We interrupt your usual broadcast to show you this picture of my baby covered in cake. I posted a party recap over on the baby blog if you're interested.
CAKE!
We interrupt your usual broadcast to show you this picture of my baby covered in cake. I posted a party recap over on the baby blog if you're interested.
Luke's Birthday Invitation
Today Luke is a year old! I could go on about how much he's grown, or about how this year has flown by. But I won't. Instead let's look at his party invitation!
To save paper (and money) I designed an invitation postcard. I was inspired by the Dick and Jane books, so I mimicked the font and used several Photoshop filters to make some photos of Luke look like hand drawn illustrations. Here's the front:
The back of the postcard had all the party info, as well as a spot to write the guests' address.
When I was a kid my mom always prided herself on never giving me a store-bought birthday cake. Now that I'm a mom (with a small paper goods business) I hope to never buy him store-bought invitations. And because I'm an overachiever (with a BFF who is excellent at decorating cakes) I'm going to try an uphold my mom's cake tradition too.
His party is later this afternoon, so I'll be back in the next day or two to share photos of the cake, the decorations, and of course the birthday boy!
To save paper (and money) I designed an invitation postcard. I was inspired by the Dick and Jane books, so I mimicked the font and used several Photoshop filters to make some photos of Luke look like hand drawn illustrations. Here's the front:
The back of the postcard had all the party info, as well as a spot to write the guests' address.
When I was a kid my mom always prided herself on never giving me a store-bought birthday cake. Now that I'm a mom (with a small paper goods business) I hope to never buy him store-bought invitations. And because I'm an overachiever (with a BFF who is excellent at decorating cakes) I'm going to try an uphold my mom's cake tradition too.His party is later this afternoon, so I'll be back in the next day or two to share photos of the cake, the decorations, and of course the birthday boy!
Kicking Butt, Architecturally Speaking
I have a super busy day planned today, but I wanted to pop in with some rather good news. Yesterday I had a job interview - for an actual architectural job, not just flipping burgers or folding sweaters. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
I re-did my portfolio for this round of job searching and I think it turned out nicely. The interview seemed to go really well, and my prospective boss even took me out to lunch. That's a good sign, right? To add to the "good" column, there is only one other candidate being interviewed and the firm is considering adding 2 team members not just one. So my odds are miraculously good. Then when I got home I finally got my results letter saying I passed my 3rd architectural exam. WINNING!
I re-did my portfolio for this round of job searching and I think it turned out nicely. The interview seemed to go really well, and my prospective boss even took me out to lunch. That's a good sign, right? To add to the "good" column, there is only one other candidate being interviewed and the firm is considering adding 2 team members not just one. So my odds are miraculously good. Then when I got home I finally got my results letter saying I passed my 3rd architectural exam. WINNING!
Old Hooks Get A New Use
If you've spent even 5 minutes in the South during the summer then you know that swimming pools are ESSENTIAL. I don't have my own pool but my in-laws have a community pool in their neighborhood. Luckily for me their neighborhood is just down the road from our house and they JUST HAPPENED to leave their pool key at our house, um, all summer.
What with all our pool lounging we frequently have wet swimsuits laying about. I'm a hippy who likes to save water so I generally like to wear a swimsuit twice before I wash it. I also can't stand putting wet clothes in the laundry hamper so I have to dry them first. Sadly I don't have anything fancy to hang our swimsuits on. What's a girl to do?
Luckily for me, I'm kind of a genius. Remember these:
I had a few leftover after my closet re-do project and I thought they would be perfect for drying wet swimsuits.
I just hung them on my incredibly useless over-the-toilet towel bar. You see, we're casually-hang-your-towel-on-a-hook people so this towel bar has seen zero action since we moved in.
Have I mentioned how much I like free solutions? What do you think?
What with all our pool lounging we frequently have wet swimsuits laying about. I'm a hippy who likes to save water so I generally like to wear a swimsuit twice before I wash it. I also can't stand putting wet clothes in the laundry hamper so I have to dry them first. Sadly I don't have anything fancy to hang our swimsuits on. What's a girl to do?
Luckily for me, I'm kind of a genius. Remember these:
I had a few leftover after my closet re-do project and I thought they would be perfect for drying wet swimsuits.
I just hung them on my incredibly useless over-the-toilet towel bar. You see, we're casually-hang-your-towel-on-a-hook people so this towel bar has seen zero action since we moved in.
Have I mentioned how much I like free solutions? What do you think?
Nursery Art - The More The Merrier
Most of the decorations in Luke's nursery haven't changed since last summer. In honor of his upcoming birthday I added a few items to his little frame collage, which used to look like this:
and now looks like this:
Forgive the funky shadows, that's what happened when I used the flash. I swear I didn't add a cheesy vignette thing in photoshop.
The first new addition was a print I got for free. It's a long story, but but it's cute and I didn't pay for it. Throw it in a cheap-o dollar store frame and it's good to go.
The second new addition is a framed print of his first birthday invitation - more on that later. I just made a little gray card stock mat and threw it in another cheap frame. Done and done.
But, wait. What's that gray rectangle in the middle? Oh, it's just the hospital bracelets from when Luke was born. Luke how tiny his ankle was!
I just cut a little card from some gray card stock - same as from the birthday invite frame - and rounded the corners with my... wait for it... corner rounder. I hung it on the wall with some t-pins to minimize visual impact then used 2 more t-pins to display the bracelets. At some point I might want a more permanent solution - shadow box, anyone? - but for now it gets the job done.
I'm trying not to personalize the nursery too much because I want to use the same nursery scheme for future babies - Luke will just move into the other bedroom when the time comes - but I couldn't help adding those decorative touches. What do you think?
and now looks like this:
Forgive the funky shadows, that's what happened when I used the flash. I swear I didn't add a cheesy vignette thing in photoshop.The first new addition was a print I got for free. It's a long story, but but it's cute and I didn't pay for it. Throw it in a cheap-o dollar store frame and it's good to go.
The second new addition is a framed print of his first birthday invitation - more on that later. I just made a little gray card stock mat and threw it in another cheap frame. Done and done.
But, wait. What's that gray rectangle in the middle? Oh, it's just the hospital bracelets from when Luke was born. Luke how tiny his ankle was!
I just cut a little card from some gray card stock - same as from the birthday invite frame - and rounded the corners with my... wait for it... corner rounder. I hung it on the wall with some t-pins to minimize visual impact then used 2 more t-pins to display the bracelets. At some point I might want a more permanent solution - shadow box, anyone? - but for now it gets the job done.
I'm trying not to personalize the nursery too much because I want to use the same nursery scheme for future babies - Luke will just move into the other bedroom when the time comes - but I couldn't help adding those decorative touches. What do you think?
Nursery Decor - Round Up
I was recently rummaging around in my archives looking for a certain nursery decor post and I realized there are A. LOT. OF. THEM. So for any new readers (or old readers who want to admire the nursery again) I compiled this handy post for you (and me) to keep track of everything.
THE BASICS
mood board - wall color - nursery layout
NURSERY ART
part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6
NURSERY FURNITURE
crib - dresser - recliner - bookcase
NURSERY DECORATIONS
bedding - mobile - quilt - lamp
mood board - wall color - nursery layoutNURSERY ART
part 1 - part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 5 - part 6NURSERY FURNITURE
crib - dresser - recliner - bookcaseNURSERY DECORATIONS
bedding - mobile - quilt - lampThe Day We Celebrate the Land of the Free (Stuff) and the Home of the Brave
Happy Fourth of July my fellow Americans! To you international readers,* um, happy Monday?
*Do I have international readers? I don't know, but I'm going to assume I'm cool enough to have at least a few.
In honor ofthe fact that my best friend was in town for the holiday I decided to host a clothing swap. For those of you too lazy to click the link, a clothing swap is a type of swapmeet wherein participants exchange their valued but no longer used clothing for clothing they will use. Clothing swaps are considered not only a good way to declutter and refill one's wardrobe, but also are considered an act of environmentalism. Thanks, wiki!
Just a little something I designed for the invitation. Cute, no?
In retrospect it was probably dumb to plan a social gathering for a holiday weekend, but in my defense I think of July 4th as a stay-home-and-eat-burgers holiday not a traveling holiday so I assumed people would be around and bored the day before. I was wrong. I was hoping for 15-20 people but only ended up with 5 swappers. And, sadly, that 5 included me and my mother who only agreed to come out of pity. Or was it that I only invited her when I didn't think I'd have enough real guests? Either way, one of us (probably me) was being a prick.
In the end I think 5 was a good number, mainly because it required WAY less organization and rule enforcement on my part. I had all these schemes in my head for how to keep the swap moving swiftly and fair for all the swappers, but luckily I didn't need them. Even better, the actual clothes sharing was more successful than I had thought, considering the 5 swappers had very different body types and size ranges.
The most fun was when more than one swapper wanted an item and we would have a "model off," which is basically exactly what it sounds like: whoever is competing for the item tries it on, everyone else judges and then whoever looks the best in the item wins it. I would now like to point out that my mom - who is taller than me, has bigger boobs and smaller hips than me, AND just lost a ton of weight - battled me for a dress and I won. HA! Take that, Mom! But also, congrats on the weight loss. You look kind of terrific.
But enough business chatter, let's talk about my free stuff! I walkedaway to my closet with 7 tops, 2 pairs of shorts, 4 pairs of pants, 3 dresses, 4 sweaters, 1 leather jacket, 2 kick-ass skirts and a pair of sandals. And, of course, I got rid of some items that I just didn't wear much so now i have room for the new stuff. I won't show you everything I got, but I will hit the high notes.
Speaking of red, white and blue today's 4th of July outfit (except for the shoes) was entirely from my swap loot. I normally don't do "theme" outfits, but this patriotically plaid tank was just begging to be worn today.
Oh, I almost forgot the best part - the shoes! I have been looking, and looking for a pair of gray or silver sandals but coming up with nothing. I have 4 or 5 pairs of gold/bronze summer shoes - seriously - but no gray shoes, so that situation clearly needed to be remedied. But as I said I have been looking with no luck. Imagine my delight when my mom pulled this pair out of her bag:
I may or may not have shrieked "MINE!" and hid them in my room before anyone else saw them. Whatever. I'm the hostess, I'm allowed to cheat.
So that's the tale of my surprisingly successful clothing swap. It was loads of fun so I am already thinking about hosting another one in the future. To keep with my (poorly thought out) tradition I'll stick with holiday weekends, so mark your calenders for Thanksgiving and Easter. Heh.
Have you guys ever hosted or attended a clothing swap? How many people participated? What made the swap really successful? Go ahead, spill those beans.
*Do I have international readers? I don't know, but I'm going to assume I'm cool enough to have at least a few.
In honor of
Just a little something I designed for the invitation. Cute, no?In retrospect it was probably dumb to plan a social gathering for a holiday weekend, but in my defense I think of July 4th as a stay-home-and-eat-burgers holiday not a traveling holiday so I assumed people would be around and bored the day before. I was wrong. I was hoping for 15-20 people but only ended up with 5 swappers. And, sadly, that 5 included me and my mother who only agreed to come out of pity. Or was it that I only invited her when I didn't think I'd have enough real guests? Either way, one of us (probably me) was being a prick.
In the end I think 5 was a good number, mainly because it required WAY less organization and rule enforcement on my part. I had all these schemes in my head for how to keep the swap moving swiftly and fair for all the swappers, but luckily I didn't need them. Even better, the actual clothes sharing was more successful than I had thought, considering the 5 swappers had very different body types and size ranges.
The most fun was when more than one swapper wanted an item and we would have a "model off," which is basically exactly what it sounds like: whoever is competing for the item tries it on, everyone else judges and then whoever looks the best in the item wins it. I would now like to point out that my mom - who is taller than me, has bigger boobs and smaller hips than me, AND just lost a ton of weight - battled me for a dress and I won. HA! Take that, Mom! But also, congrats on the weight loss. You look kind of terrific.
But enough business chatter, let's talk about my free stuff! I walked
DRESSES
LOFT, Kohl's, Target
SKIRTS
Target, Vera Wang for Kohl's
Just look at these gorgeous patterns. I could eat them with a spoon.
skirt, skirt, dress
which is like duck, duck, goose only way more fun
PANTS
H&M, Kohl's
Admittedly the brown pair look a little sad on the hanger but they are quite flattering on, AND they're super comfortable.
TOPS
Target, LOFT, Old Navy
LOFT, Kohl's, TargetSKIRTS
Target, Vera Wang for Kohl'sJust look at these gorgeous patterns. I could eat them with a spoon.
skirt, skirt, dresswhich is like duck, duck, goose only way more fun
PANTS
H&M, Kohl'sAdmittedly the brown pair look a little sad on the hanger but they are quite flattering on, AND they're super comfortable.
TOPS
Target, LOFT, Old NavyI intentionally set up the red, white and blue for all the patriots out there. Except for these Patriots. Coaches who cheat at football wear hideous sweatshirts get no love from me.
Speaking of red, white and blue today's 4th of July outfit (except for the shoes) was entirely from my swap loot. I normally don't do "theme" outfits, but this patriotically plaid tank was just begging to be worn today.
Oh, I almost forgot the best part - the shoes! I have been looking, and looking for a pair of gray or silver sandals but coming up with nothing. I have 4 or 5 pairs of gold/bronze summer shoes - seriously - but no gray shoes, so that situation clearly needed to be remedied. But as I said I have been looking with no luck. Imagine my delight when my mom pulled this pair out of her bag:
I may or may not have shrieked "MINE!" and hid them in my room before anyone else saw them. Whatever. I'm the hostess, I'm allowed to cheat.
So that's the tale of my surprisingly successful clothing swap. It was loads of fun so I am already thinking about hosting another one in the future. To keep with my (poorly thought out) tradition I'll stick with holiday weekends, so mark your calenders for Thanksgiving and Easter. Heh.
Have you guys ever hosted or attended a clothing swap? How many people participated? What made the swap really successful? Go ahead, spill those beans.
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