Burlap Wreath

I'm getting crafty again...decided to try this wreath at home...here is how it went..

I started out with:

• a straw wreath (didn't take the wrapper off it)
• burlap
• hot glue gun (make sure to have extra glue...you're gonna need it)
  
• scissors
• strait pins
  

wrap strips of burlap around the wreath and glue into place...



Cut strips of burlap about 4-6 inches in width and start to wrap around the wreath. Glue the beginning of the strip to the wreath and start twisting as you wrap it around the wreath...that's what gives it the full look. Glue throughout this process...in different places to help secure the burlap...

Keep going until you wrap the whole wreath to your liking. I wrapped it twice...the second time I tried to cover the holes I found and it just made it look more full.



To make the rosettes...cut a long strip and fold in half and then in half again...


Start rolling at one end...once you get the first couple of rolls, start twisting and rolling..it's not easy but when you finally get it rolled, hot glue it to a piece of fabric or board or whatever you want (I used fabric and just cut the excess after the glue was cooled off)


The finished rosette should look something like this...and then I pinned them to the wreath...


Finished product...


I have a friend who made one similar to this and she had the nifty idea to pin the rosettes to the wreath and she changes that part out depending on the season. She did red roses for Valentine's day, a metal cross for Easter...you get the idea...

Anyway, an inexpensive, very cute wreath that can be used for all seasons and pretty easy to make.

Girls Night Out

I have mentioned before about our neighborhood playgroup...well we have now added a new spin on it...Girls Night Out. Most of us like to read and recently we circulated the Hunger Games books. Some of us were wanting to see the movie...why not make it a girls night and we could all go...

This was the first night out for many of the girls in our group, so it was a BIG DEAL!...but I think it is safe to say... we were all genuinely excited to be getting away for a few hours. We left our precious blessings in very capable hands (a.k.a daddy).


And here we are again right before it started...


When it was over we had plans to go get ice cream or coffee...who knew everything closes at 10 (which is when we got out of our movie). We were disappointed b/c we were trying to be wild and crazy stay out late...but unfortunately the Summit is BORING...so we turned in early.

Kale Chips

I have joined into the kale craze...and this is my new favorite snack...

I've been hearing all about kale chips and have been meaning to make some, just haven't gotten around to it. When we were in Florida visiting my parents, guess what my mom made for a snack one day...KALE CHIPS!

All you do is tear or cut up the kale leaves into smaller pieces. Make sure they are really dry. Drizzle some olive oil on them. Sprinkle with your choice of kosher salt or Paula Deen's house seasoning. I've done both and they both are good. Cook on 350 for 9 minutes. It may vary a little depending on your oven, so I had to watch mine and figure out how long at my house. But 9 minutes is perfect for my oven...




Once you pull them out, stack them on a plate, and you have a yummy healthy snack. Since my mom taught me how to make them, I wanted to make sure she got the credit :)


I make these for lunch a lot of times and eat them with a sandwich instead of chips. Or sometimes I just eat them for a snack with some water. They are easy and yummy.

Note: They do kind of make your house smell a little...so I light a candle when I make them.

Doctor Swindle

We went to visit a friend at the hospital this week. While we were there...guess who we went to visit...Doctor Swindle! She was getting her hair cut so we had to wait...they told us to just go hang out in her office...so that's just what we did.

Briggs had fun with Dr. Swindle's medical assistant, Sam. He showed her all his tricks...



Then he decided to go exploring. Everybody thought he was so cute poking his head out of the office and eventually he tried to make a run for it...but we caught him :)


And finally he got to see her...or she got to see him. She of course scooped him right up and chatted with us for a second.

Just want to reiterate...we were just there to visit a friend. I sent this pic in a text to some of my people and of course the first response..."Are you pregnant"...no mom...we just went for a visit :)


We LOVE Doctor Swindle and St. Vincent's Hospital. I forgot to take a picture b/c I was more focused on seeing my friend but we ran into a couple of nurses and they actually remembered us. We had such a great experience both times we were in the hospital there. I think the staff genuinely enjoyed seeing us today and getting to see what they helped to bring into this world.

Briggs was of course stealing all their hearts with his little hat, fat cheeks and infectious smile :)

Easter Basket Ideas

Since Easter is right around the corner...some of you are probably getting your Easter baskets ready for Sunday morning...and some of you might not :)

Easter baskets were always a tradition at our house growing up. We didn't really do the Easter bunny or anything...we would just wake up to a little basket of treats. So, I decided to incorporate that for our family this week.

Thought I would share some money saving tips and fun ideas.

You know that colorful "grass" people put in the bottom of the baskets that you just throw away after?...I decided to make my own version with some stuff I already had at home. I used some paper that had been used to package something I had purchased and a shredder...


I bought a bucket at Target that I'm going to be using for something else. I wadded up some newspaper on the bottom and then covered it with the shredded paper on top...


Once covered it looked like this...


Then I filled our bucket with a few fun little items, like these shirts for mommy and daddy...

*disclaimer*...Justin always calls me his "HOT WIFE"...which is why he got that shirt :)


And you're probably asking yourself, what does one put in a basket for a 10 month old...glad you asked. I did some fun things we can use this summer...a little blow up pool, magnetic letters, bubbles, a fun bath mat, soft little balls to play with and camouflage easter eggs filled with...PUFFS of course :)


A few other things I put included in our basket is some candy for mommy and daddy, new dish towel and some new shoes for daddy (TOMS).

Here is the finished product...


And here is Briggs trying to get into it already...if you look at what his shirt says..."HERE COMES TROUBLE"...I think that says it all


I decided to do a family Easter basket/bucket this year. Hope I gave you some fun ideas for your basket and even though this is a fun thing we do at our house... we don't ever want it to overshadow the true purpose of Easter...to celebrate the RESURRECTION OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR!

Happy Easter everybody!

Fun at the Pool

This is the summary of our time at the pool.

It was Briggs' official first experience in the water. As you can see in this video...he definitely had a good time...but took a little bit for him to warm up to this point.


We started out like this...he wasn't sure about the water. I kept telling him it was just a big bathtub but he didn't seem to understand or believe me :)

Just FYI...it was in the 80's outside and the pool was heated.


He is slowly starting to warm up to the idea...


And...not so sure again...


There we go..now he is having fun!


And here is the group shot of the pool gang. Mom is taking the picture because she doesn't like to get in the water.


Thought I would add a little clip of Briggs "swimming". My Dad's theory is that he was just crawling in the water to get his toy...either way...it's one of the cutest things I have ever seen!

Spring Break - Florida Trip

Here is another recap of part of our trip. Briggs had a great time with Rah-Rah, Papa and Uncle Russ.

This is a picture of the happy little boy. I'm sure you can see by the look on everyone's faces, they are not having a good time at all....NOT :)



This is me and my first baby. Russ is 11 years younger than me and he prides himself in the fact he is much bigger and stronger than his older, little sister (he still thinks he dunked me in the pool b/c he is bigger but I really just let him do it).


Briggs showing off his walking skills with Rah-Rah.


Papa and his little buddy. Anytime my dad came around, Briggs was reaching for him. He loves his papa!


Uncle Russ and Briggs. Uncle Russ is about to leave for work. He is one of the newest employees of Publix...my FAVORITE place to shop!


Briggs knew if he wanted to eat or play with some fun toys...Rah-Rah was his girl. She kept him busy and entertained the whole time. And of course got lots of kisses.


We took lots of walks while we were there...


And this is Rah-Rah's post during a lot of our visit. We had some AWESOME FOOD...fish on the grill, BBQ pork, pimento cheese, spinach dip...I love going home for that reason...my mom sure does know how to cook.


That big black thing is my parents pride and joy...besides their children. But you might as well go ahead and say they have four kids instead of three. Anyway, it's name is Bullet and Briggs went from pulling back when Bullet would run by...to this...

Oh my...don't know that I'm anywhere close to having a dog but my dad is convinced every little boy needs one...maybe ONE DAY.


And here we are at the airport. Mom helped me get the bags checked


And dad kept his little buddy. Briggs was just sitting content in Papa's lap.


Overall it was a great trip. Nice to get away. Even though we were only there for two whole days, it was a fun and much-needed break. We did spend some time at the pool and Briggs got to swim for his first time. Pics coming soon...