impressed

As I sit her in the AC trying to cool off from an afternoon in the Georgia sun, I am blog strolling.  There are so many post of pretty tables, food that is dreamy, bouquets of flowers, shimmery and glitzy glazed pots, and beautiful decor beyond words.  With each pastel M&M (left over from Easter) that I consume, I can't stream my mind to gather focused thoughts on what to do with all of this feminine goodness.  I suppose if I could physically make these wonderful goodies and monetarily afford to host such a shindig, my guest of honor would be my mother.

So, for Mother's Day, I am sending my mom a showcase of these items with a side note that says, "IOU".  No, I'm not that tacky, but I am smart enough to know that I could never pull off a Mother's Day gala with all of these fancy homemade goodies.

Check out those cake pops.  I mean, come on!!  This is fancy-schmany folks!

BHG goodness

If you missed the April issue of Better Home and Gardens, you missed THIS.  It was a complete "WOW" moment for me when I saw it.  After working with a sweetheart of a bride the past few months on a backdrop for her reception, this had my attention. 

I've got lots of plans for this little freebie!

celebrate

This totally speaks my language!  I love the mixed textures of this handmade piece.  Mother's Day is in a few weeks.  Don't forget to celebrate Mom. 

Happy Monday!

easy peasy

If you are looking for an easy recipe that is fun for kids to make and a dream to enjoy, THIS is it!

Notice the smudge in the gooey chocolate.  Yep, that's a sign of little fingers getting a taste of the chocolatey goodness.

 (pssst...JIF woks just as well in the mix.  I've also topped these with melted caramel and pecans.)

I hope your week has been a good one...TGIF!!  Enjoy your weekend. 

Earth daily

 

This past Sunday was Earth Day.  It's a time where we reflect on the goodness of Mother Nature and all that she has to offer us and in return we offer her a little something.  Maybe you planted a tree, flowers, cleaned out a pond, picked up trash, or simply manicured your lawn and fertilized plants to help them grow and thrive.

Earth Day is very important and so often overlooked by thousands of people.  I am no "go-green" advocate but I do try my best to take care of the earth and help maintain its balance on my small plot of ground down here in the south. 

If you did not get the chance to do a little something this weekend to make the earth a better place, do it today, tomorrow or even next week.  The important thing is that you take the time to do it.  Here are a couple of links that I found helpful and inspiring.

 

HERE

HERE

Be sure to check out the special savings offers available HERE from Target!

paper pieces and pretty faces

OK, can I brag just a bit??  PLEASE!!!  Just take a look at this beautiful baby girl.  Mine?  Well, kind'a.  My niece Corley was born just a few weeks ago.  She's such a pretty baby.  I love, love, love this sweet little miracle!

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Roxanne holding little Corley, pure love!

I've got lots to share over here on the blog.  We've had a busy couple of weeks with more on the way...a wedding, a birthday, a baby dedication, another birthday, a baptism, and the list of blessings keep growing.

The school year is coming to a close with just a few short weeks to go. Roxanne and I completed her last project for the year last week.  Her class is learning and exploring ways to recycle.  The project was to reuse and re-purpose.  We looked online and found this adorable paper bead project made from magazine paper.  It was an instant "yes"!

It was a simple cut, trace, roll and paste type project.  A little time consuming to younger children but the end result was worth the wait.  Eating a handful of peanut M&M's makes the time go by a little faster!  Enjoy :)

pastel parade

Ahh, Spring is here!  We are surrounded in a rainbow of color both inside and outside of our home.  The birds are singing their beautiful melodies and the very bowels of the earth are breaking ground in all of its beauty.  I love this time of year!

We are in full swing preparing for the Easter Bunny to trot down our bunny trail.  We've decorated the house in a parade of Easter pastels.  We've dyed eggs to satisfy Bryar and her love for hard boiled eggs.  As for me, I just love all of the beautiful colors and I enjoy a hard boiled egg in my salad, too. 

My aunt made these beautiful dyed egg shells years ago that I proudly display on our dinning room table.  They are a treasure and someday I hope to attempt making some of these myself.

We have plastic eggs filled with candy waiting to be hunted, jelly beans being used for bunny bait and Easter dresses hung and ready to celebrate the true meaning of the Easter celebration...Jesus!

I hope that you and your family are celebrating his resurrection as well and enjoying a bit of the candy and hoopla that makes it fun and entertaining for all of us.  Have a great Easter and enjoy your time this holiday with family and friends.  

Much love,  

goodnight hugs

There is just something to be said about bedtime busyness with kids.  I love all of the bath tub play, wet hair that smells like berry goodness, cute pj's, fuzzy slippers, brushing teeth with light-up toothbrushes topped with silly character faces, picking out bedtime stories, reading and being interrupted by their version of the stories ending to come, snuggling, and night time prayers.  I don't think I could have hand picked my kids and had life be any sweeter.  These two little girls make me a very proud mommy. 

OK, so I have a book that I think may need to be a part of my sewing book collection. Has anyone purchased Patty Young's MODKID book? I love the way that she has designed the book and the pattern sheets. I also am loving the size range of the patterns. If any of you have this book and would like to share your thoughts, feel free to do so. I would be thrilled to find this book in my Easter Basket!

dust

We recently did a complete renovation of our bedroom and bathroom.  It took over four months to complete and is still in it's final finishing stages.  I am very pleased with the way it all has come together and I am super proud of Romeo for all of his hard work.  I feel like he has built us a little getaway.  It's our room, it's our bathroom and it should be just the way we want it, right?  It is a product of the two of us, our likes, our emotions, our romance...it's amazing.  Here's a little clip of the renovation process. 

So, as you can see, it's been slightly crazy around here. 

Where was my furniture you ask?  It was piled in the living room.  Where did we sleep?  Our bed was in the craft room.  Where did we shower?  We shared the girls bathroom in the hall. 

Yep, it's been fun...NOT! 

I can't even began to count the number of projects that we have completed over the years, it's just what we do.  Although it's not fun when things are scattered and upside down, it's all worth it in the end.  We have already began to draw up plans for our next renovation project, the kitchen..  However, I think this time we will be hiring a general contractor.  I don't think I can function in my house without a kitchen for four-six months. 

just.not.going.to.happen. 

Have a great weekend!

I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend.  We've weathered through some tough storms here in Georgia over the past few days.  My heart goes out to those who had tragic events take place due to the storm damage.  I was thrilled to see the sunshine pop through the blinds in my room this morning.  Today has been bright and sunny (still windy) and full of four year old fun, thanks to little Bryar.

I thought I would share another picture of some of the items that I made for my soon to come niece, Corley.  I spruced up a little trunk/box that I found at Michael's.  I added a coat of paint and I used my Silhouette machine to add a cute vinyl elephant and personalization.  I tucked in her baby doll, a quilt, some upstyled onesies, and bibs.  It was a box full of handmade goodies just for her!

Here's a picture of the topside of the baby quilt.  I pieced it together using various shades and styles of vintage chenille.  It turned out so beautiful that I thought about just having another baby and keeping it for myself...NOT!  However, parting with it was a little easier knowing that I will soon get to hold a sweet newborn baby girl wrapped up in all that chenille lusciousness.

cupcake-o-licious

I just had to share this adorable little cupcake creation that showed up in my inbox yesterday.  You'll find all the "how to" info. HERE.