And We Have Our First Winner...

Yes sireee everyone! If you remember, last week I had my very first Give-Away and to enter you had to be subscribed to my blog. I also offered extra entries by following and liking my Instagram and/or Facebook page. Regardless, you still have to be one of my wonderful subscribers to win...and what did one lucky person win?

This seriously cute wooden purse of Norma Jean herself and a lovely book of Simple Words of Wisdom-52 Virtues for Every Woman...I didn't even realize there could be that many virtues lol. That's one virtue a week I would need to work on...🤭

Well...maybe I'm more like Marilyn Monroe than I thought! It was a busy week and weekend last week and I was suppose to contact the winner Friday night, but as you'll soon read, I just didn't get the chance to email her. I did have the random drawing Friday at like 12:05 pm because the deadline was noon and I didn't want someone 'slippin through the cracks' and getting an entry in. And who was the random chosen winner? Without further ado, let's all congratulate....

Susan B. from Massachusetts 🏆🎉 Yeh for Susan!!! I emailed her to let her know she was randomly chosen and to get her mailing address. She was quick to reply and shocked she won! She said she hasn't won anything in a while except a $5 lottery ticket just to turn around and lose it on another ticket! That right there is my luck! Well, Susan this is your lucky week! Your patience (virtue #1) has paid off! And now you only have to learn the other 51 virtues! 😂😂 Your package will be going out this week via USPS and I hope you enjoy it! For those who didn't win, don't worry, the garage sale season is young and I can't wait to do this again!😍

And that brings me to garage sales...So, I know I mentioned in a prior post or two that we were going to be participating in a community garage sale. Well, it was held this past weekend and for the past few weeks I have been scouring our house for items I was okay to part with. It was difficult, it really was. I mean, the scouring wasn't difficult, it was the parting with that was difficult! Of course a certain somebody wouldn't have had such a difficult time, but for me, it was hard. I mean, I don't buy something so that I can sell it. I buy it to use! Some things are seasonal as well. I guess it doesn't help that I have found myself having several collections going on or the fact that I like pretty things or that we have three children that will EVENTUALLY have their own place! In a few week's time I found so many items that I truly had forgotten about. I had valances, shams, lamps (yes lamps!! Lol) kids' video games, coats, shoes, baskets, wall hangings, and so much more! The funniest thing happened when Bill and I were cleaning the basement. We found a cappuccino machine. He just gave me the "what the..." look and I was honestly shocked. I didn't even remember having it let alone remember where it came from. Then it sssslllooowwwlly came back to me when he said, "did you get this at some garage sale?"...🤭 Ummmm I did! It was brand new in the box with styrofoam keeping it in its place! Well, I put it away and completely forgot about it! It even came with a VHS tape so you can learn to use it!😂😂 Well, I obviously wasn't going to learn because I don't have a VHS player! So without so much as a 'should we keep it' discussion, he put it in the "LET IT GO 🎶, LET IT GO🎵" pile. So Thursday, after borrowing a few tables from my friend (thanks FRIEND!!) I set out to create a Garage Sale display to attract the pickiest of buyers. There was, however, one thing that bothered me...and that was the fact that I wouldn't be able to do any treasure hunting/shopping since I had to work the sale! Fortunately for me, I remember the community yard sale was actually taking place Thursday thru Sunday, which meant being that it was Thursday, I could get out there and beat some of the weekend shoppers! Bill, who took off work Friday, (Thank the Lord above!) and I were only going to open up our sale Friday and Saturday so prior to setting up I headed out. And wouldn't you know it, BOOM, I found something! And thank God I did because if I hadn't, I would have been very displeased over the fact that I was probably missing one of the best sales ever because Bill chose to sell all my good stuff! Lol, not true, it was my idea to participate. So what treasure did I find you ask? This!

AND THESE!

And before you go and say exactly what a certain 'somebody' said when HE saw them, which was, "...oh great, more mugs," just look how cute they all are. PARIS and LONDON, these are my bucket list PHYSICAL reminders ☺️ and the identical tea cups; with a pocket to set your tea bag in when it's finished steeping. UNLESS of course you are my daughter who seriously (you really have to know her) thought OUT LOUD that it was a 'snack compartment'. Bill, with brows shaking up and down real fast, and with a clever tone, stated he thought it was for a 'crumpet'...come to find out from one of my British pen pals (Hi Lesley!), "a Yorkshire man would say it's for your biscuit!" OMG Bill must be from Yorkshire! He's British and I didn't even know it! Regardless how you want to use the little pocket, these mugs have a new home😌

After getting home and getting all the items collected from all over the house (I had a pile here and a pile there and a ton in the basement) and getting the display ready so all we had to do was open the garage door, I was zonked...and guess who couldn't sleep? This girl! As bad as I didn't want to get rid of anything, I wanted to get rid of all of it so I could fund some future projects! Bill and the dog were up bright and early and had coffee going and I had bought donuts Thursday so we could have some quick finger food loaded with an immense amount of sugar to get us pumped! And pumped we were! The sun was shining, the breeze was subtle, and the crowds were forming! We hauled our tables around to form a U shape into our garage. Kept for a nice flow in and out as people were buying our treasures left and right. Even the cappuccino maker went! I felt like we had something for everyone. Friday we closed up around noon because we were starving and I have to say, we did very well. So well I went back in the house Friday night to see what else I could sell because I felt like we didn't have much left! Saturday (which was much colder) we moved all the tables outside and bargained with the best of them. Items I thought would sell fast didn't and items I thought no one in the world would want left the house first! But, at 1:00 pm, after watching potential car accident after potential car accident form in our tiny little cul-de-sac, we closed up shop with probably less than 10 items that didn't sell. We were finished, we were freezing, and we were starving! All in all our house and garage received a good clean up and we made money! Sunday meant relax, but I honestly don't know that last time Bill got to relax. (yes I do, his birthday weekend😉) But these past couple of weeks have really taken a toll on his sanity so to show some appreciation I decided to bake him a cake (Lemon cake with lemon curd filling and homemade orange cream cheese frosting)...his dessert after a much needed Ribeye dinner!

So what next? Oh the list is sooooo long. Bill and I keep coming up with things that need to be done around the house and I keep coming up with things I want to change or add to the house and the garage sale has just encouraged me to give in and do something I debated on for a few months now. (more on that later) With the weather skipping Spring and heading into Summer now, outdoor projects are well underway. Bill is finishing up on a yard one and I hope to post pics next week☺️ Last weekend (the weekend before the garage sale) we headed out to our home and garden store and I saw this:

No, I don't mean those men! I mean all those flowers and shrubs! I just wanted to stay and walk around and look at all the flowers and come up with places to put more trees and shrubs and plants; it was like Disney for me😂 We were there getting the supplies for our newest project, but all this made me want to get on Pinterest! However, remember my little greenhouse of seeds I started? Today I started to harden off the vegetables and herbs to get them ready for the garden. I'm so excited! Organic veggies! This doesn't include the flowers I have going. I've had to replant so many into bigger containers!

I need warm weather to stay consistent so I can get everything in the ground! Right now I have Forget Me Nots, phlox, bleeding hearts, and azaleas blooming as well as hostas that have made or are making their way up out of the ground -I PRAY the deer don't eat them like last year. With the new puppy, I'm hoping her "scent" keeps them away! I've also noticed so many birds building nests and finding mates 😍 Mr. and Mrs. Robin have decided on our Bartlett pear tree this year. And we have another robin nest in our climbing rose!

Chickadees have taken to a nest box on our arbor ☺️ At first I saw a little woodpecker go in, but I think it was immediately forced out lol

Oh, and before I forget, the boys are back! Yes, the male hummingbirds have arrived and Bill and I got to see our first one of the season just a couple of days ago. He was pretty big, too. So, if you haven't already, clean your hummingbird feeders, set them out, clean out bird boxes, and now is a great time to clean all your feeders for the season as well. I hope you get to enjoy some outdoor time before all the humidity arrives. Right now I'm really lookin forward to having many breakfasts outside and seeing/feeling the sunrise...hello Spring!

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