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Grace Elizabeth's

Grace Elizabeth's

Monthly Archives: July 2014

DIY: New Paver Patio

28 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by Grace Elizabeth's in For The Home

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BBQ, Deck, DIY, Do it yourself, Grace Elizabeth's, landscape, Landscaping, Lowe's, Outdoor room, Outside fun, Patio, Pavers, Weekend Project

Have you ever laid a patio yourself?  We did some time ago, but this time we put a little more thought and effort into it.  Maybe I should say our daughter and son-in-law put a lot of back-breaking, knee bruising effort into it.

Completed Patio

Ok, now I have to be honest.  We didn’t follow all the steps for a “professionally” designed paver patio. Lowe’s website has a nice materials and tools list if you want to go the extra mile.  We chose not to put gravel down before the sand. We may regret that later but last time we skipped both the gravel and sand. We just laid the pavers on a semi-level base of dirt.  That patio served its purpose and we were not disappointed.

We purchased our 16″ x 16″ pavers on sale, of course, and bought 10 at a time making several trips to the store.  Since we do not have a pickup we felt we could only put the weight of 10 blocks at a time in our Kia Soul. For the sand we had a local sand and gravel company deliver 1 ton of sand.  Yes it was more than we needed but worth it rather than buying a zillion bags of sand.

Patio pavers for new patio

 

Once we had all our materials we had to wait for the patio area to dry.  It rained off and on for several weeks but we finally had a perfect weekend – a bit hot – to lay the patio.  Unfortunately our soil is clay so removing the soil was very difficult: mucky, hard to dig and came out in large clumps.  Good thing we had a lot of sand to fill the big holes.

New Patio Well that’s about it.  You can see we used a level to place the pavers as even as we could.  We are very happy with the final product.  Someday we will get some edging bricks to finish around the edges, particularly by the plants.  Watch for updates.

Working on the new patio

 

New patio completed

Thanks Alex and Jake for making our patio!!!

Tell us about your patio project. Is this something you would attempt yourself?

Sonya Kay

 

 

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Project Life: July 4th

22 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by Alexandrea Nicole in Handcrafted

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alexandrea nicole, digital scrapbooking, DIY, Independence Day, July 4th, parade, Project Life

We had a lovely family gathering for Independence Day. We went to the neighborhood kiddie parade and had family over for a potluck.

I probably say this about every layout, but this was really fun to put together. I love the color combination. I put a few more embellishments than I normally would, and I really like it!

Project Life: July 4th @ graceelizabeths.com

xoxo,

Alexandrea Nicole

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DIY Teacher Planner

16 Wednesday Jul 2014

Posted by Alexandrea Nicole in Lifestyle

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alexandrea nicole, DIY, Organization, planner, school, teaching

DIY Teacher PlannerIn one month school will begin…And this teacher will be ready. I have finally hit the magically number of 3. I survived the first year – just keeping my head above water. In my second year I settled in and made improvements to what I implemented in my first year. I am excited to start the third! Now that I am comfortable in the classroom, I am thrilled to see what this year will bring.

One thing that saved me my first and second year was my personal teaching planner. My first year, this consisted of printing out a page every week to write down lesson plans. I slipped these into a three ring binder on my desk. Last year, I made, printed, and spiral bound my own planner with calendar, weekly lesson plan template, and gradebook. This was a huge improvement! Everything in one spot.

DIY Teacher PlannerI took what I liked from each of those categories and made some minor changes for this year’s planner. It’s so crisp, clean, and ready to go! I can take a deep *sigh* knowing that no matter how crazy things get this year – I can at least keep my sanity. I would go insane if I didn’t have this organizational tool.

DIY Teacher PlannerMy favorite new part is the notes pages I added. These will be perfect for login and passwords, staff meetings, and collaboration with teachers/administrators/parents.

DIY Teacher Planner

My total cost for this project was $4.80. Here’s to starting the year of organized and enthused! YAY!

xoxo,

Alexandrea Nicole

 

 

 

 

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Project Life: Puerto Rico Album

07 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by Alexandrea Nicole in Handcrafted

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Tags

alexandrea nicole, bermuda triangle, digital scrapbooking, DIY, Handcrafted, Project Life, puerto rico, summer, tropical, vacation

We recently returned from a much needed vacation to Puerto Rico. A lot of “first time’s” for us on this trip. We had so much fun! I was so excited to start scraping memories from the trip, I actually started on the plane on our way home! Here are a few spreads. I used the Bermuda Triangle kit from Pixels and Company.

#ProjectLife - Puerto Rico

#ProjectLife - Puerto Rico

#ProjectLife - Puerto Rico

xoxo,

Alexandrea Nicole

 

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Independence Day

04 Friday Jul 2014

Tags

4th of July, Freedom, Independence Day

happy 4th from #GEinc

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Posted by Grace Elizabeth's | Filed under Lifestyle

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8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes

01 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by Sonya in Food

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Tags

4th of July, corn, corn on the cob, grilling, jalepano, mexican food, recipe, spicy

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes - www.graceelizabeths.com

Do you like Corn on the Cob?  Our family loves it.  I will admit we have not been very adventuresome through the years but I couldn’t resist sharing some recipes that caught my eye while searching for ideas for our 4th of July Picnic. Who knows, one of these recipes may become center stage of your holiday or special gathering this summer.

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Blue Plate Corn on the Cob. GraceElizabeths.com

George Graham of Acadiana Table shares stories of Cajun Creole Cooking.  As a kid growing up in a family of Southern cooks, his job was shucking the corn for every backyard barbecue or evening supper. Stripping back the husks and pulling out the strands of silky golden “hair”, he would occasionally find a worm or two to torment his sister with. Click here and continue reading his story and the recipe for Blue Plate Corn on the Cob.

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Corn 3 ways. GraceElizabeths.com

Gudrun of Kitchen Gadget Girl was in search of the best way to prepare corn on the cob.  In her blog article “Corn on the Cob, 3 Ways” she experiments with grilling, microwaving and boiling. Click through to find out her results.

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Grilled Mexican-Style Corn.  GraceElizabeths.com

Jessie Oleson Moore (posting on craftsy.com) says it simply wouldn’t be summertime without corn on the cob. But if you want to give your kernels some kick, take a cue from South of the Border street food vendors and make Mexican-style corn (also called elotes)…for complete article & recipe….

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Corn w/ Chili and Lime.

Chili and Lime is such a good combination of flavors.  Gina at Skinnytaste.com shares her friend Doreen’s recipe...Click here for recipe.

 

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Corn with Maple and Chipotle. GraceElizabeths.com

You can’t call this recipe boring.  It’s an easy recipe (Grilled Corn with Maple and Chipotle) with extraordinary results…MORE

 

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Best Grilled Mexican Corn on the Cob. GraceElizabeths.com

“Nothing beats sweet corn in the summer!” says Emma Leigh Hostetter of The Mom in Me, MD website.  In the spirit of GRILLING, she shares her favorite grilled corn on the cob recipe… click for more.

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Grilled Corn w/ Basil Butter. GraceElizabeths.com

The Food52 author of this recipe, Grilled Corn with Basil Butter, states that the flavors are so magically summery: sweet, herbacious, charred, creamy. And it’s super easy. Find the recipe here…

8 Irresistible Corn on the Cob Recipes: Spicy jalapeno grilled corn on the cob.  GraceElizabeths.com

The last recipe I have listed is from http://www.jalapenomadness.com/.  This website is all about jalapeno peppers and the recipe sounds delicious.

Do you have a favorite “Corn on the Cob” recipe?  Please share!  Or if you try one of the 8 recipes listed here we would love to hear your reviews.

Sonya Kay

Related:

Recipe: Broccoli Slaw Salad

Recipe: Broccoli Slaw Salad

 

Menu Monday: Chicken Enchiladas with Spanish Rice Edit

Menu Monday: Chicken Enchiladas with Spanish Rice

Frozen Banana Bites

Frozen Banana Bites

 

 

 

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FREE July Calendar Background – Wallpaper Download

01 Tuesday Jul 2014

Posted by Grace Elizabeth's in Lifestyle

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background, calendar, calendar background, computer wallpaper, FREE, Free Download, Grace Elizabeth's, screensaver, wallpaper

The FREE July Calendar download is here!  You may recognize the picture.  Alex shared this Pinwheel Mug Rug project in an earlier post.

To get the free calendar background, right click on the image below and save as your computer wallpaper. Enjoy!

July Calendar by www.graceelizabeths.com

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