Creating Moments That Matter
As I’m frantically making preparations for Dylan’s birthday party and my Mother & MIL to come stay with me this weekend, I’m rerunning old episodes of 90210 in my head. Yep! It starts tonight on the CW.
I’m fully aware that I am now in my 30’s, However, I’m still a kid at heart and I have a feeling this will be my new guilty pleasure this season. {{giddy}}
I’ve been without Internet since Sunday! {{screaming out of frustration}} So I’m just now getting around to posting about book club I hosted last Saturday. Hopefully you’ll find a fun idea that you can use for your next shindig.
The book I picked was The Host by Stephanie Meyer. I really hesitated picking the book because we already read the Twilight series. Also, I was still mad at her for book #3 which, in my opinion, was a complete re-write of book #1 and should have started at page 520.
However, I really like Sci-Fi and couldn’t resist making my Jane Austen fan club branch out and read something I really enjoy. {{evil laugh}} I was hooked on the first page. It reminded me so much of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. Fabulous!!
With a new coat of paint, I gussied up the dining room in flowers and fun vases. Wendy and I have been discount shopping during our Girls Camp days to find all the fun finishing touches.
Here’s a closer look.
I found this blog from Today’s Creative Blog and printed out Martha’s template to make flowers for the bottom of my Shirly Temple’s. (a.k.a. Mom-tini’s)
(Aftermath picture – sorry. I realized you would probably want to see what it looks like. But we ate almost all of it. Oops.)
I served this yummy spinach pasta salad I had over at Wendy’s. It’s so easy even I could make it! I substituted the chicken for bagged ready cooked fajita chicken meat, so I could just dump it in. No one got food poisoning and several Book Clubbers asked for the recipe so here it is:
Spinach Pasta Salad
2 bags (10 oz) spinach
1 bunch green onions, sliced
½ C. fresh parsley
6 oz. bag craisins (2/3 C.)
6 oz. honey roasted peanuts
3 cans mandarin oranges, drained
4 C. cooked, cut-up chicken
1 box (12-16 oz) bow tie pasta
Dressing:
1 C. vegetable oil
2/3 C. Teriyaki Sauce
2/3 C. Rice Vinegar (Nakano original seasonal brand)
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
Prepare dressing ahead of time and refrigerate overnight. Mix all salad ingredients together and add dressing just before serving. This recipe makes a lot. Cut it in half to feed a group of 6-8.
For dessert I made this Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake. Super easy!
As a party favor, I made everyone Glitter Cups!! {{squeal with delight}} I was completely giddy while making them. Chanda had hooked me up with the idea and I was over-the-top excited to make them for everyone. We are all addicted to Sonic drinks so now we can drink them in style.
I got the tutorial from Over The Tipsy Top girls. Those girls are uber fab!
Here are more of their Glitter Cups to get you inspired! Mine didn’t turn out that OTT. I’m a little more structured than that. And I had a terrible time finding everything like the crowns, shoes, etc.
It was such a fun day and I hope my fellow book clubbers felt the love and adoration I have for them. I was more sassy than usual during our conversation but it was all in fun. Gotta keep the converstation mooving and in light hearted fun!
Love you girls!! I think your fabulous and thank you so much for your friendship! {{hugs}}
Update: Ok. Chanda and I did some shopping this week and we ended up finding EVERYTHING at Hobby Lobby in their Princess party isle for cheap! We found the crowns, star wands, even huge diamond rings. We cut up a boa, used several different ribbons, and modged podged black glitter to some cool scrapbooking cardboard chips. Thanks to Chanda’s talent they turned out so OTT, check her blog to see the pictures.
Thursday I was invited to help out with a ‘feed the children’ project organized by another church and a friend. I was asked to bring cookies and a craft.
I choose to do face painting. It’s easy, cheap, and can accomodate the amount of children we were told to expect without running out of supplies.
We kept the options down to only 6 due to my lack of skills and to keep the decisions for the kids short.
Davis decided he wanted to help with the face painting and did an excellent job.
Dylan was in charge of the bubbles. It was such a wonderful experience for the boys and I to serve these children.
Davis took to it immediately and really understood our purpose in giving these kiddos a fun afternoon. However, Dylan was a little shell-shocked. Being my overly sensitive and compassionate child, he better understood the situation these kids are in and was a little overwhelmed. Once we got him a name tag and a job, he felt a lot better and was able to get into the swing of things and play with the children.
All week I’ve been preparing to host Mavens (girls game night) on Thursday and Book Club on Saturday. However, I kept receiving phone and e-mail cancelations. So as I always “create my own experience”, I decided to change it to Movie Mavens!
No need in having Jason and the kids gone for the evening, feeding, and trying to play a game with only a couple of us. We saw that Traveling Pants 2 movie and I was pleasently surprised. I really liked it. Top it off with a lemon icee and great conversation at Starbucks afterwards and you’ve got a great evening with girlfriends.
I’ll admit (only to you) that I was highly annoyed that all my preparations and food were for nothing. Good thing I’m hosting Book Club on Saturday or I would be majorly peeved. I got totally snarky and put a sign on my front door, “Mavens is cancelled to do lack of interest!”
Everyone had legit excuses but it’s a lot of work to have only 2 people able to come. As much fun as it would have been playing uno with Cheryl and Jenny, it’s not quite worth the 3-day prep fest. Luckily my galpal Lisa was able to come on short notice and Katrina ended up finding a babysitter.
The evening was saved and my house is still clean for Saturday.
Kelly (the first blogger I stalked) sent me the most amazing good mail package!
She wrote in her note, “Thanks for being the incredible person that you are. Every day you amaze, inspire, and encourage thousands of women. Thank you for all that you do. I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately and just wanted to do a little something to inspire you . Enclosed I hope you find a few little things that will hopefully bring a smile to you & your boys.”
WOW!!! The boys and I have been having so much fun with a the fun goodies Kelly sent us. The tattoo’s, bubbles, and cookies have been the biggest hit! Your “daily inspiration” jar is so wonderful and uber thoughtful.
I got Drake to eat dinner because of Kelly’s bubbles. One bubble blow for each bite! I was completely winded by the time he was finished but at least he ate a full meal. Usually it’s only one or two bites.
Lisa stole the cookies on her way out Sunday night. It was a tough sacrifice – but considering she watched my boys for 24 hours – and that was all she wanted in return – I made the sacrifice. 😉 So I owe Kelly double thanks!
On a personal note, this has been a fun but very stressful and busy summer. I’ve been putting so much of myself into Tip Junkie and I’ll admit that at times – I feel like it’s a burden with very few rewards. This was such a wonderful surprise that brightened my week! If what I do inspires someone who inspires me, then I feel like I’m doing my job.
xoxo
Chanda and I left our families behind and spent the weekend at the Covered Bridge Inn scrapbooking retreat.
It was such a cozy place to leave the summer stress behind.
Needless to say – we had a BLAST!
You might think this is just a door…
Oh no! It doubles as a book shelf!
Everyone there lugged in all their boxes and containers full of scrapbook supplies and embellishments.
Me? I brought my laptop and successfully completed 2 Shutterfly books – 200 pages and 444 pictures. Top that.
Here’s Chanda creating her pages which I call modern artwork. They’re beautiful!
We were fed 3 times a day with a 3:00 snack of homemade cookies and chips & salsa. The food was seriously so yummy! It was my kind of food – comfort.
It was so great not needing to leave the house to eat or filling up on junky fast food and feeling heavy later.
We even relaxed in the hot tub late one night, told stories, and laughed.
I fell in love with these chip board books. Aren’t they so cool.
This one says I Heart You. Fabulous!
This is a popsicle invitation. Seriously, so cute.
It was a fabulous weekend. Thanks Chanda for all the laughs and good times. It’s exactly what I needed to recharge!
Too bad I came home to this. {{grumble grumble roar!}}
I think it’s time my family realizes that, “If mama aint happy. Aint no one happy.”
Last week for Girl’s Camp, Wendy and I went shopping and I got soo much done. Including, purchasing outfits for all 3 boys for a group picture and the boys their backpacks for school.
Afterwards we ate at Cozymel’s for lunch.
They had an LCD screen right on our table to check out the specials, split our check, pay, and even check out the movie times at the mall. Crazy!!
It was a very productive and fun day. Thanks Wendy!
Several years ago, I started the tradition of having a babysitter for one day each week during the summer. I called it my “sanity day”. It used to be a day I grocery shopped and ran errands with out having to get out a stroller at each stop.
However, over the years it’s evolved into more of a “girls camp” day for me. I figure I’ve enrolled the boys in several camps during the summer – I should get one too. {{evil laugh}}
I try to make it a day I get together with a friend and do something I normally wouldn’t get to do. Last week Chanda and I went to check out the Wisteria outlet that Katrina blogged about. Treasures were found and then we headed over to the Mall for food and accessory shopping.
I LOVED having little AJ with us and we totally bonded in the accessory department of Forever 21. We tried on lots of necklaces together and had fun picking out our favorites.
Near the end of our shopping trip, she got a little distracted by Build-a-Bear. I can’t blame her – those skate boarding bears look so cool. Photo op!
Thanks Chanda and AJ! I had such a good time and I’m loving my new bow headband and flower bracelet. Girls camp was a success. {{wink}}
I participated in Kelly’s Favorite Things Swap and I had so much fun doing it! My switch partner was Nicole and she’s amazing! She wrap everything up so cute in brown paper and red/white twine. Adorable!
I wish her blog wasn’t private because she has so much to share. Her blog is so feminine and sophisticated – I felt like I was a grown up while I was reading it. {{giggle}}
These are Nicole’s favorite things she sent me:
1. Canvas bag filled with Burt Bee’s lip balm and bubble bath.
2. Book – I loved the chemistry in the P.S. I Love You movie so she got me the book.
3. Blue album – she loves making memories and keeping them close. (blue for my boys)
4. She loves to embroider and made me the 6 B’s quote from President Hinckley. {{love it!}}
5. She loves to make lists and send this cute notebook. I’m a list maker too, so this will really come in handy.
6. Rubber stamps – she loves to create cards, scrapbook, and other paper crafts. {{me too!}}
Nicole, I LOVE it! Thank you so much for taking the time to put together such a wonderful and thoughtful package. It was such a treat to receive!
This is what I sent Nicole. I choose to go with a black, white, and red theme because red is her favorite color and I was completely inspired by the black and white Audrey Hepburn photos on her blog.
I really need to get some new favorites. But, alas I picked my tried & true favorites that I’ve blogged about many times before. I tried to tweak them a bit to reflect more Nicole’s style.
{{Yes, me totally sucking in!!}}
I made her a “Blog Babe!” t-shirt in bling like RO and I made for our birthdays. I tried to keep it small because Nicole has more of a sleek style.
I made her my favorite “For my Friend” cards. This has special meaning to me because it was the first homemade card I ever received.
Luggage tags with Audrey Hepburn on them. (Nicole’s favorite actress.)
We both love to read and I feel so feminine when I read with a cute book mark. So I made her 2 Beaded Bookmarks.
Red square necklace. I call this my t-shirt necklace because it’s the perfect size to just pull over my head when I want to be casual but still feel cute.
I also sent her an Abba mix CD because we both love music and she saw Mama Mia recently.
Oh what a fun swap! Thanks Kelly for putting it together – you rock as always.
Summer is kicking my boo-tay, ladies! So I need your guilty pleasure snacks for emotional support. 😉 Thank you so much for all your suggestions. Looks like I’ve got some shopping to do!
Here are the results of our Guilty Pleasure Game so far:
Aubry, who I’ve MIRL, loves Kettle Corn, Hummus, and Homemade Pita Chips. She recipes for each guilty pleasure over on her blog. Be sure to check it out!
Here’s what’s left of Becky’s guilty pleasure – it must be yummy! Becky also has a food blog with lots of her favorite recipes.
Valerie’s guilty pleasures are M&M’s and Diet Dr. Pepper. Valerie and I could obviously hang out in real life. I’ve always got those in stock at my house. 😉
Jeannie’s favorite indulgences are chocolate truffles and coffee!
Tanja shares many of my favorites as well. Her guilty pleasures include: Diet Dr. Pepper, Dove chocolate, rice crispy treats, wheat thins, and gummie bears. Yummy!
My SIL, Cecilia’s, guilty pleasure is Mountain Dew. Girl, you’d smoke me in a drinking contest because 1/2 a can of MD gives me the shakes. 😉 I’m a total wimp!
btw: Those pictures of the kiddos kissing are soo darling!
Dena’s guilty pleasure is seriously so grown up. She bought a Williams Sonoma Ice Cream/Sorbet maker and has been indulging in sorbet nightly. Man, I want to come over and be 30 and Flirty with you while eating sorbet! Also, check out her blog design, beautiful.
Kacey has some really great treats to share. I’m really liking her list: All the Dreyer’s Slow Churned Yogurt Blends are awesome but right now…peach is at the top of my list! Frozen (must be frozen!) Junior Mints, Orville Redenbacher’s Natural Simply Salted Popcorn, Jr. Whopper’s at Burger King, Dr. Pepper to wash it all down.
Jillybean’s favorite sandwich is a Reuben sandwich on Ciabatta bread. She even included the recipe! You’ve got to check out her blog header – it made me really hungry. 😉
Julie, Crazymamaof6, loves brownies, DR.Pepper, but not together. PIZZA totally does it for her! But she doesn’t feel guilty about it. {{giggle}} (I just adore this gal.)
Keep your guilty pleasure snacks comming! (Just leave a comment.) I’ll feature these and the rest submitted on Tip Junkie this Friday!
I’m an emotional eater. Since I need some serious emotional support this week, I thought I’d send a shout out request for a new food to call my ‘guilty pleasure’. In the past, I’ve indulged in:
Then there’s the staple of Diet Coke and Dr. Pepper. I’ve started rotating them to change things up. I get bored easily.
I need your help finding a new snack! So, post a picture of your favorite snack (a.k.a. guilty pleasure) on your blog and then either comment on this post or e-mail me, and I’ll feature you! (Feel free to be in the picture.)
It will be a fun game we’ll play all week. 😉 As an incentive to play, I’ll feature everyone who participates on Tip Junkie this Friday!
That’s some major traffic for you and lots of yummy snacks for me – win/win!
