of family time, including getting the second coat of paint done in the new dry kitchen and getting the primer on our new island. Justin pulled the moulding down in the dining room so we could get clean lines. After telling Wyatt to watch out for nails no less than 20 times... I stepped on a nail. Stupid nail shouldn't have been where I was walking!

April Flower Update

Time for the monthly round up of all the beautiful flowers in our yard!

 

I scored tons of these beautiful red tulips from a work event back in March. I love the bright shock of red they left me with. When all the flowers died off, I dug up the bulbs. I hope I can replant them next fall for a spring 2016 showstopper!

Our peach tree put out blossoms that were beautiful! We recently purchased an assortment of fruit trees for our mini orchard: peach, pear, fig, satsuma orange, lemon, cherry, and plum. I can’t wait until I can walk barefooted to the side yard and pick a ton of fresh fruit!

My white irises are blooming in the front of the house. I transplanted some that didn’t bloom last year but they didn’t bloom this year either. I think I waited too late. Aunt Faye said when irises don’t bloom it’s because they have gotten too deep into the ground and need to be dug up. Maybe next year!

 

I snapped these beautiful pear blossoms off the tree in the chicken coop. I love the little black dots that appear and the blooms begin to age.

   

Some other plants that are in the yard have been blooming out too (L-R): dogwood, native azalea, ladybug on my ferns (still alive from last year-holla!), and pink flowering almond. I really didn’t remember this from last year, but my native azaleas smelled DIVINE!

 

I planted some bulbs from Lowe’s last fall and selected those that would bloom in a staggering pattern. As soon as my hyacinths died back, these happy tulips made their debut.

 

Mama and Daddy’s back fence is covered in wisteria. It is some of the best smelling stuff in the world! I have all intentions of getting a wisteria tree (as opposed to the invasive kind) so I can enjoy it in my yard too.

This last plant is what I think is called bungle weed. I like its dark green leaves and bright purple flowers. I think sometimes weeds are only weeds because no one appreciates them. To me they’re appreciated!

Silhouette Projects

Mama got a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas and I have been wearing it out! I have pinned so many projects and really didn’t know where to start other than a new car monogram.

I have an extensive Tupperware collection and I knew for sure one of my next projects was going to be labels for my canisters. I am so excited about how they turned out. (Yes, my cabinets usually stay mostly this organized—Tupperware to the rescue!)

I also cut out a simple “hello.” for the garage door.

Mama made this vinyl cutout and I put in on a chippy old piece of barn wood.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I am an avid vintage Tupperware collector. I love seeing all of the bright colors in my cabinets and am proud to say that some of my pieces are from the 50s and 60s—all in use, mind you! I freehanded this Tupperware stack. I cut it on on many colors of vinyl. I haven’t applied it to anything yet. I think I might put in on the wall in our new dry kitchen and frame it.

This next project is one of my favorites! Daddy had an old realtor sign in his garage. When I asked him if I could have it, he gladly handed it over. I coated the post and hanging sign with three layers of Kilz and cut out the “farm fresh eggs” on vinyl. It looks jaunty next to our chicken coop. I just hope people don’t stop by our house to buy some—our hens aren’t laying yet!

   

I cut out this little label for my homemade laundry detergent. I really like this font (it’s the same one I used for my Tupperware) because it is so forgiving if you get it a little crooked. You can download it for free for non-commercial use on dafont.com. It’s called KG Shake It Off.

I am sure I will have hundreds of more fun projects coming soon!

Easter 2015

Easter weekend was a whirl of activities. We took Wyatt, Liam, and Pax out to Calhoun Produce to participate in their annual Easter egg hunt. They hide over 5,000 eggs over two egg hunts! The boys had a blast!

  

After that, we headed to Mama and Daddy’s house to dye Eggs.

After egg dying, we visited Nanny at Aunt Teri and Uncle Louie’s house. She will be 90 years old next month!

We had a great time and ate way too much at Desiree and Sheldon’s Sunday at lunch even though I didn’t get any pictures. Jake, Ben, and Rivers were so sweet hiding eggs time and time again for Wyatt to find. They even led him to the prize egg with $5 in it. He thought he won the jackpot!

Later that evening, we went to Mama and Daddy’s house for our Mastratio/Cook/Mathis Easter dinner. The boys opened up their Easter baskets from Mimi and Pop and then set off to hunt eggs.

  

Sami, photographer extraordinaire, worked the tripod and timer to get an official family photo of all of us! I think it turned out great. It is amazing to see how our family of five has doubled over the past 7 years.

Fire Ant Festival 2015

  

We recently celebrated the 20th “ANT”iversary for the Fire Ant Festival in our little town of Ashburn. I had a blast on Friday and Saturday. I am going to try to take Wyatt’s picture beside the large ant sculpture every year. It is so hard to believe that this is his fourth FAF!

Mama and Daddy were recognized and presented with awards for being FAF volunteers for 20 years. I am proud of them for what they have done for our community.

The majority of my time spent at the Fire Ant Festival was helping with the Ashburn Women’s Club dunking booth. One of our local fire fighters, Hank, showed up with goggles and an innertube! This shot made the front page of the local newspaper, The Wiregrass Farmer.

My favorite part was when my brother-in-law David took a shift in there. I had fun making sure he got dunked as often as possible. The guys that were up for being dunked were such good sports and we raised over $500 for charity!

 

After the FAF festivities, we went to Cirillo’s to celebrate Amanda’s birthday with pizza and trivia. This beautiful theater is still in operation in downtown Fitzgerald!