Party Prep

I'm trying out the new Blogger Interface.

I really kind of like it!  Have you tried it yet?

I'm working on stuff for this weekend, but I am having a hard time motivating myself.

Here is my list of projects for the party.  I have parts of everything done.  I hope I get them all finished, but I sincerely doubt I will.  So they are listed in order of importance.  Come on people, hold me accountable! :)

-Mustaches on Sticks
-Mustache Straws
-Family T-shirts
-Cupcake Toppers
-Food Signs
-Clothespins/Ties Background
-Pennant Flags
-Print/Frame Mustache Printables

And since the party is at the park almost immediately after the baptism, I have to have everything completely ready to go.  Just pull it out of the box/bag and plot it on the table.

Have you ever had a quick set up party?  I'm trying not to stress...so I'm better off getting off of the computer and warming up my hot glue gun.

Just so it isn't a pictureless post...enjoy this cutie!

{Lotte at her baptism party...she was just 3 months old}

Is it fall yet?

Everyone says it...and I'm following along...IS IT FALL YET?!?!


To get me more in the mood, I want to share my FAVORITE fall thing I have ever made.  No not just the cutest little girl, but the hat too!

It's Lotte's candy corn hat.  When I made it with just the white, yellow and orange it looked too boyish so I added a little knitted flower.

She wore this hat her entire first fall season.  I loved that hat!  I'm going to make one for Brother without the cute little flourish.  I'm also probably going to make her another one this year.  It is just too cute not to!

Do you want one?  I might stick one in the unused Etsy shop.  If you want one, I would be more than happy to make one for you.  Let me know! :)

Baptism/Family Gathering Shindig

I'm getting excited because my Mister will be baptized in less than a month.  It's a big to-do.  Lots of family and friends at church, and a big luncheon afterwards.  Our family from California will be in town, so there will be even more of us than normal!

I am throwing a luncheon afterwards at a local park.  I want it to be a fun place for the family to gather and to have a little bit of relaxed fun!  So this week and next I'm going to be working on some things to make the get-together a cute little party.  It is going to be a "little man" luncheon with lots of "manly things going on.

I have gotten quite a lot of inspiration from pinterest and some blogs that I follow.  Here are some of the projects and ideas I am going to use.

My main inspiration is coming from a very talented lady blogger Emily @ Re-Markable Home.

She was kind enough to share her cupcake toppers...

{Adorable huh?}

I also am wanting to do a photo booth.  Any cute ideas?

Cute straws from Little Retreats on Etsy

Check out my Mustache Mania board for some other STACHE-Y inspiration.

Summer Recipe

Heat wave is making our garden a little scarce, but with the help of friends and the Saturday farmer's market, I was able to make this yummy-ness for dinner.

It was super easy to do.  I sliced peppers, eggplant, white eggplant, yellow squash and baked them until they were soft.  I added a can of stewed tomatoes (ours aren't fairing well) and coated it all in breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.  After another dip in the oven, I served it over a bed of whole wheat spaghetti.  Lotte LOVED it!

We are going through that weird "cheese" face phase.

Pattern Review for Ashley @ Cherished Bliss

Ashley over at Cherished Bliss put a call out a week or two ago for a pattern tester for a cute little headband.  I jumped at the opportunity because it is just too stinkin' cute!

I loved the finished project and the pattern was well written and easy enough to follow and quick to complete.  The hardest part I had was finding some of the right materials {she used french netting and I couldn't find any in the area and for some silly reason I couldn't find any stretch lace}.  The lack of netting and lace caused mine to be less shabby chic, but adorable nonetheless!

Here is Ashley's version which is available for purchase in her ETSY SHOP.

You can also purchase THE PATTERN and make your very own.

Thanks Ashley!

I love you all year round...a quick easy gift

I made these for my mother and father's birthday a few weeks ago.  I let Lotte help decorate them.

I started with a brown lunch sack and plain cardstock cut to fit neatly underneath the folded flap.  I drew on a calendar for each page (you could easily print one out, but we don't have a working printer) and I let Lotte color them up.  I put a smaller piece of cardstock on the top to sign it and color.

Here are my favorite pages she colored.

 {circles}

{and lines}

They turned out pretty cute and my rents liked them a lot.  Just like I said...QUICK and EASY.

Play Tents for some Dramatic Play

I've been thinking of making a play tent for Little Lotte for a Christmas gift this year. {YES I'm already thinking about Christmas...you should too!}

Here are some of the inspirations and tutorials that I have found from here there and everywhere around the internet.

Miss Pretty Pretty has absolutely the most AMAZING selection of imaginative play tents and materials E.V.E.R.  I love looking at all the inspiration.  Check out some of these...

Here is a great tutorial for a circus table tent from Old Days Old Ways.  I love the edging on this house!

THIS is a different kind of tent.  It attaches to your dining room table with ribbons for easy removal when you need to use your table for something like eating rather than imagination.

You have to see this Perfect Princess Pavilion from ikatbag.  I love the use of the top for dollies.  Make use of that wasted space.

Should I make a completely PVC frame or use a card table with one of these PVC Toppers for a roof from Obsessively Stiching?

I also like the suspension style for outside or for a reading nook inside.  2 Little Hooligans has an easy as punch tutorial to follow.

I could make it look like this $350 tent.

Freezer Meal Adventures

I've been researching freezer meals a little bit lately.  Recently I got a bee in my bonnet and jumped into some breakfast and lunch meals.

My favorite were the pancakes!  I make a GIANT batch of pancakes and added all kinds of stuff!  I like to make the really thick pancakes and the add-ins were so yummy I didn't even need syrup.  They were more like pancake-muffins...panffins or muffcakes.

My favorite! Apple pie!  Diced apples and pie spices Cinnamon, All Spice & Nutmeg. 

Fresh Blueberries

Chocolate Chip--I told you they were thick!

Some plain minis for Lotte's breakfasts.

I made half a dozen breakfast burritos {no pics sorry}.  I browned sausage, scrambled eggs and put those along with a hand full of cheese on a tortilla folded up and wrapped in aluminum foil.  Mr. Man really loved taking these to work this week.

I cut up all kinds of peppers and onions to freeze in a large bag.  This way I can just dump them in a pan when I make stirfry or need them for steaming.

Mr. Man really helped out with the lunches.  We cooked some brown rice, added veggies, cooked chicken cut in strips and added teriyaki sauce.  We put these in freezer bags.  So for a healthy CHEAP {about $.80} lunch just open the bag a little bit and microwave!

First Cookie Order

my Whale cookies!

So a girl I know from the internet, but have a connection to in real life, planned THIS amazing shower.  It is so stinkin' cute and I especially love the topiary balls.  Courtney is the sweetest girl and she sells her sweet party stuff in HER ETSY SHOP  and blogs about it at THE HAPPY HEARTED HOSTESS.

She sent me an email a few weeks ago because she saw my EASTER COOKIES and asked if I could make some for a whale themed baby shower she was throwing.  I love decorating cookies so I said yes.

I am so excited how they turned out.  Here are a few pictures I took before sending them on their way to the mommy to be.

all packed up and ready to go!

Linking my cute Whales up to these beautiful hosts!
Inspiring Creativity @ Dragonfly Designs
Weekend Wrap Up @ Tatertots and Jello
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple
Get Your Brag On @ Gluesticks
Friday Fun Finds @ KoJo Designs

Lotte's Bestie...Carnie

Lotte's best friend is a cute little girl named Cardin...Lotte calls her "Carnie".

Carri is my best friend from high school's little girl.  We were belly buddies for a few months and have enjoyed raising our girls to be friends.  So when I was asked to help out with her first birthday party, of course I said yes!

She didn't want a pink frou-frou girly party, but she wanted it to be girly.  She went with purple, brown and green.

I sewed her birthday banner.

And we cut tons of napkin rings, centerpiece and confetti flowers with my cricut.  Lots and lots of "C"s and "1"s.

Her centerpieces were really cute formula cans with mod podged scrapbook paper, a coordinating ribbon and a "C".  We used painted kabob sticks to put her mommy's favorite pictures on.  To give some dimension, I made tulle pom-poms.

I'm getting super excited to start helping plan her second party.  It is a theme that I haven't seen anything done for before!  So I hope I can help make it super cute!