Christmas Tree Farm & Our Tree

Hello friends!  Before continuing, I want to warn you, this post is filled with lots of green.  We were out and about searching for our perfect tree after Thanksgiving.  Our faux tree fell apart last year, so we needed a new one for this year.

Do you remember our first real tree three years ago?  Well, we drove back to that tree farm to find a similar tree, not so much for it's appearance, but for it's memorable fragrance.  I know, I'm weird, but the house smelled amazing that Christmas Season, and so we were on a mission to find one just like it.
Thankfully, this year they didn't paint any of the trees, it was pleasant to see the trees in their natural state, and we searched.  They did not have any of the Blue Cypress Pine that we wanted. The Blue Cypress they had were still too premature and the trees they did have do not hold ornaments well.  After searching almost the entire farm, we decided to look somewhere else.  It was fun as we hunted for our perfect tree.  We looked high and low and it was getting dark.

Finally we dropped by our local hardware store; and that is where we found our tree.  Mr. M was not impressed, but we managed to find one we liked and it is filled with fragrance.  Unfortunately, my new garland was not long enough, and I was not able to use it for this tree, I knew I should have purchased two from LMM.  While placing the ornaments on the tree, my son told me to add more.  I originally planned for silver, white and gold...
But I finished with all the colors I had in the box.  I have not decorated with lots of colors before, nor with so many ornaments, so this was different for me and I'm still getting used to it.  So there you have it, our Christmas tree.  I am using last years handmade ornaments for a different purpose this year, which I'll post later on.  I have not made much effort this year in decorating my home, my focus has been on preparing my heart to receive Him this Christmas, so Christmas home decor is a process right now.  Thank you for visiting today!

Linked to:
The Dedicated House
Dwellings
Craft-O-Maniac
I Should be Mopping the Floor
DIY ShowOff

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July is Here!

The fourth is in a few days and our activities are in full swing.  One project is complete,
and another is in the works.  I will share them with you once everything is complete.
I have many photos yet to download and share with you, but during the summer when the kids
are at home and there are activities to be part of every weekend, it's not easy to sit and post.
I know it is probably the same with you.

I am going to take a few weeks off from posting and will see you here on the first week of August.
I hope that you enjoy your Fourth of July and have a blessed summer.  See you then!

Linked to:
SITS Girls

Mother’s Day Weekend

Picnic day!

Beautiful and fragrant flowers in our yard.

A special visitor.  This was another turtle rescue mission for the family.

I got this sweet bag for Mother's Day from Layla Grayce as a gift.  Loving it!

End of a lovely day.

I hope that you enjoyed your Mother's Day.

Meet Queenie

This is my stepdaughter's dog Queenie, she's a tiny little thing.  She is 16 years old,
but has the energy of a two year old dog.  She is sweet as can be and very loving at that.
Notice that she is missing an eye, poor thing had been attacked by a larger dog in
her previous home, but that doesn't stop her from having fun and enjoying herself.

I took these photos while she was waiting anxiously for her mommy to come

 home from school.  She misses her so much that she lays on her shoes to feel close.  

That is what I call loyalty.  

Homemade Tea with no Teabags

Hello friends, I hope that you enjoyed your weekend!  We had a sleepless weekend.

My poor little boy caught a stomach virus from school and has been sick all weekend.

He was unable to hold down liquids and you know the danger with that is dehydration.

We took him to the ER and they only gave us medicine to help with the obvious symptoms.

Now he is feverish.  This virus is contagious, so it gets passed around over & over in his school.

I was also a bit under the weather, but not with a stomach virus.

I made some homemade tea with natural dried herbs; chamomile and linden leaves.

1. It's pretty simple, all I do is add the herbs to two cups of water; a teaspoon of chamomile and 

half a teaspoon of the linden  leaves.  You can also add ginger or anise to this if you like.

2.Simmer for a few of minutes until the water is hot & tinted.
3. Remove from heat, then strain it.

4. Add honey or sugar and even perhaps a teaspoonful of fresh squeezed lime juice if you like.

 There you have it, simple and homemade and no teabags.
This is a soothing tea for colds, cramps, headaches and other ailments.
I hope that you enjoy & now I'm off to take care of my little guy.

Linking to:
Lowercase Letters
Sew Chatty

Making Memories...

I'm back from my vacation friends and it's good to be back!

My 40 days of no blogging and no internet, really helped me clear
my mind and focus on a list of things that are important to me.  

Today I'm sharing some random photos from our Easter Weekend.
It was beautiful and I enjoyed every aspect of it.

We shared the Resurrection story with the kids as we do every year
as a reminder of what Easter is all about.

I used paper gift bags instead of baskets for gifts this year.
I decorated them and filled them with goodies.  It was easier to carry than baskets,
and that way they didn't have extra baskets to carry around.

The children enjoyed egg hunting and they had a blast with the cracking
of the eggs.  We adapted a Greek Egg game, the eggs are suppose to be
a rich red, but the coloring was a challenge, so I got them eggs with confetti
inside.  I did not anticipate the fun they would have with this game.

The eggs are to be dyed red because it represents the blood that Jesus shed for us.
The cracking or crashing of the eggs symbolizes Christ breaking out of the Tomb;
"Christ is Risen, Indeed He Has Risen."

When someone crashed their egg against another person's egg, the confetti flew out, 
a celebration of our Lord's Resurrection.  

Then all the children gathered their Easter eggs from the egg hunt
and they opened them up to find their goodies inside.

Dinner was delicious, thanks to our friends Michelle & Charles who provided the meal.

We had a blessed weekend and hope that you did too.

What did you do Easter Weekend?

Heart Shaped Waffles

 

I love waffles and so does my family.  Unfortunately, I don't own a waffle maker.

It would be such a delight to have one and make homemade fluffy goodness for all to 

enjoy.  Have you seen this Heart Shaped Waffle Maker?  I love the idea of a waffle 

on a stick.  Do you own a particular kind of Heart Waffle Maker?  Do you like it? 

I'm just wondering if maybe I should get one or stick to cookie cutters.

I'm preparing for Valentine's Day, by starting off the day with golden goodness.

Imagine the faces of your loved ones, when they step into the dining area and

laid out before them are these delicious, heart shaped waffles.

I remember last year when I surprised them with the pancakes and they were thrilled.

It's so much fun bringing a theme to a meal and sharing it with the family.

The way that I made these waffles, was super easy, the kids can make these 

themselves.  All you need are frozen waffles sold in the breakfast frozen section 

of your grocery store and a Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter.

Didn't I say easy?  Surprise your loved ones with a loving breakfast or 

just have fun with the kiddos with the cookie cutter.  The ideas are endless, 

make your kids heart shaped toast or sandwiches shaped in a heart and 

stick a note with it; from mom with love.  Visit this post for more ideas.

They'll enjoy it!

Hot Apple Cider & a Case of the Sniffles

It's November and cold weather has set in, time for some delicious hot apple cider.

I grabbed what I had on hand for this recipe.  

• 2 cups of apple cider
• 1 teaspoon of whole allspice
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 teaspoon of whole cloves
• 3 teaspoons of brown sugar
• 2 star-shaped anises optional (garnish)
• apple optional (garnish)

 As I poured the cider into a small saucepan, I turned on the heat to high.
I added the spices first, the whole allspice, cinnamon sticks,
whole cloves and then the brown sugar.

You do have the option to wrap the allspice and cloves in a cheesecloth and then
add it to the pot.  I simply strained everything instead.
Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat and keep it warm.
Pour it into a cup and add garnish if you wish, then serve.
I added my anise star and cinnamon stick.
You can also add an apple slice as I did below to impress guests.  

Enjoy!

How to Decorate a Slate Chalkboard with Washi Tape

I have been wanting to makeover my slate board for quite a while, 

but I just never got around to doing it, until now. 

I wanted to paint it, but who wants to work with messy paint &

wait for it to dry when you can give it a face lift with washi tape. 

These adorable designer tapes work wonders and I love how easy they are to use.

The tape I used for this makeover fit exactly the width of the frame, 

so all I had to do was stick it on.

Here is what I used: 

washi tape

chalkboard

scissors

The ideas are endless.

Happy Makeover!