Bella Kate's

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noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 31 May 2014 20:41:00 +0000

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Domestic Domestic

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 20:19:00 +0000

Link to my new favorite store! One of my college friends and owners of my favorite cooking store in Little Rock, AR recently made the move back east to North Carolina. She has started a new business DomesticDomestic. This fab new store sells Household goods * Built in the USA. Check her out!

Boston/Maine Trip (Part 4): Boothbay Harbour to Portsmouth

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 19:06:00 +0000

Day 5: Boothbay Harbor to Portland, Maine to Boston, MA

See the first three parts of the journey in prior posts (Boston, Kittery-Saco, Port Clyde/Camden/Boothbay)

I got up early on Tuesday morning and went for a great short run over the footbridge in Boothbay and into the village for a few miles. It was 55 and a light drizzle! Perfect running weather in August!

We had a fab breakfast buffet at the Rock Tide Inn. I'm going to say again that I loved the RockTide Inn. Then we headed out back to the 1A. Still too early to Eat at Red's in Wiscasset. I guess I'll survive (and have to come back).


Photo from LL Bean website

We arrived in Freeport at L.L. Bean right after they opened for the day. We shopped there for a few hours...yes, it took hours. I got the girls some great winter clothes and gloves. You know I also picked up some winter running gear. These people are serious about winter clothes....I guess you have to be with the nor'easters and such. We had lunch at a local pizzeria and headed down the road to Cabela's and then on to Portland.

via Google

No trip can be complete without a stop at a funky fabric store. I visited Z Fabrics. It is a great little shop tucked into downtown Portland. (It has since moved to another location) I picked up some fabulous fabrics. I was surprised at the amount of wonderful fabrics in one tiny shop. Put this on the re-visit list.

After getting my fabric fix, we continued into downtown Portland and out to the Two Lights State Park to see the Lighthouses. The rocks on the shore looked like wood. This resulted in a marital bet and a little Google research. It is actually sandstone that splinters like wood. We also saw some sea ducks, a few gulls and a crab.

We left Two Lights and headed back toward Boston for the night and then the flight home the next day.    We couldn't end the trip without another trip to Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery!

Day 6: Baltimore (around the world) to Little Rock.

Our trip the next day was an adventure as well as we were supposed to fly from Boston-Baltimore-Little Rock.   Instead, due to a storm system closing the Balitmore airport after we were already in the air, we flew Boston, Pittsburg, Chicago-Midway, Omaha, St. Louis and Little Rock.   We finally made it home very very late.   Even better our luggage actually made it. Way to go Southwest!

Boston & Main Trip Part 3 (Saco, Camden, Port Clyde and Boothbay Harbour)

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 18:28:00 +0000

Part 3: Our Maine trip continues. See the first part of the journey in prior posts (Boston and Kittery-Saco)

Day 4: We had a typical but yummy breakfast at the Hampton Inn-Saco (which I highly recommend) and headed out on the road. Our destination will be a drive along the coast up to Camden and then back to Booth bay Harbor for the night. We started out heading up the I-295 to Brunswick/Bath on Hwy. 1.

We really wanted to Eat at Red's Eats in Wiscasset, Maine but we were way too early to eat. They don't open until 11 (and note they only take cash!) A nice harbor area and a little shopping nearby, but we were too early so we drove on. We continued on Hwy 1 until we came to 131 and turned south (yes, following Mom's recommendations) toward Port Clyde.


Port Clyde

Port Clyde is the epitome of what I pictured Maine to look like. From the stacks of lobster traps to the small vessels in the harbour it was nice. It was also very cold and windy (even in August), just as I imagined! We visited the Port Clyde store and another gift shop. I can't imagine how cold it would be in January. Nice harbor though.

After leaving Port Clyde, we were in search of food as the restaurant in Port Clyde wasn't open yet. We left Port Clyde on 131 and then turned right onto 73. From 73, we turned onto a small country road Waterman Beach Road to the best restaurant on the whole trip. You knew we would be driving up to a James Beard award winning restaurant.

We had crab rolls and lobsters. We watched a local man digging clams on the shore while we ate. It was a very peaceful view of the water.

We were so full after eating (yes, two lunch entrees), but I spied the pies lined up on the freezer case. I had to have some. It turned out to be the best blueberry pie on the face of this earth....yes, that good.

After a leisurely lunch, we stuffed ourselves back in to our rental and continued up the coast to Rockland & then Camden in search of the tall ship festival. When we arrived at Camden, a bustling downtown shopping area we realized we missed the festival by a day. Oh, well. We had coffee and did a little tourist shopping for the kids.

We saw a lot of these bushes in Maine. What are they?

After an afternoon in Camden, we headed back south on 1 to 27 toward Boothbay Harbor.    We stayed at the Rock Tide Inn. It was very quaint and although not fancy, was a wonderful experience.   Our balcony room had a fabulous view of the harbor.    The restaurant & bar is dark paneled and shipped themed.    The breakfast the next morning was wonderful.   The Rock Tide Inn is on our list of places to re-visit.

Before dinner, we took the footbridge from our hotel to the other side of the bay for a little shopping.

We walked back to the east side of the Bay for dinner at the Lobster Dock.    I had the lobster stew, crabcakes (from the throwdown with Bobby Flay), and a salad. (I know...my first vegetables in several days!) B had the fried haddock.

After a visit to the bar at the Rock Tide Inn, for some late night blueberry pie, we called it a night on Day 4.

Link other posts (Boston, Kittery-Saco, Boothbay/Portland)

Ladybug Girl Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:14:00 +0000

IP's 5th birthday was in November. We had her party at the Farm! Being an original soul, she wanted a "Ladybug Girl" birthday party. Not ladybugs, but the character from the book....which they don't make birthday themed items in "Ladybug Girl". What's a crafty mom to do?

Yes, make it up as I go. I copied pictures from her book onto cardstock using our color copier. I enlarged the pictures to the needed size. We cut out the pictures and mounted them on skewers to serve as cake and cupcake toppers. My mother in law manages a bakery so she brought a cake which I could mount my own toppers. IP loved it.

If you haven't ready the Ladybug girl and Bumblebee boy books, they are precious. The books are great at encouraging creativity and imagination....like IP really needed any help.

I also had to include a picture of the Snicker cupcakes my mother in law brought and Noonie's banana pudding....those were yummy as well.

Car Trash Sacks

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:32:00 +0000

We travel almost every weekend and spend lots of time in the car. What does that make? One messy car. I used the lunch sack tutorial and laminated cotton to make trash sacks that hang over the head rest for my car and my sister in law's car! One note: The straps on mine are really long. They could have been much shorter (12 inches or so all total).

The new trash sack (and the trash sack rule...the one that you have to put your trash in it) has really made a big difference in the amount of trash in the car. I usually line mine with a disposable sack to make cleaning it out a snap! Now if I can just reign in the extra shoes, coats, snack packs, magazine, books, plastic animals, random socks, sacks of things to return, donation items, DVD cases, ipod cords, the marker with no lid.....yes, the list goes on and on.

Zipper Bags for Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:32:00 +0000

For Christmas (yes, this is a late post), I made my sweet nephew and my sister in law more zipper bags. I made his random sizes so that he could fit all his plastic animals and tractors!

Giant Ruler!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

We have been measuring our kids on the door facing in our kitchen, but my husband is afraid when we move in a few years I'm going to make him take the door facing. I saw this post on Pinterest and knew that I had to make one of these. Since my family is very tall, I made ours over 7 feet. I used a 1" by 6" board from our local hardware store. I also made one for my sweet nephew.

Sai Thai & Downtown Jonesboro

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:24:00 +0000

Jonesboro, Arkansas has opened a refurbished downtown district of local shops and one of kind restaurants in the last few years. The nightlife has picked up and would be worth a visit if you are passing through.

One of my favorite restaurants is Sai Thai.

This is my favorite roll, the Downtown Roll...Tempura shrimp and cream cheese topped with crunchy, spicy tuna, avocado, spicy mayo and eel sauce. Yummy. Thinking about Sushi for breakfast...ok maybe I'll wait until lunch.

Sewing Machine Pincushion

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 22:13:00 +0000

Here is a quick picture of my new sewing machine pin cushion. I used a small piece of scrap fabric from Hancock's, a little stuffing and a piece of fab green elastic that I picked up when I was at the Purl Soho Store to make a pin cushion that fits over the arm of my machine to help reign in the pins when I am sewing. It is very handy!

TV Stand Hack

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:50:00 +0000

For Christmas this year, BP and I moved into the new century. We finally got a flat screen television.

The Story: In trying to be frugal, we decided that since our old TV still worked we would keep the 100 lb big box circa 1994 TV that B got when he started college. The bad part is that I have one just like it in our bedroom. Yes, and they still work fine... until the World Series this year and the Cardinal were playing in the World Series. We are not huge sports fans. Ok, I'm not a huge sports fan except when it comes to Cardinals Baseball. We love our Cards. However, when the Series was on, our local TV station had the game in wide screen which was great if you have a new wide screen. We didn't. Therefore, we had to keep up with the score and the pitch count on our cell phones. Not fun at our house. B gave up and went to a friend's house. A friend who had a giant flat screen. B quickly made ~~his~~ our Christmas wish list. Here is the before.

After Christmas, we came home from the Farm with our new TV and no TV stand. Since we were BROKE, from Christmas, we decided to hack our old TV stand. I bought it when I was in Law School from Target. Typical DIY furniture construction. To hack it, I removed the top and sides of the top. I then replaced the top on the bottom of the base unit and secured with left over brace parts. Pretty good I think. A new one almost identical is $200....seriously. Anyway, I like the hack. I'm still trying to decorate around our new TV and stand. Any suggestions.

We love the new TV. You can actually hear what the people are saying. Amazing how much the picture and sound has improved in say the last 15 years. The old TV got a new home and we have a awesome TV that streams Netflix my new favorite way to watch shows. No commercials...yipee. Now our 8 year old doesn't recite commercials to me for every house hold problem I have....like neat receipts for my messy desk or the lint lizard for the dryer or the drain snake for the stopped up drain.

Back in Black (Back door project)

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Our door from our garage into our laundry room was in serious need of a coat of paint. It was starting to rust where the former owners dog had scratched it. Since this door is the main point of entry into our house (really who uses the front door), it was always dirty. I spent alot of time using the magic eraser on it in the last few years. Since I'm addicted to Pinterest (yes, very addicted) and DIY blogs, I checked out several people who had painted their front doors black.

So, one weekend when BP was duck hunting, he came home to the door off the hinges in the drive way. I taped off the windows using newspaper and blue painter tape, I also taped alumnimun foil over the very brass/gold handles....which are another project for another day. BP then proceeded to critique my spray painting technique (I think he has a secret love for spray paint), therefore he finished the project. I used a Rustoleum Black Gloss (3.5 cans). It turned out really good (except for the white insides of the windows, but they are not too noticeable). I also painted the brown cabinets the same color as the garage so they don't stick out so much.

It has been a big adjustment not to think the back door is open when peering into the laundry from the kitchen. All in all it was worth the effort.

Wedding Sign and Stamped Cake Server

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:34:00 +0000

Miss D, I's teacher got married on 11.11.11. So you know I volunteered to help.

She needed a sign for a little boy to carry down the aisle.

I whipped this one up using a piece of fence board that we had in storage. I started by painting the board white with trim paint. Then I cut a stencil from adhesive vinyl using my silhouette. I spray painted over the stencil. There was a little bleeding under the vinyl. I touched it up with more trim paint and then finished out the weathered look with the handheld sander. I love our sander...just saying. I finished out the project with a little spray on clear coat in gloss and a piece of wire!

I also stamped her cake forks and cake server.

I am so glad that we got to help her out with her special day. My girls love her and I know that she and M will live Happily Ever After!

Trunk Makeover.

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:55:00 +0000

When I moved into my first apartment (yes, in the late 90's...seems like only yesterday), I was in need of a small coffee table. My mom had my great grandfather's trunk in storage. He used the trunk when he was young so the early 1900's. It was painted a milky blue in the early 70's and had been stored in a very damp storage location.

I started by sanding the truck by hand....for days....and days.... and days. The above picture was taken after 3 or 4 days of sanding and paint/rust removing. I finally sanded down to bare metal and wood. I used a faux leather kit from the local Hobby Lobby. I can't remember the brand....yes, this was 14 years ago. The kit consisted of a tan base coat and a darker glaze was applied with a wadded chamois type cloth. I sealed the trunk with a glossy polyurethane finish to protect the bare metal and wood. My mom covered in the inside with muslin. This trunk has been wonderful as a coffee table and doubles as holiday storage!

Here is the finished product. It has held up well.

Christmas Present from Pappy! Crayon and Marker Holders

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:41:00 +0000

Our art desk in the breakfast room need some serious clutter control. The crayons, marker, pencils, pens, barbie shoes, and other random toys were crammed in a large bowl. And while the bowl was cute it was very limited on funcitionality.

Pappy (B's dad) made the crayon and marker holders for the girls for Christmas! I love them. They fit down the middle of the table and are great for finding things on the desk.

New Year's Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:35:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

Pork chops, Black eyed peas and turnip greens for lunch!

2012 New Year's Resolutions:
1) Live Simply
2) Live Healthy
3) Give Thanks

Life Cycle of a Butterfly, up close on the Farm!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:43:00 +0000

KP stayed with my parents on the Farm in Northeast Arkansas this summer. My mom has a beautiful flower garden in the back yard and maintains plants that attract butterflies. KP got to witness the entire life cycle of the Monarch butterfly in just a few days. It was amazing to watch. Since she loves science and had covered the life cycle of the butterfly in school, she told us all about it.

Boston & Maine Trip (Part 2): Southern and Central Coastal Maine

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 19:48:00 +0000

Ok, the trip story continues. You can read the first part in a previous post about Boston.

Day 3: New Hampshire (in a flash) and Southern Maine
Well after completely leaving the airport on the wrong highway and getting to cross the super cool bridge, we finally made it north on the I-95 toll road. We were looking for a place to eat breakfast after the 17 flight fire alarm, leaving downtown on the T, and finding the rental car place. Good thing I had some hotel coffee and a power bar to tide me over. By the time we finally found a breakfast stop, we were in the middle of New Hampshire. We fueled up on some Mickey D's...a very nice McDonald's I might add.. and a grocery stop for a case of waters and we were on the road again.

We thought by looking at the map it would take a few hours to get to Maine....it was more like minutes.
We arrived at exit 1A Kittery! We spent the next few hours in the Orvis outlet and the Kittery Trading Post. What a fab store!! 3 levels! I picked up some super socks....Darn Tough brand. Love them, I've even ordered more since we got home. BP also got a sack full of jigs and fishing gear, what better place. The whole basement is fishing!

Lunch was at Bob's Clam Hut! Awesome fried Clams. (yes, we will return here before the trip is over for second helpings). The weather was great, so we ate out back on the picnic tables! Yes, I'll say it "I LOVE CLAMS!" (for the record, I love them both ways....Bob's & Lillian's).

From there (after the GAP outlet), we continued up 1A then 9, to York, Ogunquit, Wells, and onto Kennebunkport, by this time we were hungry again and I needed coffee. The drive up was crowded. It was Labor Day after all. Hard to find parking in most of these coastal towns due to the nice weather and the use of the beaches. Here is a picture of the first beach we saw...I think around York.

in Kennebunk, we stopped at H.B. Provisions a general store and I had my first blueberry pie. We also tried a whoopie pie. They were both good. Whoopie Pies are not my favorite....they are alot like an oreo cakster. I'll hold out for more blueberry pie though. We did not see the Bushes, but did see a lot of pictures of them in stores. Kennebunk has a nice downtown shopping area. We also saw this cat which I think might just be Sneakers the Seaside Cat.

Here I will diverge....good luck finding a real public bathroom on the coast of Maine. Most of the tourist areas have port a lets. Just saying if you see a real bathroom...use it.

Back to the trip. We continued up the 9, until we came to the turn for Biddeford Pool. We took the 208 out past the pool to F.O. Goldthwaite's & the Pool Lobster Company and arrived about 4 p.m. To get there you just keep driving and driving, when you think you've gone to far...there it is.

This is what I expected Maine to look like. I had a lobster and BP had a lobster roll. This was the last day for the store to be open for the Summer. They will re-open next summer for inside and outside dining! We ate on the picnic tables out back. This is the only commercial establishment we saw in Biddeford. Biddeford has some very lovely seaside homes!

Lobster #1 for the Day

Scary bird....yes, the movie "The Birds" scared me for life.

View from Picnic Table.

After leaving Biddeford, we traveled through Saco, past the old red brick textile mills, to our hotel.   The Hampton Inn, Saco is very nice and quiet hotel.     We checked in and then decided to go for an after dinner drive.    We drove out Route 9 toward the ocean.   We took Bayview Road to a beach access near Ferry Beach State Park.   The beach was lovely...and cold.   We dipped our feet in the ocean.

Our evening drive continued up the road to Old Orchard Beach.   Old Orchard Beach is a cousin to Gatlinburg, TN or Branson, MO.   Very very very touristy. Yikes. They have a carvinal and a bustling crowded commercial district full of arcades and pizza joints....it is on my skip next time list.   Running like crazy from Old Orchard, we took Highway 5 back toward Saco.

At this point, I was hungry again. I know you might say I already had dinner once, but it was a small lobster so we'll call it a snack. My mom (aka super planning danger ranger) gave us a wonderfully annotated book, map and travel hints for Maine, which was a Godsend, but for Saco the recommended restaurant was F.O. Goldwaithes and we thought they might laugh if we came back for a second dinner.

So how do you find a fab place to eat in an unknown city.   Yes, google.   I googled it and read the reviews so "The Lobster Claw" in Saco was my second dinner.   And a yummy one it was.   I had another lobster and some clams. BP had the plate of all things fried...clams, haddock, shrimp, scallops and fries.   YUMMY!   After a couple beers and a second dinner, we called it a night!

I will continue the journey in future posts! Link to Post 3

Summer fun on the Farm.

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:38:00 +0000

The girls and my nephew love to ride the tractors at the Farm. Granddaddy or my brother usually takes them for a ride when they ask! No wonder they love being at the Farm so much!

Little Rock Zoo.

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:50:00 +0000

Back in the summer, I took the girls to the Little Rock Zoo.

Phi Mu legacies?

I am amazed at the progress that this zoo has made in the past 10 years. If you haven't been recently you wouldn't recognize it. It is located in the heart of Little Rock, so it is easy to stop by before doing some shopping in town.

KP loves Lorikeet Landing!

The girls also love the Arkansas Carousel located inside the zoo. It is an "over the jumps" carousel that is one of the last known to exist of its kind.

Camping 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:40:00 +0000

We love to camp! However, BP and I (ok, really just me) are fair weather campers. I like the weather to be between 40-60 degrees at night and between 75-85 during the day....and no rain!

BP & I choose the perfect weekend in September to take the kids to Heber Springs, Arkansas. There are several wonderful campgrounds in this part of Arkansas and they are close to town in case you run out of s'mores!

We purchased a Coleman 10 man tent a few years ago. It is perfect for spring and fall camping. And it is extra large...because I have yet to master the art of traveling light. We took the girls sleeping bags, which kept them very warm. I on the other hand used the Pottery Barn down comforter from our old bed. We also took the gymnastics mat for all the girls to sleep on...yes, we were glamping! BP did make a little fun of us, but it kept us warm and comfy on the 40 degree night.

The best thing about the trip was that the campground was almost deserted. It was fabulous. School in Arkansas had started back and football season was in full swing, so very few people were camping. The girls had a blast hanging by the campfire, making s'mores, running in the woods, looking for raccoons and chuckies (squirrels), and fishing from the bank.

The girls love love love camping. IP thinks it is very cool to wear her socks with sandals! Yep, she's a little granola and I love it! KP just loved helping BP keep the camp fire going and poking the fire with a stick.

My favorite part was camp coffee (Community Coffee, no less) and S'mores for breakfast!

The girls loved it so much I know we will spend many more weekends playing the woods!

Holy Guacamole is that a Bat on the Porch!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:55:00 +0000

We have had such a busy summer and fall that I am way behind on posting on all the summer/fall fun. I will try to catch up in the next few weeks.

A few months ago we were looking out on the porch as saw this! Holy guacamole....it is a bat! The kids were freaked out for a few minutes (thanks, scooby doo.), but they got over it. We live on the edge of our rural town and by edge, I mean our fence is the city limits and it has a bean/rice field on the other side. So wildlife in our backyard is not unheard of. I'm just glad it wasn't the skunk that likes to hang out in the flower beds. The kids finally decided it was cool.

Our BFF family came over to check out the bat, too, which led to all the kids doing gymnastics in the grass in the backyard. Did I mention they all ended up grass covered... and they were all wearing their pajamas. Summer fun!

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has some information on bats in Arkansas. According to the information, I think this bat was probably hanging out and eating some stinkbugs, since the stinkbugs ate our entire garden this year. Hopefully, the bat ate them all. Yea for bats!

It was gone the next day. And don't freak out... we didn't get near it or touch it. That's all we need is a little rabies.

Here is a picture of our lovely garden last year....not so pretty this year...thanks, Stinkbugs.

JD's birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:54:00 +0000

My cousin's little girl had a birthday back in the summer! Here are pictures of her gifts. A rabbit screen printed t-shirt and a seat cover/pockets for her car! I just love giving homemade gifts!

I'll be posting about screenprinting in the next few weeks!

Halloween Costume: Strawberry Shortcake

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:00:00 +0000

IP loves Strawberry Shortcake and Friends. She slept with the 3 inch dolls for several months. She usually has one in her hand and carries them in her pockets. So, Strawberry Shortcake was a natural choice for Halloween this year.

We picked up the tank and patch (on the hat) at H & M during our New York trip in March. I made the tier skirt on the same pattern as the twirl skirts. My great aunt Dorthy gave me vintage Strawberry Shortcake fabric from the 80's. I used it to make the hat and the middle tier of the skirt!

I also learned to make a yarn wig during this project from A Beautiful Mess. This is a very easy project. I think I need to make a few more for the dress up box.

When looking for Halloween ideas I also came across some Strawberry Shortcake tutus on Etsy. They were super cute and probably just as easy as the twirl skirt to make. Isabell didn't want her costume to be scratchy so I whipped up a twirl skirt!!

Happy Halloween!!

County Fair!

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:38:00 +0000

You can't live in the South and in a rural area without attending the County Fair. In September, we took the kids for a night of corn dogs, cows, pigs, chickens, and exhilarating (but torts in the making) rides at the Arkansas County Fair.

It was throwback night celebrating 75 years of Arkansas County Fair (yes, this equals cheap rides!!) The girls had a blast! BP learned that he may be too old for the tilt-a-whirl!!

If you have never been to a county fair, you must put it on your bucket list!