Saint George Island

Kelly over at Kelly's Corner is doing a Show Us Your Life- Vacation Spots and I wanted to tell all about Saint George Island because it was the last place we went and it was the BEST most RELAXING place I have ever been! I was hesitant to tell the secret. It is called Florida's Forgotten Coast and I think that is what is so magical about it! It is not tourist-y and crowded- it reminds me of a good old fashioned family vacation!

It is so very family oriented. It is also dog friendly and that is HUGE to us! If we can take Sam and Lucy with us, it saves a lot of headaches- plus we couldn't wait to see what they would think of the beach!

Jack was gracious enough to haul all of our things to the beach each day in his trusty wagon! Saint George is so friendly and laid back, really you could leave your tents, umbrellas, etc...in your spot each day and just come back the next! No one would bother it. There were times when I actually felt like we were the onyl ones there!

The house that we stayed at called Coast Guard, was a few rows back from the beach and had its own awesome private pool. We loved it! It was so spacious, clean, and well equipped! That is very important at Saint George because you really spend a lot of time around the house. There are not a TON of places to go and eat. The best thing to do while you are there is enjoy the freshest seafood straight out of Apalachicola Bay. There are tons of trailers and trucks around that have fresh stuff right out of the ocean!
We went to a local spot while we were there and had the BEST oysters! It was called Eddy Teach's Raw Bar and I think it was mostly for locals. We LOVE to find spots like that becasue they usually have the BEST food! I think there is a new building, but when we were there, it was literally picnic tables on gravel. NOT very kid friendly, but we still really enjoyed it!

YUM!

This picture of Jack is so pitiful! I had to include it though, because it expresses perfectly how I feel about the fact that we probably will not be going back this year! Not because we don't want to, but because we took the plunge and bought our dream boat and need to keep our little fanny's up here in Georgia out on the lake!

If you are planning to get away to the beach this year- I highly rcommend Saint George. It is a great place to really spend time with your family! I cannot wait until we get a chance to go again!

The twins are ONE!

 My nieces Sophie and Aleah turned one on Monday April 25th.

 It is hard to believe that a whole year has passed. I do not see them enough!

 Their birthday party was at Chewacla State Park In Auburn, AL

 Their sweet momma and daddy did such a good job making sure it was extra special!

 The theme was nautical all centered around these sweet sailor outfits that their momma picked out!

 Their daddy ( my brother) made this adorable little boat for the kids to play in!

 Cousins

 This is me ttrying to take a picture of Jack giving Aleah a kiss!

 This little treasure chest is a time capsule. We were asked to bring things from 2010, the year of their birth so that they could open it in 20 years! I brought House Beautiful- the entertaining issue. I thought that would be fun to look back at!

 The cake eating was adorable. Little Sophie laid her head in it! I have video- I will get that up another day!

 They did a nice job!

 Aleah LOVED this doll

 Sophie loved her towel!

 Grace and KK

 Jarah, the twins' mom, made the cutest little newspaper sailor hats!

 The grandmother's!

The favors were so fun!

My neighbor made the cake- we brought it over to Auburn from GA. Isn't it awesome? It is actually really big and would not fit in a coller. The getting it there is a story all its own!

I will get that another day!

Making a Personalized Towel

I have been making a WHOLE lot of these lately. Cute huh? They are great gifts for Mother's Day, Graduation, Teacher Gifts, Father's Day, Wedding Gifts. I have had ton s of bride's order them for bridesmaid's gifts. It is the perfect time of year. The weather is getting warm and with May approaching, thoughts of Summer are dancing in the head's of all of all school children and parents, too!

Wanna know how to do it yourself?

Start with a towel

( I use a regular old bath towel- a large 100% cottom fast drying one, but still, a bath towel)

and some of this stuff. Meet my new best friend, Heat and Bond.

Who knew?

Just follow the instructions on the package. It is easy.

Just iron the fabric onto the heat n bond. I just draw with a fabric marker directly onto the fabric the letter or design that I want and then cut it out.

 Peel the back off....

 Then place on the towel and iron onto it.

 A few zig zag stitches later ...

( take your time on this part....you have to keep it in line!)

and WAH-LAH!

 You don't even need an embroidery machine for this little project!

 The possibilities are ENDLESS!

 Favorite dog breed?

Show your team spirit!

I took this one a step further and embroidered it, but it would be cute without the name.

I hope you have fun with this.

Don't feel like making your own? Let the Pickle Tree do the work for you!

http://www.thepickletree.etsy.com/

Wanna see some more AMAZING ideas? Go on over to Savvy Southern Style and check out all of the entries for Wow us Wednesday!

Or- check out Blue Cricket Design for Show and Tell!

Or hop on over to one of my FAVORITES! The Lettered Cottage For How To's Day!

It is amazing how many talented people there are out there- go forth and be wowed!

Gone Fishin'

 The Easter Bunny Brought Jack his first fishing pole and a new life jacket.

 We decided to take him out to Cushing Park to try it out on Sunday afternoon!

(He looks just like his dad in this picture)

 Dan put one of those rubbery worm bait thingies on the end of the pole ( I am not a fisherman) and Jack started calling it the "snake-y snake".

 Where DO they come up with these things?

Where it comese from I am not sure, but I do know this...

it sure it cute!

Happy Easter!

Untitled from Melanie Marsh on Vimeo.

Easter is a promise. God renews to us in each spring. May the promise of Easter fill your heart with peace and joy! Happy Easter!

Chaotic Organization- the method to my madness!

Kelly over at Kelly's Corner is doing Show Us Your Life- How Do You Stay Organized?
I really wanted to participate. I looked around me and realized. I just DON'T organize anymore. I cannot be alone in this, right? I mean, we are all busy these days, not enough hours to go around, right? No? Please don't tell me I am the only one who is an organizational mess!
Well, let's just have a spin around my sewing room- this is all I will be showing you. This is where all of the action is around my house and hubby keeps everything else NEAT AS A PIN!
But, this is about MY life and how I stay organized, so, shall we?
You can see above the adorable slipcovered arm chair, or can you?
I have piled tons of blank t-shirts on onsies on top- they are all in order by size- can't you tell?

This was my original spot for t-shirts and onsies- the chair is just overflow!



The machine.
I call her Bertha. She is my baby. She makes me look good. Notice the teetering tower of tiny little drawers topped of by an overstuffed box of threads which is then topped with a basket full of scissors, measuring tapes, seam rippers, and the like. You can't tell from the picture, but the thread box is actually so full that the top does not sit down on it all of the way. The way the basket sways to and fro is as exciting as a lively game of jenga!
The fact that it is full of scissors adds that tiny element of danger that keeps things spicy!

This is actually the most organized spot of the whole operation. In the top drawer, packaging ribbon, hole punch and business cards await orders to be filled so that I can wrap 'em up! The middle drawer is extra embroidery items such as thread, sulky spray adhesive, and all of Bertha's manuals. I refer to them often. She has so many features! I am constantly learning new things just by flipping through the manual. I LOVE IT! I cannot even begin to imagine what I might learn if I took a class.
Bottom drawer- buttons, elastics, bias tapes....notions if you will.

This is the old dishwashing tablet box that I store my hot glue gun and scraps of fabric that I plan to use for  flowers to make bows. It is my mobile hairbow making station.

This lovely pile is an extension of my haribow making station. Felt. Wonderful felt. I like to have lots of colors to cut into adorable little creatures for hair bows and even to use for appliques. It gives a wonderful texture!

Fabric Central. I think I need another room!

This is the lovely storage solution that I have arrived at for all of the cute ribbons just waiting to be threaded into a sweet little pillowcase dress!

This snazzy little felt basket holds my felt scraps- you just never know what you might use them for!

Fabric scraps are PERFECT for appliques. I figure the sweet basket that Jack gave me for Mother's Day last year is the perfect thing. I mean, I use it practically everyday and think how sweet it is with his little hand prints on it!

I usually do not care for such chaos in a work area, but when the end result can come out looking this sweet, I can get past the madness!

The End

To see more creations that are born in this workspace- check out my shop!
http://www.thepickletree.etsy.com/

Any advice for this tired old mom's sewing room? Leave a comment- PLEASE!