{Life as we live it}

garden project...

since the beginning of April, we finally took the plunge and began building three more garden beds. this has been something we've been wanting to expand on for quite a while. last year Tim built two his & hers raised garden beds. they both sit up close to the house for quick & easy access. his holds onions, a variety of bell peppers and potatoes and hers holds herbs.

last year i tried my hand at growing roma  and egg plant along w/ the herbs and to my surprise, they did very well. but we knew we were going to need more space for more of our favorite vegges/fruits.

the past three weekends, we have spent a lot of it in the backyard. one weekend was spent building raised garden beds, the next tilling the gardens, planting a few apple trees and berry bushes and just yesterday we visited the farmers market purchase a few veggies to plant. we have three garden beds that i am looking forward to fill!

currently, we are growing cilantro, basil (my FAVE), parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage (these last three herbs have lasted all winter long, loved that), cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, beets, lettuces, red cabbage, green cabbage, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, asparagus, fuji apple tree & a granny smith apple tree.

on our list is blueberry & blackberry bushes, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, butternut or acorn squash, spinach, collard greends, kale, arugula, oregano... can't wait to get these items planted!

we have also started composting. so glad we are finally doing this. i've always hated tossing food scraps in the trash or down the garbage disposal.

and yes, we have gardening hats, LOL! i couldn't resist. while we were shopping for our building supplies, the rack of hats were calling our names. we were trying to imitate the classic american painting of the farmers with the pitchfork in front of their house, LOL. there are boards up on our garden beds to keep Nala out. during the building process, she would get into them and lay herself down. completely in her comfort zone. we had to put a stop to that, ha!

our goal, is to be able to grow at least 50% of our favorite veggies & fruits. let's see how our semi-virgin green thumbs do :)

xo!

at the farm...

last year, Corinne's preschool took a class trip to Snead's Farm & i was very impressed. never heard of it, but became obsessed w/ the fact that they grow asparagus, YUM! for the past three years, we have been going to Clarke's Farm in Stafford, which we LOVE so much & it's beautiful there! everyone is nice, it's never too crowded & jam packed w/ lots for the kids to do. but last year, Ty did not enjoy himself. so, we had to look for a new place to visit. last weekend we visited Snead's Farm & Ty LOVED it! i was so glad. both kids enjoyed every inch of this farm along w/ all the awesome activities the could get into.

she was not too happy that Ty left her behind in the sunflower maze...

family photo & yes, Tyler is there, you just can't see him standing in front of Tim, LOL...poor dude, i totally cut him out of the picture & before i could snap another, he ran off into the sunflower maze.

they LOVED the barn area w/ stacks of hay & lots of ropes to swing from...ha

a mini zipline...there is also a larger one, but non of us were too cautious to even give it a whirl...

picked up our pumpkins & of course acorns...i'm addicted to them, so good!!!

xo!

GB sneaks & photos...

trying to breathe a little...

have been creatively on the go for the past month...a little overwhelming, but has also fun! thought i'd take a short break & share a few Gossamer Blue sneak peeks w/ you today...

the November kit is to die for...i'm intrigued by the harmonious mix of patterns & whimsical colors this month :) be sure to check out Novembers LookBook

here is another peek of my December Daily insert. i love how the album has turned out & i can't wait to fill it with photos. if you've missed the chance of purchasing the kit, Gossamer Blue is offering up a smaller option for select items from the kit that are available here...

if you've not registered for the December Daily Boot Camp class, now is the time! when you sign up, $3 is automatically donated to Page Maps Becky Fleck’s chapter of The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

aside from creating, we have been on the go busy w/ purging & organizing projects around the house...it's really been nice having floor space in our master walk-in closet & we've also managed to clear a TON out of the garage to make more room for the SUV. Tim even sold his pickup truck (about time, ha). the weekends have been crazy filled w/ lots of activities (excuse the poor quality of my photos, i have been using my cell phone to capture our daily lives a lot more than usual)...

working our first cub scout popcorn booth this past weekend (yes, Tyler is a cub scout & he loves it)...

preparing our home as we are adopting a Greyhound (shoot me now!!!)...

attending a gazillion birthday parties...

making sure i get at least one or three bike rides in each week as well as working my body out with P90X & Insanity...

having loads of fun at the pumpkin patch...

and spending lots & lots of time w/ the girl (& sometimes Tyler) at school...i really enjoy volunteering. the kids in Corinne's class are so adorable, they always make me laugh. i love being in their company when i am visiting.

hope you have a wonderful week...xo!

Ballerina 2nd time around...

Corinne is a dancer, singer, you  name it. she is in her happy place when you hear her singing out loud and dancing to music. over a year ago, she tried her hands at ballet. but by the 3rd class, she cried & cried not wanting to go in. at the time, she didn't like men. i assumed it was the man that was sitting by the window. but later found out that she didn't like her teacher. i didn't so much either. she has no personality & didn't seem to know how to talk to the little ones. not that she was mean, but her demeaner was off.

after the break, i signed her up for ballet camp over the summer, she enjoyed it. there were only three little girls in the class, which was perfect to get her warmed up being around a small group & get to know her teacher better. she LOVES it! after a summer of ballet, she is now officially taking jazz, tap & ballet weekly and she couldn't be happier! she's has new friendships w/ the 5 girls in her class and adores her new teachers.

xo!

 

warrior girl + a creative mess...

this past Saturday, i ran the Warrior Dash & came home w/ t-shirts for the fam. the kids loved theirs. the warrior hat came w/ registering...Corinne all dressed up & ready to conquer her own Warrior Dash!

Corinne was so excited to wear hers that she even took the time w/ Tim to make her own obstacle course out in the back yard...hahaha! i loved it. i snapped these photos from inside through the kitchen window. she was really good at telling daddy where to put the planks & cones & logs, ha!

i'm not a messy scrapper. really, i'm not...matter of fact, all those papers & completed layouts on my floor & the ongoing cluttered desk stayed that way for three days (Gossamer Blue heaven...) i am one who always (almost...) cleans up after every project. but w/ these kids, i lay them all out on the floor & my desk & go to town. the kids hate it b/c i they don't like that they have no room to play in my studio & let's not get started on our damn cat, Crush. he lays on top as if he owns my pretty papers...

 

and the fun part, is that i get to do it all over again RIGHT NOW! my box was quietly sitting on my front porch yesterday & when i sat down after dinner to look through all the kits, i was in awe...OMG, Tim even thought i was weird being all giddy over all the pretty paper & delicious embellishments & ..... oh wait, these kits have a NICE surprise in them & i don't want to spoil that ;) so you'll have to wait until the 15th...ha! i'm bad!

here is a tiny snipit of November's guest designer :) & color palette in the LookBook :)

don't forget to share your projects w/ us in our Flickr group here...

xo!

school girl...

my five year old kindergartner is really diggin school. she loves music, art and p.e. she also looks forward to coming home & do her homework and draw a picture to gift to her teacher. when she gets off the bus, she runs to me & gives the biggest hug. so sweet, i love it! the mornings have been challenging...picking out clothes to wear, getting in & out of the bathroom in a timely manner and eating all her breakfast. but i'm sure she'll get the hang of it all in the comings weeks. i'm glad she is enjoying school & looks forward to going everyday learning & being around a few of her new friends. i need to make a lunch date w/ her this week, i think she will like that...

OBX day3 - cape hatteras + wine & beer...

in the past 30 days, i've been lucky to cross a few things off my life list & one of them was to visit & climb the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, 248 spiral steps all the way up to the top...that is high.

 

another extremely hot & humid day. but once we made it to the top, the strong winds cooled us off. if you leaned against the lighthouse, you could feel it slightly move...freaky, but so cool at the same time.

breathtaking views all around!

Tim is afraid of heights...the fact that he got that close to the edge to film the view took a lot of guts, that's for sure.

& we didn't stay on the balcony for five minutes, it was more like 20. the ranger there was really nice & answered a lot of our questions.

down below, we visited the two homes where it was nice & cool before heading back to OBX.

during our drive back, lots & lots of cars were lined up on the side of the roads along the islands with vacationers & locals checking out the beach views, kite boarding, basking in the sun & kayaking. it was pretty wild, but not so good for some who's vehicles were stuck in the sand.

after the hour drive and a quick stop for lunch, we headed back to the hotel to relax and i spent some time with my long time girlfriend, Lori & her daughter, Lauren, by our Inn's pool. it was a fun time and VERY relaxing. the water was extremely warm.

during our vacation, i picked out all the restaurants where we'd dine for dinner & one of them was at Trio Wine, Beer & Cheese...MY HAPPY PLACE ;)

this is new to me, tasting wine through a dispensing machine. they give you a card, you select a taste, which was around 1 or 1.5oz, half glass or full glass if you like it a lot. the price varied from low to high end. there were four that i just LOVED & i even bought a bottle, a 2009 Ferrari Carano, Cab Sauv, Alexander Valley. it's rich, smooth, no tannin aftertaste and a perfect summertime wine. a California wine that i am going to have to try & find locally.

food was good, too. they have lots of paninis to try even a cheese bar, that i didn't get to try. maybe next time. it was a great place that i hope to visit again some day soon.

they also have a huge selection of draft beers and other specialty beers. Tim really enjoyed the Banana Bread Beer...i tried it & it was really delish. not heavy at all, crisp and clean, so light! many others that were in the bar area bought it as well.

wordless wednesday: backseat giggles + Lily Bee Facebook event

oh happy Wednesday...

during last weeks 1/2 day of school & the first few days of summer break, we've been taking it easy. sleeping in, lounging in our jammies, watching movies, playing Wii games, DSi games & of course, hanging w/ some neighborhood friends.

these three pictures are of the kids in the backseat made me smile.

kids singing to the music playing, Corinne grinning with happiness & the boys being tickling each other. having Tyler's friend, Ace, around has been real fun. he has the best laugh and when the two of them are laughing together it's hilarious! we enjoy having him around. i've always wondered what it would be like having three kids. it's A LOT of work keeping two boys at bay while entertaining a five year old girl...OMG, boys are so wild & the things that come out of their mouths is mind blowing...ha!

also, Lily Bee Design new goal is to reach 4,000 Likes on their Facebook page.

once Lily Bee reaches 4,000 Likes, FOUR lucky winners will be randomly selected to receive these four FABULOUS collections...one winner for every 1,000 Likes. so, be sure to head on over and like Lily Bee for your chance to win :)

have a happy hump day...xo

bye-bye school & hello summer break...

jumping for joy...Tyler is ecstatic to be out of school so he can begin his summer break! i'm ecstatic, too :) we've been waiting for a change of routine around here. looking forward to all that we have planned the summer...

it's amazing how different a young soul can look 9 1/2 months from the beginning of the year. he's growing up BIG! he looks so different. i'm always hugging him out of the blue and squeezing his cheeks or tickling him...i'm just so happy he's my boy & happy he's growing up. so young & handsome. gosh, i wish time would just slow down a little.

Ty's bus driver, Ms Laura is AWESOME! the kids love her & Corinne gave her a card when the boys arrived home. in 2.5 months, she will be riding the same bus w/ her bro every day...big sigh!

happy summer! xo

 

teeny tiny kitty...

last Friday before Tyler's bus arrived, this super cute teeny tiny stray cat wondered over to us from across the street. he was meowing so loud as the crows were hovering over it coo'ing extremely loud. i'm sure they were waiting for the right moment to feast on this precious life. we managed to capture it, feed it, etc. Ty wanted to keep him, but i was hesitant. brought him in the house to introduce him to Crush. he hissed at him, but we think later he wanted to clean him. anyway, i took him to spca & 4 days later he was adopted. i didn't want the crows to have their way w/ him. come to find out, there are 3 more little ones, living two houses down from us in the neighbors bushes...a nice cozy, protective home. the neighbors feed them often & wondered what happened to the 4th kitty, which is safe!

so teeny tiny...i'm sure he was only a 6 weeks+ old...