making it cute for less

A friend that I will not name (Angel) asked for any ideas on decorating for a baby shower. I asked her what she had in mind and when she replied, "Oh I don't know maybe a plastic table cloth and throw some confetti on it." I knew she was in trouble. I told her I would love to help and that I could do it for under $15, and most importantly save her house from confetti. She gave me all control and $14 later she was ready for the shower.

(I snapped these with my phone so they aren't the best)

(she hadn't placed the food, & cake yet

(these are ball jars that I had in my pantry with strips of material wrapped around them)

(during the shower the wagon held the silverware, plates & napkins)
(I spray painted the clothes pins pink for a little more color)
(I painted the wooden letters neutral so we could use them for other showers and just added the material for color and girly pink)
(I borrowed these stacking blocks from my boys to go on the table between the chairs where they opened the gifts)

(The greenery and tin are from IKEA that I added for color and feel and I coordinated the material around the tin to tie it in.)

Wooden Letters: $4
Ribbon: $2
material: $2

flowers: $4

spray paint: $2

total: $14.00

It has become an annual 4th of July event for the Davis family to have a shrimp boil. 4th of July is such a fun holiday for our family as we spend the time together at the lake. Several years ago I put myself in charge of making it look a little more festive. Of course the red, white and blue make the shrimp taste that much better, even if the rest of my family may not agree with me. This year I used a lot of what I had lying around. In all I only spent $13 (excluding the Jones soda). The main obstacle I had was needing to leave lots of space for the food. My family takes their shrimp seriously and do not want decorations in their way. Therefore this year I decided to make a banner that would be off the table and high enough to talk to the people in front of and around you without having to lean over table decor.

(the cutest little decoration )

Wooden Rods: $2

Metal Tins: $2

Snap n Pop, sparklers : $4

scrapbook paper for banner: $3

Ribbon: $1

Material $1

total: $13

To make things fun and cute you don't have to spend much. I always try to use things that I have first and then add in any extras. I try to work on these things while watching TV or in the car. It usually doesn't take long. It all depends on if my 2 little helpers are helping or if they are into something of their own. Either way it always gets done and makes the event a little more enjoyable.

Music to my ears

2 things I am not: Music guru, and computer savvy

However, I know people who are.

I have finally taken the time to add music to this blog. Everytime I make Scotty sit down and read it, he asks do you have music yet?

So now my answer can be YES!!!

Of course Wendy helped me add the playist to the blog (she is computer savvy).

Kristen is my music guru and she did most of the playlist except for a few songs I added in. I know she will get on here and check it out so I am anxious to see if she likes my add ins.

So Scotty enjoy the music!

(If you can't hear the music make sure your volume is up on your computer, and if it still isn't working scroll down to the playlist at the bottom of the blog and push play. Then enjoy the music)

Jekyll Island

Sometimes last minute vacations are the best and this was one of them. This was our first visit to Jekyll Island and we had a wonderful trip. Only 2 hours after arriving we were contemplating taking Knox to the ER for the huge knot and bruise on his head that he earned from the pool steps. Kase tried to show Knox up when he woke up with an infected eye. 2 visits to the dr., 1 shot, and 3 bottles of meds for Kase and his infection, and a box of band aids for the many cuts throughout the trip, I realized this is a normal life with 2 boys.
In between our dr. visits and craziness we found time to have fun. Jekyll Island had lots to offer and we took advantage.
A fun way to travel around the island was by renting "Red Bugs" they were electric cars that are legal on the roads in Georgia. Knox saw it and said, "golf cart."

Kase wanted to be the co-pilot. So I was booted in the back with Knox when he reached over and held my hand. I had to snap a picture it was such a sweet moment.

A very well known beach on Jekyll is Driftwood Beach. It was about 3 miles from us and it was so neat. I had never seen a beach like this before.

The boys loved climbing and playing on the driftwood. Boys of all ages that is.

This picture is special to me because this was the first day I had been able to pick up my boys in 6 weeks. This picture will always be a reminder of the blessings God has given me and how he has protected me.
I love his cheesy grin in this one.
Kase wasn't allowed to be in the pool or beach for a day. But we still enjoyed going shrimping on the Lady Jane.

Kase made a friend on the boat, Caroline. She was so cute.

He also became a photographer on the boat and he didn't do too bad.
This was the photo Kase took. He even made them get into character of a fish.
We went to the front of the boat to look for Dolphins. Brandon spotted them for us.
Kase and Aunt Wendy were counting all the jellyfish.



They offered everyone fresh shrimp that they caught that morning.
The boys weren't afraid to touch anything they brought out of the ocean. They did not get that from me! I stayed several feet away just in case something decided to jump. Knox enjoyed himself even if his face doesn't show it in this picture. He is holding a puffer fish.
Kase was proud to hold the hammer head shark.





What started out to be a fun time searching for sand dollars and playing on the beach of course turned into a competition of who could find the most sand dollars. To find the sand dollars you had to dig your fingers in the sand until you felt them and then dig them out. I am not saying this from experience because the first time I stuck my hand in the sand I felt something slimy move so I lost the competition really fast. My mom gave my dad a run for his money but in the end he beat her proudly.

Kase took his snacks seriously and was determined not to get his chips wet.

This picture shows how opposite my children are. Knox loved putting the sand on his leg and being dirty. He actually had a wet blob of sand sitting on his ear for hours and he could have cared less. Kase would have flipped.
We must have found over 100 sand dollars.

We also enjoyed eating seafood each night but one night we had a pizza picnic at the park with a little putt putt for the boys.

We decided Knox was a moving obstacle on the putt putt course. One that picks up your ball and runs to drop it in the hole. This made Kase crazy.

Dinner @ Latitude 31

The trees and the grounds were so pretty I wanted to get some pics of the boys.



The older boys went golfing and the younger boys and the girls went to St. Simons Island to a craft show at the park.



We also went to the sea turtle musuem to keep Kase busy so he wouldn't realize he wasn't at the beach or pool with everyone else. The sea turtles were about as much fun as they sound. But we tried.
Overall, it was a wonderful trip!