Estate jewelry fantasticalness.

It is that time of year!  The air is crisp and the leaves are changing.

Football season is in full swing and with that comes Homecoming!!

I loved Homecoming.  It was a chance to dress up and celebrate.  I still love it and all that comes with it.

Shopping with my girl for the amazing unusual dress.  Because my Shelby cant have any old thing.  It has to be EPIC.

My girl is so much like me.  We love to mix up styles.  We have determined that our style is juxtaposition.

Mixing the old with the new.  The soft with the edgy.  So when I am at auctions I am always confusing the  caller.  A rusty gas can and estate jewelry........"what?" 

 Yes!!!!

Love it!!

So before these necklaces hit my etsy store I wanted to show them to you.

$12.00 first buyer gets first pick and the bracelet free.

As I am posting this I am trying very hard not to just keep this one......MAGNIFICENT!

Not to knock the mall, but this is the stuff you played with in your grandmother's bedroom when no one could find you.....princess wear!

This is a choker....kinda sexy ladies...maybe not for the teen, but for a little surprise for the honey.....just sayin........meow!

This one too....choker .....might be using this one...lol

Very elegant.......

I will have these listed in the next couple days at my store.  If you are local I can bring it by.  If you need detailed measurement send me a note.  The clasp is a claw and hook on all of them, so they will adjust to any comfortable length.

I guess I should take them off now......

Who invited YOU!!!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. 

Proverbs 3: 5-8

Doubt...negative self talk..insecurities...fear...anxiety.....

 You are not and have never been invited to the party.

 I have four amazing children.  They are each very very different.  I have to say I am a hard mom.  I do not give my kids a lot of slack and I do not ask twice...ever.  (remind me to tell you about airsoft guns)

We home schooled the kids until we moved here to Virginia.  I loved it.  They loved it.  We had so much fun exploring and learning and growing in our faith.

But, when we moved there was a lot going on and we decided to try out public school.  This is when the D word comes in. (doubt) Being in a principals office with your four kids and saying...HI The Bates kids are here.....and getting the stares and murmurs about home schooling and not having the "right testing".  I left that day in tears.

"How could I be doing this?"  "How could I be sending my kids to school?"  "What am I thinking?"
What a mess.  But I knew we had to give this a try.  I knew that I had educated my children.  They were each behaved, well spoken, respectful kids.  They each understood exactly what was expected of them and they most importantly are fun kids.  Really cool kids.


This post could go on and on.  There is so much joy and heart ache in making such a huge transition.

 But today we are talking about the D word.  That overwhelming toss you to the curb doubt that I felt as I stood in that administrators office.  It was heavy it was dark and it was evil.





























It wanted to steal everything we as a family stood for.  It want to take my Faith.  It wanted to shake the bananas out of my foundation.  It wanted to hurt me and it wanted me to give up.

So ya know what we did .

We showed up.

I stayed on the administration.  I went higher when I had to.  I brought Moon Bear with me...my hubby to every meeting.  We stood together on our foundation of God, and family and we never wavered.

I was not a popular girl.  I was talked about.  I was ..I am sure very interesting conversation for awhile.

I was and still am an expert on my children's education and I made demands.

My kids did not understand the system.  There was a learning curve and after a couple of weeks they were getting the hang of it.  They had to take very remedial test and work their way up to where the classes were.  This took time but I knew my kids.

After the first year three were moved to honors and my guy that was LD (the schools like to put kids who have aspergers in LD) he was moved to honors as well.  From LD to honors.


THATS WHAT I AM TALKIN ABOUT!!!  

Sooooo.....whenever the D word knocks..remember..it wasn't invited to the PARTY!!!

Tiny spaces......

Awwwwww.......the tiny downstairs bathroom.

The one that everyone in the neighborhood uses.  The one that floods most.  The one that gets

 "clogged" most.  And in my house...the one that gets neglected...in the decorating department..

Who has time to worry about the way it looks and how well it is functioning when you need to be on the cleaning part....

Well with the kids back in school this was one of my projects.
I love crates.....and I scored a bunch at an old antique place...soooooo!

My little bath that needed some storage and some love got some this week.

I brushed the crates off with light steel wool and then hit them with lots of Minwax...clear.  There are lots of Minwax products for all sorts of projects.  I didn't want to change the color of the crates I just wanted to bring out the vintage yumminess and protect them from little hands.  This paste is easy.....wipe on wipe off.

My love for all things Ball Jar...continues...they just make me so happy...I mean who knew the jars that my grandmother used to put up the tomatoes are now used everywhere in my house....

FIND THE STUDS!!!

This is a must and I don't mean your hubby.......

This one isn't as old but the lid is great to hide the TP.......

The towel rack was pulled down too many times.  Kids eager to get back outside just yanked and it was gone.  This simple solution has managed to stay up and the kids return the towels.

My mom makes these cute purses.  We keep the hairbrush and face powder in it for quick touch ups...and it is a sweet splash of color.

Praise Report!!!!!

I am so very happy to say that my little guy has not gotten sick before school at all this week!!

I asked for prayer from my new Bible study group.  It is hard to be new...and then go and tell everyone

that your kid is having troubles .....talk about putting it out there.

Well... the support was overwhelming!!!!

And the following week my sweet Becky asked for continued support and prayer for us in helping our little man overcome his troubles.

You know the kind of tears that are silent...the ones that you hear dripping on the floor from the tip of your nose.....???  That was me.  GOD IS SOOO GOOD!


He has been to many doctors the past two weeks and had to have blood drawn. (Thank goodness for daddy's with big shoulders.) 

 He put up a good fight but the gal managed to get her job done and no one got kicked.  Daddy and little man came out red and sweating but no damage done.


It is hard a choice when it come to the question of to medicate your child or not to.
 We are firm believers in Herbalist and homeopaths, but this situation needed some extra help.   And it is working.  Every child is different and every family needs to decide what will work for them.  So very blessed to have great teachers, staff, friends, and doctors who helped us through this.

For the first time in weeks I can take a deep breath and not be worried about the "What next".
Everyone is settling into fall.  Deep deep breath...........phew!

Our homework center....more chalkboard paint.....love the fall colors.

Pinkie Pie with her cute new skirt from Old Navy...

Needed a reminder on a few letters.. ....love this hutch...do your kids like cursive???

  Tickle tickle........
Went to an amazing auction...the guy was in the back of a Gator and drove around to pick ups.....

I will save that for next time.....xoxox

My 12 days of Christmas...in August.

I told ya'll I like to celebrate........

Here is some of the fun I had on my birthday.......

LOBSTER!!!

Lillies

Card from Bell

Port...

Yellow...my favorite

Thanks Ashley

Thanks Emily!

Pinkie Pie in my shoes..

all the love

Amazing dinner at Book Binders

Ashley........wow!

Canal St.....downtown Richmond.

Told you I liked to celebrate!!!