Mother Daughter Day

We interrupt your regular planned vacation posts to inform you of awesome deals that I found this weekend with my mom while yard sale-ing. Now, while the rest of the finds were great, the last one was really the jackpot! Driving past the townhouse there were a few chairs and a bakers rack sitting outside. I told mom it was her call to go in or not (I'm so glad we did!) It took a little bit to take in the variety of stuff they had. Eventually more things I liked kept popping up. We ended up spending a good bit of time there. The sisters running it were all very sweet, making us a little (and by the end very large) pile so we could keep looking.

This 3-piece luggage set was the first thing I saw. I passed by it a few times without thinking much of it. When finally, the bag in the front really stood out. Since not being a winner in a recent Jo-Totes giveaway, and not having that much money to get the beautiful Gracie Mustard camera bag, to be able to find something pure vintage and in great condition, I couldn't resist. The sisters all gathered around to watch as I opened each piece, I just kept falling in love. They made me a great offer so I could get all 3 and keep them together. 

This is the key. Adorable right? 

 On the floor next to the luggage was a medium-sized box filled with cameras. While sifting through them (and knowing me) I couldn't not get all of them, even though I have a few of these models already. You can never have too many vintage cameras! Some have already found permanent places in the house, while the others were placed with the rest of my collection.

Birmingham Zoo

Compared to other Zoos I've been to, the Birmingham Zoo seemed to focus a lot on cats and birds (not saying I don't like either of those things). They classified the cats as "Predators" however I thought they were all adorable and wanted to take them home. 

My sister tried to get me to convince an employee to trade this adorable monkey for $20. Needless to say that employee thought we were bananas (Funny pun!)  

This peacock was the 1st thing we saw when we walked in, I adored it for 2 reasons : 1. It was a rebel and decided it wasn't meant to be in confined to one area 2. It matched my hair.

The only other Zoo that had a Red Panda was the Zoo in Atlanta, however when we'd gone they stayed hidden, so I was very glad that I was finally able to see them. Aren't they adorable?

Pre-Spring Break Road Trip

As some of you may know I recently went on vacation with my sister. We visited family, went antiquing and just explored new cities. Our first destination was Birmingham, Alabama where we went to the Birmingham Zoo and Botanical gardens.

Brittney and I made sure to stop at every welcome center we passed through. Alabama was the 1st state! 

We were so happy when we arrived at the Zoo! They had Red Pandas, lots of cats, and a ton of birds!

This is Leaf & Petal, an adorable plant/ gift shop. It was right before you walked into the Botanical gardens. I ended up getting quite a few things in here. I would live there if I could. 

Keep checking back. I'll be posting frequently. 

Lifestyle Photography

After reading so many inspirational blogs, and falling in love with their photos, I realized that even if I have my camera on me there are so many times I don't use it. I'm going to get myself out of that by really trying to capture my everyday life, the little things.

You had to have known my cats were included in this. Normally Boots is the one that doesn't want her picture take so I was super happy that, even though she took my spot, she looked up at me for this photo. 

Included in Lacey's gift were these super cute Disney World/ Disneyland magnets. I scrambled to find left over pictures to decorate our fridge with. Now I can remember our wonderful trip every time I walk into the kitchen.

My little 35-80mm I'm trying to use more. 

A friend like Lacey

I have the best "pinpal" in the world. This all started when I was having my "Disney blues" and found out there were people who would pin trade online, if you don't know pin trading is just one of the magical things Disney does, they release pins with everything Disney related which are both for sale and trade. Once at one of the parks you can trade a pin a cast member is wearing for one you already have. Fortunately for those who can't make it to Disney can still participate in pin trading with online traders, I have found traders on Instgram, but others go to Pinpics. Luckily my first pin trade has evolved into a great friendship. Lacey and I began trading in January and through the months have gone from just trading pins to sending Disney related goodies!  

Instructions left on the outside of the package. 

Some of the contents : A nice handwritten card with Mickey Mouse cut-outs!

All of the contents :  Aurora pins, different language maps, Disney magnets, and some other fun stuff!

 

 This is how my journal page turned out, using one of the envelopes as a pocket for the card. 

Birthday Weekend.

My Birthday was on Sunday (March 17th) and I had such a blast! It was so much fun it's going to have to be spaced out between blog posts! Lets start with Saturday.  Mack had been planning a surprise for a few weeks and I was determined to figure it out.  Luckily, after a few hours of driving, I was able to guess it. My favorite vacation spot (after Disney World of course) Gatlinburg, Tennessee! It was a 5 hour drive and we arrived a little after 10am. The day was free until 8 that night so we drove around and took in the mountain air. 

D.I.Y : Road Trip Journal Bags

Happy Friday everyone! I'm starting to pack for a road trip with my sister that's happening in a few weeks and one of the main things on my list to pack is my craft supplies. Since I've been so into journaling lately, I tried to find some "road trip journal cards" and thought, I don't mind buying some I just couldn't find what I was looking for. Then an idea popped in my head! I could make some myself! So here is a D.I.Y. for all of you : Road Trip Journal Bags!

This is what they'll look like when you're done

Okay! Since it's been forever since I've done a D.I.Y. I hope I get this right!

Supplies :

* Scissors

*An old map 

*Washi Tape

Optional - Paper trimmer (I'm terrible at cutting straight lines, this Westcott was a gift from Mack and there isn't a single project that I don't use it)

First : Cut the size map you want, keeping in mind you have to double the width since it'll be folded. I wasn't too picky about how large I wanted it to be.

Second : Pick your washi tape! This is the perfect project to break out your stash.

Third : Fold your map evenly in the back and tape it down with your washi tape. 

Finally : There are 2 ways you can do the bottom : Fold the bottom up just a bit (no more than 1/2 an inch) and tape it down OR don't fold it up and just tape it! 

Happy Crafting!