some highlands inspiration

Hi everyone!

I've been absent ~ I'm sorry.  Life has been super busy lately, but in a very good way.  Thank you to those of you who have inquired about where I've been :)

I did post two things in the last few weeks ~ and they both got shuffled back to October by Blogger.  No idea why, and no idea how to fix it.  Hmmmm… Not worth worrying about!  As my husband likes to say, if that is the biggest problem we have right now, we are in good shape!

 I hosted a huge event at my children's school on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  If you don't know me in real life, I am a full-time stay-at-home-mom… but that is kind of misleading.  I spend an enormous amount of time volunteering at the children's school, our church and for local animal rescue organizations.  It is SUCH a blessing to me to be available to do these things.  Aside from painting furniture & spending time with my friends & family, it is my volunteer time that really makes my heart sing.  I've heard the phrase "blessed to be a blessing" and that is so true for me.

Anyhow, the event that I hosted with two other fabulous women/friends took over my life for the last few months.  We worked extremely hard on it & all of our efforts paid off when our guests spent their time on campus full of smiles :)  

Then we left town to celebrate Thanksgiving with both my family & doug's family in Highlands NC.   It was the most relaxing time I have spent in a long time and I was so grateful for it!!

My boys are growing up… almost 8 & 9, which is hard to believe.  Here are a few photos from our amazing trip.

We got to spend awesome time with our cousins…

We are so blessed to have families that get along & love each other.  We spent three nights at my inlaw's mountain home with not only them but also my parents.  I'm very grateful for that!

On our way home, we stopped to see Doug's brother & his family.  They were unable to join us due to the biggest blessing of all… a brand new baby boy!

Baby Nolan...

The four boy cousins:

My nephew… could you not just eat him up?  Look at those blue eyes!  And he is every bit as sweet as he looks.

Of course, when in Highlands, there is shopping!  I took a few pictures of the things that inspired me so I could share them with you.  I have been lazy lately, and only using my iphone… the laziness is a bit addictive, I'll admit :)

Here goes…

Love these mason jars hanging

lots of fun christmas inspiration

my very favorite piece we saw all day… isn't this fabulous??  not just the design but also the shape!

look at these fun button wreaths & garlands.

love the pom-pom garland and spool ornaments

this lamp… yum

how fabulous is this union jack piece??  and the lamps on top!

this whole tree was covered in decorative plates… such a fun idea for a collection

so true...

lake & mountain themed ornaments

my very favorite coffee shop in all of the world:  buck's coffee in highlands.

I don't mind waiting for my coffee since I get to stare at this fabulous bar!

Some outdoor shots:

speaking of favorite things… this is my very favorite house in all the world.  I love everything about it :)

this is the lake in my inlaw's neighborhood.  the swans are a fixture ~ but don't get too close, they'll hiss at you!

Thats all for now ~ I've got lots more coming soon!  Lots to catch up on.  

I am SO thankful to all of you, my readers.  Thank you for being a part of A Few Good Pieces!

kathie