fun-filled as usual...

Well before tackling our Martha "Go Green" totes, we of course went to lunch and then stopped at a produce stand that we've been eying up for quite some time. It's one of those places that you always pass and always say, "One day we have to stop there". Well we went in and actually quickly left, the owners made it extremely uncomfortable! Well they at least had some beautiful flowers...









Sorry, there's just something about flowers that always makes my day. Anyways, back to the totes. These took forever! But mostly because we are definitely craft perfectionists. We started with a large tote that we purchased at JoAnn's Fabrics for around 6$. We also just used acrylic paint, a paint brush and..... potatoes!
Here's what we did...

1. We set up our paint and brushes
2. We cut our potatoes, cutting them longways so that we had many to use and then cutting some small and some wide slits in the potatoes for the "stencil".
3. Paint the potatoes with color of choice
4. And stamp! I love how floral they look.

Here's some more pictures of the process,

Me painting a potato :)
There's a pic of Kira's finished project and the HUGE mess we made!
Here's mine... but the final step was to--
5. Add buttons. Just hot glue on, no need to sew!

You can also check out Kira's blog with more pics and recaps www.rainywednesdaymornings.blogspot.com.

And that's all folks! Have a great night!
Kate

good morning!

Sorry for my absence! I've been pretty busy just settling back in from the holiday vacation. Today is another day planned for relaxing. I'm soon to be heading to lunch with Kira at our weekly Panera Bread outing. Then hopefully, if I can talk Kira into it, we're going to be shredding with Jillian. After that we're going to work on these.....
(from Marthastewart.com)

These fashionably printed grocery totes will have you saying "no thanks" to plastic bags.

Tools and Materials:
Organic cotton tote bag
Potatoes and/or apples
Kitchen knife
Fabric or acrylic paint
Linoleum cutter
Paintbrush

Printed Grocery Tote How-To
1. Cut a potato in half. Carve a simple design into the potato using a linoleum cutter. Tip: Apples cut in half, carved or uncarved, also make great designs.

2. Brush paint onto the carved surface, being sure to cover it entirely.

3. Stamp with the potato on the cotton tote. Re-ink and stamp as many times as desired.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!
Kate

a wonderful weekend passed...

Here's a few highlights from the beach...

Our 4th of July was spent just like this ...

Thomas and I before the fireworks :)

A hello from the boards !

Lots of oohs and ahhs from us...

Well my Thomas just left :( He has to work tomorrow, but I'll be leaving here Tuesday morning. First off let me recap! Saturday we fished again for awhile then laid on the beach for a few hours had a feast of our own steamed Eastern Shore blue crabs my cousin caught with corn on the cob, baked potatoes and beer... It was delish for sure. We watched the amazing 20 minute firework show from the same beach pictured above. We came home and crashed!!
This morning we headed to the boardwalk (also pictured above) and treated ourselves to every delicacy known to the Ocean City boardwalk. I had Polish water ice (which for those who are scratching your heads is a softer version of Italian ice), some good ole Thrasher's fries, and Thomas had a funnel cake a milkshake and we split a lemonade! Talk about some rolly polies as we were leaving.

And the rest of the day we've just been dreading Thomas' departure :( My family was making fun of us as we were holding onto each other, claiming that since we've been together for almost 4 years the "honeymoon" lovey stage should be over. I highly disagree! Even though we've been together this long I still feel as though everyday is like the first. Call me lame but it was still very hard to let him go today even though I'll be home Tuesday! :) I'm still very much in love I must say. Nothing like a nice vacation to remind you of that.

Well tonight we're taking it easy. Some ice cream and a bubble bath are in the forecast for me! I hope everyone's Fourth of July was amazing and safe! Good night,
Kate

relaxation at it's finest

Ahh... the sound of the ocean. Sorry it's not a better picture, I was not leaving my beach chair for anything :) I had my current book, (The Host by Stephenie Meyer) my sunblock (as well as tanning oil... I'll never learn!), diet Lipton Green Tea and my favorite shades and I had a perfect day at the beach! There's just something about being near the water that puts you immediately at ease. The relaxation that never wears. Only half of the fam came since everyone went the day before we got there and were sunburnt but we still enjoyed ourselves. Thomas stayed home with my nan and uncles and ended up having some fun himself involving mixed drinks and playing cards...
This is how I found him...

Well I'm pretty sure it was that and the combination of waking at 6 for him to fish and I to run.

Tonight my grandparents went to the local minor league baseball game and Thomas and I got ice cream and relaxed. We're about to play cards again and then get ready for Independence Day!

Hope everyone's holiday is fun and safe!
Kate

Good Morning from the beach!

Here's the view from the pier that we fished from this morning!

We arrived here last night around nine after just a minimal amount of traffic. We slept like babies and I awoke refreshed at 6 am this morning and ready for my jog. I did about a mile and a half and got ready for fishing! We're headed to the beach soon and I'll be sure to keep you updated about all of our adventures while we're here!
Kate

thank gosh its almost the 4th!

We leave tonight for a little vacay back to Ocean City, MD :) YES! I couldn't be more excited and Thomas needs it after all this work he's been up to! Well yesterday was a very very busy day for Kira and I. We had our weekly Panera Bread and then headed to IKEA per my request. I just wanted to get a few odds and ends for the new place. First thing that totally excited us....

FABRIC ART! I'm not sure why I'm sooo obsessed with this stuff lately. We almost bought the canvases yesterday to start but they're mucho expensive so I'm gonna hold off until I'm really sure what I want to do. I've been debating the headboard idea, but also am not sure if I just want to try them out singly until I make sure I like them!

Next on my list of ventures is the kitchen, after yesterday's trip I'm fairly sure that I am finished with the decorative items. I picked up a set of these

Well I picked up the rail, 2 of the pails and the paper towel holder..(not pictured). I love this idea! For the life of me I can't remember why I didn't take pictures of the apartment the last time we visited it to check on the progress... but if we stop by again I will remember. The kitchen is probably the ugliest part of the whole thing! It's very narrow and small but I can deal for the price.

Next I have to decide curtains for the living room sliding glass door. The complex is not providing venetian blinds so we have to figure out how we want to control that space. Since our couch is navy blue these were two choices I have to consider
I have a slight feeling Thomas will choose the stripes since he thinks I'm taking over his manly with all of the floral, but either one will do for me. Some other things I picked up while there: discounted plates (random, I know), a glass pitcher, drinking glasses, more spice jars, lots of adorable planters, and 2 tropical plants. (I packed most of it already to move, or I would have pictures) Alright, enough about the apartment.

Projects- I finished ONE coaster lol. I didn't say that they were easy or fun, well they are kinda fun but honestly more of a pain. You end up getting glue all over you just a forewarning, and once again I used Hemp rope because I couldn't find the rope she used.
Well folks, I'm off to make more of those, pack for the ocean and pack some more of the apartment up!
Hope your weekend starts today too!
Kate

productive days off :)

Today Thomas is buying his new car! We've gone through many arguments with this one but overall I'm pretty happy with his decision. First he thought he wanted to get a 2009 Civic Coupe Manual. I didn't like the coupe because of the bucket back seats (making less room for passengers and for luggage since we often take long road trips), or the manual because I can't drive it :) so he compromised and has decided on the four door sedan Civic!
I'm pretty sure he's going with black, and he promised me that he's going to teach me how to drive a stick! So overall I'm finally pleased with his decision.
I'm getting ready to finish up laundry and then drive my nanny to Costco. I'll most likely hit the gym later on today or maybe go for a nice run since the weather is awesome! We leave for 4th of July vacation in 2 days :)
Hope it's sunny where you are!
Kate