Celebrating Graduation with Years of Achievement: The Time Capsule Mantel How-To

Graduations are a great time to celebrate your achievements, big and small, while sharing your individual story and thanking those that have influenced your story over the years. 

The random memories that stick out in our minds of times gone by have always intrigued me. I was 5 years old at the time, just starting Kindergarten. She was in high school and was the epitome of everything I wanted to someday be. I can still see her - with her light brown pony tail, tied up with a ribbon, blowing in the wind as our school bus rolled along. I don't remember her name, but she was always smiling and seemed to have everything in the palm of her hand. I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. I'm sure she would never remember me, but she made an impact on my life. Throughout that year she became my friend, and someone I looked up to.

After school let out that May I never saw her again. I assume she graduated. It's hard to believe though that at five years old she had me contemplating who I wanted to be and probably never even realized it. I can remember counting forward through the years and saying, "WOW, 2008... that's so far away. I will be a Senior in high school then, just like her."

2008 quickly came and went and here I stand, in 2013, holding my college degree. I always thought that only old people asked 'where does the time go' but recently I find myself asking that very question and I'm not quite ready to consider myself old. 

Where DOES All of the Time Go?

Reaching graduation day is an accomplishment in itself. It's important to also remember all of those short term goals and achievements that came together in order for that day to be possible though. In celebrating the final degree I thought it would also be great to celebrate all of the small moments and goals that were achieved along the way. I cleared off our mantel as my Mom scoured the house for signs of my accomplishments throughout the years. The end result, a Time Capsule Mantel celebrating my life since my pre-school years. It's easy, CHEAP, and makes a great backdrop for your graduation festivities.

Here's what you'll need:

A Mantel or Long Shelf

A Graduation Banner (DIY Instructions HERE)

and an Assortment of the Following Mementos:

School Photos

Trophies, Medals and Awards

Previous Diplomas Earned (Pre-School, Kindergarten, High School... etc.)

Favorite Books (ex. Oh, The Places You'll Go!)

Textbooks With Special Meaning (ex. Are you PROUD of Passing the Calculus AP Exam?)

An Old Alarm Clock that Woke You Up Every Morning for School

Yearbooks, etc.

Once you have gathered your mementos have fun with them. Arrange them to tell a story, and be prepared to share that story. The items you choose will more than likely be conversation starters at your graduation party. Talk about them all. Share your accomplishments. This is a big day and it's YOUR day! Celebrate it!

EASY Celebration Banners

Pennant Banners, Flag Banners, Fabric Bunting, Celebration Banners - whatever you call them they're the perfect addition to liven up a party and are my go to decoration for outdoor summer events. As they continue to grow in popularity it's getting easier and easier to find places to order custom celebration banners from. The only problem: they can get pretty pricey!

Luckily, if you're willing to sit down and do-it-yourself they're pretty easy to make! All you need is a steady hand, scissors, pretty fabric, fabric glue and some twine.

Keeping your fabric doubled, cut out a triangle shape with the folded edge of the fabric as your base (when opened up it will make a diamond). Slide your twine in between the two layers, nestling it into the fold. Glue the two layers together so that the triangle pennant hangs over the twine at the fold. Repeat the process adding each new pennant to your twine until your banner is of the desired length.

Tie a loop on each end of your twine to loop around a push pin. Using a push pin you can then easily hang your celebration banner from trees or decks with little to no damage and change out the colors and patterns for all of your summer festivities.

Happy Celebrating!

Curious George: Revamping the Family Farm

With my parents' recent retirement we're in the process of revamping my family's farm. We're primarily a beef cattle farm and I've never known of a time when cattle weren't present in our fields. We've had a few goats, pigs, chickens, and horses here and there throughout my lifetime but the years of being a prominent poultry production and tobacco farm are long gone. Dad has big plans to return it to the fully-functioning farm that he grew up on though and well, I'm game.

Over the next few months (more than likely the next year) if you aren't a fan of agriculture and farm life you're probably going to hate me. It's going to be what I'm talking about... a lot. It all starts with my new little nuggets.

Meet George: He's the Curious One. Well... I think he's a he. Her name may be Georgina. I'll keep you posted.


























16 of these little nuggets came home with me yesterday. Meaning: the coop renovations we have planned have to happen soon. Very soon. They can only live in a box in the middle of my living room floor for so long. Yes, they're sitting beside me chirping away as I type.

I wanted to introduce you to George(ina) because, well... he really is the curious one. He constantly has his neck stretched out and intently looks at me (he's doing it right now) trying to figure out what I'm doing and what my plans are for him. I took some of the others out of the box to take pictures of as well and they ran around like a chicken with its head cut off... without their head cut off. Good ol' George just stood there, cocked his head to the side, and stared at me for at least 5 minutes.

When my dad was my age they shipped these little nuggets in by the truckload and filled our chicken house with thousands of them once. As a teenager he spent many nights sleeping in the chicken house with the chicks to make sure the coal fired stoves didn't go out during the middle of the night. Sixteen will have to suffice for now though. Those days of boiler contracts are long gone. But, that's a different story all in itself. Now George has decided that he can fly and is trying to fly out of the box. We'll see how this goes.

Coop renovations start tomorrow!!

Monkeying Around

I'm on Spring Break this week. That doesn't mean much considering I have still worked everyday this week, but at least I have had a break from classes and have gotten to do some 'fun' work. What would life be without a little time to monkey around? You HAVE to take the time to do the things you love. How you spend your time is how you spend your life. I blogged about it HERE, check it out!

With graduation and wedding season on the horizon I've been focusing on getting my monkey's (... I mean ducks) in a row so that I can crank out my invitation orders. In the midst of all of this, I am celebrating several very special first birthdays this Spring.

As you know, last year was the year of babies for me. Babies were everywhere. This year, it's first birthdays and I couldn't be more excited. First birthdays are my favorite orders to fill. They're always so bright, colorful, and happy. Oh, and who doesn't love sock monkey's? I think this just might be my favorite design so far! There are many more to come in the near future though, so we'll have to wait and see how it lasts in the ranks.

Happy First Birthday Baby Wyatt!!

A Thousand Words Tell A Story

This week, the FOLK Journal Challenge Prompt is:

Reflect on your favorite family photo. Tell the story of that day. If you were not present when the photo was taken, tell a story that relates to those who are in the photo. 

If you're not already linking up to the FOLK Community Journal Challenge... well, you should be. Each Monday I will be posting a new journal prompt on the FOLK blog along with my answer to the prompt. A list of prompts can be found HERE.

A photo tells a thousand words, and a thousand words tell a story. Join me, share YOUR story!

I shared my 'official' response for the week on the FOLK blog, just as I do every Monday. The difference this week was that I had more to say, and more photos to share. So, here goes:

I've been a self proclaimed photographer since I can remember. At a birthday party (I don't remember which one) many, many years ago I unwrapped a pink Tweety Bird camera and from that moment on I was hooked. All thanks go to that little chunk of pink plastic! Over the years I have owned many cameras and unintentionally murdered many cameras as well. I have dropped them in the lake, broken off the film door, broken off the actual button you push to take the picture (don't ask me how that happened), and cracked the display screen. I'm hard on cameras, but I use my camera's daily so I suppose that can be expected.

Just as my choice in cameras has changed over the years, my photography skills have changed and evolved too. Still, I have many photos that I have taken that stand out in my mind as favorites.

This is Whitley. From the day she was born she's been my 'princess.' In this picture she was two and a half years old and was just starting to develop her quirky, tell-all personality. She takes after our Grandfather more than any of the grandchildren or great-grandchildren. She looks nothing like him, but she has every bit of his personality. She's never met a stranger and she talks to everyone like she's known them her whole life (all 8 years!). I love looking into her eyes and watching those wheels turn. She's always talking and I know she's thinking 10x as fast.

I didn't take this picture (my Mom did) but it's one of my all time favorites for a few reasons. I'm happy. That's my natural smile. Other than on my farm, the lake is the only other place where I am completely 100% myself... and happy. It's home and it's truly where my heart is. I credit my love of water to growing up at the lake (I can walk there from my house and did so almost every day as a child). I'm also a Cancer zodiac, a natural-born love of water. That day my Michigan family was in town and we had spent the day riding wave-runners and trying to throw each other off of them. Looking back, it was probably really dangerous to do. It was fun at the time though. This picture was taken at the end of the day as the sun was setting. I love the color of the water (and my skin - what I would give to be that tan again!)

This is quite possibly my absolute favorite photo of all time. This is Cameron. We've known each other our entire life, but it took us 20 years to really connect. This photo was taken on our second date. We went to the park that day and laughed at the crazy fighting ducks for at least an hour. He's the one. He's always been the one... it just took 20 years to realize it. I love the rays of sun in this photo. They give it such a warm and happy feel.

This was taken at the local golf course in my hometown. Cameron works there and is quite possibly the biggest golf enthusiast that I know. I try to play myself, but our golf trips usually end up with me leaving my clubs in the cart and pulling out my camera instead. I've gotten some great action shots of him over the years, and the scenery on each course we visit always takes my breath away. It's great couple time for us!

I recently snapped this during a daily feeding on my farm. I'm pretty sure it's going to be framed and placed on my mantle someday... when I have a home of my own that is. This little lady's name is Carmine and she was born and raised right here on our farm. I get so attached to the calves we keep and raise. They're like family and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Another photo that's probably going to be framed in my house someday, this one was taken at the back of one of my fiends looking deep into the Daniel Boone National Forest. This is home. Recently (I don't remember where) I came across a quote that read "You'll find no cell phone service in the middle of the woods, but you'll never feel as connected anywhere else." This is so very true. There's just something about natural forestry land that brings you back down to Earth and puts life into perspective. I can't tell you how many decisions those trees have helped me to make over the years. They really do talk to you.

Last, but not least:

On our trip to New York last April, I stopped to snap this photo and quickly lost Ben and Heath. I had to run to catch up with them but it was so very worth it. It's the lighting in this photo that I love the most. It's so moody, but so cheerful at the same time. A definition of patriotism if I ever knew one.

So, these are a few of my favorites. I have many, many, many more but if I add them I'll start to slow down the time it takes this post to load so I'll just leave it be.

Don't forget, if you're a blogger I would love for you to link up to the FOLK Community Journal Challenge each Monday. It's not too late to link up to this weeks prompt. Share some of your favorite photos and the stories that accompany them.

Influenced: An Authentic American Story

Over on the FOLKblog I asked for those participating in the weekly journal challenge to share their story as I believe this is a great week to reflect on our personal stories. Not only are we celebrating the story of Martin Luther King Jr. this week, we are also inaugurating Barack Obama for his second term as President of the United States. Both of these men have strong, complex American stories.

Dr. King once stated "We are not makers of history, we are made by history." 

I couldn't agree with this more. We are who we are because of our ancestors living out THEIR American story. I have spent a lot of time over the past few years researching my ancestry. Although I have a lot of research still to go, I have already learned a lot about who I am based on who they were. 

  
I often say we are 'all in this together' and I mean that. We all believe differently. We were all raised differently. We all come from different places, different countries, different cultures. That's what makes America so great. As such a young nation, we have a unique opportunity to take bits and pieces from our ancestors (who came from all over the world) and mix them all together to create what we believe to be the best possible concoction of a culture to raise our children in. I personally am English, Scottish, Irish, German, French, Cherokee and a little something called Melungeon (basically a gypsy culture). I am all of these things, I am AMERICAN and I am proud of that. That is my story.

My ancestors boarded a ship and set sail across a great ocean to reach a shoreline... extending the border of the country and the culture they had always known. They brought with them their customs and beliefs, meshing these with the customs and beliefs of Americans who reached the same shoreline via a different boat. Instead of defining America as a country with borders wouldn't it make more sense to define America as a place where the borders of all countries in the world meet? Yes, America is a chunk of land. If you delve into the idea behind the founding of America though you quickly realize that the chunk of land is not what matters. American is a way of life. Consider it an adjective - a way to describe blending the best parts of the world together into one.
 

"We have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now" - Martin Luther King Jr.

 My personal American story is influenced greatly by each of their individual stories. From Captains in the Revolutionary War, to the Governor of Tennessee. From coal miners and saloon owners to elementary school teachers, post masters and mechanical and electrical engineers. Many stories have influenced my own and I am thankful for each. My family tree wouldn't be nearly as interesting without them. 

I work daily to educate my generation and future generations on the diverse history that America has been created from. The longer we are meshed together the more we will become as one. It is important to understand that America is created from so many more than one. It is important and it is something I want my children and my grandchildren to understand. I am proud of my heritage - heritage that comes from many different corners of the world. I want nothing more than for our future generations to understand the complexity of their heritage. I believe this was the essence behind Dr. King's ideas and dreams. A group of people that appreciates, acknowledges and welcomes the different cultural and lifestyle aspects that we all bring to the table. A land of justice and equality for all.

Are you interested in sharing your story? Answer the prompt of the week on your blog and link up at www.FOLKlifestyle.com. I'll see you there!

A New Year & A New Agenda

If I'm anything, I'm a planner. A planner, a scheduler and a list-maker. A list-maker, an organizer and... well, a planner. I plan everything. I waste a lot of time planning how I'm going to spend my time. This drives my friends and family crazy, but it's who I am.

It all started when I was her. A three-year old, deep-thinking philosopher. I over-analyzed everything... and I still do. My parent's were both public educators who devoted much more to their job than ever required. If you're not a teacher or the child of a teacher, it's truly hard for me to explain to you just what all our public educators do. They ALWAYS brought their work home with them. A planning period was never enough time to get everything done that they needed to. I used to lay in the living room floor every Sunday night with my Dad as he worked on his lesson plans for the week. It all started then. Before I could even read and write I was a planner.

Last January when I started on my New Year's Resolutions I planned to blog more. Then, my birthday rolled around mid-summer and I realized I hadn't posted more than a handful of times. This year my New Year's Resolutions are to basically live a better life. In my mind, that includes doing more of what I enjoy (blogging included), exercising more and studying the bible on a regular basis. I decided if I am really going to tackle this blogging thing I'm going to have to have a plan. The more thought I put into it... the more I realized that I'm not alone. I was sure there had to be tons of 'bloggers' out there who had the same plans for the new year. Being the planner I am... I planned.

I wanted to involve more people so I made a Journal Agenda with writing prompts for each week of 2013 and introduced it to my FOLK Family. Each Monday I will be blogging over on the FOLKblog with the entry that corresponds to the prompt of the week. Each post will include a Linky Party for bloggers to link-up their own posts in response to the prompt. A community journaling/blogging project. This should be fun!

January's Journal Agenda prompts are as follows:

The first entry is live and there are several bloggers already linked-up. Join me!

Jet Setter: Reflections on 2012

As I sit here thinking about my plans and resolutions for 2013 I can't help but be humbled by the opportunities that were presented to me in 2012. It has been such an amazing year. A year that will be hard to beat.

I am a home-body who loves to travel and in 2012, travel I did!

Recap of my trips:

January - Ben, Heath and I traveled to America's Mart in Atlanta, GA and literally walked our legs off. Best part of the trip? Dinner at abattoire.

April - Roadtrip! Ben, Heath and I hit the road again, traveling through 9 states, at a total of around 2,200 miles. We drove through the night to Boston, visited the Harvard campus at Cambridge and then headed up to Concord, NH for the day. From Concord we headed to New York City where we visited Central Park, the 911 Memorial, Times Square, Grand Central Station and the New York City Public Library (the library walk is awesome!)

 

Central Park

The View From Our Suite at The Waldorf Astoria

(To this day I have NO IDEA how we lucked up and got that suite!)

May - I grew up with St. Augustine, FL being 'home away from home.' The major plus to having a house down there is the fact that we don't have cable or internet hooked up. You can TRULY unplug and get away... and I love that! This year I got to share my little sanctuary with Cameron and his Momma. I showed them around 'my town,' took them to my favorite restaurant (the Saltwater Cowboy) and shared with them the serenity of the Anastasia State Park Beach (one of my all time favorite places to de-stress).

Anastasia State Park

(Alone for Miles!)

Dinner in Downtown St. Augustine. If you haven't been to the 'Old City' it's a trip you really need to plan!

July - I moved into the SAE House on the University of Kentucky's Campus for a week to compete for the title of Miss Kentucky. Amazing friends and even better memories resulted from that week. 

August - I checked off one of my bucket-list goals by flying out to Phoenix, AZ for a week to visit family, spending the weekend in Sedona, AZ and taking a road trip to the Grand Canyon.

South Rim of the Grand Canyon

Bucket List: Visit the Grand Canyon

September - Ben, Heath and I headed to Columbus, OH for the Country Living Fair. I love getting to visit with our partners.

October - Last Minute trip to Boston? Why Not? When friends of ours decided to host an American-made pop up market, we booked a flight! Ben, Heath and I had a blast meeting new friends at American Field, exploring Quincy Market and walking the Freedom Trail. 

Then, it was off to Atlanta for Country Living Fair again. Again, with so many of our partners being vendors at Country Living Fair... I love going just to visit with them! 

November - It has become a tradition in Cameron's family to have Thanksgiving in Gatlinburg, TN. We camp out, go to the Dixie Stampede and head into the Smokies to visit the aquarium (of course stopping for breakfast at FlapJacks). 

Riding the Carousel at Bass Pro with my Sweet Nephew

December - Cameron and I headed to Chicago, IL for the One of A Kind Market. An amazing experience, I found so many great American small businesses. A true testament to the fact that American ingenuity is alive and well. While in Chicago we also visited the Theater District, saw the Christmas windows at Macy's and (like the tourists we are) we made it a point to visit Millenium Park and get our picture taken by 'the Bean.'

The Chicago Theater District

'The Bean'

It's been a busy year, but it's been an amazing year. I am really looking forward to what 2013 will bring. Where did 2012 take you? Where will 2013 lead?

Weddings are Happening

As hard as it is to believe, it seems like every other weekend someone I know is getting married. I am having trouble believing the fact that we are really old enough to be getting married... but I suppose we are. It seems like just yesterday that I was folding up notes origami style to pass across the room and typing notes into my calculator to pass across the table in Math class with these girls. Looking back.. that TI-83 calculator saw some juicy 8th grade gossip... and made some big decisions in my life.

Now we are getting married (well, not 'we'... it will still be a while for me, but some of us are getting married) and I am wrapping up cards for some of those same girls. Where does time go?

A good friend of mine from middle school has been the most recent to 'tie the knot'. Even though I was a bit sad that we were old enough for her to even have bridesmaids and be planning a wedding in the first place, I was thrilled when she asked me to do cards for each of her six bridesmaids. Here's a sampling of them.

 If you are interested in custom greeting cards for any occasion email me at HappeningsbyHillary@gmail.com.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Parsley!!

Bruschetta with Tomato, Garlic, and Basil

If you follow my instagram account (@happeningsbyhillary) I have been promising you this recipe for a few days now: Bruschetta with Tomato, Garlic, and Basil.

Pronounced [bru'sket:ta], this in my version of a classic Italian dish (and the first of my weekly recipes as mentioned in the post Birthdays and the Beginning of a Bucket List.)

As a bruschetta lover, this recipe was made to taste from bruschetta dishes I have had over the years. I originally picked two green tomatoes and laid them on my counter to fry for dinner one night... but that never happened, and they ripened. I was then stuck with two red tomatoes. What to do, what to do -- made bruschetta of course! 

Ingredients:

• 1 white or wheat baguette (I prefer wheat... you can find them in your grocer's bakery section). 
• 2-3 medium ripe tomatoes
• 4-5 large fresh basil leaves
• 2-3 medium cloves of garlic
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• Water (5-6 cups or enough to completely submerge your tomatoes)

1. Place water on to boil. Once the water comes to a rapid boil remove it from the heat source and carefully drop in your whole tomatoes. Let them sit for 1-2 minutes and drain. Tomatoes will be hot so take caution when handling them! 
2. Using a paring knife make a small puncture in the skin of each tomato. You should be able to easily peel off the layer of skin. Slice each tomato in half and remove the seeds/juice/core. 
3. Chop the tomato flesh into medium chunks (similar to a chunky salsa).
4. Chop basil and mince garlic. 
5. In a bowl mix approximately 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil with chopped basil, minced garlic, and tomato chunks. Salt and Pepper to taste.
6. Slice baguette with approximately 1/2 inch angled slices. 
7. Dip one side of each slice in olive oil and lay olive oil side down on a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 3-5 minutes or until golden brown. This toasts the baguette slices. 
8.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 1-2 minutes. 
9. Arrange the toasted baguette slices on a platter with a bowl of the tomato, basil, garlic, and olive oil mixture.
10. Garnish with fresh basil and serve while warm. 

This is a GREAT summer recipe for all of those vine-ripe tomatoes in your garden!!

Birthdays and the Beginning of a Bucket List

Today I turned 22, so I decided to create what I like to refer to as a 'one-year bucket list.' I have seen several bloggers do this before and have always been intrigued by it. Two to three weeks ago I ran across a similar post on a blog and decided (with my birthday quickly approaching) that the time to create my own could not possibly be better. Follow along as I strive to make these 22 plans for the next year of my life happen. Happenings by Hillary is getting ready to get interesting.

(Visiting New York City used to be on my bucket list. I had the opportunity to do just that this past Spring and can not wait to go back!)

22 things to do before I turn 23:

1. Graduate with a bachelor's degree. 
2. Publish a new blog post at least once a week. 
3. Try a new recipe once a week and put together a cookbook documenting those that I try/create.
4. Make my bed every day for an entire month. 
5. Make the Dean's List.
6. See the Grand Canyon.  (August 2012)
7. Make my first etsy sale.
8. Implement a daily exercise routine (and stick to it).
9. Learn to play the psaltery (more than the 3 songs I currently have memorized). 
10. Sew a quilt.
11. Send 'just because' and 'thank you' cards to those who touch my life.
12. Buy nothing but made in America/local products for an entire month. 
13. Expand my vocabulary (learn at least 2 new words each week and use them in conversation).
14. Organize my computer files and digital photos.
15. Beat the boyfriend in a round of golf (for those of you who don't know, he is in the midst of a PGA apprenticeship so this one will be pretty hard.)
16. Go on a Spring Break trip.
17. Join the Daughter's of the American Revolution.
18. Join the Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen.
19. Finish my book (and publish it). 
20. Take on and complete a major re-upholstery project.
21. Plant an herb garden and learn to cook with fresh herbs. 
22. Begin an inspiration journal and devote 2 hours each week to its development.

Do you have a bucket list? What is on it?  Feel free to share your plans for the future (or provide a link up to your own bucket list) in a comment below!! I would love to see yours!!

We're Open For Business!

Today I opened an etsy store. Okay, okay... I actually 'opened' it a few months ago but today I made my first listing (and my second). It gave me some anxiety to press the post button on the first one, but it's a done deal now. We'll see how it goes.

It's still a little baby etsy (only those two listings right now) but I hope for it to grow very, very soon!
Check it out! happeningsbyhillary.etsy.com

As always, if you are interested in a card design or something other than what is listed in my etsy store, please feel free to email me at happeningsbyhillary@gmail.com!