Five Question Friday

Happy Friday! The boys and I are on vacation and spending it with family in Northern California as we prepare for my niece's first birthday!

It is time for Five Question Friday. Join us! :)




1. What's your favorite childhood snack that you still eat as an adult?
I am not much of a snacked, but if I do occasionally snack, I enjoy Chicken in a Biskit.

2. What food will you not eat the low fat version of?
I enjoy Italian food and I love it with all the gooey cheese! I don't think it would be the same without allllllll the cheese.

3. What's your favorite way to cool off during the summer?
Simple - air conditioning! :)

4. What's your favorite summer read?
I enjoy Nicholas Sparks love stories on a cool summer night.

5. What are you doing to stay cool in this awful heat?
The heat hadn't quite hit San Diego yet so I have been enjoying the nice breeze. Northern California has been fairly mild, too, so I am not melting in the heat yet.

Have a great weekend!!!

- Posted from my iPad
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Too Old? Me? Maybe…

What happens when you mix a 38 3/4 year old me with a

?????

This happens…..

+

Good times I tell ya…good times!

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A Birthday Party Safari

My son had his 9th birthday party on Saturday and we went with a Safari theme. You will see why later. :)

I was excited to make the cake because I wanted to make the zebra striped cake! It worked out EXACTLY like I wanted it to!!

I am not really that good at cake decorating, but I have to admit that although this isn’t exactly what I wanted, I did pretty good. :) All that mattered was that the birthday boy LOVED it. :)

The bottom layer is the zebra cake with a vanilla pudding filling then topped with a vanilla whipped icing. The zebra edible cake tattoo is from Wilton. I purchased the full sheet and cut it down to fit the cake.

The top part of the cake was the popular one. :) It was a vanilla cake with chocolate pudding then caramel frosting. The caramel frosting was DELICIOUS! I used the Duncan Hines Frosting Creations with the Caramel Flavor Mix and I can’t rave about it enough! The guests loved the caramel frosting!

To make the giraffe spots, I used a full sheet of the Wilton’s Edible cake Tattoo in brown and cut out the shapes.

I usually do a “Favorite Things” theme for the boys’ party favors, but this time I opted to try something different and had 3 different party favors:

The first is a mini candy bar.

The flags for the favor boxes and the candy labels were printables from Pottery Barn.

The second party favor was a printed picture of the guests behind a cardboard cutout of a Jeep (purchased from Birthday Express).

Using a mini portable printer, I took pictures of guests then printed them during the party.

Here are our pictures with the Jeep.

The final party favor was a pair of binoculars (purchased from Birthday Express).

I had DJ find some tree branches in the backyard for me then hung the branches with twine from a chandelier.

My husband kept shaking his head at me when I told him my idea. Turned out much better than we both thought, though. :)

The tags had hand written notes. One side said “Thank you for coming”…

…and the other said “DJ’s 9th Birthday”.

We served Lionade (lemonade) and Jungle Juice (Hawaiian Punch). These labels were from Pottery Barn as well.

My “famous” red velvet cake pops made an appearance in tiger colors.

The Jumper company (Aaron’s Jumpers) happened to have a jungle themed jumper that went perfect with our theme!

Speaking of jumpers, they dropped the jumper off on Friday night. SOOOO being the big kid that I am, I got in the jumper with my boys. 3 jumps in and I landed wrong and sprained the back of my knee. 2 hours at Urgent Care and a leg brace and crutches/ a cane later, I am now banned (by my husband) from jumping in any more jumpers! ;)

For the party, I opted to use my cane so I could have more mobility. Of course, the cane had to fit the party theme.

The reason behind our Safari theme is our special guests that came.

Pacific Animal Productions chauffeured our special guests and gave the party attendees a surprise treat!

The first friend that visited was a Fennec Fox.

Adorable, right???

Then an African Savannah Monitor was up next.

DJ even got a special kiss from this guy. (ewwww)

I wish I could keep this Wallaby in my backyard!!!!

The Kinkajou wanted nothing to do with our show. He preferred to be shy and in his cage.

The grand finale was a python! The kids LOVED this and weren’t even afraid of it when it slithered across their legs!

DJ is SO BEYOND happy about being able to hold the python.

Thank you to everyone that shared this special day with DJ. He had an awesome time and can’t stop talking about his party.

 

 

 

I shared this party theme on Skip to My Lou! Check out other craft ideas that others shared!

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Mary Kay Giveaway Winner!!!

The winner of the Mary Kay Lash Love Giveaway is….

a Rafflecopter giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS, VANESSA!!!

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Five Question Friday

It is my older son’s birthday weekend so I am getting ready for a Safari birthday party. Can’t wait to share pictures with you. :)

In the meantime, here is today’s Five Question Friday. Want to join in? Feel free to answer the questions in the comments section or create a blog post and share it with us. :)

1. What do you keep a stock pile of?
My husband will be the first to tell you that I don’t really stockpile. He actually makes fun of me for it. If we are shopping and something is on sale for a really good price, I will grab one of the item and he will say “you sure love to stock up on good deals.” :)

2. If Ben & Jerry asked you to invent an ice cream, what would it be?
It would be my favorite creation that I get at Cold Stone Creamery – vanilla ice cream with Reese’s peanut butter cups, chocolate syrup and whip cream. I would call it the Peanut Butter Dream.

3. How do you blow off steam?
I am a crier so I usually cry if I am really frustrated. Then I will listen to music REALLY loud and that helps calm me.

4. What would you do if you had an hour to yourself anywhere within a ten mile radius of your home...no kids, no hubby, just you?
I would either get a relaxing massage or sit at the beach with a good book. I love having the beach so close to me! I never took advantage of it before, but now I love the calmness of it all.

5. When you were 16, what was your curfew in the summertime?
Curfew was around 10 pm – unless I was with my older brother then it was whenever he came home. :)

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Prudent Baby Snappy Toddler Top

I started this project a couple of months ago, but put it aside when I got stuck working on the collar area.

Last night, I had an “aha” moment at 11 pm and finally finished the top for my niece.

The top was made using Prudent Baby’s Snappy Toddler Top pattern that is available for free on her website.

I can’t wait to see my niece next week so I can give it to her!

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Completed Sewing Project–Summer Shirt

I have a goal and I am slowly attaining it – to be able to sew without using a pattern.

This is my first attempt at making a shirt without a purchased pattern. There were a couple of flaws, but you’ll see how I fixed them up. ;)

I had purchased this fabric at a local Thrift Store for only $1! I never thought of buying fabric at a thrift store. Well, mostly because I had never seen fabric at a thrift store. ;) I scored this fabric, an entire bolt (for only $14) and more fabric for $1.

I started by folding the fabric in at both sides.

I found a shirt that fit the style of what I wanted and used it as a pattern by folding it in half then laying it on the fold of the fabric. I then repeated this on the other half of the fabric.

Here is the cut out fabric.

I then measured the neck opening and pinned from that point to the edge of the fabric. Be sure to leave enough space to fit your head.

In the event you already sewed the shoulder parts of the shirt and your head DID NOT fit through the hole, improvise! (Note to self – actually MEASURE my head and not guestimate before creating a neckline!)

Instead of taking the seams out and resewing, I decided to make the shirt a v-neck shirt.

I found the center neckline then cut a few inches down to make the V. From that point, I found the edge of the shoulder seam and drew a cutting line.

Mistake #2 – my sewing was a little off on the V of the neck so I improvised with that, too…

I purchased some coordinating shabby flowers and….

Voila!

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Mary Kay Special and Lash Love Giveaway!

 When I was a little girl living in Alaska, my mom’s best friend was a Mary Kay Rep. My first Mary Kay product was their original lip gloss. I LOVED that lip gloss and for some odd reason kept it for years and years and years.

Mary Kay has always been one the companies that I always go back to. Their lip gloss is still my preferred lip gloss!

Brittney Horn, is a rising star in Mary Kay and has a great giveaway for you!

It’s all about lashes these last few seasons. From the red carpet to my local mall I see long, thick lashes that I envy!

Brittney is giving one lucky reader the opportunity to give themselves enviable long, lushes lashes!

Using Rafflecopter below, enter for a chance to win

Mary Kay’s Lash Love Mascara

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In addition to this great giveaway, Brittney has the following specials available to our readers!

In addition to the Father’s Day special, anyone that places an order between now and June 30th will receive

$10 off their next order

If ordering online, be sure to enter “June Special” in the comment box at checkout.

I am sure it is sometimes hard to find the right consultant for you so I asked Brittney to tell me a little about herself and her business so you can get to know her a little better. :)

“Hello, my name is Brittney Horn and I have been in my business from October 2011 - current. I started my business to stay home with my daughter and to gain financial freedom while working part time hours for myself! After two months, I achieved that goal! I would love to tell you more about what I do!

As a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, I sell Mary Kay skin care, body care, fragrance and color cosmetics. I also can help other women who are interested in starting their own Mary Kay Business.

My mission is to make the world more beautiful, one face at a time!

As my customer, you can create your ideal beauty experience. I offer personalized service that fits you. Just tell me if you’d like a one-on-one consultation, a party with friends, a virtual party, makeup tips, skin care advice or free samples. You can always try before you buy. If you prefer to shop online only or order by e-mail or phone, the choice is yours. I’d love to help you with any or all of your beauty needs. Let’s talk!”

You can visit Brittney on Facebook or her website.

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Feels Good to be a Family Again!

When we found out my husband had a job offer in San Diego, we were sad that we had to say goodbye to family and friends and the place that was home for 4 years. I was worried about taking my boys away from some of their favorite people and how hard it may be on them.

But the most important factor for us was being able to have my husband home again. For the 4 years that we were in Northern California he travelled frequently and we hardly saw him. Last year alone, he was gone almost 30 weeks.

It was like being a single parent. Without the help from my family, I don’t think I would have been able to stay sane all the times he was gone.

A friend put it best when she said it must feel like the first year of marriage every time he comes back.

The boys loved their dad, but when he was around, I’m not quite sure they knew how to have him back. When he was home, it was for 2-3 days max and then he would be gone again.

We moved to San Diego on February 11th. This was the first year in a long time that he was home for Valentine’s Day. Go figure that I would end up with the stomach flu and spend my time hugging Mr. Porcelain instead of spending the time with my husband and boys. :)

My younger son’s birthday came, Mother’s Day came and now my older son’s birthday is next week.

I cannot tell you how happy I am to finally have my husband home for all these days that we used to spend without him.

It has taken some adjusting to having him home again and learning to split parenting and housework. I am used to just doing it on my own, that it took some while to even remember that there was someone else that could take the trash to the curb on Fridays! :)

I can even see a difference in my boys. They love having their dad around and are getting to know him again. I love watching them get excited about dad coming home every day after work and running to the door to greet him. I don’t think I will get tired of that.

DJ has someone he can talk to about video games (because I can just nod my head and say "really?” before he catches on that I have no idea what he is talking about). Cody is stuck to his dad and can’t wait for him to come home every day. Now, if only he would use his dad as a wrestling buddy instead of me!

Now that my family is back to always being together, we are “home"! 

 

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Eastlake Food Truck Gathering

A few of weeks ago, my husband, boys and I headed out to one of our new favorite things - the Eastlake Food Truck Gathering.
It happened to be the night of the American Idol finale so it was packed with people.

The first time we went, we weren’t prepared, but this time, we brought camping chairs and a little table. The boys were ready to get their grub on. ;)

My husband and I enjoyed good eats from the Tabe BBQ truck.
He had the Tabe Asada Fries with Korean BBQ Beef…

…While I enjoyed Korean BBQ Beef Tacos. Both of these dishes were super yummy, but what really made them was a sauce that they have available. I don’t even know how to describe it other than it was slap-my-butt-no-way good!

My older son’s favorite food truck is Devilicious. They were on the Great Food Truck Race on the Food Network.
He put his two favorite things together – hot dogs and bacon. Before I even sat down to eat, he finished it up!!!

My little dude isn’t quite into food appreciation yet so he went with his good ol’ standby of chicken strips and french fries. No picture needed. ;)
We finished off our meal with a stop at Sweet Treats.

We shared a Peanut Butter brownie that was delicious. It was too rich for me, but my older son finished it off like it was nothing! :)

I hate to say it, but the Red Velvet was nothing to write home about. It was a bit dry and lacked flavor. And I love me a good red velvet so I was a bit disappointed.




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Winner….

We have a winner for the two custom hair bows from Nessa’s Cutie Patootie Flower Clips and Hairbows!

Congratulations, Ashley C!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I can’t wait to see what you create! Please feel free to share it on my Facebook page!

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School’s Out For Summer…. A Visit to Balboa Park

My boys’ summer vacation officially began last Thursday!

For the first time since moving here, we checked out the free Museum Tuesdays at Balboa Park this last Tuesday.

Here is the schedule of museums each month:

First Tuesday
Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
Centro Cultural de la Raza
San Diego Model Railroad Museum
San Diego Natural History Museum (Not valid for Titanic exhibition or 3D films)

Second Tuesday
Museum of Photographic Arts
San Diego History Center
Veterans’ Museum and Memorial Center

Third Tuesday
San Diego Art Institute
Mingei International Museum
San Diego Museum of Art
San Diego Museum of Man
Japanese Friendship Garden

Fourth Tuesday
San Diego Air & Space Museum (Not valid for special exhibitions)
San Diego Automotive Museum (Last admission 3:45pm)
San Diego Hall of Champions
SELECT House of Pacific Relations International Cottages

In the event you plan on taking advantage of free Tuesday and haven’t been there before, here are some tips that I learned from this visit-

• Get there before by about 9:30 to get parking  - we arrived a little after 10 am (when the museums open) and we circled for about 30 minutes before we found parking.
• It was CRAZY busy at Reuben H Fleet Science Center with field trip groups as well as other taking advantage of the free day. I’m not sure if arriving early will help with smaller crowds, but next time we are going to try to get there before they open. We left around 12 and crowds were still coming in.
• Bring lunch – the selections are slim yet pricey so pack a lunch to enjoy a picnic on the grass or a meal by the fountain

Next week, we will be hitting the San Diego History Center and Veterans’ Museum and Memorial Center. I plan on getting there early!

What are some of your favorite things to do during the summer?

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No Sew Pin Cushion

I was getting tired of my old school tomato pin cushion so I decided it was time for a new one.

I didn’t like any of the ones I saw at the store….mostly because they were all tomatoes, too. What do tomatoes have to do with sewing anyway??? :)

I went digging through my craft supplies and found some things I could use.

• Scrap fabric
• Foam ball
• Mason Jar

I started by cutting the foam ball in half then cutting the fabric to fit around it (leaving enough space around the ball to wrap the fabric around the ball).

Instead of sewing the fabric on, I opted to glue it on with Tacky Glue.

I then glued the wrapped foam ball to the lid of the mason jar.

A few years ago I had this idea to make Christmas ornaments with buttons and pins on a foam ball. Well….that never happened so I was left with lots of buttons, foam balls and pins – perfectly all the items I needed for this project. :)

The pins will be a great display item on my new sewing station (new craft room pictures coming soon!).

The finished product.

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The Queen Bee Market–My First Shopping Experience

I recently discovered a craft show in San Diego that featured super cute and cool handmade items. I’m not talking your senior center type of craft items. Don’t get me wrong, I love attending all kinds of craft fairs, but the products all end up looking the same after awhile and the uniqueness just isn’t there.

The Queen Bee Market is different. It is like walking into an Etsy store if Etsy had a store. It is girly, frilly, flowery and OHMYGOSH so overwhelmingly full of cool stuff!

I circled all the tables soaking in the fun displays and equally fun products they displayed.

The second time around, I started filling my bag with goodies.

Sweet Funky Vintage made me wish I had a girl so I could dress her in their bright, adorable outfits.

While going through  basket of DIY Apron kits, I spotted some bags of scrap fabric. At only $4/bag, I couldn’t pass it up. I have no idea what I will make with them, but I was thinking that a patchwork little girl’s skirt might be fun to make.

I also scored these cool finds.

The turquoise item on top is a hair wrap from Little Penelope Lane. I don’t generally wear hair wraps, but I just couldn’t pass these up. She also had some with flowers. I am taking baby steps, though, and started with a simple wrap. ;)

From left to right:

• “Capture Joy” necklace from Little Pink Plum
• Green tags from Inspire Lovely – these will be used as party favor tags for an upcoming safari party
• Camera Pin from Crème De La Gems. This shop had SOOO many adorable items that I had to pull myself away from the table!
• “I Shoot People for a Living” and “photograpHER” pins from Little Pink Plum

Some close-ups of my goodies…

Part of the fun for me was also collecting business cards from each of the vendors. They were so unique and pretty.

I look forward to the next Queen Bee Market craft fair! I should start saving my money up now!

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Five Question Friday

I recently came across something called Five Question Friday and I thought it would be fun to participate.

If you are interested in participating, click on the below icon. :) Or feel free to share your answers in the comments.

1. What were you scared of as a kid?
I don’t think there was much that I was afraid of growing up. Oh, maybe snakes. I once came home from school and walked up to the front door to find a snake on the porch. I screamed and cried until the neighbor that my mom called over took the snake away.

2. Do you sleep well in a hotel?
Oddly, yes. Hotel rooms are also the only place that I used to be able to watch scary movies in. Why, I don’t know. ;)

3. If you could meet any celebrity, dead or alive, who and why?
Um…easy…NKOTB!

4. It's a hot summer day. Do you prefer to be pool side or at the beach?
Neither. I get sunburned pretty easy so I prefer to not be outside. Now, if the beach was in Hawaii and I could chill in a cabana, then I’d say beach.

5. What is your favorite summer dish?
Hands down, fresh frozen pineapple. Nothing is more refreshing than chomping on a frozen pineapple spear when it is 100 degrees outside.

 

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