I's Teeny Tiny Party

This girl tuned 8 yesterday and what a day it was!  Several weeks ago, The Pleated Poppy posted a tiny party (there are several posts) that she gave for her daughter, and I copied it to the tee.  It was awesome, super cute, super fun.  I did everything exactly as she did - thanks so much Lindsey!

The teeny tiny invites - they measured about 3"x4".  I glued the banner on, then ran it through my sewing machine.

We made teeny tiny envelopes to put the teeny tiny invites in.

We had yards and yards of teeny tiny banners throughout the home.

We made the gift bags (following Lindsey's tutorial)

We made button hair clips (tutorial on how I did these coming up).

We painted on teeny tiny canvases with teeny tiny easels.  This was so much fun, the girls spent so long doing this.

We made teeny tiny party hats glued onto head bands.

The teeny tiny banner that we put in the teeny tiny cupcakes.

Teeny tiny chocolate milkshakes:

Also, they had mini chips ahoy, mini oreos, mini peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and mini gumballs (oh, and grapes - not because they were teeny tiny, but because I needed to put something healthy on that table!)

I. loved it - absolutely loved it!  She has declared it her favorite party ever.

Thanks to The Pleated Poppy - the master party planner! 

I Love it When It Works Out

I know, I know . . . you hear it all the time - shop the house. 

My problem with that is that I don't have a lot of stuff.  I don't have cupboards full of accessories, I don't hoard stuff, I try to use what I have.  Most things have a purpose in our home.

I think it's one of the reasons I stink at accessorizing.  I have an internal battle between stuff to just look cute and loving the look of clean empty spaces.   My stuff is very intentional around here. 

But every now and then - I move a little here, I move a little there (and I do mean a little) and it works.  This is an old vintage funnel picked up LONG ago, a cupcake stand from HomeGoods and a little topiary on a candlestick..  It works and it has become a little unassuming spot that I love.  It will probably stay this way forever - it's done, I like it, and now I'm off to something else.

Grateful Sunday

M. is dancing - but I feel like everything around me is moving this fast!  Is it possible to slow this down?

I am grateful for:

• Tom's home - he went backpacking/hiking with the scouts for three days and worked late late nights before that.  I get a little emotionally unstable without his steadying influence around and start to feel a little crazy when I haven't had a good conversation with him.  I'm glad he's home, for now.
• Whenever Tom is gone, I'm always grateful to find to time to get runs in!  Running helps me with that emotional stability thing I was just talking about.
• I. can make chocolate chip cookies and most of the time, she just makes the dough and eats it like that.  I really limit the sweets I eat, so it's nice to have someone else make them (but it is also nice to have cookie dough in the fridge when I just want a little nibble0.
• I am so grateful I'm a mother - could there really be anything more important in my life?

Today's Harvest

My little guy LOVES beets - especially pickled ones!  We planted a whole row in our garden, just for this guy.  Actually, M. loves beets, too.

Yesterday, G. picked some beets from our garden in the morning.

Aren't they pretty?

That night, I roasted them, pickled them, and preserved them . . . no big deal (ha!)  I used Alton Brown's recipe.

Aren't they still pretty?  Best part - G. woke up this morning and gave me a hug and said I was the best!  Totally worth it!

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Have you tried Darby's Cinnamon Honey Butter?  If not, why not??

Oh my, I've yet to make this for someone who hasn't loved it.  It's life changing, I tell you.

I'm thinking of bottling them up like Darby did for gifts . . .

You can click above, but here's the quick recipe:
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup honey
2 tsps cinnamon

Whip it, and bring on the carbs!  We've even melted this and poured it over our popcorn.  yum, yum

I'm not exaggerating - this is that good.

Grateful Sunday

Print found here.  I've got to get one!

I am grateful for:

I've just committed to running a half marathon in a couple of weeks.  This will be the third time I've run it, and I'm getting pretty excited for it.  I'm grateful that my husband really supports me on my runs as I train for these things and will let me ramble on and on about stats, goals, running courses, shoes . . .

I'm grateful for a running partner and that we never tire of things to say to each other - even after 9 miles together.

What are you grateful for?

Copco Bag Caps

In a perfect world, I would never have bags of cereal/chips/crackers that are stuffed in the cupboard looking like this:

In a perfect world, I would have nice bins lined up in my pantry - uniform in size, or course, that I would pour my cereal into as soon as I got home from Costco.  That doesn't happen, though.  So, in the meantime, I picked up some of these lids to snap on over the bags.  They are called Copco Bag Caps.

I bought them at Michaels, of all places, and thought it was worth a try.  I always like to try things out pretty thoroughly before I review them, here.  We've had them for months, now.  I know there are lots of options to seal your bags - this is just another one to add to the list.

I do love how kid friendly these are - which is a big must in my book.  My kids can't get them on, but they can open and close the lids, which is more than I can say for a lot of the other options.  I don't like that my hand can't fit in it, so pouring is a must.  We tried using it on chips, and didn't like it.

There is a smaller option, which we have snapped onto our almonds.  I think they would also go great in the freezer on our veggies or fruits.

According to their site, you can pick them up here: WalMart, KMart, Michael's, AC Moore, Sur La Table, Kitchen Collection, Ace Hardware, True Value and Kroger. 

PS - I did not get paid in any way to write this post, I just like to tell you about things I find that make my life a little easier!

Sideboard

I love Craigslist.  I could make a whole month's worth of posts on purchases from Craigslist.  This might be one of my favorite purchase - but I think I could say that about everything.  This sideboard is solid wood, straight lines (which make it a tad bit easier), needs some TLC, and was only $35.  Everything was right.

I flip flopped back and forth on what to do with this piece.  I kind of wanted to paint it a bold color, I kind of wanted to paint it a subtle white washed color.  Tom was happy with whatever I wanted, but thought paint might make it look cheaper or homemade.  His opinion was that if I wanted to make it look classy, that I should stain it.  I looked at all my inspiration photos and agreed.

Halfway through sanding it, I was kind of wishing I went the painting route - it would have been easier and quicker.

3-4 coats of stain, 2-3 coats of polyurethane, and I was happy.  It is so hard to take picture of this thing!  Sorry.

I stink at filling in the holes and making them disappear.  Since I knew I would be staining, those holes would show - so I just left the original holes and purchased adjustable handles.

I don't know how many places I made Tom move this around to.  I'm still not sure this is the best place, but this is the place it's going for awhile. 

Stain was very intimidating for me, but it was totally not a big deal.  Just go steady and slow and it worked out great.  Tom didn't help me at all with this, and I think that's a first!  I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

Grateful Sunday

We just returned from a great vacation to Carlsbad, CA.  With us being out here in CO, we don't see family very often - as often as we'd like.  We had a lot of fun, played hard, stayed up late, lived in our swimsuits (the kids, not me), and returned feeling like this:

I'm grateful for my in-laws.  I'm grateful for the efforts made in raising my husband and for loving him - and for loving me, just because he chose me.

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

How does your garden grow?

This was our vegetable garden at the end of May:

Now, a little over a month, it's going strong.

Everything seems to be thriving.

We harvested a bowl full of peas for dinner tonight - I can't tell you how much I love that.

We've pretty much eaten all the radishes.  Well, I've eaten all of them.  They are fun and easy to grow for my kids, but the do not like the taste of them.

Our cukes and zukes:

The tomatoes:

I can already taste them.

The green beans:

Even the broccoli, which I had pretty much given up on, seems to be making a comeback:

This has been such a rewarding hobby - for everyone in our little family.  I'm so excited to see what it has become in another month.