To the beach we go...

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It's been blistering hot here in Southwestern Ontario and our list of options to do on a hot humid day are limited...So we decided to check our Summer Bucket List and on a last minute decision I decided the beach was our next venture. The day was slightly overcast, but it was perfect for a 4 month old who can't wear sunscreen...

That is probably the hardest part about a summer baby...shade is sometimes hard to come by and they get so hot sitting in their car seat!!

Anywho, what made the day even more perfect was that my best friend was back in our neck of the woods for a visit. She's currently ( I say currently, because I am convinced that one day she will return to Canada!) living in England, which is way to far away for frequent visits! This is the first time she's met Westyn and only the third time she's seen Gray!

So we packed up the car and headed to the beach!!

I forgot to pack the beach toys-empty margarine containers and plastic spoons do the trick as last minute sand pails and shovels!

"Why does Gray get to play in the sand and I don't?"

Aww...my heart is melting!

Surprisingly, the water was BRRR!

So many stones to choose from!

Were just as crazy as ever!

Ad Swap

I've been contemplating the idea of advertising my blog/and or Etsy shop on a few of my fellow bloggers pages. It would be a great and not so expensive way to get Imprintalish out there, both my blog and Etsy shop could benefit. I love gaining new followers and reading comments from people all around the world. Who doesn't love getting comments on their blog?! I also love finding new blogs to read. Like I have all the time in the world to read blogs, hah! I wish I could make reading blogs my full time job! Anyway, I'm kinda rambling...

But after reading about an Ad Swap over at After Nine to Five, I thought what a great idea! I could try out some advertising on my own page and do some free advertising on someones else's page? What do you think? Anyone interested? I'd like to have it all up and running for the month of August.

Leave a comment with your blog link if you might be interested!

Sometimes I Need a Minute

 

My beautiful summer flowers before the heat wave arrived

There is a scene in the Sex in the City #2 movie where Charlotte hides in the pantry and cries because she is so frustrated with her children. I cry everytime I watch it, because I've been there. Aside from Charlotte wearing a white skirt while baking chocolate cupcakes with her two little girls, I would say this is a realistic portrayal of life as a mom of two.

But that's just my opinion :)

I wish I had a pantry to hide in and cry, but my bathroom is just as good. When things are all bottled up inside, my neck muscles tighten and the tears start to flow, the bathroom is my safe spot. It gives me that extra minute to breath and return to my day with a clear head. Those nasty negative thoughts creep in and spoil everything and its sometimes hard to keep a cool head. Post pregnancy hormones? Could be. Lack of sleep? Could be. My inner 'devil' is competing with my inner 'angel'... taunting me to scream and freak out. Although it is hard at the time, I know who will win in the end and I keep trucking on, smile in place.

It just takes a minute...or five.

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Mmmm Pizza...

Summer is fantastic for backyard get togethers, beach days, pretty flowers and BBQ food definitely fits in there somewhere! I love the smell of burgers, steak and charcoal in the air on a warm evening! But have you tried BBQ pizza? Mmmm...soooo good....homemade pizza is great at the best of times, but on the BBQ it is fantastic!!!



Broccoli, onions and red pepper for the grown ups!



Triple cheese blend and a bit of onion for the toddler!

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Spaghetti Hearts

I was just about to get Gray in trouble for playing with his spaghetti, when he pointed to this...

"Mamma...heart."

Really?! My two year old made the shape of a heart out of spaghetti...how could I get him into trouble after that?

Gray-pre haircut!

8 years

Then-

It's hard to believe that 8 years ago today, our life together began on this small beach in southwestern Ontario. It was an unbelievably perfect day, and I will never forget this day as I married my best friend. The past 8 years haven't been a smooth, uncomplicated ride, but part of marriage is taking the good with the bad. And we have had plenty of good! Two handsome little boys prove that life just gets better and better.

Now-

To my best friend- my generous, loving, forgiving husband- I LOVE you just as much as the day I said I DO!

DIY Yarn Light

I am not sure on the source for this photo, sorry!

I love the look of the light fixture in the photo above, but I am pretty sure it would cost me over 3 months of morgage payments! Then I saw this idea over here at Pickles and it has been on my craft list ever since. There are not many ceiling fixtures in our old house and the ones we do have are ceiling fans. One of those ceiling fans is in Gray's room and thought I was out of luck at trying to do anything somewhat cool to it, because the fan is very practical on hot summer days! But then I saw this over at House Tweaking- and immediately thought of the yarn light off my craft to do list- so I combined the two ideas into one!

DIY Yarn Light

What you'll need:

A medium sized beach ball- I found one at Walmart for $3.95

Base to sit the ball on- I used a small bowl

Vaseline

Ball of Yarn

Large bowl

2 bottles of white glue

1 cup of corn starch

1/2 cup of water

Lots of newspaper

Clear spray paint/adhesive

1. Put down lots of newspaper or a tarp-it gets very messy!Set the ball on top of a small bowl. I used this as a guideline for the opening where the light bulb would hang. Coat the ball in Vaseline so the yarn doesn't stick to the ball.  

2. Mix together the glue, water and cornstarch in a large bowl. I originally made half the recipe and then had to make more halfway through. You may have to alter the recipe depending on the size of ball and how much yarn you want to use. Just make sure the mixture is on the thicker side.

3. Coat the yarn in the glue mixture. As a side note- I ended up with clumps and knots of yarn so many times that I was swearing and not having much fun! If I were to do this again, I would only put a few feet of yarn in the bowl at a time and maybe use a spoon to drag over top of the yarn to remove the excess. Or better yet, enroll a friend so you can make an assembly line!

4. I started with wrapping yarn around the bottom of the ball/top of bowl and then went up and down from there. All of the tutorials I read said to start vertically and then end with wrapping around the ball. I just wrapped and moved the yarn around until it looked right. Because I ended up with so many knots, I actually had to cut the yarn and start again. I just made sure to secure all the ends by wrapping the end underneath other pieces of yarn. This is where the photos ended, as it got toooo messy!

5. Set the ball aside for 24 hours. Then prick the ball with pins. I poked about 4 or 5 holes and waited for it to deflate. Remove the ball through the opening at the bottom. Step back and admire your magnificent handywork!

6. Hang the ball outside and spray with clear spray paint. Again, step back and admire your magnificent handywork!

7. To hang from ceiling fan, I removed the original light casing and tied 3 pieces of wire to the screws that held in the light. I attached the wires to the yarn light and voila! Again, step back and admire your magnificent handywork!

Final thoughts- I LOVE how it turned out! I may have been doing it through gritted teeth, but it was totally worth it!

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