In the Backyard

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been busy in the backyard. Yes, while also preparing for family houseguests and the wedding. Needless to say, our home has been very active over the last month.

We wanted to do something in the southwest corner of our backyard – the shadiest part, too. We called up our friend who also designed our home to help us pull together some ideas. These are the “before” shots.

Southwest corner

Looking west

Not so full garden bed - south elevation before

Here’s where we are now:

Southwest corner

Our poor friends… the clay soil was really tough to work through. They also ran into some leftover construction debris (stones, concrete scraps). I’m so glad they were able to help. Patrick is laying out the patio where most of the flagstone came from “Freecycle”.

Working on the arbor

Pretty arbor – the doorway to the shade garden.

Fenced kitchen garden in progress

Fencing to keep the critters out – have to add the chicken wire.

Fenced kitchen garden

The raised beds are bordered by our leftover brick from original house construction. We have a few more details to complete and then we’ll be done for the season which is a good thing… it was a balmy 30 degrees (or less) overnight. Hopefully the plants will survive since they’ve been in for almost a month now.

Shade Garden Plantings: Henry’s Garnet Sweetspire, Viburnum “Winterthur”, Jack Frost Brunnera, ferns and other steppable plants interspersed within the stone patio.

Tea and Birthday – part 2

What’s a tea party without a description or pictures of food? This is what my husband orchestrated…

Delicious hors d'oeuvres

Thanks to All on the Road Catering…asparagus wrapped with prosciutto, empanadas with caramelized onions and goat cheese with tomatilla dipping sauce, shredded duck with cherry marmalade boats, wild mushroom strudel garnished with green onion, brie and caramelized apples crostini.

Yummy sandwiches

These were devoured: ham with brie and mango, turkey with guacamole, and roast beef sandwiches.

Birthday cake

Chocolate cake goes really well with raspberry flavored tea. Trust me.

IMG_2693

We all had plenty to drink. Iced tea on tap: South Beach Peach, Fourth of July. Tried some “Triple Flip”… really gingery, orange flavored green tea. (I think it’s green tea. Can’t remember.) Even the kids had fun.

Blowing out the candles on Mom's cakeThe husband... thanks, honey!


The Craft Social

It might be intimidating to some to go all by yourself, not knowing anyone except for maybe through blogging, to a gathering of over 100 women (and one man) to craft for two hours.

Craft Social

It was FABULOUS!  Really, it was. This pic was at the beginning of the evening.  Attendees either brought a donation or food, and a craft project to do on her own.  There were also crafting stations where you could learn how to do a new project: duct tape wallets, decoupage bowls, paper-decorated clothespins, poloroid slide transfers, beading, and other various crafts.

One of many craft tablesFellow crafters

My magnetic bookmarkPom-pom flowers

I brought a cross-stitch project to work on, but really, I socialized, made a magnetic bookmark, little paper adornments and a pom-pom flower.

Meeting so many talented people and watching them create these beautiful pieces, made me want to try more things!  Hello to Toni at the refreshment area, Margaret, who was working on her applique, Kathy, who writes Merriment Design, Cindy, an event planner and crafter, Alexandra, who brought a scrumptious tart, Debbie and Rosemary, the stampin’ up ladies, Tripp Hudgins, the nicest husband and only man in the group (so enjoyed talking about paper and ink), Beth Engelman, blogger/writer, and Jess Jones, the social coordinator and blogger.

I can’t wait for the next one!

Crafting progress

It’s April 29. I don’t think I’m going to make the April 30 deadline for the projects I wrote about here, but I’m happy to say I’ve finished “prep stage 1” for the T-shirt quilt. I had way more than 9 shirts left to interface, and it definitely takes time.

T-shirt quilt squares

I brought my ironing board upstairs so I could watch old Schoolhouse Rock videos on You Tube with Ollie while I busted my tail trying to iron as fast as I could. Now I have the Adjective Song in my head. “He was a hairy bear, he was a scary bear, we made a hasty retreat from his lair… and described him with adjectives.” I love that song. Apparently, Ollie does too, he watched it about 10 times in a row.

Relive your childhood here: Classic Schoolhouse Rock – Adjective Song

The wine cork board is in disarray. I didn’t set baselines, and my rows started tilting towards the left. Voices in my head kept saying, “What would Martha (Stewart) do?” Of course, she’d start over, and so did I. I’m insane. As for the baby burp cloths, the fabric and ribbons are all cut. While Ollie took apart the couch after lunch, I ironed and pinned. I still might be able to finish sewing the burp cloths by the weekend.

What happens when I craftimg_1970

Like a Secret Society

So, I knew there were lots of blogs out there devoted to saving money, using coupons, stretching your dollars, finding deals, finding freebies… but really, it’s whole community. If you’re interested, here are a few sites that have great information!

http://www.stretchingabuckblog.com/

http://www.jlevinfamily.blogspot.com/

http://www.grocerygame.com

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