Sweet and Simple Birthdays

Over the years I have hosted an exorbitant number of birthday parties for my 3 kids.

We've had big family parties, Chuck E Cheese parties, Halloween parties, Hollywood parties complete with a red carpet and formal dresses, huge park parties with rented pavilion space, Harry Potter parties with handmade stuffed owl invitations and a fortune teller, and countless swim parties with clever games and homemade volcano cakes.

Recently my son, who is my youngest child, turned 13.

By the time you get to the 13th birthday of your youngest child, you're pretty much partied out.

I am at a loss for creative ideas for party themes, snacks, cakes or favors.

But the funny thing is... he doesn't care about any of that stuff.

He cares about spending time with his friends, eating cake and opening some presents.

So this year we kept the party sweet and simple.

A giant pizza not cooked by me, store bought cupcakes, and a backyard pool full of friends.

Dollar Tree paper goods

DIY party favors tutorial here.

Store bought cupcakes

Ginormous pizza

Flotation scarf

Does it really get any better than that?

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Crazy Dog Lady

Have you ever done something that you knew was completely insane but entirely necessary?

On Monday I was at the lake houses with my daughter.  

We were close to finishing up our day and happened to be driving down the road when we saw 7-8 very young black lab mix puppies and some other tiny cat-dog-rat looking thing scampering along behind them.

I immediately stopped the car and ran towards the skin and bones creature with my daughter shouting from the car, "YOU CAN'T SAVE ALL OF THEM! THERE ARE TOO MANY!"

I handed her the flea-covered 'chupacabra' and replied, "No, but I can save this one."

We gave him some water, a quick sink bath (to remove the fleas), a few pieces of some crackers we had on hand and drove him to our house 2 hours away.

Flea removal and lots of tail wags.

Potential audition footage for a sad Sarah Maclachlan commercial.

Although it's tough to tell from the photos, he's very tiny.

He weighs only about 4 pounds and is nothing but skin and bones.

And flea bites.

We took him to the vet the next day to determine if he was healthy enough to 'adopt' into our family since we have 2 other dogs and 3 kids who are very attached to our pets.

Surprisingly, he only had some minor issues that are easily (and fairly inexpensively) treated.

The vet thinks he is close to 12 weeks old and likely a mix of terrier, chihuahua, and probably some sort of bull dog breed...

he's very ECLECTIC.

She expects him to stay pretty small even when he's fully grown.

Our 11 pound mini dachshund, Gidget, and the tinier chupacabra. Also a lovely photo of my hideous floors.

So we named him Winston and now he's part of the family.

And I'm the 'crazy dog lady.'

Belly rubs.

Naps.

My daughter's graduation night and a congratulations from Winston.

Contentment.

It would be entirely irresponsible for me to post this without reminding you to please spay and neuter your pets.

Also, we should sign a petition that if someone doesn't spay and neuter their pets, they should be forced to sit and watch that sad Sarah Maclachlan commercial for 8 hours straight.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Embracing Mediocrity

Through Pinterest and blog reading I have discovered that the world is full of really amazing people who seem to have Midas-like abilities.

They can reach into their pockets, pull out a piece of string, some lint and a spare penny and turn it into a fabulous side table.

And then take magazine spread quality photos of their project that they post on Instagram with a link to their 

eloquently composed blog about such project.

All while I'm still trying to ingest my first pot of coffee.

Outfit of the day... pajamas and old lady slippers paired with a 3rd cup of cheap store bought coffee.

After several months hiatus I recently decided to start blogging again.

As much as I enjoyed blogging I found myself comparing my simple, amateurish blog to that of other bloggers who have professionally designed pages, amazing photos of every meal, room and outfit, and loads of sponsors and advertisers who are paying them with either products or actual money.

I found myself feeling inadequate.

Not only because my blog itself is about as simple as it gets but because I feel no real desire to make it anything more than what it is.

Let me assure you - I am definitely not lazy.

I am simply content with mediocrity.

Because at the end of each day, my family doesn't ask me what I crafted that day using nothing more than an old tire and some used dental floss.

Tassel necklace I made from wooden beads I whittled individually from a tree in my own backyard and thread spun from my exotic neon pink silkworm collection. 

They want to know, "What's for dinner?" 

And then they want to know,

"Can we start eating right away or do we have to wait while you take pictures of dinner for your blog?"

PB & J.  It speaks for itself.

My point is... 

I'm okay being mediocre at certain things because I know that I excel in other areas that are more important to me.

I'm a great mom.

Despite some of my social media user names indicating I'm the World's Okayest Mom. 

And I'm a great wife.

Despite anything my husband might say to the contrary while I'm blogging and ignoring him.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Camping

Ten years ago we went on our first family camping trip to Oklahoma with some friends and their huge family.

It was for 2 nights and we had a reasonably good time.

We have not been camping since.

Unless you count the handful of times we set up the tent and 'camped' in our own backyard.

Probably because when you have lake houses, it's just easier to have your outdoor experience and then come home to a soft bed, a fridge, running water and a bathroom a few steps away.

This past weekend, however, we busted out the camping gear and joined a few friends and their families for a 1 night camping excursion.

This kid is one of my 3 favorite DIY projects!  I made him almost 13 years ago.

My groom.

Our humble abode.  No tent is complete without solar powered LED star lights and a rag rug.

Blurry tent interior pic due to excess wine consumption.

Flashlight doing double duty as a light saber.

We survived the night!  And my son is tied to a tree.

Heading home.  Yes, I am officially the world's worst selfie taker.

Maybe next time we'll camp for 2 nights.

Or not.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

The Day Job

Aside from being a neglectful blogger, I also have a paying day job.
Which is actually the main reason I am a neglectful blogger.

My husband and I own and operate a vacation home rental business.

Sounds glamorous right?

It isn't.

A guest left this mess behind.  Guess who got to clean it up?

It's very hard work.
We manage about 20 homes and are responsible for making sure they are clean, lawns are mowed, insects are treated, repairs are completed and that guests, as well as owners, are happy and content.

Also we live about 2 hours from where we work so from March through September I spend a couple days each week traveling back and forth.

But there are perks.

Reckless photo taking while driving over a 2 lane road across the lake. Also my windshield is very dirty.

View from a recently added lake house.

View from one of my 'offices' every week whilst mopping 10,000 square feet of hard concrete flooring.

Still one of my favorite spaces.  Even though my photo skills are terribly lacking.

And now for some shameful self-promotion...

If you should find yourself in Texas and need a place to stay near a lake that is almost equidistant to Dallas and Austin, I invite you to check out the vast assortment of vacation homes we offer:
www.cabinsonlakewhitney.com

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Re-Planted

Good morning faithful friends!

I have missed you all terribly but I needed a sort of extended brain-cation to get myself in order which still hasn't fully happened but I feel like minor progress has been made.

Until yesterday.

I was perusing one of the numerous blogs I read regularly and saw a fantastic 'Before and After' room decorated by an equally fantastic designer.

As I scrolled down there was an idea board complete with photos of the items used in the room along with the price of each item.

And there it was...

A four-effing-thousand-dollar coffee table!

I am not sure why I was so bothered by the high price tag on this coffee table but I couldn't stop thinking about how many lives (both human and animal) could be changed by $4000.

If I had $4000 to spend on a coffee table I could probably pay for lots of medication that would keep me from obsessing over stupid things like, "Why does someone need a $4000 coffee table?"

I mean, seriously, you can't take that stuff with you when you're gone. 

Unless it's a $4000 trunk which I suppose you could be buried in it if it were a really large trunk, or if you were a really small person, so that might actually be a furniture piece worth the investment.

I could probably fit into this one but you'd have to really squish me in.

It was depressing.

But it was also inspiring.

Not in the now-I-want-an-expensive-coffee-table sort of way but in the, 'you don't have to spend $4000 on a coffee table to make yourself happy' sort of way.

Do you see this cute little pot?

I happened upon it while thrifting a few months back and paid a whopping $2.00 to bring it home where it sat empty and lonely all that time.

Yesterday, while at Lowe's, I found the perfect size plant for the pot and it was on clearance for $5.50!

I snatched it up, replanted it into my little pot and added it to my desk tray.

It made me so happy to see it this morning when I sat down to work at my desk.

And it didn't cost me $4000.

And you know what else?

This...

It's a ladybug, which are supposedly lucky.

And it was crawling on the edge of the valance that hangs above my desk.

I can only assume it was hiding amongst the leaves of my new plant when I brought it home.

Maybe that plant will end up being the best $5.50 I ever spent!

...Or maybe I just need to have my house sprayed for insects.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney