Slices of Life

I enjoyed so many great beach reads this month even if we did only make it to the beach once.  I hadn't even sat out on our patio much since it's been pretty cool, rainy, and windy.  That's OK though as I can still dream about the beach and live vicariously through the stories I read. 1.  Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews --When Drue's mother dies and she reluctantly accepts a job working at her father's law firm she has no idea that she is going to get sucked into investigating two cases-- an old missing persons case and a two year old murder.  Though everyone tells her to just ignore them and let them go Drue cannot stop wondering and poking and prodding. 2.  Southern Side of Paradise by Kristy Woodson Harvey - - I don't want to give too much away in case anyone has not yet read the first two books in this series so I'll keep it short and sweet...in this third book of the Peachtree Bluff series Emerson is planning her wedding while dreading a medical diagno

Sadly, I had to make up some more sympathy cards this month.  I did love how they turned out though and I hope it helped the families feel just a bit better knowing that they are not grieving alone.  Another anniversary card Some Father's day cards

Ah summer! It's my favorite time of year and to kick off our summer we're celebrating with a Summer Time Link Party for summer crafts, decor, recipes, and activities!  We'd love to have you share your summer related ideas at the party. We can't wait to see some summer fun inspiration! Meet the Hosts! Across the Blvd | Purple Hues and Me Sew Crafty Crochet | This Autoimmune Life Our Unschooling Journey | Coastal Bohemian Two Chicks & a Mom | Domestic Deadline Cookies, Coffee, & Crafts | My Pinterventures | Stone Cottage Adventures Each co-host will be sharing a summer time post to kick off the party. You’ll find our links in the first in the Link Up below. Please visit the links and check out all of the kick off posts. You’re sure to find lots of inspiration! With the changing of seasons my boys and I always like to think about what we'd like to accomplish and put together a bucket list to keep us trying

We had a fabulous week! The weather was shining most days and we got so much done.  We went on a few hikes and walks, went to see a show and enjoyed each lazy day of summer to it's fullest. We lucked out and managed to get a short 45 minute hike in with our group between rainstorms on Friday .  We tried out a new trail at Westville Dam. Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny so I lugged out my painting supplies and set to work painting two coats on the pillars in front of the house and painting all the door trim.  I was in the middle of scraping the peeling paint off our old Adirondack chairs when the whole family went over to the cottage to help put in the dock and I have to get back to it. We had tickets to go see Cirque Du Soleil on Sunday.   The tent was amazing and the show was unbelievable!  We had the best time.  I only took a few pictures around the area before the show and vowed to put my camera away and just enjoy the show. Inside the ten there were shopping and food areas

I have been hard at work this past month trying to update our outdoor living spaces. We have a large deck and just under that a very large patio.  For the past three years our deck has been empty.  It gets full sun all day long and we stopped using it so I stopped decorating it.  This year I decided I wanted to update the look of both outdoor spaces and have been reading up on all sorts of outdoor decorating ideas.  As I am slowly transforming these two areas of our home I am just loving the changes. We bought a new patio set and moved one of our tables up to the deck.  I found a few indoor/outdoor rugs that really brighten up the spaces and I've been painting just about anything and everything.  It will take some time to get both spaces finished but that's OK.  In the meantime we get to enjoy some cozy seating and really use both spaces. All of my favorite posts today are about outdoor living.  Do you have an area for relaxing or hosting outside? Welcome to Encouraging Hearts