Category: Celebrations

Apple Pickin’ in the Orchard

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Mama

One of my favorite fall activities is apple pickin’ at Schweizer Orchards in St. Joe. We started this tradition when my son and I joined a mom’s group years ago, and both of us quickly took to the cool mornings, apple picking and picnicking with our friends. Unfortunately, my little guy is in first grade these days and most of our group outings are during the day, so that means no apple picking for him during the week (when all the fun stuff is not overly crowded). Fortunately for me I don’t mind, and neither it seems do the other moms, showing up to some of the good stuff without my child in tow. My husband calls me the MOMS Club® stalker. . . He might be right, but I don’t care. Besides, who couldn’t use an extra set of hands when you’re out and about with the kids.

So when apple pickin’ rolled around on a cool cloudy day this week you bet I was there, with rubber boots on my feet and a smile on my face. My little man was seriously not happy when he found out where I was headed, but one of my freshly picked apples did make a delicious after-school snack. He also loves my Apple Crisp, so I’ve promised to make one sometime soon. I think he has forgiven me, but maybe we will find time for a family outing to the orchard another day this season.

For those of you who live close to St. Joe (and if not, it’s probably worth the drive), you might want to visit Schweizer someday soon. They still have several varieties of apples ready to pick and the pumpkin patch will open in October. They host several types of group tours, including our basic tour that costs $1.50 per child for story time, an orchard tour, and one apple chosen right off the tree. Moms can also pick apples and pay per the pound (I paid 99 cents a pound for my juicy hand-picked apples). In addition to the orchard, they have a great playground and picnic area, so it is really easy to enjoy most of a morning outside with the kids. They also have open hours for picking, so you don’t have to be part of a tour to enjoy the orchard. If you want to know more about Schweizer Orchards, you should visit their website or give them a call. . . before the trees are bare.

Happy Fall, Y’all

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Mama

Okay, so it’s not quite officially fall, but I’m so ready to bust open my autumn and Halloween projects that I decided to get going here at Small Talk Mama. And what’s fall without a few mums around the house (honestly, I can’t seem to go to the store without coming home with a new fun color)?

Last week I purchased a small trio of pink mums for my back porch ($1 each) just to show off my latest repurposed project made from two sticks of old picket fencing leaning against a backyard tree. It was the last of some salvaged fence parts and was just enough to create this adorable little rustic wood tray. Considering I had some old drawer pulls that needed a home and nails enough to go around the world twice, this project barely cost a thing, except for the little feet underneath to give the tray some breathing room. I picked up those for a couple of bucks at the hardware store.

Since I only had two four-foot-sticks of fence, I had to make every inch count. I cut both pickets in half and used three lengths to form the base of my tray. Since one of the lengths still had the dog-eared top on it, I placed it in the middle of the other two. You can see the dog ears from one end, but not from either side. I also think it lends a bit of personality to the finished project.

I then measured the width of all three bottom pieces lying next to one another, and cut two pieces that width out of the remaining wood. I had just enough left to go the distance. Whew! I lined up everything and screwed it all together from the backside of the tray, and then added the pulls on the top of the tray at each end.

I planned to use the finished tray on the wooden box/table on my back deck, but I didn’t want the tray to trap moisture under it and rot both it and the box. So I purchase some super cheap feet that I simply hammered in from the backside and this gave everything some breathing room. I can’t wait to change out the flowers for the seasons and make good use of my decorative DIY tray!

Okay, folks. I’ve shown you my mums, now I want to see yours. Happy Fall, y’all!

A Year of Dates: The Gift and the Reality

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Mama

Christmas is only three days away and thankfully most of my shopping is complete and under the tree; even the stocking stuffers are prepped and ready. Since yesterday was my son’s last day of school before the long holiday, I used it to complete all the wrapping and organizing that goes into prepping for Santa’s approaching visit. Whew, it was a busy day, but now it’s done.

Since I’ve been in the Christmas gifting mood, a writing prompt from Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop this week really caught my eye. Although the idea was phrased as the “Best or worst gift you ever received,” I decided to switch it up a bit and write about the “Best AND worst gift I ever GAVE.” Mind you, this is not about two gifts, just one, but since it’s checking off two boxes I guess I better explain.

Last year I decided to create a super special Christmas gift for my husband (thank you, Pinterest). He can be difficult to buy for because he pretty much has everything he needs and doesn’t ask for much of anything either. So with Pinterest inspiration in my head, I created a book of monthly dates for my man, all planned and paid. A lot of thought and planning went into pulling off this gift, and I am happy to say he loved it. He even remarked that it might be the best gift I ever gave him. *ding, ding, ding*

If you’re interested in making your own Year of Dates for someone special (read warning below), but need a little inspiration, here is the list I created for my own husband. I tried to keep it affordable and interesting by using Groupons, redeemable credit card points and unique local destinations. I sorted everything in little brown envelopes and bundled those by punching two holes, tying with cute ribbon and printing labels for each month’s adventure.

January: Dinner for two at Cellar & Loft Pizza in the River Market (Groupon). Hint: check the expirations on Groupons, because they may need to be used sooner rather than later. I’m glad we used this one in January, because the restaurant closed shortly after our visit.

February: A date at KC Performance indoor archery range. My husband is a bow hunter and this was a chance to do something together I knew he would enjoy. This business doesn’t have gift certificates, so I printed off the webpage and put it and cash in the envelope.

March: Dinner for two at the Bonefish Grill. This outing’s gift certificate was compliments of credit card points.

April: A painting class for two at Happy Trees. This was another Groupon item.

May: Ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery and back to our place for a Redbox movie of his choice. This was one of those cheaper date nights. Redbox does have gift certificates you can buy which supply you with free rental codes. It’s kind of a fun gift for stocking stuffers and such.

June: Putt-putt at Cool Crest and dinner at the “Home of the Whopper.” Yes, another inexpensive and silly date night via gift certificates.

July: Hooking up the boat and going fishing with snacks and drinks from QT. Simple but nice outing for the two of us that cost next to nothing.

August: Dinner and a movie courtesy of gift certificates.

September: A night’s stay at a local hotel and spending cash. I purchased a Hotels.com gift certificate that allowed us to pick a hotel at a later date and added some spending cash to boot.

October: Trap shooting at the Lake Lotawana Sportsmen’s Club and cash for dinner. We are both waterfowl hunters and a night of trap is both entertaining and useful.

November: Dinner for two at Red Lobster — another gift certificate courtesy of credit card points.

December: Breakfast, lunch or dinner at IHOP.

As most of you parents know, it’s sometimes hard to work in regular date nights with a youngster underfoot. So I just knew this would be the ticket for some fun outings together all year long. . . and that’s where it all went wrong. In January we used our pizza Groupon and March was also a winner, but by November, he simply pulled out all the unused gift certificates, food cards and cash and started using them up as a family. Our son enjoyed Red Lobster with us on a Saturday afternoon and even got to pet one of the lobster’s in the tank. We rented Norm of the North from Redbox one evening and had family breakfast at IHOP a couple of weeks ago.

So as you can see, while the Year of Dates was initially a fabulous gift, the reality was that I failed to follow through on the real gift — making it all happen. With gift cards and rental codes still gathering dust in little brown envelopes a whole year later, this actually turned out to be one of the worst gifts I ever gave.

posted at Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop

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