Ready to Decorate for Fall!

It's a bit early ... I know that, but I am ready to get out my fall decor!
Course, it doesn't help any that all the stores have had the new fall goodies out for several weeks now.

Here are some beautiful towels that I spotted at JoAnn's.

Aren't these color combos & patterns just darling?!

I resisted the urge to buy the towels {for now}, but I did buy this cute lil' leaf bottle of soap!

It's 'maple sugar' & smells so good.

I won't put it out to use until September though.

How about you ... ready for fall decorating?
Or perhaps you've decorated already ... tell us about it.

Unexpected Blessings at an Unlikely Place

Really, there are no unlikely places to receive a blessing.
But at the state fair?
I guess I was more than a little caught off guard.
And it all started with a funnel cake.

James decided that his first foray with the delightfully healthy fair food would be with a funnel cake.
Fair food in it's finest, right?!
When he walked up to the window to order, he noticed the fella running the booth was reading
a book on theology, one that James has read & enjoyed.
Course, from that, they struck up a conversation & spent a few minutes talking about the goodness of God.
As he handed James his funnel cake, he told him to hang on for another one ...
he wanted to give him a second one for free. 
It fed several of our friends who just happened to be getting to the fair & had walked up at just the right time.

The second little bonus blessing came just a few minutes later.
James, sweeted out on the funnel cake, decided to buy a bottle of soda from a machine
that was just inside the horse barn.
You know how it is at the fair ... expensive!!
For a family of five, the cost of food & drinks can add up ... & add up quickly!
The soda machines are a cheaper route, so James put in his money.
Low & behold, out popped 2 bottles!!


But I have to say, the icing on the cake came a few hours later.
We'd been at the fair for several hours.
We'd been through the barns, watched the Wild West Show, & we were just meandering along
trying to decide what to do next.
James had bought a large cup of iced tea & had passed it along to me.
Somehow, amidst my animated talking & gesturing, the cup slipped right out of my hand,
spilling out all over the ground!
Almost before I could even pick it up, a lady in the food booth that we were standing in front of
hollered out to me & said, "Here, let me refill that for you!"
I said, "Oh no, it's ok ... we didn't even buy it here, plus it was almost empty anyway."
She insisted, "No, please ...I'd like to refill it for you!"
I declined again, repeating that I hadn't purchased it there, etc.
She kept insisting ... & I kept declining ... & back & forth we went.
Finally, my friend spoke up & said, "Stop arguing & let her refill it!!"
So, as I got to the sweet lady to hand her my cup, she said, "Are you a Christian?"
I told her I was & she told me she was too.
She said that she & her husband run the booth ... he saw me drop my cup & told her to refill it.
After she had refilled my cup & came back to the window, I was expressing to her how much I
appreciated their kindness & super sweet spirit.
I told her that I was a 'giver' & have a hard time being a 'receiver'.
She said that she could tell that about me.
She went on to say that every day, she & her husband look for someone at the fair to be a blessing to ...
to encourage ... and she said, "Today, it's you, my dear."
My eyes filled up with tears ... & hers did too.

Amazing, isn't it?
God uses all kinds of people ... in all sorts of places to show His kindness.
People living out their faith in day-to-day life ... being salt & light.

I felt so happy in my spirit ... it's kind of hard to put into words.
My favorite scripture & a song comes to mind:

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation.
Psalm 68:19

Blessed & highly favored...
daily loaded with benefits ...
that's the kind of God I serve.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

Freebies

Well, this week's coupon deals were plenteous.
There was only one problem.
I didn't have the necessary coupons!
Seems like I came up short with every CVS deal I had hoped to snag.

For the last couple weeks, no matter where I stopped to buy a paper,
it seemed to be missing part {or all} of the coupon inserts!

And for the best story of all, last Sunday, I stopped to buy my paper.
I checked before I bought it to be sure the inserts were there ...& they were...
only to get home & find the whole page missing that had the really good coupon for shampoo
that I needed to make my deal!!
The whole page was missing!
The only conclusion I can come up with is this:
someone on the south side is taking pages/inserts that have the high-dollar coupons!
Erg.

Ah well, my theory when couponing is 'you win some, you lose some'.
There will be another good deal at another time.
Don't get crazy.

I did, however, get a couple freebie items this week.

The coffee creamers were free from Meijer.
They were $1.97 each.
I had 2 coupons for $1 off & combined those with a $2 off Meijer perk.

The razors were buy one at $3.99, get 50% another one.
I used 2 coupons for $3 each which made them free!

So, nothing major this week, but every little bit counts.

Our Beautiful Anniversary Basket

Our sweet congregation completely surprised us with an anniversary gift last Sunday!

Let me tell you, this was thee most gorgeous basket ever put together, I do believe!
It was perfectly packed with every single item you'd need for a romantic anniversary celebration ...
& I must admit, James & I were tempted to take another weekend trip just so we could take it along ;)

Take a look at how unbelievably pretty this is:
{remember now, my nice camera is in the shop, so these are from my smart phone}

See!!  So lovely!

A combo of burlap, buttons, & a basket ... with ruffles & raffia ... right up my alley!
This basket {which is antique} was overflowing with goodies.

Trail mix in a jar decorated with lace, burlap, & lace, Ghirardelli chocolates, summer sausage & crackers.

 Mixed berry lemonade to go in these goblets.

Look at the blingy on these goblets!
I don't think I'll ever take that off cause I love it so much.

Talk about down to the details ... look at these fancy 'P's that are decorating the candlesticks!

Love this fancy frame & the rose soap petals too.

And at the bottom, I found this darling apron!!

On top of ALLLL this, they showered us with many kind & encouraging words
& gave us a card with a love offering inside.
{That's going toward a new vacuum sweeper ... ours just konked out!}

Our overwhelming thought concerning & toward our sweet congregation is that of love & gratitude.
They truly exemplify this scripture, not only on Sundays, but in their day-to-day lives:

John 13:35
"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Family Life Assembly, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU ... & a great big hug.

It's a little late to be sharing a blog ... not my typical routine,
but I wanted to share the super deals that I got at CVS this week before the new ad starts tomorrow.

I wanted to hurry & get this on here tonight to inspire me & you ...to check out next week's deals,
not only at the drugstores, but at your grocery too.
Not every week brings a good sale, but every free or cheap deal is worth taking advantage of.

I have to thank Jessica & Jody ... they both made their CVS trips before I did
& passed along tips & some additional coupons which helped me out!
{Jessica helped me think through this scenario cause I was having a brain freeze!}

I am going to start sharing one picture each week, along with a break-down of my best deals.
I definitely didn't rack up as many deals as others did this week {esp. with the Olay deal},
but I am pleased with what I got.

Not too bad paying $2.75 for all these products!!
This was 2 orders combined ...one completely free except for paying tax
{had to add in the 2 candies so the coupons would come off}.
I had manufactures coupons for every item, except the 2 candies, which as I said were filler items,
plus several higher dollar coupons that the CVS coupon center gave me when I scanned my card.

Next week, I'll share exactly what coupons I used to get the deals.

Garrett & Gunnar's Graduation Open House

I confessed a while back about being sooo behind on blogging about events in our life ...
well, here is the proof!
I wish I would've posted these right away, while they were still current, like any good little blogger would,
but alas, I am a good 2 months behind.
Where in the world has the summer gone??

I do want to share these pictures though, because although it was nothing fancy~schmancy,
I was proud of the decorations for our twin sons' graduation open house.
Due to the fact that we have all boys, my general decor theme throughout our home leans more
on the manly side ... nothing too frilly or frou-frou would fly around here.
When thinking how I'd decorate for their open house, I knew the same logic would apply.
My thoughts immediately went to burlap!
I am crazy about burlap & knew I'd have fun with this one!
All my ideas were approved by the graduating class of Garrett & Gunnar ...
the decor would be black & grey, using burlap, twine, & tin cans.
I have much of this same style & look in our home, so we decided to incorporate various antiques
& decor items that we already had {bonus ...saved some $$}.
All in all, it turned out beautifully.
The food was delicious & the fellowship was the best part of the day.
The boys got special treatment from start to finish ... many congratulations & well-wishes for their futures.
It was a day they'll remember always.

We decided to host the open house in our back yard.
My sweet cousin, Darlene, not only loaned us her tents, her husband came & put them up for us!
They were just what we needed!

The tents are going up!

Let's get the party started!

The candelier, one of my favorite ever, added just the right amount of flair to this tent!

{We hung three other candeliers throughout the yard, but sadly, those weren't photographed!
I tried to think of everything, but sadly, a few things fell through the cracks.}

James smoked a huge pork shoulder & 2 whole chickens ... let me tell you,
the sandwiches flew off the plates!

We feasted!
My little chalkboard that normally sits on my kitchen counter served as the perfect menu board.

I saved a few tin cans to use for various things ... here, they are holders for the plastic ware.

I wanted to buy small brown sacks for chips, the candy-store size bags, but decided to save $$
& go this route {more to come on these chip bags}.

Totally loved these!

I used Mason jars for the BBQ & the pickle bar.
Yes, we had a pickle bar!
My boys love pickles =)
{I can't seem to find pics of it}

This beautiful drink dispenser was a gift from my friend, Stacy, for my birthday.
I just love it!
It fit right in with this theme.

You'd have thought this gummy jar had magical powers!
There was a steady stream of adults & kids alike all.day.long.

I turned one of my vintage suitcases into a 'card box' ... isn't this adorable?
I tell you how I made the banner on a later blog.

This was my 1st project using chalkboard paint ...& it was a success!
I'll show you how I took this wall hanging apart & gave it a whole new look {blog coming soon}.

I've always wanted to do drinks in a wheel barrow!

The wheel barrow, full of ice, kept the water bottles cold.

Each table had tin cans filled with peanuts in the shell.
My sweet friend, Aleisa, helped gets the cans all decorated up {more on that later}.

 We also use a few various metal/galvanized containers ... here, we used my antique scoop too.

These lanterns ... what a find!!
I was so excited to come across these at the Christmas Tree Shoppe!
They were spot on with the decor theme & were only $7.99.

My father-in-law makes the best potato salad known to man-kind
& he so graciously made up a huge batch for the party!

My mother-in-law makes delicious everything!!
She is a wonderful cook.
All the party-goers found that out when they tasted this pasta salad.
I was asked probably a good 15 times, "Who made this salad & can we get the recipe?"

So proud of our boys!

 Homeschool grads rock!

And the party would have been incomplete without a whole host of family & friends.
They were truly the icing on the cake!

And what would we have done without all these mustaches?!

All in all, this day couldn't have been any better!
We are so grateful for all our friends & family for making this day over-the-top!
We love all of you!

Chick-fil-a Appreciation Day

We were more than ok with going to Chick-fil-a yesterday!
It was a no-brainer.
It is, after all, one of our very favorite places for a yummy chicken sandwich & nuggets.
And milkshakes ... can't forget those milkshakes.

Greater than that, Chick-fil-a is a Christian company ... & we are a Christian family,
so, obviously we identify with that.
We love that they are closed on Sunday for their employees to observe the Lord's Day.
And Monday through Friday, they play Christian music in their lobby, another thing that we appreciate.
On top of all this, the customer service is second to none!
Never, not one time, have we ever had a rude waiter.
It is consistent ... they are always sweet, kind, & courteous.

We wanted to show how thankful we were that Mr. Cathy had the courage to voice his opinion,
especially during a time that conservatism is highly unpopular...
And what a firestorm has come from Mr. Cathy's opinion!
I can't begin to imagine what this past week has been like for not only the Cathy family,
but for the individual store owners, the employees, & even the customers.
Just on Facebook, I've seen harsh & hurtful words spoken ... & what's very disheartening,
some of those have some from professing Christians!
This is not a time to nit-pick or split hairs, rather the time to stand together for a worthy cause!

That's exactly what we observed yesterday as we waited in the drive-thru line.
Everyone was smiling & even from our vehicle, we could sense the buzz of excitement.
I got that same feeling that I get when I watch a 4th of July parade ... people from all walks of life
coming together for a mutual cause, one bigger than themselves.
Many were taking pictures of this historic event, happy to be a part of it.

The overwhelming thought I took away was this:
As conservatives, we are so often made to feel that we are the underdogs, part of minority, 
unable to make a difference in anything because we are old-fashioned & outnumbered.
Yesterday, all across the nation, thousands of folks came out, showed up...
& if nothing but by that act itself, made a statement on what they value, what they hold dear.
Did it send a message ... oh yes, it sent a message!
I'd say it was a morale booster for all of us conservatives!

My prayer is that it continues...right into November & on!
I hope this was gasoline in all our moral & political tanks to keep showing up, keep standing up
for conservative & Biblical values!
We don't have to be mean ... we don't have to be ugly ... we just need to stand.
Stand for the truth.


Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to STAND.
~Ephesians 6:13