baskets and bags

We just got home from an amazing weekend in Nashville with friends and getting packed and unpacked has reminded me how much I need to get organized!!! Since the wedding in October our lives have been here, there and everywhere and with all the hustle and bustle of work, school and life getting in the way I have yet to get truly organized in our new home! Anyway, since I dare not show pictures of our house in all it's disorganized glory I will dream of amazing totes and baskets that could help me in my "situation." Anyone who knows me knows very well that I am a bag lover and I have recently become obsessed with baskets of all shapes, sizes and materials. Below are some that I have and love and some that I have yet to obtain (but hopefully will some day).

Anthropologie. $$$. Maybe I'll make one like it!

etsy. also in blue and red.

Tory Burch. I love most everything this woman designs.

Anything chevron is catching my eye right now.

Precious. Not sure where these are from but I have one like it and I LOVE it!

Bungalow Scout. I love this print.

Pottery Barn. Surprised? Not me. These are amazing!

Also Pottery Barn, but I have to say I have the exact same ones and I got them at Hobby Lobby for less than $10.

etsy. Equestrian buckets. Precious.

And last but most certainly not least. L.L. Bean canvas boat tote. I have tons of these in various sizes and colors and I love every one. They are great!

Sorry for a random and pointless post. Nashville pictures soon, hopefully!

4th of July....a few weeks late.

I have to say, I played with the idea of skipping a 4th of July post, but I decided I should do it, even if it's a few weeks late! Hub's friends are BIG fans of the 4th and I have to admit that every year we spend together I'm becoming much more fond of it than I used to be. It's not quite #1 to me yet, Thanksgiving will always be my favorite, but it is a great weekend every year! This year, like most, we spent the whole weekend at the lake. I love being at the lake and would gladly move there permanently if we didn't have school and jobs...dream big right!? Anyway, needless to say we had a blast! Truly enjoyed celebrating our nations freedom with food, friends, family and fireworks! Get ready for lots of pictures! 

 A little afternoon kayak for the girls.

 Two girls enjoying the boat ride.

 Bubs and Hubs...two of my very favorite people in the world!

 She begged us to teach her to wake board! Needless to say this will probably have to wait a few years.

Bubs diving off the boathouse.

 My little sister(s) jumping off the boathouse. (above and below)

Holding up 4 for the 4th!

 Dakota & I on the boat.

Hubs and some friends.

Group shot.

Boys on the boat.

Trying to tube as much as possible before the sun sets. How pretty is that though?

Our yummy dinner spread.

American desserts! 

All the boats headed out to see the fireworks. Lake Burton puts on an AMAZING show every year!

Needless to say we had a blast and are so thankful for our freedom! It's such a great blessing to be able to enjoy great times with friends and family.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17

The end of an era

Is it sad that I can't find time to post about everything that is going on in my life but I can find the time to lament over the end of the Harry Potter movies? Yes, I think it is! Sadly I can't make it to the midnight premiere, something about my husband (notice how I blame him) can't stay awake despite the crazy exciting events in the movie! Either way I'm so excited but at the same time so sad it's all over! I remember when the first book came out and then the craze that began and grew with each new book release and now the movies! I didn't start reading until the summer before the seventh book (The Deathly Hallows) came out because I knew I wouldn't be able to wait for them to come out every year. I'm a little embarrassed to say what a huge fan I am! Seriously, if hubs could name one thing that he dislikes about me it would most likely be my love for Harry! Not even kidding. That's weird I know. Oh well. Either way it's so crazy to look back and see how we've watched the cast grow up in the past decade!

Before the first movie.Look how tiny they are!

Now. Millions richer and forever famous. All grown up.

It's so hard to believe it's been about ten+ years since it all started! Either way, I'm sad it's over, they really are great movies and even better books! Anyway, hopefully I can muster the energy soon to post more than things like this. What can I say? I've got a lot going on!

Sheridan French

I'm the most excited I've been in a while right now! After chuch today John and I came home and decided to deep clean our house and boat....so after a few hours of really hard work I sat down to relax and catch up on some blogs I love and needless to say when I saw this one I yelled so loud my dog jumped and my hubs looked at me like I was crazy. OOPS! Sorry guys! Anyway the reason I'm so excited is because Sheridan French...one amazing little designer and a great blog to read too...is doing a giveaway of one of her FABULOUS pieces from her 2011 collection! I have been drooling over this collection for months now and would be beyond ecstatic to be the winner of this giveway! Here are a few of my favorites...

Now seriously, how amazing are these pieces? If you want to be entered to win go to the following link and you can read how to enter (follow her blog, like on facebook, sign up for email newsletters, etc...totally worth it if you're the winner and even if you don't win her blog is worth following!)

http://sheridanfrench.blogspot.com/2011/06/yes-get-excited-its-giveaway-time.html

http://sheridanfrench.com/

Cross your fingers! I know I am!!!

happy late fathers day!

I'm a day late...but I have to say that of all holidays Father's Day is one that I appreciate more than most! I'm sad that I didn't get to see my daddy on Father's Day due to the fact that I was out of town and he had to work, but regardless of whether or not I saw him I still celebrated in honor of what an amazing dad I have! My dad and I have been thru A LOT together in our lives and I have to say that besides the fact that he has been an ideal dad he is also one of my favorite people in the whole world! I'm so thankful to say that I speak to him multiple times a day and if I ever have a problem he is always the first person I call. In my 26 years I have learned quite a few things from him and I hope and pray that one day I can be half the parent that he has been to me. So to avoid a long mushy post I will include a few recent pictures of my dad and I and leave it at this. If I had to tell him how much he has meant to me in my life I'm afraid that words could not express these feelings but I will say that I'm a better person because he has been in my life. I thank God for him daily and I truly do not know what my life would have been like without him.

Psalm 103:13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

summer veggies!

YAY! It hasn't been a million years and I'm back to try to stay in a routine with this! I swear I'm going to do it! It's been a pretty busy week and I have to say that starting back to school has been tougher than I thought it was going to be. Getting back in the groove of doing all this work is not as easy as you might think! Anyway, I'm done with all the work I had to do this week and I even had enough time to have dinner with hubs, take some pictures and enjoy the afternoon! Doesn't seem like too big a feat I know but after the last few weeks of nose in the books it was a very welcome improvement! anyway.....moving on! Our garden is getting ready to put out some serious veggies and I can't wait!

Here is our garden plot the day we planted it...about six weeks ago



These are our tomato and pepper beds...on the same day



My little farmer! Isn't he so cute! Plus, I have to give credit where credit is due, he truly does 90% of the work! So I can't take credit for much.



And now here is our garden today! Looking pretty good if I do say so myself. Six weeks after putting all our little seeds in the ground and we will soon be harvesting tomatoes, peppers (bell, banana, chili and cayenne), corn (three kinds!), cucumbers, zucchini, squash, eggplant, okra and potatoes! YUMMM! I can't wait!

From right to left: potatoes, cucumber, squash/zucchini, okra, corn



Opposite cornier: This gives a better angle on the corn and eggplant





And last but certainly not least our tomato bed! I'm so excited, one of the main reasons I love summer is because of all of the fresh tomatoes! We have ten different kinds of tomatoes planted and I can't wait to eat them all!!! And the best part is they're all heirloom so we can save the seeds and start our own seedlings next year! This will save us some major $$$ since most good tomato plants run anywhere from $1-$8! Seriously!



Those sad little guys in the back corner are bell pepper plants but not to worry they shoul be shooting up any time!



I can't wait! We should be eating this little one within the week!



As much as I love gardening I have to admit that our garden would not exist without the help of my gardening genius daddy! I swear he knows so much I want to interview him and write a book one day! I hope that one day I can know all he knows about gardening and everything else in the world! He is an amazing man and I am blessed to call him my dad! I guess I should save the mushy father/daughter stuff until next weekend huh? Either way I thank God for him every day!



Sorry to be weird and be so excited about my garden! I guess that's part of living in the country!

it's been a while and Pintrest

Well as I guessed I am not doing a very good job keeping up with this thing! It's been a busy few months so I feel that I have a few good excuses: I started my Masters....and let me just tell you it is kicking my butt! Since I decided to go back to school I have had little time for anything other than school, work, family time and sleep....sorry blog but sleep comes first! Since I have finally caught up on my school work I figured that I should update this and try to get into a routine with it. Anyway...other than the not so fun things that have been consuming my life I have to admit that it hasn't really been all work and no play. We bought our first "family" boat this week! It's so nice (I'll post pictures asap) and we have really been enjoying some well deserved time on the lake! Also, we have been working in our yard trying to finish our back porch and keeping our garden in good shape so we will have some yummy summer veggies! We actually ate our first one tonight....a super tasty sweet banana pepper! Can't wait for more to come! Since I haven't taken the time to upload all of my recent pictures to my computer I'm sad to say that I have no pictures to post. Since I have no pictures to post I'm putting a link to my Pintrest (aka online crack) account! This is a true warning....this think is truly addictive! I have to limit myself to an hour a week otherwise I would do nothing but pin all day! So that said, sign up and follow me! http://pinterest.com/emilyherrin/

 You need an invite but after you sign up they should send you your invite in a few days! Seriously I LOVE IT!