Cousins... guest post by Isabel

My cousins were in town! (Left) Charlotte, Jenna Kate, Me, Holland, and Laney.  We all did fun things together! 

(Left) Holland, Me, Genna, and Laney with braids that my Aunt did!

Also:

I scream, you scream, Charlotte screams for ice cream!

Stare down!

Vintage Ornament Wreath

I have wanted to make a vintage ornament wreath for a while and have been slowly stockpiling my collection of ornaments (through garage & estate sales & antique stores). 

 

But I didn't have as many ornaments as I thought!  Or at least enough to make a wreath just out of ornaments.  So I decided to go with a tinsel ornament wreath.  (I purchased some tinsel garlands last year on clearance after Christmas.) 

 

To get started, I bought a straw wreath using my 40% coupon at Michael's.  I kept the plastic wrapping on it.  Then I took white fabric and wrapped it around the wreath, hot gluing it as I went.

 

 

Then I hot glued the tinsel around the wreath.  The hot glue on the tinsel was kinda stinky!

 

Then I got busy picking out my favorite vintage ornaments to add to wreath.  I just hot glued these too.  It was actually harder to pick out the ornaments I wanted to use than I thought it would be.

 

In the end, I absolutely adore the outcome!  Do you see the little reindeer on the left corner?!  It's an old candle that I got in a box of free vintage lights!  Love it! 

 

UPDATE:

 

Here's where the wreath resides now that we've been putting out our Christmas deocrations!

 

 

{Linking up at Tatertots & Jello.}

A few of my Favorite Things...

Earlier this month I hosted a Favorite Things party with some of the lovely ladies in my life.  It was a fun way to have my Mom, aunts, and cousins together.  Everyone helped out and brought yummy food to share and there was lots of good conversation and laughs. 

 

The idea of a Favorite Things party is to buy 5 of your favorite thing.  Each "thing" should cost $5 or less, so you are spending no more than $25.  My Favorite Thing was Bath & Body Works hand soap and travel hand sanitizer.  I bought 5 of these.  Then you write each person's name down 5 times and put the names in a hat.  When it is your turn you pick 5 names out of the hat and those 5 people each get one of your Favorite Thing.  So, at the end of the night, you'll end up with 5 other Favorite Things.  Here are the 5 things I received:

 

1. Yankee Candle

2. Homemade apple dip

3. Hair product

4. Candle + chocolate

5. Water carafe with paper straws

 

So, grab your friends and host a favorite things party!  It was a lot of fun and a new tradition has been started!

 

 

 

 

Update in Pictures.

From our camping trip... SO. MUCH. LAUNDRY!!!

 

As promised, game tokens at Chuck-e-Cheese for completing the summer reading we gave them!

 

 

Special time with my Grandma...

 

Face Time with my little sister in California!

 

And getting to see the new puppy she and her hubby are getting!  How adorable is he?!

 

Family fun mini golfing!

 

Say hello to my little friend! 

I've been taking an allergy pill for about a month now!  UGH!

 

Date night at Old Chicago!!!  {Thanks G & G DV!}

 

Yes, our 8 year old mows the yard... with a commercial mower.  Yours doesn't?!

 

Sweet puppy....

 

and a girl who absolutely adores him!

 

I was up to running 2 miles {big deal for me!} and then pulled something in my leg.  Ugh!  So, I'm trying to let it heal and do a combo jog/ walk. 

 

Love fresh flowers, especially from my yard {zinnias & Shasta daisies}.

 

New fall wreath...

{foam wreath from JoAnn's, fabric from Field's on clearance, pumpkins from HL, and metallic paint on the D is from Michael's and is Martha Stewart}

 

Working on the Master Bedroom.... {Stay tuned!}

 

Enjoyed a dinner at Applebee's thanks to our Speedway Rewards!  Yay for Speedway!

 

That's all folks! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camping. {2013}

Oh, the memories made during our first family camping trip....

 

We rented a 25 foot camper from our friends for our trip and no one was happier than me!!  We traveled "up north" and stayed at Wilderness State Park with some friends.  It was absolutely beautiful!  I don't think we could have had a better weather.  Our camp site was right on Lake Michigan.  Here was our view:

 

 

After setting up the camper and site, we headed down to the beach...

 

 

 

 

Dinner on night 1 was hot dogs over the campfire, followed up with s'mores.  Yum!

 

The plan the next day was to go to Mackinac Island, but on the way to catch the ferry, our friends little guy got sick.  Too many greasy donuts and a windy road didn't sit well with him.  So, while they headed back to the camp site, we went into Mackinaw City to do some sight seeing and shopping.

 

Mackinac Bridge ("Mighty Mac") in the back... 5 mile long suspension bridge.

 

 

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

 

 

Then back to the campsite and down to the beach!

 

 

Dinner on night 2 were pizza pies and of course, s'mores!

 

 

...followed by a gorgeous sunset walk on the beach...

 

The next day we took our bikes on the ferry to Mackinac Island.  The ferry went under the bridge, which was pretty cool!

 

 

Once on the Island, we rode the 8 mile paved path around the Island, stopping along the way to take pictures.

 

Arch Rock

 

Izzy climbing Devil's Kitchen

 

After our ride, we ate lunch at the Yankee Rebel, bought some fudge, and hopped on the ferry back to Mackinaw City. 

 

 

Dinner on night 3 was the meal Joel couldn't WAIT for... hobo pies.  Ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and peppers wrapped in tin foil and put in the camp fire.  Delicious! 

 

 

Another beautiful sunset down at the beach.

 

On our final day, we packed up and then put on our suits for one last time at the beach.  It was so hard to leave, so we put off our departure a couple of times. 

 

 

Thanks for a fun camping adventure Penzotti's!!!

 

Until next time...

 

**Interestingly enough Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island are spelled differently but pronounced the same (English vs French occupation).**