two weeks of rest...

and DIY projects!

Ok, so after being away from our home for nearly 2 months, I was eager to be back.  To sleep in our bed, do laundry at our place, cook in our kitchen, use our plates, drive my car, and you know do all the crafty little projects I'd seen on my new obsession, Pinterest (more on that later).

Here are some of the things I've been working on.  And I usually post things so Mom can see them and know I have some domestic skills up my sleeve, but they came and visited earlier this week.  So I'll post them anyway.

Made this mason jar pincushion with left over fabric.

I also made a couple of cute koozies for me and Andrew to use during football season!  They were together $1.25 and I had all the ribbon at home.  I was inspired by Emily's!  We of course used red and black and Furman colors and absolutely no orange :)

Ok, so this isn't DIY, but it's full of good deals!

I got this side table from a local thrift store for 10 bucks a while ago and I love it!  So much charm and character, and definitely didn't break the bank.  But recently I picked up this lamp stand for $3 and that little blue book for $1.50.  And that book is "Gone With the Wind" which has some fun meaning to us.  Obviously, we're from the Georgia so it would have some value anyway.  Even more, we had our wedding reception at the Margaret Mitchell House in Midtown Atlanta, which was the home of the GWW author, Margaret Mitchell.  It was special to us because of our Southern roots, knowing we'd be in Minnesota for the near future.  Needless to say when I saw it, I had to get it!  Plus, it's teal and that's a color I've been adding into the room.  

Whew.  New slipcovers. 

Now this chair was hub's Paw Paw's.  It means a lot to Andrew so we made sure to incorporate it into our house.  But the blue plaid had to go and I've been working on recovering this baby for a while now. It's a little daunting, but I'm almost done.  Just have to add the last panels and zippers and she'll be done!

We painted this mirror for some brightness.  

This room was on the drab side before, so I've been working on getting it all in spruced up.  And the guest bedroom is always the last on the list to do which is why I'm just now getting to it!

Here's another picture of the room: 

We got that coverlet in India and wanted to build the room around it. We had all the other furniture and have slowly tried to make it feel less like a modge podge.  

And on another note, you must check out Pinterest if you haven't already.  It's basically visual bookmarking.  When you want to save an image of internet page you can "pin" it and catergorize things to see them all visually instead of sifting through web addresses looking for what you saved. 

duluth...MN that is

My wonderful husband recently swept me away to Duluth, MN for a couple of days.  He really wanted us to take advantage of being "off" while in Minnesota during the summer season.  It's about 2 and a half hours north of the Twin Cities and is basically on a hill overlooking Lake Superior.  It has beautiful views for sure.  It's a mix of historical, touristy, quaint, quirky, earthy and artsy, and industrial.  

We stayed at the Cotton Mansion B&B and it was a gorgeous house!  It was the summer home of Mr. Cotton who was John D. Rockefeller's lawyer.  Not too shabby.  

We also hiked Chester Creek.  It was stunning as we climbed along the water!

Afterwards, we stopped by a rose garden to cool off on that hot day!

perfectly delicate

what color!

After we got cleaned up, we ate at the Lake Ave Cafe which we'd enjoyed on previous trips and walked around the river front.  

quick return to the midwest

Mini culture shock.  It started even at the airport.  When we had packed up for our two weeks in Minnesota and were waiting for out flight from Atlanta to Minneapolis many "little things" came back to me.  The way people talk and dress and their general attitudes- it came flooding back.  I was beyond excited to go back to our apartment, but then I had a little twinge of fear heading back to this different-than-I-grew-up place.

(note: very short hair cut, non-dyed hair, keen hiking/water sandal-shoes with socks, zip off hiking pants...it's the Midwestern middle-age stereotype)

God is constantly working in me to be content.  To be happy right where He has me.  I am so very confident about being in Minnesota, but there are times I have to remind myself of this when I feel like a foreigner in this place.  We've been here for 2 years now and there really are things I love about it though.  As part of my personal fight to live gratefully in God's gifts (like living in MN), I'm going to share a few things I've been grateful for about MinnesOta.  :)

1. No frizz.  Hallelujah!  The humidity is way, way better here! My curls can survive!
2. 75 degree summers (for the most part, though we've had rain, thunderstorms and 100 degrees too)
3. Farmer's markets everywhere. Loving fresh, local fruits and veggies!
4. Beautiful flowers- sunflowers! They even grow along the road and you can get them everywhere, especially at the farmer's market :)
5. It's the land of Target (...and Aldis, which means cheap groceries!!)
6. And the literal "Land 'O Lakes." They. are. everywhere.  They're gorgeous! I love driving by lakes all the time
7. Active outdoors. There so many trails, bike lanes, and lakes to run around, not to mention canoe-ing and other "wilderness"ish things outside
8. music and arts. It seems there's a free outdoor concert at every park every day this summer plus festivals, big concerts and lots of plays
9. Goood restaurants: D'Amico, 112 Eatery (cheeseburger with brie!), Noodles, good Thai food, Bread and Chocolate, Cafe Latte, Britt's Pub, etc.
10. It's our home.  Our little abode, cars, jobs, and everyday lives are here.  It's where we've decorated, where we cook, and eat, and hang.

down in the bayou

After spending a few days in Georgia, hubs and I went with my parents down to Louisiana.  That's where Mom grew up and most of our family is.  

On our way we stopped by The Shed for some good hole in the wall BBQ.

Here are my parents and the giant gator.  Yep, they're from Louisiana.

We spent a few days in New Orleans first.

the view from our hotel roof top in NOLA

of course we had to go to Cafe du Monde

because He LOVES beignets.

Then we went on a riverboat cruise down the Mississippi and we stopped at the Battlefield in Chalmet, where the Battle of New Orleans was fought.  If you didn't know my husband is a history nerd.  I mean obsessed.  Anyway, here are some pictures from the vantage of the mighty Mississippi:

French Quarter

Jackson Square from the river

Andrew was eating up the battle ships and history...

The plantation at the Battle of New Orleans

Then it was time for lunch! My family loves eating.  We especially like eating in the real Motherland: Louisiana.  Mom was born and raised there, so to me this is the epitome of home cookin!

YUM.  That's crawfish etoufee, red beans and rice, and grits from Mother's Restaurant. I couldn't eat it fast enough! 

We also went to Baton Rouge to see my grandmother and extended family.  They're all rabid LSU fans.

My two cousins on the left and Andrew on the right overlooking the Mississippi in downtown BR

Hubs helping Grandma make the family recipe for chicken and dumplins.

We also went to see my Aunt outside of BR in her small little town of Hammond.  We had dinner and Andrew was loving seeing this train go by.

Now we're back in GA, but I loved visiting my sweet family and of course getting my fill of real cajun food!