My Catholic friends will appreciate that Pope JPII is going to be canonized. He is a personal hero of mine, so I am tempted to hop a plane to Rome in October to be a part of the history.
I won’t have the gift of being with my mother this year on mother’s day, but I have some friends who are rockstar mothers who I will see throughout the week. This is an easy way to take that bouquet of flowers to the next level and personalizing it for a friend, sister, or your own mother. Our friends who are not yet mothers or who are unable to have children should receive one too! We all share that heart naturally drawn to love and service.
Customize your own bouquet by making it a personal affirmation tribute! Use a single floral bloom or gather a whole bunch:
1) Print off the free printable on kraft paper or any color paper you choose.
2) Cut into strips, and trim a bunting edge.
3) Wrap around the stem and use a glue stick to secure.
4) Wrap a quote around the center if you are doing a bouquet or add some nice ribbon to bind. *You an also wrap these printables around succulent pots for an alternative gift idea!
Choose from the list of words or quotes that remind you of that person best. (Thanks to all my facebook friends who helped me think of some good ones!)
How do you all celebrate Mother’s Day? Is it a small celebration or do you gather with the large family crowd?
Either way, I hope its an enjoyable one with the best of weather (that is my only request, next to a new non-stick frying pan;)).
“Sugar and Spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of. Snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of.”
Although I may beg to differ on that everything nice bit now that I have a wild girl of my own…
Everyone should have a piñata at their party at some point in their life, even if its for Cinco de Mayo! I mean, I could go for one on my next birthday without a problem. Since Gabriel and Veronica had their zoo animal birthday party together, I needed to stuff it full of things that they both would love (as well as the party goers) and that was preferrably sugar free. That is when I consulted the world of twitter….where all questions can be sent into the void in hopes of a returning wise answer. This time, there were some grand ones. So thanks friends for the fun ideas!
What we stuffed in Mr. Lion… Boys:
Lizards, dinos, frog figures
Car Stickers
Mini baseballs for the pool
Squids for the pool
Bouncy balloons
Girls:
Bouncy Balloons
Bracelets
Bubbles
Toy Whistles
Additional ideas:
Mini Play-do packs
Mini crayon packs
Most of these were found at Target and the Dollar Tree. Lion piñata was purchased here.
Easy enough right? This was a big hit with the kids and it was fun for the adults to watch their little attempts to slay the poor lion..
Veronica’s favorite part of her party were the animal balloons…she didn’t want to put the pig down. Originally spotted these on pinterest from a UK company but found another version on Amazon. Unfortunately, the Animal Shaped Beach Balls I ordered to fill the yard with didn’t come in on time. We survived…;)
Happy Wednesday!
P.S. Winner of the Waiting on Martha Giveaway announced here!
UPDATE: The winner is #332 Ashlie B.! Congratulations and thanks to all who entered!
I am squeezing in an extra giveaway this month because I think mothers deserve some extra spoiling. I am looking forward to being a part of this giveaway series to help out soon to be and current mamas who are looking for some fantastic gear to make the every day a little easier.
Some of you might have already heard of the new online magazine, Daily Mom, that just launched last month. It’s a pretty cool resource of posts and articles for the modern mom that covers every range of topics from parenting to beauty, fashion, pregnancy, health, fitness, and more. I was just reading up on pregnancy fitness (because reading about it makes you feel like you are actually doing it;)) and an eye opener about baby snack foods.
Well friends, today I have partnered with Daily Mom to host one of their giveaways as a part of an extensive 50 Days of Giveaways campaign to celebrate their launch (site launches happening everywhere!). For 50 days, they will be giving away one awesome prize a day to thank their new readers. We’re giving an opportunity for one lucky reader to win a City ‘n Move Stroller from Kiddy USA. And you will get to choose ANY COLOR!
Kiddy is a family-owned company located in Germany, specializing in car seats and strollers. Their products provide you with quality engineering and German design. Be sure to check out their products on their website. Keep in the loop by following them on Facebook and Twitter. And of course, enter for a chance to win.
The giveaway will run for a week, and there are only two mandatory entries with many optional ones. This giveaway is open to United States residents who are 18 or older. You can visit Daily Mom tomorrow to see what new item they are giving away and to enter previous drawings! The prizes range from strollers to high chairs, monitors, diaper bags, fashion items, baby clothing and photography products. Something for everyone:) So get to it!
We are recovering from a party hard birthday weekend for Gabriel and Veronica:)
Here’s the baby at 30 weeks (a few weeks ago). There are not many things that are comfortable right now and I like to avoid elastic and tight circulation cutters, so comfortable easy dresses are the best solution.
Gabe is growing all kinds of good produce in our little backyard garden. The lettuce was the first thing to come in abundance. We eat salads almost every night and what a difference the taste makes when its home grown! Other favorite cobb salad toppings: Sugar snap peas, baby tomatoes (we are working on growing our own!), grilled chicken, hard bolied eggs, shredded kerrygold cheese, and avocado. Veronica wanted to help, but don’t worry, large knife was promptly removed from the scene;)
Hope you all had a fun weekend!
*Last chance to enter the Waiting on Martha giveaway! And one last site launch giveaway from Loren Hope happening on instagram!
This is actually a round up from the last few weeks:)
Colorful mail//Barb Blair from Knack Studios came out with a book, Furniture Makeovers(hooray!), which of course was right up my alley. Summer projects are already brewing. Its filled with tips on how to upcycle furniture. The lovely yellow coral necklace is from Kluster Shop.
Sailboat spotting & boat rides
Golf Cart meets Little Miss Sunshine
Chalk in a row// courtesy of my 4 year old
Chalk artistry// courtesy of Gabriel and Veronica Liesemeyer
Frisbee in Piedmont Park
Apples on the curb//Dogwood Festival
Food Trucks // Dogwood Festival
Post Bathtime snuggle time with Veronica // favorite moments for me as a mother:)
My second and third trimester savior // Blanqi Bodystylers in fun spring colors.
All photos taken by Gabe or I, some from our instagram.
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A few notes about the new site:
If you are an email subscriber, I sure hope you are getting the updated posts. Not sure if they switched over or not!
You can now subscribe via feedly or bloglovin. (Sorry I didn’t have the right links set up previously!) Which is your preferred way to read blogs? Would love to know!
There are new gallery pages thanks to Danica LC Design, which make it easy for you to browse lookbook and DIY posts. I will be adding more soon!
Have a wonderful weekend friend and thanks for making launch week so fun!
*Post by my sister Maria! View the rest of her yummy recipes here.
Spring has been a bit stubborn this year, but when warm weather does hit, we find any excuse to eat out side and picnic. We thought it would be fun to start a short series called Pack Your Picnic, to give you some fun ideas to make and bring on the go with you for when that perfect weekend arrives.
Sunday after church, I grabbed the blankets and baskets and headed to our back yard. I first had this chicken salad at Anna’s bridal shower! It is adapted from our good family friend and is a southern style version that will soon be your favorite.
Southern Belle Chicken Salad:
4 C. Chopped Cooked Chicken
2. C. Grapes, Halved
1/2. C. Toasted or Roasted Sliced Almonds
3/4 C. Sour Cream
1/2 C. Mayonaise
1/4 C. Major Grey’s Chutney (This is the special ingredient that gives it amazing flavor! Found near the mustard and condiments in whole foods and other stores)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/8 tsp. Curry Powder
1/3 tsp. Pepper
Combine sour cream, mayo, and chutney with seasons and stir together with a spatula. Toss in chicken, grapes, and almonds and coat evenly.
For a picnic: stuff into pita with lettuce. For a more elegant variation, serve atop a big leaf of romaine or even just dip with tortilla chips. Other Options: For a healthier version you can use plain Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, pecans in place of almonds, or add some chopped celery.
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Unfortunately, the 
I ordered to fill the yard with didn’t come in on time. We survived…;)
