Fall Camping in Roan Mountain

This past weekend was not officially Fall but it sure felt like it up in the mountains of East Tennessee.

I would say this camping trip to Roan Mountain one of our best!

Our camper sat on the hill directly over this beautiful mountain stream.

The mountain air was crisp and clear.

 It was warm during the day and chilly at night which made the campfire dreamy. 

A good book makes a restful camping trip even better!

We hiked only once. 

The rain moved in and we had to cut it short but the beauty of the mountains is

 worth walking in the rain. 

My all time favorite hike is the Cloudland Trail at the very tip top of Roan Mountain. 

I hesitate to call it a "Hike" because it is only .02 miles. 

Yes, it is ridiculously short but in the words of my husband
 "it smells like Christmas". 

You walk under the pine trees to get to an over look that has to be

 one of the most beautiful places on this planet!
I couldn't get a picture of that wonderful view because we were right in the middle of a cloud.
When I go back, I will for sure get that picture to share with you.

Roan Mountain Campground Review is in the works.
Stay tuned!

90 Years Should Be Celebrated!

My sweet Mother-in-law just turned 90 years old. 

 This sweet lady has been such an inspiration to me! 

She is one of the hardest working women I know.

 She retired from her factory job when she was 81 years old.

 This factory had no air conditioning and she worked from 6:30 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon, everyday no matter how hot. 

I never heard her complain about having to go to work, 

Not once!

One of my favorite things about this lady is that

She always had food ready for any occasion.

 It was like she could pull a hot meal out of the air!  

Something I am still working to master. 
  

I love asking her questions about her childhood. 

Her memory of those years long ago is vivid.

 She once told me of the day a man came to their home to hook up their electricity! She was 12!! 

I can't even imagine life with Electricity.

 I can't even go camping without it, 

and she and her family lived life without it! 

So many wonderful things I could say about her, but one thing is for sure...
she is perfect example of the Proverbs 31 woman! 

Her children arise and call her blessed!!

Happy Birthday Granny!

My December Daily for 2014

Last year I made my very first December Daily...
in December.

 That was a huge mistake!!! 
Not the December Daily but the timing.

 I honestly thought it would be easy and fun!
It is fun but with out some planning, it is not easy!

 You can learn more about the original  concept for December Daily
  HERE
Ali Edwards is a genius for coming up with it and I was so excited to give it a try.

What I learned is this...December Daily's  must be organized in advance! 
 That is the secret to really enjoying the process.

So, this year I started putting my December Daily together in August!

I am pretty excited about how it turned out!

I can't wait to start adding photos!

Since I used the Project life style pages,
I will be able to rearrange and add photos without any problem!

I used the Heidi Swapp's Believe paper pad. 

 This is by far my very favorite Christmas paper!

I am now ready for the month of December!
All I will need to do this year is print photos and add them in!

A Hashtag Mini Album #thephippstakecharleston

Don't you just love Instagram?
It has become my new favorite form of social media.
It's quick and easy and makes memory keeping fun! 

While on our vacation to Charleston,
our family decided to create our own hash tag for our trip.

#thephippstakecharleston

We did it for fun as well as for memory keeping! 

Almost as soon as we got home, I uploaded all of my Instagram photos 

to Walgreens and had them printed out.  

And here is what I did with them...

 I made a Mini!!

For the front and back cover I used framing mat board.

Most mat boards are acid free and very sturdy so they work great for mini album covers. 

They come in as many colors as you can imagine!

And since I work in a frame shop, I have a million scraps to choose from. 

 This one happens to be a fabric mat board. 

I love the texture and how it works so well with the Kraft and gold foil papers.

For the pages I used this paper pad by DCWV and 

a few Heidi Swapp's project life cards and ephemera.

 I am in love with Gold foil right now, It is just so perfect for this Charleston album.

Instead of my usual "Bind it All" binding, I decided to use binding rings instead. 

I love the fact that the album lays flat when you are looking through 

and I absolutely that they are Gold! 

The scripture I chose for this album is

Psalm 77:11-12

11 I will remember the works of the Lord: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.

12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.

A Charleston Campground Review

Wow, it has been a while,
 but never fear, I'm Back! 
and with a Campground review!

Can you believe it?

My  first review  in a very long time.

Partly because I've been busy with life and partly because we
 haven't camped any where new until this last trip!

For our vacation, I really wanted to go and do something different this year.
   My hope and desire was to up head north to New England's Cape Cod,
 but I just couldn't convince the hubby.
He just wasn't willing to pull the camper 13 hours.
With all of his sinus trouble this year, I knew it was a long shot!

Oh well, maybe one day...

So, instead, we decided to pull the camper 6 hours south to Charleston SC.

It was probably one of our very best camping trips to date!

One of the main reasons for that was because of the campground!

KOA Mount Pleasant Charleston SC

This is the view from the back of our camper! 

I mean, Really??  look at this view!

Does it get any better than this?

That's right, we were right on the edge of this beautiful lake! 

The campground is located on the grounds of the Oakland Plantation and 

they give their guests a free tour once a week! 

The plantation is small but beautiful and full of rich history. Also, the hayride is just so fun.

Now to the review...

I have almost all good things to say about this campground!! The location is close to everything! You are 5 minute drive from Isle of Palms beach and 20 minutes from downtown Charleston.  

The campsites are large, very clean and well maintained. 

The staff is extremely helpful and friendly.

I have only one complaint... 

The showers are just too small. 

There are clean and there are plenty of them, but they just are not quite big enough.  

That's it!! That's the only negative I could come up with!! 

This is definitely a big thumbs up!! 

Angel Oak is about 45 minutes away, but well worth visiting!

Kings St in Downtown Charleston is so wonderful if you love to shop!

This Campground definitely gets my "Comfy Camping" stamp of approval.