I know it’s not quite strawberry season just yet but nothing can stop Valentine’s Day from covering fruit in chocolate to convince everyone they’re getting a healthy goodie right? See …it’s not me…it’s that tricky Hallmark holiday, Valentine’s Day. Regardless, Trader Joe’s has my strawberries and I had an idea I just HAD to try. And now I just HAVE to share it with yall! I present to you…drumroll please…strawberry hearts!
I will be the first to admit I’m a fair-weather fan…of any sports team really. Now that doesn’t mean I don’t like a good party or a chance to spend time with friends. You just won’t catch me paying much attention to the actual game until the last 5-10 mins. I know this will all change once my kiddos are playing but until then – I will be over here creating other fun games to do in conjunction with the football game to keep myself entertained 🙂 And so I give you Super Bowl Squares! Super easy to create (or download at bottom!), scalable, gets everyone involved, you don’t have to know anything about football to play and includes a little gambling – how does that not sound like a winner?
So you got invited to a diaper shower huh? If you’re not a female over the age of 25 you probably don’t know what the heck a diaper shower is. And that’s ok! My husband finally just kept calling it, “that thing you’re going to.” So let me explain. Not to make you feel stupid but diaper showers are pretty much exactly what they sound like; you shower a person with diapers. The reason it’s not a baby shower is most likely because someone else is already throwing one of those for the mom-to-be so they’re diversifying or it’s not their first child and have the baby necessities. So, there goes the element of surprise with, “what could this gift be!?” If we can’t have that, why not have, “OMG! How cute!” Yes, that can be the reaction with diapers and wipes, I assure you 🙂
You know those celebs that sign up to do bikini photo shoots like three months after having a baby as “motivation” to get back in shape? And we all think they’re crazy? I mean they are…let’s all be honest. Well, I kind of had a moment like that when planning a kids Christmas cookie decorating party this year. I had had it in my head for a while and thought, “oh it can’t be that hard!” And then in looking at the dates was like, “ya! Let’s do it super early in December like right after Thanksgiving.” And then it hits me that that means the whole house would also need to be done and decorated before I even started on party prep – mind you we would be gone until the Sunday after Thanksgiving on a two day road trip with a 14 month old and a dog…motivation right? 🙂 But this adorable party was SO WORTH IT! And truly, the party prep was nothing. Especially when you blast Christmas tunes the whole time.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…ah, nothing like getting back fat and happy from Thanksgiving so you can crawl around in the attic and lug boxes down or get into a screaming match with that ball of Christmas lights that you swore you would wrap up nice and tidy last year 🙂 Sound familiar? I think that song should really be, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year after the house is decorated.” But alas, it sure does feel magical once it’s all said and done so it’s worth it right?
Get those leftovers out of my house!! Ok, maybe I’ll keep a couple of cookies and some stuffing 🙂 But seriously, we all know Thanksgiving is even better the second day around – a roll, some turkey, top it with some stuffing and a dab of cranberry? Forgeddaboutit. But if you’re having the typical American Thanksgiving, there will be enough food to feed five times the amount of people you actually have…that just means you’ve done Thanksgiving right in my book…NO SHAME. So on top of everything else you’re doing to host (or attend!!), snag some Dollar Tree bags, an armload of Chinese take out boxes from Michaels or drop down the tupperware aisle at Target and make these unforgettable Thanksgiving leftover bags to entice those guests (and yourself) that you CAN fit just ONE MORE piece of pie in there.
I’m a sucker for a good tablescape. They are so dang fun to create and there’s so many ways to make them special and unique. And you don’t have to be hosting a dinner party to have one! Creating a tablescape is an easy and inexpensive way to add a festive flair to your home. I love how mine came together this year for our Friendsgiving and am still enjoying those gorgeous colors now!
“I get by with a little help from my friends.” This has definitely been my theme song this year. I don’t know about you, but for my husband and I, our friends become our family, or “framily.” It’s taken more effort to keep up with them all once our little girl came along but opportunities like Friendsgiving are a perfect way to get everyone together for great food, good wine and some nice hearty belly laughs. Here’s some of the activities that made our first Friendsgiving a success.
It’s November!!! My all time favorite month. It’s brisk outside, you’re hyped up on candy from Halloween, you’ve finally nailed the perfect pumpkin cookie recipe (it only took me four tries) and the cuddly sweaters and slipper socks are coming out. What’s not to love? Oh ya, the huge hit your bank account is about to take because of the travel, gifts and the Christmas decorations that are on sale and you just can’t help yourself. But I was determined to get some fall spirit in this house and my husband was determined to keep me away from Michaels for a few weeks…the addiction is real y’all. We compromised…I only went once 🙂 So how do you get some fall in your house without breaking the bank?
It happened. We raised a child without killing ourselves or said child for a whole year. Actually – I think we did surprisingly well 🙂 And that’s cause for celebration. If you’ve been keeping up with me from the beginning here you’ll know we didn’t find out if we were having a girl or boy (see this post or this one if you want more details on gender-neutral baby world things) and we loved every moment of our beautiful surprise. That being said, I didn’t have any super girly or super boyish baby prep festivities. So for this little girl’s first birthday I decided to make up for it – the theme would be all things GIRLY. Bring on the pink, sparkle, flowers & frill!
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Fun, Yum & Frills 