Great Deals In K-Town!

I learned that Kroger has a great deal until May 1st. If you buy one single day admission ticket to the Knoxville Zoo you get one free! They also have a discount on tickets and memberships with your Kroger Plus Card. $2 off for single day admissions and $5 off memberships with a valid Kroger Plus Card. We love the zoo and I thought I would share this so that everyone else who enjoys going could enjoy these savings, too!

Well, a rough couple of weeks have just passed for me. Sometimes I just wish I could understand why these things happen, but I don't think I will.

Dogwood Time In Tennessee

Yesterday officially opened the Dogwood trails in Knoxville! Trails are open from April 7 - April 25. This year the Fountain City trail is the featured trail. The Dogwood Arts Festival happens every April in Knoxville and there are lots of events. Check out the calendar on their site for dates, times, and locations. Saturday there is an all day event that looks very interesting. The Marble Springs Storytelling Festival will be from 10am-10pm at the Marble Springs Historical Farmstead. They will have ghost stories in the evening, too.

Spring Is Here!

These are all pictures that I took this afternoon as I walked around our yard.

Kerria

Grape Hyacinth

Bleeding Heart

Flowering Almond

Hoosier Cabinets

I have always been a big fan of the Hoosier cabinets. I remember my aunt had one in her kitchen that was a white enamel with red trim. Those are my favorite ones, but I also like the wooden ones as well. I have been keeping my eye out for one for many years, but I currently do not have a kitchen that would accommodate one. My dream kitchen is a farmhouse style kitchen with a Hoosier cabinet in it. Maybe one day...

Duck Duck Goose Time!!!

Alright everyone prepare for some amazing shopping in the next few days! Duck Duck Goose is back in Knoxville and they have packed the old Kmart building on Kingston Pike! I was there tonight to help organize and it is crazy how much stuff is there! If you have children or want to buy for children this is the place to be. The public sale starts on Thursday, March 11th. For more info about this sale go to their website: Duck Duck Goose

Etsy Update

I wanted to let everyone know that I have now opened an Etsy store! I only have a few items listed so far, but I plan to add more soon. I would love for you to go and take a look! Here is the link to my store:

Heather of the Hills

Etsy

If you have not heard about Etsy, it is worth a look. It is a marketplace for items that are handmade. There are so many different varieties of things on the site, but I wanted to share about one particular store. My friend has started a store there to sell hair bows, ribbons and clips. She has a special gift for making these (she is a former cheerleader who absolutely loves ribbons!). I have several bows, clips and her newest items, fabric flowers on bobby pins. They are all great and I love the way they look in Otter's hair. Otter loves the bows that Em makes for her! Please take a moment and go look at my friend's store!

I Love Red Hair

Additionally I would like to add that I am preparing to open a shop on Etsy in the next couple of weeks to sell my crochet hats and other items. I will post a link as soon as it is set up.

New Quarters

I was in Hobby Lobby yesterday when I came upon the coin collecting section. I saw a large new book for quarters. The series is officially called the "America the Beautiful" series, but also called the "National Park" series. I was excited and looked at the book. The series starts in April of this year and goes through 2021. Here is a link if you would like to see some of the design candidates or to learn more: National Park Quarters

Another Background

I was looking at the Hot Bliggity Blog site for my newest background. I love the vintage look and the colors on this one are awesome! There is no name to the designs on this website, but there are lots of backgrounds to choose from.

New Background

This is the second background from Shabby Blogs. The design is called Rozlyn's Roses.

Cool Websites

I came across two websites that provide free backgrounds for blogs. I have decided to use several designs to show off some of the very cute backgrounds they have. The first is a design from Shabby Blogs called Orange Blossom. Every time I add a new background I will add a post to share the site and the design name.

The second website is called Hot Bliggity Blog . I have several favorite on this site, but they do not have names. The vintage, shabby chic looks are very much my style. Thought I would share these with all of you. Hope that you enjoy!

Enjoyable Day

Today I have had lots of fun. This morning I went with my mother-in-law (and the kids) to Sweetwater to go shopping at the Sock Shop. It was so much fun looking at all the different socks and loading up on them, too! I got some more of the Worlds Softest Spa Socks and I am loving them! We went over to Hunter's Bakery and Cafe for a good lunch then walked to a couple of the Antique stores nearby. This evening Joe and I went to an Ice Bears hockey game. They lost, but we did have fun. Now I sit relaxing in my new spa socks (pictured here). Ahhhh. How nice!!

Kalencom Diaper Bag

My cousin had a link to show a diaper bag that she is wanting from Kalencom. After looking at it I liked it as well. It has straps that help it attach to your stroller as well as a few other nice accessories. I like two of the designs best. Ozz Quilted Morocco Orange and Ozz Printed Nylon Flower Power Blue. A site called The Bragging Mommy has a review and giveaway on their site. I encourage you to have a look if you are interested in diaper bags or other products for children.

Bad Beginnings

This year started on a bad note for most of our family. It all started on New Year's Eve. Butch started getting sick. Then in the wee hours of the morning I got sick. It was terrible. We were both so weak from the stomach bug that we just slept for the next two days. We were almost on the point of dehydration. Joe, bless his heart got it a couple days later. Luckily Otter and Bubba did not get it! Then as soon as that passed and I started getting my energy back I got sinus stuff. Ugghhhh!!!!!! Now there have also been other things to add some stress (plumbing issues, heat went out, more plumbing issues, and a root canal). This has been a rough two weeks. I am hoping that the rest of the year proves to be a lot calmer and less stressful!

Humor

So we now are the owners of a WII. It was an awesome gift and we are all very excited about it. Today I forced the boys off so I could race on Mario Cart. (I have my own license so I am having to beat the grand prix on my own to get all the new levels, characters, etc.) So I am in the middle of one race when Butch forgets that he doesn't have a controller in his hand and jerks his hands up as if to jump with me. He instead jerked the glass of orange juice that was in his hands and it was very full of orange juice! Said orange juice goes flying out of the cup and lands all around (and on) him! That was so funny! Should they put a warning about that too? "For those who may be watching a race, please put down all items in your hands so that you might not fling them while race is in progress."

Christmas Time

Well, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Do I have all my shopping done? No! I am looking forward to the first day of family gatherings tomorrow, though. I love getting together with family (and friends, too)! I enjoy buying gifts for them and seeing their reactions. This year is really exciting because Otter is starting to pick up on more than just presents.

We have a Nativity set and she points out Joseph and Mary, but ours is missing the baby Jesus. He only comes out after they go to bed on Christmas Eve. It is something that was a tradition in Joe's family and we have carried it over into our family. The boys know that when Momma puts out the scene He will be missing until Christmas morning. Now Otter is learning about this tradition. I love it when they start understanding more of what we are really celebrating! The birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!


This is a beautiful set that I saw last week at our local five-and-dime store down the street. The artist is Jim Shore.

Sales

Since Butch's school did not reach their $ goal with coupon books they have two additional sales going on now. One is cookie dough, which we do not have a form yet so I have no info right now. The second is reusable bags. These are really nice looking polypropylene bags from the Mixed Bag Designs company. If you go to the link provided you can see the bags. There are four sizes. Prices are listed (the department store bags is listed as $10 on our forms, though) on the site. I have a Green Mountain Coffee bag that is about the same size as the department bag and I love it! It is also made out of the polypropylene. If you would like to help raise money to help the school please let me know! This will only go through next Tuesday, so hurry!!

Dust Off The Dancing Shoes!

This is the slogan used by the Chattanooga Choo Choo to promote an event that will be held on May 29, 2010. It is the Glenn Miller Orchestra special event. It is a package for two nights that included an evening of dancing to the beautiful sounds of songs like "In the Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", etc. This is an event that would be so much fun to attend! Now if I could only dance like Ginger Rogers or Ann Miller!

Funny Quotes part two

As we were sitting around the dinner table today we were joking about all the hair that is found around Grandmomma's house. We were talking about the possibility of using hair nets, but deduced the main cause for the hairs was the animals. That was when Butch said that the cats should live in hair nets! We all found the thought of the cats in full body "hair nets" very amusing! Wish I could find a picture of that!