New Blog Address

Hi Family and Friends,
I am a little late on this but if you've been following my blog, the address has changed. It is the same blog just a fresh new look and new address. Here is where you will find the latest and greatest ;) http://mamabear79.wordpress.com/
See ya there!

Do YOU have....

a PINTEREST yet??

This new social site is the bomb ya'll! It's an online pin board that lets you plan parties, gives you ideas for the home, helps you plan dinner meals, and for me....just plain inspires me!! I am addicted people! And best of all....it's FREE!! To give you an example of what I am talking about, here is mine. Feel free to follow me too if you'd like :) http://www.pinterest.com/southernbliss So far I have used pinterest for planning my daughter's 2nd birthday party, and my husband and father's birthday as well. Check out the cool cakes I made for my hubby and father! Both like baseball and I went on pinterest to find the ideas for the cake and cupcakes!

Btw, I also made both of these from scratch! Here is the recipe if you are interested in trying your hand at a cake made from scratch, the recipe is simple, and easy to follow: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/simple-white-cake/detail.aspx

September Quarterly Top 5 Photo Linky Party

Hey all!! Dropping in for a quick summer re-cap and my first blog "link up!" Wanna join in the fun? Here is the link, and here are our top five summer pics (this was really tough btw!!)

Number 1. "Ooooh baby look who's turned 2!"
There were so many other favorites, but this one just seemed most appropriate for spot number one. Need I say more ;)

Number 2. "Who Me?!"
Isabella kept drinking the water from the splash fountains at The Florida Aquarium, (yeah, I know gross) and everytime I told her "No, no" she thought it was the funniest thing! These were pretty much they only smiling pictures I got of her that day, go figure ;)

Number 3. Yellow Rose of Texas
This summer we had the wonderful opportunity to model some beautiful couture headbands for a boutique on etsy! We even got to keep them! Yellow is a pretty hard color to pull off don't you think?

Number 4. "Who you Lookin at!"
This is one of those fluke portraits I got lucky on ;) I just kept snapping pics and when I went to edit them later that evening I found this one of her frowning!

Number 5. We love America!
You know I had to include a 4th of July pic!! This was taken just before the sun started to set. We enjoyed a day at the Splash Ground in Dunedin and then came back to do some fireworks with our neighbors :)

Interested in sharing your top 5 summer pics? Visit Amber's Articles to link up! Enjoy the beautiful day everyone!

Deal of the day!

As promised, here's my find of the day!

(LANDS END Lilac Flower Tunic Dress)

I love Lands End clothes! Today I found this sweet little girls tunic dress top for less than $10! This would look so adorable paired with some white leggings! The original price is $24.50 plus tax and shipping. It's been marked down to $11.99. Today Lands End is having a "take an extra 25% off plus free shipping on orders over $50.00" sale. So then 25% off brought the top to $8.99! However, because the dress was previously in my shopping cart they honored a prior free ship coupon! So $8.99 plus the tax and free ship put this cute tunic at a grand total of $9.62!! Well worth the price for a quality name brand piece of clothing! The sale is still going on if you want to check it out: http://www.landsend.com/ Happy shopping ya'll!!

Greetings All :)

Wow, yeah aaaaaagain it's been a while! Well lets just say I haven't done the best with my "changes" list in the area of blogging more! A little more challenging than I thought it would be! Maybe I should set my standards to blogging twice a month so I can hopefully better meet this challenge. Perhaps the posts will be more rich in sharing as well, we'll see :)

Anyways....Happy first day of Fall ya'll!! I am squeezing in one last official summer picture of Bella in her suit enjoying the "Lion Fountains" at Kate Jackson. Yeah, there will be more visits to the fountains as our real Fall tends to show up around mid November, that is if we are lucky ;) Whether or not I get around to posting is an entirely different story!

So quick up date for my friends and family here! Bella just celebrated her 2nd birthday at the beginning of the month! Hard to believe that I have a two year old now! She and I have both started "BSF" - Bible Study Fellowship (Thank you Amber :) and we are very excited to begin studying the book of Acts. Interested in joining in? Drop me a line: southernbliss79@yahoo.com. I have also opened up the shop again and have added my newest line of vintage Illustration images and photos to the store! Check it out if you wish: www.southernbliss.etsy.com And finally for now, yes I am going to continue to share my "deals of the day" posts with you because I'd love to share the savings with you! Just keep in mind, at the pace I've been blogging they may be more of "deals of the month" instead ;) I stumbled across a good one today that I will post for you later on today!

Getting ready to head out and plan some birthday festivities for my beloved husband, father, and father-in-law! Yep you heard me right, three in a period of two days. Wishing you all a fantastic first day of Fall! Until next time friends ;)

Quick House update and a hike ~;o)

Hi friends!! Gosh I miss blogging!! Well here is the latest and greatest!! We have finally painted and put up new blinds in all the rooms. New locks on all the doors. New stove and washing machine have arrived and both been hooked up. Whew!! Yeah, kinda ridiculous that it took us this long huh? On a happier note, I am glad to share with you all that we will finally be moving into our new home this Saturday!! Boy are things a BUSY mess right now!

In related news I have a confession to make, instead of moving things into the house last weekend like we were suppose to we decided to take a much needed field trip to the Hillsborough River State Park! Who would have ever guessed that there were moving rapids right here in Hillsborough county! Thats right friends!! The Hillsborough River State Park has two sets of Class II river rapids, now these are not huge cascading river rapids friends, they are smaller ones. But for the Floridian, it is a big deal to see these, as there are less than a handful of these here in and around the State of Florida. There is also a suspended bridge too btw!! The trail is fantastic, even bumble bee hiked half of the trip on her own! She fell asleep in the hiking pack on the second half of the hike back, not bad for a toddler ~;o) I could go on and on about all the fun things there are to do in this park, but I'll just give you a teaser instead this time ~;o) Enjoy the video clips!! And for those of you who've been there done that, why didn't you tell me?! You know I gotta give you a hard time about it ~;o) So if you've been to this park already I'd love to hear what your favorite part of the visit was...I'm all ears ~;o)

All hiked out ~;o)

Happy Valentines Day!!

Sweet yummy confections that I made for my sweet husband, my best friend♥ Wishing you, yes YOU a lovely Valentines Day!

Praise the LORD! Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever! ~Psalm 106:1

A House to Call Our Own....

I know I mentioned in my last post (regarding New Years changes) that I would like to blog more, and I still intend to do this. We have just been a little preoccupied lately ~;o) What an exciting day it has been for our family! As many of you know, we've been trying to purchase a home. After a long and slow process of house hunting, inspections, paperwork, appraisals, and I really could go on, I am very excited to share that today we purchased our very first home! What a roller coaster of emotions it has been for us! However, we are very thankful and happy new home owners!! Here it is, our little "Diamond in the rough♥"

"With wisdom a house is built. With understanding it is established. With knowledge its rooms are filled with every kind of riches, both precious and pleasant." ~Proverbs 24:3-4

Happy New Year!!

I'm a little late posting on this, but in the words of a wise friend, "better late than never!" I wanted to take a moment to ponder on some changes I would like to make. I don't want to call them resolutions or goals because I think that these two words have a different meaning from the word "Change." In my mind resolutions and goals can only go so far until they've been met. Change will require consistency. And this is what I'm aiming for regarding several matters. These changes are intended to be for the good. So without further ado, here they are:

1. My Appearance: This one is a very difficult one for me to admit, but I would like to focus on putting a little effort into my appearance. Flattering outfits, a little bit of make up for a soft glow, and the perfect handbag to top it all off. So not me, but willing to give it a try, we'll see ~;o)

2. Saving Money: In order for me to go back to being a fulltime "stay at home mom" this will be a must. I have decided that for now, it is best that I do not have any credit cards because I simply cannot control my spending habits with them. For those of you facing the same exact problem, freezing the card in a block of ice doesn't work, had my card all thawed out under 5 minutes. Here's a tip that I found to be most effective, use a pair of scissors instead. So from now on, it will be strictly cash.

3. Blog More, Facebook Less: I need to take a step back from facebook for a while...as we all know, it can become quite a distraction. I am not deleting my account, just feel I will be able to focus better on the tasks at hand in doing this. As for blogging, I will be shifting gears more towards this instead as it allows me to reflect on many important subjects that matter to me. It is here that I will expand on my ideas about family, nesting, photography, traveling, thrifting, and much more. I am very excited about this!

4. Cooking: This is a sore subject for me, although it shouldn't be. I will have to get back to you on this one.

5. Fellowship: This is another difficult change for me to admit and talk about. What is so hard about finding Fellowship? Genuine Fellowship has been challenging for me to find. Some of it is my own fault. There is much involved in this change that will be needed. Perhaps I will expand more upon this subject another time when I am ready. Nevertheless, it needed to be mentioned.

I feel that writing this out will be a better reminder for me of what I need to focus on. This is very tough for me friends! How tough you ask? Ok "Peanuts Gang" fans, you know how Lucy had a name for every phobia out there when she was lecturing Charlie Brown? She never mentioned one for "writing." Anyone know what phobia this is called? Not a big fan of it. Ask me why another time. Change can be scary. But change is also necessary to achieve good. As you all know I prefer to express myself more through pictures instead of words. Sorry I didn't have one to post this time, less distraction perhaps ~;o) Lets turn things over to you now dear friend. What changes do you plan to make this year? I'd love for you to share them.... I'm all ears ~:o) Until next time darlings.... ♥♥

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

.....I snapped this picture on Christmas Eve!! I love decorating my home for Christmas!! I enjoy putting up the Christmas tree and hanging up the wreath on the door! I enjoy wrapping presents and baking sweet treats in the kitchen, everything about Christmas is beautiful. But what brings me the most comfort and joy about this magical holiday is God's greatest gift to us all! Let us not forget the true meaning of Christmas dear friends!!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." ~Isaiah 9:6 (KJV)



Wishing you all much Peace and Joy this Christmas!!
♥, The Nunez Family

Milk Glass, and Thrift Store Finds....

I love thrift stores....I feel like I'm on a treasure hunt everytime upon entering one, (I know, such a ridiculous comparison I just used huh.) It's the best way I can describe my feeling of thrift store shopping though ~;o) So anyways, I have taken a recent liking to collecting Milk Glass! I like Milk Glass because it is so fresh looking, something you can keep out year round. In my opinion, it just goes with everything. Many collectors like to display a collection of one color on shelves, oh yeah...Milk Glass can come in different creamy colors folks ~;o) The good thing about collecting Milk Glass is that the pieces can be relatively cheap to buy. But they do range in price. Btw friends, I am by far an amateur in collecting Milk Glass, I do not even know if the pieces I have are the real deal. But I do know that I like the ones that I have anyways ~:o) I saw one person make good use of their single Milk Glass goblet by filling it with fresh blueberries set on the table amongst a lovely breakfast spread. I want to do the same thing. I think I would prefer to use my pieces instead of display them, although I am not opposed to doing this either. Do you have a cherished collection of something? Is it something you like to only display or do you use it? Perhaps you do both? Feel free to share, I'm all ears ~;o) Here are a couple of pictures of my tiny collection.

(Hen on Nest, covered dish...aka keeper of extra sewing thread~;o)

Ruffled Hob-Nob Vase

Okay...I know...how does "The Shy Little Kitten" relate to Milk Glass Rebecca? Um, well....it doesn't. But it was too cute not to share with you ~;o) This was a recent thrift store purchase for my daughter, she has recently taken an interest in these happy looking vintage characters from the "Little Golden Books" series, (and to cats in general.) Can't say that I blame her, just look at that adorable kitten face! What child wouldn't want to open this book to find out more about this mischievous little character?! ~;o) It is so funny to watch my daughter look at the vintage "Little Golden Books" characters. She gets so focused on them and then starts babbling to herself, or anyone else in the room about the pictures! I wonder what she's thinking when she sees them?! Perhaps you remember reading Little Golden Books with your parents as a child, do you own any today? If so, which ones? And which were your favorite when you were growing up? Yes you know it, I'm all ears ~;o)

Thanksgiving Highlights.....

I thought I'd share a couple of Thanksgiving highlights with you! This lovely arrangement was our Thanksgiving centerpiece for our table! I decided to keep it simple since we are limited on space.

I created this centerpiece for just under $15!! Publix had a wonderful selection of Autumn bouquets to choose from for $9.99. I choose plums, oranges, and yellows to work with. I purchased the vase from a thrift store for 80 cents. (Got one around the house? Use it and save even more $$) Finally, I attached a vintage Thanksgiving postcard that I bought from ebay a couple of years back for about $3.00. The results - simply stunning!! Most of the finished arrangements at the grocery store were priced between $20 and $30, the savings are big!! ~;o) This fun arrangement can be done for any holiday. Have fun, be creative!!

Another favorite of the evening was this delectable delight!! This berry tart was super easy to make friends!! Wanna make one for Christmas dinner or upcoming party? Feel free to click on the link under the photo for the recipe!! Got any thrifty holiday decor ideas? Recipes?? Feel free to share them!! I'd love to hear them!! Until next time friends ~;o)

Click here for recipe!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

For me, it has always been a little tougher to blog during the holiday season. Maybe I need to slow down some....and relax and bask in all the hidden beauty around me. Hot Chocolate, fresh flowers in the season's most richest of Autumn hues, nature walks, the smell of freshly baked pumpkin cookies as you enter into the room....all of these "Diamond in the roughs." During the holiday season we tend worry about everything getting finished on time, or things looking perfect. Then we miss out on the simple blessings. I am not one to open up personally on a blog, I never have been. Maybe it's because people will start to notice my feelings. Not sure if I'd like this. I have much to be thankful for this holiday season my friends. We will be holding Thanksgiving at our place for the first time ever!! I am sooooooo excited, and yes I want everything to look perfect. But if it doesn't, I suppose it's okay ~;o) Where are you having Thanksgiving at this year? Will you be making something special? Will you be cooking a huge feast, or ordering your meal? Maybe you'll make a non-tradional meal? Whatever it is, save me a piece, kidding ~;o) So yes, tell me all about it! I'd love to hear ~:o) I would like to wish all my family and friends a very safe and blessed Thanksgiving Day! I am sending these wishes to you a little bit early....as I and you both know tomorrow will be a busy day for all of us. May you savor every beautiful moment of it, and let us not forget to thank the Lord our God for the many blessings he has provided each and everyone of us with this year!

‎"The joy of enjoying and the fullness of living, are found in the heart that is filled with Thanksgiving." ~Helen Steiner Rice

Mosaic Collage in post is courtesy of Flickr.com