Birthday Love

Each year I promise myself that I won't go all out on my child's birthday party. And each year I do. The past three years, Adrienne's birthdays have been a huge ordeal, and I never get to enjoy it. Too many countless hours spent preparing and decorating. Too many people end up getting invited. Too many presents for the kid to open. Too much over-stimulation. Adrienne ends up crying, I take like maybe ten photos, my house gets trashed, and wait, what? I didn't even get a piece of cake?

Oh, and get this, Adrienne came down with the stomach flu the night before her third birthday party. So all the planning, the money spent, and the food prepared was basically pointless. I had to call and cancel with most of the guests. I mean, the day of her party mostly dealt with me cleaning up poop. And the stack of presents? She could have cared less.

Done. Over. No more, "Pleased to meet you, my name is Basket-Case, and welcome to my child's ridiculous birthday party!"

So, when her fourth birthday rolled around this past December, we didn't have a party. We didn't have an excessive amount of presents. No invites, no decor, (nothing for me to clean up), and guess what? She. didn't. care. She opened a few presents, her two best buddies stopped by, we ate steaks for dinner, followed by a homemade chocolate dessert. And did I mention NOTHING TO CLEAN UP?

I wouldn't trade that day for all the parties in the world.

Full Disclaimer: I totally am not against parents throwing huge parties for their kids. I'm just envious of your skills.

It's Muh Birthday and a Winner!

Ya'll, it's my blog's second birthday! And I'm going to party accordingly. I had an amazing giveaway scheduled for today, but rain and champagne (you know, LIFE) got in the way of it. So, it's postponed until this MONDAY. Set your calendars on your smart phones! You won't want to miss out.

Okay, I'm going to enjoy the rest of my weekend by drinking some more bubbly, because, hey, I deserve it. But before I go, I'll announce the winner of my last giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congrats Stephanie L.! You have won an elephant blanket from Mud Pie in your choice of color! I will be contacting you later on in the day! Thanks to everyone who entered this great giveaway! 

xoxox, dolls.

Winsome Words Wednesday

Guys. My blog's SECOND birthday is Saturday. And boy do I have an amazing giveaway scheduled. Make sure you check back this weekend and press your luck!

#truth

Swim Party

How amazing are those cups of "dirt" with the flowers? They are really cups of cake, chocolate ice cream, and crushed up Oreos. Bam. They were a perfect treat on a hot day.

And Adrienne and her little buddy? I just straight up passed out from the cuteness.

My BIRTHDAY and a WINNER

It's my birthday. I have two more years of my twenties. I'm pretty bittersweet about it. I feel like crying, because, you know, it's my birthday and all. I can go right ahead and cry if I want to.

I jest. I'm not going to boohoo. I'll probably wine it up instead. Care to join me? Also, don't forget, I love presents.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

Congrats Marlene T.! You are the winner of the Truly Sanctuary giveaway!! Lucky you! I will be contacting you asap! It's my birthday but I'm giving gifts? Whuut tha what?!!

A big thanks to everyone who entered! An even bigger thanks to my frands over at Truly Sanctuary. They make some awesome shirts. Plus it helps that the people churning out those shirts are pretty cool themselves. You can read about Truly Sanctuary by going HERE.

Check back tomorrow for another great giveaway! Much love you guys.

Hello Kitty Ears

I wanted to pop in real quick this Monday morning to share the party favors from my child's second birthday party. Her theme was Hello Kitty, because no one can ever go wrong with Hello Kitty. 

I used red and white felt and a package of headbands from the Dollar Tree. I cut out shapes for the ears and bows. Then red strips for the middle of the bows. I hot glued the ears to the headband and the bow to one of the ears. They turned pretty darn cute if I say so myself. 

This would also be a great craft session for a little girl's sleepover. Which we will have to subject ourselves to one day.

If you like my stuffs, help a homie out and vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs! Just click on the picture below. It will take you to the Top Mommy Blogs website, but you voted for me by just clicking that happy cartoon lady! YOU CAN VOTE DAILY!! Thank you guys!!

Growing

My baby is three. Happy birthday to the most beautiful soul I know.

3rd Birthday Invites? What?!

Adrienne is about to be three. THREE. Hold the phone and shut the front door. Where has my little roly poly baby gone? The one that couldn't talk or walk and pooped in her diaper? Well, that baby fat fat is no where to be found. She's turned into a slender sized, more grown up version with actual demands besides milk. And she vocalizes them. On the reg.

Like how my kiddo was dead set on a Strawberry Shortcake party months ago. I'm not really a big fan of character parties. So, I'm trying to make this bash up to her par, but just not over do it with the little red-headed strawberry smelling girl.

Her invites where made by the brilliant Blissfully Noted. These cards came in and were even more beautiful than I had expected. They are super thick and sturdy, plus Strawberry Shortcake isn't the first thing you see. One of my silly girlfrands even said she smelled the card because she was sure it was berry scented. That's how amazing these invites are.

The packaging the invites came in was equally wonderful. Blue chevrons with green striped string and pink tissue paper? Yes. Please. I love a good presentation.

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Invitations c/o Blissfully Noted. These are by far my favorite invites we've ever had.

Oh and I obviously photo-shopped out my addy on the inside of the card and the return sticker pictured above. Can't have any wackadoos showing up at my door. 

DIY Lace Crown

Since Halloween has basically snuck up on me, I thought I'd share a super easy crown to make for your little Royal. This gem is the perfect finishing touch to any fairy, ballerina, or princess costume. Or even just to play dress up. It's also perfect to use for a birthday crown. You know how I like the simple, but gorgeous DIY's, and this is mos def one of 'em.

DIY LACE CROWN

|| supplies ||

Lace (13-15")

Mod Podge

Paint (any color for the crown)

Wax Paper

Glue Gun or Super Glue

Glitter (optional)

I luckily have a huge box of lace and ribbon (thanks Mom) and picked this pattern out. I love the pointed ends. It's perfect crown material. After cutting your lace to the desired size (I made a small circumference one), lay flat on wax paper.

Start painting your lace. I used a grey paint on one crown and a gold on another. Paint one side, then when dry, flip over and paint the other side. To speed up this process, I used a hair dryer. I did two coats of paint on each side.

After you are done painting, lay the lace on a new sheet of wax paper. The lace should already be getting thicker and more sturdy.

Cover one side of the crown with mod podge. Let dry (with a hair dryer) and flip over to cover the back side. Let that side dry. Repeat the process about three more times.

 After the last coat of mod podge, I sprinkled a generous amount of fine glitter before I dried it for the final time.

Let the crown dry, and glue the ends together. Let sit for about 24 hours to achieve the maximum stiffness. And you are done.

Use bobby pins to pin to your little princess's head. Easy peasy. Now trying to get her to pose for a picture? That's the hard part.

I got this idea from Dear Lillie. You can find her post HERE.

Check out my newest giveaway going on right now to win a chunky scarf from Head Candy. Go HERE to enter. It ends Monday, October 29, 2012. Good luck!!

If you like my stuffs, help a homie out and vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs by clicking the picture below. Just one click. It will take you to the Top Mommy Blogs website, but you voted for me by just clicking that happy cartoon lady below! YOU CAN VOTE DAILY!! Thank you guys!!