Salty Pineapple

THAT'S HAWESOME

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Tess and her butterfly Golden Flower

A list of things that make me happy, laugh, or feel good.

6. Modern medicine and the discovery of antibiotics*.
7. The GIANT container of Cheese Balls from Target.
8. Letting my kids eat as many Otter Pops as they want.
9. Friends that bring me a plate of their delicious dinner, so I don't have to eat the junk I feed my kids**.
10. Realizing it is more fun to see your daughter ~~waste~~ enjoy your stash of crafty things instead of hoarding it for "something just right."
*Recovering from Strep Throat this week.
**It is not junk food, just not as nice as a gourmet meal. Don't judge.
//HAWESOME 1-5//

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YARD SALE

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:45:00 +0000

GRFX Decals on Etsy

With the impending move I have been organizing and evaluating what we have. The new house is laid out differently, and some of our current furniture just can't make the move with us.

I have started a blog to help me sell some of the items we no longer need. Click over and have a look see. If you live in Salt Lake or Utah Counties we might just have something for you.

pineappleyardsale.blogspot.com

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S'MORE HOLIDAYS PLEASE

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Tue, 29 May 2012 18:37:00 +0000

This three day weekend was a doozy. It started and ended with good food, fun and friends. Just the way we like it. There might have been some strep throat and body aches in between, but nothing some medicine couldn't take care of.

The start of summer is also the start of s'more season. I could be wrong, but let's go with it.
Our first s'more of the season was a definite winner.

Peanut Butter Cookies + Nutella + Toasted Mallow = One rocking s'more!

HAWAI'I TIMES 6

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Fri, 25 May 2012 19:47:00 +0000

Today was World Travel Day at my kid's school. I presented the Islands of Hawai'i to 150ish kinder and first graders. We're talking kapa mats, hula, history, and pineapple. Overall a fun way to start the holiday weekend. Never mind that I woke up to hail this morning.

Looks like bad weather for our long weekend, but that's not going to stop us from having fun!
Enjoy your weekend friends.

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THE HEALING POWERS OF BANANAS

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Okay, so that title is a little over the top. I am unfamiliar with any real healing powers of bananas. However, baking banana muffins did a little heart healing for me. After writing some of my thoughts in this post, I needed something to bring me back down.

Banana bread is one of my favorite treats. To keep things easy we went with muffins. It seemed like there would be less crumbs. Remember I'm trying to keep the house clean for strangers to walk through.

Consciously keeping the house ~~clean~~ cleaner than normal, I used less dishes and washed up right away. Strangely this was all very therapeutic.

I was hoping the smell of freshly baked banana muffins would linger around to entice potential buyers, but it has slowly faded away. Our great style and awesome layout will just have to speak for themselves.

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OFFICALLY FOR SALE

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Tue, 22 May 2012 23:41:00 +0000

Our home is offically for sale. Getting everything ready, and talking about it seems years behind us. Now time is standing still.

This is the first home Mike and I purchased together.
This home is where I learned to mow a lawn, and use a snow blower.
This is where Mike and I bought, sold and rebought furniture to figure out our "style."
This is where Davis lost his first tooth, Tess crawled like a monkey, and Collin...Well this is all Collin knows.

I thought about trying to Photoshop my duvet to look even. Then I remembered my Photoshop skills are very lacking and it wouldn't be real. I thought about retaking the picture, but that wouldn't be real either.

What is real? Sitting here writing about our little home has me in tears. Tears from happy memories. Tears for sadness. Tears from feeling overwhelmed and not sure about change.

I'm sad that this little world in our neighborhood is going to go on without me. Without my family. I feel like we are going to be left out or left behind. Missing out on all the neighborhood barbecues, impromptu water parties and evening walks. Is anyone even going to notice we are gone. We are sure going to notice we are not here.

I know there are so many great things to come. And I look forward to sharing them with you. But, right now all I feel is sadness for what is going to be left. Sadness for what could have been.

I'm not the first person in the world to move, and I won't be the last.

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THAT'S HAWESOME

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 21 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Source: flickr.com via Nicolette on Pinterest

With big changes happening around here, I have been looking for things that I am happy about, make me laugh, feel good, or I am grateful for. I'm sharing them here for a couple of reasons. It shares something about who I am, and I can keep track of it here.

1. Being *short enough to make a maxi skirt with one yard of fabric.
2. Having bangs to cover up your eyebrow indiscretions.
3. Exchanging encouraging words with close friends.
4. Email responses with in 24 hours, even if they are to turn you down.
5. Toasters with retractable cords. I don't own one, but they are still **hawesome.

*My drivers license says I'm 5'0"
**Collin adds the letter H to the beginning of some of his words. One of our family favorites is the H in front of awesome.

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CH CH CH CHANGES

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I mentioned on Monday that some big things are happening over here. Big adventurous things. The kind of things that will change life as you know it. So deep, right?

North Dakota cutting board from A.Heirloom

Isn't this cutting board fun? You can get one for all the cool states. Cool states like North Dakota. Why is North Dakota cool? Well, because our family is moving there this summer. Wait, what?

You read that right. My husband's company is relocating us to North Dakota. Things have been extra busy this week as we are prepping our house, in Utah, to sell.

Change comes with a lot of mixed emotions, and now that I have told all of you I might just share a little more of what I have been thinking and feeling. So, I'll let the news sink in and we'll talk more next week.

Have a fab weekend where ever you are!

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VITAMIN C

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:30:00 +0000

follow me on instagram @saltypineapple

We could use a huge dose of vitamin C around here. Collin has had a fever since Sunday, and Tess is complaining she can't swallow her spit (soar throat.) Aggh.

So, if you are wondering where I have been, why i'm not blogging craftiness, and how come things around here are so untropical... It's because I am spending my time cuddling my babies, and cleaning while they nap.

Keep your fingers crossed for a better second half of the week.

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WRAPPING IT UP

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:19:00 +0000

Happy day after Mother's Day. I think we might need to follow up with "Care Givers Week." Then we have another week of papmpering. Just a thought.

My weekend started with our 10th wedding anniversary. Wow, ten years of bliss really. I love my husband, Mike, more and more everyday. How is that possible? I'm not sure, but my heart feels more full today than it ever has.

Last week I was out of town with Mike on a business trip. I have never missed my babies so much. It was great to come home Saturday and be showered with lots of hugs, kisses, and free french toast from Kneaders. (All moms got free french toast for Mother's Day.)

Saturday night I fell asleep early and Sunday morning woke up to three little ones cuddling me in bed. Dad slept on the couch. I guess babies, no matter how old, love their mommies. Waking up surrounded by the little people that I love beyond words was a great way to start Mother's Day.

Today is back to reality, car pools, a sick baby, and the dreaded laundry. I also have some big things happening over here. I will share more on that later in the week.

Have a great day friends.

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PINEWOOD DERBY 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Are you familiar with the prestigious Pinewood Derby? The little car races Boy Scouts do? Maybe I should say, Dad's do and the scout watches.

Last week, Davis sent his first offical car down the track. It's that nice golden car in the middle. A lot of discussion, time, energy and graphite went into that block of wood.

I think Mike was just as excited and nervous for the race as Davis was. My boys can be a little competitive.

Overall Davis' car came in 6th place. We were super happy. Davis is quick to add that he raced the winning car after the offical race was over, and he won.

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POST IT CALANDER & WHITE BOARD

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

A few years back I carried around a monthly calander in my bag and wrote down every little appointment. When I got my iPad, I switched everything to my digi calander. As great as it is to have that with me, I missed writting a calander with a pen. What you think that's weird? Strange.

Last year Davis was constantly asking me what time we were leaving for this or that. I decided we needed a board to write down a daily schedule.

Instead of buying a white board I went with something a bit more stylish. A simple frame with fabric inside becomes a little piece of art, or a white board when you write on the glass.

Here we write down messages, love notes, and things to remember. It's in a central location for everyone to see as we walk out the door.

This year I have two kids in school. I needed to remember more, and I wanted to see further out than just what we had going on that day.

I grabbed a cube of neon Post It notes and made a calander. Here I can write in all the day to day items for the entire month. I've noticed it helps me to remember things that are coming later in the week sooner than the night before.

Because the Post Its don't take up the entire board, I can still make my lists and leave notes for the family on the board.

I know this isn't rocket science, but if it helped me, it might help you. Uh, and it's cute!

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LEI IT ON ME: ORIGAMI LUCKY STARS

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 07 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

When I graduated from high school, a friend of mine gave me a origmai star lei. I held on to it forever, but don't know what has happend to it now. Bummer.

I wanted to recreate that lei for my niece who was baptized last weekend. This is a project that can be made anytime of year because you don't need flowers. Find some folding helpers and you will be making mile long garlands of these cute stars.

Supplies:
Colored paper. I used 25lb weight paper in some bright colors.
Dental floss
Needle
Clothes pin
Paper trimmer
This origmai tutorial to learn how to fold the stars.

1. Cut your paper into half inch strips lenght wise.

2. Follow the folding instructions and go crazy. Cut, cut, cut. Fold, fold, fold.

3. Take a break to ease any hand cramping.

5. When you have finished folding all of your origami lucky stars, thread your needle with the dental floss. Then clamp the clothes pin at the other end of the floss.

6. Place your paper star onto the needle through the center of two points. It will come out through the top point. Continue to string your stars until you get the lenght of lei you would like. Forty stars makes a cute size kid lei.

7. Tie your two ends together and add some pizzaz with a little curling ribbon, or not.

I think these stars would make a really cute garland. There are easy enough to make, I even made a bunch in the dark while I was watching a movie. Enlist some friends and go to work.

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GIVEAWAY: BROOKESHORE

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Brooke Rasmussen in the gal behind Brookeshore Designer Stationery. From desgining to shipping and everything else in between Brooke handles it all. Inspritation for Brooke's designs come from living and growing up in Huntington Beach, Ca. A chic modern touch with bright and bold colors sums up the beautiful desings Brooke makes. Personalizing your notecards with Brooke is an option too.

The Wave Design

Right away I loved the watercolor essence of The Wave design. Makes me wish I could paint landscapes, or anything for that matter.

Hawaiiang Hibiscus Design

Doesn't this card scream tropics?! Hibiscus bushes are all over Hawaii. Did you know the yellow hibiscus is Hawaii's state flower? Love this.

Citrus Burst Design

This design just happens to be my favorite of all Brooke's designs. Judging by the colors of all Brookeshore notecards, I think Brooke and I would fast be friends and have a lot in common.

Now you have a chance to get some of these notecards for your self! Here is the how to:

1. Visit Brookeshore and leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite design.
2. Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment here for another chance.
3. Like Brookeshore on Facebook and leave a comment here for your last chance.

So that is a possible of three entries per person. This giveaway runs from Wednesday 5-2-12 thru Wednesday 5-9-12 11:59 PM MST. The winner will be announced on the post Thursday morning.
Good luck!
The winner is Carol Yuen! Carol, email me your info and i will send it on to Brooke. Congratulations. Salty Signature—Begin typing above

MAY PIN BOARD

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Are you getting anxious for summer vacation? Our kids have 25 days left of school, and I am so ready to be done. So, I thought it would be fun to collaborate on a board to get us all ready for summer.

Hello Sun+Sand

The Details:
Theme - Sun+Sand Don't take the theme too literally.
Proper Source - PLEASE Please make sure your pin leads back to the original source!
Keep it Clean - I run a family friendly site here.
Description - Leave a description of your pin. It's doesn't have to be long, just no // or ...
Round Up - At the end of the month I will do a round up of my favorite pins from the board.

If you are interested in playing along, email me: saltypineapple at gmail dot com. I will send you an invite to the board and we can get started!

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SPRING FLING TOP 3

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:02:00 +0000

Spring Fling was all about the flowers and pastels. I really loved all of the pins. Here are three of my really pretty favorites.

pinned by Laura Messer from Lil' Luna

Cutest spring party colors ever! I love all the paper medallions. I can't ever get them to look that good.

pinned by Shauna Dieter from Skinny laMinx

If I had this spring table cloth every day would start with a big smile on this face.

pinned by Breana Bakker from Ruffled

The table setting at this Bridal shower is so beautiful. I can only imagine how fabulous it was in person.

Thanks to everyone that added to the board this month. I'm not sure May is going to get away from all the lovely flowers.

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LEI IT ON ME: CARNATIONS

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:35:00 +0000

A lei is to Hawaii as kangaroos are to Austrailia. Okay, I don't know if that analagy works, but who doesn't think of a flower lei when you think of Hawaii. If there is ever a reason to celebrate, congratulate, or even console someone a lei will be there.

I have to admit, this is the first real flower lei that I have made since living on the 'Mainland.' The same flowers are not as readily available here, but I figured out a way to turn this frown upside down.

Carantions are inexpensive, colorful, and easily available from groccery stores and florists.

What you need to make a carantion lei:
Dental floss
Clothes pin
Lei needle, or 5" long doll needle
Caranations - I made five leis with three garden bunches from Costco.
Scissors

1. Cut about a three foot peice of dental floss. If you want your lei shorter or longer, adjust accordingly.

2. Thread one end of the floss through your needle and clamp the other end with your clothes pin. This will prevent your flowers from slipping off the end.

3. Use you scissors to cut the stems off your carnations.

I like to cut my flowers just barely from the base of the flower. You can peel off the extra leaves, just be careful with your flowers. The red flower fell apart because there wasn't much at the base.

Don't fret if you flowers are only partially opended up. You can help the petals by gently pressing the bloom open.

4. Take your needle and pierce the bottom of the flower pushing the needle through the center of the petals.

Continue to string your flowers until you get the length of lei you want. The flowers can be placed in a pattern or at random. Both will look and smell pretty.

The fuller the carnations, the less green stem you will see. If you are squishing your flowers really close be sure to have more flowers on hand.

5. Tie the two ends of your dental floss into a square knot. Add a ribbon of you like and enjoy!

I had the happiest feeling as I was stringing these leis. It reminded me of High School graduation. Getting together with my friends and walking down the street with groccery bags full of plumerias. Free plumerias I might add, just picked from all the trees in the neighborhood.

Don't forget to give your leis away with a hug and a kiss. Can you tell which one is my sister?

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FEATURED: HGTV

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Thanks to HGTV for featuring my magazine rail project. Head over to HGTV and see all the great ways to use old stuff.

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FAMILY TIME

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:59:00 +0000

Hello Monday! Hello friends! Can you believe we are into the last half of April?

The days are getting sunnier and warmer here. More and more time being spent outside and at the park. The kids and I are loving it. Last Thursday Tess taught herself how to ride a bike. It was so exciting.

Last Friday my baby sister graduated from BYU. Cherie, we are so proud of you.

On Saturday I went for my first ride on my road bike. I didn't crash, but I did fall over the day before practicing clipping my feet in and out of the pedals. If it's been a long time since your last scraped your knee, let me tell you it hurts. No, I didn't cry.

Grandma and Grandpa have been in town, and Collin has fallen in love. He got to spend an entire day with them all by himself. I'm sure the Jay Dog they bought him helped to seal the deal. Collin ate an entire dog by himself sans the bun.

If I am sporadic here it's because I am enjoying my family and the spring air. You can see what we are up to on Twitter or on Instagram (@saltypineapple).

Talk to ya soon!

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FRAMED PHOTOS

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a pin and tracked down the original source. The picture I liked was from the Palihouse Holloway urban lodge. (If you click on the link, the picture is the second down on the right. I couldn't find my pin!) The photo was of a extra large frame holding hundreds of polaroid pictures. I love how it was organized.

When I can't stop thinking about something, I know I have to do something about it. So, I set out to make something of my own inspired by that photo of the photos.

This is the start of my finished project. Severl more pictures need to be taken, but I am already loving the way it looks.

Down in the craft room I have a little wall collage going on. Everything is sticky taked to the wall. It's great, but a little on my messy side. My frame idea solves the messy problem.

Here is my how to...

Gather up your polaroids, or in my case mini instax pictures.

Buy the biggest picture frame you can find, or afford. This frame was $19. at Ikea. It is roughly 40 x 28 inches.

Flip the paper insert over and tack down a line of double stick tape across the width of the paper.

Start laying your pictures down in a straight line. Repeat line by line until you run out of space or pictures. I chose to add my pictures at random. Once I buy more film, I will take a bunch of pictures and them add them in another batch.

Collin is taking my picture with an Oreo cookie.The kids think it's great. Now they can get right up close to them and touch them through the glass.

Go get yourself and Instax camera and start your own big frame of photos!

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OUT WITH THE OLD & IN WITH THE NEW

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Have you ever bought a new wallet or purse? After you switch your things to the new wallet, doesn't the old one look so tattered and gross?

Last week I treated myself to the little floral wallet as kind of a Easter present. I just love the colors!
My old wallet was great. I loved how non fussy and compact that it was. Alas, my cards were started to slip out.

Isn't the new one a beauty though! Yes, we are still talking about wallets. Once everything was switched over to the new wallet, my yellow one looked sickly. I might hold on to it for a while because I'm kind of sentimental like that.

Did you notice my pineapple zipper pouch in the background? Yeah, I made it forever ago and forgot to share it with you.

I'm some what of a professional pineapple into potato carver. Can you see all my skill and detail in the above picture?

Potato stamping is so fun. I could have stamped all day. It's like this...
1. Carve potato into desired shape.
2. Dip into paint. I used fabric paint, but regular arcrylic is great.
3. Stamp on fabric. Be sure to put something under your fabric incase of bleeding. The paint, not you.

Check out this fun potato stamping project from Oh Happy Day.

Have a great weekend friends! And Happy Birthday to my sister Bre!!!
Target Wallet (similar)

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PRETTY DARN FUNNY

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I wanted to tell all of you about my friend's sister's webisode project.

Wait, let's try that again.

My friend's webisode project. Lisa, you are totally my friend too. I've talked to you in public on several occasions. Let's just be friends, okay?

Watch the trailer, then hop on over to Pretty Darn Funny to watch the first two episodes. The third episode comes out April 16. I can't wait.

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SWEET FLAG

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:30:00 +0000

At the very last second I made these little dessert flags for our Easter lunch. This idea isn't anything amazing, but just a little bit of pizazz to a simple dessert.

1. Cut your bamboo skewer down to the length you need.
2. Cut a strip of adhesive paper into a .5 x 4 inch strip.
3. Cut a piece of string or yarn 3 inches long.
4. Wrap the paper around the top of skewer and tie your string right below it.

The dessert stick was an intergral part in keep the dessert standing tall. I cut three circles of angel food cake for each shortcake tower. A small glass made the perfect size circle.

Cake circle + sugared strawberry slices + cake circle + sugared strawberry slices + cake circle + a pile of whipped cream + a fun little dessert flag = Easiest dessert ever!

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SPRING PLACE CARDS

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 18:32:00 +0000

How was your Easter weekend? Ours was nice and springy!

Sunday afternoon our little family enjoyed a nice lunch together before the family egg hunt at Grandma's house. Today I'm sharing a simple place card that is quick, easy, and will cost you pennies. You may have everything on hand like I did.

Start with this idea from Melissa, and get some cork placemats.

The first part of the name card is actually just a decorated thumb tack.

Supplies:
Hot glue
Thumb tacks
Various buttons

1. Snip off any loops on the back of you buttons (if they are not flat).
2. Hot glue your thumb tack to the back of you button.

Done. Seriously simple, right? But way cuter too!!!

Now on to the actual card...

Supplies:
Glass of water
Inexpensice water color set
Paper (I used water color paper because I had it, but you can use what ever you have on hand.)

Once the water color paint was dry, I cut my paper into 2 by 3 inch cards. Grab a nice pen and practice your penmenship a few times. When you are confident write out your names.

I love that this was easy, and a fun way to add color to our table.

Why not let the kids paint the water colors? Oh, and the thumb tack possibilities are endless. I toyed with making mini yo-yos to match my garland, or tiny pom poms to look like bunny tails. In the end the button was the quickest.

Check back tomorrow of the quickest way to add pizazz to your dessert!

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EEEEEASTER

noreply@blogger.com (Nikki McBride) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Lots of families have the tradition of taking a nice family photo in their new Easter clothes. In years past our pictures would be more likely labeled snapshots. I thought it wasn't good to break tradition this year.

Our best three snapshots for Easter 2012.

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