Divine Inspiration!

What's not to love when you feel God dropping an idea in your head...in the middle of the night?

The AHG Troop that I am the Coordinator for is having a bake sale booth at the Pioneer Heritage Days Festival this weekend in Greenwood.  I am all about presentation when making sales, so I wanted to have more than some card tables set up with baked goodies on them. I had seen this idea on Pinterest from the The Bird and the Berry, and fell in love with the idea...

I asked my husband what the possibilities were that he could make me something similar from the scrap wood we have left over from our bathroom remodel. He didn't give me high hopes. But later that night...deep into the night, I remembered that I had the PERFECT solution in my barn of all places. The top portion of a china hutch I got way back when, and has literally been sitting in my barn since we moved in here.

Kicked out the back, sawed off the wood thing in the middle, and took off the doors

 PRIME TIME!

The weather was wonderful, so the girls were happy to come outside and lend me a hand. 

One good thing about doing a lot of home projects & remodels is you are never in short supply of paint and other scrap pieces you weren't sure what you would ever do with but didn't want to throw away. 

And here is the Sweet Shop!

The only extra expense I had on this was a cheap curtain rod and a $5 curtain panel from Dollar General. Now just to add the delicious home baked goodies!!

Thanks to our wonderful Troop mom, Tracie, for making us this CUTE flyer! 

Tracie Stroud Designs

You can see we are also selling lemonade. September 15 is American Heritage Girls National Day of Service, so we had to figure out some type of service project that could fit into our busy day at the bake sale. A sweet couple in our church, who helped our Troop last spring earn their Horsemanship badges, are adopting a brother & sister from the Congo. We wanted to help them in their efforts to raise money so they can go get these sweet children SOON! 

Originally I had planned to just set up a table in our booth for lemonade. But after looking around the barn again, I came up with another idea using this wood crate thing and some boards that I took off another pallet laying around. (Love seeing Heidi in the background playing on the tractor:)

Once again, so happy I didn't have to leave my home to get this done. I'm really excited about our upcoming festivities and hope we can make some good money for some really good causes! 

Ella's "So Great to be 8" Hawaiian Luau

Ella loved the colors & design of this invite...especially the flamingo!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/luvbugdesign?ref=seller_info

This was such a fun party to put together. The 30 minute downpour that ensued while I was trying to set up that afternoon was a little bit of a worrisome moment for me, but by the time it was over the air was cooler and everything looked more fresh & green...despite the puddles of water that had formed on all the tables!

Pretty much all the decorations for this party came from either Oriental Trading or Big Lots. 

I wanted to build an actual Tiki Hut so badly, but time (and $$) just didn't let me. So I opted to add another table skirt to our table umbrella. 

Ella & Emily 

Cake is a very big deal to us for any occasion! My mom is the greatest at making my visions come to life! 

cupcake toppers found on ebay

Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pulled Pork sandwiches. So easy & good!

Also tasty great was this recipe for Pineapple Coleslaw!

Grandma, Cupcake Extraordinaire

Ella with her besties! So much fun :)

Whew! What a day, but so worth it to know Ella had such a great time at her party! 

LIMBO ROCK!!

July 4th!

We were happy to host a little Independence Day shin-dig at our place for the Radiology Residents and fam. It was a fun night getting to know everyone a little better. The food was plentiful and wonderful! The fireworks?? Not so much :)

Rad Docs (aka: really smart people!)

The Grill Master!

















MMMM! Bomb Pops! A classic

If I Build It, Then They Will Come!

Alright then, I love all things Claire Marie Farmhouse B&B, but I have yet to have any actual business. This is really no one's fault but my own. Aaron & I are very reluctant to advertise just anywhere, so it's not possible for people to know we are here. I don't regret this decision, but I'm trusting God that all things will work together in His time, and I'm currently working on some possible advertising that our family would be comfortable with.

So, in the meantime I have decided to live and love this place for what it is...my home. And if word gets out, then there will be people who will want to come spend a little time here as well. As my good friend, Jen, has told me many times, "it's our little piece of Heaven". And I seriously thank God every day for the blessings he has bestowed on us here. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Get to know my family! Aaron is my husband, and is one of the hardest workers I know and a dedicated family man. Everything he does, he does for us. He is a 3rd year Radiology Resident at LSU Health Sciences in Shreveport. He also serves in the Air Force Reserves at Barksdale AFB as a Flight Doc. Where does he find all the time to keep this place running like a well oiled machine? I have no idea, but I  love him for it!

The Apples of My Eye

Haden, Ella & Heidi

Thanks to my dear friend, Beth Pierce, for taking such great pics of my family last Fall. They are some of my favorite!