unneccessary necessary post: SHOES

there are probably 100 other things God would rather me post about, but the other night these shoes were capturing my attention while hubby was out of town tonight. can't sleep when he is away.

and they are all from PAYLESS (each shoe pic is linked). I'm on these at the next BOGO or before. Aren't all of them precious &amp. Don't know if you are this way....I am so proud to tell others where I find my deals: Hudson's, Wal-mart, 1/2 of 1/2, Forever 21. zero shame. only feel shame when i pay too much.

spring break

spend alot of time at my mom & dad's in canton over spring break. sisters & their kiddos were in town. 

cousins ruthie & charlie lovin life. we ate lots of ice cream & bday cake (except those who gave up sweets for lent). there are five March bdays in our fam.

henry has gotten berserk over puzzles. cousin clara is helping him sort it out.

rob is the oldest cousin (13). so patient with the little ones. giving a 2 year old a piggy back ride is not easy. he's the best 13 yr old i know-solid, kind & sweet.

 charlie-my little sister polly's youngest. he & ruthie are a couple of months apart. they are a bit like oil & vinegar, they are going to work it out.

spazzing out to capture a moment, i hit this "stitch" feature on my camera that turned out neat.

little finds from our nature walk. 

susan's painting

A piece for my friend Susan who needs prayer and this sweet reminder from her God right now (I will never leave you, never forsake you. hebrews 13:5) She has recently lost her husband and then a long-time co-worker & friend (also my dad's law partner). Please pray for sweet Susan.

Please pray for my dad-he had be working alongside Bill for 25 years. He died suddenly a couple of weeks ago.

ruthie's sunshine party

So for the past few weeks, YELLOW has been all around! And lots of talk about Ruthie's SHUNSHINE PARTY. It was impossible NOT to be happy about planning Ruthie's sunshine party. A very special day celebrating our ray of sunshine.

^ Ruthie's cake: A simple 1 layer yellow cake from Kroger. I added yellow sprinkles to top and made the rays with candy sticks & some cheapy sunglasses. ^

 

^Yellow "vases"-I spray painted wine bottles & added ribbon/button detail.^ Found this vintage yellow/white table cloth at my mom's house-my treasure trove! 

MENU: goldfish, peeps, lemon drops, yellow jelly bellies, pimento cheese & PBJ finger sandwiches, pineapple/cantaloupe skewers, nilla wafers, old fashioned yellow/orange candy sticks. Fun tip to keep food cold, a last minute improv: I put a layer of popsicles (in the clear plastic sleeve) in the bottom of my dish that had the fruit skewers. I used yellow/orange popsicles.

 

I now like my letter press cookie cutters. I found the sugar cookie recipe that works with them great. Thanks Rebekah. No sad faces after they came out of the oven. Don't you love seeing ruthie drooling over the candy & cookies.

 

^ The crafts: Sunshine paper plates & then paper sunglasses. White paper plates are so cheap & such a good starter for a craft. We will keep these in stock from now on! ^

 

A little foam crown I fancied up with plastic jewels. Then forgot to have Ruthie wear it for "happy birthday".

^ Made these circle/ribbon thingies... Found a sunflower calendar on clearance and cup the pages in circles, made 2 slits to weave the ribbon through it. A simple decor idea you could do with any size ribbon or circles. These yellow lanterns my sis found at dollar tree & I spiffed up with hanging ribbon from the bottom of it.

Not a super pic of it, but I made Ruthie's shirt. I printed a little sunshine on canvas with fabric backing. No sewing over here, so it is rigged up with fabric glue and a little hand stitching. One time wear shirt, but Ruthie loved her shunshine shirt.

^ Favors: lemon drops & candy stick.

^ This was a book that my sister Meg gave Ruthie for her bday. Quirky, cute little book-Ruthie is lovin' it.

the SUNSHINE PARTY PLAYLIST (you were prob wondering-right?)

Blue Sky: The Allman Brothers Band
Here Comes the Sun: The Beatles
Ain't No Sunshine: Bill Withers
Blue Skies Again: Jessica Lea Mayfield
Walking On Sunshine: Katrina & The Waves
Keep On the Sunny Side: The Low Anthem
Sunshine: Matt Costa
Sunday Sun: Neil Diamond
You Are My Sunshine: Ray Charles
A Place in the Sun: Stevie Wonder
You Are the Sunshine of My Life: Stevie Wonder
Island In the Sun: Weezer

I was so sad about saying goodbye to all this yellow after the party, I decided to paint our bathroom a bright happy yellow. Literally I started painting the Saturday afternoon after the party. Tim was a sport and went with it, no "crazy lady" comments.

wedding bliss

How to order one of these:
1-Mail or drop by the invite
2-Let me know certain colors, flowers, bride's style preference, any watercolor invite you like from my blog
3-$25 for watercolor invite & $30 (with matte). This include gift wrap.
4-Tax & shipping not included. $5 to ship to bride.