Georgia on My Mind..........

To say that I'm a little obsessed with Southern Living's 2010 Idea Home in Georgia is a bit of an understatement. I just sat here and watched almost every video tour of each room in the house! (no one else is home right now so I can do that kind of stuff,  but seriously wasted about 30 mins. of my life!)

This is one of my favorite magazines. As well as Coastal Living and my all time favorite Cottage Living - sadly no longer in publication  ........... Yes, I have a thing for "Living" magazines!

Anyhow, the August issue of Southern Living is fantastic, all the pictures I posted here are from their web site.  This house had me at the foyer......love those floors!

The outdoor living areas of the Idea House are pretty amazing too! Absolutely LOVE this bed swing.

This house makes me want to move south! I always pictured myself living in the New England area, Maine being my favorite area but maybe I'm really a southern girl, cause this house is really calling my name!

Just need to find about $1.1 million to buy this particular model.........and trust me that's not happening!

Go check out some of the rooms in this house. Can you be "in love" with a closet? There is a craft room closet on the 4th floor that I have pretty strong feelings for! Let me know what you think.

2010 Southern Living Idea House

Guess what we did today?????

Can someone please tell me is summer REALLY almost over????

I enjoy a trip to Staples every now and then, but school shopping  already.........nope I'm not ready.

For some reason my 7th grader was hell bent on getting all the supplies today. Because if I didn't I'm sure I would ruin her life because I have no idea how much she has to do and how stressed she is. (those are her words). Get in line and take a number sister! The cul-de-sac is experiencing some hormonal changes and mama is not dealing too well with these changes!!

We survived the afternoon, everyone got what they needed and returned home happy!

Now if only I could have convinced her that the binder from last year is perfectly fine to use this year too!

She looked at me like I have two heads!!

Do your kids reuse and recycle or do they get brand new supplies every year? Has anyone ever found a backpack that lasts longer than one school year? Please share!

65 mph photos

Yes, the car was moving that fast

No, I was not driving the car

This is the capital city of my lovely little keystone state.

I always enjoy the view whenever I cross this bridge.

However,  I do not enjoy the other drivers travelling on this bridge and /or highway that leads to this bridge!

Is it just me or do people not understand the meaning of a YIELD sign????? Ever notice how many other drivers truly are NOT paying attention to their driving? It is down right frightening!

You seriously need to have eyes in the back of your head to check on the people driving behind you! I think I have my almost 13 year old  convinced that she really does not need to learn to drive at 16!!

Safe travels everyone! Eyes on the road please and remember to yield!!

Lunch time silliness

So this is what I fed my kids for lunch today.

And this is what my 12 year old came up with!

NICE!!

Some days you just have to laugh!!

How was your Monday?

The Long Road Home

Sometimes it pays to turn off the GPS and just take the long way home. We are explorers by nature. Before we had kids, we used to get in the car and just drive until we found an interesting town to explore. We would then spend an entire Saturday being "tourists".  Luckily our children have that same sense of adventure and don't usually complain when we turn a 7 hour car ride into a 13 hour car ride! (promises of  junk food and silly bands make it a little more tolerable)

Here are just a few interesting things we discovered by taking the road less traveled from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.........

Remember this movie?

Here's the real house, not quite oceanfront anymore. It was literally sitting in the ocean but was recently moved and is being restored.

We will make an illegal u-turn anytime we see something historic!

So of course we had to stop at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, NC.

It was actually a very informative place for our first potty break! Lots and lots of information about the history of aviation. If you are ever in the area, I recommend visiting this memorial.

This was by far my favorite pit stop! A charming little town in Virginia with quaint shops and lovely waterfront properties.

I've always had a thing for Victorian architecture, so finding these beauties made me very happy! Just love those second floor balconies. Most of these homes are empty and for sale, so I did a lot of peeking in windows!! I came right home and checked them out on realtor.com and drooled over the interiors. (just can't swallow the prices, way over my budget!!)

Oh, the colors, the details...be still my heart!

Just saw this quote somewhere and thought it was a great reminder......

Enjoy life now-it has an expiration date!

I hope we always skip the highway and take the long road home, the scenery is so much nicer!!!!

When Vacationing With Other Families................

1. Make sure they have a sense of humor!!!

2. Make sure they like to read!!

3. Make sure they are flexible and can do neat tricks!

4. Make sure all the children still need to wear bibs while eating! It also helps if every kid has a Nintendo DS game with the volume turned OFF, (that's good for hours of mind-numbing entertainment) ! 

5. Make sure their children are really, really cute!

6. Make sure they can fish for your dinner.

7. My last tip and by far the most important! Make sure the house you rent is large enough so you don't have to share a bathroom!!

And don't forget the Corona!!!

Outer Banks State of Mind.............

We're back, wish I wasn't! Drove nearly 1000 miles in the past week  and 7 days is not nearly enough time to fully recharge!

Still feel like my head is by the ocean!

This trip was made by 2 other cul-de-sac families and what a FUN, FUN time we had!!

My bathing beauty gets her braces off tomorrow! She is so excited!

No words to describe the hilariousness of this picture! He didn't spill his beer but he did split his swim trunks! We laughed until we cried! (i love when that happens)

We had an oceanfront house but the dunes in North Carolina sure are long! Good thing we had 6 little kids to carry all the stuff!

I will probably bore you all week with pictures of this wonderful trip and I'm sorry for that! There are just way too many great pictures to choose from for one post. I promise I won't use them all!It's hard to tell how your pictures are turning out when you can't even see the screen because of the sun, but I was very pleased with so many of the pictures! Love my little Canon!

It was a wonderful vacation with wonderful friends and I'm so glad we made such fantastic memories for the kids!

We took a leisurely drive home and discovered an amazing little town in Virginia that I will share with you later in the week. I think I found my retirement home, I just need to find a million dollars first!!