Father's Day Gift ideas

I pride myself on being a great gift-giver. I seriously start Christmas shopping in June just because I'm completely crazy about finding "the perfect gift"... the last person to check off my list, year after year, always seems to be my dad!

So with Father's Day just around the corner, I've been trying to come up with some ideas... He's a blue collar man, so ties and cufflinks don't do it for him.

 A few things that do...

This smoker from Cabela's - my brother and I got him this a few years ago for Christmas (but also a GREAT Father's Day gift, especially if you want to do something jointly with your siblings).

Another reason this is great... it's the gift that keeps on giving! You'll get to enjoy smoked meat all summer (and winter) long! It also sets you up for future years' gifts, a la accessories:

Injector, Wood Chips, Rubs,

BBQ Sauce (local!!), Mitts,

Personalized Grill Tools

Orvis Sun Hat

My dad is the king of the straw hat in the summer. He burns easily, so he covers up with a big ol' hat...

"The Tourists" circa 2010

The other old stand-by for my dad is Home Depot gift card. This will probably accompany anything we give him for Father's Day this year since his van, filled with so many of his tools, was stolen (right our of their driveway!! ahh, not Cupcake Land anymore) a few weeks back and he's been replacing things left and right.

For the not-as-difficult-to-shop-for-Dads, I think these make great gifts!

 

Daddy-O Tee (discounted via Brickyard Buffalo),

Bulldog Bottle Opener, Camp Mugs, Hoodie, Shave Cream,

Phone Cover, Weyerbacher Viridis Lupulus (local!), Hop Soap

We are not parents yet, but if I was buying stuff for Jay, these are all things I would get for him. I racked my brain for him at Christmas, and the biggest hit of all was the collection of limited edition beers. He still raves about a few and is dying for them to be released again.

If you're buying for a "beer guy" but don't have a clue what you're looking for, just hit up your local bottle shop (or Whole Foods) and ask to talk to the beer manager, those guys are pretty damn knowledgeable and will be able to point you in the right direction.

'Tis the Season... Red, White, and Blue

You know I love a good (and super easy) festive addition to any weekend... I especially love Memorial Day as it serves as the kick off to summer... which now seems to be friend-season. 

We're all so busy with work, family, kids, life, that I welcome this time of year with open arms. It's like everyone just has a little less on their plates and more time to get together... that and it's not frigid outside so you actually don't mind leaving your house.

Via Pinterest

This couldn't be any easier and is super cute for breakfast, or stood up in a galvanized bucket for a festive flag display.

Of course, if I can swing it, I will be making Jessica Garvin's delicious Red Velvet Pancakes... They are just too good! Sidebar - I love how I can make them for just about any holiday, just by switching up the fruit -and- I'll be honest for a minute... she is the queen of festive made "easy"! She has sooo many inexpensive, easy ideas for every holiday.

Besides spending some much needed time with our family and friends this weekend, I also have big plans for tackling our gardens (and eliminating some of the poison ivy/sumac that has come creeping along our creek bank)

via Pinterest

I'm thinking some pretty red, white, and blue (or purple) flowers may be just the ticket.

If you need some more festive ideas, check out my Patriotic board on Pinterest :)

Springing Up!

This weekend was filled with lots of springtime fun and Easter festivities!  It was the first great weather we've had in the northeast! Finally free of the insane winter!

Of course, this was the perfect time to get some decorating done and lots of time outside soaking up the sunshine! We have TONS of daffodils growing in our side garden and since I don't often spend time in the muddy yard, I clipped a few to put around our house... everywhere...

 I came across these awesome "frogs" for mason jars at Target... where else but the $1 section!? Love when you find something practical there, not just crap that you don't need but buy because it's super cute and cheap!

Our wreath hanger (many seasons ago) and wreath (Easter 2013) are also from Target and I would be lying if I said I didn't think about painting our front door a different color... just so it wouldn't clash with my precious wreath... I have issues.

On the up-side, Jay is finally getting on board with my crazy crafting... he asked if I made this wreath and when I told him no, he asked why not... because, my dear, sometimes buying the item out right is cheaper and easier than buying all the supplies and making one yourself. And when you're renovating your house, you'll cut any other corners you can just to get 10 minutes to drink a beer on the deck...

Yesterday, we got nailed with a cold front... 20 degrees and snow overnight so I salvaged any blooms from the garden that I hadn't cut over the weekend and ended up with sweet mini-daffodils in the bathroom and some pretty radiant-orchid colored hyacinths for my mantle. It was great getting to pull out the vases from my shower/wedding to reuse and made me feel a little sentimental... and a little bummed that that part of our life is over.

Fortunately, flowers and sweet bunny towels (from Kohl's) did wonders and cheered me right back up :)

Please Don't Feed The Models and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The pictures we've all been waiting for... HAPPY HALLOWEEN from my sweet as pie trick-or-treaters! 

 

 This little sweetie was the reason for these creations to begin with and she totally rocked her Blueberry Pie costume today at day care :) You can't even tell in this picture how much she did not like it, so props to the people who captured this pic pre-tears! Oh and check out all that Blue & White....

WE ARE!!!  

(sometime I just can't help myself)

I can't even tell you how much I love these girls! Apparently they're the only 12-year-olds in town who don't think it's appropriate to dress like a "sexy" insert animal here.

They also asked my dad to take them out trick-or-treating because he (at 6'7 and close to 300 lbs) "would keep all the kids in the neighborhood safe." I'm so proud of them for being smart and safe and confident enough to not care if that is what's "cool."

Let's be honest though, they make these pies look hot!

Meanwhile - back at the ranch... I rocked my skull scarf and Jay wore his black Spiderman t-shirt... that was about the extent of our festiveness and I didn't even get a picture (we suck). But we made a strong recovery with these...

No shame... giant candy came complete with his campaign stickers. Since we half-assed our Halloween decor (and I mean not a single pumpkin to be seen at this joint - fail!) Jay stocked up the cooler with ice and cans of hard cider and beer while I hand wrote our ghetto sign and held it up with washi tape and snagged the candle off our mantle so the parents could see the sign from the sidewalk. Apparently, our set up was still the best house in the neighborhood so we call it a success!

Happy Halloween!!!

disclaimer: next year's decorations will be better and presentation will be more festive (when we aren't renovating our house, getting married, and running for office)

 

Hoppy Easter!!

We have been barreling through the house at record speeds (ha, yea right)! 6 weeks in and we still have two more rooms to get started on and not a single one all the way finished. Some are waiting on carpet or flooring. Some are waiting on wainscoting or base boards. All of them are waiting on decorations and I CANNOT WAIT TO START DECORATING.

I found this sweet glitter Happy Easter plaque at HomeGoods at the end of February and couldn't wait to bust it out! The mason jar is either from mom's homemade apple sauce OR  it may have once contained apple pie moonshine. I'm really not sure which, but now it holds cute pastel bunny-shaped marshmallows.

 

It's just not a holiday without a tree, right? I clipped some branches from the trees outside and anchored them in a tall cylindar vase filled with pebbles. Then I took some bakers twine and fed it through these plastic eggs I scored at Target for super cheap and tied them onto random branches. It was missing something so on my next trip, I grabbed a pack of 5 adorable glittered pastel wood cut-outs for $1! Another mason jar filled with bunny-mallows and some cute hot pink flower napkins made the table look more festive.

I went to Target specifically for the yarn wreath and cute little birds. I had no idea how much I was going to LOVE every thing that coordinated with them. I snagged a little of all the Easter swag and justified it right into my cart with "I don't have any Easter decorations and I'll use these every year til they fall apart". SOLD. All these plastic eggs are filled with Hershey kisses from my sweet fiance. He was in Hershey for states (wrestling coach) and he brought me back "The World's Largest Hershey Kiss". Now you all see why I'm marrying this man!!!! The plastic eggs are great for an out-of-sight-out-of-mind kind of game. If they were just hanging out in a candy dish, you best your ass they'd be gone by now.

I spy a Jone's Design Co. bird print! A few weeks ago, Emily was running a sale in her shop so I got a whole package of her prints for a song.

Isn't it the sweetest? I love that from a distance, it just looks like a little birdie silhouette, but up close you see that it's a bible verse and get a subtle reminder about who's in charge around here. I just picked up this frame to keep it in. It's the perfect little frame and I can store all the JDC prints in it and switch them around as I see fit, which I love. I also love that it was only $3.99 (IKEA family card, boom!) PS - if you're like me and love freebies, you should go to her site, right meow and get yourself these adorbs printables. Love um!

Our other window has another sweet little yarn chickadee and felted egg (also from Target, the rest are in a bowl in the powder room) I have since moved this jar of bunnies, it now lives with the some bunny loves you sign. My white ceramic plate is another HomeGoods find from about 2 years ago. The sugar bowl and cream pitcher are Threshold Stoneware from Target and the upside-down butter dish is from Sur la Table (but after using it, I'd totally recommend this one instead, the opening in the bell is way better and it's cheaper!).

 I decorated our kitchen up for Easter (after I cleaned it over St. Patrick's day weekend) even though we hadn't painted in there yet. Poor Jay, I told him I die a little every time a holiday passes and I don't get a chance to decorate for it. Maybe that was dramatic, but it certainly helped make Easter a good get-done-by-then deadline. Unfortunately, all the finish work won't be finished by Sunday but most of the painting will be :) Looking more like Memorial Day will be a good hard deadline. We'll see how things play out.

Easter Week

WOW!!! I can't believe that March is almost over (and that it's still sooooooo freaking cold) and Easter is upon us!

Easter week is a time to repent, at least that's what I was taught in 12 years of Catholic school. This is the first year, ever in my life that I can remember, that I didn't give up or pick up something to do for Lent. I don't have any particularly bad habits, other than a potty mouth, which I am actively trying to work on... but not just for Lent. I did try really hard not to eat meat on Fridays (failed the first one though - Jay was away, Mom made chicken, I was hungry, beggers can't be choosers)

I have spent the entire Lenten season rehabbing the house and accidentally stuck to previous promises I've made... drinking less, eating better, losing weight, spending less money on eating out, etc. Not because we did or didn't want to do all those things, it just kind of happened. When you work all day and renovate all night, there is very little time for much else... for the most part, we've been working (all day, at our real jobs), painting/fixing, showering and sleeping. Have we cracked open a few beers and downed a few bottles of wine? Absolutely!! But drinking at home is a lot less costly than going out to the bar.

With Easter comes, WE HOPE, some nice Springy weather and fun Spring-timey events... like busting out the grill and that patio furniture!!

In case you are still looking for something adorbs to wear this weekend, check out Gap - they have 30% online orders and 40% off in stores! I love these!!

1-Express, 2-Lilly Pulitzer, 3-ModCloth, 4-Anthropologie, 5-Lulu's

Given that it's still FAHREEEEEEEZING in the North-East, I will most likely be rocking a dress with a cardigan over it or a maxi skirt and tee. We'll be having brunch at my sister and brother-in-law's and they're house gets pretty darn hot once it's filled with our whole family, so layering is always a good call anyways. The forecast for Sunday keeps changing on me, but it looks like lowish 50's and may or may not rain... hopefully NOT!

Happy Easter All!! Hope you enjoy spending time with your fam!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve!

St. Patrick's Day is right up there with Christmas for us. We celebrate the entire month leading up to it, we might even have an official countdown clock. I feel like my mom made celebrating every single holiday so much fun while we were growing up that it makes me want to just keep on doing it. Although I'm almost 100% certain that holidays are going to be even more fun once we have kids, I am also 100% certain that St. Patrick's Day is definitely one that is for the 21+ crowd (therefore once we have kids, it will be a night we ship kids off to Gingin & Pop's)

I doubt that I will ever tire of drinking green beer. Even if it's totally cheesy. I will rock shiny green beads and light up "Kiss Me! I'm Irish" necklaces well into my 80's, God willing. However, I will also rock my green for the weeks leading up to St. Patrick's Day and all the fun festive days that help us celebrate our Heritage (St. Practice Day down at Fado's with Blackthorne, The Parade in Philly, the Conshy parade, AOH with Bridgett & Matt, etc. etc. etc.) until we're fall-down-the-Septa-stairs-drunk... ooh, sadly, I was sober when that happened last year. probably why it hurt so effing bad. YIKES!

So go green in the cutest things this Spring!!

Infinity Scarf,  Petal Necklace, Skinny Jeans, Cardigan

Valentine's Day Goodies

Valentine's Day Sweetness

Heart Garland, Heart Headband, Heart and Chevron Scarves

Happy Birthday!!! Happy New Year!!!!!

HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS to my big-brother, Gary!! 

Love you so much and I hope you have the best day!

Gary reading to Elisabeth

And a little Bridesmaid lovin'... when I was shopping for my wedding dress yesterday, we also lucked out and scored big deals on Cara and Alyssa's dresses! The long-gray vision has come to fruition. At least for 2 of my girls!

Alyssa's Dress

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Cara's Dress

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HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends, family, and blog-stalkers! Hope you enjoy this Vanilla Bean New Year's Cake brought to you by the Blue-Eyed Bakers! YUM!!!

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