Literature Is My Utopia

I've actually been doing a ton of reading lately.  I have been reacquainted with an old friend.  The Public Library.  My sweet boy shares my love of books so I decided that he would love the library as much as I did as a child.  Our library has a neat little assortment of books for Wyatt to choose from and they are displayed in a "kid friendly" way.  We usually leave with a fairly large stack including one or two for yours truly.  Let's not forget that they are FREE!  I have already saved quite a bit since I have been a frequent downloader for several years now.  I am still downloading a few here and there but I am able to borrow a lot that is on my ever growing reading list.  I am a book carrier which means that I am basically uncomfortable leaving home without my current selection tucked away in my bag.  My nook is so convenient in its discreteness in that area.  I just finished reading a book that was so big that it looked a lot like a textbook but hey...it's free :)

I'll start with Wyatt's current favorites this time. 

 

This is Wyatt's new favorite book!  He checked it out a few weeks ago and wanted to get it again the at our last trip to the library.  Unfortunately it was checked out.  He understood that someone else was taking a turn with it and hopefully it will be there next time.  He loves it enough that it will most likely be added to his collection.

 

This book is just too cute.  Wyatt is all about monsters, witches and all things scary these days.  This book is perfect for little monsters on the go.

 

 

As for me, I have been busy reading quite a variety. 

 

 

I wanted to see what all the hype was about with this series.  Of course the fact that there is a movie coming out next year added to my curiosity.  The Divergent Series also came highly recommended by a friend.  It was great!!  It sort of had a Hunger Games feel to it, which I loved.  If you are a Hunger Games fan you will definitely want to check this out.

 

A few weeks ago my brother in law was telling me about scoring some Stephen King books really cheap at a thrift store.  I haven't read Stephen King in about fifteen years or so.  Needless to say I had him to bring a few over so I could scratch that itch.  I am loving them!!  So far here is what I have been consumed with.

 

The Dark Half.  It is as dark as the cover I promise!! 

 

This is a story that I know all to well since I've seen the movie about a million times but I found a three part book at the library that included this one so I decided to read it.  It was a short read but I liked it.  It was fun to add to the movie story that I already knew.

 

 

This was the first time I have heard this story so it was particularly good.  Very action packed from the get go.  I found out that there was a movie made so you can bet I will check it out soon.

 

 

And then there is The Shining.  I still say that there is nothing more creepy than a little mind reading, hearing voices and seeing things kid.  I'll leave it at that and let you decide.  Very disturbing indeed.

 

Here's what is next on my list....

 

 

Insurgent...the next installment of the Divergent Series!  I'm excited to see where these characters go.

 

I am also working on Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series.  I've had these books on my reading list for years but I just never seemed to get to them.  I am reading book two at the moment and it is a wonderful light hearted break from all those Stephen King novels.  The character in these books reminds me so much of Bridget Jones.  Love her so far!!



 

 I'll leave you with this sweet picture of my little bookworm on one of our trips to the library.  It warms my heart.  Happy Reading!!

DIY Silk Flower Wreath Tutorial

As promised in an earlier post, I wanted to share the wreath tutorial that I made at the beginning of last summer. The flowers can be substituted for other seasons but the instructions remain the same. Here is what you will need to get started...

Depending on your project you will need one or more grapevine wreaths. I have double doors leading into the back door of my house so I always put two matching wreaths to greet my guests. If you are doing two or more identical pieces I strongly encourage you to do them at the same time. It is easy to place the flowers on both wreaths at the exact same place if you do them together. These are 16-17 inch wreaths. You can purchase them at any craft store.

You will also need the basics: a hot glue gun and glue sticks, scissors, wire cutters, craft wire wrapped with white floral tape OR white chenille stems.

I wanted to accent my wreaths with hand painted initials, burlap and a little bit of raffia. I got these unfinished letters for half price at Hobby Lobby. I keep burlap on had as a crafting staple. I buy it by the yard and cut it according to the project that I am doing. For this project you will need 4 or 5 feet of 6 inch wide burlap. You will need a little more if you do more than one wreath. It can also be purchased in a prepackaged roll. You will also need craft paint and clear enamel for your letter. And don't forget a small paint brush.

...and of course the flowers. These are all silk and I purchased them from several different stores. There is an abundance of silk flowers that can be purchased at any major craft store. This can be as simple or elaborate as you choose. Here is my method for selecting flowers for most arrangements:

 

 I always choose one main flower. This is important because this flower should be the "main theme" of your piece. In this case it is the red geranium. I have red geraniums all around my house almost every summer. Love them! So the rest of the flowers were based on those.

I wanted to add the touch of green so I chose the cymbidium orchid in green.

 For a filler flower, I chose the the small white daisy for a little POP. Do not be afraid to add a little more color by selecting another small filler flower. In this case a small amount of purple would have been good.

When working with any florals, never underestimate the power of greenery. I know that is not what you notice when you look at an arrangement but it is very important. Greenery gives arrangements depth and dimension. For these wreaths I used FOUR different types of silk greenery. The first type was the big beautiful leaves on the red geranium bush. When you are purchasing flower stems and bushes always pay attention to the foliage on them.  You may get more bang for your buck if you choose the one with the best foliage.  The second one that I used is a light green and white stem greenery. The third is a woodsy type. It is on the darker end of the spectrum. And the final touch was a simple fern.

Here are my letters after they are all done. I started with a white base and added polka dots of red, yellow and purple. These dots were sponged on but I sometimes free hand them if a sponge is not handy. It is very easy to do. When I was happy with the dots I let the letter completely dry and then sprayed a clear enamel on them for a glossy finish and a layer of protection against the elements.

I used a floral wire that I wrapped with white floral tape to secure my letter on. You can use a chenille stem for this. If you are doing a colored letter, I suggest getting a chenille stem of the same color. It is camoflaged a little better that way.

Now for the bow...don't be intimidated because you can't tie an elaborate bow. This is just a basic bow that anyone can tie. I simply did two loops and made sure that my tails were hanging down. I secured it with a wrapped wire and tied natural colored raffia to the middle to hide the wire. Very easy :)

Secure the bow in place using the same wire that you tied the bow with.

Now it is time to add the main flower. This is also the time to decide what shape you want your flowers to be in. I prefer a cresent shape when I am adding accent pieces (the letter in this case). Feel free to add flowers all around.

Notice the placement of the blooms. I wanted the cresent longer on the bottom so I added three blooms. The top only has two. I used my greenery as wisely as I could to get as much coverage as possible.

Next I added the orchids and a touch of fern. The orchids were my second "choice" flower. I choose the green because it accents the red. I also had to take into consideration the size of the flower. It is important to choose something that would not overpower your main flower. The orchids are about the same size of the geraniums so they balance each other nicely.

I also added two fern leaves in this step. Notice the placement on the bottom to add to the heaviness of the lower section of the arrangement.

Here is another shot.

 

Next comes the filler flower.  As previously stated I chose the small white daisies.  I love the way the white pops out and it also ties in with the white of the letter.  The main idea of filler is basic.  Fill in the spots that need a little something else and add a little extra color to your arrangement.  For this size wreath I put three sprigs on top and three sprigs on the bottom of the bow.  If you need a little more that is perfectly fine.  If you didn't add as much greenery as I have then it is very likely that you may need extra.  It is also great if you want to add a second filler to get another color worked into the arrangement.

 

The last step is to add the remainder of your greenery.  I used the lighter long stemmed greenery to extend my cresent shape.  I put a piece on each end.  I also put a piece coming out under the bow which helps with the heavier bottom look that I was going for.  Finally I added the woodsy sprigs for some texture.  Think of this one as the filler greenery.  I put two on the top and three on the bottom.  If you are unsure of placement it is safe to put them close to your filler flower.

 

Here are a couple pictures of my finished wreath from both sides.

Literature is my Utopia

I must admit that I have been watching a little to much tv lately and neglecting my reading. Netflix makes it so hard on me :) I haven't posted about my latest intrigues lately so I thought I would let you know what I have been reading.

Let's just go ahead and get this out of the way... I have completely fallen in love with the Fifty Shades Trilogy!! It was suggested several months ago in my Book Club and since then we dedicated not one but two of our monthly meetings to the discussion of these books. I have always enjoyed reading romance but this gave us just a little more dirt! If you don't like romance (and a lot of it) this might not be the series for you. BUT if you do...please, do yourself a favor.

Thanks to a dear friend I have discovered that I can get lots and lots of great books for fairly cheap or free on my nook. This has been a great little discovery as before I was purchasing several books a month at full cover price. Here are a few of those that I have enjoyed and all for under $4 total!

A sweet little read for sure! I enjoyed the book so much that I am sure to read more from Elizabeth Camden. A very G rated romance!! This one was FREE on the day that I downloaded it on my nook.

Four novels for $3.99?? Yes, please!! I adore vampires and Samantha Moon's story was unlike any other. I loved J.R. Rain's view on vampirism.

I just finished up Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter. Very interesting indeed. I have always enjoyed mixing fact with fiction and I loved the ending. This was suggested by my brother in law who knows my obsession with vamps. We must see the movie soon :)

This is the first time that I have read Aiden James. So far so good. There are quite a bit of details and fairly fast moving plot. It is not my favorite view on the world of vampires but definitely worth the $2.99.

Here is what's next. Another suggested read from my Book Club gals. It is highly recommended if you loved 50 Shades. I can't wait to dig into this one!

Sweet Summertime :)

I have seriously neglected my blog as of late. I will blame it on the sweet summertime. Summer keeps me and my family so busy. Being in Alabama we have a fairly long period of mild to hot weather. I know that summer has just now officially started but for me as soon as he weather gets in the 80s we are in business. It is my favorite of all seasons and the hotter it is the better I like it. Here are some pictures of our summer so far.

Wyatt acting silly after we washed the back porch and planted the flowers. Of course we had to play in the water a little while we were working.

Wyatt and Pa ready to start the parade

Our town has a great rodeo every May. The week before the event has many fun events for everyone to enjoy. The Rodeo Parade kicks it off and is by far my favorite event. Some of the streets in town are shut down and anyone who wants to ride their horse is welcome to fall in line. The lineup is lead by our local sherriff who has made the rodeo event so great over the years.

Wearing Pa's hat before the Rodeo Parade

We were asked to carry the Grand Marshall

For the last couple of years I have been taking Wy's picture on my great grandparent's tombstone. We usually decorate the cemetary around Mother's Day every year. Taking this picture allows me to include them in his life and offers me a chance to see how he grows from year to year.

A bathroom ReDo

This was a lot bigger deal than I thought it would be when I started. I took step by step pictures as I worked so I will be sharing that process with you soon.

The new color....more coming soon!

Just about the time I get ready to take a dip in the pool I notice a pretty big tear in the liner. Yuck! So our Memorial Day weekend was spent in our backyard with our pool out of commision. At least Wyatt was able to enjoy his "baby pool" while me and Nick roasted on the sideline.

Sweetie enjoys the outdoors so much. I am happy to say that she is still bouncing around with the best of them at 11 and a half years old.

Our new liner installed and filling up

We take the good with the bad and in this case it is VERY GOOD! I must admit that I was upset when our old liner developed a hole, especially when I saw the price tag on a new liner. But I must be honest. There was a little part of me jumping up and down when Nick brought the liner samples in to pick out a new one. I love the deep blue color and it fits perfectly.

We are enjoying these hot summer days

Wyatt floating along

I have even found some time for a few summer projects. Now that I am no longer obligated to design flowers day in and day out I find contentment in the few that I make. Here is a wreath that I made for my front door. The watermelon is a burlap hanger that a friend of mine made for me. I love all of the red!

One of the two wreaths hanging on my side entry. We enclosed the garage area a few years ago and installed a set of french doors. This is our most frequent entryway and I keep wreaths hanging on the doors to welcome our guests. I plan on posting a wreath tutorial on this soon.

Hand made gift tags

My latest project that I am very proud of. These gift tags are so much fun to make.

Of course there has been a little work involved this summer. Here are a few items I have been busy making for our sweet little customers. Check out Dream A Little Dream for more information on these pieces. We love what we do!!

Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to update the blog on our busy summer so far. I am looking forward to a hot weekend by the pool and even spending some time with my best girls.

He Arose!

I am a little late in the week with this post but I wanted to share our Easter with you. We had a wonderful, busy Easter weekend! I love Easter and I am not ashamed to admit that new Easter attire is about 90 percent of the reason why...LOL!!! I am only about half way kidding :) There are other contributing factors of course. I enjoy the food, the family and the egg hunts. I love going to church on Easter Sunday.

My weekend began with a Friday night dinner at Texas Roadhouse (a family favorite) and a last minute trip to the mall to complete Nick's and Wyatt's outfits. We had a great evening out and found pretty much everything that we needed. The only damper on the evening was that after two attempts I still didn't get Wyatt to get his picture made with the Easter Bunny. BOO! I tried, tried, tried to convince him to sit in his lap but it was no use. He ended up telling Nick that it was a "monster bunny" and he was afraid. He does have a point I guess. He is a 6 foot plus bunny.

Saturday morning me and Wyatt got hair cuts and by that afternoon we were ready for the first hunt. We enjoyed having supper at my aunt's with my side of the family followed by Wyatt and his cousins, Chandler and Merritt combing the yard for eggs. After the hunt we came home and Nick was called into work for a few hours. I spent the evening finishing my dress and purse while Wyatt played outside.

Sunday morning we attended church and spent the afternoon with Nick's side of the family where we had lunch and Wyatt hunted eggs once again. It was a lovely day finished off by a quiet supper at home.

I will leave you with some pictures and some of the lyrics from a hymn that I love :) I hope you had a great Easter weekend!

Up from the grave he arose;

with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;

he arose a victor from the dark domain,

and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah!

Christ arose!