Life at a "Swell's" pace

Road Trip: A weekend coastal getaway

For the past two weekends we have taken off to the coast. It has been pretty calm weather over there lately, so we took advantage of a drive to get our feet wet. Here's a few pictures from our little trek over to the Pacific Ocean.

The American flag standing tall at Salem, Oregon.

A beautiful view of Mt. Hood.

It was such a clear day I couldn't stop taking shots of the mountain. So pretty, and the best part is, I get to see this almost daily. It's amazing!

Mount Saint Helens was visible too.

The sun setting over the ocean was a beautiful sight too.

Sunset on the Pacific Coast at 6:00 PM. #sunset #pacificcoast #oregon #leftcoast #westcoast #beautiful

Beach love. This wasn't ours, but it caught our attention because it was so big. Whoever drew this heart into the sand meant business. Too bad it was washed away a short time later by the tide coming in. :(

The dogs loved running on the sandy beach.

I did find some awesome treasures before the tide did come up.

Skylar doing the "Truffle-Shuffle" in front of the Goonies House in Astoria, Oregon. #thesealionsaretoonoisy #thirtyyearslater #truffleshuffle #goonies #astoria #oregon #chunk

A video posted by Shelly Hardage-Wilkerson ॐ (@sh3llysh3lly) on Feb 15, 2015

And we can't forget that Skylar did the "Truffle Shuffle" in front of the "Goonies" house when we drove through Astoria, Oregon!

Overall it was a great road trip two weekends in a row!

What happened this time last year?

Five Simple Things

It's another Friday and I am so glad this the weekend. Of course, my allergies have been wrecking havoc on my sinuses the last two days, but some rest and relaxation is much needed. Looking forward to the next two days of doing nothing, but before that, here are the top five things that made my week amazing!

1. This Poe reference

Because April is National Poetry Month and one of my favorite poets is Edgar Allen Poe and one of his all-time favorite poems is 'The Raven.' And the Queen reference makes me laugh.

2. This feature

Because my spring article for Examiner was featured on the main page for green writers. I couldn't be more thrilled. You can read my article here. If you aren't a fan of my Facebook page for my Examiner articles, I'd love to have you like the page here.

3. This "Box."

Because it was a nice surprise from Birchbox. I receive their monthly shipments, as does Jeff with the Man Box, and we love them! We've found so many great new products through their monthly boxes. You can get your subscription going too for next month by visiting here and using my invitation code. You'll love it!

4. This Easter fun.

We made Easter egg garland with Washi Tape and hung it over the fireplace.

We did our annual Easter Egg Baseball Game, but had to call it early on account of the lightning that seemed to suddenly roll in out of nowhere.

We also enjoyed this bunny rabbit and chicks petit fours from The Swiss Colony. How cute are these? They were almost too cute to eat.

5. These Aprons

Because they are listings at The Peppermint Bee Farm. They are listed for $15 and are hand painted. Check them out here!

You can join in on this link up every week on Friday, by visiting North Carolina Charm and letting everyone know what five things made your week awesome!

What happened this time last year?

Five simple things

It's another Friday, which means another great post. I feel like there's more to share this week than just five things. So I've decided to add everything that's made this week amazing!

This Friday, I decided to link a few of my favorite Easter ideas I've been eyeballing on Pinterest. Some of these ideas are just amazing and I love how creative people are. If you aren't following me on Pinterest, I would LOVE to share pins with you. Follow me here!

1. These Flower Pretzel Bites

Source

2. These Easter Bunny Crayons

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3. This Carrot-Shaped Cheese Ball

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4. This Spring Bucket List

Because it was a great way to bring in the spring season in our Red Snail Classroom. You can get this Bucket List here.

5. This April Fool's Prank

Because I pulled it on Jeff and he actually fell for it.......for about 20 minutes. It was quite comical. I got the idea here and even made envelopes to make it seem real. I placed it in with the regular mail, so he had no clue it wasn't something that was actually mailed to him.

The idea for this came from Pretty Prudent.

6. Our Earth Hour Celebration

We celebrated Earth Hour on March 28 (last Saturday) and I live Tweeted during the entire hour that the west coast went dark. If you haven't heard about Earth Hour, or you're still contemplating on participating or not, check out some information here and here. We also baked some Earth cookies to celebrate the event when we were in the dark, lit sparklers, and did shadow puppets while the lights were out. We had a great time!

7. This Pac-Man Game

Along the April Fool's Day pranks, Google allowed you to turn your neighborhood into a Pac-Man game. It was awesome to play the streets of my own town and actually get a high score.

8. This Homemaker Box

Because I am part of the Brit Kit Co-Op and this was March's Brit Kit along with the Homemakers' book Brit Morin wrote. The box was packed full of everything you would need to make many DIY crafts. It was a great kit and the book is amazing! Find both of them here.

9. This Easter Painting

Because these are new in my shop and I am pretty excited about them. I plan on adding more paintings into the shop in the future. You can grab these burlap paintings here.

10. These New Listings at The Peppermint Bee