Pinterest Party - Paper Dahlia

A couple of weeks ago I hosted another Pinterest party.  You can read about the first one HERE.  It ended up being a smaller group this time, but we still had a great time.  I decided that I wanted to make some type of Spring decoration, and when I saw that I had pinned three different paper Dahlia's to my Spring Pinterest board, I decided that was what we were going to make.

I used the three I had pinned (here, here, and here) as references when we made ours.  All three have good tutorials.  It was actually pretty easy once we got the hang of it.

We traced a paper plate on to a piece of cardboard and cut out the circle to use as our base.  Then we cut 12 x 12 pieces of cardstock paper in to fourths (so you get four squares per sheet).  Roll each square in to a cone and add some hot glue to hold it together.  After you've made a bunch of the cones, start gluing them on your cardboard circle.  Continue gluing the cones around the circle and changing colors as you wish.  When we got to the middle 3 or 4 cones, we made them a little smaller to fit better.  We hot glued a small piece of twine to the back of the cardboard to create a loop to hang them from.  Here are the finished products:

Don't mind my crazy dog in this picture...

I love how everyone's turned out a little different, depending the colors, how tight or loose we made the cones, how we glue them, etc.  So much fun!  Here's how my looks hanging in our breezway:

A couple of people brought snacks and I made a few dips.  I also made a big batch of sangria, which I think turned out really good--recipe coming later this week!  These Pinterest parties are always so fun, and it actually gets to make something I've pinned.  Summer is usually pretty busy, so I might not host another one until fall....but you never know :)

Lately...

I've been a little MIA lately...as in the past week and a half.  It wasn't intentional, I've just had a lot going on.  It has included hosting another Pinterest party, painting the trim in our office (which takes FOUR coats of primer/paint), yard work, and most recently, I got the flu Monday night and am just now feeling a little like myself.  I can't remember ever being as sick as I was Monday night/Tuesday...it was miserable.

I plan to share all the details of the Pinterest party and some photos of the painting I've been doing next week (you can see some previews on Instagram).

I hope to be posting regularly again next week...thanks for sticking around while I get myself feeling better and back on track!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends!  My plans for the weekend include going to the casino with my Dad tonight (wish me luck!), doing some yard work on Saturday, and starting to paint the trim in our office.  I'm hoping I have the motivation to get lots of work done around the house this weekend.  Today I want to share five of my favorite things from the week.

ONE.  Favorite Craft.  I have been wanting to make one of these starburst mirrors to hang in our living room above our TV.

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TWO.  Favorite Dessert.  My husband has never had coffee cake...say what??  This Caramel Apple Coffee Cake looks delicious.  I might have to make it for him soon!

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THREE.  Favorite Hair.  I really need to try to do these beachy waves on my hair.  I also need my hair to grow another 6 inches ASAP.

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FOUR.  Favorite Recipe.  How amazing do these Zucchini Nachos look?  Nachos are one of my favorite things, and if these taste as good as they look, I would be in heaven.  Nachos without the guilt of eating tons of chips?  Count me in!

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FIVE.  Favorite Cleaning Tip.  It's that time of year: Spring Cleaning time!  I LOVE this tip on to easily clean your microwave.  I done it, and it works wonders!  No more trying to scrub all that nasty food off the inside of the microwave.  Do this, and it will easily wipe off.

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What are some of your favorite things from the past week?

Linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites

Easter Weekend Recap

Our Easter was pretty low key this year because a lot of my family was out of town for Spring Break.  Friday was spent running errands and doing things around the house, nothing exciting.

Saturday I went and saw my friend Kristen's baby girl who just born the day before.  Kristen has a little boy, and she also has EIGHT nephews!  This is the first girl, so everyone was pretty excited about that.  Saturday night we watched the basketball games and just hung out at home (so sad that MSU lost).

We were having a serious moment.

On Easter Sunday, we got up and headed to Muskegon to go to church with Kevin's family.  After church we had lunch with all of his family.  We headed back to Grand Rapids that afternoon to catch up laundry and things at home.

Typical Kevin....being goofy during pictures haha

Overall it was a good weekend.  I didn't end up getting as much done at home as I would haved liked, but I plan to catch up on things this coming weekend.  I hope you had a great weekend and were able to spend some time with family and friends :)

Outdoor Space: Spring (& Deck Update)

Since the snow has finally all melted here in Michigan, we are starting to do some work in the yard.  Nothing exciting yet, because temps still drop below freezing at night, so no planting flowers or anything quite yet.  We've been working on cleaning up leaves, cleaning out the gutters, and cleaning out some old flower beds.  Like I said, nothing too exciting has been happening yet, because the weather just hasn't been warm enough.

I do have some pretty crocuses that are blooming in my front yard and I love the pops of color they add.  I can see that my daffodils and lilies are starting to come up too!  I'm so excited to add more flowers this year, once the weather gets a little warmer.

Our big outdoor project this year will be re-staining our deck.  If you have been a reader for a while, you may remember that in August, we stained our deck using Olympic Rescue It.  We loved the way it turned out.  It last great the rest of summer and fall.  We had our grill and a table and chairs on the deck.  The dog runs all over the deck and we are on it all the time.  It held up great.  Fast forward to March...the snow started to melt and when we started to see our deck we couldn't believe it.  After the snow as gone, the deck looked awful!  The stain had bubbled and chipped all over.  Huge piece come off now if you barely touch it.  I plan on writing an entire post about this, but here's what it looked like last summer:

And here is a sneak of what it looks like now:

We haven't decided exactly how/what we are going to do to fix it, but I think we are going to power wash it and get it all off, and start over.  Long story short, we are NOT happy.  But like I said, more details to come in a future post.

On a happier note, we have done some work clearing out some rocks/old overgrown flowers from the side of the house.  I love that it is warm enough to do some work outside now.  We spend a lot of time in our yard during the Spring/Summer/Fall.  We love to grill, play with the dog, and just hang out on the deck.

Have you been doing an work in your yard yet this Spring?  Do you have a favorite flower you plant at your house?

Make sure you stop by these blogs to see what they are up to with their outdoor spaces:

Away She Went

Decorating Delirium

A Small Town Rambler

Glamista Home

Five on Friday

Let's just get right to it today....

ONE.  I have today off from work and am super excited about having a three day weekend!  Am I doing anything fun on my day off?  Not really....just catching up on everything I can't get done when I'm at work all week.  Including a visit to the bank, a hair cut, and Admiral's annual trip to the vet.  But I'm happy to have the day to catch up on life :)

TWO.  Admiral was able to pick out a new treat to try from Chewy.com (ok, we picked it out, but I'm sure this would have been his choice too).  Admiral received the Merrick Grammy's Pot Pie treats and he LOVES them!  Chewy.com was also nice enough to send a toy along.  I tried to take a pic of Admiral with his new treats and toy, but it did not go well.  He could not sit still and just want to get in to the treats and play with the toy!

When Admiral's friend (my parent's dog) Rambo came over to play, they boy had fun playing tug-of-war with the toy and they both loved the treats.  I love that Merrick Products have local growers and are made with real whole foods.  I feel comfortable giving Admiral their treats because I know they are good for him.

THREE.  I'm hosting another Pinterest Party in a couple of weeks!  (You can read about the first one HERE.)  I've decided what we are going to make, but I also want to make a fun drink to share.  I was thinking of making some kind of sangria, but I've never made it before.  So I need your help!  Do you have a sangria recipe that I need to try?  Please share!  I've found a few on Pinterest that look good, but want to hear from you!  (If you are curious, here's the recipe I'm leaning towards using: Skinny Sangria Recipe)

FOUR.  How cute is this Easter Bunny Banner from Like the Cheese?  I need to make this for next year!

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FIVE.  One of my best friends is having her baby today!  I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl, and then go cuddle him or her :)  I'm sure it will totally give me baby fever...and then I think about that responsibility...I think having a dog is enough for me for now!

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Most of my family left for Spring Break, so no big Easter get together with my family this year.  We will spend Easter Sunday in church and then having lunch with Kevin's family.  What are you up to this weekend?

Linking up with Andrea for Friday Favorites

Our Easter/Spring Home Decor

I don't have a ton of Easter/Spring decor, but I do like to add some touches of Spring to our home.  I would love to add more, but just haven't done that yet.  I need to hit some after season clearance sales this year to stock up for next year!  I have a few Easter DIYs that I did a couple of years ago that I am still loving.  So here is a little look in to our Easter and Spring decor:

I got these cute ceramic bunnies from my mom....she was cleaning out her Easter decor and getting rid of them, so I took them!

I love filling this lantern with different things depending on the holiday/season.

Easter Egg Tree Tutorial HERE

Easter Egg Wreath Tutorial HERE (don't mind that mine is missing an egg...it fell off and I haven't glued it back on yet haha)

Do you decorate for Easter and/or Spring?  Any great Spring DIYs I should do?