…and Happy Birthday, Dad.
The Minute I Leave…
(what I’m anxious to get back to)
♥ puppy dog
♥ my recliner
♥ my morning coffee (cause let’s face it, elsewhere it’s just not the same)
♥ watering my garden
♥ checking for blossoms & fruits
♥ snow cones
♥ the sound Penny (guinea pig) makes when Kevin wakes up in the morning
♥ the smell of home
♥ mail
♥ clipping coupons (I have a problem)
♥ the rare day w/ dry heat
♥ sunlight through our french doors
♥ …and puppy dog. again.
Anniversary Weekend Part Two – Downtown Eureka Springs
Here’s where I’ll admit to you that the Blues Festival going on in town wasn’t exactly our cup of tea. There were lots and lots of bikers. Really, the town was over run. There was a lot of stuff you couldn’t get to or see because of the large crowds this festival drew. I would love to go back and check out what I missed.
The one photo I took of any bikers.

Later that evening went a little ways past our cabins to The Rowdy Beaver.

Kevin had a steak. I had what I always have, given the chance…

…a pound of cold shrimp. Yum.
I wonder how much I would have to eat to get The Gout. That’s what we call it around here. I had an uncle one time who came down with The Gout. Not “gout,” The Gout.
Then we drove down some winding mountain roads to go see a natural bridge that it turned out you had to pay for and we weren’t into paying to see it. I mean, you couldn’t see what was on the other side so you didn’t know exactly what you’re paying for. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been to the state fair and have seen the sign for the “Man Eating Chicken.”
I did take a picture of a rock though.

And then I had Kevin stop alongside the road so I could get a shot of this house. Because it looks like the same house in my favorite children’s book — The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston. The illustrations by Barbara Cooney are fantastic.

By the end of that day I was ready to get back to our cabin, relax, and enjoy a long bath, a cup of tea…and a Slim Jim.

Sunday Morning Coffee
- Aww, shucks, Matt. I don’t think anyone has ever said anything so nice about my husband and I.
- THIS. Exactly. “The best part about Facebook scam pages is that it helps announce to you which of your Facebook friends are dumb.“
- Say “I Do” to the name change
- The Dirty Dozen and The Clean 15 — read it!
- Burger King Crafts: Twilight Edition
- Colleen’s brief thoughts on the LOST finale
- Man, a baby hippopotamus looks like a great pet.
- The Traveling Red Dress, from The Bloggess
- 45 Things To Do With Fresh Sage – If you’re in the situation I was in a few years ago (planting one tiny plant of sage and having it stay forever and ever and multiply everywhere) then this will be really helpful.
Anniversary Weekend Part One – The Grand Treehouse Resort

We spent our first anniversary in Eureka Springs, Arkansas at The Grand Treehouse Resort. I had heard good things about it from a number of people, but the credit goes to Aura for the idea. When she posted some photos from the place on her blog a while back I knew that we had to visit. We were not disappointed.

When Kevin called to make our reservation there was one cabin left — Sanctuary Treehouse. They were expecting a lot of people in town over those few days for the Blues Weekend (which we would learn more about later) and so we went ahead and took their last cabin. It was perfect.

And Kevin liked the door.


One of my favorite things about the cabin was the symmetry. I’m so OCD that repeated patterns can really get to me, but give me a room that is about as perfectly symmetrical as it can be and somewhat minimalist…and I’m in heaven. Really, from the moment we stepped through the door I knew why they named it Sanctuary.

Of course I couldn’t pass up the symmetry. Perfect photo op. Also, FACT: I meant to have pictures taken at our wedding with Kevin and I together with our Macs — him with his white one and me with my black.

Loved the bed. The sheets were comfy and again, the decor of the room was so relaxing. Couldn’t have asked for anything more perfect on our anniversary.

My one complaint was the big window up there. I loved it during the day, but between 5 and 6am on a weekend that you want to get some extra sleep? I needed some blackout curtains. BAD. For the record, thanks to the early sunrise I saw my husband awake the earliest I’ve ever seen him on a weekend.
Loved the tub, shower, and sink. I took every opportunity to get into the tub that I could. It was enormous.


Oh, and I almost forgot…
Just as I almost forgot to take a picture before we devoured it. The owners have The Most Fabulous Cheesecake waiting for you in the refrigerator, along with some delicious orange juice. Even Kevin, who doesn’t enjoy regular cheesecake, liked the chocolate (he gets whatever cheesecake is loaded down with peanut butter, chocolate, and cookie dough whenever we go to The Cheesecake Factory).


The balcony was the perfect place to have my 6am cup of coffee. Just enough breeze, not yet hot, and the flowers…you see them? They are exactly the same color as the stained glass windows in the entry. They carried their theme very well.
Next up, I’ll share some of our experience in town. It was…interesting. And we weren’t expecting what we walked into. Which was almost equivalent to the Sturgis Rally.









Oklahoma girl through-and-through. Writer, aspiring domestic goddess and totalitarian dictator. Taking on the world one carb-induced coma at a time. Founder of GodlyGals, a ministry for women established in 2002. Co-host of Picture Shows & Petticoats. 


