Backyard Solution

In our neighborhood, I've noticed that many homes are now in a flurry of remodeling - whether an exterior paint job or raising the entire house to create a basement or garage, people are staying put in this economy (unless they get a steal on a cheap house).

At one time, possibly 1919, our back shed was once a garage...maybe a horse stable (just kidding). We use it for miscellaneous storage, but since it dominates our backyard, I'd love to convert it into something like this:

MetroSheds are amazing pre-fab kits that can be change one's backyard into an urban oasis of leisure and chicness.

The challenge would be whether it'd turn into a retreat for the male species or mine...

Fun Find

While sauntering through the shops of a local neighborhood this afternoon, I saw what I hope will be a fun new craft/project -- these terrific iron-on fabric transfers from Sukie:

Immediately I thought of adding them to onesies, tote bags, and possibly curtains. Some of the reviews comment that it's difficult to get them to work well, but I figure that I'm up to the challenge.

Inspiration Realized

The "red balloon" birthday party has come and gone, thank goodness. A great time was had by all, and I was able to translate most of what I wanted into decor and fun. Most importantly, it didn't rain. Clouds threatened, but we enjoyed a semi-balmy lunch outdoors with plenty of room for active toddlers to run.

The all important "red balloons" and homemade banner in the living room:


Gorgeous red dahlias from our local farmer's market:


I started creating pinwheels a few days ago to add to the red balloon decor. After prepping two dozen large and small sheets of paper, I realized that I would never be successful (in this life) in getting the pinwheels put together correctly. So a quick change in plan was required and we ended up hanging the pinwheels (minus stick) from the trellis and picnic table umbrella:

I fondly remember as a child my mom would place a small basket overflowing with M&Ms next to each place setting at our birthday parties. This group gathered today was certainly not in need of more sweets since we dug into a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cake and already sugared-up children didn't need to miss their afternoon naps from an "excellent sugar rush".

But, I do like favors, so we created magnets out of the photo we took of GT (used on the Evite) and wrapped them up in simple kraft boxes. They were a hit!

Here is a shot of my new, very useful potting bench that we served drinks from - keeping things simple, we provided Pellegrino, Sangria and Pink Lemonade. This is a tad messy as it's near the end of the celebration.

Birthday Inspiration Board

My little man, GT, is turning 3 in a few days. Although we're celebrating with a rather low-key family party consisting of burgers on the grill, presents and ice cream cake, I wanted to incorporate something sweet that reflects this stage of life.

One of his favorite things is to play with balloons and so this year's party theme is based on one of my childhood flicks, "The Red Balloon". I have a copy on hand should we need to subdue the restless youngins in the event of rain.

I absolutely love the following photos used as invitations for this young man's birthday. A link to Armelle's wonderful blog is found here.


We spent this past Sunday afternoon working on our own re-creation of La Ballon Rouge. Here is our big birthday boy posing around our neighborhood:

No party is complete without the right music. Look no further than the music from Amelie

and Putamayo's French Playground:

I'm hoping to get some fun photos of the actual celebration to post and reveal how it all came together. Wish me luck!

New Project - COMPLETE

Now that the sun has come up and is shining on our back porch, I can reveal the potting bench paint job:

I'm very happy with it and looking forward to using it, in particular, for my son's 3rd birthday party at the end of the week.

New Project

For the last two months, I've been in search of a potting bench for our back porch... not so much for potting plants as for entertaining in the backyard.

Most options have been far too expensive to justify, and just as I began to let hope die, we happened up on a FREE potting bench while walking through the neighborhood this past weekend.

My husband, with baby in backpack, declared that 1/2 a mile wasn't too far to carry it and off we went. I was blissfully content as I pushed the toddler in his stroller the rest of the way home.

Typically I get easily distracted from my fun projects by the mundane, tedious things like laundry, dishes, etc, but Saturday I excitedly went straight to the store to purchase my new paint, some sand paper and primer. 3 hours later we had a fantastic serving/entertainment table. Photo of the makeover to be posted tomorrow.