Finding Family & Tracing Roots

We've been watching that show, "Who do you think you are?"on NBC, that traces back the ancestry of celebrities.  Cliff went ahead and signed up for a free 14 day trial on Ancestry.com.  We decided we were going to track family as far back as possible before we had to pay.  In 2 days, I have found super interesting stuff.

I live in a town in Georgia.  Not the big city, not the country.  Take it this way; we have 1.5 Starbucks and 2 Walmarts.  ( I've always gauged town sizes by the number of Walmarts, big indicator in the South believe it or not. )  On my dad's side of the family, we have literally been planted in this exact same town since about 1830. This is before the town even had an actual name.  My town wasn't really built til around 1950.  The home I lived in growing up is a 5 minute walk from the family land border.  I know there is a street in town with our last name, but didn't really realize we had that much to do with the history of the town until now.  Before living in my town, the preceding ancestors came straight from England to Dublin, Georgia; which is only an hour south of my town and considered the same region of Georgia.  I seriously am a local native.

My mother's side of the family is a bit more interesting.  My mom never knew her real dad.  He divorced my grandma when my mom was 4 years old.  Grandma won't talk about it, so Momma has been clueless.  Well...  I found out a ton of information!

Her father was in the Army during World War II.  He was stationed in Hawaii for a very short time before being sent to Marseilles, France on a "hospital" ship during the war.  In the war, he is listed as a night watchman.  At the age of 18, he was 5'10 and 150 lbs.  The most random, bizarre fact of all the documents was that he was a part of undertaker services/embalmer as his job in the military. 

 Hardy "Dit" Clarence & Bertie A.

Hardy and Bertie are my mom's grandparents!  Here they are as a young couple.  I think Hardy looks a lot like my brother in ways.  Hardy was a collection agent for a loan business.

Bertie A.

My mom resembles Bertie a lot too.  Eye shape, nose, cheek lines, same snaggle-tooth before Momma fixed hers' with braces.   I see my chin in this photo.  I only can find evidence of them having one child.

"M.H." (Martin Harkin) & Wiley F. 

Wiley F. (right) is my mom's great grandfather.  M.H. (left) is my mom's great, great grandfather.  Wow, right?!  Both men were farmers with many children.

Herbin Leroy "Lee", Dink Calloway, & Moman Talmadge "Tal"

Now here's a picture I was unsure about at first.  How could these 3 men be brothers of Wiley F. from the photo above when there's a car in the background?  These men lived a very long time, all into the 90's age range into the 1970's era.  So Lee, Dink, & Tal would be my mom's great uncles.

 I have a lot more photos saved than just these and can't wait to get them printed out.  I'd like to take all the official documents and photos made into a scrapbook for my Momma.  If you ever doubted trying out Ancestry.com, I say go for it.  (And no, they ain't paying me or anything.)  I have both sides of my family traced back to 1675.  I have paperwork with my family's actual handwriting on it.  I've discovered one of my far-back grandfathers was the Colonel of the 4th Regiment of the Revolutionary War, detailed with reports of what he did in the war. I can look at silly wills promising each child a bed, a cow, and $200. I can gawk at the great, great, great, great, great, great grandpa that had 4 wives and over 30 children.  (Yes, this is all true of my family. LOL!)  It's all extremely interesting, even more so when it's your own family.

Can we really, Gaga? Please?

 This part was too cute!

I usually just kinda close my eyes to all the Gaga kookiness.  I think of her as the new Madonna: catchy dance songs by a girl dressing weird and trying to shock.  My favorite song is still "Just Dance." 

 Cooking with Lady Gaga, Thursdays at 9PM EST

I'm loving the "Telephone" song to pieces!  I have been waiting for the new video to release and then be pushed back about 3 or 4 times now I wanna say.  I loved the Beyonce and Gaga collaboration for "Videophone" and I don't even really like Beyonce too much. 

In the "Telephone" video, (besides all the Kill Bill-ness) the sandwich part is my favorite part.  I read some statistic somewhere that said the demographic of 18-34 year olds buying Miracle Whip has dramatically increased some crazy percent since being featured in "Telephone."  Lady Gaga just put Miracle Whip in there, they didn't actually pay for a sponsored bit in the thing.  I can't wait for a video edit to be made that is shorter with more of the song VS. acting now that we have seen the longer one.  I want more dancing in the kitchen please. :)  Youtube it if you haven't seen it yet.

loveeees!

Oh!  And you gotta see this!  I found this art print on the net tonight.  It is by Bara-chan and you can buy your own print by clicking here.  If I didn't have kiddos, this would go up in my kitchen in a heart beat.  It's really adorable.  I would love it in post card size to place up on an inspiration pic board too.

Etsy Fave Item of the Day - The Sims Charm

I love The Sims!

So yeah, I'm addicted to The Sims.  I got Sims 3 for Christmas and the internet was ignored for over a month.  The Simmies I create aren't even outrageous, I keep them pretty goody two shoes and have tons of babies.  And yup, I'll admit when my first Sim died, I may have been hormonal at the time but I did cry.

I thought this phone charm from Etsy seller phatloots was pretty cute.  This is a handmade charm that has a lobster clasp to attach it to your cellie, but I personally would probably use it as a zipper pull on a hoodie or zip purse.  It's at a nice price and you can view it on Etsy by clicking here.

Etsy Fave Item of the Day - Gold Belt Bracelet

Darling!

I mostly wear gold toned jewelry.  I really like this bracelet that looks like a tiny belt from Etsy seller diamentdesigns.  I'm always on the look out for cute, affordable pieces that aren't ginormous.  I feel like when you have something too big in gold, it ends up looking gaudy.  This is simple yet still unique.  Again, in my usual taste for things, it could be dressy or casual.  You can view this item in her shop by clicking here.

Etsy Fave Item of the Day - Strong Coffee Poster

Seriously!

I love this poster print from Etsy seller howfab.  It is oh so true in my home!  I was stuck with Dunkin Donuts medium blend coffee yesterday and was a complete zombie the entire day.  Nothing got done.  I like the distressed, stamped typed lettering and that it is red.  One day, I'll eventually have a red and pea-green picture wall collage in my kitchen.  This would be perfect.  You can view this item on Etsy by clicking here.

Etsy Fave Item of the Day - Vintage Deer Planter

I do not have a green thumb.  

I get urges every now and again to play in the dirt, but never follow through.  I tell my ambitious, dreamer mind to start small.  I wouldn't mind doing some sort of herb we use a lot of like cilantro or oregano in my kitchen window sill.  I think I would pay more attention to the plant if it was potted in something cute.  I will eventually get one of these vintage Shawnee type planters.  I like this one a lot, probably because it has a deer, solid colored, and yellow!  You can view this planter from Etsy seller dixiepearl by clicking here.

The Oscars

So, I am very bummed I didn't get to watch the Oscars this year.  Apparently, ABC and the TV networks couldn't agree on the amount of money for their yearly broadcasting contracts.  So my channel that should have been showing the Oscars was showing sitcom reruns.

I did get to watch the Red Carpet Pre-Show on E!  I'm no fashion expert (completely a jeans and t-shirt type girl), but the dresses this year were just disappointing.  Between this and watching The Rachel Zoe Project, it makes me think I'd be a great stylist sometimes!  Let's look at the pretty dresses though.  Here's my picks of top 3 dresses:

 

#1 Cameron Diaz

She's making weird faces that are almost "Uma Thurman"- looking in these photos, but I love this dress and how her hair was styled.  Glamorous!  I'm not even a Cameron Diaz fan, so no bias here!  This is what I would imagine the Barbie Oscars Edition would look like.  (Although after reading a Best Dressed list review that mentioned Cameron Diaz looked as though she raided Taylor Swift's closet, I can't get that image out of my mind.)

 

#2 Meryl Streep

Again, not a fan girl of Meryl Streep, but holy crap, AMAZING!  And I didn't pick her as #2 because she is 61 years old and looks good for her age (which she does), but because she's genuinely beautiful here on Oscar night.  Makeup looking fresh, perfect fit, etc etc.  She definitely outshines those younger actresses.  This is how it's done.  Oh!  And did you know this is a dress from Big Chris of Project Runway?!

 

#3 Miley Cyrus

I hate how people automatically judge what Miley wears to be "too sexy" because of her age.  If this had been Britney or Beyonce at 17, no one would have said anything.  I really love this dress and how it wraps at the stomach area.  I like the cuff paired with this.  Her hair is fun and young.  I wish her the cup area in the bodice was about an inch taller or maybe she just needs some better posture.  I think a delicate thin choker necklace would have been nice too.  There's a lot of blank space going on from the top of the dress to her face.

Honorable Mention: Carey Mulligan

I love the cut of this dress.  Her shoes are rockin!  From what I understand, she's a pretty short girl and doesn't look it at all here.  It could have easily drowned her down and looked like a prom dress if not for this too-cute cut.  I like the sparkly details and everything.  Minus points for her hair.  I do not like this blonde dye job.  It's almost elderly looking when paired with the cropped, pixie cut.  If she had still been red-headed and not styled with blunt bangs, I would have rated her higher.

What do you think?  What was your favorite dress of the evening?  Oh, and if anyone has a link to the John Hughes segment, please link me.

I give up trying to format this post anymore!  All photos are snagged from The Huffington Post. 

Etsy Fave Item of the Day - Mare Satin and Pearls Ribbon Necklace

I got the idea of doing the "Fave Item of the Day" posts on my blog after noticing Twillypop's Twitter tweets with her picks of the day.  I discovered her Etsy shop not too long ago and could have easily hearted her entire shop.

See why?!

I have a bit of a love affair with pearls.  I've paired them up with t-shirts, but sometimes it just didn't work.  I wanted that classic look, but felt too stuffy.  The necklaces Twillypop make are perfect for this type of look!  Change your top and you can still go from casual to a sophicated outfit.  I have a lot of blue clothes and overall it looks well with my fair skin.  You can view this necklace from Twillypop by clicking here.

Etsy Fave Items of the Day - Atomic Era Starburst Wall Clock

It's something about the items of this time that get me all giddy.  I love to watch the documentaries on how people in the 1950's and 60's thought the future would be.  Like how we would all have our own Rosie robot and fly to work like on The Jetson's.

I dream about these clocks!

I'm not kidding!  I really do!  I've seen updated, similar versions in the stores; but they aren't the same.  I do not like the wall clocks with the filled in metal prongs or triangle pointed edges.  I love this one from Entwife on Etsy.  It's still in working condition and you can view it in her shop by clicking here.  I would style this wall clock behind a bright colored wall to really make it pop and its' little details shine.

Etsy Fave Item of the Day - Aerial No 2 Painting

 

I absolutely love this! 

This is an ORIGINAL painting from crystalljackson.  You can view this item in her shop by clicking here.  It is titled Aerial No 2.  It is part of a pair, hence the No 2.  I really like the colors and think it's a really fun piece to put in your home.  It makes me think of the crop dusters at my grandma's house when I was a little kid and that makes me smile.

I appreciate this painting, because I am a bit literal when I look at things to draw them.  It can be good thing or a bad thing for myself.  I like how this is still a bit modern.  I don't know crystalljackson, but did notice she was somewhat of an undiscovered seller on Etsy.  Give her a heart if you liked it too!

Etsy Fave Item of the Day - Vintage 70's Henry Lee Dress

I haven't decided if I'll make this a daily blog thing or not just yet, but do intend on tweeting one favorite per day.  (You can follow me on Twitter by clicking here.)  I like to window shop on Etsy.  It's one of the ways I fill the time when I'm up with Baby Sam when he should be sleeping. :)  I have hearted a million, badillion things.  I figured maybe I should share some of these things with yall!

Today's pick is from a seller local to me, although I don't know her.  Her shop is named GeorgiaVintage.  If I was a few sizes smaller, trust me, this would be mine!  I love the crisp lines and the waisted fit.  It comes with a belt that isn't pictured too by the way.  You can view this item on Etsy by clicking here.

Savvy N Sassy Ribbon Kit Giveaway

 

I love giveaways.

I was on the Savvy N Sassy Design Team last term and have to tell you that these ribbon kits are high-quality, perfectly matched, and pretty big for the price you pay.   This kit above is 8 yards in total and you could win it by going to their blog, here, and registering to receive their update emails.  After you do that, visit Katie's blog and leave a comment, here.  

You can gain another entry by visiting their online store and leaving a link to your favorite item on Katie's blog post of this giveaway, here.  Do this as a separate comment.  Katie will reveal the winner on March 31st.

Yes, I coupon!

I never used to coupon.  I can't be hassled driving to five different stores.  I have no interest in buying random things I'll never use to earn Extra Care Bucks at CVS.  Lots of people do well with this, but it's just not for me.  I don't want to get a newspaper subscription for a sheet or two of coupons I may or may not even end up using.  I explained this to my friend, Katie, aka The Coupon Queen.  I just wanted to print out some coupons of things we actually use and go to one store!  Katie says, "You can do that at Kroger."  Did you know that?  She explained it all to me...

Kroger doubles all paper coupons that are .50 and below.  They also have one of those swipey cards you put on your keychain.  You can go to the Kroger website and it will direct you to 3 sources to where you can load up Ecoupons to that swipey card.  You can combine a paper coupon with an Ecoupon.  That's how you really save!  I usually get my instant potatoes, frozen vegetables, and tuna for free.  I get my brand name diapers and wipes at the price of store brand ones.

Another bonus to the Kroger swipey card is that you can earn college money by loading Ecoupons from UPromise.com.  You can't actually reduce the price of your shopping trip with these Ecoupons though.  When you buy a specified item, that company will give you the amount to add to a college fund.  It's normal everyday stuff like toilet paper and shaving razors.



Here's an example of how I got men's deodorant free last week:
Right Guard Men's Deodorant was on sale for $1 at regular store price.
Coupons.com had a printable coupon - Save $2 on any 2 Right Guard products






I don't spend hours comparing prices to the ads to what coupons I need to print off etc. by using Southern Savers blog.  Jenny at Southern Savers does it all for you and has it all up and organized for you the day the new sales go in to effect.  She will also give you links to have coupon booklets and free samples mailed directly to you.