More cherry pie?!

Do you know what that means?! It means I have totally missed my one year Blogiversary! I actually made my first post in May of last year, but Cherries Jubilee was one of my favorites and I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly!

Our cherry tree was nothing like last year. The weather and birds really took their tole. We didn't pick any. But that's ok, frankly I'm still cherried out! We had some in the freezer and I made two pies to take to our friend's house for their annual 4th of July party.

I never like how the crust edge turns out when I use my fingers/thumb/or a spoon. I was looking at my various flatware and decided to use the handles to make impressions. Yes, Pillsbury makes lovely pie crusts...

This crust turned out "ok", but you couldn't see the floral motif from the handle I used.

But I really liked how this one turned out. The rose impression is very tiny, but cute!


...if you squint you can see it!

Our friend's party was on the 3rd this year, so we had a quiet day to ourselves on Independence Day. That night, Kevin and I each had a piece of pie and he popped some pink champaign that had been in the fridge forever. Happy Birthday America!

And Happy 1st Blogiversary to me! I suppose I'll have to come up with a give away, eh?

Beautiful weekend~

WOW, the weather has been so incredibly beautiful here this week. Hovering around 77 degrees. We even turned our air off and just ran the attic fan. Lovely breeze...very unusual for this time of year in Missouri!

Good thing because I wanted to wear these fab wool vintage navy sailor pants on the 4th! And the Rosie 'do complimented them nicely I think~

The blouse looks pink here but it's actually a fine red and white stripe.

You can't tell from the photo, but the buttons have little anchors on them. And the back laces up. Judging from the label I believe these are from the 60's or 70's.

Some friends of ours have been hosting an annual 4th of July party. They have a great old home. Here's a pic from the realtor when they bought it a few years ago. They live a few blocks away from the Missouri River. We can sit on the hill of their front yard and watch the fireworks.

These are pics of their home from 2 years ago. I love their kitchen! It was like that when they moved in...sans all the party paraphernalia of course, lol! They get quite a house full.

Here is their back yard. Isn't this wisteria AMAZING! Rue, this is just what you need over your pergola at the Williams house! Unfortunately, I've never been here to see it bloom~ I'm sure it's spectacular.
The home still has the orginal slate roof.
I love this gate.

See that big tree haning over the roof of the garage? It's a Holly tree! It must be a zillion years old. Just covered with berries in the winter; gorgeous!! Here are the kiddos running through the smoke bomb funk, phew!
At last it was time for fireworks! I didn't get any pictures, but this is picture is from the parade last week. This is how Nova was during the fireworks, eyes tightly shut plus tears. I don't know what was different this year but he was affraid of the sirens at the parade, and fireworks too. He loved them last year! So we sat inside the house and watched from there. At least he had fun playing outside pre-fireworks!

SEE? He was amazed by the fireworks last year. We'll have to see what happens next July 4th. Yesterday Kevin took him fishing for the first time. They had a blast. Today they'll probably go swimming while I paint more beadboard for the bathroom.

And before I go, here's a closeup of the hair. This was after we got home tho, and I was tired! I've cut bangs so I did them "mall" style as I didn't want a weenie roll and my bangs don't hold curl well.

And I am so excited that at least one of you was inspired and tried the 'do! The lovely Mamselle Duroc at Classic Vintage Beauty. Isn't she a doll?

FABULOUS FLAG-FLYING FOURTH~

Hosted by Kari and Kijsa! Be sure to stop by their blog and visit the other flag flyers!

What can I say, I get choked up when I sing the National Anthem with my hand over my heart. Or when participants were holding Old Glory while walking in the town parade the other day. And especially when I see a child waving a flag with pride.

So I hope you don't mind, I got rather carried away with this post!

Here is our freshly painted home, ready for the 4th! You can see before pictures here, along with my favorite patriotic vintage dress.

I put this throw on the loveseat as it has a big patriotic shoe on it!

Here's Kevin teaching Nova to bring the flag in at night.
My favorite window cling, which has seen better days. It's starting to crack up in places. : (

Cool tray I picked up for just $1.00!

Here we have a collection of vintage things... A Betsy Ross print, strawberry and velvet hat, jewelry set, gloves, (which go with my Scarlett O'Hara party gown!), a rabbit fur from an old coat, etc...

How about a little patriotic Chrsitmas in July?

This is a tree I put up our first year in this house. We put it in the office upstairs, as we had the downstairs all torn up. I had family serving in Iraq and thought this would be a nice way to support them and our troops at Christmas time. The ornies were hung with yellow ribbon. The whole shebang probably cost around $50 including the white tree. I had a lot fun with it, and made sure all of my Christmas wrap was red, white, blue.

You can see more pictures of my patriotic Christmas here.

Here's a flag pillow in Nova's room~

Oh! And this fabulous vintage table and chairs set that was already painted for only $70!! Nova likes to have tea with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. (this pic is from when I had just brought it home)

As for me and my family, we are proud to be Amercians.

And I'll leave you with this~Happy Independence Day everyone!

Tales of a shoe hoarder... Episode Three

Hello all! Today I'm going to share the pair of shoes that I wore to the Porch Party hosted by Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses.

They are espdadrilles with navy and red stripes. I think I paid around $5 on ebay and they are Victoria's Secret brand. I love they way they go with this vintage 50's sailor style dress. I got that on the bay as well, under $15. Looks to be hand made, zips up the side. The original belt was missing so I just use red grossgrain ribbon. It is so fun to dress patriotic! The collar on this dress is so cute.Here are my earrings~ They are vintage and belonged to my Great Aunt Maudie. I have loved these since I was about 13~ the little red, white, and blue beads are too cute inside the heart.