Valentine's Day Decor 2013

 I know it's pretty last minute, but I finally got around to decorating for Valentine's Day. Better late than never, right? We have no mantle, so I usually try and decorate the top of our tv.

 These XO letters came from Anything Goes Here on Etsy.

 These picks are from Dollar Tree, the heart next to them is a Lego heart I picked up at Legoland.

 I made these glittered hearts a few years ago with hearts I found in the dollar bins at Joann.

 Here's another Lego heart and an adorable print (free!) from Lindsay of Pen & Paint.

 I made two of these heart banners a few years ago and still like using them every year. And no, I still haven't painted that darn frame. I think I need to swap out the photos, too.

I know they are cheesy, but I still love this bull & dragon. They came from Hallmark a few years ago.

 This cute little paper bunting came from a fellow blogger.

 The lighting made this picture hard to take, but this is our kitchen table.

 I stuck a few of the Dollar Tree picks into this shaker I thrifted.


 This gorgeous little thing is one of two dish towels I thrifted a couple weeks ago. How perfect are they? I know I probably should have ironed them first, but I just folded them in half so they could act as a table runner. I absolutely love the colors and the pattern.

Now I guess I better get to finishing these kids Valentine's. 

Linked to: Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife, Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts, What We Wore, Read & Made at Rae Gun Ramblings, Too Cute Tuesday at Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Friday Favs at Naptime Crafters

Winter Vacation - Downtown Franklin, NC

 For our last full day in North Carolina, we decided to spend the day downtown. One of our stops was at the Franklin Gem & Mineral Museum. We went last time, but we figured Mike's dad would like it. 

 It's inside of what was the jail in Franklin. This was used until the 1970s.

 "Historical graffiti."

This was just a neat looking piece of glass that was on display.

We stopped for lunch at Motor Company Grill. Delicious food & a fun atmosphere!

While we were downtown, we decided to look around some of the shops, including antique shops. We also did some shopping when we went to Georgia. This is some of what I brought home. I'll save the details for another post.
 

 After a cold but enjoyable day exploring downtown, we headed back to the house to relax. The weather forecast on my phone had said there was a 30% chance of snow, so I had my fingers crossed. And sure enough, it started snowing!

The girls had a blast trying to catch the snow with their tongues. They may or may not be in their pjs with wet hair.

 I'm not even gonna lie, I was outside several times taking photos. This was our first time ever experiencing it really snowing! It did actually snow just a tiny bit our first day there, but very little.

 This was the last photo I took of Mike's truck. A pretty good amount had piled up in a short of amount of time. We were really hoping it would still be there in the morning, but I wanted as many pictures as I could just in case it wasn't. Two more posts and this trip will be finished. :)

Winter Vacation - GSMNP & Cade's Cove

 For our second adventure on this trip, we headed north. Our destination was Great Smoky Mountains National Park & Cade's Cove. It's definitely a full days trip, so that's all we planned. Mike's parents had not been there before, but we've been on both previous trips. It started out a little hairy, as our new GPS took us the wrong way! Thankfully we figured it out before it was too late. Our first stop in the park was at Newfound Gap, which is also the border between North Carolina & Tennessee.

And I'm sorry for the amount of photos, it's just so hard to narrow it down!

 

 We were excited to see more snow! However, it wasn't as thick as it had been last December. But still enough to make a snowball.

 They were climbing in search of fresh, fluffy snow.

 One thing different about this year was the trees. There was a lot more snow last year, but there hadn't been any in the trees. This time they were white! So pretty.

 I took so many pictures like this!

Once we got in to Cade's Cove, our first stop was a church. I believe this was the Methodist Church (1902).

 This is definitely the Methodist Church. I read that the reason there were two doorways was that one was for men, one for women. But that this church just borrowed the plans for their building, they didn't adhere to this.

 Then we were on to the Cable Mill (1870).

 (It's so hard to get photos of these places without tons of other people in the shot. Cade's Cove is a very busy place for being in the middle of nowhere).

 This was Dan Lawson Place I believe.

 This guy was eating out in front of the area where the mill & gift shop are. He wasn't bothered by all the traffic at all.

 This house started out as a log cabin, and later a framed addition was added on. You can see that here.

 I just love this. It would be lovely to have this in my back yard!

Once we finished exploring Cade's Cove, we headed back across the mountains. We did stop again at Newfound Gap to play in the snow a little more. 

 Time for another snowball fight!

 Layla in search of fluffy snow.

 Daddy going in for the kill - Blake has no clue!

Nonnie thought she'd be safe in the car, but that didn't stop Morgan.

If you look in the center of this photo, you can see the road we had just been on.

I absolutely love it up there in the mountains. And I cannot wait to go back! I'd love to do some more exploring, see some places we haven't seen yet. As much as I enjoy Cade's Cove, we've been three times now. There are so many other places to see in the Smokies. Hopefully next time we'll find more. Do you have any recommendations?

 

Purex Baby Detergent Giveaway Winners

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway! Now on to what you've been waiting for, the winners!

The lucky readers are...

Comment #12, Alycia

Comment #19, Jessica

and

Comment #30, Wendy

Congratulations!