Transitioning

Thank you all for following me on this site for the past four years.  I have switched domains and will now be blogging on a different platform.

Please jump over and check out my new site for the latest posts:

positivelybeamingblog.com

Hope to catch you there!

Workout Wednesday

So far this has been a pretty normal workout week around here.  Gym on Monday, light exercise Tuesday, gym again Wednesday, walking tomorrow, and should hit the gym once more on Friday! My workout partner will be gone on Friday so not sure what time we will make it to the gym, but it is in the plans!

Today we hit the stair master for some booty work.  I hate that machine.. If you want to make it harder, kick your leg back each step (like a donkey kick) to really work your booty, but don't accidentally kick anyone who might be walking behind you.  I speak from experience here, that it is quiet awkward to say sorry for kicking you as you were walking in the gym!

After that we did some cable work and legs before butt bridges. I'm really into those right now.

10 minutes stair master
Cable flys low super set with tricep pull downs (3 sets of 12)
Lat pull downs super set with rowing machine (3 sets of 10 heavy weights)
Seated leg curls super set with leg extension machine (3 sets of 12)- on these two exercises, I pause at the top (for the leg extension) and the bottom (for the leg curls) to really feel the burn!
Finish with butt bridges and stretching out

Pausing at the top to make these harder

Happy Wednesday folks! I hope you are getting your workout in for the day as well.

Meal Planning Monday #2

You may have noticed I skipped last week's meal planning.  It wasn't that I didn't do it, but I wanted to actually snap some pictures of the meals before I posted them to my blog.  Then real life happened, and I forgot to snap pictures #blogfail.

Monday

Crockpot Beef Sandwiches

This recipe is one of my mother in law's and is a simple, delicious weeknight meal

Ingredients

2 - 3lbs top sirloin steak

Italian dressing

dry ranch dressing packet

au jus seasoning packet

jar of pepperoncini peppers

soft hoagie buns

provolone cheese slices

Directions

Place sirloin steak in crock pot and pour Italian dressing on it (just to moisten the meat).

Sprinkle half of the ranch dressing seasoning packet on it and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours until meat falls apart.

Pull the meat apart after cooking and sprinkle au jus seasoning packet on it.

You can add the pepperoncini peppers (and some juice) to the meat if your family likes a bit of spice or allow people to put them on their individual sandwiches.

Assemble meat, cheese, and peppers on your hoagie buns.  I usually toast my sandwich in the oven for just a bit to melt the cheese at this point.

Tuesday

Manicotti

This is also one of my mother in law's recipes.  Shout out to Sharon this week as I'm using all her recipes :)

Ingredients

1 lb hamburger meat

1 package manicotti noodles

8 oz mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

3 moist slices of bread

24 oz cottage cheese

Prego meat sauce

Italian seasoning, salt & pepper

Directions

Cook noodles al dente for about 7-9 minutes.

Brown hamburger meat and season with salt and pepper.  Drain grease and set aside.

In a large bowl combine 6 oz mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup milk, 24 oz cottage cheese, 1 egg, and 3 slices of moist bread torn into tiny bits.  (ok I know this sounds weird but wet your bread and then tear it apart into baby sized pieces.  It helps keep the mixture together)

Season the cheese mixture with some Italian seasoning and salt & pepper and add hamburger meat to the mixture.

Drain noodles and let them cool

Next, spray a 9 x 13 Pyrex with cooking spray and lightly layer some sauce on the bottom of the pan.

Fully stuff each noodle with the mixture and lay in single layer in the pan.  I always have noodles leftover which works out because some of the noodles will split and be "un-stuffable"

Pour the rest of the Prego sauce over the stuffed manicotti noodles and sprinkle with the leftover cheese.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

I served this meal with some fresh green beans and then forgot to take a picture.. Boo on me!

Wednesday

Leftovers

Thursday

BJ's Stew

Who is BJ you might ask?  Well BJ works with my dad and consequently, I used to work with him too in the summers during high school.  He is the shipping manager up there, and he loves his pups, his country music, and republicans.  And he makes a pretty manly stew that the fellows in my family all love.

Ingredients

1- 1.5 lb hamburger meat

1 cup onion chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

1 cup celery (I omitted this)

2 tsp garlic

4 cans black eyed peas (drained)

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can corn (drained)

1 can rotel (don't drain)

1 bag frozen okra

salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Cook hamburger meat and chopped onion and drain off grease.

Combine all other ingredients in a slow cooker and mix well.

Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3-4 hours

I serve this with corn bread on the side or in your stew if you prefer.

Healthier Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

If you follow me on Snapchat (karambeam), you saw me post pics of some muffins the other day. Yes, they were pumpkin.  Yes, I know it's still July, but I am just so ready for Fall!  I've tried tons of recipes for pumpkin muffins (made a different recipe this week for them actually), but this recipe is a winner!  And it's healthier too.  Notice I didn't say healthy, because its still a muffin with chocolate in it, but you get the point.

Healthier Pumpkin Muffins

adapted from Making Thyme for Health

Ingredients

2 & 1/4 cups old fashioned oats

1 can pumpkin

1/2 cup maple syrup

2 eggs

1.5 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp almond butter (I was running out and didn't have 4 tbsps)

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon (I threw in some pumpkin pie spice too)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 count muffin pan.

Blend all ingredients in a food processor (or vitamix, ninja, blender, etc) until smooth.  Add chocolate chips.

Pour into muffin pan and bake for 20-22 minutes.

Done & delicious!

Let Him Eat..

No, not cake.. it's not his first birthday yet. This past week we started Rhett on some solid food.  And by solid, I mean homemade pureed food that he has hardly touched.  I made sweet potatoes, carrots, and apple sauce and little guy doesn't seem to get it yet.  Not sure if it's normal, but he just kind of plays with the food in his mouth or even spits it out. Spitting is his newest trick, and he loves to do it.

The best part about trying food for Rhett is that Bear is waiting to catch morsels that fall on the floor. That boy LOVES his Bear dog! It's pretty distracting though when we are trying to get him to eat and he can't focus because Bear is so close.

oh hey bff Bear

The one thing he has really taken to are those teething wafers.  Brian thinks it is because he can feed himself.  I'm not brave enough to let him feed himself carrots or sweet potatoes.  He flings that spoon and before you know it, I have carrot covered cabinets.  No, thank you..

Hopefully, he starts to enjoy eating real food better.  I'm also trying to give him little morsels of my food if it is soft enough.  He actually swallowed more food than ever when I was giving him some bread off my sandwich yesterday.  Perhaps, he's just not into typical baby food.

Workout Wednesday

And it's Wednesday already!  Didn't catch Meal Planning Monday? Oh yes, it's because I didn't post it yet.. oops.. Still working on getting better about posting regularly.  And I did meal plan btw, just didn't post anything yet.  Ok on to workouts.

Monday, I had a pretty clingy child so working out didn't happen..

literally clinging to me if I put him down...

Tuesday, I did the 21 day fix 10 minute abs with my brother's girlfriend as well as some yoga before Rhett wanted to be held.

Wednesday, guess who made it to the gym? This girl! I warmed up with 15 minutes of cardio on the elliptical arc trainer and then did some lat pulls, triceps, and legs.

15 minutes cardio
Superset lat pull downs & tricep pushdowns on cables (3 sets of 10-12)
Superset leg press & leg extension machines (3 sets of 10)
Superset barbell close grip upright rows with squats with barbell on shoulders (3 sets of 12- you can do it!)
Finish with butt bridges and stretching

My routine was a little off this week, but I should be able to hit the gym tomorrow and Friday to make up for it.

Also, on an unrelated note, I'm sure you have heard about the Nordstrom sale by now.  It is all over bloggyland with everyone's picks for Fall (my favorite season!! can't wait).  I just wanted to let everyone know that my live in leggings are on sale!  I really do live in these leggings in the winter/fall.  Not only that, they were part of my go to outfit while pregnant and fantastic for post-partum too.  I might have ordered myself another pair (since I wear them so much), and wanted to let you all know about them as well.  Normally priced at $52, they are on sale for $33.90.  Snatch them up!  This is the cheapest they will go on sale!

Workout Wednesday (what I really did)

Accountability at its finest.  I'll be updating the blog with what I really did as far as working out this week.  I have been super excited about getting in a new workout routine now that I'm home so this little weekly post will keep me accountable to actually using my gym membership. 

Typically, I try to workout with my friend Steph (my pregnancy workout partner if you remember her) on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 8:30 am.  It's pretty ambitious, but why not?  It's great to workout with a partner as they push you to do one last set or go for one more minute.  This week, Steph was out of town so my routine has been off a bit, but that's how life is.

I ran/walked on Monday with Rhett and Bear for about forty minutes in the sweltering heat.  Ok it was in the morning at 9 am, but it was still HOT! 

Tuesday I hit the gym on my own for a quick workout routine.  Steph and I always do a bit of cardio to get our heart rate up and then hit the weights.  I did about 15 minutes on the elliptical/arc trainer to warm up and then moved to the rowing machine.  If you've never done the rowing machine, you should try it!  It's a good all over workout for legs, arms, back.  It's great!  It was one of the things that my OB did not recommend while pregnant so it's been a while since I've done it.  After that I did a quick routine of deadlifts, curls, and good mornings before stretching out and collecting Rhett from childcare.

Tuesday's workout:

15 minutes cardio

5 minutes rowing machine (no stopping)

3 sets of 10-12 reps of bicep curls with barbell, deadlifts, and good mornings (I used a 30lb straight barbell but use what you are comfortable with)

And since this post is all about accountability, I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but not my pre-pregnancy shape.  My goal is to get back my muscles that I had before having Rhett by 9 months. 

Thursday, I am going walking with a friend and Friday, I'll be working out at the gym again.  Leave me a comment if you are working out this week too!  Happy Wednesday, friends

shameless workout selfie to document where I'm starting at

Weekend Snapshots

This weekend my sister and brother in law came to visit us!  We didn't plan too much with the weather being so hot, but still managed to hit the pool, the mall, and chow down on some Mexican food and Andy's custard.

 

playing Foosball with the cousins

we were all tuckered out after swimming

these two are so sweet to Rhett even if he is "biting" them

On Sunday our cousins had to leave early so we visited our friend's church to hear him preach.  He did an excellent job speaking about our identity in Christ.  After that we went to the country club for brunch and let me tell you it was delicious! This kid is grabbing at everything!  He might have managed to throw 4 spoons on the ground.. Ooops..  I just ordered his high chair and we are going to start some solid food this week!

Elissa got to hold Rhett while Viv was distracted.
It was a rare moment that needed documenting :)

Meal Planning Monday #1

Since I am staying at home now, I am meal planning and cooking for our family to save money.  I actually really enjoy cooking, but it seemed like I was always missing ingredients and running to the store after work which meant we would eat around 9 pm..  So I've been planning our meals out for the week on Saturday or Sunday and getting the groceries on those days or Monday morning after my workout.  I do give myself grace to switch these recipes around during the week if we have unexpected visitors or things come up where we need to eat leftovers instead.

I've decided to share what we are actually eating this week.  I'm sure, like me, you have tons of recipes on your Pinterest boards, but have you tried them?  I'm going to actually try some and will give updates on whether they are a winner, winner, chicken dinner or a Pinterest fail at this house. Thanks for following along on this journey!

MondayPizza Quinoa Casseroleadapted from Gimme Some Oven

I've actually tried this recipe before and adapted it to fit our needs.  These are the cutest little pizza ramekins, but with a needy baby, I don't have time for ramekins.  I just used a large casserole dish instead and it worked out perfectly.

Ingredients

1 cup dry quinoa

2 cups chicken broth

28 ounces pizza sauce (or spaghetti sauce)

2 cups mozzarella

1 pkg turkey pepperonis

1 can sliced olives

1 bell pepper

Italian seasoning

garlic salt

Directions

Cook quinoa in the chicken broth according to package directions.  Stir in 1/2 cup pizza sauce after it is done cooking to prevent sticking along with some Italian seasoning and garlic salt for flavor.

Grease an 8x8 pyrex pan or a large corning-ware pan and pour some pizza sauce over the bottom.

Layer quinoa, mozzarella, pepperonis, bell pepper, and sauce then repeat ending with cheese on top.

Sprinkle diced olives on top of the cheese and cover with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until the dish is heated through.  You can remove the foil and let the top brown a bit after the 20 minutes.

TuesdayBBQ Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillasadapted from Pioneer Woman

I'm keeping it really simple today :)  I adapted this recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  Her recipe is fantastic, but I don't have that much time to cook dinner so these modifications speed up the dinner process.

Ingredients

flour tortillas

2 cups colby jack cheese

Tyson grilled and ready chicken fajita strips

pineapple tidbits

1 fresh jalepeno

bbq sauce

butter

Directions

Cook the Tyson grilled and ready strips (whole bag if you are making food for more than 2-3 people, half if less than that).  Once they are heated through, add some bbq sauce to coat.

Carefully cut the jalapeno and de-seed it.  I use a glove since I will be touching my baby later and do not want the heat of the jalapeno to get on him.

Once cut, I put the jalapenos, pineapples, and chicken in bowls next to my griddle so I can assemble the quesadillas while one is cooking.

Coat the outside of your tortilla in butter and place on pan.  Layer cheese, chicken, pineapple and jalapenos. Finish off with more cheese and another tortilla with butter on the outside.  Cook until heated through and repeat.

Wednesday leftovers! 

Thursday Lemon Orzo Shrimpadapted from Damn Delicious

Let me just start off saying I love pretty much everything that this woman cooks!  We have several of her recipes in our normal rotation.  I do tend to adapt though so this is my version of her recipe.

Ingredients

1 lb small salad shrimp (peeled and de-veined)

salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp butter

onion flakes (my husband doesn't like real onions)

minced garlic

8 oz orzo

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 bag of frozen peas

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions

Sprinkle shrimp with salt & pepper and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt butter and saute onion flakes and minced garlic. Stir in the dry orzo to brown the pasta a little bit (about 1-2 minutes).

Stir in chicken broth and 1/2 cup water.  Bring to a boil then simmer for about 10 minutes until the pasta is cooked.

Add the shrimp, peas, and lemon juice, stirring often until the shrimp are cooked.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the dish and let it cook on low until melted.

Friday

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

I've blogged about this recipe before and it's still in rotation at the Beam house.  It's one of my mother in law's recipes and we love it!

Ingredients

rotisserie chicken

2 boxes wild rice (Uncle Ben's or Rice-a-roni)

8 oz colby jack cheese

can of cream of chicken soup

8 oz sour cream

8 oz can of sliced water chestnuts (diced)

onion flakes

3 stalks of celery finely minced

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup milk

Directions

Prepare rice as directed on box.

While rice is cooking, tear off rotisserie chicken and dice it up.  You can use as much chicken as you like, but I usually use a half of a rotisserie chicken.

Chop celery and water chestnuts and saute them in the butter with the onion flakes.

Once rice has cooked, mix it in with the chopped chicken and sauteed veggies.  Next add cream of chicken soup, sour cream, milk, and most of the cheese.  Save a little for the topping..

Grease a 9x13 pyrex pan and spread mixture inside.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes then remove the cover and bake for another 10- 15 minutes.

That's what's cooking at the Beam house this week!  Let me know if you make any of the recipes or have any questions about them.  

Changes

Wow it has been forever and a day since I've updated this little blog.  A lot has been going on in the Beam household.  I have a 5 month old who rolls and sits up like a big boy, but has no desire to crawl yet and also refuses to take a bottle.  He is happy as a clam with mom, but not so happy if mom is not around.  So due to these factors, I have quit my job that I have been at for the past 6 years.  It's a bittersweet decision, but I know it is the best option for Rhett.

So now I'm a stay at home mom!  I'll be trying to figure out a new routine and finding my new normal.  I'm excited to get back to the gym and to get my house whipped into shape.  Meal planning is now going to become the normal as is updating the blog with DIY projects, baby updates, and other random goings on.  Thanks for following along!

my happy little bear

2 months

Milestones: This month RBB has started smiling!  Talk about one of the best things ever for a parent. Watch me say that about tons of other milestones too.  Can you tell we are loving parenthood?  We also took Rhett to Arkansas for the first time this month to meet more family.  He did great in the car since he sleeps a lot! 

Weight & Length: 11 lbs and 14 oz on our two month appointment and measuring 24 inches long!

Clothes: Our broad chested baby boy moved up to 3 months clothes and jammies this month.  

Diaper size: Rhett is in size 1 diapers currently.

Bottle: Since I am going back to work, we have been pretty consistent about giving Rhett one bottle a day.  He doesn't love the bottles, but tolerates them when Brian gives him his probiotic in breast milk.

Sleep: Before Rhett was born, I prayed that he would be a good eater and a good sleeper.  My prayers have been answered with this boy.  We transitioned him to his crib at 4 weeks, and he does great!  He wakes up typically one time around 4-6 am to nurse and then goes back down.  I'm so thankful that he sleeps so I can sleep too :)

that cute st. paddy's day booty

  

We dedicated our baby to the Lord this month at our church. "Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior, are children born in one's youth."
(Psalm 127:3-4)  As ones who have lost a baby, we thank the Lord even more for this wonderful blessing and pray that Rhett will grow to love Jesus like we do.

We also celebrated Rhett's first St. Patrick's Day and Easter this month.  He is obviously a little young to remember it, but I sure loved pretending that he was excited about these holidays :)   

And just some more random photos from Rhett's second month of life.

when both your babies want to sit on your lap you let them

Here's to the moms!

Sunday will be my first time to celebrate Mother's Day as a mom, but honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. I'm torn between being so excited and wanting to post a sappy post about how much I love my little schmoo and this new mom life, but not wanting to do that because I know the pain some people feel on this day. Yes, they probably have a wonderful mother to celebrate, yet their heart is hurting because they are not yet mothers or they are mothers to children who will never walk on this earth.

Last year, I lost a baby and went through surgery to repair my Fallopian tube in January. You would think by Mother's Day in May, I would have been over it, but I wasn't. Mother's Day was even harder, because it seemed like the support I had at the time had forgotten that I lost my baby; that I was actually a mom too, but my baby was in heaven. Don't get me wrong, I did have a caring husband, family, and friends, but it was still hard for me.  Looking back, it's almost like I expected my friends and family to know the hurt I felt, but that was an unrealistic expectation for me to put on them.

Should they bring up my loss or will that make me an emotional basket case? Should I stand when they ask the moms to stand at church? Do I pretend like losing my baby was no big deal, and I'm completely fine now? Should I forget about my first child because he was only 7 weeks old when his heart stopped beating and 10 weeks old when he left my body? I don't want to forget the pain or the fact that I am a mom to two babies, but only one is with me on this earth.  

I wonder if God allowed me to walk that path so I would be sensitive to others who are hurting. These women, who have lost babies or are walking through infertility, are close to my heart. I pray for these women regularly that their babies would come soon. I pray especially that when they see a pregnancy announcement or sappy mom post on social media that they will take heart in knowing someone cares and is praying for them.

So here's to you: the mom in the making, the mom whose babies are in heaven, the mom who doesn't think she can make it through the toddler stage, and the mom who is sad because her babies have all left the nest.  I thank God that He is with us in the happy times and in the hard times.  I pray that on Mother's Day this year you would be sensitive to those around you and not take for granted the blessings you have been given.  Happy Mother's Day!

Special thanks to my mother who was there for me when I lost my first baby and when I brought my second baby into this world.  I truly couldn't have done it without her love and support. I love you mom, and appreciate you so much more than I ever did before Rhett joined our family.

1 month

So I have been a total slacker when it comes to this blog and decided to go back and document his month by month info in hopes that I can keep it up!

Rhett's first month was kind of a blur honestly.  With healing from a natural delivery to not sleeping a ton to traveling to Texas at two weeks, we were busy Beams! 

Personality: My little man is proving to take after his daddy and is such a chill baby.  He only cries when hungry or wet.  He does not like to be a "wet Rhett" as I call him.  Still not recognizing mom or dad at this point, but sure loves to be snuggled up on us.  

Weight: Rhett was 8 lbs 7 oz when he was born and 8 lbs 2 oz when he left the hospital.  We had his first doctors appointment at our house two days later and he was already back to 8 lbs 10 oz!  He is a good eater.

Clothes: This boy is long!  He was in newborn clothes for maybe two weeks and then unfortunately we had to go up to three months.  Talk about crazy tall!  We definitely have the three month clothes too though thanks to friends and a haul my sister found on a buy, sell, trade site.  Thank you Kate!

Diaper size: We were mostly able to use all the newborn diapers we had before switching him to size ones around 4 weeks.

Bottle: At the recommendation of a friend who is a L&D nurse, we gave Rhett a bottle at 2 weeks. She said anywhere from 2-4 weeks is when you should start.  He took the bottle fine but didn't love it. We also started him on baby probiotics in the bottle after a couple nights of bad gas.  Holy moly probiotics are the best for upset tummies!  And colic calm helps too.

Sleep: The first 2 weeks were kind of rough.  He would wake up and nurse about every 2-3 hours. I finally got to where I would start an old movie and watch it as we woke up to feed.  It made the nights seem less lonely as I was sleeping on the couch with him in the rock & play or swing.  After our Texas trip at 2 weeks, I moved back into our room and kept Rhett next to the bed in the rock & play.

It is still quite amazing to me to love someone as much as we love Rhett.  I guess I never fathomed loving him so much that I would do anything for that kid.  It really puts it into perspective of how much God loves us that he gave up His son to die for us. 

Finding Our New Normal

Having a baby tips your world upside down.  No longer do you have the freedom to just take off to do whatever you want.  Our Friday nights no longer consist of going out to eat and the movies. Saturdays do not allow for sleeping in at least for both of us.  Brian stills lets me sleep in though sometimes :)  It's finally becoming a normal thing for us that we have a baby.  This week was my first week back at work and leaving my baby.

Brian and I decided that I would go back to work part time since I love my job.  It's really the best of both worlds to get to have a work/mommy life balance.  Being back was great!  It is easier to leave Rhett knowing that he is being loved on by my best friend's mom all day long.  He did fantastic with Gammie aside from taking the bottle.  He doesn't love the bottle, but it will get better.  My two days off with Rhett make that time even more special.  It feels like a mini vacation every week :)

thank goodness for the ergo and the moby wrap

delicious thin crust pizza

how cute are these two? little bffs

Gammie!

back to work with my new family picture on my desk

happy because Mom is home with him

tried a new recipe last night- Quinoa Chicken Bowls
so good!

tummy time

Laundry piles on the couch but babies don't keep so we are snuggling :)

Happy Easter!

Rhett had a fabulous first Easter.  He is obviously too little to understand about Jesus dying for our sins and being raised from the dead.  And he is also too young to hunt Easter eggs, but we sure had a fun time pretending he could.  We spent the weekend in Arkansas and had some great family time. Nana (Brian's mom) goes to great lengths to make holidays special for her grand kids and it was nice to have Rhett be included in that group this year :)

We spent Saturday coloring Easter eggs and "hunting" for eggs.  Sharon prepared a delicious meal for the family that night and we feasted.  Sunday we had Easter service at Harvest Time and went to the country club for brunch afterwards.  Needless to say, I did not lose any weight this weekend.  

hanging out with Aunt Lindsey

Don't mind the random stuff in the corner, this was our attempt at a family photo

Our little family

and we lost Bear..

but he wanted to be in this picture!

My egg-stra handsome little guy with his sweet Easter bunny

Keeping it real y'all.. we had some rough times over the weekend too

At the country club

Cousin love

I loved this ice sculpture bunny!

We caught him smiling!

He loves me

So little man has started drooling and I had wanted to make him some bandanna bibs but hadn't had the time or sewing skills.  Sharon and I worked out a system where I cut and she sewed and we whipped out 8 of these cute things!

My first Easter with Nana

After Brian's Nanna passed away in September, the family has started to go through their material possessions.  Being that Nanna and I both love Gone With The Wind, I wanted some of her GWTW plates and an old copy of the book she had.  I had also mentioned wanting a few dishes that match some of my grandmother's dishes and a silver tea set if Nanna had one.  Sharon found this gorgeous one for me!  It has some dents, but it is so special to me that I'll be able to have tea parties with our girl(s) some day using their great grandmother's tea set.  I already have some of my grandmother's dishes and have been able to use them at parties and showers.  It just warms my heart to have these memories of them.  

beautiful pieces

Some of my favorites of the plate set

before polishing

After!  Isn't it pretty displayed there?