Be Our Guest!

One of our family's favorite parts of this time of year is the visitors who come to stay! We don't have the privilege of living near many family members and close friends, so the holidays provide a chance for some of our favorite people to come to what we hope is their home away from home.

Here are a few of the little considerations that we hope add up to a great, big welcome...

*Fresh, clean smelling linens and towels on the bed

*Chocolates, a favorite candy, or maybe some homemade candy corn cookies on the pillows along with a homemade note, usually from the girls

*A tray full of extras in the bathroom just in case they forgot something (to the pic above we've now added q-tips, an extra toothbrush, etc.-- sky's the limit!)

*When possible, a small bouquet of fresh flowers on the nightstand... a great smelling candle burning while they're settling in for bed doesn't hurt either!

*A fan and/or extra blankets to help the temperature feel just right

*Magazines and/or great reads nearby to help them unwind

*If we don't already know, a simple call ahead to find out about any food allergies or dislikes. I usually make a rough sketch of meals for while guests are visiting and, when possible, cook as much as I can ahead of time so that I don't spend the whole visit in the kitchen. For example, when Brooke and Sarai are visiting I am sure to have lots and lots of tomatoes on hand... their stomachs probably just turned a little even reading that sentence! :)

*I usually also look at what might be going on in our area while people are visiting and then keep those ideas in the back of my mind. Our goal is for people to feel at ease, so we typically don't try to cram in a bunch. It's always nice to have options, though, just in case.

*Big hugs soon as they arrive and some help getting those bags put away so we can focus on the best part... catching up!

Hope your guests feel extra special this holiday season!
~Katrina

Fancy-fied Box

Here's another project for my (hopefully soon) office re-do! I'm getting rid of this HUGE desk and moving to a table. I'll be using a portable drawer system under the table for sroage, but needed to find something for those big bulky items (3 hole punch, tape dispenser, stapler, label maker, etc.) that were taking up too much space. I had organized my mom's office a few years ago and we stored all of those items in a nice basket on her desktop for easy access. I decided I'd try a similar approach. I've seen some really pretty boxes at the Hobby Lobby that would work perfectly, but since I don't live near a Hobby Lobby and didn't want to spend money on this, I had to improvise. Since I like the idea of having all those things tucked away in a box, I went shopping around the house and I found this...


Now, before you think that I've completely lost my mind (I know I'm pretty close most times!) stick with me for a few more minutes! I AM aware that that's a shoe box. I can also promise you that the theme of my new office will not be "Nike"!! I decided that this box could be exactly what I was looking for!

All it took was some glossy black craft paint, some scrap paper, a pretty image downloaded and printed on regular printer paper, Mod Podge and a fun little velvety "S" from my craft closet to turn that boring box into this...

It was simple and cheap (read: FREE!) and will be perfect for my desktop! And it's the perfect size for all those bulky office supplies. I've got my 3 hole punch, tape, stapler, label maker and some address labels ready for easy access!

This project got me thinking (scary, I know!), and this project could easily be modified for Christmas or Birthday gifts! So, don't throw out those shoe boxes! Paint 'em, Mod Podge 'em or decorate 'em for FREE!! That's a price I can live with!

-Sarai

Procrastinator's Pumpkin

We had a lot going on the week prior to the 31st. So whether you are procrastinators like us or hyper organized such that you plan a year in advance... welcome! :)

This year at our fall bash, we gave out a little poem that inspired our simple carving efforts. (Be sure to click on the picture to enlarge the sweet message!)

While I scooped out all the fun insides of the big pumpkin, the girls painted in (or all over, rather) the symbols on the ones they picked from the patch.

Then we cut out our roughly sketched design as we read the poem together.
To celebrate a carved pumpkin finally gracing our front porch, we did what any self respecting artist does... started baking!
These itty bitty cookies are colorful, pretty easy, and yummy! Check out the recipe here.

As for these legendary cream cheese pumpkins... I'll have to work on the specifics. Nana and her lovely assistants baked 'em up. And, I'm sorry to say, Nana never measures a thing!

Thanksgiving ideas coming soon...
~Katrina

A Little Mod Podge Never Hurt Anyone

For years now, I've know the power of Mod Podge. However, in recent days, I've rediscovered just how magnificent a product this is. In case you're not familiar with this greatness, Mod Podge is a white (that dries clear) glue based liquid. You can use is it to adhere paper and fabric and ribbon and all kinds of other things.

I'll insert a brief pause in my "I Love Mod Podge" rant and give you a little background for this particular post. I'm in the middle of a brainstorm concerning a complete home office overhaul. Currently, the room is so full of mis-matched furniture and accessories and would make any interior decorator vomit. And don't even get me started on the piles of stuff in here. I think I've decided on a black and white theme (if you know me, you know this isn't shocking in the least!) with either soft grey or light coffee colored walls. And I'll probably use lots of lime green accents. So, as I'm slowly shifting my brain from current office to new and much prettier office, I'm constantly thinking of ways to store and organize and paint and sew the things I already have so that they'll coordinate when (hopefully one day soon!) the overhaul takes place.

And back to the Mod Podge...This is one of more simple projects I've done so far. I know that in the grand scheme of the world, or even the room, it doesn't make a big difference. But, it did make for a excitingly creative afternoon that would have been otherwise boring. My mom gave me this little notebook, as she is also cleaning out her office, a few weeks ago. Honestly, my first thought was "I might use that" but then it got put in one of the many office piles and was forgotten about. A few days ago, it caught my eye as I entered the office and I thought "Mod Podge"!!! It started out like this:

Practical: YES Pretty: NO

I covered the whole outside of the book with white card stock. I just folded the corners much like a Christmas present.

Still pretty boring, huh?

Then, I added some coordinating black and white papers and some bright green ribbon and turned it into this:

That's pretty enough to make anyone want to organize their software CDs!!

The moral of the story is this:
Mod Podge is your friend!

Need some more Mod Podge inspiration? Check out this blog which is dedicated entirely to Mod Podge-ing anything and everything!

-Sarai

Final Touches

Goodwill shirts stenciled. Roughly stenciled, but done all the same.


Yes, my hubby is such a good sport. Yes, I definitely plan to keep him!

See... :)

"It's the GREAT PUMPKIN, Charlie Brown!"

With a quack, quack here and a moo, moo there...

Dollar Store angel halos transformed with ladybugish style.

We're ready to roll! Almost.

Except for that whole house preparing thing. Thank goodness Nana is in town!

Tomorrow is our second annual CHILI-ing Fall Fun. The neighborhood children and their families come over to our place in the evening. Chili for the adults, hot dogs for the kiddos, a bonfire out back, and welcoming front porch lights along the streets calling for candy overload afterwards.

Fall time lovely!

How will you spend your Saturday?

Have a safe one,
~Katrina

Oh Baby!

My favorite part of party planning, other than being able to bless those I'm planning for, is the sheer joy that comes with turning normal everyday things into wonderful party decorations! We spent months planning a baby shower for my brother and his wife and put that plan into action! Here are some of the tips we used for decorating and gift making.

It all started with the invitation. We went with a pink, green and brown color scheme. I designed these invitations using good ol' Microsoft Publisher. It's amazing what a little inspiration from a great stationery website can do to get the creative juices flowing! I love the little scalloped edge near the top.

We knew we wanted to serve cupcakes, but didn't want to have to buy a cupcake stand. So, we got a little creative, once again. We took some cans of food, some microwave trays, a couple of plates and some scrapbook paper and went from this...

and this...

to this...

and this...

We made and decorated our own cupcakes and saved a boat load of cash! Just as cute and just as tasty!

Some yummy dips and fudge made by my step-mom and some pretty pink punch finished out the buffet.

Each table was set up with a small candy buffet as the centerpiece. We used random shaped and sized jars and containers, filled them with brown, pink and green candies and tied them up with coordinating ribbons and homemade description tags.

The shower was held in the church fellowship hall, so every little colorful detail helped distract from the drab wood paneling.

A simple piece of fabric and some tissue paper pom-poms helped to frame out the seating area for Mommy and Daddy.

This little sign acted as a centerpiece for their table.

Our original plan was to decorate these letters to hang on the wall at the shower.

But, there was nowhere to hang them, so they went straight to Regan's room to hang over her crib. Adorable!

I used some scrapbook paper and other craft supplies to decorate this plain Jane wipes box turning it from this...

to this...

It can be kept on Reagan's changing table and refilled. I've since made a couple more of these to match their kitchen and living room colors. If you're going to have to use the wipes, you might as well make it a little more fun, right?

They got tons of gifts,

including some super cute monogrammed bibs and onesies from Auntie Sarai,

and had a wonderful afternoon celebrating the arrival of baby Reagan!

And it's a good thing we didn't wait any later to host this shower, because Reagan made her debut 2 weeks early! She was born on October 23rd and is absolutely perfect!

Party planning doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg! Be creative and use what you've got!

-Sarai

Easy as Pie

Muffins, actually.

But these simple, sweet things just might surprise you.

While Brooke and Sarai recover from an amazing weekend of serving college aged women, I thought I'd pass along a recipe that I'm pretty sure one of them gave to me some time back.

Take this and this and mix together until well combined.

Do NOT even turn that spice cake mix box around. Pay no attention to the directions on the back of it. The can of pumpkin and the cake mix. Period.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-17 minutes for approximately 8-12 pumpkin muffins (depending on how big you like them!)

Easy enough for any ole morning, but pretty enough for special guests!

Enjoy,
~Katrina