Max wanted a race car theme with red and orange. Done.

We tied an orange balloon to each chair. I covered the table with brown kraft paper (the [...]]]> Spring time is birthday season at our house. I decided to let the kiddos have birthday parties with friends every other year. So this was our friend party year.

Max wanted a race car theme with red and orange. Done.

We tied an orange balloon to each chair. I covered the table with brown kraft paper (the kind from Home Depot that contactors use to cover the carpet – it comes in giant rolls and is super cheap). I used orange wrapping paper to cover the counter. The plates, napkins and cups were red.

I pre-poured snacks into cups – cracker, pretzels, goldfish. We had tangerines, chocolate cupcakes, and juice. About an hour before the party, I put the juice boxes in the freezer to get them cold and the froze! So most kids ate their juices with a spoon – but everyone likes slushies, right?!

The kids played “Red Light, Green Light” in the backyard. I made the flags out of felt and dowel rods from the craft store.

Target had some wooden cars and trucks for a dollar so the kids each decorated a car. Max takes his projects very seriously. He stayed at the table to color even after his buddies were long gone and playing in the playroom. He colored every inch of the car (and his face). I set up a ramp in the family room using our coffee table and some masonite board I had laying around for the kids to race their cars.

Max helped me put the party favor bags together. He chose punch balloons, race car pencils, bouncy balls, and little race cars to go inside the bags. I printed out some race car graphics. Max cut each one out and glued it on each bag. We used the extra images to make a mobile that hung from the light over the kitchen table (my mom’s idea). The kids loved that! We closed up the bag with jute twine following this tutorial.

All in all, the party was a success. No disasters. My parents were in town so they helped with all the prep and the day of the party. Max had fun with his friends. We were all happy.

Christmas week was just as I hoped it would be. I spent tons of time with my little family. We (Chris, mostly) did a few projects around the house, raked leaves, and had a party. In years past, we have delivered plates of treats to our neighbors and friends around Christmas time, but [...]]]>

Christmas week was just as I hoped it would be. I spent tons of time with my little family. We (Chris, mostly) did a few projects around the house, raked leaves, and had a party. In years past, we have delivered plates of treats to our neighbors and friends around Christmas time, but this year we decided to host a “Merry Christmas Hot Cocoa Social” instead. We invited our friends (who we knew were in town) to join us Christmas Eve afternoon. I love having a full house – and trust me, the house was full!

I kept things pretty low key. The hot cocoa & hot cranberry drinks were made from my great aunt recipes and I served them out of crock pots.

We also served chocolate crinkle cookies, banana bread, cranberry bread with walnuts, and hot chocolate mix-ins (candy canes, marshmallows, choco chips, whipped cream).

We will definitely do this again next year!

One activity from our advent calendar this year was to play Christmas Bingo with a few friends. Well, that’s what we did Saturday and it was lots of fun. So much fun that I didn’t even take photos. Why does that always happen? Oh well. I’m sharing my Christmas Bingo boards with you. To download [...]]]>

One activity from our advent calendar this year was to play Christmas Bingo with a few friends. Well, that’s what we did Saturday and it was lots of fun. So much fun that I didn’t even take photos. Why does that always happen? Oh well. I’m sharing my Christmas Bingo boards with you. To download the Bingo boards, click HERE. It’s a 10-page pdf with 10 different Bingo boards. I filled one of my apothecary jars with prizes from the dollar store and had some snacks to munch on. We will definitely be adding this to our holiday traditions.

Another great thing I made last week was inspired by my Auntie who is an amazing baker. I made the most delicious chocolate cupcakes. Cooled them in the fridge. Dug out a tablespoon of cake from the bottom. Filled the hole with freshly whipped cream. Stuffed the cake bottom back on. Drizzled a chocolate ganache over the top. YUM! Don’t worry. I’ll be posting a tutorial on this one soon.

Also, we decorated graham cracker houses a few days ago. Two things that worked really well: we separated the candy into muffin tins so the kiddos could see what their choices were and to construct the houses I dipped the graham edges in melted sugar. Worked like a charm.

Today’s tutorial comes from my super talented friend Ruth. She can do everything: quilting, baking, mom-ing, homemaking, and even wardrobe consulting (she takes me shopping). Owning her own bakery is a dream of hers, so I thought I better get in on her cake secrets now before she has to guard them for the business’ [...]]]>

Today’s tutorial comes from my super talented friend Ruth. She can do everything: quilting, baking, mom-ing, homemaking, and even wardrobe consulting (she takes me shopping). Owning her own bakery is a dream of hers, so I thought I better get in on her cake secrets now before she has to guard them for the business’ sake (if you know what I mean). So here are some cake-making tips with photos from a cake she made for her son’s birthday.

**********************************

First things first plan out how you want the cake to look when you are finished but don’t be afraid to modify it half way through if your 2 year old just can’t wait for the finished cake and takes a corner while you aren’t looking. I prefer homemade cakes over cake mixes only that they are denser and tend to flake less when you are frosting them. That being said there are some fabulous recipes to modify cake mixes and make them denser.

When frosting I start with a dirty ice or initial layer of frosting. I heard the term dirty ice somewhere and love it because I can’t stand when my frosting gets dirty with crumbs when I am doing a cake. Also to help avoid that frost in one direction not back and forth across the cake. So frost the cake with a thin layer of frosting and let it dry—about 10 or 15 minutes. If you want to make the cake have some dimension use leftover cake pieces to create some hills or mountains or anything else you can imagine.

Fondant is so much fun to play with I think of it as a baker’s playdoh. So easy to work with all you have to do is roll it out and shape it how you want it to look. You can buy it colored or do it yourself just make sure you use frosting coloring not food coloring or it will break down and fall apart. If your frosting is not quite dry just lay it on the frosting and it will stick. If your frosting has already dried just lightly brush it with water and stick it on the cake.

Next just add your details. I added grass around the bottom of my hill and all around the sides to cover flaws. Don’t be afraid to use other food items to decorate. I just crushed up graham crackers for sand and sprinkled it on the cake. So easy my kids can do it   Remember it’s not rocket science and you will be just fine!

**********************************

Thanks, Ruth, for sharing! I can’t wait to try your tricks out. Leave a comment if you have a question for Ruth about anything (cake or which jeans would look best on you!). Happy Tuesday!

Journals were on the kitchen table next to the dessert counter. My Mom made pumpkin cookies, oatmeal fudge bars, cream cheese brownies and a tasty [...]]]> Finally. Some pics from the open house. Next year I won’t wait until 6:59pm the night of the open house to take photos of everything. But you get the general idea.

Journals were on the kitchen table next to the dessert counter. My Mom made pumpkin cookies, oatmeal fudge bars, cream cheese brownies and a tasty hot holiday drink. (Let me know if you need the recipes!)

Sticker packs were hung on the mantle. Side note about the clothespins: I thought it would be a good idea to stain all of the clothespins… sort of a messy project and about half of them are glued shut. Oops. Probably won’t do that again. Anyway, don’t you love all that Amy Butler paper?

Notebooks were displayed on my $8 bookcase from Goodwill (I painted it and now it will be Chris’ bedside table, haha). The butterfly notebooks sold out at the open house but I have a few of the other kinds left for my etsy shop.

Printable stationery and project ideas had their own wall. Lucky for me, the guys who renovated our bathroom let me have the palette the tile came on. Woo-hoo!

Wish I had a better pic of the gift card holders table. Sigh. The Christmas-style gift card holders sold out but I’m planning to make some more for the shop. Email me if you need that style and I’ll hold them for you.

I’m in love with this desk. $5. At a garage sale. Seriously. I refinished it and I couldn’t be happier with the end result. So I had to include it somewhere – it held the mailing list, business cards, scratch cards, and receipts by the front door.

Can’t wait to do this again next year!

I should get some items listed in the shop tonight. If you need to order something and don’t want to wait around for my shop to be updated, email me and I can fill your order that way.

I’m finally starting to feel spooky around here. It has cooled off a little and I’ve hung a few Halloween decorations. I even made my little guy’s bumble bee costume so we are ready for Halloween! My favorite part of Halloween is the food (surprise, heh). Last year we ate taco soup with salty bones [...]]]>

I’m finally starting to feel spooky around here. It has cooled off a little and I’ve hung a few Halloween decorations. I even made my little guy’s bumble bee costume so we are ready for Halloween! My favorite part of Halloween is the food (surprise, heh). Last year we ate taco soup with salty bones (bread sticks) and monster belly buttons (cinnamon rolls). Not sure what this year will bring – but I better get planning!

ps – I’m guest posting over at Bloom this week. Don’t miss out on all my spooky Halloween ideas (and freebies!).

Do you know Meg? Or her blog? Or have you seen her house? Meg and I have never met in real life but I’m pretty sure that if we were given the chance, we would be good friends. Today she is sharing her rainbow cake secrets with us. You can see the original post here [...]]]>

Do you know Meg? Or her blog? Or have you seen her house? Meg and I have never met in real life but I’m pretty sure that if we were given the chance, we would be good friends. Today she is sharing her rainbow cake secrets with us. You can see the original post here on her blog. Originally, she made this for the last day of school, but I think rainbow cake is always a good idea so I thought I’d share it now. Meg has all kinds of great ideas and all of her photos are beautiful. Make sure you take a minute to be inspired! Thanks, Meg!

*************************************************************

to ease my guilt of how honestly UNhappy i was that it was the last day of school…

i made a cake to help them celebrate.

i had seen versions of the rainbow cake and decided “today’s the day!” to make my own.

it’s not too difficult.

but it does take some time.

i just used TWO white cake mixes.

following the instructions on the box.

then i divided it up into 6 bowls evenly which turned out to be 1.5 cups in each bowl.

i had all these Wilton Icing colors already…from all the other birthday cakes i have done in the past.

(find them at walmart, hobby lobby, micheals in the cake decorator isle but not the CAKE MIX isle)

also you could use the gel colors in the cake mix isle…i think it’s the same thing.

the drop kind of food coloring will NOT work for these bright colors…your rainbow would be pastels.

and if you only have five eggs…you can call your neighbor for one more.

even if you JUST went to the store to buy the cake mix ten minutes before.

add a teaspoon of color into each bowl and stir.

it’s so easy a four year old can do it.

i used 9″ round cake pans.

make sure you grease them well with shortening or baking spray.

this is a crucial step in making fancy cakes that i think some skimp and then you are screwed stuck.

my cakes were done in 12 minutes.

flip them out on to cooling racks and let them sit till they are completely cool.

it is pure happiness to make.

even the dishes are happy.

just keep baking & don’t think about the kids will be home for three whole months in two more hours…

i made the cool whip frosting i have shared before to frost this.

when you make a layer cake you have to cut your cakes to make them flat….but you knew that.

i don’t have a picture though.

you take a big knife (or even a tool that is made just for flattening cakes)

and you cut off the round part of the top of the cake that rises in the oven.

you can let your kids or husband eat that so they leave you alone while you frost the cake.

(you stay away from that turkey…you’ll get worms!….name that movie)

then you layer it up…rainbow style.

spread frosting in between each layer.

then around the whole thing.

(do you know the trick about putting a skim layer of frosting first to seal in all the crumbs…

stick it in the refridgerator to harden…

then another coat after that of thick frosting?  yes, you did?  ok…sorry)

i didn’t show the other kids so when we cut it they were so surprised.

the lighting makes my purple layer look weird.

but it was purple…i promise.

we had lots of other kids here playing and it was a hit.

i heard sean say “do you want some cake?  my mom made it for the end of school!”

smile.

cake can solve the world’s problems.

[image credits meg duerksen]

The night before I assembled everything: craft stuff in a big bowl, snack stuff in a crate, silverware in a flower pot (not as good of an idea as I thought it would [...]]]> We celebrated Pioneer Day with a party (even though we do not live in Utah). And it was really fun. Crafts. Games. Snacks.

The night before I assembled everything: craft stuff in a big bowl, snack stuff in a crate, silverware in a flower pot (not as good of an idea as I thought it would be – my guests kept getting impaled by the knives), butter supplies in a pan, game pieces in a bowl. We only have room for 6 people at our kitchen table and so I knew I would need everything for each activity ready to go for quick set up and clean up. It worked out great for our little space.

First, the kiddos made log cabins with pretzels and icing. It would have been great to do this on little milk cartons, but I’m not an elementary school and didn’t have 6 tiny milk cartons on hand, so cardboard it was. I used my trusty Sharpie to draw an outline of a house on the cardboard and then the kids went at it. We used construction paper for windows and doors.

Then we played “Ring on a String” (a childhood favorite of my husband’s – not sure it’s technically a pioneer game, but oh well).
MATERIALS TO ROUND UP: a roll of string, a ring
RULES OF PLAY: Everyone sits in a circle. Cut a piece of string long enough so everyone sitting can hold on to it. Put the ring on the string and tie the string ends together. One person goes in the middle and closes his eyes. The people in the circle slide the ring around on the string, passing it around. The person in the middle opens his eyes and starts guessing where the ring is. Once he finds who has it, they switch places. And on. And on.
[I wasn't sure if the kiddos would catch on to this game, but they did! And they loved it!]

Next was “Drop the Handkerchief” (pretty sure this is the precursor to Duck-Duck-Goose).
MATERIALS TO ROUND UP: a handkerchief
RULES OF PLAY: Everyone sits in a circle. One person stand outside the circle with the handkerchief. He walks around and drops the handkerchief behind someone. That person picks up the handkerchief and chases the one who dropped the handkerchief around the circle until they get back to where they started. Then they switch places. And on. And on. Until the kiddos say, “I don’t like this game. I’m swinging,” and leave. (It was HOT outside – I don’t blame them)

Snack time was last.
MENU: fruit kabobs and homemade butter on homemade bread and lemonade
TO MAKE BUTTER: I filled baby food jars half way with heavy whipping cream. Shake it until butter forms (this took about 5 minutes). Pour off the remaining liquid into a bowl (it’s buttermilk) and eat the butter. Easy! And way better than store butter. The kiddos shook the butter for about 30 seconds and then I told them to give it to their dads to finish up the shaking.

There you have it. 90 minutes of pioneer fun.

Like I’ve mentioned before, I am so excited to have a new nephew on his way to earth. It is great cause for celebrating. So, our family decided to celebrate together over a delicious dinner in mom’s fabulous yellow dining room. My sister, mom and I all worked together to make this meal from scratch. [...]]]>

Like I’ve mentioned before, I am so excited to have a new nephew on his way to earth. It is great cause for celebrating. So, our family decided to celebrate together over a delicious dinner in mom’s fabulous yellow dining room. My sister, mom and I all worked together to make this meal from scratch. So tasty! I love dinner parties.

Menu:

Broccoli and Cheese soup (not the velveta kind – real cheese)
BBQ Brisquet
Spinach Salad
Crescent Rolls
Homemade Raspberry Icecream
Chocolate Cupcakes with yummy frosting

Decorations:

Red and orange pom poms
Name tags out of craft paper with an animal silhouette on each one
Coordinating cupcake toppers from the craft paper
Crowns for mom-to-be and dad-to-be to wear during the meal (of course the kiddo cousins each needed a crown after they saw them…)

Game:

Opening presents (that’s a game, right?)