Workin on the birthday stuff!

Well, little bug is turning one soon :) So I am trying to work on some stuff for her birthday :) We shopped a BOGO Fisher Price Sale at TRU earlier in the year and got birthday and Christmas presents :) So she has a ride on Noah's ark thing, a Sesame St. phone thing (that someone gave her for Christmas that was a little too much for her, so I saved it), and I know her grandparents are getting her a push stroller thingy. :)

I am not a HUGE fan of plastic toys- but we do have several. I also do toy rotations, so some toys get put away for a week or more...

I am the greenest in our family I think, although my mother is getting very Eco-friendly and has started recycling :) Anyway- so we are having it at her house (she has a GREAT yard in the country), using real plates and real glasses and I made this cool banner...I just need to stitch it together.
How cool that she can use this every year for her birthday as decoration?




AND yes- that is a tanning bed- it belongs to Mack Daddy! He got it years ago, and it now just take up room in my craft room :). Hey- good work space I guess- ooh and a place to hide junk inside :)

I also sent these little invitations (I whited out the info), and I made envelopes from old envelopes turned inside out and folded to fit. :)
Amazing what you can do with card stock and some crayola markers :)






Again, here's my test run cake! I found some sprinkles on clearance at Walmart, big circle ones, and I think once the icing is tented and the sprinkles are on- it will look much more festive!

Below are pictures of the little tags (from a paper bag), and the goodie bags I whipped up for the guests! Four boys, three girls, one for each of our parents, and the eight pink ones for the adults (1 per couple). I am filling them with goodies from etsy! I'll make a goodie bag post once I get them all ready with all the yummy details inside!!

I am having so much fun! I really wanted this party thing to be a low-key deal, yet at the same time making it special for me and the grandparents! I have been SO horrible at making and keeping friends- she doesn't really have... well any one year old friends coming to the party!
Just will be family and a couple really close friends.

Well- I have about a week left until her party- she won't know it's not on the DAY right? We are doing it on a Saturday.

I'll make a post about the goodie bags -- keep an eye out!

Upcycled Jewelry Giveaway!

My friend over at Barely Domestic is giving away fun jewelry made by Jupita, and DropsofJupita.

This is cool stuff!! My fav is the cuppycake gift card bracelet- what a neat idea!!

See Kai Run Giveaway-

My friends over at A Latte in the Morning has a post HERE, for a giveaway of See Kai Run shoes!!

I have never owned a pair of these shoes, but they look SO cute and I love that they have sizes from newborn to like 8 years old!!

Go check out the post for the giveaway and also head on over to See Kai Run and check out their new sandals and their ever so cute tenny look alikes!!! How cute!

This Past Weekend...

So- we got all packed up and started to head out of town before little bug's afternoon nap. As we were running to get out the door so fussy little one could rest, I decided I needed something to work on. So I ran quickly inside and grabbed a pair of denim shorts (from my large stash under the dresser for up cycling), needle and thread, scissors, and a bag of buttons threw them in a craft bag and ran back out the door. I was determined to make something and make my hour and a half car ride useful!
Mack Daddy started driving and we weren't even to the highway yet before I was already cutting up! It was a little challenging using my lap as a table, no pen to mark my lines first and no pins to hold pieces together- but somehow I managed to cut up a flower shape. After I cut it out, I realized that my attempted flower might end up looking more like a morphed creature...

I also forgot how much harder hand sewing is. Well, not so much harder just tedious! I managed to get it all sewn and one button eye stitched. I am planning on filling it with old wipey refill bags. I'll come back and post a pic in a couple days!

We managed to stop and shop a little at Whole Foods- I love it there- and we ate at a little diner. It was SO yummy and it gave little bug a chance to stretch her legs! She is a great travelor, but she can't last for a really long time without using her new skill- walking!

Mack Daddy took little bug swinmming for the first time this season- she was still getting used to the water in the pic below. Adter a while she did manage to feel comfortable splashing and letting her daddy twirl her around!

Below is little bug hanging out in her stroller during Mack Daddy's race! She was not so interested! :)

Test run of cupcake-cake!

Today was one of those fast days. I made a pizza this morning for brunch and then started looking for recipes for my cake :).

Little bug's first birthday is coming up and I wanted to make a cake-but a little bit of a healthier one. I just think that one is NOT the magic age!! Why should all the sudden we shove sugar in their face? SO- I have lots of peaches stored up in my freezer and wanted to use that in a cake. Lo and behold lots of people have already had a peach spice cake idea :).

The pan I used is a Wilton pan and is a big cupcake!! (they have large cupcakes that are smaller than this HUGE one too) It has a top and bottom section all on one solid tray- and is non-stick coated, which is great because it has lots of crevices. I mixed the batter - that turned out like brownie batter, and then added the non-sweetned peaches I had pulsed in the food processor. There was this neat little reaction very similar to when you make batters with buttermilk; a light and airy transformation!

The batter smelled delicious and it smelled even better coming out of the oven!! (Which I was so surprised because the only spice/flavor is peach and cinnamon.)

I made a simple cream cheese icing for the top and tried to airate it as much as possible in the mixer- but it can only get so 'fluffy'!! I don't think I have iced a cake in years, so I'm semi-happy with my icing job!

I am now on the hunt for a healthier version of the cream cheese/powdered sugar icing to go with the scrumptious cake that I will serve about a month from now :). And maybe a way to make giant sprinkles?

Now, I gotta find someone to help me eat this cake that keeps staring at me like a giant cupcake shrine :)

There are some cute pictures of people who used this pan to make some awesome creations here at Amazon.



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The view today is great :)

Well I am sitting outside in an upcycled metal lounge chair with an old towel and pillow. The air is sweet smelling, like honeysuckle, and the air is perfect in the shade! Little bug is sound asleep with a late nap and the afternoonis just simply lovely!!

As I look up the beautiful little oak tree growing huge leaves, the birds are chirping away, they always seem to be most lively after a good rain!

It's hard sometimes to just sit back and enjoy the simplest things in life- like the rustling of the oak leaves as the wind passes them. Or the unique pattern of her bark.



On another note- my crazy nieces are visiting for the week because their schools closed down for the week! I know the swine flu is a horrible thing, but hundreds of folks die each year from the regular ole flu every year- with a vaccine!! But I guess I do see that the schools want to sanitize EVERYThING- and that takes a while. Plus- whens the last time you think ANYONE sanitized the playgrounds or school desks or the nooks in the hallways? :) at least they are doing that :)

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Goji berries

Yum! We got some berries in the mail from redflowerltd.com. I wasn't sure what to expect but I've heard that they are the superfood of all superfoods and with a toddler an athlete of a husband and me who just all around is trying to make some lifestyle changes, I thought it would at least be a fun expierence.

This picture is little bug curious about the new goodies. She can't have them dried just yet- but it won't be long.

Well they came in a pretty big bag so I divided them into bags and used the nifty little battery operated suction wand. I hadn't really used it much, but it did a pretty good job.



Okay- back to the berries. They were tasty just out of the bag. They tatse similar to small raisens with a little bit of eathy taste. I did try the next day to rehydrate some in some water. The water left was super yummy with a tiny bit of sugar- like earthy sweet tea. In fact the berries that were hydrated tasted like a flavored tea. That's the best way to describe it :)

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Spring is here!!

This morning I went out to look at my rose bushes when little bug went for a nap. There was this awesome huge dragonfly! He had to be three inches long and had such a defined face!! He looked so peaceful!

I also saw a tiny green bug on another and a teeny tiny little grey one on another! It was so refreshing because these bushes I planted and honestly kinda forgot about! Then about a week ago I pulled out all the ivy growing and the little plants. The roses seemed to thank me by growing wonderfly sweet smelling and HUGE flowers!!

Mack daddy got a kayak and so we all loaded up for only the second time and headed to the lake. We did have a lot of fun, and little bug went for a ride!! When I put the life jacket on her- her little face squished up like a fat kid and she kept falling over! It was so freakin halarious that I thought I was going to TT my shorts!!

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