Wesley's Halloween Birthday (last year)

Since Halloween is getting close I thought I would share party pics from last year and the super cute food/recipes!

Nothing fancy here just a banner made from Halloween scrapbook paper.

Down the super long hallway at my parents house I had balloons tied in a zigzag pattern.

I'm not to fond of all the layers in 7 layer dip, so this might be more like 5 or 6 layer dip. I put the meat (i think), beans, cheese on the bottom and guacamole on top and lined around the plate with tomatoes sliced in halves. The spider web is made with sour cream, I put it in a ziploc bag and cut the corner off and squeezed it out in the spider web design. The oh so scary plastic spiders completed this look! 

These super cute tooth picks I found at Hobby Lobby.

Mummy Dogs: So simple and so yummy! I wrapped uncooked hot dogs with crescent rolls. I pulled the dough as I wrapped to make them stringy and then they went around the hot dog several more times.

Eyeball Deviled Eggs: Added green food coloring to the yolk mix and topped with a black olive (the 7th ingredient that doesn't make the cut in 7 layer dip) . 

These were sort of a fail ;-/  Slice the apples add the peanut butter to hold the teeth in, but instead of slivered almonds like you see here use mini marshmallows.  It will look SOOOO much better!

Plates I got from Party City.

LOVE this drink server I got as a wedding gift! Anyway this is Hawaiian punch, the top is filled with plastic eyeballs that float perfectly for a gross effect! 

Creative Wesley wanted to be a robot and so he picked out the pieces and we created this masterpiece! 

Gumby made an appearance!

This is where I earn Mother of the Year, I forgot birthday candles so he got to blow out a Yankee candle.  Thank goodness the Scentsy obsession hadn't started yet we really would have been in trouble!

His birthday cake was a dirt cake: Pudding, whipped cream and Oreos all mixed together and then topped with crumbled Oreos, gummy worms and plastic bugs.

The spider webs and "Chandeliers" are from the $1 store.

This would have looked better with black or white candles, but still turned out.

This is a cold spinach dip with carrots stuck in it to look like a hand.

Garage Sale Obsession (kinda)

First of all I have to say thanks to my hubby, not only does he not think I'm crazy when I tell him I want to do this (or any of my other wild brained ideas), but he supports and encourages me! Pretty much the month of May I would go to garage sales early (too early) in the morning, look for unloved but salvageable items and bring them home with me. Then I would spend the rest of the weekend at the craft store, hardware store, and our backyard with sander and spray paint in hand.

This is one of my FAVORITE pieces! I LOVE the hot pink color that frames this mirror, but I can't keep all my projects or I will end up on an episode of hoarders. So this piece along with a few of the others are available at my etsy store Love, Lynch (if you're local disregard the shipping cost)

 This bench and the one below are both painted black with a burlap top.  I have a new found obsession with burlap ;-)

 Painting/Stenciling burlap is somewhat easy (somewhat = it took me several tries to figure out how much paint and the best way to apply) Acrylic paint, with a sponge ended up the best most effective way for me. All that to say these would be super cute with an initial or monogram stenciled on top.

 I think this mirror is so neat and different, just needed to be cleaned up and brightened up.

 I purchased these pieces separate on different weekends, but figured since I had a lone chair and a desk with out a chair they should go together (I can be really smart sometimes).  This is currently my sewing table in the man cave. (Scott now refers to it as the Wo-man cave)

 Can you tell I like adding color to things? I (with help of Scott cutting the wood into the oval shape I needed) gave the footstool a padded top, covered with the fuzzy zebra fabric. I wanted to bring a pattern to the chair and I thought a pillow would be best way and then matching the footstool finalized the little rocking chair.

Sister is my inspiration for this piece, she has a beach theme at her place.  I ended up sanding this table down around the edges to give it a worn look.

Best for last (seriously!) This is proof how much my husband loves me.  I text him a picture of these chairs and said honey can I please get these for OUR house, they are bright orange (my favorite color) and velour and I couldn't just leave them there.  He said YES! So I painted the legs white and added the "Grease" pillows. We have one on either side of our fire place and they are perfect!

I've taken a break from garage sales for June, it's been a busy month and I have to sell some of this stuff to make room for new things!  I've done mostly furniture, but I have come across a few things I couldn't pass up, for example: one pair of little boys Rock & Republic Jeans and one pair of Seven jeans, I paid $5 a pair and resold each on ebay for $35.  I don't plan on making a living this way, but it is a fun hobby!
P.S. if you want to try this I suggest the app Garage Sale Rover, I didn't discover this until after a few weekends of checking craigslist, maping out the ones I wanted to go to on map quest, & printing out the sheet, all of which took a good hour or so.

Burlap and Bling

Since I've pretty much covered the walls in our house with photographs of travels, deer heads from hubby hunting, a few projects and a wall of crosses, I'm now moving on to decorating the front door.  I guess that means it's time for a bigger house ;-)

Here are my supplies from Hobby Lobby, I decided to choose the scrapbook paper first (for the "L") and then match the ribbon, cross, and flowers from that.  

 I left the plastic wrap on the wreath so it would be easier to wrap with the burlap ribbon.

I traced the "L" on the back of the scrapbook paper and then cut it out and used wood glue to stick the two together.

 

 Next I wrapped the ribbon on the top of the wreath.  I used a staple gun to fasten everything to the backside.

I just tied these pieces into knots and stapled it in the back.

With the left over scrapbook paper I cut little triangles and fastened them over a leather string. I used the back side of the paper so it wasn't too matchy matchy with the "L"

I used  smaller ribbon to hold the "L" on.  1. I couldn't figure out how to make it stay 2. It added a little more flare ;-) (hot glue may have been the way to go)

Final result!!  

Wedding Song Art Work.

Scott wasn't in charge of anything for our wedding, except the song I walked down the aisle to.  He didn't want any of the planning responsibility (and I was a-ok with this arrangement) I like the song and loved that he picked it out so I made it into a piece of art for our house! 

6x6 canvases from Hobby Lobby

I made a publisher doc in 6x6 and typed the lyrics in. I changed up the font for every other phrase and then printed them on card stock.

I painted the sides with the same green that's on the accent wall in our bedroom.  Acrylic paint would also work really well for this.

I had to get creative with the drying since the canvas couldn't lay down on any sides, so I put little Glad (foodsaver) bowls under each one. 

This was the hard part, finding a glue that would keep the paper on the canvas.  I googled the answer ;-) and came up with wood glue.  *important note* spread this evenly and very thin so the paper doesn't wrinkle up with the moisture, I poured some on and then used a paint brush to spread all over. 

Final result hanging in our bathroom!  Kinda nervous it won't hold up with the moisture in the air so I might have to move it to our bedroom wall instead.

The Lyrics are "Grow Old With Me" - John Lennon

I got this idea from Stephanie Lynn's Blog 

My Boys

 I was at a networking event last night, and before everyone showed up there were five of us sitting there talking about our kids and husbands and such.  Turns out between the five of us we were raising thirteen boys!  I obviously don't have any girls so I can't speak to that but I just have to say I LOVE being a mom to boys, they are rowdy and crazy and loud but also so sweet and kind. Here are some updates and photos:

 Wesley made his own Captain America shield.  He said he couldn't smile for the picture because that's not something Captain America would do. It was like he wanted to say "duh mom super hero's don't smile" silly me ;-)

 Easton is figuring out how to eat on his own, STILL no teeth! He will be 10 months old this week.

Wesley is a trooper, I love shopping and he doesn't. (notice the excitement on his face) 

 This is what Easton does when he laughs, scrunches up his nose and snorts!  It's hilarious and super cute, hopefully though he grows out of it before he starts dating.

 Date night!! We went to Javier's for dinner and drinks to celebrate a friends birthday, we had a great time!! Mom watched the boys late into the night (thanks mom!!!) because Brenden Morrow showed up and so we stayed a little longer.

Brenden Morrow!

The months that have 5 Sundays in them our Church (Journey Community in Allen) uses the 5th Sunday to serve in the community.  One group did a food drive for ACO (Allen Community Outreach).  Our group went to a local rehab hospital to visit patients.  Wesley was a little shy, but the patients still enjoyed seeing the boys.

Oh Wesley! (ep.1)

Wesley: mom will you fix my grapefruit so I can eat it

Me: sure, where is it?

Wesley: on the couch

Me: of course it's on the couch, doesn't everyone keep their grapefruit on the couch?!?

Wesley: *picking it up* see I told you

Me: I was being sarcastic

Wesley: Um I don't know what sarcastic means but it doesn't go with a grapefruit.

Wesley: momma will you go Easter egg hunting with me?
Me: sure, do you want me to tell you if I find and egg or do you want me to let you find it?
Wesley:  I'll bring my iTouch and you can facetime me if you find one.
Me: *shaking my head*

Wesley: When will I see the Easter bunny?
Gigi: you won't see the Easter bunny, just like you don't see Santa Claus, they come in the night and leave you presents
*about 20 minutes later*
Wesley to me: Gigi is wrong we saw Santa Claus at the Bass Pro Shop.

Mr. & Mrs. Bubba

Christopher "Bubba" and his long time fiancee Katherine decided on a Monday to get married on Thursday (3.8.12).  I'm not much of a planner unless it comes to events (weddings, birthdays, and showers require a great deal of creativity and planning) so mom, sister, and myself jump into panic plan a wedding in a few days mode.  Luckily she's had her dress for a while and they wanted a very small family wedding, so we decided on my parents house.  We had appetizers and wine after the ceremony and then finished the night with cake and champagne.  It was a fun family night celebrating their special day.  They have since moved to Albuquerque, NM where they are starting a new chapter in their life.  

Pastor Dane performed the ceremony.

Mr. & Mrs. Sipp with Mr. & Mrs. Sipp.  Vin looked so cute in his little suit!

My grandparents were in town and were able to celebrate with us!

Sisters!!

Love how Vin is in on this moment.

Typical Bubba, haha!

I was grocery shopping at Target and came across the tiniest tortillas (4in diameter) I thought they would be so cute as little tacos  (or quesadillas) I boiled the chicken, shredded it, and then tossed it into a taco seasoning and water and let it simmer on the stove for a few minutes.  I added shredded cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes and paired with guacamole, sour cream, and salsa.

Pinterest strikes again! These are breaded zucchinis and a homemade sweet onion dip.  They were really yummy but should be served warm.  The recipe can be found Here

Garlic Chicken Puffs!! These were so easy and so tasty! Yes, Pinterest again :-) Recipe.