Silverware Herb Markers

Now that we have our herb garden planted, I wanted to add some fun herb markers to help me keep my herbs straight.  I originally wanted to pick up some fun Smith & Hawken copper herb markers that Target is selling for $2.99 each, but my local Target hasn't had them in stock for several weeks, and I'm thinking that since it's a seasonal item they might never come back in stock.  I searched for herb markers on Etsy and found several listings for silverware herb markers.  I thought I would try to make my own using this metal stamping kit that I ordered off Amazon.

I ordered this kit because I liked that it had numbers and letters, and I liked the $12-ish price.  I would have loved to pick up a kit in a bigger size, but as the size goes up, the price also goes up...dramatically.  I also picked up some random pieces of silverware at Goodwill for $0.29 each.  I pounded them flat with a hammer, and used the stamps to write out the names of my herbs.  I discovered that it was best to give each letter one solid hit from the hammer versus several smaller taps.  Smaller taps created duplicate letters in some cases.

After I stamped all my spoons and forks, I got out a Sharpie marker to help make the letters stand out better.  I just colored in the letters and then wiped off the excess Sharpie with a wet wipe.

 This one reads 'Cilantro'.  The sun makes them tricky to read at times:).

 'Dill'

'Chives'

 'Lavender'

'Basil'

I think it's funny that there are forks and spoons in the garden:)!  

And with that...I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.  Travel safely, eat lots of grilled food, and most importantly...don't forget your sunscreen!! 

Fresh Herb Time!

On Monday, I posted about our new organic herb and spice collection, but there's one thing that's better than cooking with herbs in jars, and it's cooking with fresh herbs!!   Unlike last summer, we decided to take on a small landscaping project this year.  We took these before images:

and we transplanted a few bushes and added some edging, black dirt and mulch.  Now the same area looks like this:

It's our new herb garden!  We had done some work in this area last year, but we still weren't thrilled with the way the poured concrete stepping 'stones' had mulch on one side and rock on the other.  I wanted a bigger area for an herb garden, so we transplanted a few bushes that had been there and increased the mulch area.  We planted basil, rosemary, parsley, sage, dill, cilantro, oregano and lavender.  We already had a small area of chives that we planted by seed last year.  And there are a few strawberry plants in this area too.  

The night after we planted it, we started harvesting fresh herbs for dinner!  Does anyone else have plans for an herb garden this summer?  It feels so good to have the bulk of this year's landscaping done already, and it's not even June:)!  And an extra special thank you to my brother for his help this past weekend!

The Hello Goodbye Series: Feeling Spicey!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Why do they always fly by so fast?   We've been enjoying some quality time with my brother, better known around here as Uncle D.B.!  We've been working and playing and eating yummy food!  

One thing that we've been especially enjoying is our new spice selection:

Our current spice selection is a huge improvement from our 'before' selection which consisted of a variety of spices, most of which were really, really old since we rarely used them:

To create a new collection, I picked up a new spice every week since February.  I chose Target's organic spices because I like the price ($2.49 per jar, some purchased for $1.99 with coupons), the look and the size (less spice=less likely to hold on to old spices).  And more important than owning a new spice collection, we're actually using spices now that we are eating less processed foods and cooking healthier meals!  Here are some of the meals we've made recently:

Asparagus Pizza

Shrimp and Asparagus Gnocchi

Arugula and Apple Salad

Spinach, Garbanzo Bean and Egg Hash.  

Bleu Cheese and Red Onion Portabella Mushroom Burger

Goodbye to old, out of date spices.  Hello to fresh, organic spices and homemade cooking!

I'm telling you, we've never eaten better:)!!

Project Sunshine: Relaxation Box

I haven't done a Project Sunshine post in awhile.  It's not because I'm not keeping up with the project, rather sometimes it feels a little strange to send someone a package and publicly announce that I'm sending a surprise. It makes it feel less genuine.  Anyway, here is a surprise that I'm happy to share since there are multiple recipients, none of whom read this blog.

Background for this Project: At my regular Yin Yoga class, we use lavender eye pillows at the end of each session.  I absolutely love the aroma.  It causes instant relaxation, and I really wanted one!  The yoga studio sells them for about $15, so I checked out Etsy where prices start at $5 plus shipping.  I figured I could make them really easily, but I'd need to make a bunch of them to make it worthwhile.  Since the school year is almost ending, I decided that it would make a great teacher's gift!

I ordered up some organic lavender from Amazon, along with some organic fabrics from Fabric.com.  I picked up some organic rice from Trader Joe's and mixed the lavender and rice in a 2:1 ratio.

Bill, Lucky and Charm filled the muslin bags that I made about half way with the lavender/rice mixture, while I sewed the bags shut.

Next, I made covers for the muslin eye pillows using various types of organic cotton fabrics.

I even made a couple extra 'mini' eye pillows for Lucky and Charm:)!:

I found some boxes at Target dollar bin section and lined them with tissue paper.  In each box, Lucky, Charm and I added a homemade organic lavender eye pillow, an organic EOS lip balm (my favorite!), and a few bags of antioxidant rich green tea.  The overall cost for each gift (box included) is just over $7.

 I used simple labels and $1 alphabet stamp set to address the presents and add little 'relax' and 'rest' reminders:):

 Inside each box:

Bill made little 'eye pillow' cards using card stock.  

Hopefully, the teachers will enjoy their gifts and get some well deserved rest and relaxation this summer!

And I did make an extra eye pillow for myself too and I LOVE it!  This gift may be my go to present for awhile, especially since I have lots of fabric and lavender left over!!

Rug Karma

Remember when I returned the super duper good deal of a rug that wasn't quite right for my house?  And then I found some Olin rug knock offs at Home Goods?  Well, I think the rug Gods were smiling down on me again when I stumbled upon this one in perfect, brand new, straight off the Target shelf condition at my local Goodwill.

It was marked $79.99.  At some Target stores and online, this same rug is sold for $349.99.

I love this rug and have had the same exact rug in the 5' x 7' size for several years.  It was in the mudroom of our first home and we put it in the sun porch at our current house:

The rug works really well with the outdoor furniture that we had originally purchased for the gigantic deck at our old house.  We were lucky the furniture fit so nicely in our sun porch at our current house.  I always felt like the rug was a little on the small side for the space, especially since the kids love to play in this room.  More rug space = a bigger, comfortable play area for the kids.  I had actually price checked the larger size online recently, but at $350 it was a no go.  At $79.99 on the other hand, it was a definite go:

Good Rug Karma is the best!!

Oh Happy Day!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I enjoyed a fantastic Mother's Day with my husband and kiddos who surprised me with a beautifully decorated dining room in my favorite color, yellow!!

It made me so happy all day!!  We also spent some time planting sunflowers, Indian corn, and pumpkins (normal and white ones) in our raised cedar garden in the back yard.  I can't wait for the plants to start sprouting!!

And we spent some time this weekend recovering from our big annual garage sale.  We had SO MUCH STUFF this year.  It took me about 3 months to go through our entire house room by room, closet by closet,  and drawer by drawer BUT the reward was huge in terms of money earned and space freed within our home.  That being said, I'm so glad to have the sale behind us!  Now, I can put my 'free time' focus on fun projects!  I'm actually looking forward to an ordinary day today and an ordinary week!  Speaking of which, I need to start reading The Gift of An Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison for my Tuesday night book club:).  Wish me luck speed reading!!

Happy Mother's Day!

via

Happy Mother's Day!  Mom...I love you!  Thank you so much for all you've done for me in the past and for all you continue to do for me!  This past year was a doozie, and your love and support has been so greatly appreciated.  Thanks for being such a great example of hard work, dedication and self sacrifice.  And also thanks for being the adorably quirky, penguin costume wearing, paleo diet eating, constantly nurturing, slightly over-dramatic, and on trend woman that you are today.  I love everything about you!  (Also, I think you should write a cook book, because I'm fairly sure you could get your own show on the Food Network. Why did I not realize how good I had it in high school?)

And also, I'm one of the few lucky ladies who have been extremely blessed to have an amazing mother-in-law!  Gail, I just love spending time with you!  Thanks for being a great listener and a great advice giver.  And especially thanks for agreeing to keep the drum set at your house:)!

To all mothers, have an incredibly blessed day today and every day!