Almost everything about our wedding was DIY and centered around nature. We both love being outdoors, love living in the country and attempt to participate in practices that limit our footprint on this world. So what better gift to give our guests than something to grow?
Initially I’d thought of giving small starts of my own African Violets. However, that was a bit time intensive and would be a bit more costly since we’d need pots. Given the fact that we were also trying to keep the wedding costs down, I preferred not to do that.
So I decided upon seeds. But what seeds? Daisies are my favorite flower and would be the centerpiece of the bouquets, not to mention they grow easily. So they were the clear choice. Now I just had to decide on a cute saying. I searched Pinterest, but didn’t find anything that I loved.
So I came up with my own. “Grow with Love.”
The next step was to actually create it. I already had an HP 4500 printer, which would work for the project. So, I only needed ink, seed packets and the seed. Oh and of course, a design. So I whipped one up. Painstakingly whipped one up, I should say, as I used trial and error to find out how to get all aspects perfectly centered when it actually printed on the packet.
The supplies I used for my project, are as follows:
After I printed off all my envelopes, my mother and I funneled 1/2 oz of seeds into each envelope. We prepared 100 packets and still had a large amount of seed left over. In fact, 3 years later, we STILL have seed left over, including one whole 1/2 lb package that had never been opened. This should give you a vague idea of how many packets you could make with this particular amount of seed.
For final touches, we placed them on the guest book table at our wedding in a cute little galvanized bucket. I think the turned out pretty great, even if I do say so myself.
For those of you who don’t know, my husband is an Air Force Veteran. Since this is a recent development, most of our relationship has been that as an active duty military couple. Of Eliott’s 9 years in, we were dating, engaged or married for 5 years, and friends the prior 4. Thus, I got really good at care packages. And I mean REAL good folks..
I thought I’d put my talent to good use and share some of my boxes with you all. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy having my husband home all the time, but why let the gift go to waste, right? As Memorial Day is coming up this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate if the first box I shared with you was my “BBQ in a Box.”
On my husband’s deployment to Africa, they would barbecue about once a month. The chow hall was nice enough to provide the meat and a few of the guys, including my husband, would fire up the grill (or whatever open flame it was they used). After this seemed to be an established trend, I decided to send my husband some extra equipment since there seemed to be a shortage of certain items.
Thus the “BBQ in a Box” was born.
All us military folks know that a good care package needs decoration. So we’ll get into that first. I’m sure that I could have been more extreme with my decor, but I chose to go with simple black construction paper background and stick on letters “Barbecue Master.” For that little extra something I added some red and orange glitter, for the embers if you will.
Technically, BBQ sauces are not an item you should mail, as they are considered liquids and those are not allowed with USPS. I did send my husband some shave cream one time, not thinking about it being in an aerosol can and technically a liquid. That particular package was confiscated.
*Make sure you check the rules and regulations of your postal service and of the country your military personnel is deployed in before mailing your package.*
I’ve never been a huge french toast fan. Waffles were always my favorite, and I preferred pancakes over french toast hands down. But this french toast is a different story.
When my friend, Sara, and I walked into our first spice shop we were like kids in a candy store. Sara immediately went to the baking section and started smelling samples while I milled about the selections. After a few minutes, Sara called me over with an exclamation of “It smells like Christmas!” And it did.
It was a special sugar mixed with spices and vanilla beans. At the time I didn’t know what I’d use it for, but I knew I wanted it. Sara wanted to use hers for coffee, but I’ve never been a coffee drinker. It wasn’t until my mom requested French Toast for her Mother’s Day Breakfast that I discovered the perfect use for my purchase.
Thus, Gooseberry Creek’s Amazing French Toast Recipe was born.
Ya’ll… even my dad likes it. He’s picky and he’s never liked french toast, but he likes this.
1. Heat your griddle over medium heat. I prefer to use a long cast iron griddle that spans 2 burners. It will cook 6 slices at a time.
2. In a large, flat, edged dish whisk together eggs and milk until well combined. Continue whisking as you slowly add in the flour. Add sugars and salt. Mix well.
3. Depending on the size of your mixture dish and griddle, place 2-6 slices of bread in the mixture for 30 seconds. Next, flip slices to soak the other side for 30 seconds. This limited time prevents the bread from getting soggy.
4. Place 1 Tbsp of butter on the griddle and transfer your coated bread slices to the griddle. Cook each side for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove golden brown slices to a covered heated dish.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until all the bread or all the mixture has been used.
6. Serve Immediately with your choice of topping. Personally, I recommend Pure Maple Syrup.
In our home, I do the laundry and my husband does the dishes. It works well for us because dishes are my least favorite chore and he hates folding laundry. Don’t get me wrong, we still jump in and help one another or do the chore for the other from time to time, but this arrangement makes us both very happy.
As we got to learn one another more, it became clear what we did and did not like to do. Thus we were able to separate the chores naturally and without a fuss. My husband does all things dishes, though I do jump in and do them myself when need be. I do all things laundry, but he also jumps in when necessary.
He has always taken care of the yard, mostly because he chose a hand push mower when we lived in Colorado. However, now that we live out in the country I truly enjoy helping with the majority of the outside chores. The only outside job he dislikes? Planting. And I do not mind taking care of that for the both of us. So on and so forth our list goes.
However, there are various other methods of splitting chores, two of which I’ve read in books. One of my favorite books on organization is A Simplified Life by Emily Ley. In it, she discusses that she and her husband used a sticky note method to divy up the chores.
With this method, Emily and her husband wrote down all the household chores on individual sticky notes and laid them out on the coffee table. Each of them took turns taking one sticky note until all the notes were gone. Quite effective if you and your spouse both dislike several of the same chores.
One method I really like, and one that I will probably employ when we have children, I read of in the Do It Yourself Homestead. Instead of having specific chores assigned to specific children, she has a “kid of the day.” She has a list of daily chores and the kid of the given day gets to choose what chores they’d like to do first. Then the other children get to split the rest among themselves.
I love this because each child will know how to perform each task, but won’t get burnt out on one chore. It also makes chores fun for the child who gets to pick their favorite for the day. This could also be utilized for adults too. For instance, if a chore list is pre-made and the adults rotate through who gets to pick theirs first each day.
I’ve found, especially in new marriages or relationships, that no one wants to open up and admit they’d love to absolutely refuse a specific chore. My husband, for instance, is often guilty of not wanting to burden me more or hurt my feelings. Other times, people are passive aggressive about what they don’t enjoy or about how much they actually want people to help (not healthy for any relationship).
Our chore split happened organically. I love the way it happened, though I love these other ideas too. I highly recommend simply taking the time to pay attention to what your partner seems to avoid doing. Then sit down and talk with them about it. However, if you are not particularly perceptive, just have a discussion on the topic and employ one of the above methods. It will save a lot of headaches and arguments in the long run. Trust me.
Ya’ll… I can’t even. I CAN NOT even describe to you the frustrations of owning a hound dog. Particularly a bloodhound.
We were still living in Colorado and on our way home to Missouri for a visit when we found him on Craigslist. After searching high and low for a reasonably priced pup for my husband (even those at the shelters were $300), we resorted to checking in Missouri while we were there. When I scrolled down to those floppy ears and all those wrinkles, we called the number listed and set up a date to meet the puppies immediately. Who knew something so cute could be SO much trouble! Our clearance puppy definitely had a catch… or two… or more.
Due to being bred as a working dog, he was not very attached to us at first and preferred to roam about on his own. It took 6 months to make him lovey and cuddly… and even then it was only with us! Discipline stuck about the same, seeing as he could care less if he pleased us or not.
Then the chewing started.
When he was bored… he chewed. When he was upset… he chewed. He chewed because he was teething and even when he wasn’t teething any more. He chewed anything and everything and didn’t discriminate! I bought that dog more chew toys than ALL of the many dogs I’d previously owned combined. He even chewed on a full grown tree once. I mean… come on!
Of note: I did not actually let him chew the stick. That is very bad for doggie bellies.
Then, at one point I suspected that part of the destruction was vindictive. I’d come home from work and moved him indoors due to a huge change in weather. I made sure there was nothing he could chew and opened the doggie door… he saw me leave again. My husband came home to find our wall photos scattered in pieces across our living room. I KNEW when Doc repeatedly went directly to our visitor’s belongings to chew after being chastised by said visitor. Multiple times
Oh the shedding and the slobber! I have hair and slobber EVERYWHERE. The slobber sticks to the wall like stucco and his hair clogs the vacuum. There’s hair mixed with dust, hair in the lint trap and hair in the air every time he shakes. There is no escaping the hair and the slobber requires significant elbow grease to remove. Though the hair is not as bad as a bulldog, it’s about as bad as a lab. That with the slobber is bad enough.
Did I mention that he still thinks he is the 25 lbs he was when he first came home with us? He turns around and backs up to sits on my lap like a child. Regularly. He weights 110 lbs now folks, and he doesn’t all fit. Oh but he tries too! Not to mention he still thinks he can play with the 10 year old Miniature Schnauzer we have. Not a good idea.
He likes to perch on unlikely objects. Objects he should not be, let along, stand on in fact. The arms of couches and chairs, the backs of couches and chairs, his igloo dog house, benches, plastic storage containers… the dog doesn’t care. If it fits he sits… sometimes even if it doesn’t fit.
Water is one of his favorite things. Which is fantastic… I love having a water dog. Until he decided that it would be a fantastic idea to climb in the shower with me. But climbing into the tub willingly at bath time? Forget it. It’s like wrestling a walrus. That’s become my husband’s job because I find it ridiculous that it is so difficult to bathe a dog that loves the water.
Doc is also a very possessive being. He will push other dogs away that are being petted by us (eve the mini schnauzer that was there long before he was). He will squeeze between our legs when my husband and I are hugging. And food. Lord don’t mess with that dog’s food. Even if it’s your food he’s covetous.
The worst of it all? That nose. It has a brain of it’s own. Forget trying to get his attention when it’s elsewhere, especially if that nose is involved. Listening is not his strong suit. It also takes him on “adventures” if he’s not closely monitored. He can be gone for hours as my husband frantically searches for him. Not our favorite pastime.
I would be remiss if I did not mention all the things I love about Doc after listing all the hardships, though. Though off to a curt start, that dog is now one of the cuddliest you will meet. He leans in when he’s rubbed and wants to fit his entire self in my lap (which I did list as a fault but darn it’s so cute). He knows when we are hurt or sick and is so gentle with us in those moments. He loves smelling flowers and carrying around new toys for hours. He has a distinct “happy tail” (as I call it), a “meh” tail and a sad tail. Most of all he provides endless humor.
We love him. We would never trade him for anything in the world. We fret on the occasion he does get away from us and enjoy his presence immensely. Our homestead wouldn’t be the same without him.
But goodness, I know a lot of people who would have given up on him by now.
So… just please know what you’re actually getting before you get a hound dog.
