Shark/Beach Birthday Party Theme

Summer time is the perfect time for a Beach Bash! Leana put together this amazing birthday party for her son who was turning 7. I love how creative she was with the beach/shark theme! The details make this party fabulous.. I love the board shorts garland..and donut life preserver cupcakes..and the flip flop cookies..ok ok I love it all!! ;)

I first came across this party on Sara's Party Perfect.

Check out Leana's blog, Small Snippet,
 for all the party details!

This party is such great inspiration..
 Full of creative diy ideas you can incorporate into a variety of themes...beach/summer/ocean/shark/pool party..etc..
 It could be such a cute little boy baby shower theme too..just baby it up a bit. 
(Can you tell I have baby fever to have a little boy?? haha.)

She found the idea for the flip flop cookies here. It's brilliant..

Milano Cookies, Icing and candy rope..genius! :)

Great job Leana! You are such a fun creative mom! 

The party looks like it was a blast..how fun for your family!

Kitchen Inspiration - Open Shelving

KITCHEN INSPIRATION:

Open Shelving

In each house the hubby and I have had (we are on our 3rd-about to move to 4th), 

we've had at least some sort of open shelving and I love it!

--It makes easy access to my go-to items.

I'm all about easy when you have babies at your feet or cooking/baking during nap time

--Motivates me to cook/bake something homemade when there is pretty ingredients jarred or fresh produce out.

I love how it looks but also how it gets you feeling like whipping something up fresh!


--Keeps me on top of staying organized. 
It helps when everything has a place!


--Is a perfect storage solution for small kitchens.

Keeps the space feeling open..and uses empty vertical space!

--I love having the dishes out, showcasing 
some of my favorite pieces.
We were gifted with so many pottery barn pieces from our wedding.
I loveee dishes, bowls, pitchers..
I wish I had a huge kitchen to store them but our small 
space keeps me from buying anything else..sort of. ;)

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What do you think about open shelving in the kitchen?
Do you have any??

VLOG-Day in the Life: Favorite Bargains, Blogs, Recipes, Style Tips & Mommy Moments

LIFE LATELY - CAMERA PHONE SHOTS.
Disclaimer: there are no photos of me..
because we all know moms don't get photographed.

We Love our Qdoba..

Kids eat free on sundays! 

and you get a frisbee/chew toy! ;)

PICNIC TIME- Sophie is all about picnics right now. 

we pack a snack. some bubbles. a blankie. and a drink..

and it's play time outside!

I remember the days I could just push
 a nice regular cart around a store..

without anyone hanging on it or jumping out of it.

PLAYGROUND FUN- 
If all else fails..."let's go to the playground!!" 
::instant happy/angel children:::

MOMMY AND DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER - is anyone else so excited for the day we can give our children real chores?? you are all thinking it.......

MORNING TIME

seems like everyone ends up in our bed for snuggles. but I love it.

Play time at Ikea..for mommy!

 oh..and them too. ;) I can always find something that I could use there..
and you can't beat some of their prices.

The pool is amazing..
because they leave exhausted...

Trips to the Grocery Store...are "adventures." 
and now I don't even realize when I'm pushing a cart..
dancing/singing/making funny faces to entertain them while I shop.
 it doesn't even phase me how crazy I must look sometimes..haha.

IN THE KITCHEN-

I "hide" spinach in mac n cheese. 

I am known to puff flour all over the kitchen when baking.

I LOVE homemade pizza dough..try this recipe..you will feel like an expert in the kitchen!

And I have some blog love right now!
You should check them out..they are awesome.
These are all blogs that I follow and love. :)
Little Lovely
Tidy Mom
Rambling Renovators
The Paper Mama
With Two Cats
Thoughtfully Simple
Design Seeds
Oh Happy Day

Color Crush - All things Coral

My Summer Color: I love everything Coral.

Hope you enjoy this new 

feature on my blog.. Color Crush!

Sometimes to choose paint colors..party colors...

outfit colors..etc...it helps to see examples!

So here's my version of a color inspiration board.

Be sure to check out all of these fab images..LINKED BELOW!

 

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I'm excited about this new feature on my blog!

It was so fun compiling this list!

stay tuned for some more color inspiration..

Any colors you are loving right now and want to see??

DIY Trend- Birch Tree Wall Murals

I've seen Birch Tree Wall Murals all over..

and I wanted to put together a list of 
my favorites for inspiration/direction for 

those of you who want to try out this DIY Project!

There are a variety of ways you can achieve this look.. 

I haven't decided yet HOW I'll do it..Free hand or with a projector screen..

but I know I'm going to do it somewhere in our new place! I love the look.

All of these examples 

come from AMAZING blogs.. 

So once you hop over to check their project out you'll 

get drawn in wanting to read all their posts! :)

Jen loves Kev

"I drew out my birch trees and then scanned it into the computer and printed it out on an acetate. I then used an overhead and projected it up on to the wall so that I could trace from my drawing. I painted the birch trees just a few shades lighter than the wall. I didnt really want it to be in your face but just sort of there." - Jen

Fresh Crush

"I decided a free-hand attempt at painting was best. After all, there are no straight lines in nature anyway… nothing to get too picky about. I began with a very light first coat — a general guide to follow along…

Once the first light coat was done, coat number two was easy. Behr Premium Paint-and-Primer-In-One cut down on project time and the coverage was fantastic. I used under a litre of paint for this project." - Fresh Crush

Allyson Baker Design

"I really wanted to paint birch trees in our nursery but I didn't want it to look like a mural. I wanted it to look more like wall paper. So I got a quart of the same paint and had it mixed at 25% lighter than the wall paint. I used a small roller to paint the trunk of the tree. Then I went in with a smaller brush to paint the branches. Next with the same brush I painted the darker bark marks with the original wall color." - Allyson

Thanks for posting your fabulous rooms ladies!
Feeling Inspired.
Can't wait to try this DIY project out myself!

Peter Rabbit Party Theme

As soon as I came across this party 
I was AMAZED by this mama's creativity! 

Her DIY party details were incredible 
and made the Peter Rabbit Party Theme come to life!

My favorite part of this party is 
the Peter Rabbit inspired food....
Not only did she create amazing cupcakes..but her display is too cute!
She took a box.. glued a picket fence around it,
 lined it with burlap and lined the edges with twine.

The little veggies on the cupcakes are made out of starbursts, 
candy coated cornflakes and more candy.
Carrots with ranch in cute cups from Bake it Pretty.

I love these little oreo truffles 
that are supposed to be heads of lettuce! ;)
very clever.

Peter Rabbit's little blue jacket cookies....
how cute!

DIY Photo Garland and 
potted Lavender, Strawberry and tomato plants!

The kids decorated flower pots and then planted carrot seeds in them!
And what a cute touch to put the drinks in wheel barrows!
 the big one for the adult drinks and the little one for the kids!

FAB job mama! i'm sure your little charlie loved it all.. 
what wonderful memories for the whole family!