May 24, 2012
diy. cake pops or peeps bunny pops base stand.
cake pops are all the rage these days, but they can be a lot of trouble sometimes. so i decided to keep it very simple for the kids' birthday party this year! i bought peeps around easter time. some of the traditional peeps colors were perfect for the colors of the birthday party. i also bought lollipop sticks and pushed one bunny peep onto one lollipop stick for an easy treat. originally i had planned to dip the bottom half of each bunny in chocolate before putting them on the sticks, but time did not allow for that!
how to make the base for a cake pop or peeps stand:
1. i used a piece of styrofoam typically used for floral arrangements. you can find these kinds of styrofoam pieces in all shapes and sizes to suit your needs.
2. i spray painted the foam the same color as the cupcake stands. i had to spray the paint on pretty thick since the foam is porous.
3. then i cut a piece of fabric just about an inch longer than the circumference and two inches taller than the height of the foam piece.
4. next i tucked the fabric under the bottom of the foam and pinned it in place, and folded the top of the fabric down about half an inch so the fabric matched the top of the styrofoam. using yellow quilting pins, i pinned the fabric in place trying to place the pins at an equal distance all the way around the foam.
5. then i pushed the peeps lollipops into the foam.
and that's it! this is such an easy, no-sew project that could be adapted for all kinds of uses. cake pops could easily be displayed this way, any kind of lollipop or candy on a stick, rock candy, etc. this was one of the kids' favorite things on the menu... even over the cupcakes. and even though their little faces got sticky, their fingers did not!
May 23, 2012
diy. cheap, easy, colorful, themed cupcake stand.
don't have a pretty cupcake stand? no worries! you can buy a cheap cardboard cupcake stand for $5 at walmart and decorate it yourself. that's just what i did for lula and diesel's birthday party.
i bought two wilton cupcake stands. the stands are a glossy white. so they look decent on their own, but i decided to paint mine. i used turquoise spray paint and painted each piece before assembling the cupcake stand. i was surprised that the paint stuck to the glossy finish, but it did with no problem.
the stand also comes with trim for the outside edges which you can customize however you wish. i decided to use a black and white chevron fabric and simply cut it a bit wider than the trim. then i used tacky glue to attach the fabric to the trim. i cut the slits around the edge that attach the trim to the stands with an exacto knife. then i followed the assembly instructions, and that's it!
May 22, 2012
elsewhere. fashion contributor for skinny mom blog.
recently i was asked to be a fashion contributor for skinny mom blog. i happily agreed and my first article posted earlier today. i'm excited about contributing for this fun blog that is similar to a magazine for moms covering topics such as fitness, fashion, and family among others. i'll be regularly posting there on tuesdays, but will most likely contribute more than once a week. and of course i'll be sure to let you know what i'm writing about over there!
post today: babylady inc. provides uniquely perfect spring basics
how we dress. bunnies, stripes, plaid, and germany.
lula is wearing a vintage shirt with polka dots and an appliqued bunny rabbit, striped cropped leggings from hanna andersson, and silver sandals from laura ashley.
diesel is wearing a borrowed germany soccer shirt from target, plaid pants from h & m, and his favorite borrowed soft converse shoes.
May 21, 2012
life. a very productive weekend.
1. i finished a new feather headband for lula in london (and everything is still 40% off including this new headband!) you can see gemma (aka birdie) modeling a lula in london headband at bleubird vintage.
2. i found four gorgeous vintage chairs at a garage sale on friday. they were exactly what i was looking for for our dining room and were only $60. score!
3. friday night jay and i went out for a date. we had a lovely meal and then planned some projects for saturday... which meant we had to take a trip to lowe's to get materials. not the most romantic date night, but it's always fun just to be together.
4. saturday we had a huge garage sale. we lucked out by coincidentally planning our sale on the same weekend as the neighborhood garage sale. so we had tons of traffic and didn't even have to advertise! we got rid of so much stuff. it always feels good to purge.
5. while i was selling away, jay worked on his project list. first he built some "countertops" for the kids' play kitchen. it doubles as storage for all their toys as well. i'm still debating whether i should paint it all white or not, but i kind of like the color of the wood. we found two old folding closet doors at salvation army for $5 each! that's what jay used for the tops. cheap projects are the best! i'm also planning to put a curtain along the front to hide all the toys.
6. next jay worked on lula's "new" bed. i found a full size headboard and footboard a while ago for $35. it's antique and solid walnut. jay turned it into a toddler daybed by cutting the footboard in half. then he attached those pieces to the ends of the headboard to make a frame. we used a crib mattress (found at salvation army for $6). a full size headboard is the exact length of a crib mattress. so it's perfect for this type of project! lu loves her new bed... even though she can't jump on it like her old one! (finished pictures to come soon!)
7. we followed a very tiring saturday with an equally busy sunday. the day started with a horsey ride. then we went to church, the grocery store, took naps, then headed to two different parties! we were all worn out... except for lula who had an abundant amount of energy when we got home! crazy girl!
sundays are always hard for diesel because he misses his morning nap. he always crashes on the way home from church, and sometimes it's hard to get him to wake up!
how was your weekend?!
May 19, 2012
May 18, 2012
life. our week in instagrams.
1 and 2. we started with the week with mother's day which i talk about in the post all i want for mother's day.
3. diesel likes to sneak off whenever he can and play in the bathroom. one day we found he had scooted a stool up to the toilet and proceeded to climb up onto the sink! another day i discovered he had thrown several pieces of clothing into the toilet. that boy! we're going to get him some squeaky shoes so he can't escape!
4. we've had the bounce house outside all week and so the constant refrain these days is, "can you blow the bounce house up?" d has seen lu plug and unplug the bounce house numerous times and is trying to do so himself...but he's no where near the outlet!
5 and 6. the weather has been just gorgeous this week and we've all wanted to be outside. yes, even me! so one day i filled up the old baby tub with water and let them do whatever they wanted with it. lula immediately stripped and insisted on being naked the rest of the day even when people arrived for the sneak peek of our garage sale. d has been fighting a cold all week and has been rather cranky. so even the water didn't appease him for long. another day perhaps.
7. jay basically finished gutting our old vintage/antique piano so we could put our new keyboard in it. the final touch, for now, was replacing the old casters with new ones that will actually allow us to move the piano and not gauge the floor! it was quite an interesting endeavor. we got our nanny involved and laughed through much of the process. but we all survived and still have all of our fingers and toes intact! and the wheels look great... except they lifted the piano quite a bit. we might have to get bar stools to play the darn thing!
8. selling all of my fabric in the aforementioned garage sale. it's time to simplify and de-clutter physically and mentally.
9. little things in lula's room. jay made that doll when he was in first grade living in belgium. pretty cute, huh?
10. after a very busy week working and preparing for the garage sale, i wanted to enjoy some downtime with my kids. usually our nanny takes them to the park and plays with my friends and their kids! kind of a sad situation. i'm looking forward to that changing a little bit soon. so yesterday i made some cookies while they were napping and planned a lovely little picnic at the park for when they woke up. the day was perfect and they were so good, sitting on our blanket having their snack. it was so peaceful until lu had to go potty and i had to pack everything up! ugh! oh well, nice while it lasted!
you can find me on instagram at lulainlondon.
May 17, 2012
little three year olds. you tube teaches children amazing things!
yesterday lula and i were sitting at the table. she was playing with stickers and having a snack. all of a sudden she pointed to a sticker and said, "that's a heptagon." a heptagon?! what three year old knows what a heptagon is? OK... what she was pointing to was not actually a heptagon, but just the fact that she knew the word was impressive enough for me!
so after we laughed for a minute, i asked her where she'd learned that. at school? no, not at school. on you tube? yep! on you tube! i have a playlist set up with a bunch of little song videos that the kids watch when we're desperate or they're especially cranky. and that's where she learned it! there's a song that goes through all those strange geometric shapes (which for some reason i can't find right now). she's learned all kinds of things from those videos: her abc's, counting, shapes, colors, animals, etc.
the tv issue is always a hot topic among parents. we really don't let the kids watch much tv. they actually don't watch any actual tv, just videos. we have our you tube playlist and then some dvds that they watch. i really don't feel bad about it because a lot of the videos are educational... and based on the "heptagon" incident, it seems lula is absorbing what she's watching. so there you have it! don't have time to teach your children yourself? just turn you tube on! :)
May 16, 2012
life. all i want for mother's day.
last year on mother's day i prepared everything. i made a lovely, gourmet meal for myself, jay, his mom, and her husband. everybody asked why i had done all the work. my main reason, because i wasn't sure what would've happened if i hadn't. sorry, guys. didn't have much faith in ya!
last year was also rough because jay had to be at church early which meant i had to get the kids ready to go and get to church by myself. with diesel only 2 months old at the time, this wasn't much fun on normal days. but i guess i expected something magical to happen on mother's day. it didn't.
so at lunch i exclaimed that next mother's day, i just wanted to go away and be alone. jay said he'd work on it. he didn't.
this year i refused to lift a finger as should be the case, and jay planned to get take out at one of our favorite vietnamese restaurants and we had lunch with my mother-in-law and her husband after the kids went down for a nap. it was very nice. but jay hadn't really planned ahead or very much. and he felt guilty about it. so after lunch he told me that i could take as long of a nap as i wanted and i could have the rest of the day to do whatever i wanted.
it was the best afternoon/evening in a long time! i took a luxuiously long nap which was completely uninterrupted. then i woke to a quiet house. (jay had taken the kids to the park.) so i called my mom and we chatted for a while. then i drove around in the car for almost an hour trying to decide on the perfect spot to read my book and drink coffee, which i then proceeded to do for the next hour.
i can't tell you how refreshing that afternoon was. that's all i wanted... just some time to myself. i don't know where the notion came from that we have to spend mother's day with our children! just because they give us the reason to be celebrated, doesn't mean we have to celebrate with them! i am with my children every day, all day. THEY are celebrated 24/7. can i not have just a few hours to myself? shouldn't i be able to decide what i want to do on my special day?
don't get me wrong. i love my children. i enjoy spending time with them. but frankly i don't want to do "motherly" duties on my one special day of the year! i want to get away from those "motherly" duties! when my kids are older, i'll expect them to do the "motherly" duties on Mother's Day. i just want a break. and i KNOW most of you mothers of small children out there feel similarly. don't try to be all saintly and act like you don't! instead, tell your husband that next year you want a few hours to yourself to spend any way you want. it's cheap, it's easy, he doesn't even have to plan anything except to take care of the kids for a little bit. is that too much to ask? i don't think so, ladies. Happy Mother's Day!
*i know those of you who don't have children or may be trying to get pregnant will hate what i've said above and think "she should just be thankful she has children and has a reason to be celebrated." i know. you're right. i've been on your side of the issue before and didn't even want to crawl out of bed on mother's day because i knew how painful it would be. how easily we forget those feelings once we're on the other side. i apologize if i've caused any grief here. that's never my intention.
May 15, 2012
how we dress. pretty peasants and princesses.
this past saturday, my sweet mother-in-law invited me and lula to a mother-daughter princess brunch at her church. so we got all dolled up for the event. many of the other girls were dressed up in princess costumes, but lula doesn't have a princess costume. frankly, i'm just fine with that. (if you know anything about me, it's that i don't like to do what everybody else is doing.) so i dressed lula in a pretty peasant-y sort of dress instead! and of course i thought she was the prettiest one there.
lula was wearing a vintage dress (that used to be mine as a child), a petticoat by the measure (now on sale at lula in london), and gladiator jelly sandals.
i was wearing a slip/long turquoise tank by free people, lace tank by guess, skirt from resale shop, ruffle jacket from urban outfitters, tights from forever 21, and boots from shoe store in amsterdam.
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