Yes, I have been absent from my dear blog for far too long. Things have been crazy for us this last month or so.
We have gone on a couple of short vacations, organized a FABULOUS sponsor dinner for the Farmers Market, had Rozlynn and Thad visit and sadly, had a pretty bad car accident that left us without our good and trusty mini-van (it was totaled). We are all well except for a few bruises and sore backs and necks thankfully.
ps Thank you Cavet for being on an internship in Washington DC so we could drive your Explorer around, it saved us .
So I have decided to post some picture collages of all that has transpired from October 1st until yesterday:
Cornbellies & Gardner VIllage with Kent & Kathy
car accident :(
Farmers Market Sponsor Dinner
After weeks of shopping around we got some new wheels.
Halloween 2011
The Bartholomews & Kjars party in Midway for the weekend!
Chillin in Vegas at the Belagio. All the pics above were taken with my iphone. Impressive.
Last and certainly not least, Thad and Rozlynn came to Utah to speak for 3 days with various groups (including government officials) about Thad's brother Mark who was KIA last year. It was a very somber visit, yet the feeling wasn't hopelessness. But one of hope, peace and love.
Hopefully the next couple of months will be just as fun but less 'event'ful. ;)
I just bought the last of my fabric for my roman shades in the sunroom. I am so excited! I made roman shades for my mom's house a couple of years ago and am finally getting ready to make my own. I haven't even cut the fabric yet, but am already excited!
I love the clean look above of a white, blue and marble kitchen....one day I will have one of my own. Until then I will enjoy others.
I love the look above and think it is darling for a craft/sewing room.
My sis is selling her house in AL and looking at b-e-a-u-t-i-f-l-u-l homes to move into near Birmingham. Good thing I am not the type to get jealous of my sibling's successes, cause I'd be very jealous. ;) Her and her husband are in the process of selling their home (pictured below) and because she lives in the best school district in her area they have had a number of showings. But no 'bites' yet.
So I put together an affordable before/after picture (BELOW) of how she could give her home more curb appeal. I just barely got photo-shop and am still teaching myself the ropes, but hopefully it is enough to help you catch my vision.
OOPS...ignore the weird arched things above the posts. Not supposed to be there.
TIP: drive around your neighborhood, or even better your "dream" neighborhood and take ideas from homes you like and apply it to your home. You do not have to live in a half-million dollar home to have it look clean, sophisticated and appealing.
Below I put together the products I would use that are inexpensive but make a big difference.
TIP: When buying plants my mother-in-law has always taught me to buy in 3 or 5. Also, most people make the mistake of spacing out their flowers too much so that they are more vulnerable to drying out. Plant flowers close together because once they start growing together they strengthen and shade each other's root systems.
TIP: when planting pots in front of entry way have 3 tiers or heights to give interest and dimension. First, plant the ornamental grass in the middle, then plant your 2nd tier with petunias, geraniums, mums etc. then your bottom tier are white alyssum or plants that waterfall over edge.
TIP: When buying plants my mother-in-law has always taught me to buy in 3 or 5. Also, most people make the mistake of spacing out their flowers too much so that they are more vulnerable to drying out. Plant flowers close together because once they start growing together they strengthen and shade each other's root systems.
TIP: when planting pots in front of entry way have 3 tiers or heights to give interest and dimension. First, plant the ornamental grass in the middle, then plant your 2nd tier with petunias, geraniums, mums etc. then your bottom tier are white alyssum or plants that waterfall over edge.LAST but certainly not least, it couldn't be a house I had anything to do with, without a decorative wreath on the door.........
Why did I spend so much time doing this?....I have NO idea, but I sure enjoyed doing it.
I have been very absent due to the following reasons:
-new calling, much more time consuming than I have had in a lonnnng time.
-kids started school, which I thought would buy me more time. Nope, b/c I have one in Kindergarten I am running around much more than intended.
-dance class, piano lessons and sports are in full swing.
-my 2 year old is making more messes...and can anyone explain to me why he chooses to play with q-tips, chips, and any other messy substance instead of playing with the plethora of toys he has? Is he trying to drive me crazy? Does he get up in the morning and ask himself, "what tiny tedious mess can I make that will ruin mom's morning?" ;)
-also, I update 2 websites weekly...thus this blog has been neglected for far too long.
But in my absence I have found some cool stuff and here are just a few of them, the first is brilliant for those of you with fine hair. It is a sock bun tutorial from Say Yes to Hoboken.
YUMMY recipe for Missippi Mud Brownies from Rozlynn's Homemade Goodness:
Love these diy paper lanterns: Very simple and do-able. Thanks Martha! For instructions go HERE.
Making lavender wands for my mom's booth The Lavender Apple at the SLC Farmer's Market. They are very time consuming but pretty. If you ever happen upon a bundle of fresh (cut that day) lavender here is a wonderful tutorial on how to make these wands from SEW HOMEGROWN.
So my dad gave us his old laptop, awesome right! Well, the only draw back is that it needs a new hard drive and since school has begun I have not had any time to spare to run and get one. So I have been seriously neglecting my blog. :( I miss blogging.
This year once again my mom donated her fabulous lavender products to the kid's school to raise money. Below is a picture of the basket I put together for this year. I love it. LUCKY person who gets it!
This basket contains:
2 lavender bundles
1 lavender water spray
1 neck roll
1 fabric eye pad
1 lavender goat-milk soap
1 lavender dog soap
1 lavender oatmeal bath soak
1 stack of 3 lavender sachets
1 single tie top lavender sachet
1 hand knit hot pad
4 lavender recipes with culinary lavender attached
1 lavender honey
2 framable card-art pieces photographed by Michael Nelson (my pop)
For more lavender products and free delicious recipes go here to the Lavender Apple website.
If you've been in my home you'll know that one of my pet-peeves is the 10, yes, TEN full length glass sliding closet doors in the bedrooms. I am thinking of putting up fabric closet doors in the kid rooms and after looking at some of these photos I am in love with the idea!
