Today’s awesome things post was intended to be all about fathers gifts and activities, but I quickly got distracted. So, here’s what is catching my eye this week (father’s day and otherwise):
Kids Cardboard and Paper DIY Toys
This weekend, I’m heading to good ole Rocky Top Tennessee to visit and celebrate family and relax in the sunshine. What will you be up to this, hopefully, gorgeous weekend?
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Easy Fruit Popsicles – yum!
Sometimes you find something so beautiful, it can be nothing else but art.
Trivets! I adore the folksy-looking one in the top left corner.
Gah!!! This is beyond gorgeous. Stop it, just stop it The House that Lars Built and Anthropologie.
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This weekend was packed full of fun. Not only did the hub and I have a three-day weekend, but my sister in law and her tribe came for a visit. Top it off with hanging out with some great friends who are leaving us for the big city, and it was one non-stop weekend!
It started with a potluck and swimming…
And then a hike with #toddlerelise, two crazy dogs & 3 couples (and a thunderstorm) + so.many.ribs
And lastly, a lovely lazy day with lots of walking and a trip to our local nature center.
It was a truly eventful, yet lovely long weekend. One of the bests we’ve had in a while.
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Geometric Coasters that are absurdly easy and cheap
And the most gorgeous quilt, ever
Happy Memorial Day, y’all!
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As you may of noticed, I’m a big fan of super simple projects – the simpler, the better. It’s been a while since I composted and I’ve really been wanting to start again. It’s amazing how many food scraps one creates throughout the week! This project only took about 10-15 min, and this was with little Elise helping!
Supplies:
•A large plastic bucket
•An electric drill
•Compost (your carbon & your nitrogen, i.e. Dried leaves, straw or torn up newspaper/paper bags & food scraps)
If you want to learn more about composting or other types of compost contraptions, I highly recommend reading the book “Urban Homestead“, or the Commonsense Homestead. There are a ton of resources out there!
The Steps:
1. Find a large bucket or container. We used a storage container. It should be something you can drill in to. Make sure it has a lid because you’re going to need to close it so critters don’t get into it.
2. Drill holes all through out the bottom of the container. I drilled five larger holes and many, many small holes. I keep the container outside directly on the grass in the back of the house. This is so there is still a little air flow and so that beneficial buggies (specifically, worms) can help break down the scraps.
3. And that’s it! Now it’s time to put in your compost. First, your carbon. We used torn-up paper bags from Trader Joes. The bags say they are compostable – so they’re perfect!
5. Then put in your food scraps. We compost pretty much everything except meat and dairy. That stuff requires a more sophisticated composting system, so we steer clear. And then mix! Make sure you’ve put your lid on tightly. You don’t want a nice yucky mess popping out – that’s one way to discourage you from doing it again! We just turn the container over and over a handful of times to mix everything up.
Ta da! You’ve got yourself a simple composting system. Composting takes quite a bit of time to be ready to use in your garden – so have patience!
I hope this encourages anyone who’s been toying around with the idea. I know this hasn’t been the prettiest post – but it’s at least been practical!
Big hugs!
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Sometime in my life I started appreciating pink and shades there of. (I personally think it was sometime around when little E was born – people can’t help but get little girls pink clothes despite the protests of this mother). Recently I’ve realized that this initial tolerance turned into appreciation and more lately it seems I really like it! Not a lot of it, grant you – but pops.
Below, you’ll notice this trend throughout these photos. C’est la vie.
The weekend is here and it’s beautiful again. I shall be taking deep sips of the above drink and relaxing on my porch while I soak up the fresh air. What are your weekend plans, lovelies?
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1 – Putting two of my favorite things together: linens and watercolor
2 – A no-sew pillow scarf cover
3 – 12 organizing baskets
What do you have your eye on this week?
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This may seem a little random, but I’ve been obsessing over fruit baskets lately.
Sometime over this weekend, I spotted one that I adored and thus began the etsy search for the best fruit basket around.
The two kinds I really like are the hanging baskets and the tiered stands. Now, the tiered stands are typically used for cakes but I think using them to store and display fruit would be a really nifty use, too.
How do you store your fruit? We have a basket now, but I think we need one a little bigger with a little more visibility. Warmer days mean more fruit eating for us!
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Here in the mountains of WNC, we’ve been having some beautiful weather, followed by some get-back-in-your-pjs-snuggle-up-and-watch-a-fire kind of nasty weather. If you’ve ever visited Asheville, you know what I’m talking about. The weather here is more indecisive than I am when picking out pretty dresses to wear on a date night. Yeesh.
Nevertheless, we cherish our bright, sunny days here and make the most of it by cramming our evenings and weekends with as many activities a normal person can handle. This past week I:
•Went to the park with little E and my 15 years+ bestie where we had a picnic and played on slides (pictures 2 & 3).
•Celebrated a sweet, special friend’s 28th at some of the best joints in Asheville, including Wicked Weed (where we had beers with a party squid #squidattack) and Ben’s Tune Up (dance party, what-what!) (picture 4).
•Said “a tout à l’heur” (see you later) to one of our favorite double date buddies who are moving to the big city (aka Raleigh) to get real jobs (sorry, Asheville!) with none other than herring, cheese, wine, roasted peppers and pbr (picture 1).
And these pictures don’t even include the triple-trouble birthday party we went to on Saturday where little E got a crack at her first piñata! (There’s a video!)
With all this activity, it’s already feeling like summer when there something happening all.the.time. in Asheville.
Whew! Just thinking about this weekend is tiring me out!
What about you? Are you already obsessing over spring/summer plans? I know I am! ❤
I know it’s been a while but I did mention that it might take me a while to get back into the blogosphere after starting back into the 9-5 grind, didn’t I? 😉
Well, I’m back now, so here we go.
Picture One: I’m totally in love with this picture of my little E. She has gotta be the most tenacious, strong willed little girl I know. Since I’m back to working full time, I’ve realized just how much I enjoy being with her, watching her grow and learn and be the most amazing person in the world.
Picture Two: I know I’ve shared this photo-quote before, but it is definitely my daily mantra these days. (I’m so sad to report that I can’t find the original link right now.)
Picture Three: This St. Patties Day themed cake is so past due, but ohmygawh, isn’t the prettiest and tastiest-looking thing?
Picture One: I really, really adore backdrops, and really pretty, frilly ones especially. But the texture of this is to dyi for – har har. I would seriously decorate my apartment with this!
Picture Two: So I’ve made dough ornaments before but I’ve never tried my hand at magnets. Same concept, just a different use.
And Picture Three: Ok, so it seems like I may be really jonesing for something sweet, eh? These beautifully-colored doughnuts should be in my tummy. Now.
So I hope you’re still around, friends, because I really appreciate you stopping by. It’s nice to have some company to talk about the pretty, precious things in life.
Have a fabulous day! ❤
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