Backyard BBQ: C's 2nd Birthday

You know that feeling where you just feel overwhelmingly blessed by the people in your life?

This weekend had many of those feelings..

From my Dad coming up early to help with small projects, to spending the entire day with my Grandparents and Mom.

To friends blessing us with such rich memories and watching all of our kiddos play while we enjoyed fun conversation.

C is so blessed to have such wonderful people guiding his life.

Thanks to all of our friends, and family. (near and far... those text messages from our friends far away are priceless!)

We couldn't have imagined a more fun day to spend with you all.

Can't wait to do it again.

Last year, Chase and I made and decorated Connor's cake. We really enjoyed it, so we did it again this year! During icing, Connor woke up, so I kind of rushed through the final stages... it looked a little interesting.  A little work from awesome, detail oriented Dad, and the cake looked like a million bucks! Topped with some cute homemade touches, and it was ready.

I used this recipe for the cake, and a super duper yummy icing recipe from my awesome friend Madeline. If you want this recipe, I'll have to ask her! ;)

     

For the pennant, I took two straws and bakers twine and hot glued the ends into the straws. Then I hot glued little triangles of burlap onto the string, and voila! Super cute pennant. I contemplated writing a C on the middle triangle, or possibly "two", but I loved the simplicity of this!

We also made bubble favors for our little buddies!

(mini mason jars, spray painted the lids orange, used my awesome Nesting Punch and cut out vinyl for the labels. Labeled with a chalk pen ((too large of a tip obviously, lol)) and filled with bubble solution. You can also see the wands in the background formed with crafting pipe cleaners! Easy and fun craft time!)

And it's not a BBQ without the grape, orange, and cherry sodas.

C totally loved his cake... 

and opening gifts from his sweet friends.... 

I'm pretty sure he had a blast! 

{ DIY - Drawer Shelf }

When we moved into this house, there were things in every nook and cranny. I mean.. the garden shed was piled to the ceiling with stuff.


The garage STILL has unknown treasures, and the cabinets housed dishes, food, and more... (ick)


So, needless to say, it has been a HUGE undertaking to get comfortable in this house. There are still so many projects on our "to-do" list; however, we (I) are learning to adjust and live in the moment and enjoy the little projects as we go!

When we cleaned out the shed last week, we found all sorts of treasures to re-purpose. My favorite was this old desk drawer.


It is now a pretty shelf on our wall!

Next to it are frames that Chase has made, and I painted and one filled with a chalk board. These will be for sale soon enough once the process is perfected. It's so fun making our own decorations for the house.

They may not be everybody's taste, but I sure do love them.

This little nook has become a favorite of mine. It was inspired by my dear friend Sara (The Rosy Life) who gifted the awesome prints. Thank you, friend!

all that re-purposing demanded a yummy quiche with kale, tomatos, eggs, and green onions from our Brandon Mountain Farms share...

and just to make you smile... my sweet helper.

Father's Day

Father's Day was ultra special this year, as we were able to spend it with my dad on the White River.

We went to a spring fed water hole, ate yummy pizza, relaxed, and watched movies half the day together. 

We took a few trips exploring the river bank, and enjoyed great conversation. 

A lazy, relaxing weekend with the three guys that mean the most to me.

When we returned home from the long weekend, Chase and I began scavenging the fridge for food and we realized we had some chicken that needed to be eaten.

In comes yummy roasted chicken recipe!

If I remake this recipe, I'll definitely marinate the chicken in the juices the night prior to cooking! I'll link to the original recipe so you can enjoy, too.

Since we no longer use plastic as food storage (I'm working on the rest of the house!!), I enjoy setting out dinner so much more! 

All of the pretty colors make this mama happy.

Toodles!

BBQ for Turning 2: Connor's 2nd Birthday Party

The end of June is quickly approaching, which means party planning momma mode is engaged...

Two days ago while browsing the Target $1 bins, I found the cutest BBQ party decor. I decided then that a backyard celebration with kid pools, our pool, a firepit, s'mores, and burgers sounded like a great time for family and friends and kids alike!

I know Connor could play all day outside, and he loves being in the backyard, so it sounded perfect.

He's also leaving for Grammie's next week, so I plan to spend my days cleaning up, organizing, painting, and decorating for the big weekend!

Last night, I whipped up invitations in Photoshop, and they should be arriving today or tomorrow from Millers.

Just thought I'd share with you the end product.

If you haven't received a FB invite, or paper invite, and would like to come, please do! I have a hard time thinking of everybody we'd like to have here right now!

 I'm leaving off our personal invitation on this publicly viewed page, but if you know us, you know where we live and how to get in touch with us!!