Time outside

I don't know about you, but I am tired of the heat! It has been 100' or hotter for what seems like forever here in Texas! Everything is starting to dry-up, even with daily watering. Spending time outside (unless in the pool) has become short, and on an "as needed" basis. Therefore, even my urns by the front door leave something to be desired! I consider myself a summer girl, but I must admit, cooler temperatures and the time to putter around outside is sounding like a slice of heaven!

I have a little courtyard outside my kitchen. Mr. Pearl and I rearranged the furniture in it one Saturday morning, and I am ready to get in there and turn it into an outdoor oasis. I have empty pots waiting to be filled with flowers and herbs. I am waiting for a cool 90' and less than 100% humidity day, so I can get to work. I have a LONG list of things to accomplish around the house now that the mini-pearls are in school. I always start off the fall with a bang! It's kind of like new year's to me. I don't know how much I will actually finish (it's an overly ambitious list), but the courtyard is at the top and everyone out there in blogland can hold me accountable!

My absolute favorite!

I included some of my inspirations. I hope these inspire you, too.

Here's to cooler temperatures!

Krissy

photo sources: 1- Mary Engelbreit Magazine, 2- Southern Living, 3- Decorating magazine Summer 2006, 4- Better Homes and Gardens February 2006, 5- Garden Shed 2006, 6- unknown, 7- Southern Living, 8- Mary Engelbreit Magazine, 9- unknown, 10- Southern Living, 11- unknown, 12 - Southern Lady Magazine, 13 - House and Home May 2010, 14 - unknown, 15 - Better Homes and Gardens May 2007

Flashback Friday - 2, 4, 6, 8 - cheerleading was really great!

Yes, I was a cheerleader. A REAL cheerleader! I wouldn't survive on one of those competition teams of today. I really LOVED cheering for football games! I love the football players, the sound of the referee blowing a whistle, the marching band, the Friday night lights, etc... I am a Texan. I was born this way! I cheered in elementary school for the Optimist team, in junior high and on JV and varsity in high school. Every year at back-to-school time, I feel the excitement in the air, as football season rolls around. (for the record, I am NOT a fan of pro ball. Don't watch, don't like the Cowboys - don't sue me - college ball is a different story - LUV it!!!) I think back to the way the cool grass felt on the field, as we rolled out the run-through signs and got ready to tumble ahead of the team; the bouncy way the track feels when you are jumping on it and the awesome feeling of your team winning a game. Our teams were always great and we went to the state quarter finals my senior year - we got to fly on a chartered plane with the team - AWESOME! So, now travel down memory lane with me...

4th grade - my mom was our sponsor and coach

Ok, this was my Dorothy Hammill hair and yes, it is brown (I am to the right of my mom - the tallest one)

Um, Marsha Brady called and wants her clothes back!

6th grade - better uniforms - thank you Jesus- they really showed-off the "awkwardness" of being twelve. Yeah!

Our most difficult pyramid- we were so proud.

Junior high - enough said.

still junior high - notice the lemon-juice highlights!

This was heading to cheer leading camp for my Sophomore year. (junior varsity)

I had to include it because I don't remember being that blonde or skinny!

My nickname in high school... Bowhead

Junior year - Varsity squad -nice dog ears and bows

Camo day for a pep rally- with yet another bow

Senior year - Varsity

Yep, a REAL cheerleader

Perks- posing for an ad for the program - that's me driving!

those were the days......

Two bits, four bits - Hey!

Six bits a dollar, this post is over

Stand-up and HOLLER!

Krissy

Pink and Green Thursday

Love in your heart

Wasn't put there to stay-

Love isn't love

'Til you give it away.

-Oscar Hammerstein II, The Sound of Music

Happy Thursday dear ones!

May today find you full of LOVE, happiness, hope and friendship!

Have a blessed day,

Krissy

Que Sera Sera - Michelle's home

I have a precious friend, Michelle. She is beautiful inside and out. I love to give her a hard time though - she looks like Doris Day! (that is a compliment in my book) and her life is like a Doris Day movie! Michelle wears fabulous clothes, does glamorous things (like go to charity events and trips to uber fabu locales), along with the mundane (like cook fantastic meals, clean house and drive carpool, be a great wife and mom) and there is usually some comic twist, but everything ends-up just fine and Michelle and her dear hubby and four, yes four, boys continue to live happily ever after - just like a Doris Day movie!

The exterior of Michelle's home -

the door decorations change with the seasons and are always wonderful!

Michelle's home looks like a Doris Day movie set and it is beyond me to figure out how it stays the way it does with four boys, a dog and an open door with a constant stream of friends in and out. (Michelle would tell you that it isn't perfect, and ok, it might not be, but it's close and I know she works hard) Michelle's home is the site of many a Fourth of July picnic parties, countless children's parties, lemonade stands that make the newspapers and intimate, dinners around the dining table with family and friends- every visit is a cherished memory

and her home is full of joy.

Formal living - the walls are a robin's egg blue and delicate green stripe!

close-up of over-mantle shadow box that I made for her

Mom's oasis - sunroom

The study

Close-up of shadow box in study - Michelle had this made for her hubby, the items are from his college days

if you recognize what this is, you MUST be from Texas- Gig-em!

Formal Dining

Roosters in the kitchen - the walls are a cheery green

I tried to capture her home and share it with you. I hope you feel some of the joy and peaceful sanctuary that this home provides. It is full of fabulous furniture and some antiques; gorgeous fabrics and sterling silver mementos, but the most treasured are the family photos on the walls and the laughter that fills the halls. This is truly a home!

Casual dining in the great room

That's Michelle holding her baby and our sweet friend, Angie

Upstairs landing and kid living area - we had three families here this evening,

8 boys and Sweet Pea, the only girl (she loved it!)

close-up of a Welsh dresser, full of family treasures and photos

Master sanctuary

Mudroom and Shiner - the family doodle!

The wonderful backyard!

Thanks for the tour Michelle!

xoxoxo,

Krissy

Sea Shells - Take Two

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.

-Celia Thaxter

The cabinet is covered entirely in shells.

The entire wall is a mosaic of shells!

Thanks for hanging in there with me and the lack of posts last week. I got the mini-pearls off to a good year at school! I think that I have mentioned how much I love sea shells. They are little treasures and I love the natural, sculptural quality that shells add to a space. I decided to revisit shells one more time. It could be the fact that I have grocery sacks full that I brought back from my Florida vacay or my last heroic effort to hang on to summer - ok, it's both. So, here are a few more of my favorite shell images. I hope these inspire you to enjoy and hang onto these last full days of summer and maybe to do a shell project or two!

Happy shells to you!

Krissy

photograph sources: 1- ad for 5 Broads off Broadway, 2- Traditional Home October 2006, 3& 4n- At Home Summer 2006, 5 - unknown, 6- unknown, 7- Country Living July 2006, 8- Andrew McCaul, Counrty Living July 2006, 9- unknown