Easter 2015

My family on Easter (2015)

Easter may be my favorite holiday of the whole year. More than Christmas. More than Thanksgiving. There are all sorts of reasons why that's the case, including my faith, which is the reason we celebrate it in the first place. It's the most joyful day of the year for Christians and it's one that people observe all over the world - I love that! This weekend, we got to spend Easter with my family and a couple of friends and it really was an incredible, joyful celebration.

One of my new favorite traditions is going to an Easter Vigil on Saturday night at our old church in DC. Since my family lives in that area, we were thrilled to have a chance to go back to that event this year even though we live in Philly now. If you live in the DC area, this is something you don't want to miss! Head over here to read more about it. And go next year. Trust me :).

Spending time with family and friends in a super relaxed, low key way was also one of the highlights of this past weekend. Of course, there was lots of FOOD involved throughout the weekend and we were stuffed to the gills by the time we left on Sunday!

One fun thing that was a bonus to our already yummy meals for the weekend was a fresh fruit basket delivery from Shari's Berries*.

We added some of the tangerines and pears to our fruit salad for pre-church brunch and they were delicious!

After lunch, we had quite the feast of leg of lamb, rosemary potatoes and brussel sprouts, and topped it off with way too many chocolate covered strawberries and cute little Easter-themed brownie pops (also from Shari's Berries). I have been forbidden from including photos of people eating them since biting into a chocolate covered strawberry isn't exactly the prettiest thing to watch :). Does this photo get your mouth watering, or what? Those brownie pops were more like fudge in the middle - so rich and so good.

When we weren't eating on Sunday, we were spending time outside hanging out, chatting and even playing a little bit of croquet! We were very thankful to (finally!!) have beautiful spring weather that allowed us to be outside for a good chunk of the afternoon. Sadly, because we're just hitting spring after a brutally long winter, there were no cherry blossoms out yet (we attempted to spot some downtown on Saturday, which was a fail, ha!).

This weekend was one to remember. On our drive back to Philly with our friends last night, we all remarked on how much we enjoyed the whole weekend. It was marked with joy, gratitude, laughter and fun celebration. All in all, I'm very thankful for it! I hope you all had wonderful Easter weekends as well, wherever you spent them, and that you have a great start to your week!

*A huge thanks to Shari's Berries for providing the yummy treats in this post for their #EasterJoy campaign. All opinions are my own. See my full disclosure at the footer of the blog. 

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Printable Christmas Gift Tags {With Easy Ways to Embellish Them!}

Happy Wednesday, y'all! I'm so excited to be a part of Nap-Time Creations's "A Crafty Christmas" series this year. If you're coming over from Emily's blog, welcome! I'm so glad you're here. My little contribution to the series is some printable gift tags along with some fun tips on embellishing them using glitter. I love giving simply wrapped packages a little something extra, and gift tags are a great way to do that without breaking the bank!

I've got five tag designs to share with you today. They come in two colorways - traditional red and green, and gold. They've got various seasonal greetings on them like "Merry Christmas" and "Peace, Love, Joy." Download them here (free for a limited time!).

They're designed to print onto blank 3x5 cards, which eliminates the need to cut each one out individually from a large piece of card stock - simplifying the tag-making process! All you need to do after printing is "pretty them up" a bit.

The supplies you'll need are:

• PDF with tag designs
• Blank 3x5 cards
• Printer
• Scissors
• Standard hole punch
• Twine/ribbon/string
• Sheet of blank address labels
• Large 1" hole punch/craft punch (similar *affiliate link)
• Double stick tape
• Glue Dots (*affiliate link)
  
• Glitter

First, print out the designs onto 3x5 cards. Set your printer paper size to "3x5 note card" and they should print out just like these:

Trim the edges of one side of the tag at an angle so that the it looks more tag-like and less 3x5 card-like (for lack of a better term) :). I made one template then used it as a guide for trimming the rest.

This next step is optional, but I think it makes the tags look more finished.

Take a sheet of blank address stickers and use a one inch hole/craft punch to make a bunch of circle stickers. These are going to act as makeshift hole reinforcers. If you have hole reinforcers handy, you can use these instead.

Peel the backing off of one and stick it onto the middle of the end of the tag with the angled edges. Use your standard hole punch to punch a hole through the center of the circle sticker. Tie a piece of twine or ribbon onto the tag so you can attach it to a gift. See the handy step-by-step photos below for a more visual set of instructions...

Purdy, huh?

Now, you could just be done right there and you'd have yourself a good-lookin' set of tags. I left a lot of mine just like that - nice and simple. But why not have a little fun and embellish them with a little glitter? Nothing like a little sparkle for the holidays, right?

For example, to add polka dots, I scattered a few glue dots around the edges of the "Merry & Bright" tag and dabbed on some gold glitter with my finger. By using glue dots, you get nice, round circles, no liquidy-glue mess, and no drying time. Just shake off the excess glitter and you're done.

Love those whimsy, glittery polka dots!

Another way to add some sparkle is to use double stick tape to make a stripe. I placed a strip of tape straight across the bottom edge of a "Ho Ho Ho" tag, dabbed glitter on again with my finger, and shook off the excess. By using double stick tape, you get a nice crisp line - again with no messy glue involved!

Those two glittery tags go together quite nicely :)...

...but they really shine when tied onto a pretty package!

Here are the red and green versions all together - some embellished, some left in their natural states:

And here are the gold versions, which I think look best left un-embellished, but feel free to add to them if you'd like!

Just for good measure, here they are all together!

These would make great additions to your holiday packaging repertoire, or they'd make a great gift for a friend who also loves pretty packaging!

Check out ALL the awesome projects in this series over on Emily's blog (click the graphic below). There are lots of different themes...from gift-wrapping ideas to crafts to recipes. You don't want to miss this series. Thanks again to Emily for inviting me to participate in this!

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linking up to: DIY Showoff, Rain on a Tin Roof, Home Stories A to Z, Uncommon Designs, If It's Not Baroque, Liz Marie Blog, Blissfully Ever After, Design, Dining and Diapers, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Craftberry Bush, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, Serenity Now, It’s Overflowing, House of Rose, Love of Family and Home, Dear Creatives, Madigan Made, First Home...Love Life, Simply Dream and Create, Whipperberry, Sparkles and A Stove, Making Home Base, Naptime Creations, Southern Hospitality, Living Well Spending Less, Remodelaholic, The Happy Housie

Five Helpful Hints for Non-Hosters of Thanksgiving

Let me preface this list with a big, fat disclaimer: everyone approaches large gatherings like Thanksgiving differently. There is no right or wrong way to do things. Some hosts/hostesses like to "do it all" (what craziness is this?!), and want to be left alone in the kitchen, some love having people over, but hate cooking and dread getting all that food on the table, some are too nice to ask for help, etc. etc. Thanksgiving is a time, first and foremost, to be thankful for what we have and unfortunately, all too often, it turns into a frenzied day of trying to get. it. all. done.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm not in charge of or hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I like to be helpful in making it happen. Thanksgiving is a huge undertaking, and I think non-hosters like myself can play a huge role in pitching in to help take some of the pressure off of the main host/hostess (let's be honest, that's usually someone's mom) and make Thanksgiving go smoothly and be enjoyable for all parties. So to remind myself (and you, too?) to be helpful on Thursday, I've come up with a list of five practical suggestions. Just 'cause you're not hosting doesn't mean you're off the hook for helping out!

1. Volunteer to bring or cook something.

Before Thursday arrives, check with the host/hostess about what you can bring or do to help. Often, the host has planned out or made a list of dishes/drinks/desserts ahead of time, so if you have something you'd like to bring, check in ahead of time to see if that works with the plan that's already in place.

If the host says not to bring anything, see if there's something else non-food or drink related you can do instead, which brings us to my next few hints!

2. Be proactive.

Hooray! It's Thanksgiving day! Once you arrive and get settled in, ask how you can help. If your host says, "Oh nothing! Go relax!" go do that. For a little while. Check in every once in awhile and ask again. Needs will certainly change throughout the day.

Oh, and you may have noticed, but people tend to congregate in the kitchen, which drives most cooks crazy. Take some initiative and lead people to another room to hang out (take some snacks and drinks to lure them with you...) or go outside if the weather's nice enough!

3. Entertain the kids (or adults).

Thanksgiving takes awhile to pull together, so there will inevitably be down time throughout the day. People, especially kids, tend to get a little restless. Come prepared with some ideas to keep people entertained and occupied until the main event. Games, crafts, prepping the table with place cards/food labels (shameless plug), running around like banshees outside, and plain, old-fashioned conversating (yes, I know that's not a real word...) are good places to start. Check out Ashley's round up of ways to get your kids involved in celebrating Thanksgiving to get you started.

{The Handmade Home}

Oh, and involve the kids in some of the cooking activities as well!

4. Help clean.

After your food coma has worn off a bit, grab a couple of people and take charge of the clean up. If everyone does a little bit, it'll be done in a flash. Also, ask the cook if you can clean while he/she is cooking. Sometimes it's helpful to clean as you go, especially with big meals like this!

Cleaning can also include packaging up leftovers. If any leftovers are going home with guests, check out these cute ways to package them. Or, use tried and true tinfoil if it wears you out just thinking about making leftovers "cute" :).

{A Feteful Life}

5. Come armed with a list of ideas for leftovers.

While we're on the topic of leftovers, it could be fun to come ready with a list of creative ways to use them. Maybe start with this pizza. Or you could just do Thanksgiving all over again and have a little bit of everything :). Mmm.


Happy Thanksgiving y'all! I hope you have a great one wherever you're celebrating :).

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linking up to: DIY Showoff, Rain on a Tin Roof, Home Stories A to Z, Uncommon Designs, If It's Not Baroque, Liz Marie Blog, Blissfully Ever After, Design, Dining and Diapers, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Craftberry Bush, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, Serenity Now, It’s Overflowing, House of Rose, Love of Family and Home, Dear Creatives, Madigan Made, First Home...Love Life, Simply Dream and Create, Whipperberry, Sparkles and A Stove, Making Home Base, Naptime Creations, Southern Hospitality, Living Well Spending Less, Remodelaholic, The Happy Housie

Thanksgiving Table Printables

I'm not hosting or in charge of Thanksgiving this year. I guess that's one of the perks of being young, not having kids and living in a tiny apartment (that's SO not ideal for hosting a big ole Thanksgiving feast). We love going to my in-laws' home for this holiday, and I've been brainstorming ways that I can help since hosting/cooking/prepping Thanksgiving is a huge undertaking!

I've got a list of "ideas" for you tomorrow on how to be helpful when you're NOT hosting Thanksgiving (I'm preachin' to myself here too!), but I wanted to go ahead and share one of the practical things with you today.

For many hosts and hostesses, getting food on the table is the most important part, but this is also the most time-consuming and involved task! Prettying up the table and buffet area may not be the first thing on their minds, so this is where you, the non-hoster, can help out. This is definitely not something that's mandatory, but I think that can be a nice way to get involved so they can focus on the food aspect of things and not worry about making the table all purdy (if that's the plan - I know things work differently for different families).

Place cards and food label cards can be really helpful, especially if you've got a crowd coming. People like to know where to sit and what they're eating, so adding these two simple things this takes the guesswork out of that.

To make it easy for you, dearest non-hoster, I've created some free "fall vines" place cards/food label cards and some "what are you thankful for?" lists that you can use at your feast. Both are included in this PDF for you to download. Make sure you ask the host or hostess if they've already planned for this though - no stepping on anyone's toes!

Here are the place cards/food label cards. They come six to a sheet, so print out as many sheets as you need :).

Print them out on card stock, cut out the individual cards and lists using scissors or a paper trimmer and write names or food on them. Fold in half and place on the table or buffet. Simple as that!

The "what are you thankful for?" lists come three to a sheet. Again, print as many as you need! Sometimes getting the thankfulness conversation started around the dinner table can be a bit of a challenge, so if you give people some time to think and write things down before sitting down for dinner, you'll already have a conversation starter in place!

Print the sheets out on card stock and cut into thirds. Place them in a bowl or basket by the door with a cup of pens and have people grab one as they come in and fill out at their leisure while watching some football or hanging out.

If you take the initiative and do a few simple things, I'll bet the day will go a lot more smoothly and the host or hostess will be very thankful for you on turkey day!

What are your Thanksgiving plans this year? Are you playing host/hostess, and do you think it would be helpful having someone take care of some little things for you? 

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linking up to: DIY Showoff, Rain on a Tin Roof, Home Stories A to Z, Uncommon Designs, If It's Not Baroque, Liz Marie Blog, Blissfully Ever After, Design, Dining and Diapers, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Craftberry Bush, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, Serenity Now, It’s Overflowing, House of Rose, Love of Family and Home, Dear Creatives, Madigan Made, First Home...Love Life, Simply Dream and Create, Whipperberry, Sparkles and A Stove, Making Home Base, Naptime Creations, Southern Hospitality, Living Well Spending Less, Remodelaholic, The Happy Housie

Fourth of July at the River

Surprise! Charlie and I snuck away for an extra-long weekend at my parents' river house for the Fourth of July. We headed down there last Tuesday night, and had a glorious and relaxing five days down there. My parents were there, and my aunt and uncle came for a couple of days as well. I've decided that you really need that amount of time (of more, of course!) for it to feel like a vacation. We truly got away, disconnected, and got some much-needed rest.

Before diving back into project mode here on the blog, I thought I'd show you a few photos of our time at the river and give you a little sneak peak of some of the projects we did while we were there. Details to come later this week!

We spend a good portion of our time hanging out on the screen porch, the lawn by the water, and on the dock - mostly reading, chatting and relaxing. We joked that during the summer, we don't even need half the house, because we hardly use it when the weather's so nice! We live outside. Even when it's hot, we get a nice breeze off the river that keeps the temperature really pleasant.

Don't we look relaxed? :)

We got out and had some nice time on the water though too - including a kayak adventure to a nearby lagoon. Jackson came with us and had the best time romping on a little stretch of beach and swimming and rubbing his face in the sand.

Yes, he wears a doggy life jacket. Protective parents much?

We had a lovely Fourth of July too. I love this Instagram of the American flag and white Adirondack chairs in the background. It just felt so "American" to me. Doing some work on those Adirondacks was one of our major projects for the weekend (that's sneak peek number one!).

Jackson was feeling patriotic and wanted to get in on some photo action as well, so he posed with the flag for me.

Just kidding. He just happened to be there. Right place, right time I suppose.

Charlie and I had an impromptu photo session in our patriotic garb just before sunset on the fourth. The light was so nice, and I really wanted some new photos of the two of us. My mom is a great photographer and took some awesome shots of us. I'll share more of those later this week along with a few tips on taking good portrait photos too :).

The following day, we rented a little sunfish sailboat for the afternoon. It was super fun! I mostly enjoyed it from my vantage point on the dock and in the water (though I did sail with Charlie on it from the marina when we picked it up), but my dad and Charlie had a blast taking turns on it all afternoon.

Charlie joined me for some swim time while my dad took the sunfish for a spin.

Of course, a trip to the river wouldn't be complete without a boat ride with Jackson as the figurehead. In his life jacket...

And I couldn't resist a picture of C as the boat driver. Isn't he handsome? (He's really gonna appreciate that comment :).)

That evening, we had one of the most gorgeous sunsets. I feel like photos never quite do them justice, but I loved this one.

Ahh. So nice.

On Saturday, we hit up the once-a-month local farmers' market. I could not get over all the gorgeous fresh produce we saw!

Pretty, huh? It was fun wandering around, checking out the different vendors. In addition to fresh produce, they've also got all sorts other things including handmade items, children's clothing and art. I picked up a small oil painting from an artist I've admired for awhile at the market. I'll have to show it to you once I get it framed.

That about wraps up the weekend, but I have one more sneak peek for you of a project I'll share later on this week. It involves this gorgeous (not) orange kitchen cart. Is your interest piqued yet? Don't worry, it didn't stay this color :).

Did y'all enjoy your Fourth of July weekends? I hope you had a chance to relax and enjoy time with family and/or friends. I don't know about you, but I'm not quite ready to be back in "real life" yet!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy happy fourth of July y'all! I'm off to enjoy the weekend with my family. Hope your days are full of red, white and blue, good food and pretty fireworks shows!

I'll be back on Monday!