If you get the chance.... :)

If you get the chance to hold an adorable

fat baby on the beach....

you do it:)

If you get the chance to laugh out loud...

really loud....

you do it!!

Been spending time with my cousin

and his ridiculously cute littles:)

I'll be back next week when Miles (of smiles) has gone home

and I can focus on more that his fat adorable little self:)

Just imagine.... :)

So here's the only tree I have in my backyard. 

It's a beauty:)

And it bears some tasty goodness.

 Like a ton of goodness.

We literally can not keep up with the amount

of avocados that this tree so sweetly gives us:)

Here's just some of what fell in a matter of 2 days!

 On the back side of the trunk of that tree is this little crevice

that just got me thinking...

You see when I was little, I would look at places in the yard (my

mom grew amazing plants) and 

just imagine that  little tiny people lived in there

amongst all the plants and it was like

their enchanted forest. Like I just KNEW they did. 

Fast forward some 40+ years and here I am,

still wanting to believe that:)

"there is no life I know to compare with pure imagination

living there, you'll be free if you

really wish to be"

-Willy Wonka

My cousin and his precious littles are going to be visiting

us this week, so that kind of gave me the push that I 

needed to do what I've been wanting to do since...

forever.

Plant a fairy garden!!!

At first it was just me and the hubby,

and then Ryne came over,

and then before I knew it the whole fam damily was 

taking over joining in on the fun:)

So here's what I got so far:)

And I say so far because you guys....!!!

this little garden is just about the cutest thing ever

and I'm already dreaming about how 

much more I could do to it!!

Like I'm thinking that the path to the tree needs

a door at the end of it...

and windows in the tree...

and a mailbox....

Now if only I could find some tiny people to live in there.....

The teeny tiny corner.... :)

So there's this corner on my kitchen counter that 

drives me insane. 

(this pic is on a good day)

It's the catch all corner. The clutter corner.

And most mornings it's the computers, iPads, techno everything corner.

Basically a total cluster...well, you know.

The worst part is..

it's all MY stuff:( and I have no where else to put it:( :( :(

no craft room....

no office....

no nuthin.

Welllllll.....

Can we just have a moment and check out what I got for FREE??

Yep. I was walking out of my local health food store 

(buying bacon no less!! hahaha)

and turned to my right to see this little lady with a free 

sign on her.

Look left. Look right. Load her up!

She's a sweet little thing who just needed a home...

in my home:)

Have I mentioned the tininess of this house?

I had no idea where I was going to squeeze her in, but I was

determined to give her a purpose I'm telling you!!

So I got to thinkin....

and movin....

and whaddya know....

she found her purpose!!

She is going to be my new little desk!!

Yes I robbed those topiaries from the right of the tv for this pic, but

don't you worry for a minute! I've already found more from my topiary hoard to replace them:)

Hi my name is Dorie and I'm addicted to topiaries.

 Aaaaahhhh!! Look at that cleaned up corner now!!

Thank you to whoever put this sweet little desk out for free

and brightened my world!!

Me so happy:)

Settling.... :)

So I'm starting to feel settled.

All boxes are unloaded and gone, and I'm officially

moved in.

And I LOVE this little place.

Like so so much.

As with every move, I decluttered and got rid of excess crap.

Maybe a little too much? hahaha!!

This house is probably the simplest I've ever lived in...

but I'm totally diggin' it!!

Check out that gorgeous arrangement there.

Rio and Chase had a dinner party the other night

and invited our next door neighbor who just happens

to have been a florist back in the day, and that was their hostess gift.

Whuuut....

I'm totally inviting him and his sweet wife to dinner

like once a week for the rest of my life.

It's times like these when I love that Rio is highly allergic

to flowers.

I couldn't pass up this shell planter at Albertsons

the other day. I went in for something like 

toilet paper and somehow this thing made

it's way to my side table.

It happens.

You guys....

LOOK at this adorable built in.

There's a chance this sealed the deal for me.

I LOVE me some original built ins.

And you know how I said that I decluttered maybe a little

too much? Well you're looking at pretty much 

all the goodies that I have to my name.

And I like that way:)

This house is just shy of 1300 sq. ft. so 

I can't hoard like I used to!

 Here's a peek into the guest room.

I love all the natural light in this room!

Actually the entire house is like this.

I think the crisp white walls help. The landlord told me

the walls and trim are all Swiss Coffee.

...another deal sealer:)

 I have to tell you all about the sand currently sitting

on my coffee table.

It's called Kinetic Sand and I found it at Michaels.

My sis in law had some at her house when I was

there in AZ last week, and I couldn't stop

playing with it!!

It's seriously the coolest thing ever.

It's $14.99 a box, and I used one for my tray.

It's the best thing to play with while watching

Bachelor in Paradise.

Yes I watch that show.

Judge not.

It's kind of like that sand that you rake for relaxation only

100 times better.

Why you say?

Read the description below-

It’s more fun when it’s wacky! Feel the difference with Kinetic Sand! Pack it, pull it, shape it and love it, Kinetic Sand is so incredible you can’t put it down. It’s kinetic—meaning it sticks to itself and not to you—so it oozes, moves and melts right before your eyes. It flows through your fingers like a slow-moving liquid, but leaves your hands completely dry. Shape anything you want and use it over and over again. Kinetic Sand never dries out and is gluten free. This soft and stretchy sand cleans up easily while delivering non-stop fun!

 

Did you catch that second to last sentence??

It's GLUTEN FREE??

What in the world?? hahahaha!!!

Gimme a minute... :)

Soo... I moved on Sunday. I mean it's been a WHOLE YEAR since

I moved so I was getting the itch.

I'm totally lying. Like a rug.

What I was itching for though, was a house with a yard.

Since they come on the market for rent almost

never here in Carp, this house is a total blessing:)

I've been praying for the perfect house.

And here it is!

I had to laugh. Was this the Lord's way of reminding

me from whence I came?? This house is

sooo Arizona!! hahahaha!!

But let me tell you, this house has wood floors and crisp white 

walls and gorgeous original windows.

But the best part?

That's my back gate on the left, and 

RIO'S front gate on the right!!

She rents the guest house in the back, which is how we

got the lead on this house.

It's who ya know people!!

Little Bully finally has a yard. So maybe he'll 

do some slimming down??

Yeah....

I'm thinking he's going to stuff his face with the

avocados that fall from the tree, and

explode alla Violet Beauregarde.

In the middle of all the chaos and craziness,

I came across this lovely bottle of our favorite

wine and popped that cork.

It's so hard for me to take a breather when I move into a new place.

I want it done NOW!

But this time I decided to go against every fiber of my being

and take a minute to savor this special moment:)

Oh don't be fooled!!

I said a MOMENT!! 

I've had these chairs in storage for a year and I 

couldn't WAIT another second to set 'em up!

Awww smile!!

Or snile??

THAT'S going to bug me....