{sunshine & summertime}

Happy Memorial Day to you!!!
I love these summer holidays.....cook-outs, sunshine, friends, children......just so much fun:) Just look at all the flowers starting to bloom.

Everything looks prettier when the flowers start to bloom!

I even had time to do a little craft this weekend......

and the best thing about summer is being able to do a little crafting OUTSIDE:)

Even the birdies need a beachy little place to raise their babies:)
Simple and cute! Just paint a preformed birdhouse and hot glue some shells on it!

Yesterday we went up to our friends house!

Did I mention they live on a local lake! How nice:)

We had so much fun.......

I definately feel so lucky to have such wonderful friends.

It sure makes life all the better when you surround yourself with other positive, happy and caring people:)

And she has the cutest children:)

Children growing up on the lake.......how nice! They will sure be thankful for that someday..

I like these photos....I should call it.....before the sun and after:)

Should have followed the advice of Jane of Artfully Graced and wore a little sunscreen:)
Owell.....it isn't very often that we actually get to see the sun here in Indiana.

Here I am dreaming of the when simpledaisy takes off enough for me to buy....

this.....

Ok...probably not realistic. But hey a girl's gotta dream, right!?!?!?

But really all I ever need in life is a little sunshine and some flip flops:)


All in all......we had ourselves one fabulous day!

Thanks Jeff & Jamie.....we are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives:)

And my husband and I .........

If you knew my husband then you'd know by the smile on his face......that he too had a really fun day:)

Hope you had a really great Memorial Day weekend too!

See you next week for the simpledaisy give-away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." unknown

{Fresh Friday}

Hello and Happy Friday to you:)
It sure has been a week.
If you knew me.....you'd know that I am the kind of person that tries to fit way too many things into my life and also into my day:)
I am the total opposite of a procrastinator! I want to do it alllllll.....and I want to do it right now!! Especially when the temperature starts to rise and the sun starts to show it's pretty little face!
Whew....
but I am also completely happy being that way...I am an accomplisher kind of person and am most happy when I am accomplishing things! I just need about 4 more hours in my day to do everything I really want to do.

OK....
Enough about that except that I am happy that I spent all of that time last autumn planting all of those darn bulbs....
because look how cute {at least I think} the walkway to my front door looks now:)

I think the front entrance is the most important. It's the first thing visitors lay their eyes on when they come to my home and I think it's a reflection of me.
I think my front entrance says....she's cottagy...simple....happy....loves blue and is slightly beachy:)
I also like the colors of the flowers around the front entrance this spring!!
Yellow, pink and blue.....such a happy little combination.

Midwestern springs really are all about re-birth. Things pop up that you forgot you had, baby animals are all around...

see this little guy I found in my back yard:)

How cute.....who cares if he, his siblings and his mother eat every darn plant I have in my yard. I am happy just to see such cute baby animals!

It's just a really happy time.....my heart is so much happier when the weather is warmer:)

And I love how when the weather starts to warm, all I want to do is eat SALADS:)

You know by now, I don't think cooking should be complicated and I rarely use a recipe.

If you know what you like then you can just think of a million different combinations! You can tell I am on a blackened Mahi kick!

and all you need to do is buy the freshest produce that works with your budget....oh and splurge on your cheese and go cheap on your wine when necessary:) The wine was only $4 from wally world...that's Walma*t if you didn't get it.

Blackened Mahi Salad with Basil Mango Dressing

This salad was so flippin' good that it should have been illegal to eat it:) and the whole thing only took me 20 minutes to prepare. Perfect for the crazy week i've had!

For the salad.....
romaine
artichokes {from the can}
fresh green beans {steamed and then chilled}
organic feta
cucumbers

For the Mango Basil Dressing
1/2 a ripe mango
a little Chardonnay {that's what I was drinking}
basil
honey
white balsamic vinegar
Throw in the processor until it's a dressing

For the fish
mahi mahi
and the blackened seasoning I told you about here....
wrap it in foil and throw it on the grill for about 10 minutes.

Put it all together and you have this....

This was just so fresh tasting and ridiculously good...I can't even explain it...

Ok ... maybe it was just the wine that made it taste so good....haha:)

oh and I know a few of you have been asking for some crafts....trust me...I have a bazillion ideas but no time right now!!

Maybe you can just make up some of these!

I told you about them a long time ago but maybe you forgot:)

anywho wine charms and they are super simple to make....
pick out the tiny beads that you like
pick out a wine charm that you like
get some of those hoop earrings
and just add the beads to the hoop earrings!!!
Oh you might have to bend the earring just a bit to get the beads on.
but such a simple craft to do and they make GREAT hostess gifts when paired with a nice bottle of wine!!!
Have a splendid weekend!! I'll still be working on the darn laundry room but it's shaping up to be pretty darn cute:)

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month."
- Henry Van Dyke, Fisherman's Luck, 1899

{fabulous}

Good Morning!!
What a wonderful week it's been.
The weather has been in the high 70's and life is good! I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief again.
Yesterday I stumbled upon the mecca of garden stores!!
and it's only about an hour away from my house!!! YEAH....
They had every spring flower imaginable all in perfect little rows:)
Everything smelled of spring...
I was in bliss....but as if that wasn't good enough.....I walk inside to the most amazing little grocery store!
I wanted to buy everything there....but I ended up with a sweet little Dash and Albert rug {for my laundry room....another project I need to get around to} and a bottle of wine! yes, they even had wine!! Amazing place! It's called the Sawyer Garden Center...if you happen to live in the area....you HAVE to go check it out! I know i'll be a frequent customer:)

I picked up some beach rocks and drift wood and put them around my happy little pansies:)

More happy little pansies!! It's great that I have even been able to plant anything:)

The fish are starting to move.....

The daffodils are starting to bloom:)

and i've been wearing sandals:)

Life is good! I don't think I could be any happier if I tried!! Hope all is well with you!

Have a super happy weekend!!!!!

"The aim of life is to live and to live means to be aware - joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware." Henry Miller