It's my month!

     I do love this month, as Spring seems to really show itself with so many beautiful new flowers popping up, fresh green buds on the trees, and increased sunshine (at least in our state!)  Mother Nature isn't the only busy one however, as April has been exceptionally crowded with activities and deadlines.  I know how fast time flies, but it really zoomed by me this month.  I have been doing my usual juggling of being family manager, express courier, animal trainer, general contractor, landscaper, chef, and bootcamp-ee.  I personally celebrated another birthday (yay), and wrestled with the idea of doing a last minute event for Easter, which I did.  On top of all that, I have been working hard on building a website and designing for an upcoming children's birthday party in May.

     Easter was a small family event, but even so, I wanted to liven it up a little with some personality.  I had virtually no budget to do much, but I got lucky with some themed decorations at my local Dollar Tree as well as already having most of the items I needed to create my own Easter decor. 

     I started with my color palette, which was a selection of pastels in blue, green, lavender and pink.  White was the cohesive link to pull the colors together.  For my tablescape, I had a sweet little white tablecloth with blue edged cut-outs that I put on top of some cornflower-y blue flat sheets onto the dining table.  In the center I placed a white ceramic flower pot and tray which held the "Easter Tree".  I made it by trimming a few of the small branches off our own large cherry tree, and placing them in floral foam inside the pot.  Some of the Easter eggs the kids and I had dyed became the ornaments with the help of some fishing line and a glue gun :)
Our cherry tree along with our five apple trees came in handy again as I scraped the beautiful moss off their trunks for my natural Easter "grass".  I lay the moss along the mid-line of the table, (kind of like a table runner would sit.)  I arranged eggs along the moss, and the dishes were placed around these decorations.  For fun I put more Easter eggs around the edge of the flower pot tray, inside the branches and placed some chocolate bunnies inside the bottom edge of flower pot. I made a simple little "Happy Easter" banner out of cardstock circles I cut out (without use of a Cricut!), with glued on letters I printed off my computer and pastel blue yarn I already had.  The plates we used are beautiful China, and so perfect for the pastel palette!  I had an idea to fold some napkins into cute formal pocket folds, where I placed a fancy damask pattern card (blank inside and also from the Dollar Tree), in which I wrote a personal Happy Easter message to all guests.  A fun decorated cookie was placed with each napkin.

     The other related project I jumped on for some Spring-time fun, was making cookies themed for Easter.  I have this sugar cookie recipe I loooove and I use it whenever I have a reason to make decorated cookies!  So anyone who has done flooded cookies knows that it takes a little time, but it is so much fun and worth it in the end when your creations bring another level to your celebration.
 
     All in all, it was a laid back Easter but also a lot of fun because we all get so busy, sometimes we forget how a little extra decor can put you in the mood to celebrate!  The cookies definitely put a big smile on the kids' faces!  :-)  Lucky ducks got away with fun Easter baskets filled with their individual favorite candies, big bubble wands, and they each got kites to fly in the Spring winds!  As for the adults, they had smiles on their faces when presented with the feast of the afternoon.  A platter full of ribs with meat that slides off the bone, grilled chicken drumsticks, smoked bone-in ham, yukon mashed potatoes, golden corn bread, watermelon fruit basket and strawberry shortcake for dessert.

      I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter, and is enjoying a lovely Spring season!

Affectionately,
     Anna Banana

Pop the cork!!

    I want to celebrate a little....

     Officially, this is my very first blog.  Ever.  EVER.  Ok, that is, unless you count Myspace or Onlinejournal or FaceBook.  If you don't count those, then this is my first blog ever!  I have to admit, I would have liked to jump on the bandwagon of bloggers sooner, but it wasn't to be...
     I am excited to finally drag my reluctant fingers to the keyboard and start something I have been thinking about for the last several years.  ( I suppose having an infant who was actually born with velcro on his body, assuring a never-to-be-broken-connection to me could have put a pause on all that ).  Now that the aforementioned velcro has started falling off on its own, I picture oodles and oodles of ME time!  Maybe even 15 whole minutes!
     Of course it would coincide with a recent injury to my right hand, specifically my thumb.  One really does forget to be thankful for their thumbs.  They are powerful little digits that are sorely missed when recuperating from some idiotic, accidental screw-up by moi.  "Sprained" is such a vague term; demonstrating only what state of injury you have currently put a body part into.  It doesn't do justice to the juicy details of how one sprains their thumb.  Let's just say, when I did this...I mentally and physically recoiled from the sight of what a thumb just naturally should NOT do! *shudder*
     Even through the "blight on the right" I contend with these days, I was determined not to be thwarted in my goal of blogging.  So what if I have to type one-handed?  Some people type with their noses and I should be thankful that I have my left hand to type with!

     Ohkaaaay, on with my blogging...

     I love the internet.  I don't watch much TV but I can Google like a rockstar!
(Do rockstars even google?-they pay someone for that, right?)  So mix that love with a love of art and design, planning events, friendly gatherings and tada!... you get my desire to blog about them.
     I am joining the multitudes of bloggers online that blog/post all their passions and unique creations, largely because I feel so at home reading their blogs and seeing what they invent.  I know they'll understand me, though honestly I feel somewhat intimidated, being a newbie and all.  How do you make your blog so awesome?  That is my ultimate goal, learning the nuances of blogging and getting out there to share with so many others.

       I plan to start with the party planning & decorating side of my brain; it's just so much fun!  However, I have quite a few varied life interests, and I love learning new things. Who knows what will be added in the future!  Party planning...here we come!

     To any and all who stumble upon this baby blog, wish me luck and the best of luck to you!

 Affectionately,
     Anna Banana