Preppin' for the Party-Almost There!

We're in the home stretch now!  Here's what we've been up to lately...and to catch up to see where we've been, click here.

Touch Up Paint/Power Wash House

Check & Check!

Assemble fire pit (#2)

{looks just like this one!}
Our first one had some broken tiles so the company sent us a replacement.
Good news, we have two fire pits.
Bad news, had to put another one together!

Plant bulbs and more flowers

I planted over 40 summer blooming bulbs in this empty corner of the yard.

They are already showing some promise (and weeds).

{cute baby bunny}

I decided not to plant any more flowers at this time and just enjoy the ones we have.

They're looking pretty good.

Replace bad deck board(s) and steps.

Hubby did this one. We had some left over wood under the deck that we re-used.  After doing one, he said he'd wait for the professional to do the others (who finally came--yay!) 

 Mr Professional replaced the steps for us.

 He was able to use some of the old wood too (we have a two tone look).

 They are much sturdier and safer now!

 Hubs decided to stain them before the party (and this forgotten area)

 I love how they look!

Hang lights

The ones on the deck weren't too hard but we wanted to string some from the trees back to the house. Our yard slopes steeply down a hill into the woods so it's not easy to get to the trees.  We tied a string to the lights and tied a rock to the string.  Hubs threw it over the branch and then used a rake to pull the rock on the string toward us and position the lights were we wanted them. Then he staked the string to the ground.

 

Can't wait to see it all lit up!

A few other projects we've been working on...

What are you up to?
Are you sick of this party prep yet? (I am!)

Linking up with:
Tabletop Tuesday
Sunday Showcase

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Friday Phone Dump Week 23

I took lots of camera phone pics this week.  Here's one from last week that I forgot.

{the mamarazzi, armed and ready for graduation}

Photo a Day in June Challenge

1) Morning 2) Empty 3) On Your Plate

4) Close Up 5) Sign 6) Hat

7) Drink 8) 6 o'clock 9) Best Bit of your Weekend

row 1)* Morning coffee and hydrangeas*Daughter and her curls(see hat above)*Strawberries in my thrifted colander*

row 2)*At my daughter's school library for a presentation*Hut tubbing with hubby*Trying a new wine (Babble=good)*

row 3*)Hubs hanging lights for grad party(edit, also "my view today" in photo challenge)*Finishing up the lights*Arranging my hydrangeas*

row 1)*At daughter's presentation*A surprise gift from Dad, her own left-handed bass guitar*Me, helping with the lights*

row 2)*Bulbs I planted are coming up!*Photo a Day prompts*Liking my garden"

row 3)*Macro shots of flowers*

I sure had fun with my camera phone this week! I hope you enjoyed the photos too!

Follow me on Instagram

@heather_ourlife

Linking up with:

Iphoneography

a good life

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{Recipe} Vegan Chocolate Tart

We got to try out my old new thrifted tart pan at our wine tasting/review/food pairing/belated birthday celebration.

The teen followed this recipe video by Holy Vegan.

The filling was made with tofu and it was silky, creamy and chocolately.  {Healthy, to boot!}

It was great on its own and would have made a great pudding or mousse.

Our only itty bitty complaint was that the crust was not as crispy as we would have liked. The original recipe was made into four little tarts but we made one big one and probably should have pre baked the crust a little longer..obviously it wasn't that big of a complaint.

I really want to try out some more tarts. Do you have any good tart recipes you'd like to share?

Linking up with:

Welcome To the Weekend

Thursday Favorite Things

Friday Favorites

Sweet Saturday

Twice Owned Tuesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

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Things Loved Right Now

These three

{That goes without saying.}

She did it!

Stash Licorice Spice Tea

If you like licorice (and I do!), you will love this stuff!  

It's sweet and calorie (and caffeine)-free.

Imagine Organic Soups

I found a creamy tomato soup for my veganista daughter(that she really likes!). 

They have other flavors that she hasn't tried yet, will keep you posted.

Bic Wite-Out Mini

This twist cap rocks my world!

Trader Joe's Bistro Biscuits

I found these tasty cookies at Trader Joe's for just .99c.  They are supposed to be exactly like the popular Biscoff cookies (which I have not tried--yes I live under a rock!) but cheaper. woo hoo!

Spa Water

You've probably seen this all over Pinterest and the internet. 

Fill up a pitcher of water, add one cucumber-peeled and sliced, one lemon-sliced and some mint leaves. Leave in the fridge overnight for best taste. It's so refreshing and yummy, the girls and I couldn't get enough of it.  We felt pampered, I tell ya.

I'm borrowing this Instagram photo that my daughter took, and speaking of Instagram...

Instagram

 I'm having so much fun on IG.  I'm even participating in a Photo A Day in June Challenge.

If you'd like to follow me, I'm @heather_ourlife.

The challenge is #photoadayjune

Whatchyou lovin' on lately?

Linking up with:

Wordless Wednesday @ Sakura Haruka

Wordless(ish) Wednesday @ The Paper Mama

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