Backyard Makeover: Part 1

DIYMy hubby has a flair for landscapes. He's just darn good at it! He's worked his magic at every house we've lived at, and this one is no different. Now that the weather has been nice , we've been itching to do some work in our backyard!

When we lived in southern California, we rented a house that had a gorgeous backyard already and our favorite thing about it was it's pergola.

We wanted one for our house here in TN. Did we know how to build one? Nope. But that didn't stop us.

Here's the patio before:

And here it is during the building of the pergola:

And finally....it's done!

Now, of course, I still have to accessorize it, but I LOVE it!

If you want to build one, there are videos and plans all over the internet.

Now on to planting shrubs, spreading mulch and staining the fence.

More backyard transformation to come!

Linking to DIY Day and Transformation Thursday.

Chalkboard labels

I bought these banana leaf baskets a few months ago to try and corral all the papers that come home with the kids everyday from school. They are the perfect size to hold their folders and they keep everything somewhat organized. I usually put every paper the kids bring home in the baskets and then go through them every couple weeks and pick out a few things to keep. The rest is trashed or recycled. As you can see in the pic, it's time to clean them out again! It's a good way to balance keeping a few pieces but not feeling like everything goes from backpack to trash! I've been meaning to make some tags for them, and have finally done it! I decided to make some chalkboard tags and it was super easy!
All I did was cut out the rectangles (I used a Capri Sun box!), paint them with chalkboard paint and attach with a ribbon!

It's amazing how just having them labels makes them look so much better and more organized! Now I must go and and throw some things away!

Linked to Met Monday .

A Day at the Zoo

I have been a horrible blogger lately. There have been so many things I wanted to share, but have been too busy to do it!

It's been Spring Break this week, so we have gotten some projects done and had a lot of fun with the kids.

We decided to check out the Nashville zoo.

This was one of our favorite exhibits.

The kids loved feeding these beautiful birds. Kris even convinced one to sit on his arm.

Emma let it sit on her shoulder for a minute.

Konnor was happy to just look at the bird.

Brady was about 1/16 of an inch away from poking it!

Konnor took this pic of Emma and Kris in the bamboo forest.

The other favorite exhibit had to be the petting zoo. Why people want to pet smelly dirty farm animals is beyond me, but kids like it.

Speaking of farm animals, we brought home this goat

and this one

and also this little boy!

We had a great time!

They got a new coat

of paint, that is. I've had this little elephant for a long time. It was fine the way it was, but I really wanted something a little different, so I spray painted it cream.

Now I love it.

I found these two mismatched candle bases at GW. The silver one is not bad the way it is, but I wanted them to match.

So I gave them a coat of silver metallic spray paint. Now they are great accents in my girl's room!

What do you have in your home that you can reuse by giving it a new coat of paint?

Linked a little late to DIY day and to Transformation Thursday.

Easy Potato Soup

Although spring seems to be around the corner, there are still chilly days when soup seems to be just the right thing for dinner!

For those kind of days, I wanted to share this potato soup recipe that my friend gave me.

Here's all you need:
1 bag of frozen diced potatoes
1 box of chicken broth
1/2 large block of Velveeta cheese
1/2 pint of heavy cream

All you do is simmer the potatoes in the chicken broth for about 10-15 minutes.

Then, you add the Velveeta and cream. Once everything is incorporated and heated through, you are done!

You can add bacon, scallions, or my favorite, crusty bread.

This may be the easiest soup I have ever made!

18 months

This boy keeps me so busy. He is an explorer for sure.

He loves books.

I love him.

I can't believe it's already been 18 months since he entered our world!