Non-Stop Diva

Light me up!

2012-05-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

The weather has been so nice that I just have to be outside whenever I can, but since I can't just sit still, it means I've been coming up with lots of garden and patio projects to tackle. One that's been on my list for awhile were our 2 back patio lights. I'm guessing they were gold or copper fresh out of the box and have just oxidized over time. I toyed with buying new lights,

Shimmering elephant

2012-05-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

For LMD's birthday party, I picked up a few extra elephants to pull the theme together. I found this guy at Homegoods and thought he could be cute with a little spray paint. A few coats later and presto chango, he's a good looking silver guy! Do you guys have any good finds that you've spray painted lately?

Poison Ivy

2012-05-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

While I love cascading ivy in small doses, I truly hate wrangling with ivy that decides to take over my garden. Granted it’s a great workout to play tug of war with this invasive vine, but it can be quite time consuming. On a visit last year, my godmother pointed out that the ivy wrapping around my tree could ultimately kill it. A thought Mr. Diva had been long harboring. &

Tuesdays with LMD-Music Music Music

2012-05-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

LMD loves music. I always have Pandora on the background as she plays on the floor-even when she just was a wee little babe. Now, when her favorite station, Rockabye, comes on, she gets so excited to groove with the tunes. Here's a Top 5 list of LMD's favorite music must haves! 1. Rockabye-Whether it's Journey, GNR or Aerosmith, LMD loves some classic

2012-05-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Focaccia has been on my 2012 short list of foods to try. It's also one that I earmarked in Peter Reinhart's book several years ago, but never got around to testing. I just love the spongy texture and salty flavor of focaccia. When I woke up to a rainy Saturday morning, I knew it was the perfect day to give it a shot. As with most of Reinhart's breads, it's a 2 day process,

To the trees!

2012-05-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks to some great foundation shrubs my front beds are in pretty good shape, but there are two spots that could really benefit from some height. I called in the expertise of my always amazing uncle, who has a degree in horticulture. He suggested both a leatherleaf viburnum and Foster's Holly. They would work in the bare spots and would fill in quite nicely over the

Tuesdays with LMD-Birthday Edition

2012-05-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

Little Miss Diva had her 1st birthday just a few weeks ago. It's amazing how fast the first year flew right by us. To honor her special day, we had a little soiree at the house with family and a few friends. The fabulous Emily Holmes designed the invitations. I was going with a pink elephant theme. Yes, it's kind of random, but since we have a plethora of both, I

Salty Caramel Ice Cream

2012-05-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Since the heat is here to stay, the ice cream machine has been dusted off and is churning out some tasty goodness. For my second batch of the 2012 ice cream making year, I decided to test out Jeni's Salty Caramel Ice Cream as posted by The Bitten Words. First up, I familiarized myself with the instructions and gathered my mis en place since it looked like everything was going

Shady lady

2012-05-08T10:56:00.000-05:00

Gardens are definitely a work in process. We moved into our house 3 years ago and found ourselves with some good garden structure albeit overgrown. Every spring since we moved in, I've tried to tackle a few projects-either of my own making (butterfly bed & window boxes) or Mother Natures (tree removal). Last year, we lost one of our backyard pine trees, which allowed us to open

Tuesdays with LMD

2012-05-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Little Miss Diva is quite the reader. She's happy to pull down every last one from the shelf and then spend forever flipping through her books. It's really quite sweet and I hope the start of a great reader. I thought it would be fun to list LMD's Top 5 picks of the moment (in no particular order). We'll see where they stand in 6 months! 1. Tails-This book was a gift

Salad shake up

2012-05-04T09:00:00.000-05:00

Little Miss Diva is quite the good eater. Of course, I haven't introduced her to the prowess of salty food! Seeing her eat lots of veggies, I realize what a poor job I do with my daily intake, so when I stumbled on this salad, it immediately went on my rolling list. In hindsight, it's more fruit heavy than veggie, but still on the moderately healthy side. I substituted

Green with gardening!

2012-05-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Ahh spring 2012, you’ve been an interesting beast. It started off so warm that daffodils and forsythia were out record breaking early. At one point, I just gave into the insanity and kept rooting for the warmer weather to stay since I didn’t want any of my precious early blooming perennials to suffer. It was about that time that spring garden fever hit, but of course, the local

Tuesdays with Little Miss Diva

2012-05-01T10:16:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year when the sun is shining and the heat is on. I can't wait for the pool to open and the tanning to begin! In the meantime, I've been taking Little Miss Diva to the Y's indoor pool for some swim lessons. They might sound a little ridiculous to some, but they've really been a great. The lessons are geared towards getting the kids used

Testing again

2012-02-29T09:00:00.000-06:00

There are always so many recipes on my list and only so many actually get made. Seriously, what am I thinking when I tear them out of magazines, bookmark them or save them in my inbox? I'm only one cook with even less time to test recipes now that Little Miss Diva (LMD) is moving around the house. It's probably a good thing because now I really have to think the through the

Tuesday's with Little Miss Diva

2012-02-28T09:00:00.002-06:00

From Amazon There are a lot of baby food cookbooks out there. I was told that Super Baby Food was the golden standard for starting out with pureed foods; however, I found it entirely too long. I'm easily distracted even when talking about food! Thankfully, a fabulous friend sent me Baby Love by Norah O'Donnell and Chef Geoff. They've done a great job of giving you

Serious Eye Candy!

2012-02-27T09:00:00.000-06:00

From www.heatovento350.blogspot.com I was cruising the nets the other day and discovered the most delicious website. There are pages upon pages of scrumptious photography. It's hard to scan the images and not want to try out about everything on the page. Even worse, you'll definitely want a snack after just a few short minutes. It's a great way to be a culinary voyeur for a

State of TV

2012-02-22T09:00:00.003-06:00

From marclemay.com I’ve gone a ½ season (or a lifetime for some sad shows ) without commenting on the state of TV. Insanity! There’s been some break-ups, some new love affairs, and of course some relationships that continue to stand the test of time (or perhaps a good marathon or three)! I really heart television and am only sad when I’ve got 2 shows to Tivo while Mr. Diva

Tuesday's with Little Miss Diva

2012-02-21T09:00:00.001-06:00

Little Miss Diva loves a good find and being the first to know what's hip amongst her crowd-she takes after her mama after all. When she found Citrus Lane, it was love at first click. Our first packaged came with an awesome bath time tug boat. The fact that it was made of recycled materials was just an added bonus. The Happy Melt treats were a big hit and are now a

Dressing our windows

2012-02-20T09:00:00.031-06:00

So I’ve learned that January must be fabric sale season. Thanks to the sleuthing of Ms.Cheap, I was alerted to not one, but TWO big sales. The first landed me some cute gingham and polka dot prints for Little Miss Diva. No, I won’t be writing about sewing anytime soon. My stepmom is going to make some dresses for Little Miss Diva…yay fabulous family seamstress!

Electrified Diva

2012-02-17T09:00:00.001-06:00

Here's a kitchen shoot before the Diva took over I know you’ve been dying to know what electrical project had me and Mr. Diva electrified! In the hopes that 2012 is the year of my new kitchen countertops, I’ve really been pondering all sorts of updates in kitchen. First on my list was the green light fixture that went with nothing! I thought a little spray paint would help

King Cake Me

2012-02-15T09:00:00.007-06:00

Image courtesy of Coffee &... It's that time of year again. The time of beads, drinks and lots of King Cake! This year I ordered our cake from a

Happy Valentine's Day from Little Miss Diva!

2012-02-14T09:00:00.001-06:00

I was inspired by a recent episode of Martha and decided to make home made valentines. Little Miss Diva called in her favorite photog for the shoot, aka my sister, who always does a fabulous job! I used card stock and envelopes from Paper Source...love that store. They turned out super cute! Happy Valentine's Day!

The Diva Returns

2012-02-13T09:00:00.000-06:00