friday favorites!

i wanted to share some of my favorites with you and thought friday and favorites went together! so, here is my first favorite to share with you! this girl is so talented and i love reading her blog! her name is layla! she is beautiful, sweet, and did i tell you she is talented?! layla and a friend of hers just opened an online shop called http://www.letteredcottagehome.com/! do you see the wonderful wooden boxes hanging on her kitchen wall? you can find them in her shop! she has wonderful items already and just from following her on blogland i know there will be more to come! go check her out!

have a fun weekend!

*julie

a project in the works!

do you see that poor old picture and those unpainted letters?! they are just sitting there waiting patiently to be made pretty! i have a plan my poor thrift store picture! i have a plan!

come back for her redo!

have a creative day!
*julie

recap of our weekend!

we had a quiet, non-eventful weekend! we did a little of this and a little of that! but now going over all the little quiet, non-eventful things we did this weekend made me realize how blessed i am to have a quiet, non-eventful weekend! thank you Lord!


breakfast cooked jillian style!






a little dip in the pool with daddy!

craft time!

story time!

i think this is one of those uwrapped moments that emily is talking about!

hope your weekend was as sweet!

*julie

Frugal Friday Linky Party!

Ok! I am so excited to be participating in my first linky party! Sweet Wendy at The Shabby Nest is hosting the party! Here are a few of my jars filled with different items that you probably have in your home! I have to tell you that I LOVE canisters! They are just simply beautiful! You can change them with the seasons and holidays for little to no money! They are alot of fun! So, lets get this party started!



This area is in my family room! In the tall jar I used sand and cut a palm from my backyard! Can you see the little vintage milk jar? That is filled with some shells my cuties collected at the beach!

My husband is a big coffee drinker unlike myself! When we were building our house I knew I wanted to set up a coffee area in the kitchen for him! These jars are filled with whole bean coffee, ground coffee, and biscotti! Looks like we need more biscotti!

This is a huge canister that sits atop my refrigerator! This gets changed with the seasons! Its funny how I now noticed that my starfish have fallen! Gotta fix that!

This canister is in my laundry room! Can you guess what is in there? Yup! Clothes pins! Do I use them? No, but they fit the theme of the room and are from the dollar store!

I love this little area in my bathroom! The tall jar is filled with loofah sponges that I got on clearence at Bath & Body for $1 each! The biscuit jars are filled with cotton balls and Q-tips!

So there you have it! These jars/canisters were found at TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and ebay! They can be filled with almost anything! So fun, inexpensive and beautiful! Now, go get ya some!

Have fun!

*Julie

Books & slime!

Yesterday we spent the day with Titi Allison (my sister), her two boys, and Titi Winnie (my other sister)! We went to the library to check out some books and for the boys to make slime! It was the last summer class they were doing at the library! So, glad they were able to go! The boys are so into Stars Wars books! And Jillian loves her princess stories! Titi Winnie took some great pictures of my cuties! Thanks Winnie! I love days like this! We are having so much fun hanging out with Titis and the cousins this summer! I am so glad they live so close!

Here are the directions for making slime courtesy of the library!

Mix 1 cup of white glue and 3/4 cup of water in a large bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring. In a separate container, dissolve 1 tsp. Borax in 1/3 cup of warm water. Mix well. Combine the Borax solution with the glue solution and watch what happens to the mixture. Observe and explore. To dispose of the slime throw in the trash, NOT down the drain. Do not eat slime!

Have fun!

*Julie

Giveaway at the Shabby Nest!

Wendy at the Shabby Nest, one of my favorite blogs, is having a great RHBDesigns giveaway!

She was sweet enough to help out this blogger newbie! Thanks Wendy! Go take a look and put your name in the pot to win a $25 gift certificate to purchase one of these fun designs! Have fun looking around her blog and let her know I sent ya!

Good luck!!!

*Julie

Whats in a name?!

I thought it would be fun to let you know how I came up with "jam*n*jilly"! Well, it is inspired by these two cuties! The "jam" are my initials! The "n" is for my Noah! And the "jilly" is for my Jillian! We call her jillybean but lately its been shorten to "bean"! I was going to include my husband, Pete, into the name but we thought "Peter butter" was alittle much! So, there you go! A cute picture and a sweet name!


Have a fun day!

Julie

Check out this jewlery!

So, I have some beautiful jewelry to show you! No, not for me but for my kitchen! I found this jewel on Craigslist! I snatched her up for $75! I have been looking at this style of faucet for awhile! They usually go for $150 and up! Well, when I was checking Craigslist ,another addicting online activity, I came across her and the next day she was mine! I had her installed today! Aaaahhh! She is just so beautiful!

Before:

After:

This is her side profile! What a ham!

Isn't she gorgeous!!!

Enjoy!

Julie

Easy?!

So, did I say shopping for jewlery would be easy? Not so much! Today I went to Ross, Maurice's, and Kohls! Nothing! Tomorrows mission: Stein Mart! They usually have cute stuff! And for my haircut! I did go short and trendish but I am not liking it so much today! I came home last night and my sweet family was all about it! They loved it! My kids told me over and over that they loved my new hair! So sweet! Of course, now I am thinking I should of done this or that! Don't get me wrong, its not hideous or anything! I am just not used to it! Pictures soon!


Have a fun day!
Julie

Wow! 20 years already?!

So, my 20 year highschool reunion is coming up! I keep saying to myself "I cant believe Julie A. is turning 38 and celebrating her 20 year reunion!". I always use my maiden name when I am rambling about my age! It is true! Age is just a number! I still feel like I am in my twenties! Sometimes I cant believe I am an adult with adult responsiblities! But I love it! Being a mom, and a wife, and being able to do whatever I want! HeeHee!

Well, back to the reunion! I am looking forward to it! I had a blast in highschool! And I am having fun getting ready for it! I have my hair appointment for tonight at 7! My hair has gotten so long that I am ready for a new "do"! I want to go short with a more hip and trendy style! We will see! I think I found my dress! Yippee! I thought that was going to be the hardest part! And the shoes! Oh the shoes! They are cute! Now for the jewelry! That will be easy! I am hoping to get some good pix to share! So, thats it for now!

Have a fun day!

Julie

Hello blog world!!!

Hi! I am so excited to be entering into the blog world! I am not sure what I am doing but I will have fun learning along the way! I look forward to sharing my love for family, decorating, crafting, and my love for the Lord! I hope to have you follow along! Lets go!!!