so in addition to our 3 dogs and a pond of goldfish, we now have a turtle.



i have been wanting a box turtle for years. we live near a creek though so most of the turtles you see out crossing the roads are water turtles.

a friend found a 3 toed box turtle on the road last week though and we offered to give her a home in our backyard.

it is in fact a "her" according to the internet, which has now made me an expert. ;)



now here's just hoping she will be happy and stay put...and that the dogs will let her live happily ever after. :)

*warning: lots of pics in this post. many including cute toddlers.*

i have a special place in my heart for piney woods. if it were possible to enjoy the beauty of pine forests with out the humidity then it would be hard to keep me away.

this weekend we had the chance to go to east texas to celebrate the marriage of some friends, and decided to make the most of it and enjoy a chance to get away from the city with some of our besties.

though i was born in southeast texas, i had never spend much time in other parts of east texas. in case you haven't heard, texas is big y'all. we ended up renting a cabin that was part of a bed and breakfast between hughes springs and jefferson, texas called holly hills homestead.

the little cabin we stay in was a cute little rustic spot off of the main house. it was tiny, but charming, and had everything you might need. i wish it had rained while we were there, because i bet it sounds amazing on the metal roof. i should have taken the pics right when we arrived, but i never remember to do that, so sorry for unmade beds, etc... i promise it was all impeccably clean when we got there! :)




we flipped for rooms, and we ended up with the loft. you know jia loved climbing those stairs!









the girls had a good ole fashioned jumping on the bed slumber party!

we totally lucked out. for a last minute internet discovery, we weren't sure what we would find...but it was pure heaven in the woods! it had all the charm of a b&b but hidden away on a beautiful and secluded piece of land. i loved every minute there. it was like a secret garden. pictures don't do it justice. we will absolutely be back.










despite living in texas nearly all my life, i had never really heard of the town of jefferson. but it's a cute little place that you can tell must have been a pretty happening spot a couple hundred years ago. it's full of history, antique shops, and country charm. a great little get away. it reminds me a little of fredericksburg, though smaller and not so crowded. and of course the piney woods have a totally different charm than hill country.






we enjoyed roaming around the shops there and exploring. it felt like stepping back in time. we found a couple birthday gifts for jia, including this vintage rocking horse that i'm totally in love with. why is it that vintage kids stuff is so much more stylish?



on the way home we let the girls and dads take a swim in lake o the pines. i think they had a pretty good father's day.




we all had a great weekend and i'm already looking for a chance to go back!

so our dear friends asked us if they could throw a Lord of the Rings Movie Marathon Birthday Party at our house...

to which our response was obviously, HECK YES!

first of all, i love it when people have parties at our place. it's all the fun of throwing a party yourself, but oh so much less responsibility! :)

and secondly, being the geeks that we are, how could we not get totally psyched at the idea of a LOTR party?! oh, and did i mention that there would also be 7 hobbit meals...like they have in the shire?!

anyways...needless to say it was epic.
probably the coolest party ever. i wish i had thought of it first.

our house was totally transformed into middle earth...
once we started decorating, we all kind of got carried away and stayed up till 3:30am kind of having our own pre-party party. it was totally worth it. :)





our dining room was rivendell...





my friend april deserves the best wife award for making her husband this cake and for all her hard work!









fanghorn forest?



how about a little hobbit stew?



or shelob cookies...



and maybe some lembas bread? one small bite will feed a grown man for a day. i found this recipe online, and  it was definitely other worldly.



oh, and did i mention that there were costumes? i wish i'd gotten pics of everyone...





if you go to the bathroom, be careful as you pass through shelob's lair...





happy birthday kyle! thanks to you and april for letting us be a part of the fun!

i looove days like today.
today felt like how saturdays should be.
was i super productive? not really.
but i think that's what made it great...that and the gorgeous weather.

days like this come too few and far between. it seems like there's always something that needs done or something going on. of course there were things i could have been doing today, but that's always the case, isn't it?

today felt like a real sabbath. i need to make time for more of those somehow. i always think it, but rarely do it.

started off the day by walking 3 miles with my hubby. there's this cute little path that goes by a park with waterfalls, so it almost feels more like you're going on a hike.

on our walk we discovered a farmer's market that's opened up in our neighborhood on saturdays now! so we showed a bit of support by buying some apples, and eating lunch on the patio of a restaurant a few yards away.

the rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, doing a few necessary chores, and then buying lemonade from some kids at a lemonade stand down the street.
did i really want lemonade? not really. but the kids were super cute, and it was only .50, so i couldn't say no.

now i'm finishing the day by delving into an awesome book i borrowed from a friend called "The Girl from Foreign", while i sit in my indian swing. ahhh! i love a good book. more on the book later.


but anyways, awesome day. who knows what the rest of the evening will hold. i'm trying hard to stay away from any real work if i can though. :) these kinds of days just don't come often enough.

i guess there's a reason God told us to take a sabbath. my mental health feels improved already.

ok, so it's safe to say i've been in my fair share of weddings.

i'm up again to be a bridesmaid this fall...
for my mother.

that's one i never saw coming.

so she's letting us pick our own bridesmaids dresses, but they have to be in a specific matching color...

and she's already changed that color. twice.

fortunately, since i have a billion dresses, i've been able to exactly match her color with existing bridesmaids dresses from my closet. twice.

yes, you never know when those dresses might come in handy again i suppose.

maybe it's high time i make a lil' trip to a consignment shop...
or open a consignment shop!


sad but true.