LOMA-green with envy!

My dear friend Laura, a.k.a. LOMA, used this 1920's chest as her class treasure chest last year. It's truly massive and was completely broken on the inside from her kids. She begged for someone to take it and although I loved it and saw its hidden potential--I didn't know if it was fixable. Nope, I didn't do any of the work, just told Dad what I envisioned and here it is. Bare with me, we are researching hardware for the front lock and it is drying in all these pictures but I am in LOVE with it! What we know:

*it had a signature MS on the inside, beneath all the wallpaper-like material to keep the clothes clean

*it's built around 1920 or slightly before due to the fact that the nails are all hand made and square (rarity)

*it was made using the same pieces of 12 inch planed wood which we do not do anymore. My daddy is the best! Here are a few pictures. It will go in my next house as a coffee table along with all my other antiques. Sorry, no picture on the inside yet, but dad restored all the inside wood too and made a pull out shelf for extra storage.

Check it out!

I have been really bad at blogging lately...so if you want to hear all about my girls weekend and see the pictures please visit moskemonkeybusiness.blogspot.com where Sister Sarah posted about EVERY picture, with captions I might add, about our wonderful weekend.

Take me home, country road!

Last weekend Steven went out of town for business and Zane and I took a country drive. We're still looking for our land and went to Leiper's Fork to drive and relax. I know that sounds lame, but a coffee in hand, windows down, and cool crisp air makes me SO happy! I don't know if you can tell but I am taking a picture of my rear view mirror as we leave the subdivision because Z always sticks his head out. Yes, I know, no texting and driving and NO pictures while driving but I couldn't help it. Here's a few of my favorite things along the way...

Sorry, this one wouldn't rotate. I love the open road!

This horse and the ones not in the picture, were eating grass on the opposite side of the fence.

I love this historic home, valued at over a million...future neighbor? Ha, doubtful. Love all the surrounding land.

Home Sweet home. No sooner did we pull in the driveway and get in the house and we heard the garage door open again. This is Zane EVERYDAY...

Here, fishy fishy fishy!

Ok, about a month ago I posted on FB that I was looking for a gumball machine. I found it at the flea market of course, for 12$. I wanted to turn it into a fish tank. 1. Take out all the innards. 2. take the glass to a glass cutter and get a circular insert to go in the bottom. (where the gum would roll out). 3. Get aquarium sealer and seal the 2 pieces of glass together for 48 hours. Add water and let sit for 24 hours so it doesn't leak through the seal. 4. Find a fishy...and voila! A gumball machine fish bowl. I am taking him to school but for the past 2 weeks we've watched him in the kitchen. I am just getting around to blogging about him. Hey college girls, remember the trend? Aurelius Kimosabi Bean fish 1, 2, 3, hmmm....wonder what my school kids will name this one?

Where is the #1 Stunner?

....in Africa! This little chick spent the past 15+ hours flying to Africa to work with the Vanderbilt medical team as a nurse/OBGYN and help open a hospital in Botswana. My Stunner, a.k.a. Abigail, will be living and working in Botswana for the next year. I attended her going away party a few weekends ago in Atlanta and her hubby, Greg, finally sent me some of our pictures via his iphone. Let's just say, it was a crazy evening but I'm really glad I went. You too can follow her journey entitled Botswana Bound on the right hand side of my page. Stunner, we love and miss you and you will always be our "Miranda" and "Sabrina" the teenage witch! :o) (Ok, that was to make you get angry and scream hehe)

Cajun Steamer = yum!

Every other weekend Steven and I take turns selecting where to eat out. Yeah, two little oinkers, I know! Anyways, so this past weekend he picked the Cajun Steamer. If you haven't tried it, we highly suggest it. It's always packed and the food is so yummy. We invited my parents because they love seafood and Cajun cooking too. We heart that restaurant! (even though gator tail won over fried pickles as an appetizer)

Beating LOMA at her Menu Making!

Ok, so this weekend I went to Trader Joe's (fabulous place) and I planned all our meals for the next 2 weeks. This is my tentative menu, although we always eat out on the weekends. Oh, and most everything is gluten free too! woo-hoo
`Salmon stuffed with dill and shrimp
`chicken enchiladas with sauce, chips and salsa verde
`mandarin orange chicken, vegan fried veggie rice
`baked eggplant Parmesan, spaghetti sauce/Penne noodles and garlic bread (for Steven)
`breakfast for dinner! homemade waffles or pancakes, eggs and turkey bacon
`swordfish with baked potato and steamed veggies
`chicken verde burritos and blue chips & salsa
`flounder with crab meat stuffing and vegetables
`turkey burgers, skillet potatoes and onions or garlic fries
`chicken tenders and raspberry balsamic and candied pecan salads

I wrote all this to keep me accountable! This weekend we ate dinner at the Cajun Steamer-you know we love our seafood! Pictures and details coming--later!