Message from Tag

What are you looking at? Do you think I'm cute? You bet I am. 

But let me show you something...

Sharp. Very very sharp. Mess with me and I'll show you just how sharp they are. Steal my squeaky duck, hippo, bone, treats, or anything else which is mine and I'll show you. Which also pretty much entails everything in the house because I run the show. Okay, not really. I haven't been able to sleep in the bed yet even though I've heard mom ask dad about every night to let me stay. Also I know you may be thinking that it isn't right that I'm chewing on a shoe but, mom says I can. Only these black rubber ones though. She keeps all the other ones kept away. So basically I don't run the show but I sure try.

Also, mom and dad have tackled the ant situation for us and now we are one big happy family and I can poo in the yard where I please. I think she was afraid to say anything in case they came creeping back in. Did you know I hate the rain. Seriously you try squatting on wet grass and see if you like it, you wont.

So you'll get a kick out of this, I heard mom mumbling to herself the other day when she was sewing (in between belting out T Swift) that she should go on Project Runway. Is she kidding? So big deal, she has made two aprons and working on a third and fancy pants here thinks she can go on tv. 

I sleep on her feet making it hard for her to get anything done or dig in the trash, pull stuff off the shelf and try to chew the cord to the iron. I'm trying to teach her that it's always snuggle time unless its play time or meal time. 

She keeps saying that my aunt loves me but I've never met an aunt. The only ant I know are the two that bit me on my underside near my sensitive area. TMI?.. it's okay, I'm sure thats probably been blabbed already anyway.. Maybe this week we can facetime and I'll meet her.

Well I gotta get in on this prime-time snuggle fest. Dad just asked mom to watch a movie which means maybe... they will fall asleep and I get to camp out in bed. Wishful thinking. Don't forget, be good this week or I'll sharpen my teeth on your ankle bones.

TAG

Anthropologie Inspired

Confession. I've been into Anthropologie twice in my life. I realize walking into their store is like walking in a dream. When it comes to forking over the high dollar though, I'm not your girl. There are occasions when I don't mind to spend a little more but typically if I have the choice, I'll choose the less expensive route so that I can spend a little more on my beloved fabrics. When I moved back south, I left my box of fabric at my parents to get on the next trip. It was either pack the fabric or pack a puppy. No brainer. 

Anyway, I was thrilled (enter real life squeal here) to pick up some fabric earlier this week to start on a project that was inspired from the goodness that is Anthropologie. Have you seen this apron floating around on Pinterest? I have and I fell in love when I first laid my eyes upon it. 

Source: m.anthropologie.com via Samantha on Pinterest

I took matters into my own hand. I created from scratch my very own Anthropologie inspired apron. I used what sewing skills my mom has taught me and what I've taught myself, made a few subtle design changes and an afternoon later I had this.

This describes my little pup so well. He is almost always at my side. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I can't tell you the joy creating brings me. The last two days I have been sitting at my computer doing lessons of real estate continuing education to renew my salesperson license. Ugh, all I want to do is sew and I plan too all weekend!  

LD

Craft Room Transformation

I have been working hard and am so excited to finally have a space to create in our home! It was more work than I thought but I'm just glad now I have a place, that isn't our dinning room table, to sew. We had been using this room for storage as well so all of those things got shoved into the other spare room. You can't even walk in the door of that room it's a disaster and a project for another week, month, or maybe next year.

These curtains became my drop cloth. They are a tad outdated and I'm hoping to sew up something new. There was also some water stains around the window frame and lots of nail holes in the wall to patch. 

This is the wallboard I was telling you that I was eager to paint.

It took me forever to pick out paint color at Lowes' and I had intended to add an accent stripe. By the time I painted two coats of Behr 3-in-1 in Navajo Sand I decided that an extra stripe can wait. Do you see the vertical seam strips? I had to trim around each one of those. Then there is no trim around the floor so I had to make sure not to get it on the carpet. The paint job was more tedious that I thought.

Then I had to organize my junk. I think I have every possible craft supply known to man. I intended to find a good flea market desk to makeover for this room but I decided to try and use what I had and it worked out better than I thought. The only thing that bugs me a little bit is all the storage boxes under my desk, for now I'll manage. 

It's so much brighter and organized than before. I can't believe I finally have my own little corner. Last year I would sprawl out all over the living room and dining room leaving scraps of fabric and thread everywhere. I love escaping to my little room and it's even more special when my pup curls up beneath my feet. I've been looking for some fun prints and pictures to frame to put above my desk. Maybe even a pair of giant vintage scissors or other fun sewing supplies.

So there we have it the Lauren Darling's office. What do you think?

LD

Delicate Grace

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration. Hummingbirds open our eyes to the wonder of the world and inspire us to open our hearts to loved ones and friends. Like a hummingbird, we aspire to hover and to savor each moment as it passes, embrace all that life has to offer and to celebrate the joy of everyday. The hummingbird’s delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life’s sweetest creation. - Papyrus

Last night, Brandon and I visited a friend of his families for dinner. On their front porch they have six hummingbird feeders just like the one shown in this photo. Have you ever been in the presence of over 25 hummingbirds? It was a gift, truly a blessing. There could have well been as many as 50 or 60 birds there were to many to count. Brandon and I sat on their porch swing listening to them tell stories competing with the sounds of the birds.

I think we both left feeling refreshed and rejuvenated about life. It took the simplicity of the moments we got to experience together with good company to remind us how simple life can be. 

I want to be like a hummingbird!

LD

Ants In My Pants

I'm about to cover a lot of ground so if you're not in the mood for a lengthy post or don't care to know what shenanigans we've been up to then this post is NOT for you. That being said, is it to early to say I miss the crazy baseball season? I don't actually, just kidding, but this past week here at home has been more stressful than I thought it was going to be. 

Last October I moved to Alabama. Brandon has a place here, technically it is ours but I still find myself calling it his, so we have a place here in Alabama. It is an older mobile home with no basement or garage. It has been his bachelor pad for the past several years. Remember the camo? Before I moved in last year he put in new kitchen floors, a new refrigerator, stove, and painted the kitchen cabinets. He knew that those were a few of the things that I wanted to change and did them before we got married. Sweet isn't it? I was so grateful. Hello kitchen makeover that required almost zero work on my part. 

We attempted on several occasions to organize and merge our lives often resulting in frustration mostly stemming from wanting to do too much, too soon, in too little of time, and not having a lot of extra space. In the three months we spent at our home after the wedding we were swamped traveling and were never home for more than two weeks at a time. It was hectic. Not a lot got accomplished as far as merging our lives. Now we are back with more time than we have had together the past two off seasons to get our house together.

When we arrived, we found our humble abode had been invaded with ants. I guess they were throwing us a welcome home party. Our moving in was put on hold to tend to the situation. Everything ended up right inside the door until the house could be cleaned and prepped for us to be here. It was frustrating. We also had our new addition with us, one that need constant supervision during this puppy stage. The next four days we spent going through papers, trash,old clothes, the cabinets throwing out almost all the food the ants found, pretty much organizing the whole house except the two spare bedrooms. It was exhausting. 

In the mean time, I had also been attacked by ants. I have never been bitten by an ant before but, I can now say in the last week I have had NINE ant bites on my feet. Not only was I bitten, I'm pretty sure that I'm slightly allergic due to the swelling. I get bit when I take the dog out so from now on I try to wear boots to take him out. The itch drives me crazy. Needless to say, I HATE these stupid ants. Today my pest control man aka my husband put down some poison underneath our home so fingers crossed that will take care of them. At the moment, the kitchen I thought I had organized and put back together has all its items strewn across the counter, for the second time this week. Did you know ants love poptarts even when they are sealed in foil bags? They do. No more poptarts in this house.

Then we have had three plumbing issues, two leaky sinks, and a shower faucet that didn't work. Good thing my husband's best friend's dad is a plumber and took care of us. He takes carrot cake for payment which is awesome! I will gladly make carrot cake for late night house calls any day. Also in case you are wondering, it takes about an hour+ to grate enough baby carrots by hand for three cups. I kept wishing I had a food processor. The next day, I found one in our stack of wedding gifts that haven't been stored in our kitchen yet. For now I'll be thankful for that mini arm workout.

And since I haven't whined enough....all of this is going on with my six a.m.furry alarm clock going off. No, I'm not sleep deprived, we try to take daily naps on the couch even if it's for fifteen minutes. Then, I instagram a photo of this so you think all I've been doing is laying on the couch catching up on zzz's with my sweet pup instead of battling an army of ants and more.

Typically you'll find me with three spray bottles within arms reach. The first is pet friendly Hot Shot ant killing spray. The second is Natures Miracle no mark spray for little Tag's accidents. The third is Bitter Apple no chew spray so our furniture doesn't get chewed to pieces. Go on, come at me, I'm armed. 

Besides getting this antvasion under control, tomorrow I plan on redoing my sewing room. It's getting some fresh paint to cover up the floral  wallpapered wall board that comes in manufactured homes. I'm looking forward to working on some other fun house projects, hanging pictures, a kitchen gallery wall, making kitchen curtains, and also some fun fall decorations. 

{Deeeep breath} 

I feel married for the first time in ten and half months. It's harder than I thought, but... I'm super blessed because my level headed husband hasn't panicked once about any of it or complained when I ask him to fix or take care of something. He is good to me and brings me ice bags for my swollen itchy feet, sexy right? I can't begin to tell you everything he has done in the last week alone to help share these burdens of life.  I. Am. GRATEFUL! Plus at the end of the day when I can look past the stresses to see this, I know my life is pretty darn awesome, ants and all. 

Wow, glad that is all out. I seriously miss blogging so much. Not just writing here, but reading others too. I'm sorry you had to listen to this major vent session so thank you if you're still with me. I already feel better just sharing with you. Hopefully the coming weeks will slow down and I'll be able to get back posting about more fun things like my sewing room redo, cute puppy pictures, recipes, and a whole lot more of our life in the south. I'm excited thinking about it!! Oh speaking of cute puppy pictures... I can't resist. 

LD

TAG!

Hi, Tag here. My mom obviously has been slacking on her blog. I offered to take over some of the duties until she can get it together. But before we go any further let me tell ya bout myself. My name is Tag Dickson. My birthday is July 12, 2012 so that makes me 59 days young. They say I'm sable colored but you can just say teddy bear brown, easy enough right. I weigh a whopping 1.5 lbs and stand about six inches tall. I'm little but you'll love me. 

first car ride with new family

I first met my new mom and dad on a rainy Thursday afternoon. There was loud noises and bright flashes in the sky. My three brothers and I were getting soaking wet while they were oohing and ahhing over us. She picked me up, looked me in the eye, then turned to the man and with a pitiful face she said, "I want this one!" 

I was pumped because I was cold, shivering, and a little wet when she wrapped me in the snuggest of blankets. What I didn't know was I was about to leave my little brothers. I miss them a lot but boy oh boy have I gotten a lotta love in the last four days. Then we hopped in 'big blue' and rode for what seemed a really long time. The sun came out and she cuddled me the entire trip home. When she wasn't cuddling me she kept taking pictures of me. Just wait and see I'm sure I've been posted up all over the interweb by now. She and my dad kept throwing out name after name but none of them sounded right, seriously I could have been called Pickles, they actually said that, they were getting ridiculous. I tuned them out and snoozed. I love napping, I hope they are okay with that.

cuddles with mom // napping with dad

I'm pretty sure my mom and dad have never owned a puppy before. I'll just go ahead and say that I am a really really good one for them to start with and that I'll forgive them for the mistakes they make. I have peed on the floor just a few times but they didn't get mad. Actually, I'm just going to go ahead and say it, I haven't had many accidents at all, except a funny one I'll get to in a sec. Mom is really on top of taking me outside. She is so thoughtful, or crazy, she puts a red jacket on me in the mornings so I don't get cold in the dewy grass. I think my celebrity doppelganger is Alvin the chipmunk when I'm sporting my snazzy jacket. I'm sure she will show you that eventually. 

We had a great first night. I slept soundly in my cage and I woke mom up at six a.m. I think she tells you all that she isn't a morning person and sleeps past 11 most days, but I'm here to change that. I don't love that box thing, they call it a kennel, why get fancy its a cage and I know it. I know it's for my own good and won't have to always sleep in it. It's kinda nice in there she can't snap any photos. Can you say paparazzi. I try to eat that stupid phone. She doesn't let me.

There was lots of commotion on Saturday, they kept making trips in and out of the house carrying stuff and talking about a place called Alabama. I now know what, or where, Alabama is and I think I'm gonna like it okay. It was a long car ride. I slept most the way, then they tried to see how long I could hold it so I taught them a quick lesson in puppy bladders. They are small and when you gotta go you gotta go. I went. I peed right on my moms lap on my fuzzy blanket. She wasn't mad and Dad just laughed and laughed. He laughs a lot, I think he likes me. 

helping mom pack

So they tell me this is home for now. After all the traveling I'm excited to stay in one place, and I think I heard my mom and dad say they are glad too. I'm gonna go find a lap to curl up on now so I'll talk to you all again real soon because I'm sure mom is going to continue slacking. I know she is so happy though she tells dad how much she loves me bout 800 times a day. I'll do my best to keep her happy. 

Much love my new friends,

Tag