DIY Grocery Store Flower Arrangements

I mentioned a few days ago that I hosted my family for Easter this year...I wanted to make our table special and "springy" so of course I needed flowers!  I was planning to set my table with my Portmeirion Pomona dishes so I wanted to find something that complemented the colors in my plates. On my grocery store run that Friday before Easter, I found just what I was looking for at the Publix.

Well, there is a little more to the story.  When I first arrived at the store I found a beautiful bouquet.  It was just what I was looking for.  The catch?  It was $26.99.  I did not buy myself an Easter dress this year so I justified the flowers and put them in my buggy {do you call it a buggy?  a cart?}  I ran into my friend Stacey in the store and she even commented on how pretty they were, but as I cruised around the store, that $26.99 price was bugging me.  So I went back and looked again for something less expensive to replace the perfect bouquet.  I needed a big one because I was planning to split it in two to make two smaller arrangements.  I settled for a pretty enough $12 bunch and headed home.

Saturday morning I decided to go ahead and put the arrangements together {mainly to get the flowers out of my sink} so I headed outside to gather some "filler" greenery.  I cut two big leaves from my cast iron plants to go inside the vases and a few other things that looked like ivy that were growing on the ground in the woods behind our house.  I decided to use two matching cylinder vases that I had on hand.  Once inside, I split the flowers into two groups and was ready to go!

First, I put the cast iron leave in the vase to hide the stems of the flowers once they were in place...

 So where is the DIY you ask?  Well, I have seen this idea several time in magazines and online and finally decided to try it myself.  It's a tip for helping you arrange flowers like a pro.  You simply take clear tape and create a grid over the top of the vase like this....

it holds the flowers in place and check out the results! 

 My brother's girlfriend even ask me where I had the arrangements made!  

Success!  

Stuck on you

I tend to get stuck on things.

Food, restaurants, items of clothing, songs, beauty products...you name it, I probably have a favorite "for the moment" or "for always" that I am stuck on.  When we were packing up our old house, my bestie, Ashley, was helping me pack my bathroom.  I had so many bottles of lotion she said, "You could be the most moisturized person I know."  BAM.  I literally have no excuse to ever have dry skin.   

1. For the past few weeks I've been stuck on Zaxby's Zalads.  If you order it with grilled chicken and ranch dressing but no fried onions, cheese or texas toast it's only 412 calories!  And why is it that a salad made at a restaurant always tastes better than the ones I make at home?      
2. Nike Tempo running shorts have been a favorite of mine for years.  I am not a runner, but these shorts are the only ones that I wear to the gym. They don't ride up between your legs {not that I have a problem with that. ha} and they have built in underwear.    I can not wear long pants to the gym so I LOVE THESE SHORTS.  And I just found them at Ross Dress for Less for $12.99!!
3. My friends laugh that I call it "Ross Dress for Less" and not just "Ross"...it's the kind of place that requires you have to have a plan of what you are looking for like gym shorts, or boy's polo shirts and you have to shop often.  The other night I scored 3 really cute dresses for summer {and my new shorts} and only spent 60 bucks!  I also love that it's right beside the TJMaxx, so if I don't find anything at Ross Dress for Less than I just skip on over to the Maxx and you know I can always find something there!    
4. Speaking of the gym...my gym, The FIRM,  is moving to a brand new building in a few weeks!!  I am so excited, I can hardly stand myself!  I know this sounds cheesy, but I have "stuck" with this gym for almost 5 years and I am so proud!!! You can check out their website here. 
5. L'Oreal EverStrong shampoo.  I love this because it's sulfate-free and makes my hair feel really clean.  I have used the EverCreme as well, and actually prefer the smell of this one best, but it's for dry hair and was a little too much for my hair.  
6. L'Oreal Extra-Collagen mascara.  My friend April at A.Liz Adventures put me on to this a few months ago and I love it!  I have stubby little eyelashes so I need all the help I can get.

Well.  How's that for a random post?  

Hippity Hoppity

Happy Day After Easter!  Thought I'd recap our Easter weekend...

{Lots of pictures, sorry!}

• Friday kicked off Spring Break for the boys, but I had to work so Lee was home with the kiddos.  We were having my family over for Easter lunch and my "to do" list was a mile long!  You can imagine my sheer delight when I got home from work and Lee had pretty much cleaned the whole house.  All I had left to do was dust and run around with the glass cleaner.  He is soooo great like that...most of the time I think he would be the better parent to be at home!!  That night he took the big boys to the Carolina baseball game while Hampton and I went to the grocery store. 

• Saturday was the first day in 2 months that we have been HOME all day!  It was wonderful...when the boys woke up we made Resurrection rolls {or "Jesus cinnamon rolls" according to Jackson}.  If you've never heard of these, you can read about them here.  We read part of the Easter story before we started and the rest while our rolls baked.  I love that our boys are at the age that they truly understand when we try these special projects!  During the scripture reading at church on Sunday, Tradd leaned over to me and said, "Mama!  That's our story!"  Love that boy.  Please excuse my appearance in the picture below...Lee had the camera and it was early!  

• The boys spent the rest of the day hiding eggs for each other and playing outside.  I got my food prepped for Sunday, put my flower arrangements together, ironed our Easter clothes, and finished up inside.  Then we all were outside cleaning the porches, picking weeds and playing!  We grilled out steaks and sweet potatoes and went to bed early!  PERFECT DAY.

• Sunday morning we woke up to baskets from the Easter Bunny!  The boys got a movie, a new book, and candy.  Somehow, the EB always brings my favorite candy {Snickers eggs and Reeses Pieces} and leaves them in the boys baskets.  Amazing.   Hampton got new spoons, diaper cream, baby food, and a book.    

• Before we headed to church, we tried to get a few pictures of the boys.  WOW.  I am shocked that we got a good one! It's hard to get all three looking at the camera and smiling, but we did it!  The boys wore a tie for the first time...Lee's mom {Nana} had purchased matching outfits for the boys, including Hampton, but I didn't try H's on in time and the shirt was too big.  I had this sweet hand-me-down outfit from Strausburg that matched perfectly so that's what he wore for his first Easter!   

• After church, my family came over and we ate a delicious lunch.  The boys helped me set the table, they even wrote the placecards themselves!  We had ham, mac and cheese, brown rice, squash casserole, collards, fresh tomatoes, and deviled eggs.   I made Paula Deen's Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.  Google it.  It will change your life.  
• We wrapped up the day by riding over to my Aunt's house to hunt eggs with cousins!  I realized there that we had not taken a family picture so my mom took one for us....not in our Easter best, but that's ok.

• Sunday was also my friend Cindy's birthday.  I am missing her like crazy, but so thankful for the promise that we will be together again one day.  Can you even imagine what Easter is like in heaven?      

Southern Baby: 7 Months

My Sweet Boy,
You are almost 8 months old, but I had to squeeze this in!  You are growing into your own little person, but Gigi swears that you look just like me when I was a baby.  {That secretly makes my heart smile.}  You are wearing size 3 diapers and we've learned with you to stick with Pampers because you blowout every other brand.  You are also wearing 9-12 months clothes.  I have pulled out a lot of your brother's things that I saved for you {well, the "dream" of you}.  It is really neat to see you in their old clothes, reminds me when they were your size.

Speaking of your brothers....they love you so sweetly.
 They love to read to you and help me give you a bath.  Jackson told me just yesterday,
 "Mama, I love Hampton to death."  And he means it.

You are a great eater...your favorites are oatmeal with applesauce, sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, yogurt and puffs!  We've also discovered that you love refried beans after you ate half of mine at Mexican one night....now we just order you your own little plate!  Helping you with all that chewing are your first teeth...the first one came in completely in February and the second one in March.  I am loving your smile with those two bottom teeth!

You are also crawling!  It's a funny little crawl, with one arm out-stretched and dragging one leg behind you. You haven't quite figured out that this will get you from room to room...waiting on the real fun to begin!

You are loved, precious one.

Love,
Mama

     

the hurt

I finally found my words and my way back to this blog.  So many times "life" gets in the way of me posting.

This time it was loss.

Writing this post would just make it a little more final...an acknowledgement of the truth that I have yet to accept.

One month and two days ago, I lost my best friend to cancer.  A battle that lasted one week.  One week from beginning to end.  From discovery to goodbye.  I have gone over the whole thing a thousand times in my head.  Is this real?  Did that really happen?  What now?  I have listened to voice mails on my phone just to hear her voice.  I have dreamed of her.  I found a spoon in my silverware drawer that she left at my house.

I always knew she would die before me...my mind is morbid like that.   I would be a ripe 75...she, a frail 92.  Never 34 and 51.  My mind doesn't work like that.  With a seventeen year age difference, I expected to live on this earth without her.    I could never have expected this.  It is simply unimaginable.

I gave the eulogy at her funeral.  It was the hardest thing that I have ever done. In. my. life.  And when I say that, I mean it was hard to get the words out of my mouth.  I was full of the words.  When someone has such an impact on your life, it's not hard to recall the stories, the memories.  It's just hard to find your voice when hundreds of people who love your friend are staring at you bleary-eyed and expecting you to sum up how they feel about her too.  It is my greatest hope that I was able to do that.

I know this sounds cliche, but I really feel like a part of me has died.  That I have this Cindy-sized hole in me that can never be filled.  The hurt is deep and wide.  It takes my breath sometimes without notice.  And still the question remains.  

Why?

I believe with my whole heart that I serve a merciful God.  That He has plans for me and will not abandon me....That one day He will answer my question so completely, so fully, that I will wonder why I even asked it in the first place.  But until then, I have to find a way to sit right here in the "why".

God often gets my attention through music...in worship and when I am alone.  In Christian music and non-Christian.  A few days ago I heard this song for the first time and I literally could have written it.  It speaks the words that I could not find.  It is helping me heal.  It is a brand new song by MercyMe.  What are the chances that this song, this single no less, was released days after my friend died?  No chances.  All God.

I hope you will listen to it and that it will help you too.  Even if you didn't know my friend, we have all loved and lost...we've all asked why.

Poot on your jacket.

"When it is cold, I will put on my jacket it keeps me warm."  

-Tradd Burton-

a puppy, pox and provisions

1.  I have no idea why the letter P is working it's way into all of my posts (see there it goes again)

2.  Last Monday Lee came home with a puppy.  This was not something we had planned or prepared for...in fact we haven't even so much as discussed getting another dog since our Max died.  Losing him was more painful than we expected and I remember saying that I didn't care that we ever had another dog because it was just setting us up for loss.  We still have our other schnauzer, Molly, who is one of Max's puppies.  Lee and I got Molly as soon as she could leave her mama...I guess you could say she was our only "little girl!"  Until now....   

Introducing 'Mae' 

       3.  Last Wednesday, Lee noticed a few bumps on Jackson's back....which led to a thorough inspection that only led to more bumps...we called the nurse, we "Web M.D.'ed" and decided that Jackson either had chicken pox or had gotten into poison ivy or oak.  The chicken pox seemed unlikely due to the fact that he has been vaccinated  and the "poisons" seemed unlikely because it's January.  A quick trip to the doc the next day revealed that it was CHICKEN POX!  Come to find out you can still get the pox after being vaccinated, but should have a much milder case, which he did.  He was out of school Thursday and Friday.

4.  During our lunch together Thursday, right out of the blue Jackson says to me,
          "Mom, when I go to heaven I want to help God with the babies."  
          "What do you mean, buddy?" I questioned.
          "I want to bring them from up there {points to sky} into peoples bellies."  

    I was speechless.  Not only does this precious child already know that he's going to heaven, he already knows what job he wants to ask for.

5.  Last week our new recipe to try came from the website Annie's Eats...It was delicious Chicken Gyros!  I did not go to the trouble of making the tzatziki sauce because it looked pretty involved and we don't love it.  Please TRY THIS and let me know when you do!!!  I could not believe this chicken came from my kitchen it tasted that good!

pictures and a project

Micah Leigh  and her camera came to the rescue {again} when I found myself out of days to have picture made for Christmas!  It also helps that she's my best friend and loves me....these pictures captured Christmas 2011 for me just perfectly.  

While out Christmas shopping with my mom this year, I came across the neatest treat for winter...Hot Chocolate on a Stick!  I immediately purchased the two boxes I found and when I brought them home, the boys loved them! However, at $5 for 3 sticks, that hot cocoa was a little high to become a staple around here!  I started poking around and found several recipes online for making Hot Chocolate on a Stick at home.  As with most crafty/baking ideas that I have, I immediately called Ashley, my future sis-in-law, and we made a date to create!  We used this recipe... Hot Chocolate on a Stick...ENJOY!

 

Southern Baby: Month 5

Dear Hampton, 

My precious boy....you are 5 months old!  

We are still just in awe of the fact that you are here and you are ours.  The best word to describe you right now is HAPPY!  You are the happiest baby on the block and we love to see you smile and hear you laugh! I took a video of  you laughing on my phone and your brothers have probably watched it one hundred times.  You light up when Daddy comes home from work, if I just leave the room and come back in, and when Tradd and Jackson get down on the floor to play with you.

You are healthy and are growing just perfectly.  

You weigh 16 pounds 14 ounces and are 26 inches long. 

 Our doctor gave us the go ahead to start you on some rice cereal and baby food.  We started with the cereal and you could not figure the spoon out.  You are drinking it from a bottle instead.  I am hoping {praying actually} that this will help you to sleep through the night.  Your daddy and I have decided to try to make your baby food...we'll see how that goes!  

 You are still in a size 2 diaper and are wearing 6-9 months clothes.

Everyone still comments that you look like your brothers and your daddy, but I do think you look like some of my baby pictures, especially this month. I don't care who you look like, you are precious to me!     

Hampton,  you have found your LOUD voice and your feet!  I had a hard time getting your picture this month because when I took your socks off, all you wanted to do was put your feet in your mouth!  It's also become almost impossible for mommy to talk on the phone in the car because you squeal a loudly as you can.  

 My favorite part of the day is in the early morning when we are snuggling in my bed...you just talk and smile and play with my hair.  Sometimes you will even put your little hands on my face and it's in that moment that I know you know  that I am your mama and you are my baby.  

Always, 

Mama