Dino Party - Cookie Favors

We had the big Dinosaur Blow-out last weekend and it was a huge success!  I was a little crazy to schedule two parties in one day, just two days after getting back from vacation, but a couple of sleepless nights and we were in business!

I love a themed party and when Little suggested Dinos, I jumped right in.  It was meant to be when Mister's aunt gave us some dino cookie cutters.  I knew what the favors would be!

I spent one day making the sugar cookies and glazing them with royal icing.  I would suggest looking on Pinterest for a good royal icing recipe.  It's the stuff that dries hard enough to stack and decorate, but still delicious.

The next day was decorating and packaging day.  I found some great food colors from Wilton to use.  We went with turquoise, red, and orange.

I used a food writer to add the "J" and "4" accents.  Have you tried them yet?  They are really amazing.  You just have to make sure your base icing is really set or it will crack.

I made some cute little tags in Word and spring green ribbon from Michaels to tie them up in cellophane bags.

One cookie in each bag, hole punch through the bag and tag, thread ribbon through and tie.  Easy-peasy!

I found this great long, rectangular lidded basket for $1 at Goodwill a few weeks ago.  I just crumpled some red tissue paper to fill the bottom and stacked the cookies in the basket.

A couple of plastic dino accents,  and our favor table was ready to go!

I think it made a cute little party vignette and provided a delicious treat to our adorable little guests!

Hair Today...

Well.  I treated myself to a much needed, much overdue day of beauty and overall self maintenance.  That should be an official holiday. "Beauty and Overall Self-Maintenance Day".  Every woman would have the day off work (in an office or at home, you know it's work!) and all the salons would be full...I can picture it.

Anywho, it was time.  I started with a haircut and ended my morning with a mani/pedi.  It was such a treat!

You're probably wondering from the title of this post what happened to my hair.  I went in for a little more shape.  A snipping of some split ends.  A break from washing my own hair (truly, my favorite part).

I ended up with a little more (or less) than I bargained for...but, I actually LOVE it!  I needed a change.  I was beginning to feel old and frumpy.  While I intellectually know I am neither of those things, sometimes a girl just needs a fresh look!

Here are a few "Befores"...

This is my hair from our holiday photos.  Long, curling iron.

Here I am with my little buddy.  Long, some second day waves.  Pulled back on the sides.  Pretty typical.

This is also pretty typical.  Growing out the bangs.

Speaking of bangs...

In 2011 I had a brief period of Zooey Deschanel bangs.  They were fun.  I felt glamorous, but then they became a burden. I also always felt like I had to wear my hair up so my face wasn't completely covered.

That's my sis.  Yes, we're on Dumbo.

Here's another oldie...

This is when the bangs were growing out.  I think it was our anniversary.

Now were reaching way back into the archives! My little man was just barely one.  Man, our master bedroom was still red, black, and white!

I also had a moment with blonde highlights...

This is from the trip Mister and I took for our first anniversary.

Yikes! This is just to show you my mid-length hair.  Pay no attention to the rest!

I think it's safe to say that my hair and my camera skills have gotten better over the past few years.

And now, with no further ado, my new do...

I'm liking the easiness.  It is definitely an adjustment, as I consider myself a long hair person, but I needed a change and this does it!

Anyone else contemplating a new look for spring?

I've got some birthday party posts coming up.  We had a roarin' good time!

XO,
  Sara

Art Boards Part 2 - Staining

I'm back!  And I have A LOT to share with you!  Today, I'll give you the big reveal from the playroom art boards we've been working on.

Remember how I've been working on a new art display board for the playroom?  I showed you how I beat up some wood to distress it here.

The next thing I did was hot glue clothespins onto the wood.  I took a piece of my son't art to space out the clips evenly along the wood.

After letting the clips dry, the next step was to stain the whole thing.  I chose Minwax classic gray.

                                   

I originally thought I'd go with espresso, but when I added the chalkboard, I knew I needed to match the gray frame.

I added one coat of the stain and let it dry in the garage for several days.  I did not sand or prime the wood.  Remember, I was going for rustic.

It didn't have quite the same brown/gray feel I wanted yet, so I used a rag and some Old English to enrich the color.

                                

I didn't take pictures of this process because my hands were a mess for the staining and the Old English.  Just follow the directions on the can of stain and the Old English.

After Mister helped me hang it (in studs of course), here's what we had.

Not. Too. Shabby.  Well, rustic shabby.

I have to say, I am pretty darn proud of how close I got the chalkboard frame and the art boards to match.  Yay!

This is a project we will really put to good use.

Okay.  Another cross off on the list.  That feels great!

Guess it time to address those walls...

XO,

  Sara

Popping In!

Hello friends!  I've missed you all so!  We've been away for a quick little beach visit and time with family.  Now, I'm gearing up for the big, birthday bash for a certain little person...Tomorrow's party day!

Rest assured, I will have TONS to post.  Heaps!  Oodles!

Bare with me as I readjust to real life and ice a gajillion dinosaur shaped cookies...

Just a quick shot (by my sis in law) from our trip.  Sigh.



XO,
  Sara

Art Boards Part 1 - "Distressing" Information

Unless you haven't thumbed through a shelter mag recently, you're aware of the distressed trend happening in all things home related.  We are all after that chic, but lived in feel.

As I venture into our playroom project, the item at the top of my list was to create an organized space to display my son's artwork.  Let's face it.  A fridge can only handle so much.

Pinterest helped me out with the idea of adding clothespins (man have I been using these a lot lately!) to 1 X 4's and hanging artwork from the clips.  Easy.  One of my gal pals has this set-up in her playroom and it was neat and orderly, but still showed off her kiddos handiwork.  Sold.

I started my picking out to 1 X 4 pieces of lumbar at Home Depot.  I painstakingly looked through board after board to find the smoothest, cleanest looking pieces I could find. 

 Then I got home and decided to beat the snot out of them.

This wasn't the path I had intended to take, but when inspiration hits, you run with it.

Little and I took these boards out to the driveway and while he climbed trees and played on his scooter, Mommy worked out her aggression with a hammer.

The process of distressing is really quite simple.  And therapeutic.  Get a hammer and a nail or two and pound away.  Take some chunks out of the wood.  Don't be afraid!

I even flipped the hammer over and pulled the claw along the wood to make some deeper gashes.

I'm sure my neighbors thought I had finally lost it, but after 15 minutes, I had some pretty distressed looking wood.  Or pretty, distressed looking wood, depending on how you want to view it.

Then, I propped the wood up in the garage and awaited a warm enough day to tackle the staining step.  Is it spring yet?  (That post it to come later this week.)

XO,
  Sara

Playroom Progress - Detour?

Welcome back!  It's Monday again, but that's okay, because that means we're getting closer to spring days with more daylight!

I'm popping in today to share another (yes, another) project that added itself to my list.  Uh-huh.  It added itself.  I didn't plan on redoing the playroom, but then this chalkboard found it's way in, and well, now everything else has to change. :)

Remember when I told you about making over the pegboard from the playroom?  And once I made it over it was way more fitting in the office, rather than the playroom?  So I swapped the pegboard for the chalkboard?

Well, once that happened I loved it.  I love how the rustic, weathered frame connects the feel of the rest of the first floor living space to the playroom.  However, now the very boy-like, very vibrant playroom is majorly clashing.

Yikes!  My eyes are hurting!  Never you fear.  This girl always has a pen and paper handy for a fresh new list.  Shall we?

new shelving around windows

build in window seating

trestle table 

window treatments

artwork space

walls

storage baskets - repurpose/buy

artwork

This weekend I laid on the floor as my son repeatedly "climbed the rock", which consisted of him crawling up my bent legs and body slamming me.  In between blows, I dreamed up a space that is totally kid friendly, corrals all the necessary trucks and dinos, but also yields a fun space for my crafting.  This space has to also tie in with the rest of the house, which means, you guessed it...new colors.  Sensing a theme around here?

I wish y'all could crawl in my head and see it...it's so pretty.  Sigh.

It'll take some time and some muscle, but I'm excited to chip away.  Don't worry.  My other projects are still active as well...

Tomorrow I'll be sharing some very "distressing" news.  Nothing serious!  Just how I distressed some 1 X 4's to get that artwork display started.

See you then!

XO,

  Sara

Going Primal

No, I'm not wearing a leopard skin and carrying a club, but I do look good in animal prints... ;)


                                 

My family and I have been eating Paleo for a little while now and I thought I'd share some of our progress.  If you are unfamiliar with what Paleo is all about, go here and then come back over!

One of my good friends has been eating this way for awhile and you just can't argue with the results.  She looks fabulous and feels even better.  The essence is to rid your diet of all processed food, grains, legumes, and dairy.  What's left?!?

Believe me.  I was skeptical at first too.  But, then I discovered there is SO much to eat, and more importantly, these things are way better for you.

Now, I don't like to get crazy about vitamins and minerals, and fish oil and all that hoopla.  I do like to eat real food, prepared in a fresh and healthy way.  I like to not feel tired and craving a sugar boost every 3 hours.  I like to wake up rested and ready for my day.  I like knowing I'm filling my son with the proper fuel for his day.

We eat eggs, and lots of them!  Meat, LOTS of vegetables (roasted, toasted, steamed, sauteed, pureed), fruit, and nuts.  It may not seem like a lot, but I've found our meals so satisfying and filling.  More filling than any cream of casserole or pasta dish I've ever made.  And the satisfied feeling lasts much longer.  No running to the pantry for a handful of crackers to make it through the laundry (you know you've done it).

                  

When we first ventured down this road last summer, I found it completely overwhelming to come up with meals.  I struggled along for several weeks, but eventually converted back to my oatmeal and wheat toast ways.  The holidays were especially rough.  Who doesn't want to make cookies with their kids?!

Then, I just decided enough was enough.  I remembered how good I felt when I followed the plan and jumped back on the wagon, full force, both feet first!  But this time, I've equipped myself with some tools to help me succeed.

                              

I mentioned in yesterday's post about Emeals.  I can't say enough good things about them.  You sign up for a  plan (in our case, the Paleo plan) and every week a new 7-day dinner plan is emailed to you, complete with a shopping list.  Better still, there are tons of coupon codes out there, so I got a whole year's worth of meal plans for $3 a month.  $3!  What?  That to me, is money well spent!

I also added a few new cookbooks to my collection and they have been awesome!

The first is Practical Paleo.  This book is absoluty essential to anyone who wants to know more and then, start the Paleo lifestyle.  I will warn you, there are a lot of pages about all the things that wheat, gluten, etc do to your body.  I get that lots of people will really want to delve into that.  Like I said, I just like the way I feel.  I don't necessarily need to know about all the organs in my body.



Diane gives you great ideas for how to transition and some awesome recipes as well, complete with 30 day meal plans.

This one has great kiddie friendly ideas, as well as some fun staples, like sauces.

  

I was thrilled when I saw this title!  Everything we've tried so far has been delish.  Fried okra?! Mashed cauliflower that tastes better than tatters?!  Sign me up!

     

My new fav is Paleo Indulgences.  This book is what made me feel like I can do this.  What?  I can still make cupcakes for my son's birthday?  We can still have pancakes on Sunday nights?  Yay!


      

The key is to treat these as indulgences.  Because that's what these types of food should be.  Paleo or not.  Our world has become a world of indulgences all the time, any time and it's time to get back to basics.  Believe me.  Peanut M&M's and I have been besties for a long time and we've had a rough break-up...

Anyway.  I know no one probably cares what my family eats, but if I can help one other person see that Paleo is not crazy than hooray!  I definitely thought my Paleo friend was nutso when she told me about the program (love you girl!).  But then I tried it.

We're still figuring it out.  We haven't braved a restaurant since we've gone "all in" yet, or been guests at someone else's house, or entertained, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  Baby steps.

Don't worry.  This is not becoming a food blog.  Or a Paleo fan club.  However, this blog is about my life, my nest, and this has become a new part of how we live around here.  And I'm excited to share it with all of you!

Now I'm gonna go bake those blueberry muffins on the cover there because they are making my tummy growl!

XO,
  Sara