We officially kicked off the big deck project yesterday! “Kicked off” is a bit generous since we haven’t started digging post holes yet — we’re still focused on installing the ledger board (the support beam that runs along the house and anchors the deck frame). Cutting and drilling into brick, especially when it’s the side of your house, is not for the faint of heart. There’s still a lot to do, but we’ll be back on Monday with more progress. For now, here’s a quick Instagram-style peek I snapped of Clara acting as Job Site Supervisor while looking through the sliding glass doors (you can even see some ledger boards reflected against the house):
But the real focus of this post is the many personal projects and gifts we’ve been working on lately. May is a hectic gift-giving month for the Petersik family: Clara’s birthday and Mother’s Day came back-to-back, and in the last two weeks we celebrated my mom’s birthday, Sherry’s mom’s birthday, my sister’s wedding anniversary, and my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. Instead of listing every unwrapped present, I’ll highlight the ones we personalized or designed ourselves — the little DIY touches that made them special.
For Mother’s Day, I coordinated with my three sisters to give our mom a set of recipe prints inspired by a craft fair find in Richmond. We discovered Articipe prints at the Spring Bada-Bing fair and decided to order four custom 5×7 prints (they had a buy-three-get-one-free deal). The four prints cost $75, and we framed them in affordable Ikea Ribba frames for about $20 total. Each sister picked a favorite recipe from the collection our mom gave us after we graduated, so the prints were meaningful as well as decorative.
My selection was “Chicken Squares,” a nostalgic Pillsbury-style recipe I’ve made so often I can practically make it with my eyes closed. The Articipe print, of course, made the recipe look far more beautiful than any tattered magazine clipping I grew up with.
The other prints were Black Bottom Cupcakes, Dutch Babies, and Derby Pie; we made sure the colors coordinated with my parents’ kitchen. Naturally, the Black Bottom Cupcakes print featured black accents:
We had a blast picking recipes and reminiscing about which dishes were popular at different times while we were growing up — there’s a 13-year age gap between my oldest and youngest sister, so family favorites shifted over time.
Our mom loved the set. She even guessed which sister selected each recipe — a testament to how iconic some of her dishes are. She brought a Derby Pie to our Mother’s Day celebration, which made the gift feel even more perfect.
Next up: my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. We treated them to a celebratory breakfast (I posted a picture on Instagram), but their actual present was a keepsake that celebrated a small, meaningful family tradition.
Growing up, we always said the same short grace before meals: “Thank you God for a pretty day.” The phrase stuck with us — and it’s become one of those family oddities that means a lot. Recently, while walking in the park, Clara grabbed our hands and gleefully shouted, “Thank you PRETTY DAY!” which had us laughing and reminded me how special that little saying is.
That inspired me to create a small graphic using Photoshop (I used Bangla MN for the small text and a script font for the larger words), which I then had turned into a custom serving platter through a seller on Etsy. I floated the idea to my sisters, they were in, and we ordered the platter. A couple of weeks later it arrived, and we loved how it looked.
We thought the platter would be nice either as a display piece or as a functional serving dish so that our little family grace could be present at meals in a tangible way. My sister captured some photos from the gift-opening — there were happy tears — so I’ll share just one of the moments. It was a tender reaction, and we were thrilled they liked it so much.
I briefly considered making a playful version based on the time my dad accidentally said, “Thank you God for a pretty face,” but this sincere rendition felt like the better choice.
As for Sherry’s Mother’s Day gifts from Clara, Burger, and me: we gave her a few thoughtful items, including the West Elm Hive Vases she’s been admiring for months. They now sit on the kitchen fireplace mantel — a small reminder of our family’s fondness for bees.
We also picked up a One Word A Day journal that Sherry mentioned she liked. It was on sale, and it seemed like a fun way to encourage daily writing. True to form, she’s using it to store little anecdotes about Clara — instead of a single new word each day, she often writes down short conversations or cute things Clara says. Recently Clara misheard “amen” as “a man,” so Sherry recorded the exchange — a sweet little snapshot of childhood that the journal preserves.
Did you have a busy gift season too? Any personalized or custom projects you’re proud of? I’m ready for a slightly quieter month — or at least a slower stretch where someone else gets celebrated for a while. Hello, Father’s Day!
Psst — we also shared a special gift Clara received for her birthday over on Young House Life.
Pssssst — we announced this week’s giveaway winner, so check the giveaway post to see if it’s you.