Pearly Shells

I spent most of my life in New Jersey, which meant that I spent a lot of my summers at the shore. As the summer goes on, I long for the smell of ocean air and feeling the waves on me. I also loved collecting shells along the shoreline. Now I live 1300 miles away from there, and summer reminds me being landlocked. I have tried to bring the ocean to my home over the years, decorating in oceanic colors and added nautical knick-knacks.

 

One great way I have is with shell rattle windchimes. They are super easy to make and look beachy cool.

 

You need:

A stick or dowel (if you can find driftwood, even better)

12 Clam shells

Beans or stones (I used carnelian for protection)

Twine or cord

Hot glue

 

Take shells and place a stone in one .

Cut a length of twine. Hot glue to the inside of shell

Glue another shell on top, sealing in stone and twine.

Wrap twine around shells and reinforce twine hanger

Tie to driftwood.

Hang in the breeze

Old Red Wine

Sangria is the perfect refreshing drink for summer evenings. It’s a chance to use fresh fruit, herbs and more in a delicious concoction. Sangria originated on the Iberian penisula. Traditionally it is made with red wine, brandy, chopped fruit and a sweetner.  There is something just refreshing about it, and you can make it either with wine or with grape juice.

 

I make mine with grape juice so the whole family can enjoy.

 

You will need:

Grape juice

1 can ginger ale

Strawberries

Oranges

Lemons

Fresh mint

2 tbsp sugar or  6 drops stevia

 

Pour the grape juice into a pitcher. Add ginger ale and sweetner. Add fruit. Let combine in the fridge for 4 hours before serving. Best tasting when cold

Towards the Sun

I love fresh beginnings. The start of a new year. Birthdays. Back to school. New seasons. I try to have some sort of ritual to mark the start of a new season. We are moving into my favorite season, summer. The days are warm, the pools are open, and the sun doesn’t set till late. My to do list seems to shrink. I can just be lazy, which is fine by me.

 

To mark the start of summer (officially, even though the season seems to start Memorial Day) I decided to make a sun wheel for us to write our summer plans on. I took a piece of yellow poster board and cut out a circle. I added ribbon and yarn to be the rays of the sun. In the middle, my boys and I wrote our wishes for the summer, like vacation, learning to swim, going to the moonlight movies, and more.

Jumble, Jumble

Up until now, I've managed to avoid the chevron trend. It's not that I don't like chevron (because I do), its just that I try not to be trendy. I'm not being contrary or mean, it's just I don't look good in most trendy outfits. 

I found the perfect chevron maxi that didn't make me look, we'll, maxi. I picked up this dress when we were in Salt Lake City last month. 

It's colorful, summery and fun. 

Plus it matches a favorite necklace too.

And my new mint green bobby pins (from my Birchbox) match too. 

Perfect dressing for a heat wave.

Dirrrrty

I am a soda addict, through and through. I'm not a big diet fan (except for diet dr pepper), so I wind up with weight gain due to my, um habit. One of the reasons I don't like diet is the aftertaste. Yuck!

I found out about dirty Diet Cokes thanks to both my Utah vacation and Jen from Tater Tots & Jello. I was hooked. There are a couple of different recipes out there, which require coconut syrup. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any in my travels around Sioux Falls, so I improvised.

16 oz diet coke

1/8 c lime juice

1 tsp coconut extract

Crushed ice

Mix ingredients together & serve over crushed ice.

I dare you to drink just one!

I'm Stealing the Towels

It's summer, so it's definitely beach/pool time in my book. That means, for me at least, trying to look fab while carrying our picnic basket, towels, books, toys and all else. I was in one of my favorite stores last week, Simply Perfect (http://www.simplyperfectstore.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=172) and saw a cute solution: a decorated towel skirt.
Hallelujah!
Then I saw the price tag.
$25.
Huh.
I could MAKE that.
And, you can too!
You need:

A beach towel
Eyelet edging
Rick rack
Velcro closures
Patches or bling or both

Pin eyelet edging to one side of the towel and sew as a decorative edge. On the "right" side, pin Rick rack and sew. Bling out your towel (I'm particularly fond of fabric rosettes right now). Attach Velcro at the top to keep your skirt closed.
Be fabulous.

Radio Silence

In my world, these next few weeks will be crazy so my writing may (or may not) be sporadic at best, non existent at the worst.
Some of the highlights are:

Moving my mom into our house
Regaining balance in my life
Summer

So...I'm here. Follow me on Twitter @craftychicky, on Pinterest at Mommydom, I am also Mommydom on Instageam or check out the Chronicles on Facebook http://m.facebook.com/?_rdr#!/home.php?soft=side-area&__user=732007381

Strawberry Girl

In the summer, Little Man and I spend a lot of time at the pool. We are so blessed in Sioux Falls that we have several pools to choose from, but there are 3 that are our particular favorites. The pools officially opened on Friday, but it was a cold, dreary day. By Sunday, it was hot and humid and perfect pool weather.
To beat the heat, we bring our own treats-chips, fruit, and drinks. One of our favorites is strawberry lemonade-and it couldn't be any easier to make.

You need:
3-4 strawberries, sliced
3-4 lemon slices
Several sprigs of mint
Lemonade mix (I like pink)
Water according to lemonade mix

Add water to lemonade mix and stir well. Add in strawberries, lemons and mint. Refrigerate 2-3 hours to let flavors combine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1v86f6k_mqQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Video Games

Today was the last day of school for the little man. He got his report card-straight A's. So proud of him!
To celebrate we went to the arcade, where we played skeeball. I got to rock out to Ms Pacman (shades of the arcade in the Fashion Place Mall in Murray UT circa 1983) and got a high score! Go mommy!
Little Man also played air hockey with the big man-some serious family bonding going on there!
Of course my kiddo hit the ticket jackpot-and came home with a bunch of cheesy prizes.
Great start to the summer!