Archive for May, 2010

Finding 50}Days 141-147

Posted in Family on May 31, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Despite the continuing rain here in Portland I found lots of pretty this week. All our rain is helping the roses to go crazy in the garden!! I found pretty in Portland and in Utah this week when I was there for a visit. I’d love for you to leave me a comment and let me know what pretty you found in your week. Send me a photo of your pretty and I’ll share it on Facebook!!

May 24 – Day 141

I got tired of my ugly, inexpensive Ikea drinking glasses so I bought myself some pretty green ones this week. I had seen some similar at Anthropologie that I loved but at $10.00 a piece they were a little too spendy for me. I found these pretty ones at Cost Plus World Market for $3.00 a piece. Everyone should have a pretty glass to drink out of – something not made out of plastic!!

May 25 – Day 142

Enjoyed a fun day in Camas with my friend Karen. We did a little shopping and enjoyed lunch together. I did a little exploring at the Camas Antique Mall. Pretty vintage glassware.

I fell in love with the old book pages. I must find something to do with them. Any ideas?

May 26 – Day 143

All the rain is really making things grow in the garden – the roses are beginning to explode!

May 27 – Day 144

Did someone say sunshine!!

May 28 – Day 145

Pretty Poppies!

May 29 – Day 146

I went to Utah for a few days and got to see these pretty girls!

May 30 – Day 147

And when I came home I got to see this pretty girl. It’s just not fair that someone can look this good with no makeup on!!

Send me a photo of your pretty!!

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Finding 50 } Days 134 -140

Posted in Family on May 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Well, I have to admit this last week was tough. All it has done is rain and I mean RAIN. I am not talking sprinkle or drizzle I am talking DOWNPOUR. We have had short bursts of sun here and there but we have had so much rain! We are talking gutter over flowing rain.

Finding the pretty was a little more difficult this week. I did manage to get my camera out in the garden in between downpours a few times and then I went to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday, in between downpours, and got a whole weeks worth of pretty!!

May 17 – Day 134

One good thing about this rain though is that it is making everything really green!! In fact one of my favorite colors in the garden is green! I loved the way the raindrops looked on this lovely hosta leaf.

May 18 – Day 135

Not only was the food delicious but the plate was so pretty.

May 19 – Day 136

I love hardy geraniums and have lots of different varieties in the garden. This particular bright, fuchsia pink is a favorite! The best part is they bloom most of the summer.

May 20 – Day 137

All this rain is bringing the roses on – just in time for Rose Festival!

May 21 – Day 138

I brought the first rose bloom of the season into the house to enjoy.

May 22 – Day 139

A trip to the Farmer’s Market brought a whole weeks worth of pretty! If you aren’t a friend of Your Homebased Mom on Facebook become one and view some more of the pretty photos I took at the market. Here’s one of my favorite booths at the market – The Tart Lady. Check out her pretty cake stands!! Wonder if she watched my tutorial??

May 23 – Day 140

Enjoying my pretty sweet peas my husband bought me at the farmer’s market – they smell so good!

Make it a pretty week!

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The Wedding Planner, Part 1

Posted in Family on May 23, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Over the next week or so I am excited to share with you some photographs and details from the wedding of a friend’s daughter. This is Andrea’s second daughter to get married so she’s getting to be a wedding expert!

I read a lot of wedding blogs and I am always blown away by the amazingly beautiful things I see. Most of them are put together by professional wedding planners and designers. So beautiful but for the majority of us just not in our budget.

When I saw the photos of Andrea’s daughters wedding that she posted on Facebook I was so excited. You could feel the love that went into putting this wedding together. It wasn’t a high price, Hollywood style wedding but it was a beautiful wedding that fit into their families budget that was put together by family and friends that loved the bride and groom. It was a beautiful day that accomplished their primary goals:

1 that God would be glorified in the event

2 Nathan & Emily’s love would shine for all the world to see

3 that not only would Nathan & Emily have FUN, but it would be a joyous occasion for all! Andrea says they met all our goals and then some!

Aren’t Nathan & Emily darling!

The reception was held at their friend’s beautiful farm, Stepping Stones Farm in Michigan. Originally they were going to place the tents on the lawn, but when they considered that Michigan usually gets their April Showers in May, they started worrying about squishy lawns. So, they decided to use the tennis courts.

Two large tents were place on the court after the net was removed. One tent was a 30×40 rectangle and the other was a 30×40 hexagon. They rented the tents, tables, chairs, and dance floor.

At the last minute they borrowed another small square tent with 3 sides from friends. They butted that right up to the side of the other two for the gift table and the Candy Bar. Their hope was to NOT use the walls for the tents, but they kept them on until just hours before the reception when the rain stopped and the sun came out!

Andrea said that the BEST thing she did was hire a friend of her sisters that had worked in the catering business in her past life. She brought along her husband, brother, mother and sister-in-law to help her on that day. She also had 4 dear high school girls come to help too. They were her hands and feet and made everything happen so smoothly. Andrea did not visit the reception site on the day of the wedding. They handled every detail that Andrea had planned out in her head and purchased piles of supplies for and made all the PRETTY in the day, from decorating the head table to emptying the trash and filling up the punch containers. They were worth their weight in GOLD! Without all of them, Andrea admits she would have felt like a crazy woman and not had any fun. Instead, she just enjoyed the beauty of the day and reveled in the whole experience! Stay tuned for more details on the wedding – decorations, flowers, food, etc.!

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Your Homebased Mom On TV

Posted in Family on May 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I had to share some photos from my very first live, local TV appearance. I was asked to present some fun, family friendly, products that are great for summer on a local TV show – KOIN Studio 6. It was my first time on live TV and it was fun! I must admit I was a little nervous and fidgety all day long but once I got to the TV station and on camera it was really pretty easy!

Here’s the studio set.

My First TV Appearance

I got to present some fun new products for families. Here’s the display of products. I love the Sport Brella – it’s perfect for all those wet soccer games here in Oregon.

And then a shot of myself with the three hosts of the show! They were all very nice and friendly. And may I also mention – very tall and thin!!!

One of the best parts of doing this is TV appearance is I got to keep all the fun products to give away to my readers!

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Finding 50 } Days 126-133

Posted in Family on May 16, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Spring is definitely here in Portland and maybe even summer! We have enjoyed an amazing week full of sunshine and blue skies. The garden is really starting to pop! Can’t wait to share it all with you!

May 10 – Day 126

My hardy geraniums in sunlight.

May 11 – Day 127

The last of lilacs….

May 12 – Day 128

Princess Victoria Louise poppies are amazing!

May 13 – Day 129

I saw this amazing combination at the Farmer’s Market – peonies and snowballs!

So I bought a few stems of peonies at the market, since the ones in my garden aren’t ready yet and then I cut some snowball flowers from my bush and put this together – pretty!

May 14 – Day 130

We had a fun visit to the Farmer’s Market for the first time this season. It was a perfect day, sunny and warm and so much pretty to be seen!

May 15 – Day 132

Guess what we’re having for Sunday dinner!

May 16 – Day 133

I absolutely fell in love with the darling way they displayed their radishes at this booth – how cute is this!

It looks like the rains are coming back to Portland this week! Enjoy finding the pretty in your week.

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Graduation Ideas, continued

Posted in Family on May 13, 2010| Leave a Comment »

wo years ago my daughter Cali graduated from high school.

We had a joint party with her best friend Hannah. They had been friends since they were three. I highly recommend combining efforts with a friend if you can. Since they both had many of the same friends it made that crazy Graduation party season calendering easier for people too and it’s always nice to share the party work load.

Here are a few fun ideas we used:

Aren’t these the cutest little graduation caps? They are made from chocolate covered graham crackers and mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. For directions visit Sherra’s blog. I used red and blue M & M’s since those are our school colors. I also used red and blue Fruit by the Foot for the tassels. They were a huge hit at the party and disappeared fast!

Another fun idea was the fruit kabobs. I cut the school’s initials out of Styrofoam, frosted them and then covered them with coconut. We then used the letters to hold the fruit kabobs we made. Caution: The frosted Styrofoam may be mistaken for actual cake and people may attempt to eat it!

And if you are looking for a great cake recipe that feeds a crowd that doesn’t come from Costco (Costco cake has its place but this one is so much better) give this Almond Sheet Cake recipe a try!

Of course if you would like a personalized party menu I can do that too – just click on Shop up above and let me know how I can help you!!

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Totally Tessa

Posted in Family on May 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

So I can’t wait any longer.

I have to share the fun news with you.

We have another blogger in the family!

I know that several of you have been following along with my daughter Cali’s amazing adventures in London via her blog Quirky Cali. She loves that you are reading it and leaving comments! She has learned how fun it is to have people leave comments on her blog!!

Well, we have another blogger in the family! My second daughter, Tessa has started a blog.

I often have people tell me they’d love to start a blog but they don’t know what to blog about. My advice to them is to blog about what you love (i.e. food, family, home etc.)

Well, my daughter loves fashion and she hopes to make it a career one day. Her dream is to be an editor for a fashion magazine! Tessa also has an amazing talent for putting clothes together. She has a highly developed fashion sense. She is able to put combinations together that you would never think of and they look fabulous!

She has been following several fashion blogs for a while now and I had been encouraging her to start her own blog. I figured if nothing else it would be good fashion writing practice for her! Well, she did it. With a little help from our friend Sherra Tessa now has a fabulous blog – it is so pretty. Even if you aren’t interested in reading about fashion and Tessa’s daily outfits you need to click on over and see how PRETTY her blog is!

So, I am proud to introduce to you Totally Tessa.

Through her blog Tessa will share with you her daily outfits and fashion inspiration. She’d love for you to check it out and share it with your friends – especially if you have any teenage daughters! I have to admit I learn a lot from Tessa myself. She inspires me to try new things and step out of my comfort zone a little when it comes to fashion. I especially like it though when she steals something from my closet and wears it. She always does something new and fun with it!

The inspiration for the name of her blog came from the fact that people are always seeing things in stores, magazines, etc. and saying “That is totally Tessa!”

So pay Totally Tessa a visit and leave her a comment and say hi!

And if you have an idea you think would make a great blog come see us over at Find Your Sock Yarn. We’d love to set up a FREE 30 minute consultation with you to talk about your idea and see how we can help you!

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Finding 50 } Days 119-125

Posted in Family on May 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I got to spend the weekend at the beach this last week so I had no shortage of pretty. Not only is my garden beginning to explode at home but the garden at the beach is too – hope you enjoy my pretty while finding the pretty in your own life!

May 3 – Day 119

Enjoying my pretty, yet simple breakfast.

May 4 -Day 120

Look what I found blooming outside my window this morning – my lovely Japanese Iris have begun!

May 5 – Day 121

Aren’t they amazing!!!

May 6 – Day 122

Promises of pretty things to come. The peonies are ready to pop!

May 7 – Day 123

Off to the beach! Life is good. I can lay in my bed at the beach with the window open and hear the ocean waves crashing and also the rushing of this pretty little stream that is in our backyard at the beach house. Heaven!

May 8 – Day 124

The garden at the beach has been busy!

May 9 – Day 125

So, the feet aren’t very pretty but the view sure was! Got to rub my feet in the sand for Mother’s Day!

Make it a pretty week!

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Finding 50 {Days 112-118}

Posted in Family on May 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This week’s pretty is full of flowers – hope you don’t mind!!

April 26 – Day 112

After I shared my cake stand tutorial several of you asked me where I store my collection of cake stands. I am lucky enough to have a closet in my husband’s office that is devoted to serving pieces but I also decided they were just too pretty to keep hidden away in a closet so I use them as table decor!

April 27 – Day 113

Lilacs and snowballs from the garden I used in a floral arrangement for a church meeting I had. Not only did it look pretty it smelled pretty too!