Fresh Cut Friday August

Hello Friends! 

Welcome to Fresh-Cut-Friday. 

Come on in. I've set a lovely lunch table for you. 

So simple! But perfect for a casual meal. 

Nothing matches, but everything blends. 

I much prefer that approach than a formal table.

I think I picked these up at Hobby Lobby last summer. 

It might have been 

a couple of summers ago.

Some pieces have been picked up at Homes Goods over the years. 

Like these little Rooster S&P's.

Or these mugs. 

That is one of the benefits of knowing what you like. 

My style is pretty much the same as it was years ago.

So as I'm sure you can imagine... I have a lot to work with. 

Three hydrangea make a full bouquet.

Okay! I'm ready to come see your posts. 

I'll be Joining:

Lavender Garden Cottage
Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
The Charm of Home
My Romantic Home

French Country Cottage

A Delightsome Life

An InLinkz Link-up

Oh My Gosh!

The week is flying by!

Are you having a good one? 

I hope so! 

I, myself, am looking forward to this weekend! 

Of course this Friday is Fresh-Cut Friday. 

I will have the linky tool up so that the party can start early. 

Just incase you missed it.... I created a feature 

button for anyone that has ever been featured 

for FCF. Feel free to take it if you collect feature buttons. 

I will see you here Thursday night.

Monday's Manicure

Orchid! It's the only purple I can wear. 

Actually, it is the perfect purple, with equal amounts of warm and cool tones.

I am so tickled that it's Pantone's color of the year.

That means that this fall it should be easy to find.

Today's manicure is called a Skittle Manicure

(The classic Skittle Manicure is made of at least two nail polishes which are also applied on the full nail. The colors don't have to be in the same color family. Basically like the candy, Skittles, which this nail look is named after.) 

The colors I used are:

Index finger - Prairie Rose from Urban Outfitters

Middle finger and thumb - Lucky Lucky Lavender by OPI

Ring finger - Basecoat of Lucky Lucky Lavender and 2 coats of Girly by Revlon

Here's a close up of the glitter....LOVE this. 

I wish it came in other colors. 

Maybe this fall?

Add caption

Something To Think About

Oh, boy.

Do I ever need to remember this! 

Monday's Manicure

Ola` my chickadees! 

I hope you are having a great week so far. 

Today's color and special effect: 

Essie's Resort Fling and Sephora's Formula X in Fire Cracker

Fun! Right? 

I was originally going to only do one nail, but as you can see, I couldn't

stop myself. I also would like to let you know that these special effects are 

on clearance at Sephora.... $3.99.

Thanks for popping in.

Lots of love!                           

Can it be Sunday Night?!

Can you believe it? Sunday night already! 

I do love my weekends. This one was no exception. 

Saturday was spent shopping with my daughter looking for 

wedding accessories. Who would have thought those 

would be so hard to find?

She did find some cute Steve Madden rhinestone flat sandals to wear the 

day of the wedding.  We also booked the wedding cake. 

Friday I picked up this little project again. 

I think I have about half of the squares done. 

Sometimes when it is so hot outside it is nice just to sit in the 

air conditioning and crochet. 

Sunday after church we went and saw Persecuted.  It was 

really good and I'm glad we saw it.

After we went to the book store and I found a copy of my

favorite magazine, Mollie Makes.

I LOVE this magazine! Have you seen it?  

Every issue comes with a little project to make. 

Isn't that so cute?

It is full of fun, funky, fresh ideas for crafters that are

short on time or just beginning. 

See how easy it is to follow along? It makes me want to try. 

Anyway, if you see it, you should pick it up. 

 So that's my Sunday night story. 

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend and plan on 

having a productive week. 

Book Review The Glass Castle

Hey Peeps! 

Just thought  would share a book review with you. 

Hope you enjoy. 

The Glass Castle

by
Jeannette Walls

Back of the Book:


Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her own story. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.


My thoughts: 
This was a great read! I would recommend it for anyone high school or older. There is some language and some adult situations, but the value of the story is so enormous and none of it is gratuitous.  Ms. Walls' story sheds so much light on the plight of children of the homeless. While the story is pitiful and sad, she uses humor and forgiveness in generous portions that make her story survivable.  She is living proof that we do not have to be victims of our child hood or up bringing.

Most of the ladies in book club liked it and would recommend it.

Thanks for dropping by! 

I'll be joining Ricki Jill for Literary Friday.

Monday's Manicure -

Hey there! :) 

Here is this week's manicure. 

I guess I've had a penchant for nudes lately...  Last Monday was a plain nude.

Here is my gradient manicure. 

The base is OPI - Tickle My Francey 

The White by Sinful Colors - Snow White Me

Sorry I haven't posted more this last week. 

We have had some family stuff going on and there just hasn't been time

for crafting and baking. 

Monday's Manicure

Hello everyone!

With last weeks over the top mani, I went totally nude with the next one.

This is OPI - Don't Pretzel My Buttons

It was kind of nice to just have a simple manicure that lasted 8 days with no chipping.

It could have lasted longer, but truthfully I get board. :) 

 I'm going to try and show you a manicure every Monday. 

Hope you like them, but really, I hope it inspires you to try new colors and techniques 

with your mani's.

Let me know if you have questions. 

Features from Fresh-Cut Friday

Hey Petunias! 

I thought I would pop in and feature a few of the participants from 

Friday's party. It was hard to pick.... but I did finally narrow it

down to just four. 

Debbi at All In My Cottage shared a simple galvanized bucket

full of her gorgeous garden roses. 

Bernideen at Bernideen's Tea Time Blog shared a beautiful garden tea setting. 

Meg from My Vintage Life share an old ammo box full of cute little succulents.

(I'm so doing this, Meg)

Laura at Decor to Adore shared a darling patriotic and summery table. 

Check out her tutorial on how to make the cute starfish napkin rings. 

Anyhoo.... I'm just so glad that you all joined in. I love flowers and I think they are

such a fun and inexpensive way to add that pop of "just a certain something".  

I'm glad you love them too.

Thank you for joining me!

I created a little button for you. If I have ever featured 

your blog in past please feel free to use it. 

You don't have to, it's just for fun. :) 

Here's the deal-ee-o for next month.

I hope you will join me again.

Our next party is August 1st. The flower of the month is either the poppy or the gladiolus. 

I almost always have the link up 

early on Thursday night. Except of course this time... (sorry) 

Hope to see you there! 

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening. 

Monday's Manicure on Saturday

Or

4th of July Mani on the 5th! 

Ha ha! 

I am getting ready to go visit everyone for Fresh-Cut Friday, but thought that I would
pop in first and share my patriotic manicure. 

Call it what you want... but it was cute! And I got a ton of compliments on it. 

I actually wore it last week for the first round of the soccer World Cup play offs. 

For some reason nail art never lasts very long but with some patching it lasted almost the whole week. 

Red - OPI The Thrill of Brazil

White Sinful Colors - Snow White Me with a coat of Ulta Frosted over it

Blue - Essie Bouncer it's Me

Red glitter heart sticker 

I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Fresh-Cut Friday is still open if you want to link up.