Bidding my last farewell to the month of June

Friday, June 29, 2012


We are surrounded—delimited by zillions of diminutive bodies-creatures of the atmosphere… invading the atmosphere; tailoring the air in intricate winged designs… minuscule bodies meandering the melody of the early evening air… zigzagging invisible paths.


And there are those tingle of spider webs made out of gold and thin air too. Spider webs that seem to twinkle and dance from the rooftops down to the garden’s floor when agitated by light...


It’s the enchantment of the summer evenings in the garden. And I am here—clinging to the magic of the moment; racing against time; racing against life itself wishing I could keep it all as is forevermore… hold this moment eternally. Just as is.


But alas… I must say goodbye to the last wave of the “month of enchantment” as it crashes along the flower beds of my garden. I know… the month of June lingers in many a heart. And we northern birds must bid our last farewell, until the wheel of time returns it back to the land again, and hopefully, we’ll be here to receive it and welcome it into our life once again.


I'm glad I am alive, to see and feel

The full deliciousness of this bright day,

That's like a heart with nothing to conceal...


(William Allingham, On a Forenoon of Spring)

DIY Etched Glass Jars

Happy Weekend...YAY!
How was your week?  Are you doing anything fun this weekend?  Fireworks?? We are celebrating Gracie's 7th birthday party tomorrow and we will have 15 seven year olds at the party so that will be fun and my Mother-in-Law is staying here for 11 days.  So, again, we are busy but having lots of fun!!  I can't believe Andrew is 3 weeks already!!

We have another guest poster today and I just love this post!!  I think you will too!!



Today, we have Kelli, from Living Sweetly!  



Hey everyone, I’m Kelli from Living Sweetly! A very special thank you to Bonnie for letting my guest post! Isn’t her blog awesome?! :)





I wanted to share a quick tutorial with you! I love the etched glass look but did NOT want to pay someone to etch a jar that will hold my Q-Tips and cotton balls! I did a little investigating and figured out how to get the same look on my own!




First, decide what type of jar want to etch and what you want to put in it.
I got this jar from Hobby Lobby. It was super discounted because there were a couple of little dings on the lid. I got it for about $1.50. Score!



Make sure the jar is thoroughly cleaned and use your favorite glass cleaner to get off and fingerprints or smudges.

The first thing we’ll do is tape off the area we want painted. I used Frog tape. It seems to work better than regular blue painter’s tape but use whatever works best for you!



I wasn’t too worried about my tape; I just eyeballed it. You could always get a level to make sure everything is nice and straight.



Next, we’ll put the lettering on the jar. I wanted my jar to hold Q-tips. I started with the middle letter of the word to make a sure everything was centered.










My favorite letters to use are the cardstock stickers. They’re thicker so their easier to put on and also to remove.




I used an etching cream from Hobby Lobby and a sponge brush to paint the etching cream on.



{I recommend doing this part outside or in a well ventilated area. This cream is strong!}




Now is the waiting game. There is usually a drying time on the back of the etching cream. I think I just ran to the grocery store and then finished the project after I got back.

After the jar is completely dry, rinse it under some warm water in a stainless steel sink. The cream may stain other types of sinks!


Go ahead and peel off the tape and stickers.




Give the jar one last rinse off and you’re done!


Here’s the finished product! It’s subtle but I think it’s really cute! This project would be great for things like sugar or flour…the writing would really pop!



Thank you again, Bonnie, for letting my guest post!
I’d love for you to come check out what’s going on at Living Sweetly!
I’m on Facebook, too! Come join us!






Thanks Kelli!!  What a great idea!


Have a great weekend!

My favorite things...

Wednesday, June 27, 2012
I’ve been enjoying lovely summer days... and roses from the garden in almost every room of the house… simply delightful!




Aquamarine tutu for lovely Princess Tesa…



And a lovely purple puffy ballerina dress for sweet Pebbles…



Oh, and speaking of Pebbles… have I shown you yet some of the pictures of her birthday party? I didn’t think so… my spray-painted bottles and roses from my garden on tables...


Cake pops made by Pebble's mommy...



And here's our 'extra' sweet birthday girl and her cake~ Yum yum! Please excuse daddy's lovely legs, would you! ;)




She’s such a sweetie… she didn’t mind at all sharing some of her cake with her best friend Jillianne...


...and with her best doggie friend too...


Thank you dear friend for stopping by and say hi... Ah yes, I can see you... see you as you smile and create small ripples of positive thought... THANK YOU!



Make Your Own Fruit Yogurt



One of our favorite lunches to eat is yogurt but we like to make a certain kind!!  We eat this so much that even our babysitter makes this at home now.

This is our favorite yogurt to eat!




We put it into a bowl.






The kids do all this themselves. 


Then we grab a bag of frozen fruit.


Then, we add the fruit to our yogurt!


Then we add organic stevia and pure vanilla extract.


Next, we mix it all together!


The kids like some "crunch" on top, so we usually add these cookies or granola on top.


You can add a banana if you want!


The kids love it!



Yup, they love it!!


Cute. Yummy. Healthy.




What is your favorite yogurt?

Thanks and have a great day!!