M.I.A.

this summer has been a little crazy {to say the least}

-it started off with our 14 day vacation

{that i still need to post about}

- my frames are in an adorable boutique in Oklahoma

- went out of town again

-made frames and more frames

{need to add to my store}

-attended birthday parties

-went back out of town

-decorated my parents house for Fall

-boys started VBS this week

{taken after VBS and Tristan showing off his new headband he made}

-Tristan is trying to get sick on us

- and our house just went on the market..

-i have been so busy!

But, the most exciting news so far..

the boys start school in 3 weeks {wipe my tears}.

so, hopefully I can make it back online soon.

i miss making my posts.

have a blessed day

giveaway time!

head over to Bless Our Nest and enter in the giveaway

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as soon as i get back in town {and before i leave again} i will post my bedroom window mistreatments. school got out last week and then we {me and the boys} came to waco to help my sister decorate her home and get ready for a baby shower at her house. i have been going non-stop for 2 weeks.. and summer just officially started.

.

on monday,

we are taking our first family vacation with the 4 of us.

i am sooo excited and can't wait!

we are going to myrtle beach for 5 days and

then to a cabin in the smoky mountains for 5 days.

the boys are going to have so much fun!

lets just hope the drive from

texas to south carolina

to tennessee to texas

will be good :)

have a blessed day!

family photo shoot and a winner

we had family pictures taken on sunday morning in galveston.

we met at 9:15 am at the seawall & 61st.

the weather was perfect

well, maybe a little too windy {for me}

i was so excited because one of my really good friends, jamie, was taking our pictures.

this was the first time in 5 years that someone {other than my talented sister} has taken our family pictures. i couldn't wait!

i had so much fun trying to decide what we were all going to wear.

i was trying to think out of the box and use color

but.. i kept going back to white and khaki.

the boys outfits were easy to put together

... khaki shorts and a white polo

but, finding the "right" outfit for me was the challenge.

i tried to "be good" and find something in my closet to wear.

i think i tried on 100 outfits before i couldn't take it any more!

so, i got in my car and headed to my favorite shops.

i walked into my all-time favorite shop..

and there it was!

the most b.e.a.u.t.iful outfit

it was perfect!

we took several pictures

and they are all so cute!

we had so much fun.

i can't wait to do this again

thanks jamie!!

mmm...

now, all i have to do is figure out what pictures i want to order...

i'll share more pictures soon

now the giveaway ;)

the giveaway winner is...

celeste

congratulations!

family weekend

this weekend was so much fun spending time as a family!

this was the first weekend in a while that we did not have a baseball game.

to be honest.. it felt really nice to finally relax a little

on saturday:

we got up, got on our swimsuits, packed our lunch {which we left on the kitchen counter}, loaded up the truck, and headed to the beach.

the weather was perfect and we had fun playing in the water

and spending quality time as a family

i. loved. it!

the boys played together so good

they shook seaweed and found all kind of creators

played on their boards

jumped in the water

i loved watching them play with each other

oh, how i wish they were always this sweet to each other

my precious boys that i love so much

on sunday:

we took family pictures {i can't wait to show you} in galveston, walked by the beach, ate brunch, and rode the ferry {free entertainment}

the boys enjoy riding the ferry across the ocean.

.. watching the birds swoop down and eat fish, looking for dolphins {which we saw several}, and looking at all the different boats around us

...just enjoying each other

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walking to get on the ferry

then we got on the ferry and rode it across the ocean

deacon was so tired of taking pictures today

this is the only picture i got of us 3

i love these boys!

thank you Jesus for blessing me with an amazing husband who love me for me and 2 adorable boys that have changed my whole entire life.

i love you

i enjoyed spending quality time as a family!

i can't wait to do this again

{deacon was very tired of taking pictures}

extra pictures...

here is the galveston memorial {great storm of 1900} taken during hurricane ike in 2008

{photo credit}

{photo credit}

here is the memorial on sunday, may 23, 2010

have a wonderful day!

take every moment and cherish it

blessings,

sneak peak..

i. am. so. excited to finally tell you that just simply southern will be in a magazine. whoo!!

a couple months ago a magazine contacted me to tell me they enjoy my website and were looking for businesses to appear in their magazine {to advertise}. first of all, i could not believe they were asking me. i have been blown away that people read my blog, email me for decorating help, people all over the united states order my frames, my frames are in shops, and now i will be in a magazine. thank you all so much for supporting my business this year! i LOVE what i do and i am so glad my dream is {finally} coming true!

once i got over the shock of a magazine contacting me i could not wait to contact my web designer, lauren. i can not tell you enough that i love this girl! she has designed everything for me and has done an amazing job! i have been so happy with all of her designs she has created for me. she is a joy to work with. thanks lauren!!

here is a sneak peak of my ad:

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come back to see what i found at a garage sale.. {my new favorite hobby}

what a weekend!

here is a recap of my weekend..

Thursday:

Tristan had a game at 8pm. He is our little pitcher {just like his daddy} and he did an awesome job at this game. We were so proud of him!

After the game we came home... it was 10:45pm.

Once we got home Tristan started complaining his head was hurting. He took his temperature and it was 100.0 -- we gave him Tylenol and put him to bed.

After we got the boys to bed we watched American Idol until 1AM.

When we were heading to bed our sweet dog, Max was limping and moving pretty slow. He had shots this morning and was pretty sore. We put him on our bed and he slept there all night... not moving at all.

Friday morning:

-I got to sleep in a little this morning because Tristan was home sick.

- checked on Tristan.. and gave him some medicine {still running fever}

- My husband got ready for work and walked out the door

This is what he walked out to:

Yep! Someone had stolen the wheels off his truck!! We could not believe it. Apparently these truck wheels are VERY popular right now and tons are being stolen.

- we called the police

- called our insurance company

- called the Chevy Dealership and they sent out a wrecker

- in shock a-l-l day!

Saturday:

- I went to garage sales all morning with 2 of my good friends {can't wait to show you what I found!..coming soon}

- Got home and went straight to Tristan's baseball game

Sunday:

- went to church

- after church we ate lunch and then went on a family outing..

We had so much fun picking strawberries at a local farm. The boys got to pick their own strawberries {so did we}.. and they had a blast! I can't wait until we do that again.

What a weekend!!

We got our truck back Monday. If you drive a Chevy Tx Edition with 20 inch wheels...

GET LOCKS ON your WHEELS!

You can get locks at Tire Stores {Discount Tires, NTB, etc..}

Have a very blessed week!

new items coming soon..

Hello

I'm still here!

Today is he first day I have had time to get on the computer...and I really should be cleaning my very m.e.s.s.y house! Our Christmas decorations are still up, our suitcases are still out from being at my parents for the Holidays, laundry needs to be put up, we desperately need to go to the grocery store, Deacon wants to wrap everything he can find and mail it to his Mimi & Pop-Pop {because he says we either do not need it any more or we have 2}, Ice Age is on for the 100th time, toys are every where, I need to mail frames this week, I have a show I need to get ready for in February, and Tristan started school today so we are back into a routine.

Here is a small recap of 2009:

{Tristan turned 8, Deacon turned 4, Griffin was born, beach, pool, Colorado, baseball, parks, school parties, plays, Abilene, Waco,...}

It is hard to believe I have already been home 1 semester from teaching. I have enjoyed every second being at home with my boys! My business has been a lot of fun and its amazing how much it has grown over the past 4 months. I have met so many talented women and had a blast doing shows.

Just Simply Southern in 2009:

{started blogging, opened etsy store, stopped teaching 1st grade, focused more on Just Simply Southern, blog had a big makeover, featured on these amazing websites: Nesting Place, The Lettered Cottage, Fabulous K, Her Southern Charm, Gussy, Deal Seaking Mom, It's So Cheri, The DIY Showoff, and The Design Girl. Participated in several shows: Junior League Christmas Show, Quiant Market Place, & a Barn Sale. Decorated several homes over the past 4 months. What a year!}

This year was filled with many blessings and memories that I will cherish forever!

Looking forward to 2010

Blessings,

Secretary Desk

I finished painting and distressing the secretary desk today. As soon as I get my pictures loaded on my computer I will share with you what I did. I used a new {to me} brand of paint that is Fabulous!

AND.. I painted my desk chair.

My List

My To Do List:

- post pictures of my Christmas Show

- blog about my newly painted antique secretary desk

- update my Etsy Store with several new frames

- clean my house

- pack up my Fall Decor

- Start putting out my Christmas Decor

- Friday I'm driving back to my parents house to decorate their home for Christmas

::

We drove {3 hours} to my sisters house today for Creighton's 3rd birthday party {Carnival}. After his party tomorrow we are heading back home. I hope Monday I can get on the computer and mark some things off my to do list!

::

Have a Very

Blessed Weekend!