Washi Tape Easter Eggs

Washi Tape Easter Eggs is a fun and easy way to decorate Easter eggs. Just fill your eggs with candy and decorate.

What is Washi Tape?

Washi Tape is Japanese masking tape.  It isn’t like the boring cream colored masking tape we use here in the US – it is pretty masking tape.  So of course I had to have me some.  I had to have me a lot!

Here are  just a few of them.

How to Decorate Plastic Easter Eggs with Washi Tape

It’s so easy to do.  After you have filled your egg with your favorite candy just wrap a piece of tape around the seam of the egg.

It turns a plain egg into a pretty egg!
You can find Washi Tape in every color, pattern and design.

Read Full Post »

Easter Decor – 2012

For Easter this year I incorporated several things I love – grass, eggs and my milk glass collection on my family room mantel.  Milk glass is a recent new love of mine.  I love finding pieces at Goodwill and antique stores.  Not only is it pretty but it is fairly inexpensive.  Because it is white it is also very versatile!

It was the perfect addition to my Easter mantel this year.  I filled various pieces with eggs and  Easter grass.  I love being able to incorporate the milk glass into my holiday and every day decor.

The window frame is there temporarily and the Keep Calm and Carry On piece isn’t very Eastery but I thought  the color looked good with everything.  I am actually having a print framed that will hang there as soon as it is done.  I am in love with Minerva Teichert’s art and have several pieces hanging in my home.  Her Rescue of the Lost Lamb will hang there soon!

Not only did I include my collection of milk glass but one of my vintage cookie cutters and some vintage books too.

The container that is full of Easter kisses is from Goodwill and I just set it on top of a candle stick I found at Goodwill too.  The glass eggs came from  Home Goods. There were significantly fewer candy kisses in the container when I got home from my trip to the beach this past weekend.  Hmmm… wonder who ate them?  Jim?

This side table is also in my family room.

More milk glass, eggs, vintage books and some vintage suitcases.  See that cute little red and tan case on the left – that was my lucky find this weekend.  A vintage doll case.  I love it!!!

I love filling containers with eggs.  Here is the one on my living room mantel.

I kept it pretty simple on the living room mantel and just lined it with little egg nests.

The front entry way dresser has a few eggs and nests too. Oh, and a few more vintage books…..

You can take a peek at my Easter decor last year too.  It can be as simple as just adding eggs!

Do you decorate for Easter?

Read Full Post »

Happy Weekend

Hope you had a happy weekend!  I spent it at the beach with my Beach Babes.

My babes are a group of friends I have known for over 20 years.  We first went to the beach together over 20 years ago and named ourselves the Beach Babes.  We have been going back every year since.  I love these women – they are my heroes and women I look to and admire so much. Each of them has and does face their own battles and challenges.  The strength and courage they possess is amazing and a true  example to me.  Although we each lead very different lives, our friendship, love and respect for each other binds us together.

We can come together three to four times a year and NEVER run out of things to talk about.  There is always some shopping and good food too.

We know each others joys and pains, challenges and accomplishments and we love and support each other because of them.

How grateful I am to have them in my life.

Read Full Post »

A Thought} Raising Children

I love going to visit my children.  I am fortunate to have all of them in one place right now so I try to take advantage of it as much as possible.

Every time I come home from visiting them though I have a bit of a withdrawal. I feel a bit sad.  I feel a little lost and a little disoriented.  I have to refind my center of gravity.

I miss them.

I miss being their mother on a daily basis.

I miss the noise.

I miss the laughs.

I miss the messes.

I miss the cooking.

I miss serving them.

I miss all of it.

And yes, I miss the laundry.

This thought by a man I love and admire hit right to the core of it for me this week.  For you young mothers all I can say is – it’s true!
For a FREE Printable go here.

Read Full Post »

Home Away From Home} Provo, Utah

Usually on the weekends I share with you some fun new place I have discovered in Portland, my hometown.

I spent last weekend at my home away from home – Provo, Utah.  All four of my children are currently living Provo so I try to spend as much time there as I can so this weekend I’m sharing a few fun finds from my visit last week.

I went to Utah to speak at the Story@Home Conference that was sponsored by Family Search and Cherish Bound.  It was so fun and I loved meeting some of you in person.

The best part was having all these faces in the front row with me! (My four kids and a friend)
After I spoke the boys headed back to Provo and the girls and I headed out for a little shopping.  While we were shopping we received a text from the boys that they had just had the best french fries of their life!  Of course we had to go check it out so we decided to stop by Bruges Waffles & Frites and check it out for ourself.

It is a small place – basically a walk up counter with only outdoor seating so be prepared to take your food to go if it is a cold snowy day.  Fortunately for us it was beautiful and sunny so we sat outside with our waffle with strawberries and creme fraiche and our fries.

My girls and I agreed that we preferred the waffles from the Waffle Window in Portland but it was still very good.  The fries were definitely good but I think what made them really good was the yummy dipping sauce.  You have a whole selection of sauces to choose from but we went with the Brazilian one based on one of my son’s recommendations.  The other son assured us that the garlic sauce was amazing too.  I need to go back so I can try some of the other dipping sauces.  Utah is famous for it’s fry sauce but this took fry sauce to a whole new level!

We were well fueled and ready for some more shopping.

Friday night we had dinner down in Provo at Station 22 on Center Street.  Logan was at a meeting and couldn’t go with us but he highly recommended their turkey leg.  Cali order it and thought it was a bit dry – must have just been an off night.  Logan assured us his was amazing.

Photos thanks to Instagram.

Several of us went for the Pig and Cheese which was delicious – tender pork, cheese and sauteed apples on a yummy bread that has been grilled – a dressed up grilled cheese sandwich.  Their fries were pretty yummy too.

I think our best new find this trip was a restaurant tip from one of you!  Thanks to Shandee for giving me the heads up about Casa Salza in Spanish Fork.  Logan checked it out before I got to town and raved about it.  We all went down to try it Saturday night and it did not disappoint.  I can’t believe I am going to say this but I think I like it just as well, if not better as my Utah favorite Cafe Rio.  You don’t have the long lines either!

I went for the tacos and they were delicious – the pork was amazing.  The other thing not to be missed at Casa Salza is their chips and salsa dip.  The salsa is amazing!

The best part ? You guessed it!  All these faces at one table!!

From there we headed to Barry’s Drive Inn in Spanish Fork for dessert.  There were milkshakes to go around.  Clark and Jessica went for a strawberry brownie and I opted for a chocolate malt.  Big and yummy!

On Sunday, after church and before I headed to the airport I cooked dinner for the kids at my niece’s home.  It was so fun to get to cook for them again!

Sad for me to leave and head home but so good to see them all so happy and working hard!
Anyone else need me to speak in Utah!?  I’m available!

Read Full Post »

Fizz Portland

Last weekend Tessa was home for a visit from college – she needed a little Mommy and Me time!  We had fun exploring some new places around Portland- a favorite pastime of ours.  A friend and blog reader had emailed me about a new place that had recently opened up over in the Hawthorne/Belmont area of SE Portland called Fizz.  She thought I would enjoy it and she was right.

Fizz is a good old fashioned candy shop and soda fountain but with a modern feel.

Who can resist a good old fashioned ice cream soda!?  We couldn’t

Tessa opted for the traditional root beer and I had blood orange.  All of their syrups are made with real cane sugar not with corn syrup.

The owners of Fizz previously owned a wine bar and wanted to be able to create the same type of fun, social environment but one a little more family friendly and the soda fountain fit the bill!

In addition to the soda fountain they also have a fun selection of candy – a lot of the candy I remember from my childhood.

They also have over 270 varieties of soda that you can get to go!  There was bacon flavored soda and peanut butter and jelly soda which I was told was quite good.

The next time you are in the mood for a sweet treat and a step back into the past pay Fizz a visit.  Take a seat at the counter and enjoyed a good old fashioned float, soda, malt or egg cream!

Read Full Post »