Both of my kids long to live on a farm. Makena likes to sprinkle sand from the sandbox like she’s feeding the chickens. Keegan spends most days on his rocking horse yelling ‘yee-haw.’ So when the opportunity presented itself to spend a weekend on a farm, they couldn’t have been more excited.

There were animals to watch.

Tractors to ride.

Stars to gaze.

Croquet to be played.

And swimming. Lot’s of swimming.

Ahhh fleeting summertime.

Why is my son wearing an Easter bonnet and a tutu? Sorry. I got distracted. The life of being the younger brother. Ironic since this is a post about our Disney World Bippity Boppity Boutique, they slip you crack, experience.

So back in May when we took the family to Disney World we considered all of our ‘extra’ options. What character dining meals to purchase, what events to attend, what park to go to each day… What we didn’t consider was that no amount of pre-planning can prepare you for all that Disney throws at you.

We got there and were immediately immersed in the culture, wearing our mouse-ears and singing It’s a Small World. I even considered purchasing Mickey Mouse head shaped plates. Because, you know, you need a plate like that to separate all of the food. Crack. I guess I forgot to check my sanity at the entrance gates because upon entering the Magic Kingdom I immediately felt that Makena would be missing out on a major part of the ‘Disney experience’ if she did not get to do the Bippity Boppity Boutique. One quick phone call later, a last minute cancellation answered my prayers to the Disney Gods. We were booked for a Boutique experience.

Want to see what we got ourselves into?

A little bit of this.

And a little bit of that.

And even more of this.

Just add water and you too can have your very own princess.

To make matters worse when Makena met The Fairy Godmother, she said “why you look just like Cinderella in a Snow White dress.” Then I guess at Disney training the worker mice are instructed to address every little girl who had the boutique experience as ‘princess.’ So for the rest of the day, it was ‘well, hello princess.’ All. Day. Long.

I’m still picking the glitter out of her clothes from that day. And wondering how on earth they suck you in and spit you out.

Note: Please don’t let any of this Disney banter fool you or discourage you from the experience. Like a good addict, we will return to get another fix. Probably sooner rather than later. Peace out.

Thanks to Hurricane Dolly it feels a little bit like fall. We know the cool damp weather won’t last but we enjoy it while it’s here. A welcome relief from the stifling summer heat. I turned to Miles this morning and said ‘you know, if the weather was always like this I could live here.’ Ha. We do live here. All of the time. A woman can dream can’t she?!?

So we ventured out this week to the library. It was our first family trip and it was a hit! I gave Makena the option of swimming in our backyard or the library and she screamed ‘library’! That’s my girl! As we turned the corner and she could see the library she screamed. Serious. Who screams when they see the library?

When we walked into the library both kids made a mad dash to the kids section. Before I could catch up to them they had stripped the shelves of several books and had quite a mountainous pile on a little table. They were in library heaven. I even walked away with some cookbooks that I had been eyeing at the bookstore but didn’t want to shell out $35 for.

Another tiny step toward saving the planet. Now where’s my cape???

It’s Monday afternoon and I’m sitting here watching my to-do list grow and grow. There always seems like there is so much to do before a holiday. And then after all the guests have left and the dust has settled there still seems like a lot to do. Getting back into the normal routine of life. No guests to tend to. No big meals to fix. Just taking care of the family. Conquering that list.

Might as well knock one thing off of the list while I’m here. The blue farm with the self-serve sign, here is a link to the farm. Be sure to stop by if you are ever going that way, you won’t regret it. And since you asked for the goat pictures, here they are!

As I was procrastinating my list, I was thinking back on our trip to San Antonio about a week ago. There are honky tonks scattered around all over Texas. The places that you would think only reside in movies. They’ve been around forever and helped to start the careers of many country western musicians. There is such a place outside of San Antonio in Helotes called Floores Country Store. Careful though, there is music playing on their site so if you’re not into that type of thing turn down your volume before you click on the link!

They offer a dinner consisting of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and sweet tea. Oh, and did I mention gravy??? Country food at it’s finest. Not intended for the faint of heart!

There is memorabilia scattered on the walls and hung from the ceiling. Signs of a bygone era, still holding on for it’s life. There is a little old stage up front, where Willie Nelson and many others got their start. And for Texans, this is home. This is where you go on the weekends to unwind and cut a rug (dance). Out back, a brand new huge stage now caters to such legends.

On the weekends, the place comes alive with beer, food and live music. You can still even catch Willie playing in this very place. Young and old alike come together to celebrate a culture, a lifestyle. This is my type of place.

We’re back and I can’t say that we are well rested from our week long vacation. If anything, we need another vacation to just relax and sit around. And I can’t seem the get the “It’s a Small World” song out of my head. Aaaaaahhhhh!

Disney World is a place unto itself. There is just so much to see. I’m working on uploading the 500 pictures I took (serious) and am now trying to get back into the groove of being at home by the lake. It’s quiet here. Very quiet. I like that.

I will share my stories of Disney in my next post. It by far exceeded my expectations and I found myself running around like a child.

For now though, I’ve added a few more items to my shop. I’ve been picking up these great vintage Acapulco straw tote bags. Perfect for summertime by the pool, lake or beach.

We are home from our weekend girl’s trip and I feel refreshed, renewed and reinvigorated.

As promised, we spent time by the pool.

Then made our way to the beach.

I returned home to kids that had a fabulous time with their daddy. I think it was a great getaway for all of us! As I returned home yesterday, I found out that my in-laws were on their way for a visit and we were going to Ikea. I always need an excuse to go to Ikea! And of course, loaded my cart with all kinds of random things. Plastic ware, chip clips, a swing for the backyard, a new kitchen rug (above), hangers… the list goes on and on. Oh how I love Ikea.

And since we seem to be on a black and white kind of day, here’s the new piano bench. Adds a little rock-n-roll to our living space!

I’m heading West my friends, driving off into the sunset for a girls weekend away.

Miles will be holding down the fort with the kids for a three day weekend so I can get some much needed girl time. I still have a few loads of laundry to do and outfit selections, oh my. Should I wear this necklace with this skirt or these shoes with this shirt? Which handbag? Oh, it can all just be too much. And which color of flip flops should I take? Or should I just pack them all? They are light and compact. Always a dilemma with an Austinite. Never leave home without them.

I plan to do some sitting by the pool and ummm some sitting by the pool and then onto sitting by the pool. No floaties to inflate. No sippy cups to refill. No nap times to watch over. No laundry.  No dishes.  No strollers to push.  No bickering amongst toddlers.  No screaming.  No little hands to hold.  No babes to tuck in at night.  No bedtime stories.

I think I’m going to miss them. Sniff.

In my pre-kids, pre-stay at home, pre-craft and sew days I had heard of this place called Round Top. I think mostly I would read about it in the Southern Living magazine that was nicely displayed in my in-laws house. It seemed like a nice outing… if you were into that type of thing.

Well, let me tell you that these days I am totally into that type of thing. We were on our way to Houston, taking some back roads for the scenery and wildflowers when I remembered that it was Round Top weekend. Thanks fellow bloggers. Having never visited Round Top before I had no idea where it was. Somewhere between here and Houston is all that I knew. So out came my trusty map and I found it. It is one of the smallest specks on the Texas map and if you were to blink, you’d definitely miss it, but not twice a year. We decided that we had time to kill before we needed to be in Houston so we veered off of the highway and began following the traffic. And boy were we not disappointed.

One weekend in the Spring and one in the Fall the countryside comes alive with vendors pedaling their wares. You name it, you can find it at Round Top and the surrounding antique shows. The only regret we walked away with was that we didn’t have more time to spend.

If there’s something on your list, you can find it at Round Top. We got a few things that were on our list, plus a few more that we just had to have. Sorry, the bike wasn’t one of them.

Makena had her way with some of the vendors. She walked away with the vintage necklace that she’s wearing and also a fairy sun catcher. Such sweet people at Round Top. I found some great vintage embroidered pillowcases for some more dresses. Maybe an ETSY shop is in the future.

Miles has been looking for a vintage water ski to convert to a rack to hold life jackets, his cowboy hat and other random items. Of course we found one. I’ll be sure to share the picture of the completed rack once he gets it all done. Keegan is gratiously allowing us to store our goods in his stroller. As long as he has his popcorn. We also found a really, really old life preserver from a ship. Though, can I be really candid here and tell you that walking around with a water ski and a life preserver makes you look like you are opening a very 1980’s inspired seafood house. Note to self: must be careful with placement of nautical themed decor.

Probably the most humorous aspect to the entire weekend was pulling up to the hotel in Houston. We smelled like dirt and barbeque. Our car was loaded with snacks dumped everywhere and the most hodge podge assortment of stuff you could imagine. Just the water ski and life preserver popping out the back was funny enough.

Since we’re talking about vintage items, here is my toy for Anne’s toy week. It’s actually Makena’s collection of Matryoshka dolls that we’ve picked up here and there, all thrifted. The globe was found at a goodwill a while back and I just fell in love with the dog piggy bank. For a girl whose love and room is pink, pink and more pink I thought throwing in a bit of funky style is exactly what she needed.

There is a sleepy little town in Texas. One which I refer to as home. One of the many homes of my childhood. Where coyotes howl at night, children play, time slows down and music of yesteryear fills the historic downtown. There are chocolate shops and western wear stores.

It’s very quiet in this little haven. So quiet, in fact, that you can actually hear yourself think. Think about life. Family. Children. The past. The future. And everything in between.

We drink Dr. Pepper made from actual sugar cane. We ride on Paw Paw’s tractor. And we are drawn to the scrap metal pile like magnets.

We sit on the front porch and watch the sun come up. We also watch the sun go down. We notice the little things, things that time has almost forgotten.

We talk about the family home that was built in the 1800’s. The beautiful vintage wallpaper that was covered with wood paneling long ago. The hardwood floors that are hidden under the carpet. The once two room house, now consisting of eight.

It’s good to go home.

Down a long highway, past an old wooden bridge in a little town is home.  It’s a place I know very well yet explore like a child every time I’m there.

We are on the road, my friends, for a weekend away.  Up to North Texas, the land of my childhood.  The places where I played hide and seek.  Climbed trees.  Searched for rocks with my dad.  Watched airplanes with my Papa.  Lived.

The memories come flooding back when I go home.  The same memories that I hope for for my children.