Project Day in May

 Yes - most of a day spent on getting things done around the house that have been put off or just never finished. 

 I must have commented on my mom's hydrangea bush enough times, because for Mother's Day my own mom bought me my own pink hydrangea bush.  

I LOVE IT

It's been HOT and the poor thing needed planted so badly.  So the leaves are looking sad in this photo, but I hope after finally planting it today, giving it good Miracle Grow potting soil, and also plenty of cool water it will start to grow and thrive.

I hope to have my own large blooms of hydrangea flower to clip and bring into my home next year.

This is so not like us, lol

We have a very pretty backyard, but it is filled with bugs and wildlife...

 Hubby didn't like the idea of killing the grass in the front yard and our driveway has a pretty good slope to it, so we decided the garage was the best place, for now, for the temporary swimming pool.

Hey, not so hot in there and less likely to get sunburns, why didn't we think of this sooner?

 We have had this towel rack since Christmas

I've ALWAYS wanted one!

So it sat on the floor in our bathroom on it's stand, sort of kind of, getting used here and there.  More so just being in the way.  Today we finally have it mounted and can enjoy the warmth of heated towels after our showers.  True, this is a much better luxury for cooler weather, but I'll take it now!

And last but not least, I'm finishing my desk in my studio.

Another one of those projects that just has sat, unfinished, for a year now...

I'll save this photo for its own post.

Stay Tuned!

Little Girl's Craft Corner

 I own my own Bow & Girl's Accessories business:

www.CrossinMyHeart.com

First thing I did when we moved into our home was to get my studio set up so I could get to work

It's now summer time and my little girl takes after her Momma, she likes to CRAFT.  So I removed a bookcase from the corner of my studio to make room for her own Craft Corner

 The left side is my work area (part of it)

Her little corner is on the right

 Her space includes:

L-shaped desk (Top from Home Depot)

2 stacked canvas bin shelves (Home Depot)

Canvas Bins (Walmart)

A wire shelf with more canvas bins and more storage for larger things

A cork board style photo frame above her desk (Hobby Lobby)

A Hello Kitty bow holder (From one of my suppliers)

Pink dress form (Hobby Lobby)

Pink tins for marker, crayon, glue, scissor storage (Joann's)

Clips that hang on the wall for her ART (Clips and letters from Hobby Lobby)

A desk lamp (Lamp shade from Walmart)

A chandelier(Pottery Barn Kids)

Chair (Pottery Barn)

and a few other trinkets to personalize her space

I really like how  the "A's" above her desk turned out too (All came from Michaels)

 The best part about this space is that my daughter LOVES it!

She can't wait for mommy to have to work, so she can get creative herself!

8 Years of Wedded "Bliss"

It's hard to believe we've been married for 8 year now...

Like all marriages we have plenty of ups and downs.  But we've made it this far and don't have plans of slowing down.  I'm so blessed to have a hardworking, caring, dedicated man in my life.  God really did have good things planned for us when we met.  One of those being our little girl who turned 6 years old just two days later. 

This year we had a GREAT anniversary, thanks to my own baby sister (photographed in the middle of the photo below)

She is training many of the servers and hostesses at the brand new Pi restaurant which will soon be opening in Downtown St. Louis on Washington Ave.

She got us in for their private event before their grand opening.  Also treated us VIP!

We were wined and dined with two gourmet pizza (Pie's/"Pi's"), adult beverages, salads, appetizer, and desserts - all for FREE

 

We had a great time and will for sure remember this special day in our lives.

2004

 

Tower Garden - Time to Eat! (Week 5)

 5 Weeks of growing and our garden is HUGE!

Time to Eat

The gourmet lettuce was SO GOOD

Almost a little sweet compared to store bought

Our little girl picked all the lettuce and washed it for us

Some of the best salads we have ever had

It is so nice that we can go outside, grab some salad when we want it for:

Salads, sandwiches, burgers, snacks, wraps, etc.

English Riding Birthday Party for 6 Year Old

 These birthday parties seem to be coming faster and faster each year

I can't believe my daughter is 6 years old and starting 1st grade in the fall

She is our little English Riding Sweetheart

We chose to host the party at the indoor arena where she takes lessons 

 The Birthday Girl

They had this miniature pony out for the kids to groom and pet

The helper girls also taught the kids about the horse

 

Food Table

Cotton Candy Kettle Corn, Strawberries, Grapes, Pretzels, Gumballs, Candy Sticks, and Animal Crackers were on the menu

 

 Another view of the Food Table

 Cupcake Tower

I made the toppers with printed on card stock and sucker sticks

 One of the Cupcake Toppers

Custom printed water bottle labels read:

"Alyssa Nichole's Birthday"

Polka Dot Treat Cups

Filled with animal crackers

These I ordered from Polka Dot Market's online store

 Favor Table

Balloons and Chevron Favor Bags were also from Polka Dot Market's Online Store

I added a "Thank You" sign to the table along with photos of our daughter

Flowers were from her Grandmother's Garden

Treat bags have personalized "Thank You" labels that I cut out and pasted onto the bags

Picnic Table

These included: balloons, bandanas, toy horses, glitter boxes

Boxes held horses for kids to color and markers

 Toy Horse

THE MAIN EVENT

The Horse and Pony Rides

Time to open gifts

Happy Birthday Sweetie Pie

Mommy and Daddy Love You

Here is a link to my post about her Invitations and other design elements of the party

Mrs. List Maker

Just call me Mrs. List Maker

I can't live without a "TO-DO LIST."  Post-its, note pads, magnetic fridge pads, calendars (I have 3 in my house), dry erase boards, I need it all to be efficient.

Not to mention I have a horrible memory, so it's really a need more then a want.

Added to my to do list is a Chalk Board chore chart for my little girl.  Yep, another TO-DO LIST for her ;)

I have lots on my June list to complete.  May things include building some new things for our home, organizing this and that, painting some furniture... and I could go on.

I have seen many blogs with their own permanent TO-DO LISTS in their blog's side bars.  A convenient way to cross things off the list as you blog about your accomplishments.  SO WHY NOT add yet another list to my already over kill amount I have around the house.  One that is public and maybe will help me to get things done a little more efficiently.

So added to this weeks TO-DO LIST: make a to-do list.

Last Day of Kindergarten

 Summer has officially begun

My little lady has grown so much over the last 9 months

This photo is proof of her growth, but she has also learned so much too!

I found the "First Day of Kindergarten" sign HERE

The "Last Day of Kindergarten" sign HERE

Now it's time to look back...

First and last day of Pre-K from last year 

 

So glad I've taken these photos.  It's like it's own little time machine.

Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Tower Garden - Weeks 3 & 4

 I'm recovering after having my wisdom teeth cut out last week.  Luckily my hubby has kept up with our weekly Tower Garden photos.

 WEEK 3

We started getting a lot of growth last week.  Lots of big leaves starting to show

WEEK 4

Today!

WOW!  What a difference a week makes!

Our lettuce is looking so full and lush

We have green strawberries starting to show up

And our tomato vines are really getting robust

Maybe next week we will have some produce to EAT

Saving Dough - Cooking While on Vacation

FINALLY it is that time of year

VACATION TIME

We will be in Branson, Missouri for a wonderful 4 days

We are staying in a condo with full kitchen/dining room which will make for some yummy ways to 

save some dough 

while on our stay.

Meal Plan while on Vacation:

Friday

Dinner Only: BBQ Pork Steaks, caned corn, baked potatoes

Saturday

Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit (needing a hearty breakfast because we will be at Silver Dollar City all day)

Lunch: On the go while at the amusement park

Dinner: Sour Cream and Bacon Crock Pot Chicken (will be cooking while we are away!  Come home to a cooked meal - YES!) and broccoli

Sunday

Breakfast: Cereal or scrambled eggs

Lunch: On the go while we are SHOPPING

Dinner: Leftovers from Friday and Saturday

Monday

Breakfast: Cereal or scrambled eggs

Lunch: Grab on the way home (time to say good-bye to vacation)

Dinner: At home - will probably heat a frozen pizza with salad

Riding in the Heat

 What a crazy year for weather it's been.  After basically not having a winter it is now May 3rd and we are already in summer.

Yesterday was riding lesson day.

Alyssa was tired after playing outside at school "three whole times."

But onto the stable we went.

With 90 degree temps, yesterday, it was HOT

 The hot temps don't phase Alyssa too much though.

She would be with the horses all day, everyday, in any weather/temps if we let her

Happy as a clam with her trusty horse Gabby

I love to watch her ride

Celebrating Alyssa

 School is letting our SO EARLY this year - May 15th is the final last last day of the 2011-2012 school year

My sweetie pie's 6th birthday is not till May 24th, so the last couple of weeks the teacher has made sure to squeeze in summer birthday's so those birthday kids aren't left out

Yesterday was Alyssa's special day!

All the kids sang Happy Birthday to her

She got to wear a special hat

and I brought in her birthday snack (cupcakes and kool aid)

 (Excuse the girl in the back, lol!  Perfect example of what sugar can do to kids)

It's hard to believe she will be 6 in about 3 weeks

I'm holding onto every last one of those days too.

I thought kindergarten would be rough for me... to think 1st grade is around the corner is unbelievable.

Summer Subway Art - Printable

I needed some new art for summer decor 

I loved this one I found on Pinterest...

But I wanted a blue background

Here's my spin on it

(8x10 Size)

Download it for free HERE

Dump it in Stew

 With all the fresh veggies we have been getting from our produce Co-Op I have been making lots of new recipes.  When you get produce in the Co-Op that you may not normally buy at the store, it gives you more options in your cooking.

This is what I call - Dump it in Stew...

Simple * Simple * Simple:

Stew Meat

Carrots

Red Onion

Red Potatoes

Celery

Worcestershire Sauce (to taste)

Water in the bottom

 

Cooked on Low for 9 hours in the crock pot

Pretty Tasty!

Tower Garden - Day 17 (Set Back)

 This is Day 17 for our Tower Garden!

Nothing eatable yet, but maybe only 2 more weeks and we should have something!

We did have a set back this weekend, a hail storm...

 a few pods were damaged after we had golf ball sized hail 3 nights ago.

We were not home to pull the Tower Garden up close to the house :(

Luckily the tower garden itself is fine, and we are sure the damaged plants will grow back on their own.