I LOVE SUMMER, SUMMER, SUMMERTIME!!



My new obsession: BOUNTIFUL BASKETS! For $15 (+$1.50 for shipping per order) you can get all this! It would cost you nearly twice as much at the store and it does not have as many pesticides. Just go to http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ on Monday 10a.m. to order yours, pick a site near you, pick up on Saturday a.m.  I have cut my grocery bill in half the last 2 months since I've been devouring this delicious, healthy food.  I only go to the grocery store for dairy, and the hostess store for bread,  now that I have a freezer full of beef and fresh produce to eat fresh or freeze.  They do also have bread, and other in-season extras you can add to your order.  Also, I feel I'm giving back to the community supporting local grown farmers and volunteering at the ALA site almost every week along side my sis-in-law who is also well organized and runs that site.  Hope to see you there!




One of my other fav's is gardening! I love working in the yard alongside my hard-working husband and sometimes very helpful children.  I got so many beautiful limes this week in my basket I arranged them in a vase, but when I put them on the table, something was missing.  So as I weeded my way around the yard I had one of those AHA moments, and cut some of my daisies to make an arrangement. Turned out pretty cute, I think!




So, on my way home from ALA (basket site) I go to my favorite S.A.G.S. gas station on 6th North in S.F. for a mixed drink (Diet Dr.Pepper over crushed ice with a splash of Toasted Marshmellow Syrup. Hey, don't knock it, till ya try it. My friend got me hooked, and we are now convinced it's the 24th missing flavor.) It's my one vice! Then I see all these signs for yard sales on Main Street. So I think to myself, if I see something on the way home I will stop. I hit the Car Wash, turned the corner to one address I remember, (I used to remember more-getting old I guess), and I see this cute desk!  I was actually looking for a table for our patio, but I saw this and loved it!  I figure I could put the table that my sewing machine is on now outside and have the handy-hubby drill a hole in it for the umbrella I already bought 2 weeks ago at Sam's Club for $26. and sand and paint this off-white, antique it, and decoupage scrapbook paper on the fronts of the drawers for my craft room. Brilliant right!?! And I only paid $8 and, it's old sturdy wood, not that laminate crap!

 So lots of fun ideas, making my Summer a lot more BLISSFUL!

No more junk in the trunk!

We are heading out for vacation this week, before we leave we are making sure we are certainly prepared.

Make a trunk emergency kit!

In an old duffel bag put: jumper cables, flares, a flashlight, batteries, a first aid kit, a whistle, screwdrivers (flathead and a Phillips), small shovel, ice scraper, cap, scarf, gloves, blanket, waterproof matches, candles, and most important, a bright yellow poncho-to make you visible to other drivers rain or shine.

Also not forgetting enough DVD's, coloring books & crayons, road sign games, and a cooler full water bottles (with names on them-less fighting) and healthy snacks!

Hopefully if you are prepared, you won't need to use the emergency kit, but it always brings peace-of-mind if something does, making your vacation more blissful!

Garage got you down?

Before you rush out and buy bins & shelving.....

 ...pick a sunny day & clear out all belongings.
Make a decision!  If you haven't use it in a year, does it make sense to keep it?
-What stays
-What can be donated
-What can be sold
-What can be thrown away

Store things close to where you need them, and in logical places.
For example bike helmets with the bikes, gardening tools and pots together, and obviously tools all in one convenient spot, and so on.
For items you need occasionally, such as holiday decorations, consider overhead storage, and color-coordinating bins.
You can also store some things outside.
Consider a deck box for children's toys-water guns, balls, sandbox toys, jumpropes, sidewalk chalk, and such.
Don't forget to sweep the corners as you go, and then give one cleen sweep when everything is in its place making the garage a more blissful extension of your home!