Backyard Bees & Butterflies

Our backyard seems to be full of bees and butterflies this summer. 

I am by no means an expert on butterflies however I did do a little research and I am guessing these might be California Tortoiseshell butterflies but don't take my word on it. 

Whatever type they are they sure do love this light fixture on our patio.

Then there are the bees. They are particularly fond of our lavender and basil and are buzzing on and around the flowers every day from sun up to sun down.

In fact, they are so focussed on their work they don't even notice us. 

They don't even mind having their picture taken.

I hope the ladybugs will be back soon and join the fun!

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

DIY Backyard Fire Pit: seating area progress

The Fire Pit seating area is coming along. 

Only a few small boards left to complete the corner,

a couple boards on the ends and

some custom finishing strips.

The lights are wired and working.

I think it should be pretty much finished by this weekend except for the custom tabletop to go over the fire pit when not in use.

Once it is finished I will be sure to take a few more pictures to share. 

Happy Monday!

Watermelon Turtle

This little guy is so cute and was so much fun to make that I couldn't resist sharing him one more time. I actually posted a couple of pictures of him earlier in the week when I shared the Luau Birthday Party ~ {party on wheels } which you can see here. 

Once we got home from the party I thought I would put him in the refrigerator and save him until the next day. Then, when I had a little more time, I could touch him up a bit and take all the photos I wanted with good lighting and maybe a plain background for more contrast.

Unfortunately I did not share my plans with the family and he was put in the yard debris bin when we got home. So sad. I guess that just means I will need to make another one soon!

Happy Saturday!!

Happy 4th of July!

What to make for two 4th of July potluck celebrations??

Cupcakes of course!!

Three dozen seemed like a good amount for the festivities.

My go ~ to chocolate cupcake recipe was quick and easy.

Topped off with sprinkles and a flag.

We are ready to celebrate!

Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Luau Birthday Party ~ { party on wheels }

I tried something new.

A party planned and prepared at home and then delivered to another venue. I thought this would be a great idea for our Dad's Birthday.

Everyone agreed on the idea so I proceeded with the plan and decided on a Hawaiian Luau theme. I gathered decorations, made a menu and a timeline. My sisters were a big help with cooking, transporting supplies, set up and clean up.

I told my youngest sister I was going to make floral centerpieces with my fresh pineapple shells in case she might like to make one too. She did and hers was beautiful!! We both used fresh flowers from our gardens.

We started our party with Polynesian Pupus {aka: appetizers}.

Maui Meatballs, Hawaiian Ceviche, "fish & chips", Mango Salsa and tortilla chips and for drinks; Hawaiian POG and Mai Tai Mocktails.

Here is our Menu:

Here is a look at our Island Entrees.

I couldn't resist making this cute Watermelon Turtle to hold our fresh fruit salad.

We also took a walk out to the pond to feed Koi. 

Then it was time for the Aloha Desserts.

You can never have too many desserts...right?

I made these yummy copycat Macadamia Shortbread Cookies, dipped them in white chocolate and hand stamped ALOHA on the top. As luck would have it, I actually had an original tin of the Honolulu Cookie Co. cookies from Hawaii and my copycat cookies fit inside perfectly. I did not have a mini pineapple cookie cutter so I used my big one which turned out to be just the right size.   So fun!!

Ok, I may have gone a little overboard on the desserts so I did not finish the Big Kahuna Birthday Cake I started which was going to be so cute. All I need to do is frost it which I may do anyway,

just because.

Aloha!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Watermelon Appetizers

One thing is for sure, we love P.F. Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps.

However, in spite of all our good intentions to stop in for our favorite menu item, we never seem to get there as often as we would like. So this week I decided to try making them myself. 

Since I was already preparing appetizers to share at a neighborhood party I thought a plate full of little chicken lettuce wraps might be fun to take as well so I tried cooking up a batch. When I finished making the filling I thought I better be sure it passed the taste test first and proceeded to assemble a couple samples for the Hubs and Miss E to try. Right away they gave them two thumbs up so I decided to sample a little myself. Oh my goodness, was it good!  In fact, the chicken lettuce wraps never made it to the party. That's right, we ate them all right then and there. I know that sounds terrible but thankfully I still had the yummy Watermelon Appetizers already plated and ready to go.

These summery treats were fresh and tasty and best of all, simple to make with only four ingredients; watermelon, feta, mint { fresh from our garden! } and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction. Easy, Peasy!

So, as it turned out, the chicken lettuce wraps became our dinner instead and the watermelon appetizers made it to the party. 

Fast, easy and so good!

Happy Saturday!