Day Out for Mama.

On Sundays, I usually get a few hours to get out alone.  Last week, I went to Bachman's, a local garden center, gift shop, and cafe.  

They also have an "idea house"that I have heard much about.  They take a real house and decorate it for the season, and you can wander through and be inspired for your own home.  I can't wait to go to it when it opens in a month.  Fall is definitely my favorite season, and I can't see what they have created!

Yay Halloween!!

The cafe.  It seems like it is outside, but it is actually in a greenhouse.

My lunch.

Which inspired me to come home and make this.  I forgot how much I love soup!

I love these type of serving dishes.  They remind me of afternoon tea.

And on a completely unrelated, but cute, note...

Schwartz Summer Camp: Construction Week

This week, I pulled out ANYTHING that the kids could build with and put it in our living room.  The place was a wreck by Friday! I tried to create an area for each kid, but Soleil wanted to sit right next to Tate while they were building.  

The plan on Tuesday, was to paint something construction oriented, but if you have kids, you already know that this did not happen.  It didn't matter, though, they painted, made a huge mess, and had a great time.

I had also planned to go to a place in St. Paul called Art Start, which is a place with recycled materials that kids or teachers can use to build with.  I haven't yet been, but it seems as though it is similar to The Scrap Store in Wiltshire County, UK.  We used to go all the time, and Tate had a great time picking out bits of stuff for junk modeling.  

7th Birthday for The Boy

In July, Tate had his 7th birthday.  We celebrated simply, with just the immediate family at home.  I wanted to make it special, so we decorated a path for him to find his gifts.  I've been trying to minimize the number of gifts for holidays, but buy items of quality, which this year I actually succeeded in doing.  He was delighted with his magnetic toy, scooter, and a few games.  His request for his favorite dinner was Ramen, which I easily accommodated. He didn't even want to go out anywhere!

Several weeks later, we had our friends, The Stokes, to visit and we went to The Waterpark of America and had a little pizza party.  We had a great time.

Lip Balm Party!

For Tate's school, I auctioned off a Lip Balm and Salt Scrub Making Party.  It was sooo fun!  We had a group of about 10 girls, and we divided the activities in half.  They seemed to like making their stickers for each of their items as much as making the lip balm and salt scrub. (We used these labels and some gel pens.) Here are the ingredient lists that I gave to each of the girls.  (Basically, you combine all of the ingredients, adding the essential oil last.)

We were so busy making our creations, that I didn't get any photos.  Equally as fun was, after the girls went outside to play, the moms all had a chance to make their own salt scrubs.  I had such a great time!

Fun in the Kitchen--Summer 2012

 My generous neighbor gave me some of her extra, home grown zucchinis.  I have always wanted to make these and thought this was the perfect time.  They were great, and even Soleil loved them.  (They are like potato latkes, but fresher tasting.)  I had them with a little lemon juice, s&p, and sour cream on top.

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/08/25/zucchini-fritters/

We made this for a little gathering I went to.  The little sweet-salty treat is so good, and easy to make.

 My helper in the kitchen.

This really works to keep your salad lettuce fresh and easy to access.  I ate sooo much more salad than I usually do, since all I had to do was pour it into a bowl to make salad:)

 And on a slightly unhealthy note, these are YUMMMY!  My friend, Ann, introduced me to their spicy, corny, salty goodness.

Picnik alternative

I used to love adding text to photos using picnik.  It is no longer in existence, but found out from a friend that picmonkey.com is a good alternative.  Here are a few pictures that I altered this week, and I have to say that I like it just as well.  It makes me excited to scrapbook.  

And in order to scrapbook, I must find my scrapbook stuff.  It all seems like it is slightly organized, but really, behind the drawers and storage units, it is a complete mess.  I found this site http://craftstorageideas.com/  and now I am super motivated!  I noticed that when my scrap stuff was in the main room that we hung out, I created more.  I also blogged more!  I am considering moving it all out of the craft room into our main family room.

And now back to my Alias marathon.  It makes me want to be a secret agent.

Plaid Barn Giveaway

I haven't actually purchased from here, but I have wanted to!
I think what happens, is that I get the item in the cart, and then someone calls me away from the computer and then I forget.  In any case, I have seen some pretty cute stuff on this site.

PLAID BARN (Craft supplies with daily deals.)

They are having a giveaway from an Instax camera, which is like a polaroid, but cooler.  Here is the link:

http://www.theplaidbarn.com/giveaway/