ic Kathe With an E: April 2013

Monday, April 29, 2013

You're Gonna Love It - A Special Week 52!

52 weeks ago the very first  
"You're Gonna Love It Tuesday" 
blog party at Kathe With An E went live!!  

I know!  A whole year ago!  
I cannot freakin' believe it myself!  
Over the past 12 months I have worked really hard to 
make the party as fun as possible each week.  
It has always been my goal to have the party be not for me 
but, my readers, my friends, YOU!  

I want everyone to be able to come and really 
feel like their posts are being showcased to their full potential. 
This little party has grown so much and 
I reeaally love hosting it each week.
I've grown too and I have learned a ton!


I cannot thank you enough for, 
not only choosing to party with me,
but, for your comments too.
I truly do love "talking" with you!
Through this party I have made some
life long friends and I hope you have too!

Now, we just gotta celebrate right?
I have some awesome friends that are going to 
help me by co-hosting this week.

That means when you link up here or on one
of their blogs, 
you are getting 11 times more exposure!
Yep, like I said, this is your party each week and
this is my gift to you!

Without further ado, let me introduce you to
my co-hosts for this weeks special party:

weliveinspired.com


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Doreen@HouseHoneys
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My Photo
Love Bakes Good Cakes
Feeding Big
Cynthia@Feeding Big
HouseKaboodle

Lauren Frank
Lauren Frank@Tutus & Tea Parties

Since this is a pretty big celebration,
I'm opening up this weeks party to be

ANYTHING GOES!

That means you can link up blogs posts, giveaways, your own link parties,
Etsy shops, whatever!! 

I will also have no limit on how many posts you can link up!
All I ask is that you keep it clean and family friendly please. 

(And, would you please consider sharing this party on 
Facebook, Twitter and Google+)

And, finally, I am going to pin every single post that links up
Again, more exposure for you!!

*By linking up your post, you are giving Kathe With An E permission to use your pictures as a feature on this blog and other social media outlets.

So, that's it!  
Let's make this the biggest 
You're Gonna Love It
party ever! 




Sunday, April 28, 2013

Solar Lights~DIY Quick Fix

Hallelujah! We FINALLY have some Spring weather going on here!
Highs in the 70's, sunshine! Birds singing, squirrels being squirrely!
I.AM.LOVING.IT!

I have spent as much time outside as I can. Saturday night we sat out on the back patio enjoying the cool, not cold, evening.

Sitting there I remembered I needed to put out my solar lights into the garden.
I like the warm glow they send out and I have missed them. But, of course, once I dug them out of my shed, they didn't work.Now these are not expensive lights but, I didn't want to go buy all new either.
Luckily, I know how to fix them right up! And, I am going to share my tip with you! Cuz, well, we're friends and all and that's what friends do, right?
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
Take your light and check it out closely as some are different.




A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
By the bulb you should see some small screws. I grabbed my Mr. B's small Phillips head screwdriver and took all three of them out.
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
SLOWLY pull the two pieces apart.  Looky there!  A single AA battery! Yep, that is what gets charged by the sun during the day so that it glows at night!
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
Check out our battery organizer.  This is the very first Pin I ever copied. We found it at Big Lots for $3.00.
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
It has four compartments perfect for all of the different batteries we use. Pretty nifty eh?

Simply replace the old battery with a new one, put your screws back in and,
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
let there be light!! (*edited. I have been hearing from you that if you use regular batteries, they will explode.  YMMV but, I have never had one explode in all of the years I have been doing this.  Also, you probably should use batteries designed for solar recharging. But, I have opened many of these to replace the battery and the manufacture of the light had put in regular everyday, cheapo batteries. I accept no responsibility for any harm to you or to your lights.  I am just informing you of what works for me)  

Now, if you have a different type of light, say like this one from WalMart,
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
with the globe on top, it gets even easier to replace the battery.
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
Simply pull the stake out and you will see this on the globe end
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
One single screw. Leave the three screws by the bulb alone.
A how-to on fixing your solar path lights
And there is your battery. Change it out, put the screw back in and you are done! Now, you know I am always honest with you. 
Two of my lights didn't make the cut. They had gotten corroded inside the battery chamber. But, I am okay with that because, I have had these lights for 4-5 years now. I can either chose to replace them or, admit I had too many in the garden anyway LOL! Now that you know the secret, are you ready to shine some light on your garden or pathways this season?
Pin It
Click here to see where I may be partying this week.
AND
Don't forget to come by on Tuesday's
for the link party.




Friday, April 26, 2013

Blogger Event Sign-Up – Cash Giveaway

Kerry from Ohsoamelia is currently looking for bloggers to participate in another cash giveaway! After many previous group giveaways which have been such a success such as the $500 cash giveaway which had over 80,000 entries she has decided to host another amazing giveaway for you lovely lot! The giveaway will go live at the end of May (date to be confirmed). You don’t want to miss out on this one!
Read below for details
  • PRIZE: Not confirmed yet but roughly $300-$500 depending on how many sign up
  • DATE: Will be confirmed soon
  • WORLDWIDE!!
FEES:
  • 1 link = $5 (Facebook or Twitter ONLY)
  • 2 links = $10
  • 3 links = $15
  • CO-HOST = $20 (This includes a Host Page / 4 links in the rafflecopter and more!)
HOW TO SIGN UP: 
  • Fill out this form
  • Repost this post! (copy and paste into your own post)
  • Send payment to [email protected] via PayPal
  • Kindly mention that Kathe With An E referred you
Referral prize of $25 for the most referred blogger: Re-post this event and get other bloggers to mention you when signing up.
  • Sign up period will close once reached the total prize amount.
  • The total giveaway cash amount depends on how many bloggers sign up.
  • All money is used in the giveaway ONLY (no admin fees)
SIGN UP HERE
Don't forget to come by on Tuesday's
for my link party.


Thursday, April 25, 2013

It's Bloglovin & Twitter Hop Time

It's Bloglovin', Blog Follow and Twitter hopping Thursday once again!  We are so happy to be joining together to bring you the  Bloglovin' Blog Hop to help grow our blogs.   It's always a great idea to have many ways for friends to follow your blog. 
We are so excited to host the Bloglovin' Blog Hop every Thursday!  Each week we will also rotate one other social media to follow.  This week we are adding Twitter along with your Blog and Bloglovin'!  
Friends can hop on over to visit your blog and follow you on Twitter.   
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us last week.  We hope you made some new friends!
Please follow each hostess, and leave us a comment so we can return the follow!
We would love to feature a co-host each week, so please send one of us an email if you would like to be a co-host.  
Please link up your Bloglovin'' follow link.  To find your URL, just click on your follow by Bloglovin' button.  Copy and paste the URL link.  That's all there is to it!  
Thank you so much for joining us!  We hope you make many new friends and followers each week.  
Not mandatory, but we would love for you to share our blog hop button.    That's a great way for us to all gain new friends.

 Hostesses
Your Modern Family
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Doreen @  HouseHoneys
Kathe @ Kathe with an E
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My Photo
My Photo


Welcome our  Guest Hostess this week:  
Resa @ Pitcher and Plate

Please make sure you link your Bloglovin' URL link in the first section and  your Twitter handle in the second.   It makes it so much faster for your new friends to find you!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Walking On Sunshine

My friend Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen is having a themed table
challenge for her Let's Dish party this week.  
Birds, Bees, Flowers, Trees! 
Here is my entry: 

Like pretty much of the rest of the country, Spring is nowhere in sight
here in Colorado!
Snow, wind, cold! Yuck!
My hyacinths are a mushy mess having been frozen and thawed numerous times.
I have had enough I tell you!

So, to try and lift my mood, 
I set a sunny cheery tablescape to, hopefully, 
beckon Spring into my neck of the woods.
Kathe With An E~Walking On Sunshine Tablescape
Pardon the glaring white tablecloth. 
Believe it or not the actual sun decided to shine
just as I was taking photos LOL!
Kathe With An E~Spring Table Setting
The placemats are actually a rug from Ikea. 
Once I saw it in the store I knew I was going to cut it up
and use it for a table.  It screamed grass to me!
One rug at $9.99 gave me four placemats!
The runner is also from Ikea (do I love that place or what?!).
The dinner plate and mug are from the Dollar Tree.
The bowls were a freebie from Ms K from when I helped her move
a few months ago.
When I showed her a picture of this table, she said she may want them back.
Sorry Ms K!  They are mine now LOL!
Kathe With An E~Spring Table Setting
There are two with the wheelbarrow and tulip.
Kathe With An E~Spring Table Setting
And two with the polka dot coffee cup and daisy.
The pink napkins came from the thrift store.
If I recall correctly, I paid around $1.00 for four of them.
Kathe With An E~Spring Table Setting
The flatware has been used before and were a gift from Mr. B.
The water glasses are our everyday goblets.
Kathe With An E~Spring Table Decor
The flowers for the center of the table came from the floral clearance
section at the grocery store.
The mums were a whooping $2.99 each!  
When we get warmer weather, I will plant them in the front garden.  
I will divide them in half and get double the plants! 
By next year, they will be just as full as they are now.
I keep telling you, hit the floral department and if you don't see
any plants or flowers on clearance, ask!
Kathe With An E~Spring Decor
I even bought an extra one in yellow for the buffet.
I wrapped the pot with some of the fabric leftover from my craft room update.
I told you I'd find some use for the extra fabric I bought!
The sunshiny yellow tulips were marked down to $3.99 for the bunch.
I placed them in a Teleflora vase from Mr. B.
The pattern on the vase is called Monet.
Kathe With An E~Spring Table Setting
Seeing this table just lifts my spirits.
Kathe With An E~Spring Table Decor

Kathe With An E~Spring Tablescape
And while the grass outside is, once again, covered in snow,
I can look at this table I set, and feel like 
I am walking on sunshine, woh-oh!
Kathe With An E~Spring Tablescape
 
Pin It
I always share my tables with
and

Click here to see where else I may be partying this week. 
AND
Don't forget to come by on Tuesday's
for my link party.