I love red, white and blue front porches.  There is something about driving through a small old fashioned town that is all decked out for Memorial Day or on the 4th of July that feels cozy and welcoming.  I was looking through some ideas on the web and love these ones!!  I had planned on making my own wreath for the front door and adding a cute chair with a pillow for this weekend but with the birthday party tomorrow I have just been too busy.  But I will be prepared for the 4th!! 

       

I love free things don't you?  Making invitations with things you already have is such a great feeling.  I came up with a really great way for a pocket invitation using an envelope. 


                               

You must try these sloppy joes.  They are so yummy and so simple!!

Ingredients: 

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 small onion , chopped
1/2c chopped celery
1/4c chopped bell pepper
1 can red fat, red sodium tomato soup
1/2c ketchup
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
8 Whole Wheat buns



   
Serve on a whole wheat bun!


Linking up @ Mouthwatering Mondays
                      Tasty Tuesday
                      Tuesday Tastes
                Tuesdays at the Table
                     Foodie Friday

So, thank you to Barb from Santas Gift Shoppe and to Meg at A Little Knick Knack




                                               1) Thank the person who gave you the award


                                               2) Tell 7 things about yourself (in your blog)


                                     3) Pass the award along to 15 other blogs you think are fantastic. (Even though there are way more that deserve the award.
                                      
                           4) Contact the bloggers you've picked & let them know about the award.

Things about me:

1.  I am 29 years old

2.  I have a pug named Charlie

3.   I love Mexican food

4.  I majored in Criminal Justice in College

5.   My favorite dessert is Cheesecake

6.  If I could vacation anywhere I would go to Italy

7.  Click on my other Awards to read more about me:)

And now onto the 15 bloggers I am passing this award onto:

1.  Nancy @ A to Zebra Celebrations
2.  Michelle @ Between Cottage and Cabin
3.  Donna @ Casa Rue 2658
4.  Melody @ Cheat Day Cafe
5.  Traci @ Choose2live: Choose Health
6.  The Crafting Chicks
7.  Rebecca @ Growing Up Our Style
8.  Allison @ House of Hepworths
9.  Gay @ It's A Hodgepodge Life
10.  Kristin @ Kristin's Craft Corner
11.  Maple Memories Craft House
12.  Kelly @ Much To Do With Nothing
13.  Alison @ Oopsey Daisy
14.  Kristen @ Pajama Mama
15.  Londen @ Sixty-Fifth Avenue

What a neat idea to give each child their own mini- cakes.  These baseball cakes are cute.

We are throwing a party for 2 of our kids next weekend.  We will be having a Bug Themed party.  But while searching for ideas and inspiration I came across some amazing kids parties.  I thought I would share them with you :) 


   

I got online today to find I have reached 100 followers!!!!  
I am so excited and so honored to have reached so many
followers.  I have truly enjoyed every comment.  Your comments
make my day!  When I started this blog it was a place for me to
keep all my ideas and or projects in one place and have the
opportunity to share these with you.   But never thought that
those following would have impacted and encouraged me like 
you have.  I have really enjoyed checking out your blogs too!  You  inspire so much of what I do. 

I now want to celebrate!!  So I am looking for a giveaway.  You deserve one.   I do have an idea for one but would love to hear your ideas (since this will be my first).    Let me know:) 

I am not huge on wallpaper.  Mostly because of the effort to put it up.  But also because I change decor in my home so often that the chore of taking wallpaper off the walls would make me cry.  However I fell in love with this wallpaper that was in our hotel bathroom.
 

It is funny how we can be so unmotivated to get going on a decorating project until we are inspired by something.  Well last weekend I went to Marshalls, I LOVE Marshalls!  I bought a new clock, decorative green balls and found an adorable wooden plack.  Oh yeah I had also found an end table for only $10 at Goodwill a while back.

One of the biggest turn offs for scrapbooking is the overwhelming task of organizing photos, whether developed on the computer or on cd’s. There really is no short cut but I can promise you that it is very rewarding after it is done.



The very first step is to gather all photos in one spot and begin piling in different categories based on what make sense to you. I do not scrapbook every photo I get developed. I scrapbook about a ¼ of the photos I take. When I am separating photos any that will not be scrapbooked get put directly into a traditional photo album.

Photos can be categorized a few different ways.


1. By event:       Wedding              Vacation               Birthdays             Holidays

                         Baby Birth            Reunions              Sports                  School
                       

2. Date                         Month/Year     or         Season/ Year



3. One nice thing about the computer is when pictures are downloaded the computer automatically loads them in order from the date taken. Print them in order and they will already be chronologically!!

Make a date and set aside the time needed to get those photos organized!  If you have a post or any ideas that have worked for you I would love for you to share them.  Leave a comment with a link or the idea.