our summer bucket list

In a different form than in years past but it's here just the same! As you all know this weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year... It just is so full of the promise of the fun summer to come and I love me some summers with my kids and all the adventures we pack into them! The Summer of Yes is almost here people! My Sandlot summer! More exclamation points!!! I have activities planned each day of this nice long weekend. Half day today! Monday off! And only eleven more days of school left!!!! Happy Memorial Day weekend!

And lest you be worried, I know the real reason for the holiday and you best be sure I'll be explaining it all to the kids like I do every year when I get all emotional seeing the veterans walking in the parade. You do it too.

Summer here we come!

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aging american flags and some patriotic decor

I have about a hundred and one of those small American flags they hand out at parades, do you know what I mean? I never throw them out because, American flags. But they are just so bright. I don't want bright. I want aged. Distressed. Who am I? So my mama suggested I "age" them. Mothers. They always know best yes? Now like I said I had about a thousand of them so the thought of dabbing them with scratch remover to "stain" them sounded far too tedious for my quantity over quality mentality.

a final deck update. i think.

If I keep saying it it'll be true right? But even after I took all these initial photos my father came over and installed our outdoor fan so I mean, jokes on me I guess? 

one store to rule all others.

Oh this store. It can take all my money. I honestly could have walked out of there having bought it all. I've never been in a store like that before, that is trouble for me. I can only go back with like, cash from a birthday gift or something. Anyways. I had so many people recently tell me I just had to go to Cocalico Creek. And I was like: meh. Sure, when I get around to it. But the recommendations just kept coming so I finally enlisted my mother and off we went with Dom in tow one Thursday morning.

And it was like Joanna Gaines Herself had been involved in the creation of this store.

a quick and easy mantle refresh

It's sort of like the Field of Dreams in a way in this house. If I wish it, Matt will build it. Or something maybe not at all like Field of Dreams? But I mentioned to Matt I wanted an aged wood mantle and like two days later there it was just waiting to be installed. He just got a piece of wood, aged some nails, beat the wood up and stained it and wala! He did attach it to the old mantle with screws but I suppose if you weren't completely ready to make a commitment you could just rest it on top of your existing mantle.