Big gross dumpster. You rock!

Zoe's turn in front of the big blue dumpster.

Don't even get me started on the fact that my Zoe is growing like a weed, I really need to pause for a moment and admire the wonderful little lady she is growing into. Our relationship is on the verge of a big shift, I can feel it coming......buckle up..it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

And yes, I did make my kids bathe after being exposed to the potential nasties on the dumpster!

Self expression rocks!

Marley is at an age where she is discovering her taste in clothing, music, food etc and is wanting to be left alone to make her own big girl choices. So when she dressed herself yesterday for a friends birthday party I just had to get some shots of her outfit. Argyle stockings, polka dot shoes , orange dress and Sunshine yellow headband. Aaaah to be 4 again.

After playing around with this pic I am feeling
an Alice in Wonderland kinda vibe. I think for Marley;s birthday this year we may have to use that theme and host an "unbirthday" party. There are some great free printable's online, as well as some very creative stuff that you can purchase that makes the decor a cinch. I'm looking forward to planning birthdays this year, maybe I can even stretch the budget a pit further and convince Zoe to use the same stuff. Hmmmmm.....we shall see.

I found some great ideas at No fuss Fabulous..I think both my girls would love a birthday party like this if I could pull it off. I may have to kick back with some popcorn and watch the original movie with the kids to get some more ideas. After all, it is only May......I should be able to get organised by October.......again....we shall see.

Just can't help myself.....

Another busy day, laundry, house cleaning, birthday party in the park followed by a quick trip into town for Marley's preschool grad pictures.

I was thinking while she was in such a smiley mood I would take advantage of it...and the big blue dumpster in our driveway. I am very pleased with the results as they are but I might edit them later with Picnik.
I hope you can find the time to check it out.
Tootles
Kj

Summer top.

I am so in love with this top. I think I might have to buy the pattern, it is called Desira. I just love everything about it, especially the little sleeves. I frequently receive emails from Burda style and although I am yet to try any of the patterns, I love checking out the designs. Most of the stuff is either free to download or very inexpensive. This pattern is $3.00, you receive the pattern in PDF format and simply print it out at home. Sounds easy enough, although I am a little sceptical as to exactly how easy these are to print @ home.
I guess that is why I have not purchased anything yet.
I will add this one to my list of things to do.

Fun new toy.

I have been having fun with some new photo editing software from picnik. The best part is that it is free...yup, you heard me right...FREEEEEEE.

My last post featured some pics I had taken in the yard, after discovering this site I have tweaked them a little and replaced them with the new flashy version. Check this out.....

BEFORE:

AND AFTER:

I would highly recommend this site to beginners, like me. I have only tweaked a few pic so far but can't wait to spend a little more time on this great site. I especially love the rounded 70's corners, it took me a while to work out the html to get rid of the borders on my images. Nothing I can't do when I set my mind to it though.

So check it out, let me know what you think, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Tootles,

Kj

Happy gardening

There is so much going on at the Simpson ponderosa these days, I wanted to snap some pics of what has sprouted and bloomed in the garden recently.

 

We managed to get the veggie patch rototilled, ready for planting and the raspberry patch is manicured, my girls are almost salivating at the promise of juicy sweet raspberries to come.

Dace is heading back to work after two gruelling weeks off, hanging Hardy plank, timber framing and house fixin'. We are absolutely pooped. Hope you all had a great long weekend.

Jelly in your belly!

Just a couple of things to share with you today.
There is a great pic of Marley on my friend Kerry's blog Snickerdoodles, check it out, scroll to May 21st and there she will be. Marley was doing a little posing at the family May Day dance on Thursday night, boy oh boy did she sleep well that night.
And earlier that day I attended the traditional May Day tea with my lady friends, what a great town we live in. I promised Kerry's mom I would share my Jelly Slice recipe, so here it is, I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to use your imagination with this one, I added some shredded coconut to the base last time.
All you Aussie's can stop reading now, nothing you haven't seen before!!

Jelly Slice.

Crust:

1 pkt Marie biscuits crushed. ( Use any tea biscuits you can find, Superstore has a good selection. 1 pkt is usually 250g ).
185 g. butter melted
Combine together press into 8x8 pan.

Lemon Layer:
1 can condensed milk
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tsp gelatin dissolved in ¾ cup boiling water

Topping:
1 pkt red jelly (made up to instructions on packet), or for that matter, any flavour you like. I have made it with lemon jello and it is yummy.

Crush biscuits and combine with melted butter. Press into slice tray. Blend condensed milk with lemon juice and dissolved gelatin. Pour over base and set aside until it starts to set. Pour the cooled jelly carefully over slice. Chill until set then cut into squares.

May.....just slow down will you?

Please tell me that you all have laundry piles this big. It's rainy out today so my staining and painting duties have had to go on hold until the sun comes out of hiding, what better way to spend the day than catch up on my laundry duties.
We are most definatley seeing some progress on the exterior of our nest, it's looking less like a shoe box every day. The husband has taken two weeks off to try to keep me from having a nervous breakdown at the state of things. He and the fantastic crew have achieved some monumental tasks this week, I have been fattening them all up with three, sometimes four meals a day so that they have fuel to  keep working. I thought I might take some time to share pics of this month before my day gets away from me again, be well everyone.

 A little peek at whats to come....

no one ever said there wouldn't be total destruction before perfection.

Some stow aways Dace found under the deck.

Stopping to smell the roses, or in this case, the tulips is about all thats keeping me sane during this reno.

     kjxoxox

Kailee......

Introducing my new baby niece Kailee.....my uterus is throbbing! When her momma said she had lots of hair she wasn't kidding. Welcome to the world little one, you can't have picked a nicer family to be born into.

I'm sad that you will probably be a toddler by the time we meet in person, I will start to buy lottery tickets in the hope that we will cross paths sooner.

Love your Auntie Kylie.xoxoxo

hhhhhmmmm.....

Did you ever have one of those weeks where you look back and reflect on what you accomplished and then come to the realisation that you achieved Squat diddly?????? That's, where I'm at. So to make myself feel less guilty about my unproductivity I thought I might just become blissfully ignorant and pretend like this week didn't happen. Mind you, I did have lots of fun road trips, two to Kelowna and one to Armstrong, hung out with fabulous ladies, ate lots of yummy food and found some great buys.
A trip to the Armstrong Asparagus farm yielded an exciting find, affordable, organic spelt and golden flax, both of which I can't wait to incorporate into some yummy, healthy baked goods for the fam. And don't forget the asparagus, at $2.25 a pound, this is the best asparagus you will find.

And my finds from the most affordable thrift store around. A $1 lamp for Marley's room I plan on adding some spunk to, a great old frame for $4, a few embroidery hoops ( a girl can never have too many embroidery hoops), a men's shirt $4, I plan on turning into a dress for Marley.

Mind you, all of these finds involve more work to make it to their final destination. I will add it to my ever growing to do list.

A friend of mine from Australia recently requested my favourite pumpkin pie recipe, which was flattering and all, but I quickly realised that I do not have one.

So I have decided to try this one, the original recipe is from a site called not without salt, it looks fantastic and not your average run of the mill recipe. I plan on taking a closer look at this site it looks fantastic. This one's for you Tori, I will try it out and I was thinking you should try it out and we can compare results. The recipe is here....I wish you well and hope to hear from you soon.