thoughts from a 'good stuff' filled weekend……and a winner.

A wise 'older' mom once quoted this to me as I chased

my exuberant toddler while managing a stroller with

my sleeping baby in it……I remember being frustrated,

a little overwhelmed and exhausted.  I refrained from

saying out loud what I was thinking in my head,

'yea, right, lady'!  

Lately, I find myself thinking about that day and believing,

'truer words were never spoken'.

I am now that wiser mom - with a 15 year old and a 12 year old.

This weekend was FILLED to the brim with good stuff -

school dances, lessons on applying/wearing red lipstick, 

sleepovers, birthday parties, soccer games,

volleyball practice, dinner with friends who are more like cousins, 

good conversations about life choices and teenager-y things,

serious conversations about heartbreaking stuff like the suicide of a local

girl, driving, oh the driving I do these days - but all with the

the sunroof open this weekend….it was sunny and 75 in the PNW!

And from the comments on my post yesterday,

yours was too.  Boy do you all like to clean

your homes - girls after my own heart!

I hope you all got in lots of 'good stuff' too…..

The winner of the Target Easter banner is :

Elizabeth

*I chose the 17th commentor because

my birthday is THIS week on the 17th!

What's going on……plus a fun giveaway.

I'm not going to even apologize for my absence……I am not arrogant enough to 

think you are all sitting online waiting to hear about my next client project, 

diy attempt, gallery wall conquest…..like me, you have 

living to do!  Now that doesn't mean I don't get all

giddy when you comment, compliment and read along

with my yammering on ……… cause I do!

So here it is Saturday morning, it's peaceful in my house - the

teen and tween are sleeping in, the hubs is on a golf trip this weekend,

I am planning my day all the while the sun is doing it's best

to make us in the Pacific Northwest believe it is really spring.

Want to know what's on my 'ta-da' list today?

*some cleaning

*a little laundry

*planting the lettuce and pea starts

I purchased earlier this week

* purchasing a birthday gift

for the party my tween is 

attending tonight

*working out

* And this evening is a high school dance

so I will be driving my freshman, her date

and multiple friends to pre-parties, post parties,

photographing, calming nerves, primping,

reassuring, beaming with pride and 

soaking it all in

The Good Stuff.

*****

And just because, I am giving away a sweet Easter banner

I found at Target.

I picked up one of these for myself shortly after I returned from

spring break and posted a photo on Instagram and had

many questions on where I found it in my Target - seems

it was quite the elusive little item in many Targets across the 

country……So the next time I went to Target I purchased 

a couple for friends. And because I think of all of you

as friends, I would like to choose a reader to 

send one of these cuties to for your Easter celebration!

Please leave me a comment telling me what's on your ta-da list

this weekend.  I will choose a winner tomorrow night (10 pm PST)!

*US residents only!

Then, come back on Monday for another giveaway! 

Seriously.

A 'Frozen' themed party fit for a tween!

 Simple is the name of the game around here - especially birthday celebrations

as my girls get older.  My little girl turned 12 in March and wanted to have

some friends over to "hang out" and celebrate her birthday.  She

LOVES the movie Frozen and the girls were planning to watch it

together so I ran with that 'theme' when I set and decorated

her birthday table!  

 My local friend Mary who owns The Paper Moon made the 

bottle wrappers and treat bag stickers for me.  I used wrapping

paper I picked up at HomeGoods for the table runner and thankfully,

the Easter-themed M&M's and readily available daffodils 

helped to make the table festive!

A great time was had by all!

***********************************

The winner of the $50 Lowe's gift card is Stacey from Steward of Design!
Congratulations!!!!

Words…...

Ah, vacation….it does a soul good.  I am happy to be back and am slowly returning

to our normal routine. 

Waiting for me on our front porch when I returned from vacation was this

'perfect for me' sign from Etsy seller BetweenYouAndMe.

I love it so much that I spent much of the morning, after unpacking it,

carrying it from one room to another contemplating where I might hang

it!  So much for unpacking suitcases and doing laundry!

For now, it's found a place in our front entry hall.  I believe

it's a fitting verse for our home.

Tara from BetweenYouAndMe has graciously offered 10% of signs

in her Etsy shop.  You can go HERE and find one for yourself!

Use the code 'FOREVERCOTTAGE' to receive

your 10% discount!