pumpkin name settings

If you are in charge of Thanksgiving this year or want a fun get together with friends or family. This ideas is sure to get your guest talking.  This simple ideas was found at Better Homes and Garden. I love it because it is so simple and a fun gift for your guest to take home.

transform your pumpkin

What guest wouldn't love to serve themselves from this fun pumpkin punch bowl. Hollow out a pumpkin, scraping the side well to remove all the seeds and pulp before filling. Fill with cider and sliced apples. Serve in canning jars with a cinnamon stick.

This is such a fun way to serve chip at a fall get together with friends and family. So simple and so impressive that you will have your guest talking.

These are some of my favorite ideas to do with pumpkins that can use all season long. I found both ideas at Better Homes and Garden. They also have some more amazing ideas.

Now get creative we would love to see what you can do.



eggplant parmesan

I love Italian food especially when it is made with fresh ingredients. This is one of my favorite dishes it is so light and yummy, made with my favorite things from my garden, tomatoes, eggplant, basil, and garlic. So lets get started.

You will need:
1 lg. eggplant (smaller ones work great for side dishes too.)
2 cloves of garlic
1 lg. tomato
olive oil
5 basil leaves
shredded Parmesan cheese

Start by washing and cutting your eggplant into half the log way. Scoop or cut out the inside of the eggplant leaving just the skin. Chop the eggplant that you removed from the skin into small cubes. Cut the tomato into small cubes and mince garlic as well. Set a side and preheat oven to 350*. In a small pan you are going to heat up about 4 tbs of olive oil and begin to saute your garlic for about 1 min just enough to season the oil. To the pan add your eggplant and season with salt and pepper to your liking. Cook the eggplant for 2 min and remove from heat. Add chopped tomatoes to the eggplant mixture and chopped basil as well. Scoop the eggplant mixture into the eggplant shell. Top with Parmesan and bake for 10-15min. until cheese is browned and eggplant is soft.

Enjoy!

flower bed flag

I love flowers and was on the hunt. I had this idea. Lets make of flower flag!

All you really need is flowers in red, white and blue and a little space for your flag.

I can't wait to see how it looks in a few weeks when all the space as filled in.

We had such a fun time doing this all together and take great pride in our family flag. We definitely feel more patriotic and are reminded of our blessing of freedom and grateful for the men and women who put their lives on the line for us daily. Thank you!!

backyard fairy garden

At the beginning of the year we like to look for fun days to mark on our calendar through out the year.  Coming up on June 24th is one of our favorite backyard activities.  It is fairy day!  This is our day to create a little magic fairy garden that appears that some tiny creature is living there.

This is last years flower fairy garden we created in a round pot.  There is so much room for creativity.  We built a little house out of the end of a post with a little roof nailed on top and then covered with moss.   We planted some small flowers like alyssum and lobelia .  We glued on some more moss and grapevine sticks and added  some other little trinkets, butterflies, and glass rocks from the dollar store (this was a great place to find supplies for this project) or things that we found around the house.  We made a little table and a bench with wood scraps.  Ours was pretty simply but you could get as detailed and creative as you would like.  With a little water this will last all summer.  We found that Polly Pocket was the perfect size to play in our fairy garden.   Your could create a woodland fairy house under a shady tree or a secret fairy house that seems that no one would find it unless they looked closely.  There are so many fun ideas our girls love to image and create it.

fun outdoor chalkboard

I found this at Creative Crate last year and have been trying to figure out a way to make this work in our yard.  We don't have a fence right now but I really love this idea.  This is a great way to use sidewalk chalk without it being all over your front walkway.  Stacie has a little explanation on how she did it.  Very cute.

house number flower pots

I have seen several ideas for house (or apartment) number flower pots and thought it was such a great idea.  Every time I see them I love them.  I think that they add such cute character to your front porch or front yard.  They could be adapted to fit in any large or small space that you have.  I found this one I love at The DIY Show Off.  

Here is another great idea at Positively Splendid.  

made with love topiary

I love topiaries and I think that this would be a cute Mother's day gift. I found this great how to idea at design sponge. They have step by step instructions. You could also add some gardening gloves or supplies. So cute!

creamy cucumber dill sauce

Here is a recipe that we have had about once a week lately. One because we have had plenty of cucumbers in our garden and two because it is fast and easy when it is hot outside and I don't feel like cooking dinner. This is a creamy cucumber dill sauce that we have inside a tortilla or pita pocket bread with sliced tomatoes. If some of your family members are wondering where the meat is (most husbands) then this is also very good with shredded chicken (I really like it this way too).
This is one of my favorite summer meals.

Creamy Cucumber Dill Sauce

3-4 Large Cucumbers
1 Cup of Sour Cream
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon Vinegar (I use whatever I had on hand)
Onion (The original recipe called for one small onion but that is too much for me. I add just a little bit diced if I have one in the fridge or a little sprinkle of dehydrated onion.)
1 Tablespoon of Dill
Salt and Pepper to taste

Peal and slice cucumbers and mix all ingredients together. I have noticed that this is one of those recipes that tastes better when the flavors all have time to blend together so if possible let is sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. Hope you like it!

little BUG box

We are looking for little bugs to visit our bug box.

We made these little necklace bug boxes from empty spice or candy sprinkle jars. These already have the holes in the top for air and they are just the right size to tie a ribbon on and wear it around to watch your new bug friend.

We found a ladybug and then we added
some leaves and grass to help her feel cozy while she is visiting our bug box.



We found our idea here.

mr. leaf bug

While out weeding one morning we found this little bug. The girls called him leaf bug because he looked like a leaf. They had a great time watching him, finding sticks for him to crawl on, and playing hide-and-seek with him. It was such a simple thing but it was the highlight of our morning.

In the Family Fun Magazine in April they had a cute article on six reasons that your family should plant a garden. I know that most of you have already planted a garden if you are going to but it is better late than never. That is how we live most of the time at our house.
I am no expert gardener but we learn a little more every year mostly by trial and error. So weather you have a few small pots on your back porch or a large garden here are some on the fun benefits that I have found.

1. Gardening is a great workout. If you have ever spent a day planting, weeding, or digging you have felt this.

2. Gardening makes healthy eating fun and adds easy nutrition to your family's diet. I have one very picky eater that will try a lot of things from the garden because she helped plant it and because she can pick it herself. Some of our fun favorites are cherry tomatoes, peas, strawberries, and jack-be-little pumpkins (those cute little mini ones).

3. Gardening is hands on learning. Families can learn about seeds, beneficial bugs, composting, and photosynthesis to name a few. (I put families and not just kids because I am still learning about these things too.) Kids can also learn responsibility and have fun taking care of their own little garden, little pot, or plant.

We have gained a lot of information from our local extension office and also seed and garden stores. We found a great planting guide, some fun ideas to do with kids, and other good information.