goody goody gumdrops

a BEAUTIFUL yellow finch was feeding at my neighbor's bird feeder the other day, but he didn't like me taking pictures of him (the bird, not my neighbor haha)...

I had to hide around the corner just to try to get a close-up... he was the brightest yellow!

recent thrift finds...

a metal Thermos and pretty mason jar

(p.s. those flowers...errr weeds... smell like fruity bubblegum)

Pretty Vito

Where's Vito?

There he is.......

Hi Vito.

Hunter and I FINALLY bought a piece of furniture for our room!

My sister said it would have easily cost $1,000 at Restoration Hardware...

But we paid $50 for it at GoodWill :)

I love Dogwood trees! They're my absolute favorite and my neighborhood has TONS of them!

My father-in-law is AMAZING. Check out this incredible video from his CCM days! The other artist in the video is Geoff Moore. I had NO idea Geoff Moore once did music like this. Anyways, it's a VS. video.... the trophy definitely goes to Papa Lamb! haha!! Enjoy :)

I had an interesting revelation this morning. It was nothing that's going to profoundly change my life or be some significant mark that explains why I am the way I am.... it was just comforting.

For a while- we're talking around the 6th grade through recent years- I denied enjoying country music (don't continue reading if you don't give a lick about the genre or my revelation, haha!) Hunter would walk in the room to me watching CMT and try to change the channel, causing me to get upset. He would question why I even wanted to watch it if I disliked the music as much as I claimed I did. And you know, when I became a teenager, country music honestly went down hill. For the most part, I can't stand modern country. I would have to say late 80's, early 90's country is what gets me. But I recently bought Lady Antebellum's latest album and was listening to it this morning while driving Kasen to school. I thought "there is just something so soothing to me about good country...." So that got me thinking!

I've been through a lot of crud in the short 25 years that I've been alive- too much to explain- but just trust me. A LOT. I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama and, believe it or not, used to have buck teeth and talk real southern. My family listened to all kinds of music, but I think our bond was country music. Hal Ketchum, Mary Chapin Carpenter, The Judds, Alison Krauss (before she lost a bajillion pounds) Brooks and Dunn, The Mavericks... In the summer, my sisters and I would play for hours in our backyard with a water hose and a radio blasting country music. When a good country song would come on the radio, that was the only time I'd hear my mom sing and it made us so happy that we would all sing. I remember this one song my dad loved and always said it was written about my mom called "She don't know she's beautiful" by Sammy Kershaw. I also remember driving to the lake with my dad and sisters and feeling so happy when Alabama's "Born country" came on the radio....

Good country brings me back to a place when everything felt ok. Because it made me happy when I was younger, hearing it now makes me feel safe and gives me peace. Isn't that so strange? You would never look at me and think "I bet that girl listens to country music" and really, I don't. If I hear an old song from my childhood on the radio, it makes me so happy. And once in a blue moon, an artist or a band will come out with a song that somewhat resembles the way country used to be and I'll cling to it. I think everyone has something that connects them to the past, whether it's good or bad, and well... there ya go. Country is mine.

Here's to my childhood!

Orange Beach

Hunter and I got back a couple days ago from Orange Beach. Though it was only for a few days, it was the perfect little get away. We really needed to escape together and that's exactly what it was- an escape. We had such a good time! I love my husband so much- he's the bestest best friend I could ever ask for and we really had fun together on this trip. We laughed a lot together, ate some amazing food together and purely enjoyed each other's company.

This is our pretty little room.

The waves were pretty choppy. I wish you could have seen how bad this boat was rocking!

My prince :)

We took a walk and came across this HUGE jellyfish. Some kids were trying to scoop it up to put it back in the ocean... uuuhhh. That thing could kill someone.

When I think about it, I really believe that God designed this place we call the beach for His children. He knew we would need vacations :)

The sleeping beauty (I'm pretty sure this is when the sun rays decided to deep fry him)

Our pool deck was built on top of the water. It was cool!

Hunter found a stick. Isn't he cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute?

Jello wrestling??? Come on, people. This is sad.

"Tick tock, tick tock..." this is the alligator that gave captain Hook his name... not really.

Eatin' some fried gator bites. I was all excited to try these... and then I bit into one. All I could think was "Don't show Hunter the 8 year old Heather... Don't show Hunter the 8 year old Heather..." It took everything in me not to gag and embarrass him the way I used to do my family!! Haha. The texture was horrible and they tasted the way a lake smells... BUT Hunter liked them. Good thing we didn't waste our money :)

This is The Oyster House. So pretty! (Don't order the gator bites...)

This is a gummi bear on a stick that cost 12.99. No thank you.

I couldn't wait to take Hunter to Souvenir City! I've been coming here since I was a little kid!

OOOOOKKKKK so the day we left, we were going to eat at this place called Lambert's b/c it was on the Food Network. But the line was insane, so we went to a cajun bistro down the street. BEST FOOD we ate all trip. This po boy literally brought tears to my eyes. It brought my taste buds back to the very first time I ate a shrimp po boy in New Orleans. You just can't get them like you can in Louisiana. Since we moved from Louisiana, I've had a lot of po boys, but none compared to the ones in New Orleans. BUT THIS ONE, oh man. It was pretty much perfection.

Hunter asked for some hot sauce. This is what they brought. This is his vision of heaven.

If you're ever in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach/Foley Alabama..... go to Les Roux!!

There are some funny zoo pictures I still need to post.... at least.... I think they're funny.....

Hunter and I just got back from Orange Beach on thursday and I have lots of fun pictures to post later on. This is just a glimpse of the fun we had!

This is a bird from the zoo I named Old Gregg. Notice his distorted beak. He just kept staring at me as if he were saying "What are you doin' in muh waters?" Even though I could only assume that if I stuck my finger in his cage he would bite it off, I loved him.

We recently got a 2nd letter complaining about Vito being an outdoor cat. Apparently he is digging in homeowner's mulch beds.... isn't mulch made of poop anyways? And since Vito sheds such an ungodly amount of hair, Hunter and I have been really strict on him about being on the furniture.... so this is Vito agonizing over having to stay inside and not being able to lay where he pleases.... don't you love my big fat finger pointing to him? I'm not tantalizing him.... I promise.

He is rather upset about it all.....

I've been hearing this song a lot lately and just found out that Lady Antebellum sings it! (Amy and Erin.... please remember my excited response when you guys told me it was them!) I love this band- IN FACT- I think they're probably the best band in today's country music industry. Hillary Scott is sooo unbelievably gorgeous in this video, too. I need to look like her... anyways! This is a cute lil video :)