Glimpses of the Garden

My front garden bed is in transition this year.  We decided to tear out some of the evergreens and bushes that started overwhelming the area.  I have been planting a mixture of perennials and annuals.  At this point in the summer they are still immature and small.  I will wait till things come in before sharing photos of that.  Meanwhile, here are some other parts of the garden that are pretty.

I made this concrete leaf a few years ago and decided to plant some succulents (my new favorite thing) in it.

More succulent fun!!

I Love my new window box!

I think it is fun to play around with different things in planters.

Patriotic Pinwheel Tutorial

I made some patriotic pinwheels and "planted" them in an antique (gas/oil?) can that my friend's daughter, Ava, found at a yard sale.  I will give you a step by step tutorial on how to make fabric pinwheels.  Here goes:

Follow the directions on the back and bond your two fabrics together with right sides facing out.

Cut the amount of heat bond you need and iron it on one fabric /paper side up/ carefully pull off the paper/ put the other fabric wrong sides together and heat with iron until bonded.

 

I found some sticks of varying lengths in the back yard and nailed the pinwheels into them so that I could arrange them in a container.

I hope this tutorial was helpful.  Please share your pinwheels when you make them.  Enjoy your day.
I am linking this tutorial to:

Fruit Salsa and Sugar/Cinnamon Chips

This recipe is courtesy of Allison from Lipgloss Lounge.  She made it for a 31 Party she had and it was delicious.  I have a work party tomorrow so I called her up to get the recipe.  You start out by chopping up some apples, blueberries, and kiwi.

Then you blend up some fresh strawberries.

Pour it over chopped fruit and mix it all together, then chill in fridge.

Then you use tortillas (I used whole grain ones because I had them at Allison's and liked the texture), spray them with butter spray, and shake a cinnamon and sugar mixture over them.  Put them in the oven at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes.

Cut into triangle pieces and store in an airtight container.

Finished Product

I hope it turns out as good as Allison's, we will see tomorrow.  Check out her blog for an awesome watermelon cookie tutorial.

Blueberry Dump Cake

Traditionally, I do not bake much because my will power is extremely weak around sugary treats.  However, we had some extra blueberries so I tried a Blueberry Dump Cake.

Simple ingredients include cinnamon, cake mix, butter, sugar, and blueberries.

You mix the blueberries, sugar, and cinnamon on the bottom of a 9x13 pan

My little helper mixing it all together.

Pour dry cake mix over blueberries.

Cover with pats of butter or melt the butter and pour over the batter.  i would melt the butter next time because the cake mix stayed dry in places.  I ended up stirring it up, which made it not so pretty as you will see next.

OK, so kind of ugly right, but put it on some vanilla ice cream and you have a yummy treat!

Weekend Activities

This last weekend was a crazy one.  We went to Jamestown for about 24 hours to attend a wake and visit with Shawn's dad for Father's Day.  Here are the kids ready to go.  Ethan looks thrilled.

We were able to go out to dinner with Shawn's dad, brother, and family.  My mom and her boyfriend also joined us for some chow.

Eliza and Daddy on Father's Day.

Prior to leaving for Jamestown, I was able to squeeze some fun in with my garage sale buddies, Allison and Angie.  I found this great antique planter and put some green moss inside of it.  The flowers I used make it look even more antique I think.  Check it out.

M is for Monday and...

While Monday is not typically people's favorite day of the week.  I thought I would honor this overlooked day by posting some of my favorite things that start with M.  Here goes:

M&M's (the peanut variety):  I could eat them everyday!!

Mashed Potatoes, especially if my Grandma or Mom make them with homegrown potatoes and half & half- oh I'm salivating at the thought.

McDonald's Sweet Tea:  I try not to indulge too often because it is packed with sugar- sometimes I order it half sweet and half unsweet as a compromise.  I can thank my dear friend Angie for this addiction.

Movies:  I love going to the movies with my favorite girls.  I especially loved the Bridesmaids movie that just came out, this picture is from the best  and most hilarious scene in the movie. 

It included a bridal shop and food poisoning- you can only imagine!!



Tell me some of your favorite things that start with M.