September Acres

A couple of years ago I saw the cutest little bunny flag at Pottery Barn.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) it was out of stock  so I decided it was something I could easily make.  At least something similar and just as cute. This is the inspiration from PB: Cute, right? I set off to make my own and I came up with this: Cute also.  Super easy too.  A quick stop at Hobby Lobby and I was ready to go.  I already had some burlap and white flannel at home. I traced a bunny silhouette on the flannel.  I did it freehand but there's bound to be something out there on the internet that will work well. I stitched the bunny on to the burlap, folded the top of the burlap over to make a pocket for the rod (a dowel and 2 wooden finials), painted to rod black (to give it a wrought iron look) and glued that little bunny tail on to the flannel. Super quick and easy.  If you don't sew the entire project can be done with hot gl...

I love a great table scape. Easter is an especially fun time to make your table extra pretty.  All the pastels make it really fun to put together. Start out with white dinner plates and the sky's the limit. Here are a few really cute and easy ways to add Easter to your table. You don't have to go out and buy an entire new set of dinnerware (not a bad idea though, if it's in your budget.)  One or two whimsical little touches will work just fine.  I love this 5 section bunny egg holder from World Market.  Wouldn't it be cute with dyed eggs in it?  And it's only $6.99. Be still my heart! I am in love with these little bunny plates from Pottery Barn .  They are perfect right on top of your white plates. This bunny serving bowl from Williams-Sonoma is just too cute for words.  And there's dinnerware to match.  Perfect! Add a little fun to your table with these bunny napkin rings from Crate & Barrel .  Wouldn't they be...

We try to eat healthy around here but still like a little snack every now and then.  I love chips and salsa and this homemade salsa is really quick and yummy (and makes me feel better about the chip part of the snack).  This is also a great way to use up excess tomatoes. Super Easy Salsa Recipe 3 Roma Tomatoes (or any ripe tomatoes you have on hand!), chopped 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped Banana peppers, chopped - to taste About 2 TBSP of juice from banana pepper jar Fresh cilantro, chopped -  to taste Salt to taste Mix all ingredients together.  Refrigerate for at least and hour. Enjoy!

I posted this a couple of years ago but it's almost time for the Easter Bunny to make his appearance again so I thought it might be useful to all of you bunny helpers out there. I've made a couple of changes to the post but some of the sugar-free treats are tried and true... Peeps, chocolate bunnies and Cadbury Creme Eggs.  There has to be more to an Easter Basket than sugar, right?  With the size of baskets these days (that's another post, for another time) non-sugar goodies are a must for Easter.  While I don't want Easter to turn into another Christmas-like gift giving holiday, I am always searching for gift ideas to pass on to the Easter Bunny.  Here are my 20 sugar-free Easter basket ideas for kids of all ages: For Little Kids (0-8 years or so) Bubbles Playdoh  Coloring Books and Crayons - there are awesome Easter Bunny & Religious coloring books out there this time of year.  Legos - I love the  'Friends'  line that is out fo...

Madame Chic I just heard about this book last week when my mom ordered it from Amazon .  I nabbed it first and finished reading it in the car on a recent trip.  It was a fun, quick read and chocked full of useful information. For me, this book was a chance to stop and think about how I live.  The French way of quality over quantity was stressed more than once.  I've heard so many people say they want to live with a less is more mentality - to get out of the keeping up with the Joneses lifestyle and say 'no' to excess.  This book really helps you figure out how it's done en France. One of my favorite chapters of the book talks about a ten piece wardrobe.  No more closets stuffed full and 'nothing to wear'.  Apparently it's tres French to buy a limited number of quality pieces of clothing that mix and match with each other as opposed to a bazillion pieces of poor or mediocre quality pieces that may or may not work with your existing wardrobe. ...

Source It's that time again.  The time when we turn to Spring Cleaning.  I know, some of you still have inches, even feet, of snow on the ground so it's hard to think that Spring is about 2 weeks away.  But it is and Spring Cleaning is a big deal for many people.  It's a chance to get your house and garden spic and span.  Time to open the windows, move furniture, turn mattresses, wash windows and comforters and mattress pads.  Fun stuff, right?  Maybe not, but doesn't it feel good to do that deep yearly cleaning? I have a weekly schedule - a flexible one, but this is what it looks like on the 'normal' week: Sunday  - Clean the fridge (trash gets picked up on Mondays so I pitch what I need to on Sundays), empty trash cans, clean dog doo (LM does the last two), mop kitchen floor. Monday  - Laundry Tuesday  - Dust, clean bathrooms (2), mop floors Wednesday  - Laundry Thursday  - Change sheets, wash towels,Vacuum, dus...