Packing a Picnic

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The weather is just absolutely perfect right now to get outside and enjoy a lovely picnic with your friends and family.  Here are a few tips for packing that picnic basket:

Choose foods that travel well and don’t require more than one utensil to eat

Pack the plates and utensils

Pack last what you will need first - like the picnic blanket

If your food requires cutting – do it at home and then wrap tightly

Pack cold foods in a small cooler so they stay cold

Remember:

Cups and glasses

Napkins

Salt and pepper

Trash bags

Citronella candles

Corkscrew

ENJOY!

Going to the lake...

Friend: "What are you doing this weekend?"

Me: "Going to the lake"

Friend: "AGAIN?"

But a weekend at the lake is something special - even if it is every weekend. A Saturday at home is very different than a Saturday at the lake. A Saturday morning at home is heading to the grocery store with a list and then Target, maybe even Home Depot. Saturday morning at the lake is getting out early with the fishing poles or just taking your coffee down by the water in the adirondack chair.

Saturday afternoon at home is watching your kids run out the door to be with their friends for the day and probably the night. Saturday afternoon at the lake is packing up the boat with the cooler, snacks, rafts, noodles, snorkel masks and most importantly the kids.

Saturday nights at home are in the kitchen preparing dinner or maybe ordering a pizza. Saturday nights at the lake are picking up fish and chips from town and bringing them down to the beach to watch the sunset or having long alfresco dinners on the deck until its time to start the bonfire.

Sundays at the lake are pretty much the same except with maybe the added benefit of bloody mary's and long bike rides- so Target and Home Depot will have to wait - this weekend I am "going to the lake".

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Fresh Flowers

Is there anything more beautiful around the house then fresh flowers? Whether you are picking your own or buying them from the market, here are a few tips to keep them looking fresh and gorgeous.

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From your cutting garden:

1. If you are picking your own try to do it in the early part of the day before the sun starts to drain them.

2. Bring a bucket of water and put the stems in as soon as you cut them.

3. Pick the flowers that haven't bloomed completely yet so they will last longer

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From the market:

1. Cut all of the stems on a diagonal

2. Take off any leaves that will be under the water line in you vase

3. Snip off thorns and remove damaged petals

Use tepid water

Add floral nutrients

Change the water regularly