Weekly Recap (in Instagram)

School is out!  Summer break is h.e.r.e.

This week I spent some more time at the lake....

My second trip and school wasn't even out yet.  That's a pretty good record!  Must keep that up.

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I hosted our third annual Bachelorette Premiere party........

Every year, my favorite ladies gather at my house to eat, chat, watch the show, and chat.  

And eat!

Some new recipes and some tried and true party staples.

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School dismissed on Wednesday.  By 4:00 that day, this was what my classroom looked like........

Until August sweet classroom.

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My first day off was obviously yesterday.  A darling friend decided I shouldn't sleep in.........

Ten.  Texts.  In.  A.  Row.

Yes, I woke up.

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Four years ago today, the mister and I said, "I do!"

I loved our venue, our photographer.  

All of it, actually!

And we only had a week to plan the whole shindig!!!!  He proposed on May 22nd.  We decided to pull off a wedding by May 31st!   

Which turned out to be a very good day.

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Follow me on Instagram @thisvintagegrove!!

Linking up with......High Five for Friday and Insta-Friday. 

Random Wednesday

You know when you clean up a storm for company, and the house is in tip-top shape for a few days afterward?

It's glorious.

I should have folks over more often.

Because I do things like put flowers and candles in the bathroom........

It makes me happy for days.

Cleaning the house for the purpose of having company is like the gift that keeps on giving.

And yes.  That is a photo of my bathroom.

Moving on.

Today is the last day of school.

At 1:30 CST, I will be shooting silly string as the buses roll away.

Hello June and July.

Linking up with 

Rolled up Pretty, and

Blogiversary

Five years ago today, I published my first post on this little blog.

So lame.  Cringe-worthy.

But it was the beginning of a hobby I love.  Who knew I'd take up writing for fun. 
And stick with it.

I've covered a lot of ground.......

Most Pinned Recipe // Home Renovations // Decorating // Craftiness

Here's to five years of blogging!

Oh, and if you feel so inclined, click on over to Peacoats and Plaid to vote for my blog button!  I'm button number nine!

Happy Memorial Day!

Weekly Recap

I was reunited with my beloved last night...........

However, it was a long productive week without my smartphone to distract me.

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Before it crashed on Sunday, I captured my nephew the chocolate monster......

Who totally attacked me seconds after that photo was snapped.

The crowd at Andy's thought it was hilarious.

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I hit up the farmers' market too......

Brats, succulents, and my new favorite t-shirt.  Our market is the best.  Such variety!

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Sadly, my phone died right before I could capture our lake excursion.  Luckily, a friend took some pics I could steal from Facebook.......

I felt like summer started early with our Sunday evening boat ride.

And speaking of summer, there are only three more days of school.

The lake will be seeing a lot more of me!

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Follow me on Instagram @thisvintagegrove!!

Linking up with......High Five for Friday and Insta-Friday. 

An Outfit (and an issue)

For most of my life, cell phones weren't a thing.

Within the last ten years, they really have gone from being a luxury to a necessity.

And just this week I truly discovered how addicted dependent I have become.

See.......

My "smartphone" died.  In my hands.  On Sunday.

No Instagram.  No camera.  No texting.  No world wide web at my fingertips.

Instead, Sprint gave me a "loaner" phone that isn't capable of much.  And just in case I didn't remember it wasn't mine all mine, they labeled it for me.......

Don't worry, Sprint.  You will be getting your loaner back.

Anyway.

My free time seems to have opened up this week.

So much so that I was able to guest post over at My Dear Watson.  That was fun.

I also had time to force Whitney to take silly pictures of me being disgusted with my loaner......

But really it was just a ploy to document this outfit. 

I think I like green, black, and white together.  All wrapped up with a floral scarf. 

Just another school uniform.

Only five days left of school.

And, hopefully, only one day left without my phone!

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy,

Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled up Pretty, and

Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger

Grilling season is here.

I am now obsessed with grilling stuffed burgers.

I thought for my next attempt, I'd use my favorite burger topping as inspiration.......bleu cheese and bacon.  Instead of going on the burger, I'd stuff it inside!

By using the basic burger recipe from my first try, I just switched up the stuffing.

The guinea pig mister l.o.v.e.d. them. 

Convincing him to man the grill is getting easier now.......

 Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger

1 lb. ground beef

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 teas. pepper

2 oz. crumbled bleu cheese

3 slices of cooked bacon

1 tbsp. bread crumbs (optional)

Combine the hamburger, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and bread crumbs until well mixed.  (Adding bread crumbs helps keep the burger from falling apart while grilling.)  Form the beef into six very thin patties.  In a separate bowl, crumble the cooked bacon.  Add the bleu cheese to the bacon and stir.  Add some of the bacon/cheese mixture to the middle of three of the patties.  Use the three remaining patties to cover the mixture.  Press the sides of each patty together to seal them closed.  Grill burgers, flipping them at least once, until done (which depends on personal preference).  Toast the inside of the buns on the grill right before serving them.  Add hamburger to bun, top with leftover bleu cheese, bacon, or condiments of your choice.

 *   *   *   *

Bacon makes everything better.  

And for us, bleu cheese does too.  However, if bleu cheese isn't up your alley, try feta or crumbled cheddar!  Or pepperjack!  

So many possibilities.

And grilling season has only just begun!

 *   *   *   *

Linking up with:

Mrs. Happy Homemaker, This Gal Cooks, Six Sisters' Stuff,
Addicted to Recipes, A Pinteresting Party, Anything & Everything

Weekly Recap (Instagram Style)

This week........

The mister took me to Pheona's monthly sale as a birthday week bonus.  This is the only evidence I could get that it really did happen....

I swear that is the lawn at Pheona's.  

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The mister's family threw a surprise birthday party for me.  Can you guess the theme?

I was quite shocked.  They really did a great job of completely catching me off guard.

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I won a giveaway over at Because Shanna Said So and I picked out a vintage inspired necklace from t+j Designs.......

 

That ring might be a new purchase too.  Vintage marcasite from an antique jewelry case at Relics.  

Hey, I had birthday money to spend!

*   *   *   *

Every time I visit my booth, I have to walk by this.....

And even though I do have one window from that space, I want every last one of em.

 *   *   *   *

A trip to Lowe's always results in a walk through the tile area.......

These are my top two picks for a laundry room redo coming this summer.

I know my favorite.

What sayeth you?

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Follow me on Instagram @thisvintagegrove!!

Linking up with......High Five for Friday and Insta-Friday. 

What I Wore (on Mother's Day)

On Mother's Day, I decided to surprise my mom at church.

She was expecting an afternoon visit at home, so I knew this would catch her completely off guard.  

(I got a two-for-one special, as dad was just as surprised!)

After church, pa took the official Mother's Day photo.  We must have channeled each other.  White on bottom, pattern on top.......

I think a new favorite outfit was born when I was scrambling to get ready that morning.

I needed to be warm.  Church is always cold.

But I wanted to be springy. 

I'd had that top for awhile and hadn't worn it.  Chalk it up to a styling block.

Somehow, in a fashion frenzy, it all came together.......

Now that I'm over my fear of wearing ivory pants, I kind of want a pair of plain white too.

That is, until I have a run in with a Sharpie in the classroom.

Or slip on a puddle of tomato soup in the cafeteria.

With ten days of school left, I'll take my chances.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy,

Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled up Pretty, and

Thrifting Frenzy

Thrifting has been ho-hum lately.

Until last Thursday, that is.

I dropped by Red Rack after school and hit the jackpot........

Another daisy-esque afghan in a color scheme I've never seen.

A twin size bed skirt that I about died over....

Two ivory Samsonite pieces........

The sweetest vintage slip ever........

And something that transports me right back to junior high..........

Legit vintage high-waisted Wrangler acid wash.

I can hear Pour Some Sugar On Me playing right now.

And I may or may not have tried squeezing into that thing.

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Linking up with Joyful Treasure Hunting, Sir Thrift-a-lot, A Living Space,

    The Cottage Market, Magpie Monday, Thrifty Thursday, annnnnddd

Winner Winner

Congrats to..........

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sara from It's Good to be Queen, you won two prints from French Press Mornings!  I can't wait to see what you choose!

Thank you to everyone who entered and to Jenny for sharing her shop with us!

Happy Mother's Day!

Weekly Recap (Instagram Style)

We've been on a weather roller coaster this week.  Last Friday, this was the scene.....

By Tuesday, I was mowing in shorts.

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Something took over my desk area.......

This is very uncharacteristic of me.

Don't worry.  It's on its way to recovery.

Mainly because upon lifting up a paper, I found this.........

Who put that rock there?

Not me.

Shenanigans run rampant in our hallway, and I love it.

 *   *   *   *

We had middle of the week sushi take-out.........

For my birthday!!!!!

Yep, I turned 29 again on Wednesday.

 *   *   *   *

And finally, after a pretty long drought, the thrift shop delivered last night.......

Something told me I should go.

Always listen to that still, small voice.

Especially when it tells you to go thrifting.

*   *   *   *

Oh yeah!  The print giveaway ends tomorrow!  You still have time to enter!!!!

Follow me on Instagram @thisvintagegrove!!

Linking up with......High Five for Friday and Insta-Friday. 

What I Wore (from Wal-Mart)

I am an impulse shopper.

Not always a good thing.  (Like when I came home with vintage lockers.)

But sometimes it's okay.

Like when I went into Wal-Mart for milk and walked by a rack of dresses.  Did a double-take at a cute striped one.  Went to try it on.  And added it to my basket......

I know I already have a striped dress that I styled similarly.  But for $14.88, I couldn't go wrong, especially with the whole hi-lo trend (that I like on other people but wasn't sure about it on me).

It's different enough from my other dress.  Longer.

Right?

So.

In conclusion.

Wal-Mart has cute dresses.

And impulse shopping isn't always bad.

Linking up with The Pleated Poppy, Transatlantic Blonde,  

Two Thirty-Five Designs, Rolled up Pretty, and

Giveaway Time (Closed)

A milestone has been reached!

Last week, I realized I had published 500 posts!

I can't believe I've had that much to say.  From falling down, or an ugly red coat, to burning jalapeno juice, I've covered a few bases.

And I've had so much fun.

So to celebrate this milestone annnnnd my birthday this week, it's giveaway time!!!  Up for grabs are two prints from the cute little Etsy shop:  French Press Mornings.

Here are a few of my favorites.......

Jenny, of French Press Mornings, does amazing work!  Not only does she make beautiful (& cute) prints, she also does blog design!  Case in point, she designed new social media buttons for my blog!

See those up there on there on the right?  I needed a new set because I joined Twitter not too long ago (and I have no idea what I'm doing #newbie).

Anyway.

These prints would be a great gift!  Maybe for a baby shower.......I can see a whole nursery or child's room done with her prints.  For Mother's Day a beautiful quote!  Or you can keep them for yourself!

This giveaway will be open through midnight CST on Saturday, May 11th to all U.S. residents!

Good luck!!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway