Man Flowers for The Big 4-0

My friend Mike turns 40 today and to help him celebrate I'm giving him man flowers.  I originally got this idea from Pinterest see it here, but I decide to take it to the next level.

I took a galavinized pail and filled it with Jack Daniels, Cohibas and Pop Rocks (think about it).  Obiviously this gift is not PG and intended for Adults only.  All it took was hot glue, popcicle sticks, sand to weight the pail down and crinkle stuffing.  You could modify this gift for any man, just add his favorites and maybe a gag item or too.

Jill's Game Room

I am helping my friend Jill with her kids game room and here's a sneak peak at some ideas.  You can also follow her board on Pinterest.

Merry Christmas

Hello friends.  I hope your holiday was blessed and restful.  I wanted to share with you our 2011 Christmas card.  I worked with Kelly Lyden from WH Hostess for a custom card this year.  She helped me create a double sided Christmas and birth announcement photo and I couldn't be more pleased.  My friend Melissa took the photo of my two sweet peas on the front. 

A Totally Awesome 80s Evening

This past Saturday night I attended an 80s Christmas party for Lights in The Heights.  It's an annual holiday event The Heights neighborhood holds every year for families to stroll the streets with holiday cheer and gear. 

Every year my friend Nancy holds a costume party to celebrate the event and this year it was Rockin' 80s.  At first my husband was going to attend, but at the last minute it ended up being an all valley girl evening and a totally rad one like fur shure!

Here are a few of me and my BFFs dressed in head to toe 80s attire.  Would you believe we got 90% of our outfits from Forever 21?  It's part of their Heritage 1981 line.  This was all before we busted out the Karaoke machine and jammed to Madonna, Wham, Run DMC, Rick Springfield and so many more 80s classics.

I would like to introduce you to Rachel, the pretty blonde working the retro curls ala Kelly Preston.  Then on my other side is Laura who brought back her middle school perm and sky high bangs with the lace hair bow.  I chose to rock the side pony with neon and lace tights. 

I seriously love my lace tights.  Despite their hideousness they did a great job camouflaging cellulite.  Ha!

Here I am with my 80s button flare and electric blue eye shadow to stroll the streets full of merriment and my reindeer rodie.

Roller Skating Birthday Party Success!

My daughter's roller skating and ice cream social birthday party was this past weekend and thankfully it was a success. I wish I took more pictures of the details, but time slipped away.

My goal was to try and hide a bit of the gaudy roller skating decor that is standard with all roller rinks and keep it sweet, girly and pretty. All of this on a budget and time crunch. There were several bumps in the road (for example, favors didn't arrive in time and no time to sew pretty fabric details), but all-in-all I couldn't have been more please. And most importantly, my daughter had a blast.

Below are the details on where I found the decorations and made it all happen fast and cheap.

I covered the horrific plastic tablecloths the roller rink supplied with brown bulletin board paper I found at a teacher supply store. The paper is very thick and rolls out smoothly with no wrinkles. A big roll was $15 and was more than enough to cover three large cafeteria style tables.


The place settings were just standard party supplies paper plates, but I hand rolled the plastic wear the night before to save time setting up. The edible waffle bowls were from Walmart (and I tried several grocery stores and Walmart was the only one who had them) 10 for $2. The old fashion paper ice cream parlor hats were from Praire Moon Beverage Shop and they were the only pre-order thing that arrived on time.

To keep the details simple, easy and give the decor a cohesive design I wrapped the water bottles, whip cream cans and made the table signs all from a book of scrapbook paper I had on hand. I found all the scrapbook paper and the ceramic white square table stands at Michaels craft store.


And my silver lining in all the chaos were the ice cream straw cups I found last minute at Arnie's Party Supply in Houston. It was total luck that I found them the day before and so many for so cheap since my original favors were held hostage by UPS.



The brand is Krazy Straws and you can order them online here. 


I have to give a huge THANK YOU to my friends Danielle and Rachel.  They both with their families helped me pull it all together and setup in lighting speed before the party began.  Thank you ladies for all the help, you helped keep me sane so I could actually enjoy the special day.

Holy Crafty Creations Batman! Another fabulous design by Christie Chase.

My friends, it never ceases to amaze me the insane talents of my friend Christie Chase. She is a real life Martha Stewart for the hip thirty-something’s. She can sew herself a sassy little cocktail number for her dinner party; paint a beautiful canvas piece of art for her living room and then cook up some homemade carnitas for that evening’s festivities, from scratch. I am totally serious the woman can do it all.


So naturally I had to share with you the amazing upholstered letters she custom made for a client. AMAZING!

Click here to read the How To.

 
 

Oh by the way...

While I was on my Twilight sabatical from my blog I also ran the Houston Half Marathon on Sunday, January 17.  That's right 13.1 miles and it was awesome!  This was my second year in a row to run the event and it's always a blast.  Here are a few pics from this year. 

This year I ran with my friend Christ Stout and it was so much fun to have a buddy along for ride.  We were so happy to see our family cheering us on.

This picture cracks me up.  It looks like we are walking, but we are actually running.  Last year I ran in shorts and froze my but off.  Yes I was actually freezing when I was running 13.1 miles!  This year I went for the pants. 

Here we are passing the family at mile 9 and looking strong.

We finished strong running the entire distance in 2 hours and 27 minutes, not too bad.  That's 9 minutes shaved off last year's time for me.

And here's a link to my race day photos via Brightroom Event Photography.  Enjoy!

After Christmas Sale!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! I am up bright and early for my annual after Christmas shopping social with the ladies. Every year we high tail it to Pottery Barn, PB Kids, Williams Sonoma, Restoration Hardware and Crate Barrel to pillage their shelves and snatch up all the beautiful holiday decorations we've been coveting from their catalogs for a fraction of the cost.




Wish me luck!

Pink & White and Everything Nice!

Arriving any day now is this sweet and beautiful pink and white bedding for a long distance friend.  My friend Shelby is expecting a girl, Avery is her name, and she'll be here before you know it.  I had the honor of making Avery's bedding and I was in love with the perfect shade of soft pink and creamy white fabrics. 

As usual my amateure photography doesn't do this bedding justice, but trust me it's beautiful.  The bumpers are lined in white chenille and the skirt is gathered with a perfect cream grosgrain ribbon to trim the hem.  Perfect pink bedding for a perfect little girl.  Congratulations Shelby!

Shower Flowers 101: Elegant and Simple DIY Arrangements

This past weekend I co hosted a shower for one of my oldest and dearest friends Sarah.  She's expecting a boy in January so it was time to eat cake and shower her with gifts.  It was my responsibility to handle the floral decor for the event and well, I am no Eddie Ross, but I must say they turned out lovely.  Each arrangement cost only $15 and they were also gifts for the mother-to-be, and grandmothers-to-be.  Below I share with you how I put them together. 

First I headed to Sam's Club to purchase 4 dozen roses for $40.  I stuck with one type of flower to keep the cost down and the arrangements simple.  I went with the orange since it seemed fitting for fall.  Costco is also a great place to buy flowers in bulk for cheap and FYI; you can place your order in advance with the florist and select the exact color roses you want.

Then I went to a grocery florist to buy the vases, large heavy rectangle vases for only $7 each.  When I got home I washed them and cut large leaves from the plants in my backyard to line the inside of the vases and hide the stems.  This gives the arrangements a polished and more professional look.

I then divided up the roses evenly and cut them to the desired height I wanted them to sit in the vases.  I also pulled off any wilted and unsightly petals and excess leaves around the stalk leaving only a few at the bud.

Then to get even more creative I headed back out to my yard and clipped a few branches from a bush that was producing orange berries.  I clipped the branches to the desired height and let the berries just kind of organically hang over the edge of the vase.  I also pulled some leaves from another rather large monkey grass bush and created random loops around a few buds that I secured with floral wire to add more fill to the vases. 

After I arranged each vase as I described above, I then worked the buds around until they sat as I had desired and filled the vases with water and a bit of flower food that came with the roses.  I've also been told you can add a little sugar to the water, but I've never tried this.    Here they are below all lined up and ready to go.  Almost.  I could have stopped here and they would have been just fine for the event, but I decided to take them a step further. 

Since I made the baby bedding for the mother-to-be I headed to my studio and grabbed a few scraps of fabric that I cut with pinking shears to give the edges a zigzag cut and prevent the fabric from fraying.  I wrapped each vase in a different fabric with coordinating ribbon and secured the fabric in the back with straight pins.  And last the most popular vase of all was the monogrammed one with the baby's last name initial.

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial and found some inspiration for your next dinner party or event!

The Lord Has Given and The Lord Has Taken Away

My very dear friend Rachel whom I've shared a few fun moments with you has recently suffered a great loss.  She lost her husband and partner in life, Alex.  Take just a moment to pray for peace and healing for her and her 3 year old son Griffin and pray for Alex's soul.  They are a deserving family who is loved dearly.

Alex and Rachel in Boulder Colorado.

On their wedding day.

Alex with Griffin.

Late Halloween Update

So...a little late, but here are few pics from Halloween.  Remember the Mermaid costume dilema post?  Read it here.  Here she is!  My precious baby was so excited to wear this costume.  Not sure why I chose a red top underneath.  Hmm...didn't think that one through very well.  I love that face!

Mom sporting the seaweed boa she wanted nothing to do with.

And here we are the weekend before at the Houston Zoo Boo with our friends Layla and Addison.  Check out my daughter's cute Halloween t-shirt from BabySister Designs. 

Me on a good day.

I recently invited my friend Karen to my home to photograph family and take a few professional shots.  I continue to be amazed by her talents.  Below is me on a good day.  Not like most days with no make-up, a ball cap, ponytail, t-shirt, jeans and an exhausted look on face.  For more pics and sneak peak into my home click here.  Thank you Karen for your friendship, patients and inspiration.

Family Portrait Fashion Tips

When the holidays approach and it's that time of year, do you ever wonder what the heck are we going to wear for our family portrait? I know I do. I never want to be too matchy matchy, but rather have our outfits complement each other. It's a struggle every year, but this year my fabulous photographer friend Karen Beyer is here to give you a hand.

Her blog features two wardrobe selections for the entire family and each option has color pallet options. How fabulous is that? Click on her blog link to learn more. http://www.karenbeyerphotography.com/blog/?p=683

Gettin' Down to Baby Shower Business

One of my bestest bestest friends in the whole world Sarah, has a little baby boy growing in her belly. She is beautiful and glowing and we are getting down to some serious baby shower business.

My close gal pals and I have hosted quite a few showers together so we got it down to a science. Almost. Here are some pics from the last shower we threw for my oldest and closest friend Laura and she just happens to be my daughter's godmother.

This was our hostess gifts, Lands Ends totes.









Images via Rachel Khoury Photography

There has got to be a cheaper way!

Sorry I've been M.I.A. for a few days, work has me chained to the sewing machine lately. Anywho, I was searching for inspiration for my daughter's play area in our game room and I found these for $680!!! Geez!!





I don't know about you all but $680 for a table and two chairs for my kid is too much. So I got to thinking, can this simple Ikea table and chairs below look the same with an artistic eye and paint? $39.99 for a table and two chairs is a lot easier on the pocket book.



I bet my friend Melissa could make this Ikea table look worthy of a $680 price tag. She's an uber talented artists who paints canvas artwork for children. I HOPE you'll be seeing her Etsy shop up soon.

So am I wrong? Is this too much to pay for a play table and chairs?

Playtime for Pennies

How do you go from this...

to this for under $40? Okay, so maybe it costs more than just pennies, but nonetheless it's still a chic-on-the-cheap decorating idea. I can't take credit for this crafty creation, my friend Rachel made this precious playtable and chairs set for a friend's daughter. I thought it was a beautiful and thoughtful gift and one anyone can make for their own kids.




The table and two chairs come as a set from Ikea for $25 and it costs about $15 to jazz it up with paint and fabric. I should mention that I gave Rachel the fabric for this set. I let her rummage through my scrap fabrics, so if you have scrap fabric or a friend that stocks up ask if they will donate some to your project. You can also use any of these gorgeous oilcloth and vinyl coated fabrics below available here.

Step 1: Paint the wood before you assemble and let dry overnight.
Step 2: Cut your fabric pieces to fit the chair seats and table top. You'll need one large cut for the table and two small cuts for the seats.
Step 3: Wrap the chairs' seats and table top with fabric and stable or glue to underside.
Step 4: Assemble chairs and table. Follow the Ikea instructions that come with the set.

It's that easy! If you want to use fabric that is not pretreated like the vinyl coated or oilcloth below, you can iron on a vinyl coating available a most fabric stores and available here. That's what Rachel did for this set and I watched her prep the fabric. It's really easy and all you need is an iron and a pair of scissors.

So there you have it. Now go and make your own adorable set so your kids will stop destroying your expensive furniture. Have a great weekend!