A simple life...

Yes.

Yes...we bowl.

It's a yearly tradition......

after we stuff ourselves...we don't walk around the block...we actually ..head to the bowling alley....

bumper bowling if you will....because ...

well...

how can you go wrong with a little bumper ball?

This was the first year since Mason was born that we were alone for thanksgiving....and i

vowed to make something other than mac n cheese.

I'm still a wee bit impressed with myself....and not that i didn't think

i could do it...

but it turned out really good.

and i did it all myself....but kinda hard to go wrong when you are just cooking for a family of five.

Sorry...there are not pictures of the table set....there are no pictures of us eating....

nope...

none of the food...

no mashed potatoes....no herb and cranberry stuffing...

nope...

none of the children eating all of the pumpkin pie in one sitting...

none of that

just one picture..

of shoes.

colorful...coordinated...and tied perfectly...

happy shoes.

xo

A thankful heart...

I have a full heart this week....
a thankful heart.
My family is together.....the five of us....
we are healthy...we are happy....
we are loved...and most importantly we are together.
I realize that there are a lot of families that are struggling right now...
financially...
with their health..
with loved one's...
with life.
My heart goes out to you.

My dear friend Beth ..of Beth Quinn Designs...wanted to giveaway one of her lovely pieces of jewelry....this necklace called "captured bird"....

and i just realized as i write this that it is indeed a ..captured bird day.. on thursday..and no pun was intended...

i think...

i hope..

but if it was...

then Beth..you are freakin hilarious!

I've known Beth for a few years now...I've carried her pieces in my shop and she has a heart of gold.

I'm a wee bit jealous of her right now...because she lives in Arizona....where right about now....it's nice and warm...

and lovely Beth is also donating a piece of her jewelry for my Inspired evening...

I am thankful for a friend like you Beth!

All you need to do..is stop by her shop...then come back here to leave a comment telling me your favorite piece from her shop.....

oh...and telling me one thing you are thankful for this week!

double oh...tweeting ... blogging or even telling your neighbor about this gets you extra credit.

Have a fabulous Thanksgiving girls!

*comments are now closed.

xo

Who are you..

I am a flower loving....

vintage craving...

farmhouse living...

ruffle wearing...

girl.

I love my family....

my babies bring out the best...

they bring out the worst....

I help anyone in need...

not asking for anything in return....

I was brought up by two hardworking parents..

that are still together today.


Have you ever just thought for a minute about who you are...


because i know i still struggle...


and i know i'm not the most confident girl in town...


i want to be confident....


i know i can make decisions that affect my family..


the way i live...


the way i love...


and life.


I love a good one on one conversation....


so take for instance ...today..my family and i had taken a bike ride


to the park....


and while the kids played in the woods...


my sweet hubby and i laid on the park benches....


chatting away...


about nothing ...


about everything...


i love that we can lay there and we just get each other...


we are both comfortable.


Who do you live your life for....


is it to please other people... or is it to fulfill


the life you created...the life you are living..


which brings me to this...

Is your family perfect....

i know mine is not...we have our struggles..our everyday tribulations...

as a matter of fact....

my husbands brother has decided to get married....

to a girl that the rest of the family might not think is the perfect choice...

but the smacker is ....

they have decided to get married in Hong Kong.

gulp.

double gulp.

Seriously....have you looked at airfare to Hong Kong lately?

It's not cheap....nor is the hotel....

and i'm not going to tell you that on the invite...

there are four different events going on for the week of the wedding..

with each of them requiring a specific dress code.

Now i have a feeling that the reason that the wedding might be in Hong Kong is ....

the "girl" wanted it there because she didn't want any of my hubby's family coming...

i seriously think ...that she see's us as

trailer trash.

triple gulp.....

maybe if i decide to go with bryan...i can pull out my fake teeth and tell bryan that he

can grow his mullet out.

Holy schmoly.....how did i get this far....

i'm just wanting to say....that no family is perfect...

no person is perfect...

we all struggle ....

I am me....

who are you?

xo

p.s. I finally figured out how to enlarge my pictures...i love when i figure these things out!

oh...and did you get to scroll down and read only the enlarged words?

Must have curvy legs...

It seems a lot of things go on in my house when i have no choice but to stay home. The laundry gets folded....the dishes get emptied from the dw....rooms get cleaned and dusted....


it's amazing....


okay...you got me...i don't necessarily dust....i mean...i don't get out the feather duster....


but i do get out the ole swifter....


and run it over the hardwoods....


that i do.


This chair.....is one i picked up at my flea market a month ago.....


and i really didn't know where i was going to put it...


till i dragged it up to Lola's room.

I have been on the lookout for a chair with a little curve appeal...

because a girly chair must have girly curves...








Lola's room has been going thru a transformation for the last few months.....


with this was the final piece that i needed to complete it....


and don't worry...i'll show some pics of the final look as soon as i get her bed made..


because i am doing laundry as i write...


and...


her sheets happen to be in there....


i don't know about you....


but ....

oh never mind....

do you really want to know that my sheets don't get

washed as often as they should...

as a matter of fact i read that

sheets should be laundered ....

at least once a week.....

gasp

...once a week!

{just for the record...i'm pretty sure my mother in law is reading this....so i'm just stating it here..

that the sheets will be laundered the day she arrives.....pinky promise}

back to the chair....it's a pale blue grey......

i even love how the button above is hanging off from a thread...with that little pillow being one

of my favorites.....

with the curvy legs and wide seat....{sorta reminds me of myself}......





i'm just saying....

but please let me just mention that i have been hitting

the gym this week....

early...

as in... 6 am early....

i am on a roll.....

I also wanted to mention that i took bryan to see the beloved farm last sunday. He fell in love with it....actually.....he fell in love with the....

man room......

a room of wood ...and beams...and yes...

a mini fridge.

my man fell in love with a man room.

You don't think he gets tired of sitting on our white slip covered sofa's do you?

Oh..and one more thing...

seriously now...

i just want to let you know that i will be one of

those girls.....

yes...

one of those girls...

the over 30 ..married with children...

heading to the movies with some friends..

to see robert pattinson....

aka ..

edward...

yes..that will be me in the theatre...

drooling.

xo

p.s. Winner of the little giveaway with the knit hat is Tiffany {happy day}..

and....if you all want to order your own hat.. you can get them {here, }..and

that #5 from {here}.

Confessions of a simple girl....

Oh.....hello there.
It's me kasey. You really can't see my face because i'm a wee bit sleep deprived.
I believe my kid ate too many germs ......he actually over indulged....
because i am home again this week....
with another pox infected child.
Which pretty much means....
no school all week
no play dates all week
no gym all week
errr...
i guess i can still go to the gym if i wanted to cart by big butt out of bed
at 5 in the morning....
which i've been known to do....
So...when fin came waddling into my room at two oclock in the morning...
i just knew something wasn't right....
especially when he said...
'mommy....i'm really itchy'....
grrrr......is what the sleepy mommy said...
then the light bulb when off in my head....
let's see....the doctor said ...between 2 and 3 weeks incubation.....
ta-da
and here we are.
Anyways...i don't have much to say other than we had a new kitchen faucet put in
this last weekend....
and i had no idea how expensive those things are.....
and of course i had to have a pretty one...
and when i called the plumber to come install it...
he pulled up in a
BMW.
Seriously.....the man that walked out of that car was not a
plumber.....
he couldn't be.....
and he had on designer jeans.....
tight...designer jeans.
I introduced myself.....
blah...blah...blah..
trying not to stare at his behind......
as he bent over under the sink......
whew...
i had to remember that Bryan was in the room too...
and he looked at me salivating all over the floor....
and rolled his eyes at me.
This my friends...is the story of a woman who doesn't get out much..
because of pox infected children.
xo
{photo from Makool}

Dreaming of white...

I've already started sprucing up for the holidays....and what i love best is doing little vignette's. I started

last week and already finished with the mantel.

Can you believe it's only the middle of november....and since we never have thanksgiving hosted here

at my home...

there is no need for any turkey decorations....

don't get me wrong...

i love turkeys....

i might even have my own one day...

if i can get my hubby to agree on living on a farm....

which by the way...he has agreed to see with me.

So..keep your fingers crossed that we win the lottery...

i might even share some with you.






My kids came home last week to me stuffing marshmallows into this glass container....

so i had no worries that if any of them fell of the floor....

because we live by the 45 second rule in my home...

yes...

i know...

you all live off the 3 second rule...

but us...we like the 45 second one a bit more....

saves us some money....

like if one of the kids dropped an ice cream cone...

i'm all about saying....

take your time....no hurry....

because i'm not getting another one...

i have a feeling that's how my kids stay so healthy...

we eat our germs...

seriously...

i mean...has your kid ever dropped an ice cream cone

on the floor of chuck e cheese......

yup.....

we eat our germs....

i even think that the kids stay even healthier by eating

their own buggers.....

at least the little guy does....

and i swear he's only had one sick day so far.

Now me....i'm actually in bed right now...sick.....

and i have a feeling i use to much hand sanitizer...

and go a little crazy with the lysol spray.

But that's just me...

Anyhoo...

how the heck do i start chatting about my mantel display and get off on the whole kids eat buggers thing...

must be the Tylenol p.m. kicking in....

that way i can take a wee nap and be up in time to watch a little SNL....because normally i'm sawing logs when it comes on...

see...i'm telling you up front that i go to bed early.....

then i can dream of....

dairy barns.....

ok...

so....back to the whole holiday thing....

i plan on being finished holiday shopping by December 24th...

you heard that right....

i am not one of those that was done in june....

ok...maybe Dec 22nd...if i'm really lucky.

So...to kick off the holiday season....

and because i love a little giveaway.....

i have a little "holiday pick me up" package for you.

A darling knit button hat {like the one above}, a $10 starbucks giftcard, and the new Michael Buble c.d...

all wrapped up with a bow for you.

Leave a comment...and i'll choose one of you by Tuesday.

Oh...and new song on the playlist....'straight lines' by

dawn landes..

xo

p.s. The winner of the "meet me for wine" Scarf giveaway from sage creek is Christy Donohoe. {email me}

Love that dog...

This is a story about a girl and a boy.

If you've been around awhile...then you know the girl.....

the girl is named wren....

and she's about to turn a year.

The girls mom is one of my closest friends....so she asked me take a few photo's.






The boy belongs to me.

his name is fin.....

but on this day....

we called him dog.



and this is a small documentary about a girl...

who loves that dog.

So...we had so much fun the other day....especially the dog.

Let me tell you....this is as close to getting a dog as i get....even though....it's known...that when

this boy turns 5....that we decided to....

talk

about

getting

a

dog.

Don't get me wrong....i love dogs...i grew up with always having a dog...

on the other hand....

the husband did not.

Do you know what kind of animal we have now? We have a bird.....a cockatiel to be exact.

She sure looked pretty in the pet store.....

yes she did.

The pet shop didn't mention that birds are loud..

and messy...

nope...

they did not.

So here we are....

with the closest version of getting a dog right now.

Love that dog

xo

{dog hat from anthro}

Farmhouse dreaming...

Let me just start off by saying one thing.....

i dream of farmhouse living....

but don't get the wrong idea.....i am in love with my house now...

i love my house...

i love it to pieces....

but a girl can dream....that i know.

I am always perusing homes that are on the market..

i peek in the windows...

i spy from down the street....

i've probably even been labeled as a.....

girl.to.watch.

from some of the neighborhood watch teams...

but i'm ok with that.

really.




So....

i found this place...

this farm.....on 7 acres....

with a dairy barn...

did you know i dream of dairy barns.....

well i do....

i've been know to talk in my sleep...

and say ...

dairy barn

out loud....

yes...it's true



It's a good thing my realtor is a good friend....

she fields my calls....

and puts me in my place by saying..

kasey...i could totally see a

lola b's sale happening in the

dairy barn

now...that's a friend

I forgot to mention that i also dream of chickens...

wierd i know...

and i'm not talking about chicken sandwiches

from chick fil e.....

uggh

because if anyone knows me...i really do love that place...

and we don't have them here...

but i do dream of chickens...

or hens...

that lay eggs.

could you totally see me having chickens...

in this chicken coop on the back of the farm...

the farm with the dairy barn....

i could even set a sign out front that says...

eggs for sale.

I might not be wearing this killer dress from anthro when i'm selling eggs.....

i might have some jeans with an apron...

i might even have a bit of cookie dough molted on that apron...

from baking cookies from scratch for the children ...

in the farm kitchen.....

while the kids play in the

dairy barn.

xo

Sunday dinner club...

I've always wanted to have a dinner club....


i've read about them......


i've heard friends talk about them....


but i've never hosted one nor have i ever been to one.


All that changed tonight.






apparently...the deal is...


one couple hosts an evening....


with the hosting couple doing everything....


from wine to dinner...to dessert.


I suppose you could have your children there...but in my case...


i guess i just needed a break...


you see..Mason has been home most of the week with Chicken pox.


{yes...he was vaccinated}


Did you know that kids need 2 vaccines? .....


uggh.


well....the doctor never double checked his records....so here we were on Tuesday...and Mason came in


from playing outside...complaining that he was itchy.


grrr.


so i told him......well....that's what you get for rolling around in those worm infested leaves.


Holy crepes { i totally could have said something else..}........


he took his shirt off and blisters all over his torso....


and of course....me being a *retired nurse* and all...just had to look at those puppies


to determine that indeed....it was


chicken pox.


where was i????


oh yes....


dinner club..


I needed a little bitty break from the kid....


so i got my sitter to take the kids to Chucky {vomit} cheese.

The original plan was for me to spend the day cooking a lovely meal for the 5 couples i invited over for dinner....

but as luck would have it....

my cleaners canceled on friday....which meant i had to spend the morning cleaning...

thus....

no time for cooking.

don't get me wrong.....dinner was still fabulous.

we dined on eggplant Parmesan....fresh field greens with Gorgonzola ....linguine with pesto and pine nuts...

and finished dinner off with some fabulous french petite desserts.

I just want to say a big thank you to Maggiano's for totally taking my call at last minute and pulling the order together for me.

eeek.

Back to the idea of Sunday evening dinner club.......

one sunday a month...a couple hosts it...and does everything....

then it switches to another couple the next month.

We get a night out....only paying for a sitter....and have a fabulous time mingling with friends.

That my friends is what a Sunday evening dinner club is all about.

xo

* oh yes...the retired nurse statement. I indeed used to work in pediatrics...and have not in about 7 years. I was the one in the office that gave your children their vaccines....and froze their warts off...and started their i.v.'s...

yup....that was me...

and i totally remember you moms giving me the evil eye as i did these things...

oh yes i do....

Let's meet for wine..

I don't normally ask for much.....




maybe a good bottle of wine....




perhaps....a cute outfit...




or a blissful friend....




but what happens when you throw all three together.....





even better.....




what happens when you throw all these things together in the morning.....




and hand your 8 year old {who happens to be home with the chicken pox}...




the camera....






I couldn't ask for a more fun morning.....








{and yes...we did finish off the glass of wine.....seriously....i'm a waste not want not sort of girl}....




and apparently so is my friend Christina.




I don't quite remember how i met her over a year ago........




but as soon as we started chatting...




i knew...




this girl is .....




well....




she's a dreamer...she's a mother....she's a fellow francophilian...

she makes my wardrobe look like the bins at goodwill...




and i love her.




After i did my post on 'the new me'.....she sent me the most heartfelt letter...




letting me know that she will dig deep with me....




and i don't mean into the wine vault at Trader Joe's...




nope...




this girl is special.

So....since i'm about to turn 35 in a few days...i wanted to introduce you to Christina.....

this is her blog.... {here}...

swing by and tell her hello....

Then head back here and leave a comment....

because i have something for you....

from her.

Christina and i put our heads together....{not in a icky sort of way....silly}

because i just swoon over her shop.....but i know that not all of you can join

us for a glass of wine....{unless you are indeed coming to An Inspired Evening....}

or stroll her shop in person....

but i'd love to send a little something from her shop to you......

just a little birthday gift....from me to you.

xo

A new me.....

I'm just letting you know up front that i am not a deep soul......






young at heart.......definitely....






an old soul......for sure.....






but deep.....that ...i am not.






I take my relationships lightly......i don't know why....but i do.






my friend told me yesterday....






that i tend to tread water...sort of like skimming it.....and i had to think about that one for a bit......






and i think what it means is.....






i'm a surface person.....i skim the situation lightly....like i would a person.






ugggh.






who wants a friend like that.















I'm realizing that i want to be more....






i want friends that really care....not just pretend to care....




i want to be a friend that cares....






like when i moved here....which was a big move for us.....because i did not want to come...






but we had to......






and i drifted into a dark spot........and for a good 6 months....my marriage was tough.....yes....

that was the toughest six months together.....






i was sad.....i was lost....i was hurt.... i didn't want to be here.......

i was mad....






and the one friend i really thought would understand ....was actually hurting me the most....






or at least that's how it felt.....




and i didn't tell her.....






and because i'm a surface type of girl....i let the friendship go....






because i didn't want to hear her tell me anymore that i would get over it .....






i did get over it.....but it took a whole year for me to find my place here....






making new friends....making my house a home...






and even though i hated it here at first.....this place had grown on me.....









but i am realizing how quick i am to let a friendship go...




because i am selfish......




I.am.selfish




If nice things aren't said.....or there is tension.....




i pull away.....i back off.....




and i leave.
























That was the old me......






breaking off a friendship because i don't want to get hurt....






instead of digging deeper and actually working things out....






i'm also not a confrontationalist {is that a word?}......






{remember the story about me in front of a camera...}






i'm the same when it comes to having to confront a situation....






drool everywhere....






ugggh.






I don't want to be her.










The new me is about to turn 35........






and i want to be someone special.....






i want to be special to someone.....






i want my friends to love me unconditionally....






and i want to love them truthfully.....






and work out the kinks....the wrinkles.....the hurts i've caused.......

i want to be more bold ....to tell a friend that i am hurting inside....



but i also need the type of friend that can put me in my place....

and not feel the need to run.....



good bye old me....



hello new me.






xo






oh... ...




Found: remember the search for plum boots ? well...i found them....at ...T.J. Maxx.....for only $30!! .....




and yes.....for $30.....they might acually be pleather.....but who cares....they are freakin cute.




pleather plum boots.......who knew.

Notes from a wife...

Marriage is all about trials and tribulations.
This is what i've learned.
1. When the hubby asked me to tivo the world series he didn't mean the poker world series.

2. When travelling by air...always pack your bag to bring on the plane...because hubby will never pay to have it checked through.

3.If in fact he has to pay to have your bag checked because the size is to big for carry-on, then know that shopping while on vacation is out.

4. If you indeed cooked a lovely meal and dessert, which the hubby just loved...then know...that in fact he does know that you can cook...and will want you to do this on a regular basis.

5.If you carry your camera around everywhere with you...then beware that hubby will think that you are taking photo's of the kids just for blogging purposes and not for the family photo album.

6. If this happens....then by all means ...go and buy a photo album and spend your time filling it up.

7. When hubby asks you what you did today...don't say "nothing".



8. Don't have your Anthro shopping bags laying around if you told your hubby that you weren't feeling well and needed a day to relax.



9. never tell your hubby that your period is really late even though he's had the clippity clip.

10. It is okay to end an argument by saying....Well...i guess i'll just go to Paris with my friends instead...
and you stay home with the kids.

11. When the hubby says " the gym called today and they are wondering why you haven't been in".......
he didn't mean literally....so don't really call them back......take it as a note...that it really is time to
head back to the gym.





xo