It Ain't Her First Rodeo: It's Her 2nd! (Ara's Bday Party)

I LOVE throwing parties (especially themed ones where I can use tons of puns)... & I am soooo excited to share pics of Miss Ara's 2nd Birthday Party :) You can see pics from last year's wONEderland party here.

The Theme: "It Ain't Her First Rodeo: It's Her 2nd!"

The very first note I had from last year's party was to go ahead and buy a printable package from Etsy so I found  this adorable store with instant downloads & purchased this package... It was categorized in the "boys" partys but it was in the color scheme I wanted & I could make all of the necessary edits myself once downloaded... Here is what her invite looked like:

I chose to print a few for super cheap as 4x8 pics & picked them up at Walmart. I passed these around as I saw people & also sent them via snail mail to family I couldn't invite via fbook or who I knew might just want one.

Okay: Here's the Rest :)

Doors to the Cafe

 Entertainment:

Toy Horse Coral

Birthday Girl was soooo Proud of her Tattoo :)

 

Photobooth, Collage (Engineer Print) #2, Centerpieces=Mason Jars on Bandanas with Sunflowers

Had Toy Story Playing, Year 1 & New Year 2 Photobooks
& Leave a Message station. (Silly Horsey from Cracker Barrel)

I think she is an official present opening pro now :)

 Food:

Loved putting the pig cut out by the buffet along with the sign at the other end that read "Pig Out". We had a Veggie Tray (Don't Fergit the Ranch), (Mouth Waterin') Melon, Wagon Wheel Pasta Salad, Corn Muffins, Sloppy Joes, Rice Krispie Treats (Hay Bales) & of Course the Cake :)

All the Animal Cut-Outs were left from a Western Themed VBS!
So happy we could use them & hoping that I can align themes in the future!!!

Got the Cake from Crumbz Cakery Again!
Sooooo Yummy
Always get TONS of Compliments! 

The "Waterin' Hole" had Cactus Juice (Off Brand Sprite & Green Hawaiian Punch)
As well as City Water (Bottles of Water)

Love this image our good friend got of her in the midst of it all. Gramma Kim got her onesie & boots  from Cracker Barrel
& I got the rest from Once Upon a Child stores around town. 

& Lastly the sign on the doors going out...

So I believe I have found the right size of party to have for Ara going forward (amount of food, decorations etc) I want to thank both Grandmas for EVERYTHING they do to make these parties possible. I love putting them together & really just enjoy the opportunity to get our family & friends together. 

I of course have a ton of notes for next year tucked away & have already chosen the theme for next year & started my secret Pinterest board. I figure that I get to pick the themes until she can & this next year might just be the last time I can... Soooo get excited!

Dear Future Sick Me: Read when the plague hits... AGAIN.

As soon as you feel it coming on: drink a gallon of orange juice with a fist full of echinacea & RUN like Forest to get provisions for what will feel like the longest week (hopefully less) of your life. You most likely have t-minus negative 30 seconds between when you are finally willing to admit you are sick & trudging through a store miserably trying to remember what you didn't put on your list so MOVE.

While you're out:

1. Get medications... the ones to help you sleep when its time to sleep. Don't waste precious moments of acceptable rest & get the stuff to dry you up, shut you up & knock you out.
2. Get more medications to keep you awake/functional.... if you actually find these update this blog post.
3. Get more "medications"... the herbals, the vitamins, the oils & the drops. At least the burn of what you lovingly call "the brew" will at least let you feel like you're doing something.
4. Get more "real medications"... call your doctor & get in asap to avoid horrid encounters with "not your doctor" & "not a doctor" that just add "Write a complaint letter to the Urgent Care/ER" to your to do list when you get well.
5. Buy more soap & remember your OCD flare ups (basic plague training 101)... wash your hands A LOT (nothing like a good scrubbing with what is probably a carcinogenic blend of chemicals guaranteed to kill germs to put your mind at ease)
6. Buy more tissues...there aren't enough in the world much less your home... & honestly get the ones drenched in lotion (your face is going to look war torn enough without the help of Dollar Tree sandpaper)
7. Put all the lazy groceries in your cart. We are aiming for low effort vs. high nutritional value... the medications will tear up crappy food just as well as it will tear up the good stuff... 

When you get back:

1. Pray that no one else in the home gets it.
2. When everyone in the house gets it.... don't panic.
3. Take all the Medications & power up the Netflix cartoon movies for the long haul.

We Made it Through!!!
Future you CAN DO IT
Thanks for prayers peeps. :)

Painting the Recliner: It Finally Got It

Everyone has that one Pinterest project. It may be just one pin that you keep forgetting that you want to do or it might be an entire board that you've created that is dedicated to getting a particular project done. For me, it was my recliner. This lovely recliner is going on what has to be it's 15th year of life... well since it was brand new to my mom. We inherited it not too long ago (5 ish years) & I've been planning to give it new life for 3 of those years. 

Original Color within the first year that we owned it.

Nothing is wrong with it... I think it is still crazy comfy... but if you know me... it was just a little to "normal" for me. Most everything in our home is antique, vintage or weird/eclectic & it just didn't seem to quite fit. (See pics of the rest of our Living Room Here) So I started a board on Pinterest & eventually pinned This Pin. I am very happy with the outcome... although I think my Husbie is a little stuck on the new texture.

New Happy Recliner!

It is a little more "crunchy" crunchy than I would like it to be but really not NEARLY  as bad as I thought it would be. I definitely recommend doing a test piece of fabric first if this is something you think would REALLY bother you. For us though we were teetering on the edge of getting a new (to us) recliner so it was worth the risk.

& I'm super HAPPY to check this off my list & delete the board (after 3 years!!!)

What do you think of it just looking at the pictures?! (the texture doesn't bother me, and I'm really the only one who sits in it... lol)

Window Display Happiness

Window Displays?

Why yes! Many of you already know that I have been designing window displays for Northwest EyeCare Professionals in Upper Arlington for quite some time now. It started while I actually was a receptionist there (I started that job nearly exactly 3 years ago in February of 2012... TimeHop told me so). My first window display was in March (I made my own rainbow...) & the Bosners have let me do it pretty much since (brief break whilst I tranistioned  into a new job, had baby & life altering decisions to stay home etc etc). I LOVE IT!!! 

1. They give me a budget each month/window & I try to reuse items from year to year, purchase items that can be used from window to window & get CRAZY excited when I see an item while out at a thrift store or yardsale that would be perfect for one of the window themes.... 
2. They pay me well for my time & effort shopping, crafting, printing, tearing down & putting up the windows :)
3. It is a fun & low key creative outlet for me!

Since Blogging I decided to take pictures each month of my displays.... So I am very proud to FINALLY share with you:

A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE WINDOW

January 2015
"Black Tie Affair"
Show Featuring Jimmy Choo & Tory Burch

February 2015
"Our Eye-Candy is Sweet"
Featuring lots & lots of Candy Hearts

March 2015
"See the Rainbow"

April 2014
"Take Care of Your Peepers"
Featuring a plethora of "Peeps"

May 2014
"Spring Fling"
Sunglass Show Featuring Kate Spade

June 2014
"Welcome to Our Eyeland"
Featuring a Fun Tropical Theme

July 2014
"Oh Say Can You See"
Happy American Window

Aug 2014
"C You Soon" EyeChart
Advertising Our Presence at the
Taste of Upper Arlington w. a Picnic Theme

September 2012
"Glasses for Classes"
Complete with Apples Colored by Patients

September 2014
"Go Buck-Eyes"
O-H-I-O

October 2014
"Keeping an Eye on You"
Ready for Trick or Treat!

November 2014
"Thankful for You"
B/C I Just Haven't Figured Out How to Make
"Welcome to Our Cornea-Copia" Work

December 2014
"Do You See What I See?"
Sparkling for the Holidays

Each Year that I repeat a particular theme the better it gets & it makes me proud. I am figuring out what does & doesn't work in the space, how to make the presentation more dynamic, where the budget money is best spent to make the display pop & many times what mistakes to avoid (see November's window... it needs more love next year lol) Taking pictures this year has really helped me look at and decipher where & how I want to amp up the displays for next year... So I am very excited to share this post from now on, on a monthly basis so that we can compare this next year's displays to the past.

What I want to work on this next year:

1. Backdrops/better ones for each window
2. Something in the upper space of each window
3. Different yet still legible Lettering techniques (someday I want the lettering on favorite every year themes to be laminated for easy reuse... instead of having to print/make new letters each 1-2 years)
4. Better Pics of the Displays

What are YOUR opinions? Which lettering do you like & why? Which Window is your Favorite!!! Any tips to work on my Window Display goals?

Settling in One Room at a Time: Crib to Big Girl Bed

We did it!

We transitioned Miss Ara from her crib to a big girl bed! For reference HERE is the post of what her room looked like as a Nursery complete with Crib : )

Her dresser, book shelf & play kitchen all in their new locations.
Loving the poofs on the ceiling (finally got that pic).

Instead of only changing her bed we of course decided to change EVERYTHING and it wasn't necessarily the easiest thing ever... & not for the reasons you would think.

We did kind of do it in stages.

Close up of this wall decor.
All but the frame with the castle are items that
either Donnie or I had in our Nurseries as babies.

Day 1: we moved the whole room around & put her crib where her big girl bed would go (theoretically) the next day.

Day 2: We were complete dunces & thought we had a head board & foot board for a twin bed but it turned out that it was for a full size bed... we did not discover this until we had already taken the crib apart. So we cried while we took it apart (for nostalgic oh my goodness my baby is growing up and is officially a toddler reasons) & then with frustration that it was 10pm (way past baby's bedtime) & we were going to have to put her in a real bed the next day. Ara of course was a champ & slept on her mattress on the floor.

Her other dresser, tea table & chairs.

Day 3: Uncle Tony was awesome & brought the rest of the bed over, helped Donnie spend Gramma Kim's money to get a box spring/mattress & then helped transport it home & into Ara's room. AKA: VICTORY!!! Transition complete!

Before we switched her we were struggling with her waking up between 2:30-4am ready to go for he day. We were hoping that if we switched her that she would get up & play in her own room and crash out again. Alas this did not fix the issue, but she definitely enjoys her new freedom within her room, we enjoy being able to lay down beside her for cuddles and we don't have to worry about this transition later. She's in her little twin bed to stay :)

Happy Toddler in Big Girl Bed.

 Special thanks to Aunt Becky & Uncle Tony for helping us that crazy late night trying & failing to put together her bed round #1 & also for the WHOLE twin bed headboard & frame. Thank you Gramma Kim for the Mattress & box springs!

Valentines Day in the TownHome

There is one superfluous thing that gets me through the month of February: Valentines Day. 

Please don't stop reading me yet...

Let's start with my reasons:

1. I like reasons to be unnecessarily festive...
2. I love the flowers, chocolates & small to grand gestures that this "created for making money" holiday instigates amongst lovers, friends & perhaps just for yourself.
3. Hearts & Lace & Sparkles... Oh My! The Frivolity!
4. I'm a Hopeless Romantic 
5. Oh yeah, I'm still madly in love with my Husbie & can't get enough of my not always sweet but fantastic daughter :)

Our Engagement Pics with Cut Up an old Placemat, Ribbons & Buttons
All Framed for Valentine's Day Decor :)

Bragging Moment:

 Husbie has been buying me flowers a TON since the beginning of the new year. This bouquet is #4 so far & possibly my favorite (fun colors!). Vase is from a past Valentine's Day gift & of course those are some of my Stella & Dot jewels off to the side :).

Unnecessarily Festive:

In addition to switching my wooden calendar & monthly heart (pictured at the beginning of this post) I have a storage bin for Valentine's Day decor...  I have red flowers that I add to my arrangements, heart window clings that I stick on windows & mirrors and random heart themed knick knacks that I hide like Easter Eggs around the home. I even started packing up Ara's Valentine themed toys to bring out for the month of February each year (another way to try & win the Toy War).

This year I even took lipstick & wrote on our Blue Mermaid Bathroom  mirror: "We Mermaid for Eachother"

The Best Part:

These are ALL of the Valentines Day cards that Husbie & I have purchased since we got married. This is the first year I put them all out & I was sooooo stoked that I found ALL of them :) They are definitely going to be part of my yearly display from now on. It was amazing to read the notes we have written to each other every year. They reflected now only the oooey goooey lovey dovey stuff but also some of our struggles. It was encouraging to see how far we've come & hopeful to think about where our love will take us in the future. :) 

Are you feeling our feels?

All our Valentine's Day Cards EVER
Ok, Except the ones from the year we were engaged...
Those are cut up in a scrapbook
Come on over & I'll show it to you... every time you come over b/c I forget whom I've shown

NHL Party

What?

So apparently the National Hockey League hosted their all star game here in Columbus, OH & I suppose this is quite a big deal.  I am not a big sports girl, much less a hockey girl nor much less someone who would even be aware of this at all... except for: 

The Stage Pre Party

There was an AWESOME after party featuring Columbus themed decor & entertainment! There was an area for Octoberfest, an area for Italian Village (complete with Bocce Ball), an area for the Short North, an area for the Arts, much more areas featuring festivals & experiences (I think by Experience Columbus?)... but the reason I am aware that any of this happened is because they had designers showcase their designs from HighBall Halloween on a runway & then mingle in the crowd throughout the evening.

My Official Wrist Band
Had to put one on our models too!

I was VERY excited that Ashley & I's winning costume & one of our ready-wear looks were selected, however, I do have to mention I'm getting a little more anxious each time the costume is requested just because it seems that a 6 foot sphere (YES this costume is a 6ft in diameter circle with two 6ft + models in it) is a little hard to anticipate. Needless to say our costume did not grace the official "runway" each hour, but rather mingled. I actually LOVED this way more! 

Picture Break Backstage!
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

So after the awesome Annah Ijams Davis from Phia Salon worked her magic on the hair & Rahela Akasha Williams did so with makeup, I got our lovelies geared up & we went a wassailing among the crowds. Not gonna lie I got a little emotional:

Twins & Ragdoll
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman
Note New Model for Ragdoll: Lexie Demyan
She was AWESOME... Came last minute, Improvised with some spiffy boots (hers)

Everyone who saw the costume had a reaction to it. Sometimes it was "whoa!", "creepy", "crazy", "what IS that" but so many people seemed generally impressed or in awe/wonder & so many wanted to have their picture taken with the models. The fact that I was part of a team (a small team of two with Ashley Wills of StyleOnHigh) who created something that people wanted to have their picture taken with (like it was some sort of monument/tourist attraction) felt pretty darn good. I got all sorts of feels, I felt proud, humbled, excited, protective, honored & just generally like wow... I guess I did something pretty cool. 

My Favorite shot of the twins from the evening
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

As a woman who has gone from being so passionate about making art to a woman so passionate about leaving the work force to be a mom... it feels good to know that I'm still relevant. I'm still making something. I haven't lost it all. I've still got some skill & creativity to share with the world and hey look... some people really like it. 

With the HighBall Logo on the Stage in the Background
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

 I'm just feeling really thankful for being a part of HighBall... it is so crazy fun! VERY thankful for an amazing co-designer, Ashley Wills. Also thank you to Stephanie Stein for making us a part of this event!

It was a long evening but we have the best two models who kept positive attitudes & smiles throughout the night.
Jessica Rose & Abby Bowman

Photos by me & my Iphone :)