May
16

A little bit of flowers ~ a lot of happiness

I decided not to go overboard on flowers for the front porch this year. I went crazy last year and planted a million. It was nice to have so much color by the front porch but I think I kept the water department in business. I was watering like crazy! Every time we went out of town, I worried that they would die a horrible, thirsty death. So, I resisted the urge and am very happy with the results. I've decided that a even a little bit of flowers create a lot of happiness.

Like my little Ice Cream Cone? It's one of my favorites! Actually, all of my door hangers from Artist Tree are my favorites! This ice cream cone screams summer to me! I scream for ice cream. We all scream for ice cream!

I remember paying $50 for this tiered planter about 10 years ago. I remember it being a huge splurge at the time. It has been used over and over again!  It's perfect for my front porch. It adds height and variation. The little bunny was a gift from my Mom. Doesn't he look so cute? He looks like he's asking for a belly rub :~ This ivy is actually left over from last summer. I put it (in it's pot)out on a back patio knowing that the winter weather would kill it. Would you believe that all of my ivy survived this winter? Wait…it never got below freezing! It was such a mild winter that it made it. I was thrilled to discover that it was still alive and so long and beautiful.  The lantana and petunias are new this year.

Love, Love, Love this new planter I got from Tuesday Morning. It looks like it's really old doesn't it? I haven't done a thing to age it…it was purchased this way. The topiary form and the pot are two different pieces, so you can take the top off and plant your flowers.  If you come across one at Tuesday Morning and buy one, don't forget to drill drainage holes in the bottom of the planter. You must have drainage holes or the plant will drown in the water. There's another way but it's not as reliable as having drainage holes. 

I adore this little bird on top of the topiary. Just makes my heart smile. Hope it makes your heart smile too!

And now since we are on the subject of flowers, I thought I would give you a little more "happiness" by showing you a few pictures I took at our Club a couple of weekends ago. There had been a wedding the day before and they displayed some of the flowers during brunch the next day.

The orange flowers were on our table.

Have a beautiful day!

BLESSINGS,

Brown Eyed Girly Girl

Heidi Ferguson|
May 16, 2012
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May
07

Mansion on Peachtree

It was Todd's birthday last weekend and we went to celebrate down in the big ATL! It had been a while since we had gone away by ourselves-way too long. All the stars lined up and we were able to sneak away for a night. We left right after Palmer's 10 am baseball game on Saturday.  We checked into a neat boutique hotel. It only has 127 rooms.  The rest of the building is actually full of luxury apartment homes. The Hotel is The Mansion on Peachtree. That's what most Atlantan's call it. It's recently been bought by The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, but they still call it The Mansion.

After our drive to Atlanta, we checked in and relaxed a bit, actually, we took naps!. Then we got ready for a fancy dinner at Capital Grill. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and listened to live jazz music in their lounge. Sounds so regal doesn't it? We are not big jazz listeners but when it's live you just cannot resist. We stayed up late like young 20 year olds. I discovered that I really like Wasabi peas!  We went to bed and slept in. We then went to brunch at Empire State South. If you are a breakfast person like me…this is as close to heaven as it gets! Scroll down for all the details!

*By the way, I know why it takes me SO LONG to do a blog post…I do the work for you…I set up links for you to go and inquire about a particular item if you want to know more. Take advantage :~)

 Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta, Atlanta, United States of America Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta, Atlanta, United States of America  Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta, Atlanta, United States of America Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta, Atlanta, United States of America

This is what you see when you first walk in the Mansion.  I love fresh flowers. Love them. I take pictures of them. Lots of pictures!

The Mansion's "Grand Staircase" is so elegant. Yes, it's called "The Grand Staircase". Think I might start calling our stairs the same thing…"Palmer, go take your shoes up the grand staircase". Sounds good.

This is our room.  We are not very "modern" people as far as decor goes either. But, this just works. It works beautifully. It really is warm and cozy.

This was a little birthday treat that had been left for Todd. I always tell a hotel if we are celebrating something special. They leave you little goodies that make the whole experience fun!

The bathrooms at The Mansion are heavenly. Those blinds go up or down automatically-all with the touch of a button. Did I raise them more than 2 or 3 times? Maybe.

One very special touch about The Mansion is that they have fresh flowers everywhere. Even in your room.

These are the toiletries in the shower. At most hotels, I grab the soap, shampoo, lotion…but here they refillable bottles. So, I didn't leave with any goodies.

 

 

Here's the birthday boy himself!  Does this shirt look familiar?  You probably have seen Tim Tebow wearing the SAME SHIRT! The shirt is by Sportiqe Apparel and it's one of Todd's favorite shirts (I also got him one in red ). Tons of celebrities wear them but that's not how I found out about them.  I was watching the TODAY show one day and the segment, Jills Steals & Deals was on. These are AMAZING deals offered by different companies. These products are hip, relevant and super cool items that are marked 50% off and sometimes more!  Sportiqe shirts are originally $35 and I got these for $7 each! Wowza! My muscle man looks hot in them!

Here I am in the car on the way to our dinner. I have no idea who makes this necklace. I got it at one of my favorite stores called La Ti Da in Suwanee. I actually got it on clearance for $20!! I recieved two complements on it this night! I love wearing it with black.

This picture was taken after our yummy dinner. We walked around outside in the courtyard of The Mansion.  There had been a small wedding reception there earlier, that's why you see the cocktail tables. 

Here I am wearing my FAVORITE dress shoes ever! I've had these for 5 years and they are still just as stylish as the day I bought them.  The are Bandolino Flyright Wedge Pumps. I got mine at Macy's but I've found them on Amazon for $50. A total steal. They've been worn over and over again and look brand new!

This is on the way out of the Mansion. Once again, they woo me with fresh flowers, orchids to be exact.

OK, here is the lovely Empire State South!  My mouth is watering just talking of the place!! We went for dinner one night and loved it. We figured since we were down in Atlanta that we would try their Sunday brunch. You need reservations. The food is crazy good! People come in droves! Wanna know who told us about ESS? John Wind himself! JW designs the coolest jewelry! My sister, Stacy turned me onto his beautiful creations. He was at Nest Feathers doing a trunk show and I was talking with him about where he went to eat while staying in Atlanta. He said he went to the BEST restaurant. I had never heard about it. Of course, we checked it out! He was right…it's awesome and so original.

Look at cute little Bocce Court.  You can play all you want.  I have no idea how to play. None whatsoever.

I love the color of these chairs. Love the old, weathered table. Love the sparkling water bottle. Love it all!

 

Ok, see the pastries above? That's a Strawberry Cake Donut and a Strawberry cupcake! For BREAKFAST! They have a sinful pasty bar filled with homemade goodies. Everything is homemade!  You can pick 3 for $5!!!!  Todd got a sticky bun!  We had fun eating off of each other plates.

And below is Todd's entree. Yes, our pastries were appetizers. He had a sunny side up egg on a homemade English Muffin with candied bacon. Let me tell you, that candied bacon is worth every single calorie! Every one!!! I made my own plate of cheese grits, sunny side up egg, bacon and a biscuit. Those cheese grits were THE BEST I've ever eaten.

So there ya have it. A much needed night away. We are so very blessed to have Todd's parents (Granma and Pa) , grandmother (Nana) my Mom and stepdad (Grammy and Papa) to take care of Palmer while we have our date nights! Thank you so very much.

By the way, I gave my "real" heavy camera a break and only took pictures with my i-phone using the Instagram app!

BLESSINGS!

BROWN EYED GIRLY GIRL

Heidi Ferguson|
May 07, 2012
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May
02

BAM…Spicy Hot Crackers

Wanna try a new recipe? Wanna be done in like 5 minutes? This is such a simple yet FANTASTIC snack!  It only involves four ingredients too! I help out with my sons's teacher appreciation luncheon every year and THIS is one of those treats that the teachers look forward to seeing on the table! I finally made them last week and am HOOKED! You can control the amount of spiciness.  Just add more or less red pepper flakes. Toss some garlic salt in there if you wish. My friend (thanks Renay!) who gave me this recipe adds Chef Paul Prudhomme's Pizza & Pasta MAGIC spice blend to her bag. I use one of those HUGE Ziploc bags to toss it all together. It makes it easier to toss the crackers in a gentle manner.  They make a cute little homemade treat for a friend too. Just add them to a clear cellophane bag and tie with ribbon. This ribbon is actually natural ribbon that I picked up at Tuesday Morning. They had several different patterns that were so cool!

Have fun and don't blame me when you get addicted - I'm just trying to "spice" up your food life!

Heidi Ferguson|
May 02, 2012
2 Comments
Apr
24

Dirty Little Secret

Yes, women are guilty of of it too! Right? Men do it all the time. They hang on to that obnoxious shirt from their college days. It's ripped to shreds and wives everywhere pretend that it got lost in the washing machine. Am I the only female who has a sweatshirt that has been worn for 18 years? I'm NOT kidding. This Eddie Bauer sweatshirt has been my "dirty little secret" for a while now. Only my family knows that it exists-UNTIL TODAY! I was so busy working away at the house that I ran out of the house to run a few errands before Palmer got home from school and FORGOT that I had this on!!! I was mortified when I realized that I had gone out in public looking like this! It was freezing outside and I couldn't take it off or I would turn into a iceberg. So, I continued my errands to the Post office, UPS and the grocery store holding my head high. Who cares if it is literally FALLING APART. I simply cannot part with it. No sentimental reason why. It's just the most comfortable piece of clothing I own. It's big, lose and makes me feel skinny. Yes, I rationalize that way. Wear bigger to feel smaller. Yes, I realize it's pathetic but it works for me.

Yep, this would be the collar, looking like some wild animal attacked me from behind.

 

This is the bottom of the sweatshirt. Better hope I don't get it caught on something or the whole thing will rip.

Other sleeve.

Will I ever wear it in public again? Yep, probably so. The shame is gone and I've been exposed.

Blessings,

BROWN EYED GIRLY GIRL

Heidi Ferguson|
April 24, 2012
6 Comments
Mar
30

Hoppin down the Bunny Trail

Happy Spring!!! We are getting ready to enjoy our Spring Break with a trip to Pensacola and I have been living at the Mall, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Dick's Sporting Goods, Target, Wal-Mart… My son can NEVER wear clothes from year to year. He just simply grows way too fast. Each year I have to buy new EVERYTHING!! It's time consuming.  I did , however manage to get my Easter/Spring decorations up early. Getting them photographed, edited and posted was a different story!  But, here they are. 

If you haven't been to church in a while, go on Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is what it's all about. Without Easter we have no hope. If you have no idea why us Christians celebrate Easter, go to the nearest church and find out what happened on this day. It's the most powerful, life changing message you will ever hear.

Remember my Leland cypress tree I hung those adorable Valentine hearts on? Well, it's still going strong.  An iron carrot has replaced those hearts. I found this little cutie at a Tuesday Morning store.

I found this adorable bunny door hanger at Tuesday Morning as well.  If his tail looks a little "fluffy", it's because some little birdies have decided to use bits of his cotton tail to make their nests. It's OK.  I'll just have to add a pom pom next year if it all disappears.

This adorable little chick set was also a Tuesday Morning find.  I have them on my table in the front foyer. I just love these little sparkly figurines and their quirky expressions.

My Happy Everything platter gets it's little bunny attachment.

My BFF, Lori sent me this adorable little frame as I healed from my hysterectomy. I love the idea of sending a little gift instead of flowers. It lasts forever and I remember the person who sent it every time I see it. Photo by Sarah McClendon Photography.

I've had this little treasure for several years. TJ Maxx of course! It just oozes Spring!

I look forward to filling up this little candy dish every year. Mini Cadbury chocolate eggs are the ONLY candy that ever goes in there.  I look forward to those little chocolate eggs every year at this time!

Lori gave me this bottle brush tree.  She knows me so well. It went perfectly with my other Easter decorations.

This little wooden decoupage bunny tray had me the minute I spotted it at a gift shop.  It is made by Michel Design Works. Had to pay $36 for it, but I fell in love with it. I think the reason I love bunnies so much is that my Mom loves bunnies. She always has. It's an homage to her! 

I always add seasonal decorations to my iron bird cage.  This little bird cone is another thing Lori gave me!  She's a wonderful decorator and it shows! 

Our living room is pretty dark. I was trying to come up with a way to make it sing "spring". I stumbled on these throw pillows at Marshalls.  Once again, I knew the minute I spotted them-they were M-I-N-E! I put my faux fur ones in a closet and will get them back out once Fall sets in.

Here's a little basket with our Resurrection Eggs. We've had these ever since Palmer was a little guy!  Every year we would get these out and he would explain what was in each egg. There are symbols in each one pertaining to the Easter Story. The little wooden box also contains items about Easter-nails, crown of thorns, a cross…So very special to us.  He made this in kindergarden at his Christian school.

God Bless you all on Easter.  Have a wonderful Spring Break!

Brown Eyed Girly Girl

Heidi Ferguson|
March 30, 2012
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Mar
07

Eye Candy

Got some "Eye Candy" for you today! Haha! I'm referring to my amazing, handsome and loveable husband and son of course!

I cannot believe it has taken me THIS long to post our family pictures!!!  I've had a rough couple of months but am slowing getting back into my routine.  This Thursday will be week four since my total hysterectomy.  I was wondering if I would ever get my energy back and it is slowly returning. I have to say that the one piece of advice that anyone who has been through this surgery gives me is to…REST, REST & THEN REST. Ok, ok.  It's just not in my nature to sit still-for any length of time. I've really had to push myself to rest (oxymoron I know!)I'm listening though. I don't know what people do who don't have family close by to help them in times like these.  I honestly think I would completely collapse into a major meltdown if I didn't have the support that I do. I'm totally spoiled by the fact that I have my mom, mother-in-law and Nana in the same town and within 10 minutes of me (love all THREE of them dearly). They literally dropped everything to help our little family of three any way that they could and I am so very grateful. My older sister and her husband came over and fixed us a delicious dinner with the best Hershey's chocolate cake!! My twin sister surprised me by driving 7 hours (from Florida)to come sit with me while I was bedridden. I was having a very weepy day and God provided! She and my nieces drove up in my driveway at the exact moment that I needed them! We also had two delicious dinners brought to us by friends.  I indulged in every bit of food that entered my house! But, I really cannot wait to get back to exercising. It really helps my mood. Endorphins are extreme mood boosters! Thanks everyone for your prayers, encouragement and kind words. It's helped get me through. cheeky

Ok, here are the family pictures we had made way back in November! A dear friend of mine, Sarah Nash McClendon, is an amazing photographer and took our pictures. I purchased a disk with 40 pictures from our session and am able to do anything I want with them and I want to share them with you!  Feel free to click on Sarah's name to go directly to her website. She's based in Gainesville and is just fabulous. She can even get Palmer to smile for her!!!

We have an awesome downtown square here in Gainesville, GA. Sarah knows exactly where to place you to get the coolest pictures! There are several pictures of me alone because I ask her to take several for my blog. I had no idea that they would all turn out so well. The colors and backgrounds are so cool and interesting! 

In case anyone wants to know…my dress, sweaters, shirts and jewelry ALL came from Francesca's. My jeans are from the GAP. My boots are from Dillards (like 3 years ago though!). Todd's sweater is Banana Republic, his jeans are Lucky brand.  Palmer's cords and sweater are from GAP. His v-neck sweater is from Marshalls. I was sick to my stomach when I discovered that I had thrown it in the dryer not thinking about it being 100% wool! Needless to say, it will fit your Cabbage Patch doll now. My hat is from Marshalls. 

Our next shooting location was at Sarah's Dad's farm in Gainesville. Her Dad, Charlie is also my Oncologist. He was is one of our neighbors and was an angel from God while I had breast cancer a couple of years ago. It's amazing how God orchestrated all of the details. I promise I will tell you all my story one day! The ottoman is from our living room. Glad we brought it-worked perfectly!  Palmer's hat is from Stein Mart. He loves his hats!

Our Christmas Card picture is amazing. The color, lighting and positioning all worked so well together. Sarah's a miracle worker! I'll tell you a secret..someone didn't like the way his/her chin looked, so Sarah shaved a bit off to give a slimmer appearance. She's a weight loss pro too!

Have a great day and weekend!

Blessings!

BROWN EYED GIRLY GIRL

*oh, don't forget that when you get my e-mail with my newest blog post, just click on the link and you can go to my site. Viewing all the pictures is prettier with a nice border : )

Heidi Ferguson|
March 07, 2012
1 Comment
Feb
16

I’m Semi-Crafty

I know I will get crucified for typing this blog post. Let me apologize in advance to my Mom, mother-in-law, husband, son, sisters…but, I'm going stir crazy! I've got to get some of my creative juices flowing! Here goes.

I had my hysterectomy on Thursday, Feb. 9 and got home from the hospital on Sunday.  I'm still in a good deal of pain. Let me reassure you-I'm not a wimp when it comes to pain. I've had so many issues. I'm the type that wants it over with and off of pain meds ASAP so that I can get on with life. But, this surgery turned out to be a lot more complicated than most. What should have been an hour to hour and half long surgery turned into a three hour long surgery once they got in and started working on me(sounds like I'm a car). I had tons of scar tissue from previous procedures that had to be taken care of. They basically had to peel my ovaries off of all sorts of things.  They discovered a tear in my bowels which required the calling in of another surgeon and 5 internal stitches. That explains all of the pain I've had for months!  Anyway, I'm at home and recovering S-L-O-W-L-Y.

I wanted to share a few pictures of Palmer's Valentine treats he took to class. This is his last year of Valentine celebrations-so sad!!! He will be "Mr. Big Middle School" next year. I knew I had the surgery coming up so I went ahead and made his treat bags early and sent them into his teacher. Then, I did the lamest thing ever-I bought store bought cards (no, that's not lame) and I SIGNED THEM MYSELF FOR PALMER!!! I ran out of time and needed to get them up to the school so I did them myself-he didn't even know he'd gotten Angry Birds valentines!! What a way to end the elementary years hu? Oh well, this was NOT the time for overachieving.  

Have you ever heard of Sandra Lee? She's famous for Semi-Homemade recipes. She uses store bought mixes and ingredients that make the dish easier and more time efficient.  Well, I consider myself Semi-crafty.  Some people just blow me away with their creativity. How they come up with some of their crafts is amazing.  My twin sister (she's had a hysterectomy too and says we are now "Hysta Sistas"!!) got all of those crafty genes. She makes adorable frames and sells them on Etsy. I got a smidgen of craftiness. But, the good thing for you is that most of you are like me. You see something and as long as the supplies list isn't 20 items long and the directions are few than your in!  Here are Palmer's treat bags I made. You can use them for any kind of treats. Use them for Birthday's, Weddings, Thank You gifts….the list is endless. 

I started with bags of Hershey's Kisses.  

I bought clear cellophane bags at Wal-mart. I use these bags for everything all year long. Just put your present (or candy) in there and use curly ribbon to tie it up. The recipient can see their goodies without having to open it. The other option is to make custom tags for your bag of treats.

I purchased these tent cards at Office Max. They are in the labels section. They were a bit expensive, but as you can see, there are 160 cards and you can use them for other crafts.

Next, I went to Microsoft Word  and then clicked on Mailings, Labels, Options, then choose what template (number) to print on. In this case, choose 5302. If your software isn't updated, just look on the back of the box and it will tell you how to download the free template. Type what you want to say on your tag. 

You can look at past valentines for statement options. I like "XOXOXO", "Sweets 4 U" or Hugs and Kisses". For Palmer, I stayed with a more masculine tone.

Once you print them out, you can just tear along the perforated lines.

As you can see, the top half is left blank. This is the part that is folded in half and wrapped over the top of the bag.

These particular bags are kind of tall and I couldn't fill each bag with 10,000 kisses. So, I just cut about 1/3 off the top of the bag.  I folded the bag over and stapled the card on each side.

Below is the lame Valentine from me, I mean Palmer. He didn't seem to mind that I signed them. He hates to push a pencil. Hates it! Instead of having a meltdown trying to stuff the tattoo cards in the little slots, I just used double sided tape and stuck them on the top of the valentine. Much easier.

This is the Valentine card I sent to family and close friends.  The picture was taken during our family photo shoot by Sarah McClendon Photography. I purchased a disk with several of the photographs and have permission to use the pictures any way I wish! Yay. This card is from Wal-mart-one hour. They did a fabulous job!

Blessings!

BROWNEYEDGIRLYGIRL

Heidi Ferguson|
February 16, 2012
8 Comments
Feb
02

A Walk to Remember

I go on walks. Todd goes on sprints! As much as I try to keep up with him, I never can.  All sense of chivalry flies out the window when Todd's exercising. As I try to keep up with him, I turn my ankles, slip on leaves, dart through thorns…just to keep up. But on this day, I took my time. I brought my phone to take pictures and told him to do his own thing. He was sweet this time, saying, "No, you will get lost" (which is true, he knows this trail like the back of his hand-I don't)and just did his normal thing except he turned around when he got ahead and ran back (doubling his exercise!). I love these trails on the lake. You will see in some of the pictures that the water levels on Lake Lanier are still low but it hasn't changed the beauty one bit.  Gunner (our 2 year old Boykin Spaniel) LOVES to go on these walks (I mean sprints!). He actually gets to run off leash. He stays right with us. He's all you would want in a dog and more! He's fun, loyal, loving, hilarious and comforting. This is his reward for being such a great pal (it's a love/hate thing for me, as he requires a bath after these excursions!) Todd loves taking Gunner out there because he shows his manly side out in the woods. He marks everything with his scent. All the smells of deer, ducks, fish, birds…bring out his animal instinct for sure.

Todd found Gunner a nice little deer antler!

Don't forget to enjoy the walk and remember it.

BLESSINGS,

BROWN EYED GIRLY GIRL

Heidi Ferguson|
February 02, 2012
4 Comments
Jan
28

Valentine Decorations

Greetings everyone. I love love. Don't you?  Here are a few little decorations I put out for Valentines Day. Most of the decorations are normal everyday things that have a touch of "heart" added to them for the holiday.  Hopefully, you will be inspired to decorate just a little too!

This is a little message board that gets decorated for every season. It's actually a chalkboard. Did you know they have chalk pens? They are much easier to write with than chalk. Mine are from Hobby Lobby. After I finish my writing, I just change out the bow and the saying to reflect the season or holiday. The flower with the heart in the middle is a magnet. I have other magnets too. Firecrackers for the Fourth of July, a dragonfly for spring, a chick for Easter and a two stars for Christmas.

I adore ivy! Especially the variegated kind. I have had this topiary form for ages and use it over and over again. I just buy a little ivy plant at Lowes and put it in a clay pot, add green moss and I'm done. I must have a million clay pots. I love how they look as they age. Especially when they have been outside and exposed to the weather. Until the ivy grows long enough to cover the form, I will keep it looking cute with this bow.

My Happy Everything Platter stays out year round. I just change out the attachment.

This little gal is just precious! My best friend found her at this wonderful shop in Huntsville, AL, called Harrison Brothers Hardware. It's real wool. Look at her legs made out of little twigs!! Laurie Popp, with Fly Creek Farm makes them. She has all these adorable sheep who gladly give her their wool to make her adorable works of art. The sheep have names like Archilles, Athena, Lulu, Scarlet, Wilda, Lizzie, Lizbeth…can you imagine calling them to come eat! Too sweet! She even makes pigs, chicks…all kinds of cute little creatures out of wool!

This little bird cage is a favorite of mine. I love birds, their nests and eggs!  This "Love" sign is from Hobby Lobby. I've had it for years.  I added the ribbon so that it could be displayed like this. Perfect little touch smiley.

This is my porcelain sweetie pie. One of our precious dogs is an English Springer Spaniel. We've had him since he was six weeks old! He's fifteen now. He's hanging in there and any chance we get to pay homage to him, we do. My Mom collects little doggy figurines in all breeds. She found this one in Alaska and bought it for me. He's displayed on the counter along with my other little goodies.

My twin sister loves our Stratford too. She found this little guy in Jacksonville, FL. Love to look at him everyday!

I picked this little sign up at TJ Maxx. This little couple looks precious hanging on the mirror in the foyer of our house. It sets the tone. You've walked into a house that celebrates loooove baby!!

Here's the front porch. It's really hard to make a porch look warm and cozy when it's not warm and cozy outside! I did the best I could do without spending a fortune. 

Here's my little Valentine tree. I purchased a small Leland cypress tree at Home Depot for $10. I planted it in a pot that I've used before. Remember my post about my Halloween decorations for the front porch? It's the perfect size. It's plastic but no one has to know, so keep it on the down low OK?

I found these sparkly little hearts at Michael's. They came in a 6 pack for $1.99. Perfect! After Valentine's Day, I will remove the hearts and still have some color on the porch.

I'm showing my love of ivy again. This is another topiary form I've had forever. It gives me some height when I need it somewhere.  Again, the ivy isn't long enough yet, so I've topped it off with a bow.  Burlap ribbon is perfect for outside. It's not too dainty and gives the rustic look I want for the front porch. I found this ribbon at Joanns Fabric.  It comes in rolls. If it's going to go below freezing outside, I just bring this plant inside. The cypress tree can handle it.

 

Love to each and every one of you!

 

Brown Eyed Girly Girl

 

Heidi Ferguson|
January 28, 2012
4 Comments
Jan
23

Letting go of her hair…joyfully.

As you all know, I follow a gzillion blogs. I have to limit myself to the time I can take to read all of them.  I have to skim several. But, this one I read word for word.  The blog is Little Blue Boo. Her name is Ashley. She lives in Palm Valley, CA with her amazing husband (Mr. LLB) and lovely daughter (Boo). She designs a ridiculously adorable clothing line and is the craftiest gal, she makes it look easy! Look at how beautiful she is….she's even more so on the inside. This picture was taken a couple of months ago.  She already knew about her cancer then. Does she seem down and depressed? Nope-and she's NOT. Her story is amazing. The fact that she's alive and kickin is amazing. When I say "kickin", I mean it.  There's no hope lost on this girl.  She has a faith in God.  She knows her life is in HIS HANDS and is OK with that. We all should be. Ashley's had a tough year.  Her beloved father died. She miscarried. She became pregnant again, only find out that the pregnancy was a molar pregnancy. Doctors found cancerous cells that had spread to nine spots on her lungs and one on her liver, the result of the molar pregnancy. She had emergency surgery. She had an emergency hysterectomy. She was extremely close to dying. God chose to let her light shine here. She now is an inspiration to all of us. To those of us who have experienced miscarriage (I've had one), molar pregnancy (I've had one)and cancer (I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2010-I'm fine-after 4 surgeries including a double mastectomy-I am cancer free-Praise God!). I will tell you all about my story soon. But, this blog is about Ashley. I am in awe of her attitude. She's hilarious and sees the humor in things that people normally don't. She's going through INTENSE rounds of chemotherapy.  She's fighting with everything she has. I ask that you join me in praying for her. What I want you to SEE is this…it's a video that was recorded while she was having her head shaved. Ashley started losing lots and lots of her long blond hair.  She'd gotten tons of advice from other cancer survivors about the right time to shave it. It was time. In the video you see her husband, her adorable little girl and a few friends.  Such bravery. She was trying to get over 17,000 views this weekend and she got them! I couldn't get this post out fast enough. Have a look anyway.  Give someone you know going through the same thing a call.  Share this with them. Oh, I almost forgot, there's a surprise at the end of the video. Her mother did something for her the day before (it was a surprise to all) , you will see what she did at the end of the video. Mom's know just what do to.

Little Boo Blue Video

FYI: all of the writing in color is a link-just click on the link to get more details about the sections in color. Now, go back and read them all. She's such an interesting, talented, humble, hilarious, genuine person! Please lift her up in your prayers. Our God is capable and the Ultimate Physician.

 

After I typed this last night (but didn't send out), I saw where Ashley wrote a very candid post about her having not attended church for a while. That was even before her cancer. Isn't our God so loving. He gave her exactly what she needed yesterday. Click on "candid post" and read about it.  

 

Blessings,

BROWN EYED GIRLY GIRL

 

 

 

Heidi Ferguson|
January 23, 2012
4 Comments