Things that make me happy.....by alyssa

Once upon a time I had a sad, empty, little nook. For a bit he had a small basket of my husbands things... but he didn't look happy about it.... so I moved Eric's basket and found some moss... after the moss.. came some cute little forest animal candles on clearance from Pottery Barn and now he is a happy little nook. The End.

Say Bye... Before they become Egg Salad....

The post Easter blues eggs must go through... First they get boiled til they are hard and then cooled to be colored... then they sit in colored vinegar water until they are just perfect.  (That part must sting! :) They come out looking so happy and full of life... and then Bam! Easter is over and their happy little lives come to an end in an egg salad. Such a exciting yet quick life they lead. Here are a few of our eggs.. Saying good bye...

 Ahhhh... help me! I am going to be sick...

 Evil Scull Master with the Hoppy Little Bunny...

Bye, Bye! 

Alyssa

PS... I  have a 15-year-old step-son and a 9-year-old daughter.. can you tell by the egg styles? :)

A Spring Sale Worth Checking Out....

If you live in Minnesota, you may want to check out The French Flea. They are having one of their occasional sales this coming weekend. Alyssa and I have both been there, and many times we have had to hold ourselves back from buying WAY TOO much. It is an eclectic sale with lots of different home decor items. These women are a talented bunch and they price things to MOVE. Click on the highlighted link and check them out.

Happy Shopping!
Stacy

Terrarium Time!

You will all see, very soon, that Alyssa is the one in this duo with the green thumb. For some reason, no matter how hard I try...plants do not live under my care. Could it be the lack of water? I thought plants could go for a month or two without being watered. No worries, when I realize that it's been a while, I compensate by completely over-watering. So I saw this blog, The Robots Attack, and decided to try it myself! It is my husband's cousin's blog so please check it out! She has some very creative crafting ideas!

So I bought this apothecary jar for cheap! I wasn't going to spend a ton because who knows if it will work!

See this? $9.99...go to HomeGoods! They have a great selection of these.

Now go buy some small filler rocks. Target has them for pretty cheap, but Ikea would be better. However, if your only choice is to visit Ikea on the weekend stick with Target. Ikea can instantly ruin a good mood if you go on the weekend. There's no sense in that.

Then get some activated charcoal. You can find it at your local garden store or on Etsy.

Then some potting soil. I'm not a fan of this stuff because it's not organic but it's what I had.

So this is the order you put these things into the apothecary jar...
Filler rocks (about an inch)
Activated charcoal (about 2 inches)
Potting soil (about 4-5 inches)



Now loosen up the roots on your plant/plants.Once you have loosened up the roots, stick it in the potting soil and give it a drink of water...but not too much! I chose this fern because it pretty much fills the whole jar.



And here is the end result! I love this new green friend of mine. Keep it in a sunny window and water it once a week or so. Take the lid off every once in a while so it doesn't rot. There's lots of moisture in the jar. This is the part of my instruction that I can see myself forgetting.

Happy planting! What good stuff are you planting in your jar or garden?

I'll be back soon!
Stacy

Quick trip to Memphis...

So, I was recently in Memphis. Yes, I have been to Disney World, Copenhagen and now Memphis in the last 4 weeks. I am pooped and ready to hunker down at home for awhile. Memphis was a fabulous mini - 4 day trip with my husband. He was working..... which means I get to explore.

Actually, the reason I went along on this trip was that it was our 4-year-anniversary. He had booked himself to moderate at a conference and was realizing that it was going to screw up his schedule with his son. I looked at him and smiled and said, "Oh, honey. I think you are missing something a little bigger than that on that week.' He quickly goes back to his calendar and looks again. Then looks at me and is still confused.  At that point I took him out of his misery and reminded him that we will have been married for 4 years that Monday. Oh, how the time flies! He looked sheepsihly back at me and apologized. The next day I received an email that started out, 'Love, Would you like to go to Memphis with me?'  All-in-all, I lived up the teasing of him and still am... though I am/was not really concerned with the lack of memory. It is just a day after all. And he made up for it with these flowers...

Anyhow, I went along and had fun toodling around and checking out stores and of course eating BBQ.  My two favorite stores were Hoot & Louise and Delphinium.... Vintage, Handmade and Bare Minerals to boot! Wonderful little shops... with a cute baby boy (@ Hoot & Louise) and dog (@ Delphinium) to visit with while you are shopping.... (always a joy for me... I love the additional fun sales people.. ) 

 

We had a private tour of Graceland with his conference which was a hoot. From the design perspective that is... Check out some of our photo's....

eeeee!!! 

The fabulous living room stained glass...

 

The Dining Room.. where Elvis ate.. Wow! 

Welcome to the Jungle?? The family room... you'll note.. every room is a different theme... 

 I couldn't leave without a photo of an outfit... that would be sooo sacrilegious! 

Eric, I and The King of Rock.. Our private moment... :)

The last few things from the trip... My new favorite hotel.. The Peabody.. What a wonderful place and they have ducks to boot... Yes, I am a sucker for any place with animals.. 

Isn't she a cutie! Showing off her color... 

Enjoy my trip to Memphis and check out Hoot & Louise on Facebook - Anna the owner is just a doll.. and Delphinium at www.Delphiniumboutique.com

Ciao for now... Coming soon... My week of projects..

Alyssa