Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter Weekend....and Strawberry Sangria Recipe

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Weekend!
We had a fun filled weekend full of Soccer, Egg Hunts, Egg dying, Chocolate, and the Beach. It was exactly how I had hoped it would all turn out! Gotta love it when that happens!


We had a fun time coloring eggs!


I did not have vinegar....so we had to wait a while for them to get bright. And waiting isn't as much fun without silly faces.



Note to Self: Do not punch out holes until after reading directions!





Hmm....can you tell which ones Collin did?! This little guy is all things sports!


The Easter Bunny Came!!!!!!!!!!


The kids were super excited about the tennis gear!


Why oh why do I always get chocolate for them!



My Easter Basket.....Strawberry Sangria! MMMMM!

We packed coolers after our Egg hunt....and went to the beach with some great friends!

Such a wonderful way to spend Easter in Florida!




Love this little girl! She is a TOTAL water girl!

Both kids were swimming before they were 3, and I don't think they have stopped since!





Collin was super excited that there were actually waves this time!


We had a great time!

And I probably should mention that I am waiting for my lucky day......I was pooped on.....on the forehead.....while drinking sangria and talking to my friend, Ashley. Yup.....no biggie! I hear it is good luck! :)




BEST STRAWBERRY SANGRIA RECIPE.....

1/2 CUP SUGAR

8 MINT LEAVES

2 (750-MILL) BOTTLES OF DRY WHITE WINE

4 CUPS SLICED STRAWBERRIES

1/4 CUP OF BRANDY

STIR....AND REFRIGERATE FOR AT LEAST TWO HOURS.


ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!


xoxo

























































































Friday, April 22, 2011

Loving the Earth

Happy Earth Day!!!!!!!!
Every year I try to do something in the yard for Earth day.....and this year is no different!

We love hanging out in the backyard.....and have been doing really well keeping good care of all of our plants and trees this year! Wahooo!!!!!



We planted three little palms! The kids loved it.....they will grow and block the view of our neighbor's back door......and it was a great way to spend the day with the family.

Kacey and Collin worked really hard and were so proud of themselves! They love this stuff!

Our new hanging plant! My mom snips the "babies" and loves them until they are big and beautiful like this. It is my first time being trusted with one. :)

Gotta love a little pop of color!

The kids painted little bird houses and it has been really fun watching the birds come in for a snack.

I wonder how long it will be until Kali catches one of these birds.....for her little snack.

Kali the wonder dog just turned 2 this past week! I can't believe she is two!!!!!!!!!!!! And I am wondering when on earth she will lose some of this puppy energy!

Hope you all have a wonderful Earth Day and plant something in your yard to give back!

xoxo

Monday, April 18, 2011

Easter Basket Treats

We had another amazing weekend here!
Soccer, birthday party, shopping, yard work, and it ended with a great evening at my parents house by their pool.
I love the weekends, and especially when they involve cupcakes!!!!!!

My mom had a cute project for the kids to do at her house, and I think I might have been just as excited as the kids.

Easter Basket Cupcakes
*Coconut
*Green Food Coloring
*cupcakes frosted with white icing
*Marshmallow Bunnies
*jelly Beans


She put the coconut in a plastic bag and then added a few drops of green food coloring and shook it around until all of the "grass" was green.

Then the kids went to town. They each added mainly marshmallow bunnies....but they loved it!

too cute!

My mom tutors 12 kids a week in math, so we made some extras for her students.

I love how they turned out, and they tasted sooo good!

Hope you get to try this with your little ones!

xoxo

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Painted Flower Pot Tutorial

I do not have a green thumb....but I love having plants around my home and backyard.
Last year around this time we made painted flower pots for our yard and Kacey's teachers here and the striped pot is still one of my favorites!

This year I took it a little step further.

You will need:
-Plastic Flower pots (I got these super cute colors at Walmart for $1 for the smaller and $2 for the larger pots. They had several other/larger sizes to choose from as well)
-Chalkboard spray paint
-painters tape and newspaper to frame out your chalkboard area
-craft paint


I marked off where I wanted the chalkboard portion to be and then I sprayed them.

My original plan was to leave them just with chalkboard squares...but I didn't set the tape perfectly so I used my craft paint and took it a step further.

I love how they turned out!!!!!!!!!!
Ideas to use the flower pots for...
-easter basket
-flower pot
-birthday gift pail with gloves, shovel, seeds, and dirt
-teacher's appreciation gift
-welcome to the neighborhood gift
-ANYTHING YOU WANT!!!!!!

I put together a little Easter kit for my niece. I added a bird feeder for her to paint, seed packet, candy, and some other flowering goodies.

This is for me.....with a special message to my new plant.

enjoy!!!!

xoxo

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Beachy Living Partial Reveal


This wall didn't change much in our spring makeover.....but it is one of my fave parts.
I purchased these vintage maps of the 3 states that Chad and I have lived in together over a year ago....and have been waiting to figure out what to do with them.

I just really love the blues in the maps...and that we can point out where we have lived on each of them. It just makes me happy!

I will be putting up a tutorial on how I framed each of them for under $6 each!

I also added a new pillow case to my shop today! I just love the color combo...and I am also a sucker for a pom pom trim!

Hope you all are enjoying this BEAUTIFUL spring weather!!!!!!!!
xoxo

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The Number 5


The number 5 has always been my favorite number!
It was my soccer number, and I have always claimed that it was "MY" number.

I was super excited when my mom found this Funf wine several months ago!

*It has the number 5 on it.
*Funf means 5 in German.....and I lived in Germany for 4 years as a child.
*It is white and looks great in my wine box that my amazing friends got me from Pottery barn for my bday.
*It tastes super good.
AND........
*It is under $7!!!!!!!!!

Just thought I would share my new favorite reason for loving the number 5!

xoxo

Monday, April 4, 2011

Orange Groves

This weekend we had a beautiful weather!!!!!! After the tornado warnings....flooding....and winds earlier in the week...this was a great way to end the week!

We went with 6 families in hopes of going Strawberry picking! I was super excited about trying out a strawberry pie and making strawberry shortcakes.

BUT.....due to all the rain earlier in the week.....IT FLOODED AND NO MORE STRAWBERRIES.

No big deal....we quickly switched over to all things orange and went orange picking!

Such a fun way for the kids to get out and get excited about eating healthy!




Love this little guy! The oranges were actually really hard to pull off....so they had to work for it!

Spending time outside with these three is the best. Adding a whole load of friends is even better!!!

My workout girl.

Yup....of course you need to taste test them! ***Note to self....bring wet wipes next time. This step is VERY sticky!***

This pull ended in Collin on the ground...holding the orange. ha!

That is a whole lot of kids! They really loved it!
The parents did too!!!!!!!

After we were done picking oranges we headed out to our FAVE Pizza place. I should mention that it is our fave because they let you bring your own wine and beer....and even provide the glasses!!!!!!!

Great day with great food....great wine....great friends.....and great memories!!!!!!!
xoxo