It's That Time of Year!

Graduation season is upon us!  It never ceases to amaze how quickly the years fly by and the babies of yesterday become the young adults of today.

 

 

My daughter-in-law Lisa's niece graduated this year and we were pleased to be invited to a party in her honor.  

 

Proud Mom Amy, younger sister Natalie, and the graduate Ashley

 Now let me tell you--Lisa and her Mom Sandy, sisters Tina and Amy, and all the aunts are entertainers par excellence!  Creative Tina was the party planner for this occasion.  Just look at her fabulous ideas!

 

 

The drink station featured lemonade and bottled water with ice nearby to fill glasses.  It was such a great idea to place the drink dispenser on an upside-down mini aluminum tub--it looked good and it raised things up so it was easier to serve yourself.

 

Notice how the bottles of water are stacked on their sides inside the white tub?  It looked so nice and made it easy to put lots of bottles on the table without it looking crowded.  I'm tucking that idea away to use for myself one day.

 

The candy station was a big hit with everyone, especially the young ones.  The treats were all in purple and gold, a nod to Ashley's school colors.

 

 (Top left) All the tables were laden with goodies lovingly made by family and friends.  (Top right) One of the cookie stations was backlit with white Christmas lights and photos of Ashley when she was a baby and now.  

 

(Bottom left) There was a bucket of branches on one table that were designed to be a blessing tree--everyone was encouraged to write a note to Ashley and hang it on the tree.  (Bottom right) Bookmarks were made and given as gifts to the guests with the request that they serve as a reminder to pray for Ashley as she moves along in her life. 

It truly was a wonderful party...Here's the party planner Tina with one of the youngest guests, her grandson Elan.

 

Happy Graduation Ashley!  And congratulations to you (and your family!)

 

 

BEFORE: Beautiful But Not Beach-y!

In our last post about Coast Awhile Cottage, I shared photos of the front porch--a wonderful outdoor space!  Now let's step inside the front door to the living room BEFORE.

So much potential!  Love those lapped boards on the walls!  Henry wanted to leave them "as is" because they are so pretty.

But look at these pictures--do they say beach house to you?  No?  Me neither.  If this were a mountain home these walls would be perfect but I think that for a beach house we need some coats of white paint!

   

So that is the living room Before tour--I can't wait to show you what we did!

Something For My Favorite Peeps!

Hop on over for a fun, quick Easter treat!  I thought it was time to "practice what I pin"--on Pinterest, that is.  I'm short on time but I wanted to have something fun for the kiddos this weekend so I went searching through my Easter Pinterest board for something E-A-S-Y.

 This was perfect:  Peeps Pops!

To make them you need:

Bunny Peeps, lollipop sticks, chocolate and/or vanilla coating,  candy sprinkles

 I wanted to display them in an Easter basket so I am using one I already had and I bought a piece of styrofoam and some Easter grass.  I also bought some plastic bags to wrap each one individually (bottom right) but I decided to save them for another project.

Here's what I did:

Cut the styrofoam to fit snugly in the bottom of the basket.  I cut the corners of the rectangle and pressed it down to the bottom of the basket--it should be tight.  Then I covered the inside of the basket with grass and set it aside for later.

 

Separate the marshmellow bunny Peeps and then spear each one with a lollipop stick from the bottom to the top.  I pushed the stick in as far as it could go without coming through at the top.

 

Melt the candy coating following the directions on the packaging.  I used the microwave option.

 Dip each bunny peep into the melted candy coating and swirl it to completely cover.  I then tapped the stick gently on the edge of the bowl so the excess coating would drip off.  

 Then quickly sprinkle your choice of candy sprinkles on the wet coating and 

place it on wax paper to dry. 

Once the bunnies were dry I arranged them in the Easter basket by sticking them in the styrofoam.  Nice and easy!  All I am saying is give Peeps a chance (tee hee)!  See you next week with more of the beach cottage for a buck renovation project!

Happy Easter everyone!  He is risen!