Happy Fourth of July!!!

Our town had it's first 4th of July parade this year and while it was small, it was still pretty neat!

We had Uncle Sam.....

which also is my picture of the week as the theme was patriotic!

James K. Polk, who lived in our town for a few years when he was collage age!

I love our downtown, and would not mind at all living in a place like this one day!

Mmm, fresh peaches from the farmers market, we also got some cherry lime and spicy caramel popcorn! 10lbs may not seem like much to carry, but the awkward way I had to carry the basket and the 1/2 mile back to the car it I'm pretty sure the basket gained a few pounds.....

My patriotic manicure!

Us kids got to set off some smoke bombs during a break in the rain midafternoon

Colleens first time lighting fireworks!

I told them to stand like cool ninjas.....

Megan, Shawn, Hannah and Lizzie got here around 1pm and I told Hannah to smile and she said, "Aunt TayTay, I make cheeeese!"

Brownie pie with toasted marshmallow icecream, it the perfect summer dessert!

The local fireworks show was still on in spite of the rain and it was a great show!

Hope your 4th of July went well and it was filled with food, friends, family and fun!

With laughter and love,

KatySue

Happy New Year!

Hehe, fantastically cheesy, right? I love it! =)

New years has has always been such a sparkly holiday to me. The party clothes, the drinks, the bubbly happy feeling you get staying up until midnight playing games, eating rich tasty food, the feeling of new beginnings and nostalgia (okay let it be duly noted I spelled nostalgia right the first try, booya!) 

Even though I have yet to go to a sequined covered, confetti throwing party, it's definitely on my bucket list.....as is kissing someone at midnight, cheesy and over done as that idea is, it's still something that makes me sigh with jealousy every time I see it in movies!  

These two are so adorable together and this song is fantastic. One of my favorite holiday songs and this is definitely my favorite version!

I will be ringing in the new year in classic Pillsbury clan style by eating Chinese take out (obviously, we are trying a new place, crossing my fingers that its good!) and playing games until midnight, when we will let the neighbors know just what they are getting into with us as neighbors by banging pots and pans and yelling HAPPY NEW YEAR at the top of our lungs! 

Shirt: Kohls, Skirt: made by me

Had to honor this sparkly holiday with sequins somewhere in the outfit!

Scarf: Santa, Earrings: Dress Barn

More on new years and resolutions and such in the next couple days, as I stick my toe into the world of vlogging! =)

Why Do I?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Many a person has asked what my fascination with Ireland came from and I can never rightly say! 

Was it the Ireland coffee table book filled with amazing pictures I got from a Pastors wife?

Was it the fact that I love faeries and legends and what place is more steeped with those things then Ireland??

Or maybe that they are deeply religious (Catholic and proud of it!) and still see the magic all around them?

The castles?

The cottages?

I most often tell people it was reading the book Scarlet, the sequel to Gone With the Wind. She spends about half the book in Ireland and while I was already fascinated by Ireland this book really jump started the obsession!

Whatever the reason I am wholeheartedly obsessed with the Emerald Isle and will hopefully one day get to experience this magical, fascinating land for myself!

Some of my favorite books on Ireland.....

This is my FAVORITE Irish author I would highly recommend all of her books! (and there are quite a few!)

Favorite Irish movies.....

A Shine of Rainbows

This being St. Patrick's week (What? You didn't think someone as obsessed with Ireland as I am would only celebrate St. Patrick's Day for one day, did you?) I decided to go ahead and watch this movie that had been lingering in my Netflix queue for awhile now! Added mostly because it took place in Ireland and I knew it even if the story was meh the scenery and accents would be worth it! No need to worry here though, the story was incredibly sweet! In addition, the costumes (and accents, but that goes without saying!) were AMAZING, especially Marie's, I loved her layering and use of color! =)

Here is a synopsis of the movie (stolen from Netflix because as my teachers (Mom and otherwise) will tell you, my book reports tended to be longer then the actual books, summarizing is not a strong suit of mine!)

Ostracized 8-year-old orphan Tomás (John Bell) finds his colorless life transformed after spirited Maire (Connie Nielsen) adopts him and instills in him the confidence to make friends -- and magic -- in this inspirational Irish tale of self-discovery. But the boy's hopes for a bright future are in danger of fading when Maire's husband, Alec (Aidan Quinn), has trouble accepting the withdrawn Tomás.

Her knit wear was fabulous and in such wonderful colors!

At first I though this was a skirt, but then when her coat came off I realized it was a dress with an over-skirt? Would love to know! 

Here is another shot of this outfit before her (splendid) coat comes off, see the high-low hem? Love it!

The petticoat just peeking out the bottom is a sure way to make me love on outfit!

The other costumes were just as wonderful!

How could you not love a guy in a fishermen sweater smoking a pipe? I ask you, who could resist? ;-)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my bloggy friends! I love this song and have always had a secret fantasy of having it sung to me.....did you hear that future husband??? ;-)

To celebrate the holiday my family is going out to dinner and a movie for New Years Eve, then coming home, hopefully it's not raining, to set off a few fireworks that we saved from the 4th of July. Then at midnight we watch the ball drop, then run outside screaming and banging pots...and there might be a midnight phone call to a crotchety friend who goes to bed at 9pm and curses those of us who stay up and disturb the peace.....just to include him in the fun you know......he won't mind at all if we do! ;-)

Easter Sunday

Easter was the usual affair, getting up way to early, because for some reason you once again agreed to be in a skit and that means both going to both services and a call time of 8:15am!

You sit around waiting for the music pastor to be done rehearsing with the choir so you can rehearse the skit for only the third time as people are getting there because the choir practice ran long (as usual!). Then you rush through the skit, bearing the looks on the faces of the people who have shown up early, who all have annoyed looks on their faces faces even though they are getting a free preview performance!

Then as you rush around putting props in their proper places and getting miced (try finding a spot to put a wireless mic pack on a stretchy dress with no pockets.....)  you really wonder if it's worth it. You finally get a chance to sit down and sit through the announcements not really paying attention because you know you are going to hear it all again in an hour anyway, then you look up at the screen and see an outline of three crosses.....

You gaze upon the screen and are reminded of what your Savior did for you and what this holiday is really about, you smile and are filled with joy and thankfulness. Yes, you think, if all of this brings at least  one more person to know the joy and peace you feel right now it's worth any amount of early call times and rushing around! =)

 Dress- North Style via eBay

Necklace- Premiere Designs jewelry

Shoes-PayLess

 Aren't they adorable? My Mom made the dresses and we got my little brothers suit at Wal-Mart!



 The Easter Bunny brought these really cool colored bubbles! Hopefully they are washable.....



 The center piece for our Easter table.....yes, I am that classy! What can I say? I love how it looks! ;-)