Party Dress Tags

I've had so much fun making these dress tags for my Etsy shop. I made 12, but selling them in groups of 3.

 Check out the others by clicking this link to my Etsy shop.

CharlottesCollection

  I am so enamored with the 60's cocktail dress right now.  I know it's because I've been watching "Mad Men". I love that show. We started watching it on Netflix's because I did not want to start watching the series in season four. We are almost through with season three and are taping this season, season four or five not sure which season is happening now. I'm so inspired by the dresses they wear on that show. I just had to try to make some of my own somehow. One day I might make a real one to wear, but for now they are paper. 


The deck is stained! Yea! My kids did it Memorial Weekend. I am so blessed to have such wonderful children.



They aren't all my kids just my son. The other boy is my son's best friend and the girl is my son's girlfriend. It does not matter, they are my kids to me. They are so sweet. I love having them over. They did a great job. I'm so glad Ryan's friend is not scared of heights. Yikes!

Now we wait for the concrete man. I think it has been decided to pour a slab of concrete underneath. Then the deck guy will come back and put up the skirting. So much fun! I love this process. I just wish my husband felt better, so he could enjoy what is going on. He has three more treatments to go. It has not been easy for him, all he does is sleep. He feels like he has the flu, no energy and wont eat. It's been so hard on him he probably wont continue on with the rest of the treatments. He'll do these last three and then that's it. No one can live like this for a whole year. It's a scary decision but it's his and I support him. If there was a better chance with this treatment, it would be different. These treatments are only to help prevent the cancer from coming back. They think they got it all with the last surgery, but of course no one knows for sure. 

♥

Margarita ChaChaCha

It's five o'clock and it's Margarita time!
To kick off the Memorial Day Weekend...the start of summer..... I will share my favorite Margarita recipe.
This one is on the rocks.
You will need:
1 part fresh squeezed lime juice or the "Rose's Sweetened Lime Juice" which I use to save time and energy.
1 part orange juice
1 part orange liqueur.... I have tried all kinds. I like Patron's or Grand Marnier !
5 to 6 parts margarita mix.
3 parts tequila.

Or to make more then one drink at a time I've come up with this conversion:

1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup orange liqueur
3 cups margarita mix
1 1/2 cups tequila
mix and pour over ice.

Enjoy...and don't drink and drive.... Please!
Stay at home.

The Crows Nest

Slowly but surely, little by little the deck is getting done. We have had an unusual amount of rain for May. We had another rain out day this week. They probably would have been through by now but the rain put them behind. Still a lot to do in my eyes and we have to wait for the land design man to show up. They aren't going to finish the skirting until the land is leveled and pavers are put in. (This could take all summer. )

I really like the fact that we made two levels. We put the arbor over the top level only. We need some shade but at the same time I did not want to disrupt the view from the inside from the windows looking out over the lower level. I call the top level the crows nest. It will be our viewing area, to sit and relax with a nice cool drink.  The bottom level will have the table and chairs for eating and entertaining.

When they get the crushed granite or pavers or whatever they are going to do the bottom under the deck, they are going to close in part for a storage unit. They will leave most of it open for all of my old rusty furniture from the old house. I have a rusty lounger which I love and really miss. I have 6 bouncy chairs, two wrought iron tables with chairs. The list goes on and on. All this stuff is still at my sister in laws place out in the country. We took two flat bed trailer loads of this rusty outdoor furniture and decorations, yard equipment, etc. there when we moved out.

We still need to retrieve all of these outdoor treasures of mine....just waiting for this deck to get finished.

Bring It On

New deck is coming together quite nicely. We had another rain out Thursday but who cares... it never rains in SA so we take it when we can get it. I do think we have some crazy luck because knowing it never rains here it's so odd that on the day we moved out of our home it rained. Then when we moved into the new house it rained and now that we are building a deck it has rained two days out of the 8.
I'm  considering it lucky because we must bring the rain.

Can't get enough of the Sunsets

Day five deck renovation was a rain out. We needed the rain so it's all right with me.
Hubby is on day two of the Interferon infusions. He is doing pretty good. He is sick for a few hours and then he feels better for the rest of the day. I hope his body will adjust so he does not get sick at all.
His attitude is so good it scars me. He is an amazing man.
While driving him to the cancer treatment center I glanced over at the car next to me. It was very interesting because there was a small sticker on the back window that read "You will get through this."
It seems my angel is always sending me messages like this. I had to smile because I really did need that reminder right then and there.

Day 3 and 4 Work Continues

This is the basic frame of the deck. Two levels and then we are going to utilize the area below as well. We plan to have them close in one side for a storage room. The other side we want to put in pavers so there will be more seating underneath. This is where we need a landscaper...to level out the land and make a patio.

Day 4

Day 4

On day 4 they put in the metal post....cutting and setting with concrete. I hate the sound of sawing metal, and it hurt Max's ears too.

It's so hot and humid out there right now. I feel so sorry for these guys!

Above is a picture of what our lovely dirt looks like. It's nothing but rock. It's a wonder anything will grow out here. This is hill country, north SA dirt. The south side of San Antonio has much better dirt. There are pockets of fields on the north side but mostly it looks like this.
That is why I am going to keep everything natural. I'm finished with fighting this soil. I did it for 25 years at the old house. It's so much work digging holes in solid rock. These guys used an auger to dig the holes for the posts.  I should have had an auger. :)

Day Two Deck

Day two renovations are coming along nicely. David said they build the top part first up in the air on these 2 x 6 boards and then they instal the supporting beams later. The reason I'm commenting about this is because we want metal supporting beams and those are not metal post. Very interesting....

Here is a peek from inside the house. Showing is the base of what will be the first level. A few steps will come down from this level and then there will be a lower level.
So exciting! I hope it turns out the way I imagined it.
They take the weekend off and so will I.
Still in search of a landscaper.

Have a good day.

♥

Day One Deck Renovations

This is what our old deck looks like on day one of our deck replacement adventure. They started bright and early at 8:00 am to demolish the old one.  It's a two man crew. At first it looked like it was going to rain on them but then I remembered we live in San Antonio. HAHA. No Rain!
I 'm very excited about it all. I love having people work for me. Does that sound bad? I know me or my husband could not do it, so better get a professional. Not much to talk about for day one. They started ripping it apart and bought the lumber. The End.

Curtains Deck And Landscaping

I just finished the curtains for my craft room/guest bedroom...Yea!
I'm so in love with the fabric. I got it from "Joann's". The print just reeks scrapbook paper. I originally went shopping for curtains for the toilet room but it was love at first sight when my eyes fell on this fabric. This fabric is so perfect for a window in a craft room.

Below is a picture of the existing deck in the back of our house. We are going to replace it with a bigger one. Renovations should start tomorrow. I cant wait! It's been six week since we contracted the deck builder. It took 3 weeks to get the plan approved by the HOA. I was so mad it took so long, because in the mean time the builder started on another project. I hate being put off and the HOA was just sitting on our plans doing nothing with them. It took a few phone calls and a lot of bitching for the HOA to get off their butts. But that is over and now I wait. I'll be very upset if they don't start on the deck tomorrow. If everything goes as planned I hope to blog about this renovation. :)

I'm also dealing with landscapers. We need some help landscaping. As you can see we live on a very steep sloop. The owners before us did nothing with it. I think I know why......no one wants to do the work!
 I have called three different landscapers for bids so far. One never showed up..... par for the course. One took three weeks to send me a proposal through email that I don't understand and now wont call me back. The third guy came by last Wednesday and so far I have not heard anything from him. I'm about to pull my hair out. Why can't I find someone to do the work? I know this is the landscapers busiest time of the year, but come on!!!! It's not like I'm doing this by myself, my husband is the one talking to them, so it's not a macho guy thing dealing with a woman.
l'm wondering if people in other parts of the country have so much trouble finding contractors to do work. I had this problem at my old house. I think it's a San Antonio thing. I know friends in Houston don't have this problem.
It's back to the drawing board. I now have to look for a few more landscapers to come out to the house.
RIDICULOUS!