Summer Fun Kit

Since Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, I thought I would put together some easy summer fun kits. I always think of things I should have brought with us when we take an impromptu trip to the park and I thought it would be nice to have it all together in one place. I assembled two kits - one for the car and one to be kept near the front door. I mainly used items I found at Dollar Tree or in the dollar spot at Target.

The Car Kit

I put a frisbee, some sand pails and shovels, a bubble wand, sand/dirt digging tools, a bucket of sidewalk chalk and some sunblock together in a red basket from Dollar Tree. Now that I have this stowed in the back of my car, I am ready for any summer outdoor adventure with Spencer.

The possibilities are endless!
You can completely customize this to your family's needs.

Here's a smaller version I put together to be used at home, stored near the front door. It always seems that Spencer asks me for the same things when he is playing outside: sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and something to water the flowers with. Now I don't have to go searching all over the house and the whole basket can be brought outside. I also added a container of sunblock too as a reminder to put some on when playing outside! This is great for when mom isn't home and dad is entertaining the kiddos oustide.

Finish it off with some ribbon and you are ready for some summer fun!

What items would you put in your summer fun basket?

Baby Girl Inspiration

I wanted to share some of the inspiration I have been collecting for baby girl davis's nursery. While I don't have a space to decorate as a nursery yet, a girl must be prepared for these things right?

I struggle a little with the color pink. It is not my favorite-especially pastel pink. I don't wear pink, I don't decorate with pink, I don't gravitate towards pink in any way. But nothing says "little girl" better than pink. It is starting to grow on me. I love this crib bedding:

I love all the different shades of pink combined with green.

Here's a look at some of the pages I have collected from Pottery Barn Kids catalogs. You can sign up to get the Pottery Barn Kids catalog for free HERE. I may not be able to afford Pottery Barn prices but I love to get inspiration from the beautifully decorated rooms they feature.

I LOVE pink when paired with green! And I love the chandelier hanging above the crib...

Isn't that bed skirt gorgeous? I like that pink and blue color together too.

Aren't those canopies cute?

I could see modifying the no-sew canopy/mosquito net I made HERE to look like one of these...hmmm....

I'm not sure if you can see that adorable lamp, but the pink roses all over the lampshade would be SO easy to recreate.

I love the wreath of flowers suspended over the crib like a mobile.

The tissue pom poms hanging from the branches are so fun and whimsical.

Some more nursery inspiration can be found HERE. I am completely in love with this nursery even though it is very different from my style. Maybe it is the neutral color palate that I love? I'm not sure, but it is absolutely gorgeous and really looks like it could be featured in the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog!

I am looking forward to decorating for a baby girl and I will of course keep you updated on any projects I attempt to recreate.

Some of my first 2011 garage sale finds...

Garage sale season is in full swing now! I thought I would show you some of my finds from the last few weeks:

"Mary, Mary quite contrary..." nursery rhyme framed print - $1

(I plan on re-framing this and possibly adding it to baby girl Davis's decor.

If I ever get a space to decorate as a nursery...)

tall coral colored metal pail - 25 cents

small green metal pail - 25 cents

(was a pale yellow color but I spray painted it...more to come on that later)

Farm tractor toy with animals - $1

(adding to Grandma's collection of toys for the grand kids!)

And finally my favorite find!

Wooden "paper" doll with yarn hair and felt clothes - $1

(pictured on the right - This brings me back to my childhood! I got a little nostalgic as soon as I saw this laying on the table at a garage sale. My sisters and I played with similar wooden "paper" dolls when we were growing up. Now baby girl Davis gets to play with one too!)

White gravy boat - 25 cents

remember my fetish for white dishes?

small glass jar - 25 cents

My most frugal find of all - a new bike for Spencer!

How much do you think I paid for it?

Ummm...how about $3?

Yep. $3.

I was at a multi-family garage sale and one woman's husband pulled up with a truck load of more stuff for the garage sale. As soon as he pulled out this bike I asked the woman how much they wanted for it. She looked a little confused and said she didn't know her son wanted to sell his bike. The woman asked her husband about it and he said he wouldn't have brought it if their son had not wanted to sell it. When I asked her again how much she wanted for it she hesitated and said "I don't know...$3?" Seriously!? Only $3 for a bike that was in such great condition? I tried not to do a happy dance as I pulled $3 out of my wallet. I walked to my car really fast, just in case she realized I was practically stealing the bike from her :).

It was a serious garage sale thrill that day!

I'm so excited that garage sale season has begun - you never know what you can find!

PREHISTORIC but not EXTINCT: A 50th Birthday Party

My dad celebrated his 50th birthday last Friday. Here are some of the party details:

Theme: Prehistoric but not extinct was the slogan we used, black and white color scheme for decorating, animal print decorations but with a masculine twist.

The centerpiece for the dining room table: The white candles in the middle are surrounded with black river rocks and tied with zebra print ribbon and jute. On the left is a glass jar of white mints and one of black licorice in keeping with the black and white theme. A black tablecloth was used with 1-1/2 yards of animal print fabric bunched in the middle.

The small candy/snack buffet on the entry way table. We used black and white food: Oreos, white marshmallows drizzled with chocolate to look like zebra print, more white mints, and white chocolate dipped pretzels. And of course to pay homage to my love for ribbon, each glass jar is tied with coordinating ribbon. Some zebra print candle holders were used for mood lighting.

The only semi-decent picture of my dad with his birthday cake... And me looking nervous that he was going to drop the cake by the way he was holding it!

You can see the gift we gave my dad on the floor next to him: A big frame with pictures of all the houses he has lived in here in Lubbock. My dad has a hobby of building new houses and moving every couple of years. In the 19 years we have lived in Lubbock my parents' have owned 6 different houses. It was nice to see him get a little nostalgic about each house and reminice about the memories made at each house.

It was a great party with lots of yummy food! We had a chicken fajita buffet with all the fixin's, shaved ice from Bahama Bucks (courtesy of my sister who works there), and a delicious chocolate cake with rasberry filling. I would say my dad's 50th was a good one!

ADORABLE!

Oh. My. Goodness. I am in LOVE with this closet turned adorable "book nook" by Thrifty Decor Chick! Love it. Makes me wish I had an extra closet I wasn't using... you can check out this amazing space HERE.

Egg Coloring Party Recipes

Here are the two recipes from the Easter Egg Coloring Party that I promised you. And in case you think this is becoming just a food and recipe blog - stay tuned. I plan on sharing some of my thrifty garage sale finds soon, now that garage sale season is gearing up for the summer!


Cinnamon Breakfast Casserole

2 pkgs. crescent rolls
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
ground cinnamon to taste
1/2 stick butter

In an 8x8 dish, layer 1 pack of crescent rolls. Mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar together and spread over crescent rolls. Layer 2nd package of crescent rolls over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon to your preferred taste. Sprinkle brown sugar over that evenly. Slice the butter and place all over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the top is crunchy and brown. Serve warm. Not the most visually stunning dish, but SO delicious!

Pizza Frittatas

10 large eggs

1 tsp. salt

shredded mozzarella cheese (I used a cheddar/jack mix)

pepperoni slices (or turkey pepperoni slices if desired)

1 cup each of chopped mushrooms and chopped bell pepper (optional)

pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute veggies if using. Coat a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray and divide veggies evenly into each cup (if using veggies), then line the inside with pepperoni slices.

Whisk 10 large eggs and salt. Pour eggs evenly into muffin cups and sprinkle each with shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until egg is set and puffy. Serve with your favorite pizza sauce for dipping.

I didn't put veggies in these since I was serving them to kids and expected to have some picky eaters. I think the veggies would add alot to the flavor, but they were really good without them anyway.