Pinterest - DIY....Paperback Book Wreath!

This is such a great idea! I would dress it up with some red and use it on the inside of my front door at Christmas time! Cute, cheap, and easy!

I found it on Pinterest, but it originally came from here. Check it out...the blog it came from is great. She has lots of good ideas on how to get designer looks on the cheap!

Stacy

Today's Etsy!

Look at these fantastic die cutouts that I found! Great for a party and cheap! Here are my two favorites...

Eiffel Tower cutouts for a French themed party...

These mommy-to-be silhouettes are the sweetest little things I have ever seen. Whose having a baby? I'll throw the shower!!!

What a great way to dress up a party on the cheap!

Stacy

Foodie Friday!

I love our urban little city yard! It's small, no doubt, but that means it's easy to manage. Every summer we look forward to our cherry tree and our blueberry bushes! We get a good crop and are able to make a ton of stuff. Jam, sauce, and pie filling. This year was no exception! 

Our cherry tree went nuts on us!

See what I mean?

This was just one of about 6 bowls that we picked. We would head out in the morning to do our picking. This lasted about a week. We always save some for the birds and the butterflies too.

Along with picking means pitting. Jason did this...you can tell by the hairy arms. He literally sat in the living room on a camping chair and did this at the table while watching The Tour de France. For hours. Many hours. I'd say at least six!

Then he would cook them up over the stove and make jam. We usually follow the recipe on the Ball pectin box. We like that one better than the Sure Jell. Or maybe it's just a habit. We have used that one and continue to use it year after year.

Then we get the water going for the jars.

I love seeing all of these jars. The jam in the back and in the front...pie filling!

Beautiful!

Then the cherry sauce for ice cream. Jason made honey simple syrup and put the cherries in there. It is so good...I can't even begin to tell you!

We probably made enough pie filling for at least 4 pies. It'll be so nice to pull it out in the colder months and remember picking cherries on our 90 degree days!

We made about 4 batches of jam so we will have plenty for gifts. It's amazing!

At Christmas we'll bake homemade bread and give a loaf of that and some cherry jam to friends. It's such an easy thing to do and it all came from our tiny yard with the big cherry tree!

Have you canned before? If not, I really suggest trying it. It is very easy to do and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them or help you in any way I can!

Happy Summer!

Stacy

{Update} : The 36" Planter.

 Remember this? The 36" planter we did back on May 29th. Fast forward 2 months...

Amazing how full & lush it has become and the grasses play so nice in the wind.... The daisies could use a little oompf to get them flowering again... something to be learned for next year! 

Alyssa

New Dress.. I made!

I like to sew.. Ok I love to sew and don't get enough of it... 

So, I signed up for a dress class the other day at Sewtropolis and look what I made! Patty at The Snug Bug was the instructor..

 Me in my new dress..

Avery in my new dress. 

Who looks better? :) 

Alyssa

A little of this and a little of that...

Remember to snip some of your planted and potted flowers from your yard and put them in a vase. It doesn't have to be anything big. My flowers are so colorful and beautiful right now that I decided to cut some  and put them in a new vase that I got.

See how simple and cute they are?

They were too cute to keep so I brought them to Briana at the pet food boutique, Bone Adventure, where we get all of our cat and dog food. She remembers what we need for our zoo...I don't know what I would do without her! 

Here are three out of the four that she keeps happy...

Who can you bring a little flower arrangement to? If you can't share the beautiful things you have growing in your yard, what fun is it?! Just snip a little of this, and a little of that and throw it in a jelly jar that you have around...it will make someone very happy!

-Stacy

I Got Lucky!

Clearly you have filthy minds! That's not what I was talking about. I MEAN I won something! I cannot tell you how excited I am! Remember when I featured the blog 33 Shades of Green here? Well, if you don't that must mean that you didn't see it...and you need to. Alissa's blog is fabulous. I have gotten wonderful ideas from her and I read her blog every single day! Sometimes blogs that have been around for a while get offers to do giveaways! How exciting is that? Well, 33 Shades of Green had a giveaway to 8 Petals the other day and I entered. I'm not, generally, a super lucky person. I usually don't even enter but I really loved this jewelry! Well, I won! How exciting is that?! I get to choose a pair of earrings and a necklace that I want and I can't wait. I will show you some of what they have....what would you choose?

I wasn't familiar with 8 Petals until it was featured on 33 Shades of Green. They have some beautiful things that I will be buying people for Christmas. It is all hand-crafted fused glass jewelry and it is lovely! The colors are gorgeous!

Look at the colors in these earrings! Great for summer...I picture them with a lime green cardigan and a white tank top and jeans. LOVE!

If only I could wear my shirt tucked in...I would wear this belt and buckle! I think this is gorgeous and fun!

This one is really cool....for those of you who are cool. Wear this belt and some fun cowboy boots.

I love this orangish coral color with turquoise. Such a great color combo!

I am in love with lime green so these are in the running for what I will get.

This is really cool because it's sort of tortoise shell looking and fun. 

They sell hairpins too! Everything is a great price...especially considering that all of these things are individually handmade. This hairpin is only $5 and I would like ten of them.

So check them out and tell me what you would choose! I want one of everything so it's going to be so hard to decide. I'm so thankful that I won. Alyssa and I hope that sometime soon we will be able to do giveaways too...so stay tuned!

I hope today is your lucky day too!

-Stacy

Pinterest - DIY. Really Cute Lighting!

Adorable. I can see this done in so many patterns. For the How-to click here then click the photo on the Halloween crafts. It is the second in the series. So easy. So cute. So smart. Love that.

Alyssa

Urban Style

SUNGLASSES! Do you have a million pairs? I do. Okay, maybe not a million but I just counted twelve pairs. If I could find my RayBan Wayfarers, from about 20 years ago that are back in style, it would be 13. Those things are in a box somewhere...I know it! Go count your glasses right now...I need to know how many pairs you have!

I think sunglasses are those things we can never have enough of, hence Stunner of the Month. For $9 a month (including shipping) you will get a fun new pair of glasses every month until you cancel. No obligation, no hidden fees, no nothing that will drive you nuts! You just wait for them to arrive in your mailbox! I think these would be such a fun gift for a teenager, or just a fun friend. They are styles that go well on most faces. Remember...you don't have to commit to a year or anything! You could just give a 3 month gift! Fun! Did I say fun enough???

See? These are cute and FUN....

And these are cute and fun...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea! Remember that if you get them and they are not your style you can stick them in a bag and give them as a gift to someone who would!

Stacy

Today's Etsy!

I'm a big fan of picking up holiday gifts WAY ahead of time. In order to do this, you see, I must find things that are not "out of style" before the holiday rolls around. So today I show you these! I love them. Not only would I love for someone to get them for me as a gift (hint, hint, HINT) but I would also love to get a handwritten letter on one. I think they are beautiful...especially these days with all of the texting, emailing, and facebooking we do. I'm not saying I'm not guilty of these rather impersonal ways of communicating because I am. In the worst way. I am! However, on occasion, I do take the time to write a note to someone and put it in the mail. You should try it too. Do it once a month and you'll be surprised at how special you'll make someone feel!

There are lots of colors to choose from too! Now my only question is this...what if your name is not Jennifer M. Jackson? Kidding, kidding!

-Stacy

Oh, How my Garden Grows....

 The 5 foot tall Dahlia... (bloomed on Sunday)

 This was 5x more full last year.. a bummer spring we had.. 

Hopefully it will be amazing again next year!

 We did not plant monster sunflowers this year, due to the terrible spring... but this lone guy popped up anyhow.... we are trying to get him to stand tall and proud now.  He was beaten down after a storm.

 Compost tomato's. Yup. Crazy!

Now to wait and see what kind of tomato it is! 

Also... because we used compost in the front pot, we have a tomato there as well. I will share that later. 

Fallen Morning Glory.... we lost the vine trellis and our grape trellis in the same storm the sunflower was flattened... and have yet to get it up.. so these guys just grown all over... 

How does your garden grow? 

Alyssa

Okay, I'm REALLY moving this time!

Okay I'm not really moving, but I want to. I really want to live in this house (that does not exist) that I came across on some architecture website. I want someone to build this house and let me sit in it and listen to music and read books for the rest of my life. I can dream big. Don't even tell me I can't! I mean, seriously, it could happen right? Just lie and tell me it could. Please.

I wouldn't be able to go to work because my boat would have a hole in it, the water was rising, and a million other great excuses. I know it would be expensive, but you wouldn't need to buy window treatments. See? Lots and lots would be saved on that. Since the outside is so modern I'd do the inside more cozy. I'd go swimming every. single. day.

Come for a visit,

Stacy

Eco-Monday. Tiny Houses, Tiny Imapct on the Environment.

Cozy is a word typically used to make a space sound comfortable, warm and inviting. This is nice, but it may also mean that the space being described is small. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, small spaces are all apart of our lives at one point or another. Well, I bet you are wondering why I am talking so much about small spaces, although the title I am sure gave you a hint. Tiny Houses. Last night I was reading an article in the New Yorker about tiny houses. They featured Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

He decided to downsize in 1997 to a tiny house he called Tumbleweed that was a mere 89 square feet. He grew up much like most of us in a 4,000 sq. ft. house with his family. Living large with a mortgage, stuff and busyness all around home life. Think about how much time you spend moving the stuff around your house, cleaning and getting rid of the stuff in your house. Now, I am a designer and have to say, I like my stuff, but it would be interesting to live with less, after all most of world lives with a lot less than we do here in the US.  Living in one of these tiny houses comes with many perks, like no mortgage and small utility bills and stress/stuff free living. Can you imagine all the extra free time you would have for walking around the lake, going to concerts, hanging out with friends and basically experiencing life. Oh and the best part... these houses are on wheels so away you go... your house mobile. Amazing.

Jay in front of his tiny house Tumbleweed.

One of Jay's happy customers. Collin & Joanna. 

Click through to this blog post and watch the video of how they downsized.

Amazing, intriguing and eco-friendly. I am not sure I could do it...my husband is very intrigued..so who knows what may happen! :) 

Have a great day!

Alyssa