Crafty Wednesday {September craft night}

I own a small craft business called Branch and Bloom with my best friend Rachael.  Once a month we host a craft class and teach people how to do a craft.  We took a couple of months off for the summer and we had our first craft class of the fall last week.  For our September craft night we hosted a private craft class for our dear friend Faith and some of our friends.  Faith really wanted to do an organization station so we worked hard to come up with something that would be simple and fun for our friends to do.  

This is what we came up with.  We provided each person with a 2 foot x 2 foot board, chalkboard paint, ribbon, jute, and corkboard tiles.  We had everything set up when everyone came in for the class.  We set up each person with their own little station.  

Here is the birthday girl hard at work on her craft. 

 The first step we had people do was to paint their board with chalkboard paint. Some people wanted their board completely covered with chalkboard paint, some people used painters tape and taped off sections of their board.  We wanted people to use their creativitiy and make this project their own.  It was neat seeing all of the designs that everyone came up with.

After their chalkboard dried then they add on the corkboard circles.  The circles were a big hit! 

The most important things for us at our Craft Nights is that 1.everyone  leaves with a completed craft and 2. everyone has a good time.  Faith's birthday craft was so fun!  Everyone had a good time and everyone left with their own organization station.  If you would like a craft class for a birthday party please let us know!

Happy Wednesday!  Now that things have calmed down for me I hope Crafty Wednesday posts every week so check back.

xoxo

Weekend top 5

Hi friends!!! It’s been ages since I posted.  September always kicks my butt.  It is such 

a busy, busy month. I’m hoping things will calm down and I’ll be back to posting more pics regularly.  

I’m going to share my weekend top 5...

1. I own a small craft business called Branch and Bloom with my bff Rachael.  Once a month we host a  craft class.  We think of seasonal ideas each month and get all the supplies and  and people pay a small fee and come and make a craft with us.  This month we hosted a private craft class for our friend Faith.  She wanted to make DIY organizers.  Everyone did something s little different.  It was so fun!  I’m going to explain how we did these on my crafty Wednesday post this week.

2. The College where I work had its family weekend this weekend.  I helped organize th parents reception on Saturday afternoon  and the  “Build A Dragon” area—similar to Build A  Bear but we made Dragons because that is our College mascot.

3.  Friday night I went to the high school football game.  I love going to watch the games on Friday nights if it’s not too cold (I’m a fair weather fan). I always see so many people I know and it’s so much fun!  Ava and her friend posed with Buzz the mascot.

4. I just LOVE decorating for fall.  I got all my fall decorations out in preparation for my 3rd annual fall brunch which I hosted on Sunday.   The door hanger I got a few years ago from Bronwyn Hanahan Art on Etsy.  I just love it.  It is on our uncovered front stoop from September-November and it looks great even a few years after I bought it.  

I always decorate the hutch in our dining room for fall.  I haven't bought anything new in ages just the decorations that I've had for years and years.  I always love pulling out my fall stuff each year.

5.  Sunday I hosted my 3rd annual fall brunch for my friends.  It was so fun.  I made a few different breakfast casseroles and everyone else brought a side dish. We spent a nice morning together talking and catching up.  We also did a fall decor swap which was so fun.  I will do a full post on my brunch in a few days.  Here is a picture of all of us with Grace our exchange student.  

That was my weekend.  I hope you had a great one with your family and friends.
xoxo

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!  I'm so happy it's the weekend!!  This week Ava started school and G and I finally picked out a color to paint our rental house.  We are going to start painting it this weekend.  I feel  like it's a project that will never end.  I also have a baby shower to go to and I'm going to celebrate my friend Heidi's bday.  

Here are my favorites from this week-

1.  Ava and our exchange student Grace started school this week.  I just loved every minute of our summer but I am thankful that she and Grace are back in school.  I hope they both have a great year!

2.  Last Friday two of my friends (Sabrina and Lynn) came and took pictures for our annual Greek photo shoot.  Lynn and I were on top of one of the campus buildings so she could get pics from above and Sabrina was on the ground taking small group pics.  I always do this photo shoot the first Friday of classes.  I love having these pictures to use in brochures, on our website, etc throughout the year.  

3.  We spent a fun Labor Day at the falls in Ithaca.  It was beautiful and it was so nice out and it was a great day to spend the last day of summer  outside hiking and swimming.  

4.  I made some jalapeno freezer jam this week.  One recipe made about 10 jars.  I mix it with cream cheese and I'm going to take it to parties this fall.  It is so good and it's the right mix of hot and sweet.  

I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Xoxo

First day of school

It was back to school day for Ava today.  She is starting her sophomore (junior) year.  I wrote it like that because she can graduate in two years with her class or she can stay an extra year and finish her math and science requirements that she missed when she studied abroad in the Czech Republic last fall. 

We also have an exchange student from Taiwan living with us this fall. Grace was excited and happy to start school today too!  

I hope they have a great first day!  I am going to pick them up right after school and I can't wait to hear all about it.

Xoxo

Weekend Fun!

We had a great last weekend of summer!  I celebrated my dear friend Julia's 50th bday in Saratoga and took Ava and Grace school shopping on Sunday  to the Ithaca waterfalls yesterday.  

  It was hot and humid here all weekend and I wanted to make the most of it.  School starts here tomorrow so this was our last summer weekend :(  

Saturday I went to the Saratoga racetrack to celebrate my dear friend Julia's 50th!  This was the last weekend the track was open and I'm so glad it worked out for us to go.  We had a great time celebrating her 

We left bright and early Saturday morning and headed to the track we rented a house for all of us for Saturday night and came home Sunday morning.  We had a full 24 hours to celebrate Julia.

 I try and get up to Saratoga at least once a season.  You can see a post about the track and tips for going here.    We brought our own food and drinks and did general admission to get in so it was only $7 each.  I bet $2 on each race so it was a cheap day!

Befoer each race a bugler plays "Call To the Post" to signal the race is about to begin.  Since it was Julia's bday we asked him to take a picture with us which was fun!

During one race Julia picked a horse and we all put our money together and bet  $40 on him. Which was a big bet for us.    It made the race SO exciting!  Sadly we didn't win but here is a picture of the horse we choose during that race.

After a day at the races we went back to our rented house and got ready and went to a nice dinner in downtown Saratoga.  It was a great way to end our time in Saratoga.

Monday I went to Ithaca to the waterfalls with my friends Sabrina and Lynn and their daughters. I love going to Ithaca at least once a summer too and this was our first and only trip there this summer.  We swam, had lunch and took lots of pictures at the falls. I'm so happy Grace got to expereince this with us too.  It was a long day but so worth it.   It was a great last day of summer!

Hope you had a good weekend!
Xoxo

Friday Favorites

This has been a week of settling for us.  

We are settling back into our house after being gone for the summer and settling in to having grace our exchange student with us.  I have been organizing and putting this away this week and Graig is busy working getting our rental house ready.  Our tenants move in on Saturday.

Today I am linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea here are my favorites from this week

1.  My most favorite thing from this week was meeting Grace.  She an exchange student from Taiwan and will be with us until December.  She will start school with Ava next week and we have a few fun trips planned with her this fall.

2.  My college students are back!!  Classes started on Monday and  I have been going non stop since then.  It’s been a crazy busy week and I’m thrilled it’s Friday and that I have a three day weekend to look forward to!

3.  I said goodbye to my older adult ladies swim class members this week. Starting next week I will be teaching a deep water class early mornings on M/W instead of this T/Th evening class.  I have loved being their teacher for four years and I will miss them so much!  We had a potluck last night and it was a great way to end the last class.

4.  I did my summer book review this week.  You can read it here.  I just started reading 
The Hate U Give which has been made into a movie that comes out in October.  So far I really like the book. 

I hope you have had a great week!
Xoxo

What's up Wednesday

Hey I'm linking up today to share what we've been up to lately.  It's been a busy summer and I am excited about getting back into our work and school routine.  Classes started at the College where I work on Monday and Ava starts school next Wednesday 9/5.  We are getting settled into our house again after being gone all summer (we rent it out to baseball families) and I'm excited about the fall season ahead.  

I don't link up every month but you can read my past WUW posts below

February  April  July

What we're eating this week...Now that we are back home I have been cooking so much more.  Last night we had a cookout and tonight G had to work late so Ava and I went to our friend's house for TACO TUESDAY.  We haven't had one in so long and it was good to get together and catch up.  I brought the taco meat and she provided the toppings. It was a fun night!! 

What I'm reminiscing about...All the fun we had this summer.  We had lots of adventures and good times and fun with friends and family.

What I'm loving...I'm loving being back in our home and getting settled. Home is my absolute favorite place to be.  I'm also excited about September and all things fall!!

What we've been up to...work, work and more work.  enough said!

What I'm dreading...Thankfully nothing at the moment!

What I'm working on...I'm working on unpacking and getting settled back at home after being gone all summer long.  

What I'm excited about...FALL!!  I love fall and we have a few fun things planned and I can't wait for the weather to be cooler and pumpkin everything.  I just love fall!

What I'm watching/reading...I just finished watching Sharp Objects on HBO.  The show is based on the book that I read in June.  The show was SO good!!  

What I'm wearing...I have been living in these birkenstocks this summer.  They are comfy and cute and I just love them. 

What I'm doing this weekend...going to Saratoga to celebrate my friend Julia's 50th birthday!

  Also school shopping for Ava on Sunday  and we have a day trip to Ithaca on Monday to see the waterfalls.  While I'm in Saratoga G is going to paint Ava's room gray.  We got her a new desk and dresser at IKEA and he's going to put that together so she'll have a new room by the time school starts!

What I'm looking forward to next month...anything and everything related to fall. I just love all of it-cooler weather, bonfires, high school football games, 

What else is new...we have an exchange student living with us for a few months.  Her name is Grace and she is really sweet.   She just arrived in the US on Sunday and moved in to our house Sunday afternoon.  On Monday night after dinner we went out for ice cream and showed her the high school.   She will start school next week.