Tag Archives: DIY

On The Beach

Over the weekend we attended our dear friends wedding on the east coast of Korea. The couple opted to have the wedding at the dive shop that we’ve all come to know as our home away from home on the weekends.

Friday evening we got off to a bumpy start with a flat tire along the way in the middle of nowhere…still two hours out from our destination…Lol… Thanks USAA…ehh…or not (lesson learned). So just how many did it take to change a tire? Thankfully with help from some friends that coordinated with the local police station, an ambulance, police car, a fire truck, and a local garage all came to our rescue. Unfortunately we were missing an important piece of the puzzle, the lug nut wrench. Who would have thought? Lol… Poor Mr. B he took it out of the queen Volvo and put it in my car because he noticed that I didn’t have one. He was going to pick one up to replace his, but forgot. Hence our Dilemma. Eek. Eventually we got on the road after some grumbles, f-bombs, and Korean photo ops.. Yes, after the tire was fixed they wanted a photo with Mr. B shaking the local policeman’s hand and bowing to one another. Again, we’re going to be featured on some side of the road signage on the importance of being prepared. We were again back on the road, thankfully so because we were transporting the booze, THEE dress, and dinner reception decor. Basically the party don’t start till we roll in. We can laugh about it now. We rolled in and rolled right on into bed.

We cannot take credit for the cake, it’s the one item we didn’t transport. The poor thing just didn’t make it all the way in and out of Seoul and to the East Coast. The top slid off the cake and the fondant shaped sea creatures drooped and reshaped themselves. The lovely Ms. Louise and I did our best and tried to shift some of the fondant. At the end of the day it all worked out.

The evening ceremony took place down on the sandy beach just steps away from the ocean tide rolling in. It made for a very relaxing and beautiful backdrop as the two said their vows to one another.

The wedding and dinner reception was small but in the best way possible, sweet, and intimate. It was the perfect recipe for a relaxed and very memorable day. There were lanterns that provided romantic candlelight on the dining tables and twinkle lights strung from the ceiling of the tent above. Swoon! It was awesome getting to see all the various little details the bride and I discussed actually come to life.

The guest toasted with fabulous reds and whites the entire night, and dined on Greek salads, savory potato curry tarts, fresh grilled corn on the cob, grilled burgers, bratwurst, and vegetarian kabob. Many heartfelt thanks to Roy, Jeff, Mark, and Mr. B for being grill sergeants and keeping our bellies at bay throughout the evening.

The entertainment was absolutely perfect with live musical performances during the ceremony and throughout the dinner reception from Ms. Laura Kenny, or Kenny as she’s known to the group. Wow can this gal sing! Download her song on iTunes here! (Shameless plug)

The newlyweds brought together such a diverse group of friends. Everyone just clicked so well and really enjoyed the good company. It was wonderful getting to meet in person all the faces and names we had heard so much about. By the end of the evening we were all good pals sharing laughs as if we had known one another for longer than 12 hours.

Cheers to our dear friends! We wish them so much love, happiness, and health for the rest of their blissful years together.

Backpackbees

Tied up with string

Packages and post are all officially in the mail and with a little holiday luck, these things may actually all arrive before Christmas Day! Oh hey, and we got some snow too!

This evening I made clementine wreaths to hang on my neighbors doors. You know, spread a little extra holiday cheer… This time of year I’m always feeling extra giddy about all the little packages and cards that are beautifully tied up with string, sprinkled with glitter, and thoughtfully picked for the receiver.

To make a DIY clementine wreath you will need the following items…

Ingredients:
7 or 8 nice looking (smaller) clementines
a roll of clear cellophane wrap, cut 10 – 12 inch wide length-wise.
Tape, any type will do you
Twine
ribbon
cinnamon sticks if you are fancy…. (not included in mine this time)

Directions:

1. Lay down a piece of clear cellophane on a smooth surface.
2. Line up your seven or eight small clementines onto the 10-12 inch side of the cellophane, about two to three inches from the edge.
3. Space out your clementines, about a pinky finger-width apart, leaving a bit of the cellophane at the beginning and end of the clementine row.
4. Now Tightly roll up the row of clementines.
5. Where you left the ends longer, crises-cross them over one another once and tie it with ribbon. It should now resemble a circular wreath at this point.
6. Cut seven or 8 pieces of twine or ribbon, each about 10-12 inches long, and start to tie one between each of the clementines (I used a candy cane striped red and white twine for mine).
7. Adjust as needed and you are finished!

Wasn’t that simple?!

Now go deck some halls and spread that holiday cheer!

Backpackbees