Fruit Pizza

For July 4th, I decided to make a fruit pizza. I have made them before, but it has been years. It was so delicious and has become one of our favorite things. Troy talks about it all the time and always asks me to make another one! They are super easy too---just roll out sugar cookie dough into a big circle and bake. Make the "sauce" from cream cheese (I used fat free and it tasted just as good) mixed with sugar and vanilla to taste, and then top with your favorite fruit. Chill for a few hours until it is cold and then enjoy!

Greenville

Troy and I were able to go to Greenville a few weeks ago. We have been a few times before, and I have to say this is one of my favorite cities. I love everything about it! Troy had a certification class on a Saturday from 8-5, so we went up Friday night. We got a great deal on a hotel that was super nice with a separate "living area" (I love staying in hotels--I'm a little weird like that!)

The next day I dropped him off and went exploring by myself. I went downtown to hang out. They have such a beautiful downtown--lots of trees and pretty architecture, and lots of family friendly stores and restaurants. I went to the Farmer's Market they had that morning and got a few things. I got blueberries, corn, beans, and a loaf of Great Harvest bread (the best bread in the world. I wish they had one here). I was really excited to have a great meal, but sadly, the beans were awful and the corn was just okay. Oh well. They had 3 girls playing music in the middle of the market. I sat down for a while and listened and just enjoyed the atmosphere.

Then I wandered over to the park in the middle of downtown. It is beautiful! I could have spent all day at the park. We had a great time and I can't wait until we can go back to Greenville.

Spray Paint is My New Best Friend

So I just recently discovered my love of spray paint--especially oil rubbed bronze spray paint. I have used it before to paint shelves, frames, etc., but you can use it on so much more. I am using it all over my house. Here are 2 of my projects. I will post more projects later. When we put in our chandelier, the ceiling was damaged around the hole and the top did not cover it. We went to Lowes and picked up a small, white ceiling medallion. I spray painted it with my oil rubbed bronze and then we put it up. I think it looks great--it blends in well and you don't even know it is not part of the chandelier.

Another project is my outdoor lights. The ones I really wanted were about $50. I need 6 lights, so that was not gonna happen! I found these lights that were $12.50 each--a much better option. I don't like them near as much, but they still look nice. When I bought them they were this cheap looking aluminum things. I spray painted them, again with my oil rubbed bronze, and they turned out great. Here is the before and after:

Much Needed Before and After Photos

It has been way to long since I have put any pictures of the house on here. This is one of the most exciting transformations. We got new siding on the house! We had to do it--not only because it was this hideous blue color, but the old wood was rotting.

Here is the before:

And the after: (note: this was taken right after the siding was finished, so the garage doors are still blue here...they will not stay like that! Also notice the beautiful new front porch my dad built....love it!)

California

At the end of March, Troy and I were able to go out to California. Becky and Darren bought a house and they are trying to fix it up, so Troy went out to help them with hardwood floors. They turned out awesome. Their house is very spacious and is really nice. They also have great outdoor space. They had a few different decks and patios, as well as some nice garden space. Becky has a few fruit trees, including an orange tree. It had delicious fruit. California has such a nice climate, that you can grow a wide variety of fruits and veggies. Also this time of year was so green and lush. They whole place was beautiful. Troy and I went to San Francisco one day and it was soooo busy! I was sad to see most of the sea lions were gone. Normally there are hundreds hanging around and they are very entertaining. For a few months this year most of them disappeared, but I hear they are all back now. While we were out there, most of my family was able to come to Becky's house. Only Paul and his family were missing and we missed them. We had such a great time just being together and of course taking the boys to the parks--they had a blast!

October 2009--Just a little late!

So, I know these are a little bit late--only about 5 months or so! I was looking through my pictures today and have never put these up, but they are so fun. We went with the Lerch's to pick apples in Ellijay in October. We had such a good time. It was a little rainy that weekend, but that didn't stop us. We stopped in Dahlonega and walked around the town. It was adorable! They had a cute little town square and the best shops ever.

After we left, we stopped at this great pumpkin farm. It was huge and had tons of pumpkins of all sizes. They had itty bitty ones all the way up to huge monsters. They also had a lot of activities and food. It was fun to spend a little time here looking at everything they had.

We finally got to Ellijay and went to Hillcrest farms. They had a big festival going on, which included pig races. Of course we had to stop and watch the pig races! That was interesting, but kind of funny. We finally went out to the fields to get some apples. They were so juciy and delicious. We didn't get a ton of them, but we got enough to make delicious apple pie and apple cider. I had such a good time. I am definitely going back this fall.

Swagbucks

Have you heard of swagbucks? It is a search engine that you can earn points on and then redeem your points for rewards. Right now I have enough points for a $5 Amazon gift card. I have been slow earning points because I tend to forget about it, but now I have put a search toolbar on my computer so I use that instead of google. There are also other ways to win--they send out codes on their blog and facebook page and all. Check it out here: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/kborup. Hopefully I can earn enough points to get something cool. Copy and paste the link to sign up and you can start earning points too! Also, I put a widget on the side so you can click that too!