The Mannequins Become A Family. The Manny Family! {Snap! Snap!}

{Warning! Photo heavy post.} 

Our babies are complete. They've been sanded, wrapped, and given shoes. Cement shoes. {Insert evil laugh here.} Kudos to my Dad for instilling in his daughter knowledge of power tools and the capability of mixing cement. The girls held the mannequins in place while I mixed it up. They got the job of holding them in place (most of the time) until it was dry enough to let go so I could rest my arms for the next batch. Hand mixing cement is tough!

This was our major project for the beginning of summer since things kind of die down for a few weeks. Well - we needed some entertainment!

Myself and Kae all suited up and ready to go. And of course I can't stop laughing behind my mask. Scalpel!

Kae pouring the cement while I wait to do the hard work mixing. I take that back. That chick can definitely wield some power tools and do heavy work.

Kae & Cathy steady Oscar while his shoes dry.

I'm holding Lady Gaga steady. Nice face, huh?

They're all standing!

Introducing! (from left to right) Lady Gaga, Emmy, Oscar. Of course we all put our sunglasses on them. Who could resist?

On the look-out!

Small plants and vines have been planted at their... um, well - feet and they are now proudly standing in front of the flower shop awaiting many a double take and awe struck stare. 

 We of course chained them together with dog run cord and pad locked them up. We don't want the neighborhood or college kids dragging them off or trying to tip them into cars. See - we're responsible with our humans.

What We've Done To The Mannequins (Part 2)

When we last left them, the mannequins still had no plan. We had sanded them down ready to be painted but that's it. . Come to find out - we did not paint them. We discovered that it would take a TON of paint to fully cover them even after they had been sanded. So, we took this awesome woven, plastic mesh and cocooned and bound them with colored wire. The first word that comes to mind with a lot of people is: bondage. Fun, Crayola colored bondage. That sounds about right! Tune in next time to see what happens to our little Manny family!

We ran out of mesh. Now they're just waiting to be fully dressed.

Crazy Things I Get To Do...

...at one of my jobs.

One of my jobs is running a hair salon with my husband. My other job is Chief Minion at the flower shop next door. As Chief Minion, there are a myriad of things that I do.

Today - I sanded off the sheen of 3 mannequins. Yup. You read that right. What is being done with said mannequins is still in the works.

Oh. I also got to grope them...

Gorgeous Allium

Gorgeous Allium I had to take a picture of. These are the size of softballs but they can be as big as a human head.

Book Club!! (or 'How To Avoid The Topic Of Why I've Been Gone So Long')

So, we're just going to skip over why I've been gone for so long (Crazy busy! But isn't that the most overused excuse? Really.) and jump right into the fact that I've joined an online book club and I think you should, too! It is hosted by Michelle over at Dream Home DIY and it couldn't be easier to join. Just send her an email (dreamhomediy@hotmail.com) and 'Bam!' you're in. Online book clubs are the easiest because you can show up in your PJ's at 3am. We may be 10 days into June but you're more than welcome to join now or wait until July.

June's book is: 'Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet' by Jamie Ford.

Check out some reviews and a preview here.

THE Wedding

And what other wedding would I be talking about besides The Royal Wedding. I will be getting up ridiculously early (4:30-5am EST) to watch it live. It's not the same to watch it after it's already over.

I'm looking forward to seeing her dress, hair etc. Very interested in the wedding flowers since I've been working in a flower shop the last 8 or so months. In fact, that's all us ladies at the flower shop have been talking about in our free time. She will be a huge trendsetter for many years with the choices she makes.

Will you be getting up early to watch it live or wait until later?

Puppy Playtime

The last few years Easter has become a quiet, little holiday for Hubz and I. We're 1000 miles away from my family - who have the traditional big Easter dinner but in the same city as Hubz family - who celebrate but in their own little families. (Make sense?) We tend to pick up our favorite snacks and take-out and just stay in. We carried on our little tradition but since it was unbelievably gorgeous out we took the pups outside for a few hours to play. It's been so rainy (April showers bring May flowers kind of thing) that we just couldn't pass it up. Enjoy our play time!

Maya LOVES sticks! We have a whole pile in the backyard just for her.

I put Athena in a tree. Don't worry, it was only a few feet off the ground.

More stick chewing. I can't help myself, she's just too cute. I don't have human kids yet so these are my fur kids. Can you imagine what I'm going to be like when I have human ones?!

She heard one of the neighbor's dogs bark.

Wrestling the stick. Who do you think will win?

Her stance: one foot on one end of the stick and the other out wide to brace herself.

A little tired but still won't let go of those sticks.

Sniffing out the neighbor's dog.

Waiting for Mommy to throw the stick.

The Roasting of Peeps and Demise of Peter Rabbit

I just can't help it. I absolutely love decapitating and dismantling my candy in what I guess you can call some pretty gruesome ways. But it's okay because it's candy and they're cute. It's not like I'm torturing cats and squirrels in my backyard. I'm not mean. I promise.

The other day I roasted some Peeps. That actually turned out to be pretty darn delicious. I had a few more left so in honor of Easter - I roasted the rest of them. And - I took pictures this time. I also picked up the same chocolate bunny I received every year growing up. This time it was for hubz and I to share. See, I told you I'm not mean. We dismantled him together.

It's probably not wise to document the crime but I did it anyway. Here are exhibits A-F.

Super cute and sweet little sugar egg I received from a friend for Easter. I love the little baby chick inside! I included this baby chick to throw you off from the torture of sweet, little confection creatures to come.

Exhibit A: Peep before the roasting.

Exhibit B: Peep after meeting my gas stove.

Exhibit C: Peter Rabbit. He had no idea what he had coming.

Exhibit D: Hubz ate his feet while I consumed his eyes and stabbed him in the head with his own carrot.

Exhibit E: Next up - off come the sacred ears.

Exhibit F: Buh-bye Peter Rabbit. That's what you get for stealing from the garden.

On that note -whether you celebrate the Christian Easter, Passover last week or the non-religious, Easter Bunny part of Easter - I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and Easter!

Peep Brûlée!

It's that time of year - well almost the end of it now - where little sugar covered marshmallows in Spring colors and shaped like baby chicks and little bunnies. Peeps! Every year around this time there is always the conversation of how do you eat yours. Most people bite their heads off, some just eat it, and others get a bit more creative. I fall into the latter category. After hearing that my best friend blows them up in the microwave and then makes s'mores out them, this got me thinking. What if I roasted them just like a marshmallow? With all that sugar on the outside it could turn out just like one of my favorite desserts. Crème brûlée.

*This could get a little graphic for all you Peep lovers.

So - I took a skewer, poked it through the Peep's little head, turned on my gas stove and began to roast the little sucker. The pink sugar started to brown and bubble up a little, turning into a nice little crust (I decided not to post a picture because it didn't look very pretty). I didn't want to set it on fire because in my opinion burnt marshmallows are not all that tasty. They turned out pretty good. Not quite crème brûlée but more like a regular roasted marshmallow where the outside is a little crispier. If you like Peeps, I highly recommend roasting them. Plus, it's just plain fun.

What's your favorite way to eat Peeps?

A Story About A Pup That Licks Everything

Yes - everything. Maya (see picture to the right) is a lovely little year old pup who has become the apple of our eyes. Well, one of them. She is filled with so much love that sometimes she just can't contain it in her tiny little body. One way of showing her love is by licking. But it doesn't just stop with the hubby and I. Shame on us for being bad dog parents. We thought it was so endearing that we didn't curb it when we should have. She now licks just about anything she comes across and it's usually when she's pretty excited. From the floor to our legs, the couch to the front door, even my laptop screen. I have had many a nose print and some doggy drool to whip off my screen. Gross. I know.  So now we're trying to train her not to lick everything that's in front of her face. Wish us luck. In the meantime, see the evidence of The Incredible Licking Dog!

See the worn off spot? 

But we forgive her. Because, really - how can you not love this face?

Why TV Commercial Songs Are {Mostly} Evil

Most of us would agree that 90% of TV commercial songs or jingles annoy the ever-living daylights out of us. Don't get me wrong - they can be quite catchy. But then the 'catchy' burrows a little hole in your brain and stays in there for an undisclosed amount of time. All of a sudden the commercial comes on - BAM! Your brain shorts out for a second with irritability.

I woke up with this one stuck in my head and I actually don't mind. It's called 'Don't Hide Your Shine' by Matthew Ray from the new Old Navy dress commercial. There's something about it that is more 'song-on-the-radio' than 'cheesy-TV-jingle'. I would like to know if the kid in the commercial is the one singing or if he's just an actor lip-syncing. Either way, who ever is singing isn't half bad. It's regular Top 40's stuff but I like that sometimes. If he put out music other than commercials, I might be interested in downloading it.

Just a moment...

"Your real friends don't have to be the ones you spend the most time with - just the ones you have the best memories with."

Came across this quote and not sure who it's by. It made me think of my best friend, Michelle. We've known each other for over 10 years now. We may go weeks without speaking, years without seeing each other but we have remained the best of friends. We always seem to pick up where we left off. Life has been far more fun and interesting with her in it. Thought I'd give a little shout out to one of the best girls I know. :)

Book Review: 'Palaces & Calluses' by Rebecca Woodhead

Rebecca Woodhead's debut novel 'Palaces & Calluses' is in one word - amazing. That's right. I said it. Amazing. Her writing has this easy way about it. Her words make you feel as if you're listening to a dear friend tell a story over a cup of tea. So comfortable and at home.

She wastes no time throwing you into the story of a young woman coming into her own. Finding her inner strength with the help and support of family, friends, a protective and lovable border collie named Rock, and some unexpected people - both good and bad. It is a book you'll never want to put down until the end and then leaves you wanting more. Fear not. 'Palaces & Calluses' is the first book in the 'Cotswold Chronicles' series. If her first book is this amazing, you can only imagine what she has in store for us next.

Purchase her book here. On sale for £2.99 - roughly $5 converted - until April 20th! After, it will be £4.99 or approx. a little over $8.

I'm ba-ack!

No, really. I am. For real this time.

This is only a little post as I am saving my first "real post" for something & someone special. This one is special, too but the other one ranks higher.

For anyone who is still following I pose a question. The blog needs to be renamed. It needs an overhaul really and I believe a name is near the top of that list. I have exhausted my pretty, little brain about it and nothing I can come up with sounds interesting.

So... any ideas?