So do you guys remember this post?

Hello? Poison Control...

Yep, that's our little Harrison.

I don't know if I told you guys or not, but H got his hair cut for the first time a few weeks ago.

He looks so much like my father. Its not even funny how much like him he looks. So in order to pay tribute to that wonderful vitamin antic and to show off his new do here's the post for today. :)
I just can't get over how well I did getting the green right. It is a little splotchy, but I kind of like it. I ended up mixing a lime green with a neon green spray and it works. :)

Here's my model. What do you guys think?

 Don't let his adorableness fool you. He wants my phone in these pictures. I love how the shirt suits him. To a T

Have a great day guys! And have a wonderful 4th!

Well yesterday I showed off last year's wreath and tablescape. For this year's tablescape, I used what I had.

I didn't iron the tablecloth, and I didn't really deviate too much.

The wreath from last year is back on our door.

So with out further ado, lets get this motor started.

Here's this year's table!
My favorite part of the 4th, besides the food and family, are the fireworks after they've exploded and the sparks are drifting slowly back down. How they get softer and softer, until they finally just go out.
So I tried emulating that with all of my soft candle glow :)

BTW - lots of pictures. :)







Oh I almost forgot my little red cabinet!
 There's the strawberry pot of hibiscus and 4th of July colors :) I love this flower arrangement
Just another close-up.

Well I hope guys enjoyed, because I had a lot of fun lighting all those candles and bringing everything together.

This year's patriotic colors are not quite done yet, and I'm suffering some major TMJ pain these last few days, so I'm pulling this post out of the attic. I hope you guys enjoy!

So every year since we moved back to Virginia, Stephen and I have hosted a 4th of July party - until this year. This year my Mom and Dad have graciously offered their home and land for the party. It also doesn't hurt that their  neighbor has ever-so-graciously allowed us to watch his fireworks display.

That being said, my house is still going to look patriotic on the 4th and that's what I did today. Gave her a quick make-over and finished some lingering projects. So here's what she looks like now!

So I know that I've been promising to share this dress for like two weeks now, and I bet you guys are expecting another excuse.Well you're not going to get one. :)

My hair is not done 'just so'. I'm not wearing the 'right' jewelry either, but I figured I'd made you guys wait long enough so here is the dress I wore to Dana's a couple of weeks ago.
Ignore the bags under the eyes. I've not had a good night's sleep in two nights.

The dress is a linen/poly blend. It wrinkles, but not as badly as 100% linen, but its light and airy. There are 8 pleats there in the front, which act in lieu of darts.
The pattern is super simple to follow, and unlike some v-neck patterns I've made, the facing on this one is not hard at all to put in or get right.
The sleeves are not tight on this dress and its very easy to move around in. Overall I really like the pattern.

I know a belt or something would help it out a little bit in the wow factor but as a foundation piece. It does the job. :)

So there's the dress. I am now going to take my tired, baggy eyes off for an afternoon nap. :)

see ya later!

It's generally a bad thing to hear me say, "I'm not really sure how this is going to turn out". Usually when I cook, I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going for. Not tonight. I'm not going to drag this out: I failed today. I made some garlic lentils the other day and wasn't very impressed with them, so, stealing an idea from Aarti Sequeira, I thought I would try to fry up some lentil patties to put on buns. Here's photographic proof of the travesty that was tonight's dinner.


Good thing Mike's out of town; I don't need any criticism besides my own today. They didn't turn out bad, but they didn't turn out great either. Well, at least I can say I tried. Better than just straight binning all the lentils without making an attempt. Dust yourself off and try again next week...

So I know I said I'd post about the dress I made, but I'm not.

Change of plans! Veering right! Crazy broad behind the wheel here. :)

Ok - so I'm in a random sort of mood today, but I wanted to share my outfit today.

I don't know if it all works, but I'm branching out, and I'm proud of myself for it - so I am sharing it all with you guys.

Although I will tell you that I need to do the following before the next photo session -

1. Clean the lens
2. Check the batteries
3. Find a tripod or something suitable to use as one

Ok so those are the three things I need to remember, so let me share my outfit today :) 
 Yay for being pretty! I'm rocking the gypsy look today. What do you guys think? Did I pull it off?

 I know this picture is not the clearest (see point 1 above), but check out those earrings?!?!?! LOVE!

And here's me getting annoyed at the camera. Figured I'd throw in a random face one :)

Well I hope you guys enjoyed today! I'll be back next week with more clothes, because today I'm also going to be finishing up another dress for me :)

Have a great day guys!

So lets have a show of hands - How many of you have children?

A lot of you?

How many of you feel like that when your children are teenagers you're going to have to get three jobs, and hire a professional grocery shopper, because they will eat you out of house and home?!

I do!

Devlin has been on a growth spurt, and its lasted for about a month or more. He's got growing pains. His back hurts, or his joints hurt. So the Tylenol comes out, and then there's feeding the ravenous boy.

Devlin has always {ALWAYS} had an appetite, even as a newborn. Suffice to say  - The boy can eat, a lot.

Which is why the recipe I made for Father's Day (and the week before) is  perfect for a small boy on a growth spurt.

What recipe is this? Well let me finally share it. :-)

{source}

Individual French Toast Stratas
from the Rachel Ray Magazine

Grocery Stuff:
6 Eggs
1-1/2 cups Half & Half
6 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1-1/2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
Large Pinch of Salt
4 Cups Cubed (Country Bread - I used sandwich bread the first time, but then baked up some homemade wheat bread for the 2nd round. They both worked just fine.
2 Tbsp Butter, melted
2 Tbsp Sugar

Cooking Stuff:

1. Whisk the eggs, half & half, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together. 
2. Combine the cubed bread and butter, and divide among 12 muffin cups. 
3. Pour the egg mixture over the bread (I used a ladle to minimize the impending mess), and let sit while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees (this is very important!)
4. Sprinkle sugar over the 12 muffin cups
5. Bake for 20 minutes, and let cool on rack.
6. Serve with more syrup and fresh berries. 

This dish is so good, and simple. Not to mention the kids eat it up. The first time we made this, Devlin had 3 of them, and he was finally full. The 2nd time he had 2, plus a croissant and 2 bowls of berries. He was harder to fill up the 2nd time round.

Well I hope that you guys enjoyed today's {belated} post. I promise tomorrow to show off the dress I made a couple of weeks ago.

See you guys then!

I know I said I was going to share recipes today, but there was something missing.

Motivation.

I did find this though!

I'm glad I don't have an easy job now, but I do wish robots would clean my house. :)

Hopefully I'll be back to rights tomorrow. TTFN!

Did you do something nice for the Dad's in your life?

I did.

Not to toot my own horn, but the hubs made out pretty durn well this year. :)

Sears was having a sale. I've been wanting to get him a propane grill for FOREVER - I went to Sears.

Can you guess what happened next?

Yep, I bought that grill, and then had Mom deliver it home for me - cause it wouldn't fit in my car.

Steve was very happy, and I am super excited about all the yummy food he will be making us.

But since I gave him his gift days early, I didn't want Sunday to come without some fanfare, so I pulled out the cookbook, invited my folks and sister over for a Dad's day brunch.

I will share tomorrow what we ate, because right now I'm going to show off the pretty cards that I made.

I did a google search for the sayings, they're not my own, but I still think they're cute.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my Silhouette? The tie shape and the grill are both from their online store. Love.

Here's a close up of each card.
Hey look, my printer is running out of ink! Terrific! Oh well, I still ran with it. :)
The font I used on this card is one of my favorites. Its called Fulton Marker Light. I love the grunginess of it.

So tomorrow I will share the main event of the Dad's day brunch, but I hope you guys enjoyed my small creations today :)