Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Tomato cage christmas trees!!

Harpers' nanny has inspired me to get creative and do a little christmas arts & crafts.  She told me about these decorative christmas trees, made from a tomato cage , that she used to make with her friends and I couldn't help but want to make one too! They are super easy, so cute and very affordable...and will last for years. They are perfect for sitting outside your home in a fairly big flower pot or just on the ground.  I couldn't believe that a tomato cage could turn into something so pretty!!

All you need is:

one tomato cage
5-6 garland with or without lights. ( adding your own lights is cheaper)
plyers or something to cut the wire
Ribbon for the bow
very thin wire

step by step pics:

Step 1: turn tomato cage upside down

Step 2: Tie thin wire around the loose ends, making them all tied together. Use plyers to cut the wire. 


Step 3:  Wrap with garland very tightly, not leaving any holes. I would fluff the garland before putting it on the cage.


Step 4: Almost done wrapping with garland! Starting to look like a real tree!! 


Step 5: Now, the fun part! Once you've wrapped with garland, add any color lights you want. I did red and white, and 5 garland on this tree. I'm going to cut the bottom half off, leaving the legs so it will stand in a pot on the front porch. You can also continue wrapping with garland till the rest is covered and just sit it outside without the pot. Either way works!

Step 6: Last but not least, get your ribbon and make a bow! Any ribbon will work and secure it on there with your thin wire.

Wa-La! A homemade outside decorative christmas tree!!
Now you can brag to all your friends and family who come over that you made it :)

Happy Holidays!!!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Last Farmers Market!

There is nothing better than a beautiful saturday morning on the fayetteville square for the last farmers market of the year. I was so excited to take harper and meet my great friend christi and her little dog ben for a relaxing day of shopping, walking and catching up. It was the perfect day! we drank coffee and chatted with the locals. Everytime i would hear " awwww he's soooo cute!!!", i would smile and turn around thinking they were talking about harper, just to find out they were talking about christi's 5lb maltese! Harper however, did get his fair share of compliments too, there is just something so cute about an all white 5 lb dog wearing a sweater that people just LOVE. Christi and I joke that we should take a bowl out there and collect money from all the people that stop to talk to ben. If he only knew a few tricks...
We walked around for most of the morning, taking pictures of the beautiful scenery and really enjoying the last farmers market of the year!

























If you live in fayetteville or ever visit fayetteville, you must go to the farmers market! they have everything; food,face painting for kids, pony rides, art, jewelry, music, and SO much more!


Farmers Market Salsa:
6-8 small tomatos
handfull of fresh cilantro
1-2 clove garlic
3 diced unseeded jalapenos
1/2 chopped onion
salt and pepper
juice of 2 limes

Blend all together in a blender and serve!

Enjoy!!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Our First family pictures!

 This will be our first christmas as a family and baby harpers first christmas ever! I wanted to have some pictures taken of us all together but didn't want to have to book with a professional, so I called my good friend robin. She's like my second mom and my go to person for wonderful recipes and anything else I may need. She's great! We met her in Siloam Springs for a laid back sunday photo session...we got some great shots and had a good time doing it! Here are just a few from the day...





Robin did such a great job as our photographer for the day! She also gave me a wonderful potato soup recipe that we made that night we got back....could she be any sweeter?!


Robins Potato Soup:


4-5 medium potatos cut into cubes
1 or 2 celery sticks chopped
one carrot shredded (for color)
salt and pepper
1/2 tbsp dill weed
1/2 tbsp onion powder
1/2 chopped onion


Put your potatos in large pot on the stove with water covering them. Boil covered with all the above ingredients. Once your potatos are soft, add corn and half cup heavy cream or half and half. Mix all together and your meal is ready!


This is delish!
Enjoy and happy holidays!!!

Monday, November 15, 2010

A Baby's Best Friend

When we first brought harper home; i was SO worried that the dogs would try to eat him up like he was their little treat. To my suprise, when we walked in the door with our new baby in tow they DIDNT EVEN NOTICE him! it was like any other day. Once they realized another human was living with us they were very curious to learn all about this "new thing" in their house. They started sniffing and walking by really slowly trying to get a good peep at their new family member. They never acted jealous or unkind in anyway... they were very patient with us, just waiting their turn to get attention. 

Now that Harper is 5 months and rolling around, they love to play and get their paws all over his baby blankets! Harper is starting to grab them and always gets the biggest smile when he sees them. Its such a joy watching all my boys play and get along so well! They really are a baby's best friend.

 Leroy is on diaper duty, he lets me know when its time for a new one!


Charlie, is our yougest...he just turned 2 on November 12. Leroy will be 9 in april.
  Harper turned 5 months on November 12.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Grammy's Cam

Grammy came to town for the weekend! It's ALWAYS a treat when she's here! We went shopping, ate good food and she got to bond with her grandson. Of course we had to make a stop at La Huerta...she loves mexican food and especially margs.

Here we are sitting at lunch, she took a picture of our little fam on her phone.  


And here we are again...this describes our family perfectly! haha best picture ever!


                                 Derek: "honey, thats my margaritta"
                                 Me: "So! i'm just taking ONE sip" :)
                                     Harper: "mom, I want some!"




Grammy giving harper a bath in the kitchen sink, looks like they had fun!
All Clean!!

Monday, November 8, 2010

B is for busy!

Harper, you are almost 5 months old going on 2! I think you have turned into a "wanna be" toddler over night. You are rolling over like crazy, drooling and trying to put everything in your mouth, you can barely sit up by yourself but your getting there! So many people have been by this month to see you and they all can't believe how big you've gotten.

 We tried green (yucky) beans the other night for the first time and you weren't having it...i dont blame you! they were stinky. But we must keep trying unfortunely.

You LOVE to talk and laugh...you really are a happy little thing. Everytime i see you after you wake up you smile so big, it is the best!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

SO HAPPY

Great day to bundle up and take a stroll around the neighborhood. Harper and I love taking walks, getting fresh air, and being outside!

                                                          My sweet, sweet angel!