My Memorial Day Weekend in Pictures: 2019

It has become somewhat of a tradition to share my Memorial Day Weekend in Pictures with you all.  So in keeping with tradition, here we go.  Lexi just turned 5 and here she is getting into the swing of things.  I LOVE some red, white, and blue for all things summer, festive, and Americana.  But for some reason, I also seem to include yellow (or gold) in many of my festive summertime color schemes.  In any case, we didn't really plan on that for this picture, but somehow it still screams Americana to me.  

Leading up to the weekend, I knew we had to start hanging our flags and banners.  We display them all summer long.  Here's a look at John in action. 

And here's the finished product.  Banners hung, flags waving, ready to go for the summer.  This photo was taken on Memorial Day 2019.  And this is what I wore all day.  The dress wasn't a true red- more muted, but it worked and I thought the style and pattern fit the bill.  Our flowers and plants are already taking off for the season but by mid-summer, they will be overtaking the front steps.  

But back to how we spent our weekend.  Oh, what a special start to an always fun weekend....  LEXI GRADUATED FROM PRE-SCHOOL!!!

She has spent two wonderful years at the most amazing pre-school.  She has been loved on, and learned so much.  She has made wonderful friends.  In truth, so have I.  But she is moving on up to Kindergarten in the fall, and this really made it official. 

On Friday morning, she and her fellow graduates gathered on the big stage for a big send off.  They sang us a sweet little song.  They each came up and received their diploma.  And then the teachers put together a real tear-jerker of a slide show for their big send off.  I only cried A LOT!

Dada brought flowers to our graduate, and I'm sure she wondered what in the world we were all making such a big deal over.  Precious Babydoll.  We are so proud.  

Later on Friday night, we decided to continue our tradition of sneaking up to 12 South in Nashville for the best barbecue in town at Edley's.  We go there almost every Memorial Day weekend, but this was a HOT one. A heat wave settled in just in time for the weekend.  And even though we sat in the shade, our table on the patio was a bit warm.  In any case, the food was wonderful as ever.  I had pulled pork, but steered away from my usual sides, opting for the daily specials- black eyed peas and corn.  Both were so goooood.

We had planned to walk about after dinner to see and photograph the many many murals that have popped up all over 12 South.  But alas, the heat got the doll pretty quickly, and our night was cut short.  It really was super hot, and I couldn't disagree with the call to head home early.  We did manage to get one festive shot of Lexi girl with the blue and white stripes gracing the side of Draper James.  This wall has become fairly famous in Nashville, so I was happy to get this pic.  Then we were on our way. 

Saturday brought the promise of another warm and sunny day.  But that didn't stop John and Lexi from getting out the old convertible and taking her for a spin.  The two of them have special plans every Saturday morning for the next several weeks.  More on that in a moment.  When they left, John was driving....

But apparently, that didn't last long. 

They made their way to the Waffle House for breakfast.  This cutie could be the poster girl!

Looks like they had a pretty good time there. 

So this is what they are working on.  Lexi takes dance classes weekly, and it's almost recital time again.  There is always an opportunity for the dads to take the stage for a special dance with their daughters.  John and Lexi did this last year and it was a huge hit.  So they are back at it this year.  Here's the cast of characters from Saturday.  They will be practicing their routine for the next several weeks getting ready for the big dance. That's Lexi, second from the left on the front row.  And John is fourth from the left on the back row. 

After all that dancing and rehearsing, they were ready for a dip in the pool.  All the pools are open for the season, and we were excited to get back to our summer pool routine. 

Normally, Memorial Day weekend starts our summertime pool visits, but the water is usually still a little too cold for me to venture into.  However, this year, we have been experiencing a bit of a heat wave, and even I got right in.  The water was a bit cold but it felt good compared to our unusually hot temps for this time of year. 

Lexi girl donned her new goggles, and took straight to the water.  This kid has always loved the water. 

There was a DJ spinning tunes, burgers on the grill, and people playing and having fun everywhere.  There was a shark attack game going in the pool, and Lexi ended up catching one of the sharks.  She was so proud of herself.  It was a fun fun way to spend the afternoon. 

By the time Saturday night rolled around, it was time for our annual neighborhood crawfish boil.  Here are our two hosts for the evening.  That's our neighbors, Mike and Doug, serving up the feast. 

And these lovelies are the hostesses.  That's our neighbors, Natalie and Cheryl.  

People from all over the neighborhood come with their lawn chairs and side dishes.  There is music.  Kids running and playing.  Cornhole.  Laughter.  Catching up with friends and neighbors.  And of course, the food. 

Here is the main fare.  That's a combo of crawfish and shrimp, with the traditional corn and potatoes. 

And one of my neighbors MADE these cookies that were picture perfect for the occasion.  I scored a couple of them, along with this picture early on.  I knew they wouldn't last long and they didn't.  I live in a super-talented neighborhood full of super talented women.  These were amazing!

Our contribution is always popcorn. We wheel the popper out and pop the night away.  Here are John and Lexi hard at work.  John said he ended up popping over 7 pounds of popcorn.  Now that's a lot of corn!  He was in charge of popping it, and Lexi was our server extraordinaire. 

Time out for a quick photo with Mama. 

And then after dinner, Lexi switched to a swimsuit and hit the slip n' slide with many of her friends from the neighborhood.  Here she is with her friend Ellie from across the street.  They will both start kindergarten this fall.  Sweet sweet girls. 

And here's one last photo from the night.  This is me with my girlfriends from our cul-de-sac.  That's me on the left, Natalie and Cheryl in the center (our hostesses with the mostesses!) and Besty on the right.  I am so lucky to have these wonderful ladies.  And check out Cheryl's earrings- crawfish!!  Couldn't get any more perfect!!  What a fun night.  We always look forward to the crawfish boil every year!

Sunday brought another trip to the pool.  It was busy.  Lots of kids and fun all over again!!  And wouldn't you know it.  Lexi found a friend.  This is actually one of her pre-school friends who just happened to be there.  They palled around all afternoon long and had a big time.  

Sunday evening brought a movie in the backyard with friends, and although I didn't get any pictures (darn it!) it was a good night.  More popcorn, more friends, and more outdoors.  The fun just kept rolling. 

Monday was Memorial Day and John's parents invited us to their house for a barbecue.  We made a pit stop at the splash park on the way, and it was so much fun. 

Lexi has been visiting this splash park since she was a baby, and she still loves it.  

But remember, we were on our way to a barbecue.  We feasted on hamburgers from the grill, homemade potato salad and baked beans, corn on the cob, and some of the best lemonade I've ever had. 

For dessert it was homemade strawberry shortcake!

And then there was time outside for a while.  Lexi loved checking out all of Grammie and Papa's flowers.  Their garden is gorgeous, as always. 

Then it was home again, home again to wind down another long holiday weekend.  We had such a fun time.   And I hope you did too!   I hope you've enjoyed this little photo tour of how we spent our weekend.  Now that summer has officially (unofficially) started, it's sure to be a good one. 

And here are the links to my photo lineups from previous Memorial Day weekends, in case you want to travel down memory lane with me. 

2015 

2016

2017

2018

Banana Pudding Poke Cake

If you're a fan of banana pudding, then you're going to love this take on it. This cake has all the traditional components of banana pudding: pudding, bananas, vanilla wafers, but it's layered with a yellow cake. What's not to love?

This cake tastes really yummy served cold straight out of the refrigerator, so it makes the perfect spring and summer time dessert. Whip this up for your next family get-together or barbecue! It won't stay around long!

Banana Pudding Poke Cake

Cake

1 package of yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Pudding

5.1 oz package vanilla instant pudding mix
3 cups milk
4 Tbsp butter, cubed
2 tsp vanilla
3 large bananas, sliced

Topping

8 oz container Cool Whip
1/2 cup crushed vanilla wafer cookies (about 12 cookies)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Place the cake mix, melted butter, milk, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute until all ingredients are incorporated. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 more minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Place the pan in the oven on the center rack.
4. Bake the cake 30-33 minutes, until it is light brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool completely.
5. While the cake cools, prepare the pudding. Place the pudding mix and milk in a medium saucepan. Stir in the butter and vanilla. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the butter melts. Remove pan from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes. Fold in the banana slices.
6. Use the bottom of a wooden spoon to poke holes evenly across the entire cake (about 24 holes). Slowly pour the pudding over the cake, making sure to fill the holes. Use a spatula to spread the mixture out to all edges of the cake.
7. Cover the pudding with Cool Whip, using a spatula to spread it evenly to the edges. (We always leave a little border of pudding peaking around the edges of the cake, just for aesthetic purposes.) Sprinkle crushed wafer cookies over top of the Cool Whip layer.
8. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Hope you give this recipe a try!

Strawberry Tote Bag

Little Miss Lexi is celebrating her fifth birthday and so of course, she got a special handmade present from her Aunt Donna.

This year, I made her a crocheted drawstring strawberry tote bag, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. This bag is the perfect size to pack a pair of pajamas and maybe a stuffed animal to have a sleepover at Grammie and Pop Pop’s house. Or maybe to tote around all the treasures that 5-year-old girls collect. Either way, I think Miss Lexi will like it!

Pattern Choice

Now, I have to start by saying that there are a lot of free crochet strawberry bag patterns out there. And I read through many of them before starting this project. The project that you see here is really a cobbled together version of a strawberry tote bag. A Frankenberry! I incorporated what I felt were the best parts of several different patterns, and I’ll link those patterns and explain the whole process below.

Materials You'll Need

For this project, you’ll need a dark pink (or red) yarn for the berry, a green yarn for the strawberry cap, small bits of white and yellow yarn for flowers, and small bits of white or black yarn for the seeds. I used a size H hook for the entire project. And I used Fray Block on all the knotted ends of the seeds to make sure that they stay secure. (See directions below.)

The Strawberry

For the body of the bag (or the strawberry), I mostly followed this step by step video crochet tutorial. The only changes I made were that I stuck to the repeat of four increase rows and one non-increase row for the main body. I worked the pattern until I had 18 stitches between increases. When it came time to decrease, I worked a few more decrease rows than specified.

The finished strawberry on my bag measures 11 ¼ inches from top to bottom and about 13 inches across the top opening when laid flat. Of course, you can make your bag any size you choose by following the same repeats in the tutorial.

The Seeds

For the seeds on the strawberry, I followed the same video tutorial instructions. However, I looped the yarn through each area three times before tying off. I made sure to tie off each seed four times (tightly). And then after cutting all loose ends, I also dabbed each knot with Fray Block. I hope this will ensure that none of the knots will come untied and the strawberry seeds will stay put.

The Top

For the top of the strawberry, I followed this step by step YouTube crochet tutorial. This tutorial had more of a ruffle top strawberry, which I preferred to the individual leaves that many strawberry bag patterns had. I ended up doing 5 total rows of double crochet just so that the top to the strawberry bag would look proportionate. I believe the bag that I started with was larger than the bag in this tutorial.

The Drawstring

For the drawstring, my main concern was that it might come out of the bag since there was nothing at the ends of the drawstrings in many of the strawberry bag patterns. I found this free crochet Strawberry Pajama bag pattern that had strawberry blossoms attached to the ends of the drawstring, so that was the perfect solution! Make sure to weave your drawstring into the bag before attaching your blossoms to the ends.

To attach them, I knotted the center yellow yarn from the flower and the green yarn from the drawstring chain tightly. Then, I wove the yellow yarn into the yellow part of the flower and I used the green yarn to tack the drawstring down to the flower petal (from behind) and weave extra into the green part only. This hid the stitches so that the flowers will look good from both sides and will also be secure.

(Note: as written, the pattern only produces blossoms with 4 petals, even though 5 are shown in the photo with the pattern. If you’d prefer to have 5 petals on your blossoms, I would suggest starting with more single crochets in your ring.)

The Handle

Many of the free crochet strawberry bag patterns I found were for backpacks, and many of them had very thin handles. I really thought that regardless of whether it ended up being a backpack or a tote bag, the handle needed to be sturdy since it was ultimately going to be a gift for a five-year-old.

I really liked the way the handles on this Out & About Backpack looked, so I used that same basic principle. Instead of a starting chain of 101, I only chained 85. And instead of 11 rows of SC, I only did 7 before folding over and trimming in the scallops. The scallops seemed to work better for me (not ruffle) when I skipped 2 stitches between them. I used pink yarn to attach each end of the handle securely to the inside top of the bag and weaved in ends.

I decided on a tote bag version which only required one handle, but if you’d like to make a backpack version for your strawberry bag, you could always make two handles and attach them to the back of the bag instead of the top.

So that’s it! A little legwork to get the look, but I think it turned out fantastic!

And here's a few photos of the birthday girl enjoying her bag:

And if you don’t have a kiddo who would appreciate a strawberry tote bag, I happen to think that this strawberry might look awfully cute in your kitchen pantry holding extra plastic grocery bags. Or even leave off the handle, fill it with fiberfill stuffing, and cinch it tight to make a cute summertime pillow. Or maybe just make one for yourself to take to the Farmers' Market this Summer.

Have fun crocheting your strawberry bag!

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