Waverly Farmers' Market

Tristan's girlfriend works at the local farmers' market on the weekends so we decided to go visit her today. It's been a long time since I've been and I realize that I've been missing out.

There are some really cool booths like this one, Wheely Good Smoothies.

I like the bicycle wheel above the menu.

Even better is that the blender is attached to a bicycle. You order a smoothie and then you get on the bike and pedal to blend it. For 50 cents extra, they will pedal for you! I can't wait to get the twins on the bikes!

And, there's great people watching. In the background of this picture you will notice that the woman is pumping up her truck tire with a bicycle pump. Wasn't working too well for her, but it was entertaining for those of us watching her.

I'm looking forward to going back next week...and to eating the beet salad with goat cheese that I am making with the beets I got from Gardeners' Gourmet.

Mila's Daydreams

Have you heard about Mila's Daydreams?

Check out this creative genius here. All I can say is WOW! My favorites are Candyland, Wonderland Mushroom and Surfer Girl. What about you?

Peace Out

I have always loved kids' artwork and my office is covered in masterpieces that my kids have created over the years. Ammy, my 8 year old, is always creating, cutting, drawing, painting, gluing, etc.

Recently I came across a photo project on someone's blog. I can't find the link right now, but the person took old black and white photos and used a circle punch to cut the photos. She then made a collage out of them in a shadow box. I decided I wanted to do that with old family photos and pulled my circle punch out. It's been sitting on my desk for several weeks.

The other day, Ammy got my circle punch and started creating. She, along with every 8 year old girl, is totally into peace signs. She made an entire pile of peace signs and then I had an aha moment.

I gave her the shadow box and here is the end result: I love the colors!

It will be hanging in her bathroom...she just informed me that I have to paint the bathroom before she hangs it up in there!

We are linking to: The DIY Project Parade, Making the World Cuter, Between Naps on the Porch , Made by You Mondays, Keeping it Simple, Today's Creative Blog

American Idol

I have been going to the American Idol concert every summer since Season Five (Taylor Hicks, Katherine McPhee, Elliot Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, etc.) Three years ago when we went, we stayed after the show and got autographs. We have stayed every year since then.

This year we decided to make shirts that the girls could get signed. We used the freezer paper stencil method along with fabric paint and glitter.

We went to Sabatino's in Little Italy for dinner before the show.

Everyone was very excited to see the show.

After the show we waited outside for autographs. Here are the girls with Tim Urban.

The winner, Lee DeWyze, signing Allie's shirt.

Crystal Bowersox signing Gabby's shirt.

The gang with Casey James.

Ammy's favorite, Big Mike, signing her shirt. He also gave her a huge hug! (Her life is now complete!)

Everyone with Big Mike.

We had a great night!

Guess Where We Went Last Night

Hardware

Yesterday was the Bill Clarke Tournament at Hillendale. Four of my five played in it--Allie is in North Carolina right now so she couldn't play (and probably wouldn't have if she was here)

Ammy was one of two girls in the 7-10 age group. She lost to a 10 year old, but she got the runner-up trophy!

Both Tyler and Tristan played in the 15-17 age group. Tyler didn't place, but Tristan won the tournament with a score of 76.

Kellen played in the 7-9 group with 6 other kids. He won his first threesome with a shot of 4 for the hole. (The little ones play a one-hole tournament) Someone in the other group shot a 4 also, so he had to play a play-off. He lost the second time around, but he too got a runner-up trophy.

3 out of 4 with trophies...not a bad showing for the Meaghers!

Sugar Overload

Tristan's 18th birthday was this past weekend so we had a party for him yesterday. Family from as far away as North Carolina came, as well as family members that we rarely see. I have wanted to do a candy bar for a long time and I figured this event with tons of kids would be the perfect opportunity.

Allie made the golf hole cupcakes. She was going to do a golf hole out of multiple cupcakes like The Funambulist Damsel, but it looked like too much work! Instead, I googled images of golf hole cupcakes and then she created these. Green frosting, a black dot, a small spinkle for a gold ball and a red flag that she made out of paper and toothpicks. Ammy added the number 18 to all of the flags.

At 2 a.m. I came up with the idea to use astro turf for the base of the buffet. I purchased this lovely indoor/outdoor carpet at Lowes. I was going to cut it to fit the top of the table, but we liked the way it looked hanging down.

Kellen, Allie, Ammy and I picked out the candy at Fresh Market. They have M & M's and jelly beans separated by color. I wanted to use colors that you would see at a golf course (green for fairways and greens, white for balls and sand, blue for water) . The lollypops, pixie sticks and gold coins were just extras!

We used a bunch of vases, mason jars and candle sticks to put the candy in.

"Look out Mom/Aunt Kim! We are all sugared up and we have silly string!"



I am linking up to:
The DIY Project Parade,
Making the World Cuter
Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap up Party

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Last week, a girl who went to my high school mentioned on Facebook that Extreme Makeover was coming to Baltimore. I absolutely love the show and watch it every Sunday. I knew that I needed to find a way to get to the site and volunteer.

I signed up online along with my friends, Alden and Kim. The recipients were announced yesterday and the build started. We volunteered to work from 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. today.

I was surprised to see Ty there today. So cool that he was though!

Raven Symone from That's So Raven was the celebrity on this episode.

Alden and I spent four hours working in the catering tent. We served all the volunteers on the build.

After lunch, we went outside to work. On my way to the port-a-pot, a man told me to come with him for a minute. I ended up being an extra in a shot that they were doing with Michael, the designer, and Raven!

We also moved piles of wood and stocked coolers. The rest of the time was spent hanging out while the cement trucks came in. We got to see other celebrities...Paige and Xzibit on the build site.

The experience was everything I hoped for and more! Thanks girls for going with me!

Yum, Yum

Is there anything better than the combination of summer tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil?

I made this recipe the other day and it was out of this world.

Insalata Caprese Kabobs with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction and Eros Pista Paste (recipe from Tassa Hampton on Grill It! with Bobby Flay)

• 1 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 small container cherry tomatoes
• 1 (8-ounce) container fresh mozzarella
  
• 1 bunch large fresh basil leaves
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 teaspoons Eros Pista or fresh Hungarian paprika, optional
• Special Equipment: 4 (18-inch) metal skewers

Directions

Preheat a grill to medium heat.

To make the sauce, pour the balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and reduce very slowly on low heat. Stir occasionally until it reduced to the consistency of syrup, approximately 10 minutes.

Onto a skewer, layer 1 cherry tomato, 1 piece of fresh mozzarella and 1 large folded basil leaf. Repeat this pattern until 2 inches are left on the end of the skewer. Push the ingredients down towards the bottom tip for easy handling of the tops. Repeat with the remaining skewers and ingredients. When the skewers are ready to grill, put them onto a large piece of foil, brush them with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the sheet of foil with the skewers onto the grill and shut the lid until the cheese begins to melt, about 3 minutes. When finished, pull the skewers from the heat by gripping the sides of the foil. Drizzle each skewer evenly with the balsamic reduction and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of Eros Pista. Transfer to a serving platter and enjoy!



I also made Turkey Burgers with lemon honey mustard and goat cheese. They're a new family favorite.

It's Hot!

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.

Russell Baker

Fourth of July T-Shirts Through the Years

It used to be that we would be at the beach for the Fourth of July with our extended family. It was always my job to make the Fourth of July t-shirts with all of the kids.

In 2002, we made shirts with rubber stamps and paint brushes.

In 2003 , we tie-dyed t-shirts.



It looks like we rubber stamped again in 2004.

Not sure what we did in 2005, but in 2006 we tie-dyed again!




We haven't been back to the beach over the 4th since 2006, so I haven't done shirts since then.

With all of the blog parties I've been checking out lately, I came across this blog about reverse applique and this tutorial on how to do it. I was at Michaels and t-shirts were 2 for $5. I am not much of a sewer, but even I could make these! I asked the twins (they are the only ones who will still dress up for the holidays) what they wanted on their shirts. Ammy wanted a peace sign (semi-patriotic) and Kellen wanted the Raven's logo (not in the least bit patriotic)

I whipped these up in no time and they wore them to Oregon Ridge to see the BSO and the fireworks on Saturday night.

Ammy sporting her peace shirt.

Kellen in his red, white and blue Ravens shirt.

I am linking up to these parties today:

How I Spent My Birthday

Lions

tigers

and bears, oh my!

Orangutans walking over head.

Gorillas hanging out.

And a gator in the muck!

Go here to see more pictures from my day at the National Zoo.