Things that make me smile: Preserving Memories :)

As I've gotten older I realized I myself don't have many pictures of my family from when I was little.  My Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ted were always taking pictures so I went to their house last night and started scanning the pictures they had of us when we were younger.  I found some great ones and wanted to share with everyone, that digitizing your photos is an excellent idea.  I scanned the photos to my computer, backed them up to an external hard drive and plan on burning them to a DVD so they will never be lost!  Check out some of my favorites:

I believe I am about 4 in this picture.  I was a little fish :)

My older brother Jon and I on Easter

My grandpa and grandma 

My grandpa, my sister Jenn and I

My sister Jenn, the old english sheepdog Molly and I

Jon, Jenn and I on Christmas

My grandpa and brother Jon, playing wiffle ball.  I'm sure I was playing too!

We cannot forget about our best furry friends over the years, this was Molly an old english sheepdog at 4 months old on christmas.  I miss this dog everyday, she was my best friend!

I plan to make albums for my siblings, as well as other family members so I am going to upload the pictures to Shutterfly and have prints made!

Happy Weekend and Things that Make Me Smile :)

So this blog post may be a little off the wall but I felt like smiling today and I hope it inspires others to think about what makes them smile!

As a continuation to yesterdays post about pumpkin pancakes making me smile, I've decided to continue on this topic with other things that make smile.

Everyday I look at this and I smile:

I smile b/c the hutch that my lovely original Johnson Brothers Rose Chintz is in, was in my grandmothers house for as long as I can remember.  Also my time and enjoyment spent collecting these pieces.  My first pieces where purchased at an antique shop on a trip to North Carolina, some purchased from various shops on Etsy and some as gifts.  I am now only missing a few pieces to finish my collection :).  There is a lot of history sitting in the corner of our dining room!

Recycling also makes me smile.  Every time I can take something others would throw out and re-use it I smile.

Upcycled Bed Spring Pumpkin

Upcycled Bed Sheet Scarf

T-Shirt Yarn iPod cozy

T-Shirt Yarn Rug

Upcycled Bed Spring Heart

Recycled Bertolli Firefly Jar (Glows in the Dark)

Of course there are plenty of other things that make me smile, my BF and my dogs (Annie and Bubba) make me smile daily.  If you need something to make you smile, check out my "Be Merry" banner:

Burlap triangles with painted green glittered letters on red gingham ribbon

For sale in my Etsy shop: springsnthings.etsy.com

Hope you have a great weekend!  Be prepared to see some great projects next week!

Pumpkin Pancakes make me smile :)

After returning from Charlottesville, VA I really just wanted comfort food. The BF and I totally love anything pumpkin, so on recommendation from a friend we made Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Pancakes.  The only addition I made to them was adding chocolate chips.  Butter and maple syrup to top them off and they were delicious.  Nothing better to make you feel at home than pancakes!

Image from marthastewart.com

Give it a try! I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!  I am going to make them again this Sunday for Breakfast.   Happy Veterans Day!