One of my favorite ladies is having a baby girl sooner than later and we wanted to throw her a shower before it got too close which meant right before Elevate and SNAP.
It was crazy busy, but I loved how it turned out and I hope she did too!
We decided on a navy coral theme and I made some accordion flowers and cut out flowers with a Silhouette.
Snagged these darling wooden spoons from Kara's Party Ideas. We cut a circle in a Sara Lee Pound cake, put it in the bottom of a cup, a spoonful of strawberries, and a scoop of whipped cream! So yum and so easy!
I have been loving sparkles lately so we added some to a donut cake.
Nichole made a darling rag garland to match our colors and made a bunch of awesome napkin wraps which I know made a huge mess! I'm thankful she did it though!
Little Miss was super excited, she can hardly wait until her buddy gets here!
There was so much food and it was delicious!
I pretty much love how these came out! I wanted the decor to feel fresh with flowers and fruit so with a few little bowls from Michaels, we added flowers to clementines and blueberries.
We can't wait for this "Berry Sweet" baby girl to get here!
6. Store by Numbers Bins I bet my kids would understand better when putting their toys away if they were numbered.
You now know where I plan on "hiding" all of our toys, but here is what I'd like to create for our children once the toys are stored.
I want a place where we can color that doesn't have to be rushed to put away because dinner needs to be set down. We have a couple of artists in our family and I want paper, markers, crayons, chalk, paint, and scissors to be accessible for me to grab when they ask. I want their little imaginations to grow in an awesome tent or playing on a "neighborhood" rug. I want it to be colorful, happy, and inviting.
I'm so thrilled that I found The Land of Nod and even more thrilled that they are opening their first store in Southern California at the South Coast Plaza May 31, 2013. There will be giveaways going on in store throughout the opening day and free goodies for those who arrive early to shop!
GRAND PRIZE AND APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE: One (1) Grand Prize is available to be won. The Grand Prize winner will receive a Room designed by The Land of Nod, including:
(1) Design consultation with The Land of Nod design team.
(2) Room makeover with selected product from The Land of Nod.
(3) Feature in The Land of Nod Real Families section of an upcoming Catalog.
“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign withPollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCAhttp://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.”
I want to share something that is near and dear to my heart.
It almost feels like it is my 4th child.
Elevate is a blog conference that was just held for the 2nd time in Southern California.
If you want the full details of what sparked this idea, read Summer's post.
Simply put, Summer landed on my blog one day and asked how I lined up my buttons pretty for link parties.
I wanted to email her the tutorial I had found and read up on her a bit. I loved her blog, loved her family pictures, loved her sweet heart.
The emails started and I asked if she would ever want to host a small gathering for bloggers to meet in real life.
{After SNAP we did some sightseeing in Salt Lake!}
The first time we spoke on the phone I was so nervous. I had never spoken to a blogger on the phone before! I just tried to sound really nice and she's kept me around!
I asked what she thought about hosting a dinner for bloggers to meet up and quickly it turned into an all day event with speakers, a craft, lunch, dinner, a service project, dessert, and games.
We wanted women to come together, be inspired to share their story, and make friendships.
To make a community.
For some it's starting from scratch, I'm Jen and this is where I blog.
For others it's finally getting the chance to meet in real life after months of emails, comments, and shout outs.
We wanted them to feel relaxed and in good company.
It's easier to be behind a computer screen tweeting and sharing pictures on Instagram with just the perfect filter than it is to walk up to a group and feel accepted.
We searched high and low for a craft that we thought would be good for everyone. Easy to do while hanging out. We gave options, but also gave the opportunity for it to be customized. I walked around and saw Elise, who is an amazing artist, drawing templates for new friends.
While we know it is great to learn business tips, tricks and secrets, and to find out how she really does it, we also wanted people to feel uplifted and confident in what they have to share.
Our story is our own and every one's is different.
Our amazing venue with an even more amazing staff: Newport Dunes
We try to put together activities for bonding and helping relationships grow.
Who wouldn't love a few new friends? Or 50?
Friends who get you. Friends who get blogging. Friends who can appreciate link parties, craft fails or triumphs, and your story.
Friends who will come to birthday parties, baby showers, baby blessings, and conferences.
Friends that will stay up to talk to you after a rough day, will dye coffee filters until they are just the right shade, and will never let you live down a joke you decided to let them in on.
Who wouldn't want some real life friends to help you along this journey?
This is what we aim for. This is the reason we organize Elevate.
A huge thank you to all of our sponsors! Seriously, check out our sidebar! Every company that wrote back with a "yes" made my day.
We put a lot of thought into our speakers, and just as much went into the companies we wanted to work with. They were all amazing.
Our graphic designer is as sweet as they come. Allison does it all.
Obviously our photographer stays behind the camera for a reason. The picture focuses in the wrong place without her controlling it ;) Lora we love you. You did an amazing job capturing our day.
Nichole's sister Jen, Summer's mom Terry, my mom Sue
These ladies worked all day to make sure everything ran smoothly. I'm indebted to them for their sweet support.
It's a fun challenge to do something like this with friends and I'm grateful for their friendship.
I don't consider myself a craft blogger at all, but I am pretty proud of the dessert table!
It's my one big job that isn't behind the scenes!
To our darling 2013 attendees:
We hope you walked away feeling inspired and important.
Hurry! You only have until tonight to get your entries in!
If that wasn't awesome enough, Silhouette is having a great deal through this Wednesday, the 15th for the Silhouette Cameo and chipboard, Silhouette Portrait and chipboard, and the chipboard if you already have either machine.
This post is filled with goodies!
A deal from my favorite grocery store and 2 delicious recipes!
This is a pineapple sherbet slush, it's delish and my mom made it for us growing up so naturally I'm going to love it that much more!
{recipe at the end of the post}
Did you notice the spot where I said favorite grocery store?
Yes, I have friends that go shopping at a few places, but if I live near a Vons, Safeway, or Pavilions, I'm there.
They know my mom and I a little too well.
Can you find my baby?
So the deal that I'm so thrilled about and have already taken advantage of not once, but twice this week!
$5 Birthday Bundle:
2-2 liter 7 UP Brand sodas
1 Betty Crocker Cake Mix
1 Betty Crocker Frosting
1 24 pack rainbow candles
All for $5!
You just need to use your club card to get this deal. If you don't have one, sign up for one!
My kids were all smiles because they know my birthday is coming up at the end of May and I was trying to convince them that we should celebrate all month long.
I'm seriously a sucker for any excuse to throw a party.
Ask my husband, he probably doesn't consider it one of my better qualities.
$5 for all of this!
I plan on stocking up for Mother's Day, Memorial Day, end of school stuff, Sunday dinners...
Oh and did I mention there are 9 birthdays in my family in the month of May?
For us this deal couldn't have come at a better time.
It runs all the way from April 24-May 21, 2013.
*If your store doesn't have a display up, the deal should automatically ring up, which is what mine did.*
Ok, here is what I made to get our birthdays started. My dad's is a day after mine so I told him I was starting the month off right. He's a huge over celebrator like me so he was all about this plan.
Recipe time:
I used 1 lemon cake mix which easily makes 2-8 inch cakes.
I loved my strawberry lemonade cake so I decided to do strawberry in the middle, lemon on the rest.
I mixed the Betty Crocker Strawberry Mist frosting with some fresh chopped strawberries for my middle layer.
Pretty and Pink!
Put up a mini banner from DK DeleKtables and called my dad in.
He was a big fan.
After searching for yummy ingredients to add to cake mixes, I liked Your Home Based Mom's the best.
Lemon Cake:
1 box Betty Crocker Lemon Cake
1 small box instant Lemon Pudding
1 cup Sour Cream
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup oil
I mixed everything for about 2 minutes, it's a pretty thick batter. Preheat the oven to 350 and for a 9x13 or 2 rounds bake from 28-33 minutes.
For cupcakes bake for 20 minutes.
Pineapple Sherbet Slush:
My mom and aunts used to make this for bridal showers, baby showers, and some family get togethers.
It's now really difficult to find pineapple sherbet...trust me. We called around. It must not be very popular, but this is what I was set on making with 7 UP so I made it from scratch.
2 cups granulated sugar
1 quart half-and-half
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice - I used a 20 oz
1 pint whipping cream
From the lemon remove the zest & chop the zest fine. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small bowl.
In a small saucepan, heat sugar, half-and-half & zest until sugar is melted, but DO NOT BOIL. Set aside to cool.
When sugar mixture is cool, add lemon juice & pineapple and the pineapple juice. Don't drain.
Freeze only until it is frozen an inch or so out from the edge.
Spoon the partially frozen mixture into a mixing bowl & beat with electric mixer, before folding in whipping cream & mixing well.
I used a large tupperware container & left it in the freezer overnight.
Use 1 container of sherbet and 3/4 bottle of 7 UP. Whisk together until it's slushy.
If you can't find the sherbet and make your own, try the same mixture. I've been making individuals (4-5 scoops and filling the 7 UP almost to the top of the glass)
Thanks to Vons for making the birthday bundle so affordable!
Take advantage of it!
xo,
This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign withPollinate Media Group® and SAFEWAY but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BirthdayBundlehttp://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.
We are two sisters trying to keep up with the hustle and bustle of life. Clueless is probably the best word to describe our state of mind when we got married. We enjoy becoming more domestic, finding new hobbies, and amazing deals. Mrs. H loves ice cream with an absurd amount of toppings, popcorn, traveling, finding Macy’s steals with Mr. H, and The Office. Mrs. J loves twix, Sunday afternoons, White Collar, CVS extra care bucks, and smooching her & Mr. J’s 2 kids.
I take the vast majority of pictures on this blog and love when other bloggers feature my work! If my children are in the pictures, please ask first: delightfuldeets@gmail.com. Thanks!
