Pruning the bush

I made a goal of completing my porch decor for Christmas - in time for December 1st.

I was the house on the street that still had the pumpkins out - GASP! - I know right?! Brutal!

Oh well - the pumpkins have moved ti the side of the house (and are till waiting to be placed at the curb for garbage)

Hey my job is done - planters, wreath, lights - check.

Now Mr. Mom needs to toodle those pumpkins to the curb on Tuesday.

I am fortunate to have a friend and colleague who lives on a farm. For the past few years she's let me 'prune her bush'.....(giggle)

We plan a date and I head over there in with my pruning shears.

She has such wonderful things like dogwood, spruce, milk weed, tall grass with fluffy stuff on top, and many other shrubs that could use a trim.

The best part about this year was the Missy Z was able to experience snow for the first time. She wasn't too sure what to think - but enjoyed being carried though the property.

Mr. O always has a ball because he can run up and down the path, and though the brush.

My friend always has cats on her farm as well - and being such an animal lover, Missy Z. was right in there checking them out.

SO without further ado - here is the final product!

Nice bush eh?

1st Birthday and the return to work

That's it - here and gone - SO quick.

Missy Lou  turned one and I have returned to full time work. Where does the time go?

Thank-you for all the Birthday wishes - and thank-you for a wonderful weekend filled with cake, laughter and love!

I was chatting with a girlfriend who's 1st born turned 1 this summer - she hit the nail on the head when explaining the size of the Birthday party- "it was pretty much a small wedding".

Yep - inevitable - 1st Born, 1st grandchild, 1st - 1st Birthday - it will be huge.

Mr. O's 1st Birthday took place over the course of 3 days - WAY too much! So we tried to scale back...

Missy Lou's Birthday was a two day event - 2 parties which co-incided with Thanksgiving.

Party #1 was a Dora theme - complete with A 'map' for a scavenger hunt, purple 'backpack' (or buckets) to hold all scavenger items, a Pinata (of Dora... slightly creepy - yet hilarious as the kids loved to smack the crap out of it), and of course the cake.

On the hunt....

Party #2 was what I'll call the PINTREST party - everything was inspired by Pintrest.

The Pintrest inspired decorations worked out really good!

embroidery hoop + fabric+ "1"+ ribbon

tissue paper + pipe-cleaner (click here for tutorial)

'clothes line' of pictures documenting each month

balloon weight - small glass jar +  4 boxes smarties + #1 candle

But I think my most TRIUMPHANT Pintrest inspired idea was the Zebra Cake....

she was Marvellous!
 SO Delicious too:

Piped with reverse shell technique - you tubed it that morning! (Icing took about 1/2 hour)

Now Missy Z - didn't want to get her hands dirty - and actually didn't eat/smear/wear her cake (which was too bad as that is probably the best part of the 1st Birthday) - However she did enjoy her cake the next day :)

Here is the Zebra Cake Tutorial. I did use the Betty crocker mixes - as they were on sale for 88 cents that week - The cake was moist and quite enjoyable!!

We all had a ball - and slept REALLY well that night.....

... and then bright and early the next morning - my alarm went off and that was it - Mat leave over - 1st Birthday came and went.... and I was off to the clinic.

Fall Porch Decor - as promised

Over the weekend I thought I'd tackle my fall planter/porch decor.

I asked Mr. O - but all he said was "..hmm not sure mom... can I watch Ninja Turtles?"

It's a pretty tough decision. Maybe I should consult Donnie, Mikey, Raph and Leo?

With the TMNT's blessing I got down to work.

I have to walk past it every day, see it as I approach the house, and also catch a glimpse of it from inside....

That being said - I'm not at the point where I can or even want to spend a small fortune on this 'seasonal decor'.

All I know is that I wanted to create something that will transition into (deep breath)... winter.

1) I love my birch branches in the winter - I have done it for the past 3 winters, but still love them.

2) I also enjoy how hearty mums are (I tend to neglect living plants.. the varieties that can survive with out water for a bit is perfect fro me). I have also planted mums after, and to my surprise (see comment above) have enjoyed them yet again, for another season.

3) Burlap - totally screams fall and ..... winter

4) Pumpkins - gotta use them anyways! (hopefully they aren't liquid by Halloween)

5) Glitter balls and autumn pics - those are left over from season past

Voila!

Thanks TMNT!

Who doesn't like balls?

September 13th and the sun is shining.

Today I finished my morning cup of coffee...while it was still warm.... it's a great day.

Nap time was successful - I continued projects that had been on 'pause' and I was able to edit items (what my husband deems 'clutter') from the kitchen. All this before noon - Can you believe it?

Sigh. 

The house still remains quiet(ish)... one child is at school the other is (now awake) ripping apart the grocery flyers that arrived this morning. I'm not sure how this is so funny, but she finds it hystarical. Gleeful bursts of noise fill the air as I'm typing this - but hey - she's entertained - and lets face it - the less sale flyers there are.. the better.

Today I wanted to share a project that I did at the beginning of the summer (before the blog actually became a reality). 

I am obsessed with balls.

(tee hee - wink)

Ok - more specifically, I'm obsessed with garden orbs, globes a.k.a balls. I love contemporary garden 'pretties' and porch decor. I especially like when the same one can be transformed depending on the season.
That being said - usually those items can be quite pricey.

Pintrest has been a great resource for DIY's. Thus generating my desire to create a DIY garden globe.

I know fall is literally around the corner but I'm still deciding on the 'fall look'. I'll update once I've decided - but here's my current porch decor.

DIY Grapevine Globe

Yes - the globe is a DIY - it honestly cost $1.00!!

Here's what I used:

2 - wire - hanging basket holders found at a local thrift store for $0.50 each.

Zip ties (I had a bag of small ones and maybe used 40?) -found in the garage

Vines - Grapevine that was overgrown on a colleague's farm - free - thank you SO much!

Here are the steps:

Attach both baskets with zip ties

You can trim the ties once they're all secure.

De-tangele the vines. I also separated thick and thin vines this stage.

Trim off the broken or split ends.

Start by wrapping the thicker vines around the globe first - creating a 'base' 

*patience is a great skill at this point - some vines may not cooperate

Secure the ends of a piece of vine by tucking them under the basket wires (a few times if needed).

**I used some of the zip ties to secure some of the 'disobedient' vines. I had to secure them in a few places so the globe would resemble a sphere - not an oval.

Start to see the 'globe' taking shape

**I did use about 4 thick vines that tapered on the end for the base** 

 I left an opening through the vines so that if I wanted to place a strand of mini lights inside I could.

 

 Now use the thinner vines to give texture and density to the globe.

**if you are leaving a hole for lights - make sure not to cover it up too much**

All Done! Time to Admire!

Hmm - now what to do for fall? 

Suggestions?

To be continued...