Manscape Weekend

This year's 4th of July was more of a manscape weekend. It totally was....even if Hunk tells you differently.

;)

If you are ever in Montana you need to check out this ghastly looking mountain. I know it looks like an excavation project gone wrong, but this mountain actually sluffed off during a earthquake which resulted in the creation of Quake Lake.

It's kind of cool to see.

When the earthquake occured it ended up creating a natural dam, thus blocking the river--hence a lake was born.This lake is amazing because there are thousands of trees still standing out in the middle of the lake.

While in the boat Hunk attempted to go through two trees and we go stuck. HAHAHA! Oh my gosh, he is going to kill me for telling everyone!

We also bopped over to another set of lakes for the afternoon to enjoy the pristine clear water. Cliff and Wade Lakes are gorgeous and I totally felt like I was cheating the system.  The water is crystal clear and the white sandy lake bottom made me feel like I was enjoying a tropical experience without paying for a pricy plane ticket. 

Totally worth seeing! 

When we weren't fishing we were usually enjoying the great outdoors...kinda. While our friends pitched their tents at a nearby campground we opted to stay in a cabin which was about the size of a dog house. Very quaint and mountain man-like.

Our thoughts were that if we had a cabin we could warm up Brecken's bottle, put him down for naps easier, and not have to wake up with mildew dripping on our foreheads.

The cabin lost power so we should have just huffed it in the woods anyway...

 We also managed to make it back to civilization a few times.

West Yellowstone is a fun little town located just outside Yellowstone Park. obviously.

 the locals seem to have a love for making lots of BBQ food. Which is odd considering we are not in the south....

Because Hunk had to be back to work bright and early on Tuesday morning we came back to Bozeman on the fourth.

This town is D.E.D on the fourth. lame-o.

So we strolled downtown, ate some chow, stuffed our mouths with ice cream, and drooled over a fuschia pink Kitchen Aid. Okay, maybe I was the only one that drooled over it.

I have still been having some issues with my ectopic pregnancy so I stayed home, while Hunk to Punk to see the fireworks. This year not only were there fireworks, but a huge thunderstorm was brewing in the background along the mountains so it made for an extra sweet show.

I totally wish I had pictures, dang right ovary....

 

The Escape Artist

This year's Fourth of July was exhausting. My patience was tried in every possible way. Hunk thought it was a brilliant idea to take the whole fam dam family camping. and fishing. and camping. and fishing.

Punk seemed to have a vendetta against all parental authority which had me holding steadfast to the motto, "I brought you into this world, I can take you out of this world..."

No matter the amount of briding, punishing, and threatening would contain our little guy.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kid. I would give my life for my kid. But going on a vacation with my kid, well it ain't no vacation folks. simple. as. that.

 those of you that have kids know exactly what I'm talkin' about...

Exhibit A:

 He kept running away. The fresh mountain air had him zipping circles like no one's business and his frolicking was very reminsicent of Maria in the Sound of Music--minus the music and Von Trapp Family.

So we hooked him to a dog leash. Our thoughts were that the leash would contain him (first mistake). We also thought that if he was tied to escape that he would give up and just realize he had lost the war (second mistake)...

He got out in T minus five minutes.

Don't be deceived by those big blue eyes, there really is a Dennis the Menis just waiting to explode out of that seatbelt....

My pictures of the fourth to follow, once I recuperate from my lil' mad man.

Feature Friday: Food Edition

Happy 1st of July!

Warm weather, sparklers, gooey s'mores, parades, campfire stories, horses, snow cones, and burnt hamburgers are looming in the horizon!

I love this week's features. All this food means I am going to have to whip out the stretchy pants.

As an FYI there will be no link party this week because I am hoping ya'll will be outside enjoying this great weekend.

Key Lime Cake-Skip to my Lou

German chocolate surprise cake-Screaming Sardine

Pound cake french toast with Peach compote-Only From Scratch

BBQ chicken salad-Rindy Mae

A whole butt load of awesome picnic foods-Bugaboo

Colorful cake pops-Suburbs Mama

Candy Bouquet-Mushki Loves

Cinnamon chips and fruit salsa-Poppies and Pinwheels

Good Job Ladies!

I will do another round of features on Tuesday!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by to say "Hi!"

I loathe thee...

Fun fact of the day: I hate cats.

:)

I think they are pests that stink and whine a lot. When they starting using Punk's sandbox as their own personal dumping grounds my personal preference of immensely disliking them was solidified.

Any solutions on keeping the cats out? Anyone? Anyone?

Rake Necklace Stand & a Winner

Good day lovelies! I've had a lot of chatter about my farmers market booth and how I created my displays. To be honest, most of my displays have been inspired by things I have found through pinterest. For my rake, I took an idea and I just adjusted it a bit to fit my needs.

Here's the inspiration...

{source}

 I love, love, love this idea, but my booth does not consist of a backdrop so I had to figure out to create a rake holder without hanging it from something.

 I decided to turn the rake the other way and leave the handle attached.

Watch and learn my friends...

 I found/received/and traded for a variety of old rakes. The one above is held together at the top with duct tape. Very classy I tell ya.

 Because the rakes were in pretty bad shape and most of them were rusting I wanted to use a spray paint that would stop the rust to bleeding through.

As usual I primed the entire rake with Kilz primer spray paint--if you have been following for awhile you know that Kilz is the only way to go. I then wanted to create a more finished shine to my end product so I used a Rust-oleum laquer spray paint to create a more defined glossy look.

I would say that the time it took to apply two coats of primer and laquer and allow adequate drying time was about two hours. I made sure that the rake was not tacky because I didn't want it to get covered in saw dust when Hunk cut down the handle.

During this time I also found a scrap piece wood and I primed and painted it as well. I made sure to find a piece of wood that was large enough to balance out the rake, but small enough to not be distracting.

Here is Hunk's white trash chopping method--plus a glimpse into my hoarding......awkward.

The key to making sure the rake stays upright is to screw the handle towards the back edge of the board so that the center of gravity of the rake is in the center of the board. Capeche? Otherwise it may tip over when you put any jewelry on the rake teeth.  

Enjoy!

And the winner of the More the Momma Hobo Bag is #6 Kiddo!