celebrating our favorite guy

hi sweet friends! i snapped some pictures of the table the girls and i dressed up for jeffrey's birthday last weekend....our favorite guy turned 45. we usually keep it simple with just us, my parents and jeffrey's parents...but even if the party is just for a few, the girls and i both love to fluff the table;) i picked up some flowers at trader joe's and we kinda went from there....

i used hydrangeas, sweet little gerber daisies, eucalyptus and the most gorgeous shade of blue hyacinth....

the absolutely adorable paper table runner i found when magpie and i stopped in hester and cook .....if you are in nashville, you have to go and see their store....it is SO pretty! i wanted one of everything!

i mean isn't that black and white check just the perfect party touch?! they also had a red and white check I'm thinking we may have to go back for;) and the sweet little watercolor place cards were made by emme and rayley....they were just perfect....

all of the plates i have had for years....some are from target, some are martha stewart when kmart carried her line....do y'all remember that? and some are tjmaxx...that is what i love about all white, you can just add pieces over the years and mix and match. i just love the look of white but different shapes and textures...

the linen napkins and silver napkin rings are from pottery barn, and the twig vases i sold at the briar patch, but the faded farmhouse in arrington sells them also....

and how pretty is that sweet hyacinth? they are on my list of favorite flowers for sure! it is a very long list;) it is just too hard to decide when they are all so pretty!

and the big girls LOVE balloons! they think party=balloons....so i was so happy when i found these confetti filled balloons that are pretty but not too distracting from the table...

i mean aren't they the prettiest?! and i found them at walmart believe it or not!

and then i found these sweet clear with white polka dots that we used in the kitchen at hobby lobby....again balloons equals happy girls and nice and neutral equals happy momma;)

adorable right?

and as i was going through pictures i snapped, i just realized i totally forgot to snap a picture of the cake! jeffrey and the girls always request the same cake...for me to make a white cake with chocolate frosting. i thought i might mix it up this year, but the gasps heard when i even mentioned it told me otherwise;) so here is to celebrating someone you love and making them feel special on their special day. because everyone likes to feel special and be celebrated, whether they are five or forty five:)

our 'snowstorm' and our Christmas tree

well sweet friends.....my second blog post in a week, I'm not sure what is going on!;) i broke out the camera again to take some pictures of our tennessee snowstorm (aka two inches) that we had on friday. the big girls were very happy, pretty snow and staying home. we snuggled in my bed and ate popcorn while watching the movie Pets....there was only picture taking of the snow, no playing this time. it was a bit too freezing for a bit too little snow;) while i was outside with my camera i felt like a tiny glimpse of what heaven will feel like. so very peaceful and so much of His beauty surrounding me....just the crazy kind of beautiful. so i thought i would share a few of my pics of the beauty i captured and then also share a bit about our Christmas tree (that i just got down by the way;)....i get asked so many questions on instagram and i read and appreciate very comment, but when life is busy i don't always have the time to answer, so i thought maybe a faq on the blog would work. today i can share a bit about our tree, and hopefully every few days share about other rooms and answer questions that i get asked a lot;) so on with the snow... now on to the questions about the tree! i ordered this tree through my shop the briar patch a few years ago....it is made by park hill and i don't remember the exact name. it is my very favorite tree ever, it looks so real and is the perfect amount of 'gappy'....meaning it looks really kinda pitiful before it is decorated, but those are the kind that look the best i have found once filled with tons of ornaments. which brings me to the next faq....'how many ornaments are on your tree?' well....i had never counted until this year, and as i was putting them away i have three containers that hold 120 ornaments each...four that hold 18 each and five of the long under the bed boxes full of all of my christopher radko ornaments. so it is a bit over 500 ornaments.(insert shocked face) i know that seems like a lot, but i have been collecting these ornaments for almost 25 years! some are vintage from antique malls and flea markets, some are just inexpensive ones that i find at target or hobby lobby, several dozen are ones that came home with me from the briar patch each year of the eleven years i owned it. and the christopher radko ornaments are each and everyone so special. either a birthday or Christmas gift from my mom and dad, or one we would buy on a special occasion...like this one that is dated the year 2000....the year i married my jeffrey.... another faq is 'how do you get it so bright?' or 'how many lights are on it?' well it is pre-lit with I'm not sure how many strands, and i add about 1,200 more lights....so it is a lot of lights! and see that little toy chest? jeffrey and i bought that one in atlanta when we found out i was pregnant with emme...i just smile so much as i open each ornament every year and remember the story behind it.... and the ribbon....i've also had it for many years, the plaid is from the briar patch and i think it may have been park hill? and the gingham is from a gift shop in murfreesboro i found several years ago that closed and i don't know who it is made by....and believe me I've looked for more! wide pretty ribbon is hard to find! i found this sweet one with the kids sledding i think at michael's a few years ago, i get a couple for each of the girls each year so they can take them with them when they start their own home and their own tree...so i have three of this one on our tree, one for each girl:) and this sweet santa face is one of my favorites that looks vintage, but i actually found him at kmart a few years ago! so it truly is a mix of everything collected over the years! oh and the gumdrop branches! lots of questions about those! they are real branches i cut off of trees in the woods every year...and they are real gumdrops that i stick on the ends of each branch. i have done this since i believe 1999 on the briar patch tree, and on our tree in our home since 2000. everyone always wanted to buy them off of the briar patch tree...but i never sold them because it is a bit a a pain, to hunt for just the right size and shape branch, and then to use your clippers to clip the end of each branch into a sharp point before you stick the gumdrop....if not a sharp point then the branch breaks while trying to push the gumdrop on! so yes, it is a bit of a process, but i think it makes it so magical! so i hope that answers all the faq about the Christmas tree....it does take several hours, which is one reason i start so early! that and i do six trees total;) oh and another question is 'where so you store everything?' well, i feel very blesses that we have a great big barn loft which is where all the trees and most ornaments, garlands etc. stay 10 months out of the year. i will try and do another post soon, since i seem to be on a roll and all;) and maybe share some more faq next time about our home....happy monday my sweet friends!

Christmas 2016

well.....it has been quite some time sweet friends! life has just been busy and instagram has been the new and easy way to document and share! but....i actually got out the 'real' camera and thought i would share some of our Christmas....so get ready for a whole lot of pictures,it has only been about four years so I'm not sure i remember how to do this blogging thing ;)

sooooo.....that is a bit of our Christmas at home. we still have a few trees up, just not ready to let go of all the magic just yet ;) also for any new friends to this blog.....just a little back story. i started this blog on may 17th, 2010 to share the birth story of our magpie. she was born with down syndrome and i wanted to share the story of how even though we were saddened at first, it didn't take long for the clouds to part and see what a gift HE had given us. our girl is now seven years old and her smiles and sweet spirit, well a blessing indeed. i have always said she fixed me when i didn't know i was broken. she is truly our special gift from HIM. this social media journey started because of our sweet girl with the almond shaped eyes, the cutest dimples and the smile that makes it impossible to not smile back. then we started documenting the addition, and friends would ask to see more of the house.....oh and i also owned a shop for almost 11 years and practiced design and have always loved to make a house feel like a home....my favorite house to make a home our own of course :) so started out sharing about a magpie, and then started sharing our very LONG journey of building our home, and we have been so blessed by so many amazing friends along the way. i hope to get back to blogging....just bits of our life and home and the how beautiful life can be with a child with special needs. i have always loved to look back at the blog.....it is kinda like our journal that i love to open up and flip through the pages. and if I'm having a bad day and open this book, well it doesn't take long at all to be reminded how truly blessed we are.