Facebook, Etsy and Blogs, oh my!

You know you are behind in blog posts when your husband ask when you will post again.

So, while I chat with you all I thought I’d show you some shots I took when we went walking with some friends at Blackwater Creek State Park.

I have been busy trying to get my etsy shop set up and a facebook page for Skyland Drive.

I have the facebook page set up so now I just need to be active on it. I have to get on there and do some liking. Also, I should do some moving around. Those of you who have FB pages for your blogs which I am following, are done so under my personal profile. So, what I may do is like you all again under my FB Skyland Drive page.

Does that make sense? Because I see no other way of doing this. After I go through all of that I will just hide you under my personal profile so your blog updates don’t show up twice in my feed. 

Or will I have to delete you? That sounds so harsh.

And I keep forgetting to link up my items to facebook when I list a new item on etsy. Even though it asks me after I publish it! I see no way of doing it at any other time.

I am learning as I go here. Bear with me.

 I kept trying to share some of my etsy items already published and it will not let me!

I had to color my hair yesterday because I gained a bazillion more gray hairs from all of this.

Tomorrow it’s getting cut.

I hope you will stop by and see me on facebook. You can find me here.

Some friendly faces would be great.

There isn’t a lot on there right now but it will get better!

Oh and one more of this little guy. It was the cutest mushroom I ever saw.

I guess it’s really a toadstool.

I may lose internet for a bit. We are canceling Cox TV so we have to get our own modem for the internet.

And because nothing is easy around here I'm suspecting there will be problems.

Have a great weekend.

A Mom Has Rights

Time for a little bragging.

I can do that.

I’m a mom.

It’s in the rulebook.

I think I mentioned that my oldest son got engaged. Well, they were both interviewed by a friend for the Marietta Daily Journal Online. It’s a very cute article about the two of them both being photographers and how they make it all work. I’m so proud of them both. They work so hard and they are so very talented. I know their time will come when they will be famous. The little Tom Sawyer in the slide show is Rickelle’s son. He’s a cutie, and loves to model for them. 

Okay, well maybe not love, but he is a trooper!

I also want to thank Cassie from Primitive and Proper.

She was my very first customer at my Esty shop, Skyland Drive!

Cassie bought my rice grain sacks which she plans on making into some pillows. I can’t wait to see them. They recently bought a new house and she is redoing it to fit their style.  If you haven’t seen her amazing furniture transformations you need to stop by and and take a peak.

Oh and I even made one more sale since then. So, yay me!

I know it will take awhile to get going. I will keep plugging along and adding things. I hope the sun will be out tomorrow so I can take some photos.

I snapped this the other day. I wanted to try out my new lens on some birds. 

But it was so windy they were all hiding.

And thanks for all your input on my new/old birdcage. I think I will be leaving it as is. 

I fear you all would come after me with pitchforks if I didn’t! ;)

Time Flies When You Have Kids

I’m not really sure how this happens. I feel like I lost blocks of time.

My advice you all of the young moms. Grab hold, make great memories, because it’s a fast ride.

Before you know it your baby won’t be a baby any longer.

My baby turned 18 yesterday.

This is just so scary to me.

I’m pretty sure it was just last week that he looked like this.

My easy going kid.

The one that I could drag shopping all day or take to the older kids games and he never fussed. 

Well, except that first day of pre-K when he grabbed the flagpole and he would not let go. 

Or that time we went to story time at the library and he pitched a fit because he did NOT want to be there. We both sat in the car and cried that day. 

Then there was the time…..

Okay, so the kid fussed a bit.

I love his sense of humor. He still makes me laugh. Every day.

He does impressions and quotes from movies like no one else can.

He is patient with me when I ask for help with photoshop. And that is pretty often.

He is not the neatest kid in the world but I can look past that. 

Or just shut the door if it gets really bad.

I tried to make a homemade cake for him. No box mix. All from scratch.

Yeah, that didn’t turn out like I had hoped. 

I had apologized to him last night for such a yucky cake. 

He hugged me then said it was alright and that he appreciated that I took the time to make it. *snif* 

What a guy!

I’ll have to make another one with some help from Betty Crocker.

She will not let me down like Martha did with her recipe.

Hope everyone is having a great week. :)

The new source book is here… the new source book is here!

I have been doing nothing the past few days except painting trim white.

So I have nothing to show you guys. It’s just been prime, prime, paint, paint.

The doorways are the worst. But boy is it looking better.

We’ve been putting in all new doors. 

No more flat paneled, stained doors that suck up every little bit of light in this house. 

The difference in lighting is amazing. Especially upstairs where there are not a lot of windows.

I will show you the new doors soon. They have yet to be painted!

But even with just primer they are so much better.

I did get this in the mail the other day.

The new Restoration Hardware catalog.

Oh wait, excuse me…..Source Book.

Yes, It has morphed from a simple catalog to a source book.

Look at the size difference.

(yes, I still have last Fall’s catalog)

It’s bigger then my phone book. And heavier too.

It’s 615 pages.

Yes, that’s right, six HUNDRED and fifteen pages!

It’s so big that it’s awkward to hold and flip through.

It is the War and Peace of catalogs.

Sorry, source books.

The thing is, they have a lot of the same stuff in it from last years measly catalog.

Same girnomous sized furniture. Same greige tones.

Don’t get me wrong, I like the look of a lot of their pieces.

And I do like things a bit on the larger size. 

It’s just I don’t live in the type of house that most of it could fit in.

This bed is pretty normal sized. I could swing that.

That is if I had $2195 burning a hole in my pocket.

But this sofa….

 

Yeah, not so much.

And the enormous birdcage lights are a big no too.

I would need reeeeally high ceilings.

I just think that it was a bit of an overkill sending out a book this size to everyone.

I can’t even throw it in my bag so I can flip through it when I’m out and about.

I could pull a muscle or something.

What about you? Have you seen the new….book?

Any favorite new pieces or is it more of the same?

Road Trip Tales

We had a great trip to Atlanta this past weekend.

I thought I’d share some of the shots I took while driving. Well, I wasn’t driving.

It helps pass the time.

They have absolutely nothing to do with the story I’m going to tell you.

Just so you know.

Our main goal was to get #2 son a bed for his apartment. Something I didn’t think would be such a problem. But nothing is easy for us. Oh no.

We get to the land of the Swedes and enjoy a nice lunch of meatballs and crepes.

Let me just say this here and now.

Never, NEVER go to Ikea on a weekend. And especially right before college is starting.

As my son so eloquently put it: 

It’s like the 3rd level of hell.

Never.

Ever.

Again.

After we were all herded through the showroom, mooing along the way, we made our frame and mattress selection and squeezed our way downstairs to the market place. 

(Why do people insist on going against the flow?) 

We picked up a few nonessentials. Does my college age son need a wine rack? 

No. But I’m so frazzled I buy it anyway.

Then it’s time to locate the bed, load up and then proceed to spend hours putting it together.

(find the car in the clouds)

We find the frame, the platform and then the mattress.

Where is the mattress? The big empty palette is not a good sign.

I check with the man.

Nothing until maybe Tuesday or Thursday he says. Maybe.

So we decide to just pick up a mattress elsewhere. Yes. That’s a good idea.

So we unload the loot at the apartment. 

Which by the way, is quite the hike from the parking garage to his door. 

Then the bed is put together. The boys handle this since we did not have a power drill.

It went together surprisingly well. That should have been a clue.

We will shop the next day for the mattress.

(sharing this shot with The Kat Eye View: frame within a frame)

After a few issues we locate a full mattress to go into the full frame. We hurry to pick it up.

What? There are no more in stock? The truck is late they say, should be here any minute.

We do a little browsing at the antique mall next door while we wait. 

Go back. No truck. Not until tomorrow they say.

 

Off we go to find another mattress.

Finally, someone has a full size in stock. Hubby wheels and deals and gets a lower price. Yay!

We squeeze it in to my Trailblazer. We had measured and it should fit. Whew, it’s in. 

Off we go to deliver it to the apartment. The boys are putting it in the bedroom while I’m removing sticky stuff from the thrift store lamp I found. 

Then I hear… what the hell? 

That can’t be good.

It is not fitting in the frame. What the…..enter whatever swear word you’d like.

There were many.

Is a full size bed different in Scandinavia? The sizes must be off. 

They must make the beds so you have to buy their mattresses from Ikea. Ugh!

It fits perfectly on the outside of the frame but not down on the base. 

The engineer-to-be devises a plan. 

No one wanted to take the frame apart and return it to Ikea. 

So we head to Home Depot, in the middle of Atlanta, so they can build up the platform. 

Some plywood and 2x4’s, a few nails and we’re good to go. College is paying off. It worked.

After some dinner we head to the hotel.

(i really loved the color of this sofa)

It's late, we’re tired. The phone rings. I hate when the phone ring late at night.

Son #2 is calling. What now?

I know why the mattress wouldn’t fit, he says.

He must have been struggling to put the sheets on and then looked at the tag.

It was a queen!

REMINDER: I’m having a canvas print giveaway from Uprinting.com!

Please go HERE to enter.

see ya,

Intentions

There are some great photo assignments out there.

  I really should participate in more of them. 

I did do one called Ten on Ten back in March. 

That was a lot of fun and I had intended on doing it each month.

Intended is the key word here.

Maureen of Cottage 960 and Urban Muser are both doing Week in the Life.

A great way to photo journal your day. 

They have both captured some great images from their daily routines. 

Beauty in the everyday. I love it.

Go check out what their days are like.

I had good intentions to show you my day. Maybe not a week but at least a day.

There is that word again. 

Intentions.

It was a rainy day and I had a hard time with getting some shots.

Then the day sort of disappeared and I had to hurry and make dinner.

I made a pork tenderloin. You’d think I would have shot that. No.

Me cooking? No.

The dinner table? No.

Instead I get this.

As my mother always taught me…

a little wine for the (insert whatever you are cooking)…

…a little for the cook. 

What can I say. I listen to my mom.

But then the rain passed and the sun came out.

I grabbed my camera and we drove down to the point in hopes of getting some shots.

Here are a few.

I was crouching to get this shot and then realized I was in a patch of sand spurs.

Those buggers hurt!

I love watching the osprey in their nest.

Not exactly what I intended for the day but not a total loss either.

see ya,

Spidey Sense

Well we finally got some rain. We really needed it.

Only thing is, the the mosquitoes are worse.

I was outside this afternoon trying to take a few pictures of the crape myrtles.

In between swatting the bugs.

I had Henry outside with me so he could do his business.

He’s such a goof.

The bugger got a wild hair and took off for a little stroll while my back was turned.

He was right there. And then he wasn’t.

I thought he went to the neighbors so I tried to run around the side of the house.

I took off to go look for him and almost ran right into this.

It was ginormous!

It stopped me in my tracks.

Here it is from the other side.

Can you see what is in the middle?

It’s a little hard to see because of the sun.

Here….allow me to enlarge it for you.

GAH!!!

It’s was like something out of a sci-fi movie!

If I had not seen the web when I did….

and I and ran right into it….

oh geez, I would have freaked and died right then and there.

Oh yeah,

#3 son was able to grab goofy.

see ya,