Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Today I turned 34...man I feel SOOOO old...I know I am really not that old but when I was young 30-35 sounded ANCIENT! Now that I have reached those ages I think man oh man 40 is OLD and my oldest sister will turn 40 next month so I will have to be sure and remind her how incredibly old she is now!

Good birthday...homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast...gift certificates for a pedicure and haircut from the girls...plus a whole bag of DARK chocolate......apple picking @ Johnny Appleseed in the afternoon..dinner out with the hubby tonight!

Cheers to what is to come this next year!

Sunshine!!

Hooray for the Sunshine Program @ Cazenovia Children's House! Emerson had her 1st day of preschool this morning! The Sunshine Program is for 2 year olds and she has several friends from my MOMS Club in the class with her. She will go Tuesday and Thursday mornings 9-11:30! Savannah attended the Wings Program for 4 year olds and we are starting Emmie earlier hoping to make it an easier transition for her when she starts kindergarten since it was really tough on Savannah.

She was so very excited to go this morning but bummed when she realized she didn't get to ride the "fool bus" {that's emmie for school bus} !!! She only got to go for a short while since we had Great Aunt Carol's funeral to attend but we didn't want her to miss her first day. A bright spot in an otherwise sad and rough day!

SCORE!

So..summer is quickly coming to and end...cooler temperatures and school has started. With the change of seasons garage sales end and so I rely heavily on craigslist and freecycle to get me through the months till I can once again troll the neighborhoods for bargains with Janine!

I am not complaining since Fall is my most favorite season but then comes winter....{enter the creepy dun dun duuuunnnnnnnnn music} I am sooooo not ready for the snow to fly just yet!

Here are a couple of SCORES made lately!

This little lady I believe in her previous life was a mirror on top an antique dresser....I found her beside the road {yes curbshopping once again, its a sickness for which there is NO cure my hubby is convinced!} I envision her getting a bright funky new color and turning into a chalkboard for the playroom!

These beautiful end tables {yup, got 2 of them!!} were a FREEBIE scored through a local acquaintance who's grandmother gave them to her! Look at those legs.........couldn't you just die!!!!! I HEART them!! They are becoming bedside tables in our master bedroom..goodbye junky old flimsy tables....hello gorgeous leggy beauties ;) AND I am still undecided on painting/distressing them or leaving them as is.....I already hauled them into the bedroom so we will see if they grow on me or if the paint monster takes over! They are marked "Bassett Furniture" on the bottom.......anyone know anything about that brand?

The world lost a wonderful person yesterday.....

Dave's Great Aunt Carol passed away last night after her battle with cancer became too much. I say his Great Aunt not only because she was his grandfather's sister but she was also a GREAT and amazing woman.
I remember the very first time I met her, we came to NY for our wedding shower in 2001 held at Dave's parents house. There were so many relatives I had never met and coming from a small family it was totally overwhelming for me. While I wish I could say I remember everyone in attendance I can't but I do remember Aunt Carol..she was so sweet and welcoming! She made you feel instantly at home and like you have known her for ages. I got to know her even better when we moved to NY in 2002 and she was truly one of my favorite relatives! Dave has an amazing extended family, something I never really had growing up and longed to give my own kids. We saw Aunt Carol faithfully every year at Thanksgiving at the Amber Fire hall and I always saw her at Creative Memories events and baby showers, retirement parties..any reason for celebration or visiting! Kept in touch on facebook and through emails, thank God for technology these days, it truly is amazing!

She was a sister, cousin, wife, mom, aunt, great aunt, grandma and friend to so many...I was so blessed to have the pleasure of knowing her and will always treasure those memories. Her daughter Suzanne said it best today "When a person dies they say a library burns down" Aunt Carol truly was a library of knowledge, family history and amazing stories. She will be dearly missed by all who were lucky enough to know her.

Rest in Peace Aunt Carol - you are loved and missed greatly by all!

1st grade!

WOW, where did the time go??? Savannah is off to her first day of 1st grade @ Burton Street Elementary! Amazing since it seems like yesterday she was Emmie's age running around in her terrible 2 chaos! Now she is almost 6 and in 1st grade! Cold & rainy morning but she happy to be wearing the outfit she picked out, just had to add leggings under the skirt & a sweater over the shirt! :)

She is scared but excited too, lots of friends we already know and her teacher wrote a wonderful letter greeting all the kids a couple weeks ago! Here is to hoping that Mrs. Webb's 1st grade class has a fantastic year!

The kitty backpack

Waiting with daddy @ the bus stop!

Her little backpack disappearing onto the bus...

Now here I am left to worry & wait all day until she gets home and I get to hear about how GREAT her first day was!

Mason Jar turned Soap Dispenser.....

I have seen these ALL over blogland & loved the idea...I happened to have 3 wooden crates FULL of vintage mason jars in my attic waiting to turn into something AH-Mazing.......problem, not a 1 of them had the metal lids!?!? I have a huge stash of these & had to BUY one @ Bouckville for this project! Unbelievable...but I am happy with my purchase and even happier with the outcome!

We had this great nickel soap dispenser we kept when our old kitchen faucet was replaced so it was perfect to match the old lid! Hubby drilled a hole to fit the dispenser for me since I am practically forbidden to use power tools without EXTREME supervision ;)

Voila..........the before & after! It was IMPOSSIBLE to get good pictures of the beautiful shade of blue glass & I wanted to show you all how the words Perfect & Mason under BALL were off-centered..I loved that feature and that's why I chose this jar out of the 100's we saw at the antique show!

BEFORE

AFTER