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!

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 ;)

A Birthday Celebration!

Today is my baby girl's 1st Birthday!! We celebrated with family and friends this past weekend, and then took her to the zoo for the first time today!! We couldn't have asked for better weather!! I took over 481 pictures, way too many to post.....so here are bits in pieces of the festive atmosphere, and some of the lovely faces that attended ~;o)

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ~Psalm 139:14

Happy Birthday Isabella! Mommy loves you!!

it was another hot one....

....so we put on our swimsuit, slathered on the sunscreen, grabbed a bag, threw in some diapers, a towel, a big sippy cup filled with ice cold water, and headed to the fountains to meet up with some friends ~:o)

This is Bella's really good friend Evie :)

Evie is a bit older than Bella. She keeps a watchful eye on her. Come back Bella!! ~;o)

We definitely know how to cool off! Bella threw a fit when we left the fountains, but became easily distracted by the playground shortly after ~;o)

We played and swung lots and lots.....

But then it was time to go home. We had a super day though!! How do you beat the heat?!

a little surprise.....

Look at what we won!!

Pamela over at Pammydawn had a give away to win this adorable little pumpkin!! So I entered for fun and I won!! This is the first time I have ever won a give away!! And it fit her too!! I thought for sure we would have to put this away for next fall, I can't wait to pair this with some cute outfits for Fall!! I just L O V E the detailed stitching on this sweet little pumpkin!! Want one? Head over to her etsy shop where you can purchase this one and many other beautiful pieces that she offers.

Your work is amazing Pamela!! Thank you for having a give away!! We love our new little pumpkin clippy!! Thank you so much!!

New Picture Portraits!!

Last week we took Isabella to JC Penny for picture portraits!! The last couple times we took her for portraits she cried! But this time she was a happy baby!! I was thrilled when JC Penny called me last night to tell me that they were in, so today I went and picked them up!! Here are a few favorites of my lovie....

I am one happy Mama!!

a little pool.

it was just Bella and me for the first half of the weekend because daddy had to work a little overtime, soooooooo we decided to try out Isabella's new little pool!

we splashed.......

we tasted.......

and we played alot!!

We really LOVE our new little pool!! Thank you Grandma ~;o)

Hope your having a fantastic summer so far!! We are ~;o)

Happy Easter!!

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter Sunday!!

Strawberry Festival 2010

(My favorite Carnival junk food!!)

(Couldn't resist snapping a picture of these cute little bananas!!)

(The berries ~;o)

Finally got around to posting these pictures!! We went to the Strawberry Festival last week, on the last day of the festival. Don't go on the last day of any special fair or event friends, it was ridiculously crowded!! And for those of you shaking your head and thinking to yourself (rookie)....all I have to say to you is....."touche." Anyways, I was able to take lots of great pictures, the day was just beautiful!! Enjoy ~;o)

A Day in Downtown, Tampa

(Lykes Gaslight Park in Downtown, Tampa)

(Details of the Cascading Fountain.)

(I didn't even know about this fountain, what a refreshing surprise it was!)

(City Hall Downtown, Tampa.)

(Taking a break for some yummy Gourmet Pizza!)

(Bumble Bee, enjoying the warm weather.)

We took my dad out for pizza this past weekend in Downtown, Tampa. And we stumbled across a bonus!! Apparently the Gasparilla Art Fest was going on ~;o) I didn't bother to try and get pics of the vendors at their booths because I wasn't in the mood to ask them if I could or for being rejected, yes that happens sometimes ~;o) But I did manage to snap a couple of pictures in Old Downtown Tampa for your enjoyment! For those of you who share a love of photography, there are some excellent points of interest! Just be sure to start early and be prepared to make a day of it!! Until next time ~:o)

Getting so Big!! ~:o)

My pretty baby is 6 months old now!! I can't believe how big she is getting!! And I can't begin to express how greatful and Blessed I am to be a mama to this happy and determined little one ~:o) She's my little princess, bumpkin, jellybean, and bumble bee just to name a few ~;o) Mama loves you Bella!