Learning the ropes.

Rope Trellis that is.

I had a small issue in my extremely small and basic garden.

How to I support my pea and clematis plants.

How can I make something fun and colorful.

So I started searching the internet saw so many fun ways to build a trellis.

Horizontal

Vertical

Circular

Conical

I figured I would try a fun design on the fence.

This way I could hopefully support the plants AND get some fence coverage.

So, to start I had to finished the second half of the 12 foot flower bed.

It had been raining the day before so the ground was damp.

It made digging up the remaining grass a snap.

Thanks to Jaime for the manpower.

Then we had to adding gardening soil and top off with mulch.

Michael doesn't use the wagon much anymore, so I snagged it for my project.

So much easier on the back.

All set for a trellis and plants.

Songs from the Vault Saturday #7

Welcome to week 7 of

Songs from the Vault Saturday!

If you missed last week's song, check it out HERE

In honor of Memorial Day

I've chosen a patriotic song for the week.

I remember watching this performance live on TV and thinking

WOW!!!!!!

I never knew this song could sound so cool and amazing.

I mean, I was 16 at the time.

The Star Spangled Banner -  Whitney Houston

My observations from this video:

• LOVE the track suit and matching headband.
• I still get chills when I hear how she belts it out.
• Whitney made it seem easy and continues to put many of the people who attempt this song to shame. ((cough, cough, Christina Aguilera)) 

XOXO,

How could I leave out the girl?

Happy 1st Birthday

Luna!!!

In all the hoopla over Michael's birthday last week, I forgot to mention that

our little lady also turned 1.

Luna's birthday is the day after Michael's.

Just another reason I knew she was a perfect fit for the family.

So just to keep things fair,

here is a look at Luna's first year.

This is the first picture we took of Luna when I brought her home.

All 2 lbs of her.

I know you can see the attitude already.

Michael and Luna became fast friends.

The picture below shows them both getting in trouble for not listening.

I find the expressions on both their faces priceless.

Luna's first Halloween and she rocked the

Princess Leia costume that I made for her.

And here she is today.

She is still crazy, funny and has been a great addition to the family.

Love you, LuLu Beans.

XOXO,

Pineapple Sangria

Today I'm sharing my 

Pineapple Sangria Recipe

It is one of my favorites

and one I make for most of our parties.

Ingredients you will need:

1 Large Can of Pineapple Juice

I bottle of white wine (your choice)

1 each: Orange, Lemon, Lime.

Sprite Soda

1 shot of Triple Sec (optional)

2 tablespoons of sugar

Directions:

Pour half of the pineapple juice (approximately 8 ounces)

and 

he entire bottle of wine into a pitcher.

Add in 1 tablespoon of sugar.

Taste.

Add in the second if you like a sweeter sangria.

Songs from the Vault Saturday #6

Welcome to week 6 of

Songs from the Vault Saturday!

If you missed last week's song, check it out HERE

SFTVS was missing for a few weeks due to me being sick.
But now we are back!

This week I decided to share 2 songs to make up for lost time.

To celebrate Michael's birthday,

I've chosen a party theme.

One song for him and one song for me.

His song is one of his favorites.

He loves to sing it out at full volume in the car.

And I like to tap my foot to it.

My song is an old school freestyle classic.

Yes, I'm showing my age.
It makes me want to sing it out loud.
Even if I totally embarass myself.

It's in my iPod.

LMFAO -  Party Rock

My observations from this video:

• LOVE the "zombie" theme.
• I really want to comb their hair.  ick.
• If you watch "So you think you can dance" you can see Hauk and Quest Crew dancing with them. :)

Stevie B. -  Party Your Body

My observations from this video:

• I wish there was a video.
• Hey, but instead I get to look at that super awesome mullet! And this is a good pic...

I hope you like them as much as I do.

XOXO,

Angry Birds Party

The Angry Birds Party was a big hit!

I had a pretty ecstatic 5 year old on my hands.

Before we get to the party pics, 

I wanted to share one last craft, the goodie bags!

And as the kids tell me, it's the most important part,

besides cake,

and presents. :)

I started off by buying some red and blue bags at Target.

I then pulled some graphics off the internet and enlarged them to fit.

Get the face downloads HERE and HERE

Cut out your faces and bring out the bags.

Glue the faces as shown.

I used Elmer's Glue.

Take a sharpie and add the little feather bumps over their heads.

Happy 5th Birthday, Michael!!!

Happy, Happy 5th Birthday

to my Smart

Sweet

Sassy

Handsome

Inquisitive 

Little Man.

You made me a Mommy and made my life complete.

Every Smile,

Every Cry

Every Question

And boy are there a lot of questions!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past 5 years.

3 Days Old and already smiling

One Month Old 

Pull String Pig Pinata

Say that 5 times fast!

Most of the Angry Birds Party Supplies are sold out in my area

and I knew I wanted a pull string pinata for Michael's Party.

So why not make one?

and for a fraction of the cost!

This one cost about $3 to make.

Woot Woot.

I saw a few terrific instructional posts HERE at Young House Love.

Aren't they he cutest!

And HERE at Frugal NJ

And HERE at Fancy Frugally

Gather your supplies:

Balloon in the size you want - I chose a large punch balloon.

Bowl to hold the balloon

Newpaper and/ Flyers

Paste

Curling Ribbon

Construction Paper

Crepe Paper

Scissors

Glue - Hot and Elmer's

Pinata Filling

Luckily I already had some punch balloons from Target on hand.

They were leftovers from Easter.

I got Jaime to blow up the balloon, since I didn't want aggravate my jaw.

Then I laughed when he almost passed out once he finished.

Don't worry, he was fine.

I also grabbed all the grocery store flyers I had been hording

and cut them into large strips.

I found that larger strips made the process move more quickly.

Angry Bird Invasion

Eeeek!

I honestly could not stop laughing when I took this picture.

I even called Jaime over and he laughed, too.

They were just glaring at us.

Ok the birds were glaring and the pigs are kinda scared/clueless. :)

I saw a super cute version of these poms on PINTEREST and knew I wanted 

to make them for the Michael's Angry Birds Party.

They would make a perfect addition to the goodie bags.

And then I got my wisdom teeth out.

And then I got really sick from the meds.

Tack on Dry Socket.

I has been a lovely 2 weeks leading up to Michael's 5th birthday

and my party planning (and blog, and face) suffered.

Luckily I was able to work on these little guys in bed and with little head/jaw movement.

I decided on making the red bird and a pig.

If I had felt better, I would have totally made more colored birds.

Below were the supplies:

Yarn

Scissors

Large Needle

Pom Templates in Medium and Large -  Get the template from MEYAMO