Favorite Find: Reflective Stickers for Gear and Fabric

Just wanted to hop on here and share my latest favorite Amazon Find - just in time for back to school too. | This post is NOT sponsored, but does contain affiliate links |
We’ve been using these reflective safety stickers for awhile on our helmets, bikes, etc but we recently realized they can stick amazingly well to fabric too! This makes them perfect for adding visibility to your children’s backpacks and coats, especially important for those early morning bus stops.

These particular stickers are Gear Aid "Tenacious Tape Reflective Patches", and we're SOO impressed with their sticking power - especially to fabric! They really stick well and look like they were manufactured as part of the fabric. They're completely flexible and durable.

We have yet to run them through the washing machine, but according to reviews online these ARE machine washable on most fabrics. And after seeing how well they adhere to fabric I am expecting them to perform well (I will definitely update this post in the future with more feedback though). Definitely check them out and add some safety and visibility to backpacks, coats, strollers, hiking gear, and more!

SHOP: Gear Aid "Tenacious Tape Reflective Patches"

Back-to-School Fashion with L.L. Bean

It’s the most wonderful time of the year (…for parents, that is)! September is right around the corner and the kids will be going back to school. Now’s the time to get your back-to-school shopping started and I’ve rounded up some of my favorite kid picks from our favorite New England-based retailer, L.L. Bean. I love how their stuff is built to last so you know that backpack (and everything else) will last for years to come. | This post contains affiliate links |

Back-to-School Fashion with L.L. Bean

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Easy Chopped Greek Salad

Whew, where is the summer going? It seems like just last week school got out - but here we are with just a few precious weeks of summer vacation left. We’re trying to squeeze in what fun we can with family hikes, day trips, visiting friends, - and of course enjoying some of our favorite summertime foods. One of my favorites is this Easy Chopped Greek Salad which can make a perfect dinner on a hot night or a side dish to bring to the neighborhood BBQ. | This post contains affiliate links |

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers
• 2 large tomatoes (or a bunch of cherry tomatoes)
• half a red onion (I love red onions and tend to put in a lot... feel free to adjust the amount of red onion to your taste)
• 4 oz canned black olives, rinsed and drained
• 1 lemon
• olive oil (California Olive Ranch Brand is my favorite)
• oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 package of feta cheese
• fresh chives for garnish

This recipe is a great way to use up tomatoes, cucumbers, and herbs from your garden too!

How-to:

1. Chop cucumbers and tomatoes into bite sized chunks (remove seeds from tomatoes if they’re too “sloppy”).

2. Dice up to half a red onion (adjust amount of onion to taste).

3. In a separate bowl, make the dressing: juice one lemon, and add a splash of olive oil. Add about a tsp of dried oregano, and salt and pepper. Whisk together and add more olive oil or herbs/spices to taste.

4. Combine veggies, black olives, and dressing in bowl and mix well.

5. Add feta cheese and chives to garnish before serving.

6. Enjoy!

I make this salad just by “winging it” each time and don’t have exact amounts for olive oil or spices - really it’s up to you and your personal taste. Just experiment and see what tastes good to you.

| Plates are "Mikasa - Italian Countryside" |

Hey, hey it's Prime Day! 2019

It's Amazon Prime Day! A great time to finally get that item on your Wishlist, start your Christmas shopping, or simply stock up on household items. There are lots of great sales today and tomorrow - and I'm sharing some of my favorites on Birch Landing Home's Facebook page! | This post contains affiliate links |

Shop some of my favorite deals HERE, on Birch Landing Home's Facebook page or browse all the deals HERE, directly on Amazon. The sales on Amazon-branded items (Kindles, Firesticks, etc) are especially amazing!

Summer Fun Found on Amazon!

Summer vacation is here, now let’s have some fun!
I’ve scoured Amazon for fun yard games, beach toys, car games, and activities for kids of all ages - even some indoor activities for those rainy days. There’s no excuse for boredom this summer, let’s have some fun! | This post contains affiliate links |

A Special Corner

I’ve had this plant cloche for awhile and just picked up a little Boston fern for it today. This is a special little corner of our dining room - my grandparents’ candle sticks, a photo from my great-grandparents’ farm, and an old photo of my husband’s grandmother.

A lot of family history in this little corner.

"Thanks for Helping me GROW" DIY Teacher Gift + Free Printable Tag

Teacher gift ideas are always tough… I always want to do something thoughtful, useful, but still affordable. This year we decided to make ruler painted flower pots to go with the “Thanks for helping me GROW” theme. In them we planted small aloe vera plants which will come in handy for soothing sunburns over summer vacation. | This post contains affiliate links |

Materials:

• terracotta pot

• yellow acrylic paint

• paint brush

• sharpie marker or black paint

• dirt

• plant (I used aloe vera plants)

How-To:

First paint the lip of the pot with the yellow acrylic paint, you might need to do several coats to get good coverage.

Then mark inch lines evenly around the rim (I made a template with a piece of scrap paper). It may not come out evenly when they meet up so feel free to take artistic license with the spacing.

Then using a sharpie or black paint and a fine paintbrush, paint the lines of the ruler (whole, half, and quarter lines) as well as the numbers.

Once everything is dry, fill with soil and a plant of your choice. We decided on aloe vera since it’s a useful plant as well - the teachers will be able to use it to soothe any sunburns that may happen over summer vacation.

All that’s left is to add a card or a gift tag and a message of thanks!

FREE PRINTABLE TAG

Easy Fast Fix for a Common Eyesore {Sneak Peek}

This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

Drilled wellheads are a common eyesore in yards these days. Often installed in a convenient location for maintenance, but definitely not appealing. Take our wellhead for example - it's smack dab in the middle of our front lawn and sticks out like a sore thumb. Thankfully with the help of a Dekorra Rock Enclosure from the Home Depot, I was able to easily and quickly hide this eyesore in just one afternon!
You can check out the full how-to on "How to Hide a Drilled Wellhead" on The Home Depot Blog.

BEFORE

I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in the program described above (the “Program”). As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.