I'm officially a gardener!

hanks for being patient with me as I went "off the grid" for my birthday!  I had a great day bumming around with Zac, visiting Ikea and Lowe's. Apparently I went from 24 straight to 42?? After my Junior League meeting that night, some of my wonderful JLC friends had sushi with us.  All in all, a great birthday!

Tonight I finally got to plant some of the things we got on my birthday!  Last year, we made our first herb garden, with the help of Shannon:

Last year they lived on the fire escape!

This year, we're doing herbs again but in different planters. We found these at IKEA, and they are only partly done.  The final stage of this plan falls somewhere between "Whoa - awesome!" and "Best outdoor idea ever" on the projects scale. You can judge when they're finished!

Oh poor baby cilantro that I forgot to water yesterday...

Everyone lined up - with the pitiful dill looking worse than the cilantro!

Got to use my super cute gardening tools from Katie!

In process...

Beautiful planters from Glenda and Steve... now full of zinnia and vinca!

And hanging baskets that need bigger hooks - so for now, baskets that will soon be hanging!

And a picture of the porch swing because it's so cute! Thanks, Mom for the cushion!

Birthday Celebration

Tonight my parents and Zac's parents met us for a birthday celebration dinner! We went to Benihana's and had a very yummy meal (though of course now I feel terrible).  It was a really fun dinner, which ended with some fantastic presents!

Lois brought a cake from Magee's - YUM!

Group shot

Present from Lois and Kenny!

This purse is AWESOME!

Modeling my new watch and bracelet

Kenny and Lois

Our chef.

Patio chairs from Mom and Dad, which the Soph immediately wanted to explore!

Happy birthday to me!

Giveaway Day

If you are into crafting or sewing or handmade goods of any kind, you have to check out Sew Mama Sew's giveaways!

It's the final countdown...

Quilt top in progress

Here's another preview of the quilt top I'm making for a friend. I showed you some of the fabrics already here, but here's as much as I can show you without giving away who it's for!

Maybe it's for you... 

Things I Want to Make

I have a folder in my "Favorites" tab that is called "Things to Make."  It started out with just a few things, but over the past few weeks, it's grown to a ridiculous length. It includes things like:

Seriously. This apron from Sew4Home.com would be PERFECT anytime I'm sewing or crafting. This blog is AMAZING.

I have a grand plan to make tons of pillows for the bay window seat in my living room. This one, from V&Co., another of my favorite blogs, is one of the ones I'm most excited about!

Somewhere there are kids I know that need a Flat Emalee and Matt. Adorable!

Any of my soon-to-be-mom friends want one of these diaper keepers? It's from Sew Dang Cute (no surprise there!) and I love it.

And one more from Sew4Home - hang it on the back of your closet door to store your bras. I probably won't store my random-strings-of-pearls there like the picture, but what a cool idea! The grommets at the top are my favorite part.

That's seriously a SMALL sampling of my list of projects. I didn't even show you any of the quilts that are up next.  There are some seriously talented people out there posting projects; now I have to find the time to make some of them!

Look what my mom got me!

I LOVE my birthday. I can't explain why, but I've always loved it. It comes at such a great time (year after yeah - heh!) and it just makes me so happy. So it usually lasts at least a week in our house.

My mom brought me this early birthday present last week because she knows how much I love my birthday...

Don't worry - I'll keep you updated on the countdown!

Explaining my absence

It's been a really long time since I've gotten totally lost in a novel.  But it's happened.

This book is totally riveting - crime, old family drama, murder, mystery, passion - you name it, this book has it. So I haven't really been blogging because I've spent every spare minute I have with my nose buried inside it!! Go get a copy - because it's that good!

Amazing Homegoods Find

I absolutely adore Homegoods. It's like the three housewares aisles of TJ Maxx (which are always the best) but an entire store. Fabulous.

I've always gotten great stuff at Homegoods - baskets, fancy olive oils, candles, notecards, towels, pillows - you name it. But yesterday I got the most amazing thing EVER.

This is a "You are special" plate. I know what you're thinking... not really my usual style, right? But, my mom has this exact same plate and you get to eat from it when it's your birthday.  And my gramma has the exact same plate too.

Cool, right??

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there - but especially to the two greatest moms ever (my mom and Zac's mom). I realize everyone thinks their mom is awesome, but our moms really are that great!

We hosted a Mother's Day Luncheon at our house today, which was a lot of fun. Mini burgers, pasta salad, cheesecake (recipe courtesy of Ashley - and it was delicious!)

My mom reading her card. Mine was better than the one Emily sent (sorry Em) and I'm pretty sure Beth forgot it was Mother's Day so I should be good to go with current favorite child... :-)

Zac's card made Lois cry then laugh. Damn him and his randomly sweet card musings.

Look! A quilted table runner for my mom!

Look! One for Zac's mom too!

Zac and Mama Lo

Me and my moms

And - random picture, but aren't these flowers gorgeous??

I'm feeling all proud of myself because I bought two separate packages of tulips and "created" this. I rock.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!