DIY beautify

A little random recap of the last couple weeks...

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Well hi there! You know that feeling when you come home from being away...and it kinda sorta feels like you were gone for forever? That's what I'm going through this week! You may not even realize it, but I've been ~~out of town~~...~~out of state~~...out of the country with my family for the last 2 weeks!

Every good vacation needs a recap, so here we go.

We flew to Toronto, Canada to spend a week with my family. It was so nice to have all 5 of us together for some family pictures! This is downtown Toronto, just outside the aquarium and Blue Jays Stadium. We were underneath the CN Tower, and could just barely see people hanging over the edge at the very top! You can read about the Edgewalk experience here if you enjoy heights and getting freaked out!

We spent a day in Niagara Falls, which is where Mr DIY and I moved immediately after getting married. We spent our first 5 years of marriage in Niagara...Canadian side.

It never fails to impress!

Another family photo op! And the stinker who made faces...every family has one, right??

There's quite a broad range of ages between the cousins. It was great to see my boys step up and help the little guys 😊

Niagara Falls has changed a lot in the 21 years since we've lived there. It's a beautiful place to visit...and they have the BEST Italian bakeries! While we went to see our old homes and buy bread, the others went cherry and peach picking!

Yes, fruit does grow on trees in Canada! 😉 Some of the sweetest fruit I've ever tasted!

I even scored a pile of Rae Dunn goodies at the outlets in Niagara!

This bunch stayed in one home for a week! We laughed, cried, played games, watched movies, shared stories and meals and made some amazing memories together! It really stinks that we live so far apart and can really only get together every couple of years or so. Being together feels like home 💙

We hated saying goodbye once the week ended!

Off to the airport and DC for a 17 hour layover on our way to North Carolina...

Our plans for a day touring Washington DC came to a screeching halt because of weather. Rain...and lots of it! Needless to say, we were not impressed!

Mr DIY and our oldest braved the puddles and were pretty much the lone tourists at the Washington Mall, Lincoln Memorial and other sites. The rest of us stayed in the hotel and ordered Chinese food!

We finally made it to NC and Mr DIY's family. Another cousin reunion!

These girls happen to share birthdays about a week apart, so of course we had to celebrate!

It rained nearly the entire week, but we still managed to have fun! Just being together sometimes is enough!

Highlights included Pelican's Shaved Ice...

A day on the lake...

And Ichiban!!!

No trip to gramma's is complete without a tea party!

We may not be together for a long time...but we always have a good time!

If you made it this far in the family photo album...congrats! You're a real trooper!

I mentioned that I found some Rae Dunn...both in Canada and in NC. So even though my suitcase is still not fully unpacked, I have laundry to do and more groceries to get...I did take a little time to reorganize my coffee cabinet and a few other little spots in my home...priorities, right?

I moved the middle shelf up just a little bit so that I'm now able to stack my Rae Dunn mugs on top of each other...it's double the space! 😃

I replaced the round wicker 2-tier basket with a small wood box, turned on its side. It feels much less cluttered. That little metal candle right there...sugar cookie! I bought it at The Rusted Hinge in NC. It smells so good!

This little sugar and creamer set traveled in my suitcase all the way from Canada! I was so happy to unwrap it and see that it wasn't broken!

I was looking for a small vintage-looking plate rack and bought this off Mercari. It's perfect for my Rae Dunn ovals. You can find a similar one here. I've moved my large one like this to another spot...I'll share that soon!

Pretty organization like this just makes me happy. Oh, and that gorgeous custom pillow is from Returning Grace! If you haven't checked out her Etsy shop yet, you need to! Those feedsack coasters are also made by her!

The azalea print pillow cover is another Returning Grace design...it looks so perfect in my office! Just the right amount of farmhouse feminine charm that I love to surround myself with!

We were so happy to see our little Millie girl again too...and she was SO excited to see us and cover us with kisses!

Thanks for reading this little bit of random-ness! I am so grateful for you, my followers! I am so excited to announce that I'll be having a week full of giveaways of some very special home decor items soon...watch for the announcement in the next few days!

bringing beauty to the ordinary,