I'm addicted...

to my Dymo. I confess. Lock me up if you must.

I asked for this fun little label maker for Mother's Day in hopes that if would get me motivated to organize. It worked! I knew exactly what I wanted to tackle first. The PANTRY!!

When we were house hunting, I instantly fell in love with everything about this house. OK, really I fell in love with the pantry. It was love at first sight. Well, actually 2nd glance because I didn't even SEE it at first.

Isn't that clever!? I opened the cabinet doors expecting to see rows of shelves and instead I am transported into my own secret room!! Seriously, it is the best thing EVER!! HOWEVER...this is the sad part...after a couple of years the clutter of the rest of the house started creeping into my beloved pantry. It didn't bring me that "feeling" anymore, the "spark" was gone. It was time to put some time and effort into the relationship. Time to reconnect, but we needed some outside help. A 3rd party to get us out of this mess...DYMO to the rescue!!!

It was so fun (really it was) and only took me a couple of days to complete (yes, this is WITH the interruptions that come along with having 3 children in the house). I started by grouping like items together...canned food, baking goods, cereal, drinks. THEN, I divided them into even more specific groupings. Canned food was put on the shelves and labelled as "Canned Veggies", "Canned Fruit", "Cream Soup", "Beans", etc. Cereal was labelled as "Cold Cereal" and "Hot Cereal" (oatmeal, cream of wheat, Malt-o-Meat). Baking goods ended up with labels such as "Sugar", "Flour", "Pie Filling", "Boxed Cakes, and "Pudding". You get the idea.

Another suggestion is to use plastic containers and baskets to store items in. I put all of our cookie cutters into a small plastic bin. Sprinkles and food coloring in one and spice packets in another. I used a basket to store bread, which keeps it from getting smashed. I also used a basket to store our dry pasta that comes in bags instead of boxes.

As I was doing this, I thought about which items we used the most and put them at eye level. The items that weren't used on a daily basis (cookie cutters, cake pans, jello molds) were put on the top shelves. I also put items that my kids could help themselves to (snacks, crackers, juice boxes) down on their level. Speaking of kids, they really enjoyed "helping" with this as well. Hence, the "PB&J" label as seen below.

Oh, looks like we are out of jelly. Better write it on the shopping list. Yes, all this crazy obsessive labelling has made it so easy to figure out what we need at the store. We just walk in, find a space with nothing in it and read the label to see what we are out of. AND when it comes time to put away the groceries the kids can't WAIT to do it. Not kidding. They love reading the labels and knowing EXACTLY where to put something. It's like a game to them. Who knew all of this was wrapped into one little label maker!!?? It's so great to have that "spark" back again!!

Play dough Recipe

Kids successfully off to a new school year. My older two started school yesterday and my "baby" started Kindergarten today. The afternoon was quiet. Really quiet. It's weird. Really weird. BUT I think I can get used to it!

The Kindergartner brought home a recipe for playdough that they made at school today. We made it together after school. Quick and easy. My kind of recipe. All 3 kids are playing with it at the table. No fighting. Enjoying time together. Making memories together. You should make some.

Play dough Recipe

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp cream of tarter

2 Tbsp oil

1 cup water and 4 -6 drops of food coloring

Mix all ingredients together in a skillet over low heat. Stir until mixture thickens. Cool and knead. Sculpt and have fun.

We have "Playdough Placemats" at home. They're great. Have the kids draw or paint a picture. Cover it in contact paper (after the paint dries if you painted...I know, you know, but I'm telling you just in case you didn't), front and back. Set it on the table and have the kids keep the playdough on the mat. Doesn't stick while they are playing and it's easy cleanup!!!

Friday Feature - Main Street Deli

Soups, Salads, and Wraps, OH MY! This is what you will find on the menu of the Main Street Deli in McPherson. When you walk in you will find chalkboards hanging above the counter with a variety of mouth watering choices!! There is another chalkboard to the left with the daily specials and soup choices. The glass cabinets in the front are stocked full of bakery items that are made from scratch daily...yep, you heard me right, made from SCRATCH!! I hear that the Chocolate Almond Coconut Pie is to die for, although I have yet to try it (the fudge gets me every time!!).

There is also a cute little gift shop in the front, where you can find some fun and unique items. Adorable little tutu's with matching flip flops, Initial luggage tags, mugs, purses, wallets, jewelry, stuffed animals. When I was in the other day, a little onsie caught my eye...it had a picture of the Earth with letters that read, "Hi! I'm new here." How cute it that!!??

Main Street Deli
108 S Main

McPherson, KS 67460

(620)241-1888

Business Hours: Mon-Fri 10:30AM - 9PM and Sat 10:30AM - 8PM

CLOSED SUNDAY

AND ONE OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT MAIN STREET DELI...YOU CAN WALK THERE FROM MAPLE MEMORIES!!! WE LOVE THAT!!!!

Thank you!

When we opened Maple Memories, one of our main goals was to be able to provide women an affordable place to get away and use their creativity. We feel is it so important for women to make time for themselves in this chaotic world that we live in. To build stronger relationships with others around them...to become better wives, mothers, sisters, friends. To just RELAX and to not feel guilty doing it. YOU are worth making time for!! We hope that those of you that have been to Maple Memories have experienced this with your friends, both old and new. We have enjoyed hearing your comments and stories about how much your time away meant to you. For that, we thank each and every one of you!




We are thankful that we are able to provide this for you for the 2010 year as well. Our weekday rates will remain the same for 2010. Our new weekend rate (4pm Fri -noon on Sun) has changed from $1190 (2009) to $1298 (2010). This is only a difference of $9 per person for a group of 12 for an entire weekend!! We still have some dates available for 2009, so get out your calendar and give us a call!! If you stay in 2009, we offer a "Future Discount" which allows you to book again in 2010 at our 2009 prices.


One last thing. One of the things that I often hear from women is that they "can't book that far in advance" because they don't know what they will have going on. Here is what I tell them...something is always going on. We live in a busy society and there is seldom a day that NOTHING is on my calendar. Make this YOUR "something". Put it on your calendar NOW. Then in 2 months when someone says, "Can you help dogsit for me when I go on vacation in November?" you can say, "I would love to, but I'm going to Maple Memories!" ;) DON'T BE AFRAID TO MAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF...MAKE IT YOUR "SOMETHING" ELSE!!!

I KNOW, I KNOW...

Friday came and went AGAIN without a "Friday Feature"!! I had every intention of getting up this morning and featuring a place in McPherson (I even have pictures taken and ready to go), but then decided to hit an Estate Sale instead. Sorry!! BUT look what I found!!! I can't tell you how EXCITED I am!!!

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!!?? No, I haven't gone off the deep end if that's what you are thinking. A few days ago, I would have passed it up as well. Written off as a piece of junk. BUT, lucky for me, I had seen this on Thrifty Decor Chick earlier this week!!! Sarah found hers for FREE. I had to pay a little more for mine...ONE WHOLE DOLLAR!! ;) Seriously, it was sitting outside of this house with a piece of masking tape across the front that read $1.00. It was SOLD the moment I laid eyes on it! The "nice man at the garage sale" told me there was a newer sewing machine inside, as if I couldn't POSSIBLY be interested in the cabinet itself. I looked around then came back to the cabinet to look some more. He said, "Are you one of those project people!??" I started to laugh and said, "I guess I am and I'll take this please!!" I promised BEFORE and AFTER pictures to the "nice man at the garage sale", so here you are "nice man at the garage sale."

BEFORE

Who are we!?

Due to the nature of Maple Memories we, the owners, don't often get to actually SEE the ladies that stay at the house. Most of the time, our correspondence is by email or phone. However, in some cases, we have met face to face and we LOVE that. It's fun to put a face to a name, get to know you a little bit, why you came, what you're working on, what your favorite color is...OK, you get the picture! What we have come to realize is that as interested as we are about YOU that YOU are just as curious about us.


So...WHO ARE "WE"!!??? Well, I'm Shannon. The one who scrapbooks. The one that found a great group of scrapbooking buddies that hooked me in even more. The one that fell in love with weekend retreats and all the laughs and good times that were had. The one that decided I wanted to open my own retreat house in KANSAS where my family lived so that YOU could have the same experience that I did. The one that gained support of 3 others that made up the "WE" that we are talking about...that would be my husband, Mom, and Dad.

So, here I am.



Now you have a face to a name. Here's a little bit about me. I grew up as a the daughter of two parents in the Air Force, so we moved around a lot. I think this is why I like scrapbooking and preserving memories so much. After you move around all the time, you start "forgetting" things or the places/people/events become jumbled. Scrapbooking helps me to get it all written down. I love writing the who, what, where, and the "behind the scenes" stories for my kids. Yep, kids. I am the Mom to 3 incredible children. They keep me BUSY, but also give me LOADS of great scrapbooking material! The oldest is 8, the middle is 6, and the youngest is 5. See, BUSY. REALLY busy. Hmmm...what else do you want to know? I love the Curry Chicken Salad Wrap at the Courtyard on Main in McPherson. I giggle the whole time that I'm tubing behind a boat, which makes it REALLY hard to hold on. I'm a thinker. I'm a night owl. I'm afraid of heights. I believe in God. I've never been able to do a cartwheel...never, not once in my whole life. I enjoy reading other people's blogs. I want to go to Maine someday. I get excited everytime I get a note from one of the guests at Maple Memories telling me what the weekend meant to them...THAT is what it is all about for me. I need to go feed my kids breakfast. Oh, and I don't have a favorite color. ;)

GET CLOSE

Don't be afraid to get up close and personal with your subject matter. Many times we get our photos back and are disappointed by the "busyness" of the background. So, my challenge to you is to ZOOM in and see what amazing things you can capture. We would love to see your photo, so leave a link in the comment section!! Here are a few of my favorites from the Summer...hopefully they will serve as a little inspiration. HAPPY MONDAY!