It's Okay Thursday #3

Linking up with Neely (from A Complete Waste of Makeup) and Amber (from Brunch With Amber) forIt's Ok Thursdays!

It's OK...
... to be in love with a new grocery store in town (Earth Fare rocks!)
... to want to sample everything in the prepared foods and sandwich case at my new favorite grocery store
... to use a new workout (Crossfit) to go shopping
... to love working in the summer when there are no students at school
... to wish Layla was your neighbor
... to look forward to Pat Benetar, Journey, and Loverboy in concert!

What's okay with you?

Mason Jar Candles for the Deck and Garden

I've been on a cleaning spree lately. This includes the back yard, too. (I have the poison ivy to prove it!) One area I wanted to tackle was a pathway we have below our deck and to the side of the house. I had used outdoor lanterns on low shepherd's hooks to light the walkway. 


The lamps looked a little something like this

source

Then they got rusty, and it was time to replace them. 

I knew I wanted to create some mason jar candles, so I did my research how we all do it now.... Pinterest!

Here's one from Pottery Barn. Check out the twisted wire. Nice.

Source: potterybarn.com via Emily on Pinterest

Of course I loved this one with the starfish! It wasn't what I was going for this time, but I will definitely be making some of these! Wahoo!

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Paula on Pinterest

I love these hanging in the trees. It's so warm and welcoming to me. 

Source: budgetdreamweddings.com via Jenna on Pinterest

My favorite picture is below. It's by Maryann over at Domestically Speaking. 

Source: domestically-speaking.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Maybe I was entranced by the board and batten treatment!. :)

Either way, she has a terrific tutorial at her site, so I won't be redundant and share them here. (Click HERE to check out her site for the how-to.)

Here are my mason jar candles. (I just wish my photography was a great as all these other fine people.)

Here's a close-up. I figured since I was using it in the garden, it didn't have to shouldn't be perfect. 

This is a close-up of where I hung them above our hot tub. They looked really pretty at night. (The pictures didn't turn out so pretty, though!)

Here's where you can see our lower deck. It made me wish I could hang them right over the middle of the hot tub, too! 

I think I need more. What do you think?

Mary Kay Andrews' New Book: Spring Fever

I just saw this on Facebook:

Did you know about this???

Am I the last to know?

June 5th

((happy dance))

A New DIY Wreath for My Front Door

Yesterday, I shared with you about my wonderful weekend. On Saturday, I made a new wreath for our front door. There are so many great ideas on Pinterest... I wasn't really sure what I was going to do. I had seen how wreaths have been made using a pool noodle, so off to the Dollar Tree I went on Saturday morning. 


Those pool noodles at the Dollar Tree are the perfect size. I even bought the packing tape there. Boy, was it hard to hold the noodle in place and wrap the packing tape at the seam. I worried that the tape had to be perfect and not bumpy... but it's okay if it is.

I decided to wrap the noodle with burlap and go with a summer theme.

Next, I cut the burlap into strips. You don't have to worry about the lines being straight or perfect. This is about 11 strips.

Once I wrapped the wreath, I used hot glue to attach two starfish and an initial. Easy Peasy! The initial was from Michael's that I had painted black and stamped on with a decorative stamp. (It has hangers on the back - I had previously had it hanging on our back door to the deck.)

I love the way it turned out! What do you think?

I'm partying here:

             

Our Lake Trip and my Easy Yummy Salsa Recipe

Ever have one of those weekends where the whole thing was terrific? I've had one of THOSE, and I had to share all about it! It started Friday afternoon, because it was the last day at work before summer. (Even though I'm a 12-month employee, there's still something special about the LAST day of school!) 

My oldest daughter and I drove out and visited with my mom for about an hour then we went shopping on the way home. We stayed at home Friday night and grilled out and chilled out. 

Saturday morning, Hubs took the kids to the lake, while I stayed at home! Alone! I couldn't believe that I had a full day at home to myself. I went to a garage sale, shopped, went to the grocery store... all on MY time. I cleaned out the fridge, cleaned a little in my daughters' rooms, washed a bunch of clothes and bed linens, and made a new wreath for our front door! {More about that tomorrow.}

Hubs and the kids got home from the lake and then we all went over to a friends house for dinner. There were about 3 other families there, too. We all had a blast. My friend Brigid, made some awesome simple salsa. She just took a jar of salsa, put it in a bowl, added a fresh avocado and mashed it all together with a fork. It was soooo good!

Today we spent the day at Smith Lake! Friends went with us - we had a total of 4 adults, 5 kids, and 1 dog! Tonight, I was craving some fresh salsa when we got home. So I made some easy salsa (and I learned that it's probably more like pico de gallo than salsa). I'll share the recipe below. Enjoy the pictures from today!

Here's how the day started. Hubs left our huge tube at a friends' lakehouse because he knew that we were coming up today. My oldest rode our new wake skate all the way there! She makes it look so easy!

This is her on the tube. 

I'm noticing a theme with my kids. Can you pick out my youngest below?

Two of our sweet friends who joined us. My youngest daughter's best friend and her aunt, Jodi.

Then it was my turn with my oldest and Brigid's son. 

Notice the hand signs again?

This is (left to right): Brigid (famous salsa lady), me, family friend, and oldest daughter.

Here's me and my youngest. I think she looks like me in the picture. 

What do you think?

Hubs was awesome - he pulled all of us around that lake all day. 

(Guess I better get my boating license so he can enjoy the tube, too!)

 Even the dog had a great time!

Here's my easy salsa pico de gallo recipe. If you try it, let me know!


Ingredients:
2 tomatoes
1/2 onion
1 avocado
1 jalapeno pepper
1/2 lime
1 bunch cilantro
salt and pepper

Dice tomatoes and 1/2 onion, add to large bowl. Chop ends off of cilantro, chop leafy part into small pieces, add to bowl. Peel avocado and cut into small pieces. Add to bowl. Take seeds out of jalapeno pepper, chop finely. Add to bowl. (Do not lick finger after doing this. I am speaking from experience.)


I love avocado so much... I had to take a picture with it on top before I mixed it in.

Squeeze juice from 1/2 lime into bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

 Enjoy!

It's OK Thursday #2

Linking up with Neely (from A Complete Waste of Makeup) and Amber (from Brunch With Amber) forIt's Ok Thursdays!

It's OK...
.....to be a blog-slacker
.....to wish that Mary Kay Andrews was your neighbor
.....that one of your priorities is setting your DVR for tonight's season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance 
.....to wish that every bathroom in the house had a board and batten treatment
.....to love love love your lift and serum and think that they make your skin look 10 years younger!
.....to not care who won American Idol last night
.....to be excited about a trip to the lake this weekend but hope that you don't go until Sunday so that Saturday can be spent thrifting and crafting!

What's OK with YOU?

Whose Applause Matters? {and other lessons from Twitter.}

This morning, before I left for work, I checked Twitter for anything interesting or inspiring. Here's the first message that caught my eye:

Then I saw this on Twitter:

(You can read Brene's blog post: CLICK HERE.)

{Hmm.... I felt like someone was trying to get my attention.}

It reminded me of a post I wrote for the (now defunct) StrongMothers website. I felt compelled to share the updated version with you....

Last school year, I had the opportunity to attend a Get Motivated Business Seminar. As a high school administrator, former coach and teacher, and current business owner, I knew that I would get a lot out of hearing from leaders such as Rick Belluzzo, Colin Powell, Laura Bush, and Coaches Nick Saban and Gene Chizik. 

Something else happened for me at the conference, and it is all because of a man named Krish Dhanam.

You see, Krish’s message centered around this question, “Understand whose applause matters.”

He reminded us to thank and praise our inner circle — our family. He also told us to bless our children. 

Here’s the blessing he shares with his son each night, “You’re mine and I love you. You’re terrific and I’m proud of you.”

It reminded me as a mom - and all else aside - that I am a leader of my children first.

I will be sharing a blessing with my children. How about you?

Love,Nif

Blog-Slacking and a New Header! {Hurry Up Summer!}

I've been a blog slacker. I was sad to look at my old blog header and realize that I had not written on this blog in over a month!  School's out in two more days, so I am getting in gear to get some projects done around the house!


Remember the pallet wood pictures? That was waaaay back in November. Guess where the wood's been sitting since then?? On top of the garbage cans in the garage. (Sorry, Hubs!)


And my $5 Chandelier? It's right there with the wood. 


My plans are to turn it into something like this that Diane created over at In My Own Style.

Yep.... I've got my work cut out for me, but I love it. I'm looking forward to using the creative part of my brain for a while! 

The first thing I created for my self-thrown Welcome Back party was a new blog header. Unfortunately, Picnik is no longer available as a website/service, so I couldn't use them to create a new header. I wasn't sure how I was going to manage it or what program to use. Thank goodness I stumbled across a wonderful tutorial by Sarah over at Clover Lane. If you are in need of creating a collage, check out her tutorial... it's a life saver!

I hope you'll follow along on this journey....it's going to be fun!!

Love,

Nif