choc aulait

I whipped up a teacher gift this week for youngest...

It all started with a gorgeous package of bon bons at our local TLC Gift Shoppe.  I was getting a charm for our Team Mom for youngest's baseball team and saw this for his teacher and it started me on my quest for her end of school year gift ensemble.  If you can see the tag on the chocolates it says...Choc Aulait and it reminded me of a set of coffee trunks I got on clearance at Kirklands.  I made her a little tag for the gift handle that reads...We like you Aulait!

The other night the guys came home with Subway drinks and sandwiches in this cute little 4 pack that looked easy to embellish.  I cut small strips of scapbook paper and got my fav. can of spray glue and had my packaging..

I had already found these cute sets of 2 pk cup holders at $1 Tree and I popped into Starbucks for a gift card that said Thank You.  I asked for a cup and straw when I got the gift card ...I used green easter grass paper scrunchie...I even tucked it into the cup with the gift card.

I asked the teacher to pop in as she was leaving school Friday and she was delighted to receive her token of our appreciation.

I'm so thankful for wonderful teachers that enrich the lives of my children!!  Sad that our district is cutting teaching staff for next year all over the district.

xox, DeniseMarie

Linking in at:
 Sundaes Scoop at I heart naptime

Thrift Share Monday at Apron Thrift Girl
Blue Monday with Smiling Sally
3 or more Tuesday at the Gypsy's Corner
Gratitude Wednesday at Heart and Home
Workin' with Wednesday at Me and My Bucket

Racoon Tail

Racoons...what would they be doing in our fireplace flue??

Who'd even believe this story if there wasn't picture evidence?!

We found a racoon mom and her 6 babies living in our fireplace this month.

This is our boys and neighbor girls and their parents scared the racoons will run right up and give them a fight.  lol... 

We had to trick the mom into our live trap outside on the roof so we could get the babies safely..

Hubby had to use our eye cam on a stick to see up into the place they were hiding to try to reach them...

it was quite the fight to get them out!

We could see them but not easily reach to them...

look at the 1 sticking his pink tongue out at Hubby...na na na na na...you can't catch me...

Don't be concerned...we got them safely to a natural reserve near our neighborhood and raced back to the top of our 2 story fireplace to cap it back off so she could NOT get back in again. 

this lil guy loved the accomadations at our place and wanted to come back with us...

We had to set him back into the area with his siblings and race home to...

make sure she didn't mistake our 2 story brick fireplace tower for a dead hollowed out tree. 

Happy Pink Saturday with Beverly at

How Sweet the Sound

xox, DeniseMarie

Kemah Boardwalk

Hubby and I took lil guy to Kemah Boardwalk last weekend while waiting to pick up oldest from a birthday party. This area is such a terrific place to walk around and hang out with beloved friends. People meet for birthday parties, fellowship and teenagers take their dates.  Everyone in the area brings out of town guests.

We spotted this choo-choo smoker cooking up sausages for sale on the front end of the boardwalk.  This section has a big outdoor area to watch and listen to live music, children's play ground and dancing water spikets that the kids run and play in.  It circles you back around to the rear of the boardwalk near the water.

Looks like there is a new attraction here to ride this boat..Boardwalk Beast around and see the area from the water vantage point.

  I truly envision my boys spending many nights here as teens.  This is the back end looking over the water where the boats all come trolling thru and past the boardwalk and restaurants that are all lined up.  There are carnival games and artists and duck feeding areas.

Looks like a new restaurant there in the middle of my picture named RED.

Here's the big, scary Boardwalk Bullet roller coaster.

Hope you enjoyed the tour!!

Happy Rednesday at Sue loves cherries

xox, DeniseMarie

Swap package

I'm having fun trying to finalize my Something old, something new...something borrowed, something blue swap package this week.  I hear there are like 75 of us that signed up for it so that means lots of girls are having fun!!  I borrowed this image from Linda at A Swap for all Seasons, the fabulous hostess of this adventure.  If you haven't stopped in there girls...it is worth your time.  She even has an old love/wedding song playing during her swap.

It's Blue Monday at Smiling Sally's place...come take a look,

xox, DeniseMarie

bloomin

This is my Kitchie window box.

I got the planter at a salvage yard here in Houston yrs ago and hubby just recently screwed it into the brick for me here. I hope the blooms get taller and much fuller so I can enjoy while I do dishes.  At least I get to drive up to it every time I go out. 

Yellow Lantana flanks the sides, purple lantana and yellow lilly in the middle and sweet potato vines with purple foliage in between.

Planter Love...Bloom girlies!!

Happy Weekend

xox, DeniseMarie

Beagle's Run

Here he is, Jack Beagle...checking his turf.

He has to make the rounds of the whole turf each time he goes out.  This is the back of the garage and garden shed which hides our mulch pile.  He loves when I go into the garden.  He gets in there and sniffs around for varmits.

If you let your beagle out to check his turf...

He'll have to come back in and lay on the cool tile floor.

Ahhhhh, that's better!

Hound Dog Thursday with Charlie at

A House with 2 Cats

xox, DeniseMarie

Happy B-day Bouquet

My dear friend's daughter had her 16th birthday last week so I whipped something up for her.

Gathering the goods..She is a girlie girl!!

Remembered to stuff a few thick pieces of packing paper down in the long shaft and added remnants of that $1 Stroe plant styrofoam.  It has to be grounded real tight to hold your skewers.  I got the awesome container at Kroger's grocer after Valentine's Day clearance knowing I'd use it for her.

Wow...could not believe how well I was able to get the stakes down into the container.  I LOVE cool Easter basket fluff so I buy all I can when it comes out.  Stuffed some pink fluff into the top so you can not see the guts.

the building of the beast.  Her mom told me some favorite candy and who wouldn't want some of those $1 girlie sock footies?  She loves zebra and has black and hot pink in her room.

it just takes a little finesse to check the sides and back and make sure it passes the test.

I pop dotted some pastel kisses all over too.

Socks, head gear, candy...Oh My!!

She loved it!!

This is her and I together at the baseball opening day.

Her lil brother is best buddies with my eldest.

xox, DeniseMarie

Show n Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Sundae Scoop at Chocolate Sundaes

Summer Dish Towel

I found a really cute dish towel recently at Tues A.M. and grabbed it up.  A few days later, my mom and I were at Hancock's Fabric and I got a 1/2 yard of pom-pom fringe on sale and waalaa!!

I had me a project to complete.

This will be a special gift.

Does anyone remember that I won that sweet pin cushion cupcake recently?  Well, I put it to use.  I hand stitched the fringe to the front of the towel.  I haven't done this type thing in a long time.  My mom has all the machines at her place and my machine is messed up.  I really want to get into sewing small projects. 

 

Looks like little lemons dangling off the towel. :-)

xox, DeniseMarie

Happy Rednesday!

Sue Loves Cherries...check her out 

What ya Working onWed

at Me & My Bucket

Elizabeth B. Ellis "Lib"

I got my Sprite bottle thru the mail from Mary Beth at Live.Laugh.Make Something

I bet none of you gals thought you could send a 2 liter bottle thru the mail. lol

Look at the paper she used.  Right up my alley.  I love pink and love snowmen.  Mary Beth's mom, Lib, loved Christmas so she wrapped my bottle in this paper.  Cute!!

It's a lot of fun trying to get into a bottle that has been locked up tight to get thru the mail.  lol

All the loot!!  let's learn about Lib..

She was born April 8, 1918 and passed on Dec 19, 1988.

She had Cancer so that is why I get 1 of the precious Cupcake for the Cure that Mary Beth made. 

She was a "Pink Lady" at the nursing home for years and volunteered at her church.

I think I get the gorgeous pink pin because she obviously loved pink and was voted best dressed in high school (as was Mary Beth and her daughter) is that cool or what.  The lady had class and knew how to pass it on!!

I got the lil Christmas ornament because Lib loved Christmas.  My mother-in-law is from Georgia where my bottle came from and she has made me some kinda similar ornaments before.

Lib was a fantastic cook like my Mother in Law so I got a whole pack of cute cherry recipe cards.

She loved "sneekers" and juicy fruit gum.  And, Mary Beth remembered to put her seed packet in before closing everything up.  I got Morning Glories.  Lib planted 3 fav's each Spring.

Mary Beth lives in her mamma's home still...isn't that cool!!

Ladies...enjoy the lingerings of Spring...Summers' A comin' soon!

xox, DeniseMarie

blue at our airport

Saw this at the Houston Intercontinental Airport this week when we brought hubby's parents to their departure flight.  I had to muffle my chuckle at the sight of it.

I think they must have had a lot to talk about with the oil spill right out side off the coast of LA.

Bad timing, huh.

Happy Blue Monday...girlies!!  go see what's up elsewhere with Sally

xox, DeniseMarie

Momma Love

It's Mother's Day Bottle Swap Reveal Party...

I'm so excited to share about my momma!!  She's always been a ROCK for me!!

We are totally different women but God put us together on purpose for sure.  I'm not sure I shared with Mary Beth...but my mom was a single mom and never got any help from anyone.  She sometimes was working 3 jobs to make enough money to raise 2 kids and pay rent.  I praise God that I learned her work ethic enough to get an Acct. degree and work and meet hubby and work until I had my boys and now I'm a SAHM.

This is the only pic I took of my pkg to Mary Beth.  LOL!  How did that happen?

My mom is into blingity bling!!  Everything has to sparkle.  So.. I put silver tinsel into the bottle and wrapped it in silver/white wrap.  I added a lime green label with the address and I think momma would approve.  My mom love fabrics, quilting, Memories of Yesterday figurines, beading and clothes.  Her obsession is gardening!!  I should have sent a seed pkg in my bottle ( you should have seen me trying to squeeze 1 thru the little bottle top). She loves to country dance with her beau and is into our Indian heritage which is her daddy's side of the family.  She's a Sassy Lassie!! 

   

Here she is, Leona Moyen, coming out to watch our yougest play baseball.

She was born in Leominster, Massachusetts and got to Texas and never looked back.  She dreams daily of retiring next year from book keeping and running the roads and traveling with her beu.

Here we are...my mom, her mom, me and my eldest!

Me with my youngest last summer for a museum outing.

Being a mom is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me.

I got to swap with Mary Beth at http://livelaughmakesomething.blogspot.com/

She's got a gorgeous blog and is very talented.  I was impressed and intimidated all in 1.  I see she's in love with fabric flowers and is very gifted with her crafting ability and scrapbooks too.  I sent her fabric and blingy yellow organza (mom's fav color).  A Mug with Leona's fav. motto: Live  Love  Laugh

I got my bottle Monday evening!  Yay..

I got my sassy momma a soft leather blue Kathy Van Zeeland purse for Mother's Day.

We got my Mother-in-law a Memory Foam Serta Mattress pad and pillows.

xox, DeniseMarie

Mother's Day Bottle Swap Party

at Down Home with MizMollye 

Helllloooo cupcake

FashionMista Pink Cupcakes

Hello Naomi flickr image..Yummo!

We took hubby's parents and oldest to Ginny Sue's bakery and found out my fav lil bakery in the hood got written up in the local papers and now everyone knows my lil secret!!

She has such diversity...whatever your heart fancies each time you step in.  We placed our order and got home with everything but my fav lil cupcake order..

Where's MY cupcake?? :-{

which to choose??  Cupcake and Cookie LOVE!

Crumbs Cupcake

Some days are

Who moved my cupcake days!!

xox, DeniseMarie

Blanket Parade

Howdy Girls!! 

In-laws still here. ;o}

Yes...I need to paint all the ballister rails Swiss Coffee White still.

But, could you just see past that and look at my lovely blanket parade?

There is not even 1 red rose on that multi-colored afghan but there was 1 made with only red roses on it that I let go of...I know, I know.  But, how many dozens can you keep in a little cottage?

The lil' guy is a baby quilt Mother-in-law made for my oldest that will be 13 soon.

The gorgeous "Texas style" red, white and blue pin-wheel Mother-in-law made for hubby and I years ago.  I think she appreciates that I have them on display.

Texas Love to all of ya!!

xox, DeniseMarie 

Let's head over to see REDs at Sue Loves Cherries for

Rednesday