The Weekend

I am sitting on my sofa(which by the way needs to be slip covered or recycled - 12 years and 2 children are a lot of wear and tear) watching "Bolt" with the kids...OK, I'm not really watching as much as I am clipping coupons and making "to do lists"....but our weekend has been great!We traveled down to Athens yesterday to celebrate my mom's birthday and plant some more stuff in the garden. It was a great day, here is the breakdown:

• People: me and the kids, Mimi and Papaw, my sister & her family, my sisternlaw and her boys
• we worked in the garden - planted more yummy vegetables
• fed the chickens
• ate some lunch
• pet the horses in the neighboring field ( Liv is adamant these are her horses )
• played with Duke and Belle - the stinky Labradors
• had some Dairy Barn(local ice cream hangout) - walnut milkshakes are my FAVORITE
• fixed spaghetti for dinner
• threw the kids in the bath, put on pj's, and hopped in the car about 7:30pm to head home

It was a great day and we all slept like logs last night! Off for the ritual Sunday nap...have a good one! More to come on the above mentioned sofa, stay tuned!

Doing a little design work

Doing some design work today...here is what I'm diggin!The pillow is Hable Constrution, lamp is Barbara Crosgove, the table is World's Away, the wall paper is unknown as of yet (but I will try to find out) and finally the leather chair is G&J Styles...

A Summary of the last few weeks...

My posts have been non-existent as of late...I guess it is the end of the school year and with that comes lots of activity! Here is the lowdown...

• Mother's Day was great...my gift was a spa day with girlfriends! It was great and I can't wait to do it again!
• Lots of baseball games - Braxton is a natural and loves playing short stop...he's had several home runs and his favorite part of the game "TOKENS" , for the concession stand afterwards...it's all about the food for him!
• Olivia's Ballet recital...she did great, she looked beautiful...but I think she might be more suited for something a little more rough and tumble?!!? Only time will tell...
• David has started basketball again...gone are the days of "basketball season" now all sports seem to be "year round"....atleast now Braxton can join him at practices and workouts!
• I jumped on board a new project with an old friend, Missy Johnson...she started a non-profit last year called "Kingdom Design Ministries". KDM provides interior design services, a 'room makeover', for children who have suffered tragedy or have been diagnosed with a disease such as cancer. If you are interested in learning more, I will be posting in more detail in the coming weeks!
• My mom's birthday was the 19th...we are celebrating this weekend...no baseball game Saturday so we will head down to Athens and spend the day working in the garden, celebrating my mom, and maybe eating some SMORES around the campfire!
• The end of school....Liv finished up Tuesday of this week and Braxton will be done on friday - I am really excited about the summer ahead. Looking forward to the time off with the family and getting LOTS of projects done!!! Well, that is a very short summary of the last few weeks and the week ahead! Now I am off to play with my daughter...have a wonderful day!!!

Catch up Post coming!!!

Sorry for the pause in posting...I PROMISE to have a catch up post very soon...lots of great things happening! In the mean time, here is a pic of me taken by my three year old...I think she is a photographer in the making!!!! (Needs a little, maybe a lot, of photoshop magic!)

Spa Day with the girls!

Yesterday I spent the day with two of my dearest friends - from WAY BACK!!! Pasha and Sherry! I met Sherry in 7th grade English...she sat right behind me and when the teacher called roll - she tapped me on the shoulder and said "hey , my mom's name is 'Donna' - and that was that - we were best friends! Pasha, I met through the neighborhood kids - Hannah M., Kristi P., Benny M. and Jason K. - bc they went to school at Riceville Elementary and so did she!!! The first time we met was at a bday party at Kristi Parks house - she was beautiful and sweet and dating an 'older guy' and I thought she was just SO COOL! Immediately I knew we (Sherry and I) had to be friends with her! So, the years have gone by faster than I care to admit...there have been years where we haven't talked, years where we have been close...years with heartbreaks, weddings, babies, toddlers - and yes, teenagers - but all the while these two ladies have remained a constant in my life...they are a part of who I am - and I love them!!! and I have to say big 'thankyou' to my husband - who took the day off from work to watch Liv so I could spend the day with my girls....Happy Mother's Day to me!!!

Busy, busy, busy!

It has been a while since I posted...life has been super busy...lots of happenings the month of April - lots to journal about, but no time today...I am spending the day CLEANING MY HOUSE with Liv's help...I will catch up this week with my postings, but in the meantime...here is my inspiration for the day from www.dabneyleeathome.com I especially love the last picture - love the pattern and bold colors...

More lovely things!

Just working on a little inspiration board...the chandelier is by Worlds Away - I want this in my dream home...the pillow is by Hable Constuction - this fabric would be perfect for a client if I could get it by the yard!!!! and last but not least - the chair is by Aidan Gray Home- use lots of their stuff for my clients!

April happenings!

Haven't been posting too much over the last month, so

here is a small bit of what's been happening in April!!! First off...we have Liv on the Alcoa playground waiting for big bro to get out of school...loving her Sonic slushy and the warm weather! then we have my baby brother's 30th birthday (yeah, that's right, I said it Derek) which was actually at the end of March but I just had to post it again! Next, a few pictures from Easter Sunday....

and my MESSY office board...will clean this off SOMEDAY....and a client's design project in progress!

April Inspiration

Just some inspiration I found for the month of April....these are going into my "dream home" binder...love the colors, love the textures, love it ALL!

Easter

I am very behind in my posting, but I could not pass up this day to say something! Words can hardly express my gratitude for the sacrifice made for me - on this day - Easter Sunday! It is so easy to slip into this world and all it has to offer...to miss the big picture, to forget that my life is more than just my "to do list"...I am thankful for God - for His mercies, for His forgiveness when I fall short ( as I do every day) , for His love - a LOVE that sent his only son to a cross to die for me ...so thank you Father for loving me this way and what that means for me, for my loved ones, for all those who believe! Please click on the title of this post "Easter" to hear more....

March

I am way behind on my journaling...the end of March brought a lot of craziness in my schedule...I am still VERY behind in all areas of my life! The month seemed to pass me by all together...I have a LONG "to do" list waiting for me which I will share in my next post...in the mean time, here are a few pictures from March!

My son, the artist!

So yesterday we took a trip to the Knoxville Museum of Art...specifically to see my son's artwork on display!!! Yes, my six year old had his first art showing! About a month ago his art teacher ask if she could display one of his paintings from Kindergarten (last spring) during a show at the museum and of course he was thrilled! Take a look at his work:

I am SUPER excited!

For months now I have been trying to make some decisions on what direction to take my design company (DHB Designs). These last few years have been VERY difficult in terms of juggling my top priority - family- with the commitments I make to my clients. This is of course all of my own doing! So I had a super idea, that I am SUPER excited about...I cannot reveal it totally at the present time, because it is still in the works!!! But I can give you some hints...it will be custom interior design at an affordable rate for those who are the 'do it yourself' types!!! At present - it is called "Designer Space" and my sisternlaw, Emily - along with her new apartment, are my guinea pig in getting this project started. I am also SUPER excited because after six years of being out on my own in this industry, I am finally getting a website going! I found a great web designer named Lisa Bacon who is SO CREATIVE (she is into all kinds of creative things - very much like myself) to help me get it going! It will be up and running this summer! Check out her work at http://www.yummywebstudio.com/

New art work...

Just a glimpse of what I am working on at the moment...new art work This piece measures 36"H by 48"W...it was inspired by my daughter's love of butterflies.....it is a mixed media work...original collage on canvas with acrylics, paper, recycled magazines, etc...

Letting them learn...

Right now, I am sitting on my back patio watching my son be disobedient....I have told him to stop messing with his basketball goal, oh, about 5 times now...so I decided to let him learn a lesson... to step aside and allow the consequences to follow...not easy for a protective mother! I remind him of why God has given us rules ..one of those rules being "children obey your parents" it is to protect us...sometimes from ourselves! Obedience, this is a hard concept for all of us to hang onto...especially because we tend to think we know best...but I know that when I am ready to submit myself to God and his ways - his best blessings will follow! S0, Braxton has now exerted himself so hard that he is complaining of a 'headache' and has mashed his finger as well...did he learn a lesson? I'm not sure...only time will tell - but for now he is willing to call it quits on his way of doing things!!! Ah, success!