American Flag Serving Dish

With Memorial Day on Monday, I decided to share this favorite yard sale find of mine! I came across it awhile back actually but have never posted it on my blog. It's an American flag dish and coordinating bowl... perfect for crackers and dip, chips and salsa, fruit and dip, lots of things really. I didn't take a picture of the sticker on the bottom, but this is a Home Interiors and Gifts item. I paid a whole $4.00 for it! What a deal!!

Isn't it great?! :}

Happy Memorial Day!

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Summer Vacation!

Last year, my husband and son and I, my husband's parents, and my sister-in-law and her husband and daughter all went to Fernandina Beach in Florida. I looked forward to it for weeks, had suuuch a good time, and then it was over way too fast.

Well vacation time is here again, and we are officially booked for a four day stay in the mountains!! This year it's the same eight going plus Brett's brother and his girlfriend. We've reserved a four bedroom waterfront cabin! I'm already making a mental packing list. ;)

Come on July!!

This is Caden last year during our vacation:



Linking to Woo Hoo! Wednesday!

What a Difference a Curtain Rod Makes!

Just a quick post of my before and after valances in the livingroom.

Plain ole white not-the-least-bit-stylish curtain rod...



....to a modern much more attractive style in brown.



Big difference, huh??!!

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Tortilla Chip Cutouts

I made these Tortilla Cutouts back in February (sorry the date is wrong):

Ingredients:
Flour tortillas (You can also use corn tortillas; I've tried both, and I prefer flour.)
Olive oil
Sea salt

I used heart shaped and X's and O's cookie cutters since this was around Valentine's Day. Just a tip --> my cookie cutters were plastic, and I ended up having to use a knife some to cut the shapes out, so I would recommend metal cookie cutters; you get the same result, but metal will save you time.

Simply cut the shapes into the tortilla.

Lay on a baking sheet.

Brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle with sea salt.

And bake at 350 degrees for 4-6 minutes, until desired color and crispness.

Remove from baking sheet and let cool then enjoy with your favorite dip! Or even plain is good!

The dip I made was with Velveeta cheese and a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies. Cut cheese into cubes, place in bowl, pour in can of tomatoes and chilies; microwave, stirring a few times, until melted. Tastes great and super easy!

Linking up with Foodie Friday. Thanks for hosting!

And thanks everyone for visiting!

Picture Frame Redo

Well I am going to attempt to link up with another blog, Between Naps on the Porch, for the Metamorphosis Monday! This blog party features before and after stories and pictures from room transformations to reupholstered furniture to completed scrapbooking pages.

For my first MM and my first blog "hop," I'm keeping it simple (to make sure I can do it!).

Several months ago, I found a 20x20 signature frame on sale; it was such a good deal that I got it not knowing exactly what I would use it for. A few months later while planning my son's first birthday party, I decided to make a collage of his first year and display it at the party.

This is a picture of the before frame straight out of the store:



I printed black and white pictures of Caden--one for every month until he turned one in December--and used scrapbooking paper and stickers to create this after picture frame:



And now it hangs in my hallway:



Again, I'm linking up with Metamorphosis Monday at BNOTP. Thanks for hosting!



And thanks to everyone visiting! Leave a comment and I'll stop by your blog and repay the favor. :)

Yellow and Green Lemony Shower

This past Saturday morning, I helped host a bridal shower for a friend who is getting married next month. The shower was a brunch, so we wanted a springy and happy feel! That helped us decide on green and yellow for the colors.

For the centerpieces, we filled different sized Mason jars with water and sliced lemons and had tall green grass coming out of the tops of some of them.





A little closer:



Now how cute did they turn out!! Very springy and brunchish! Not to mention, way inexpensive!

Another little touch was in these. We wrapped each fork in a yellow napkin and tied it with green and white polka dot ribbon and put one at each place setting.



And the tissue paper pom poms I mentioned last week... we got to use some Saturday! They were a hit and very eyecatching in yellow and green! We hung them above our food tables.






I just love this tall pitcher/dispenser we borrowed from a friend. It's the same one we used on the parade float last weekend. We sliced limes to float in the lemonade to add some color.



And finally the "Best Wishes" banner made in different patterned green and yellow cardstock and scrapbooking paper.



Oh I almost forgot... we had old fashioned lemon drops for favors, but I forgot to take a picture. :(

Thanks for checking out my post!

Happy Birthday to My Hubby!

I'm going to do a mini post today because I have a little event to post about. :) My husband turned 28 on Monday, and I planned a surprise party for him. It was nothing big; I just invited some family for supper, cake, and ice cream. Buuuttt that gave me an excuse to decorate, and that's all I need!

I kept it simple, bright blue and green for the colors; I decided to go with those based on a pack of napkins I had picked up on sale awhile back. Yay for clearance items! I already had a green tablecloth, green and blue balloons, and the blue plates and cups. I made the table runner out of wrapping paper (from the Dollar Tree, might I add!) and baked the cupcakes myself... just yellow cake, some homemade frosting, and M&M "polka dots" on top!

Close up of the cute little cupcakes:

And a "surprise" banner that I made with my new toy, the Cricut!

Close up of that too:

Happy birthday to my Brett!

Parades and Festivals and Fun

I have had a busy few days! So busy that I have two posts I need to do tonight, but one may have to wait until tomorrow. This past Saturday was our annual Sweet Onion Parade and Festival! Glennville is a small town known for farming, but more specifically, growing onions. We're about 40 minutes from the town of Vidalia, even more "famous" for onions, the Vidalia sweet onion. I'm not crazy about onions, but I do enjoy the parade and festival every year. :)

My sister owns a preschool/daycare, and I work with her a couple days a week. For the last few years, we have entered a float in our local parade. This year, the name of the preschool--Little Rascals--was also our float theme. So yes, we went all out with a Little Rascals clubhouse theme!

This first picture is of the entire float:

This next collage of pictures is of the clubhouse (front, back, and each side). My brother-in-law built it, and my sister and I decorated it. We had a girls side and a boys side.

And the last one is some decorating we did to the front of our float. We made signs like we were selling lemonade but, as you can see, scratched that out to make it look like the kids were selling onions instead! ...since it was allll about the sweet onions! We even filled a lemonade dispenser with onions. And would you believe we actually sold two bags while riding through the parade!

Thanks again for stopping by!

Ladies Meeting

My last post was about an upcoming women's meeting at my church--we have these every month--that I was decorating for. When I posted, I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do, colors or theme or much of anything... except that I was planning to do it. :)

Well I decided on black and white and green for the colors, something cute and fun but still pretty. And since Mother's Day is this month, I went with "Mom's Love Hits the Spot" for my theme.

The banner I made:

Let me tell you, I am loooving my Cricut!!

The banner hanging in the social hall:

And my centerpieces:

Round cylinders, balls, polka dot ribbon, and dots scattered on the tables!

Thanks for checking out my post this week! Hopefully I'll figure out this linking-to-other-blogs stuff soon so I can do a little more...