Felix's party: Invitations and Decorations

 Felix has been obsessed with the game Candyland lately, so we decided on a Candyland themed party.

 We made these little "lollypop" invitations with a candy stick for the stick of the lollypop.

 The cake was one of my favorite parts of the party. My friend, Laura, came and helped with the decorations, which was a huge help. Besides she is super talented and brilliantly creative.

 Classic piece of candy for the pinata.

 I had saved a bunch of strawberry containers to use as goody bags. I couldn't find a candycane font anywhere, so Laura and I had to do it by hand :)

 Candy decoration was a no brainer and people pleaser!!

 Felix loved this sign. It is still up in his room.

Circus Baby Shower

 I had the privilege of helping to throw a baby shower for my lovely sister-in-law, Shawna. We had decided on a circus theme. A friend and coworker of hers offered her house and to take care of all of the food (which is the hard part). We weren't in touch much, just were communicative about the theme.

 

 It is amazing how well it worked out, though. We even both ended up wearing red and polka dots!

 Popcorn and peanuts! There was also a hot dog bar, homemade mac-n-cheese, kale salad, and tons of goodies! Why didn't I get a picture of the cake and the cake balls?!! They were adorable!

 Pinwheels= instant party!

 I made these onsies to showcase Otto's name, but also for them to use later.

Shawna actually designed her own invites and they turned out so perfect!!!
I said it once, I will say it again, "I LOVE a THEME!!!!"

church Cruise Party Decorations

 Our church had a Valentine Dance. The girl who was in charge chose a Tropical Cruise theme. She and another girl who were in charge of decorating for the dance totally outdid themselves. I had to share pictures of their amazing decorations!
Above there are sand dollars in sand with Sharpies so you could write a Valentine message to give to your Valentine.

 I have never been on a cruise, but the idea here is that there are lots of booths set up with good "for sale".

 Because this was a dance for families, meaning every age, I was a little apprehensive about these items getting touched and handled. Everything worked out, though. Maybe because everyone was having so much fun dancing!

 We had a professional photographer taking pictures of all of the families.

 Here are a bunch of props that you could wear in your pictures.

 This was a little "spa" set up with little towel animals. Insane attention to detail!

 These ladies built all of this! I was just floored by all they did on a relatively small budget.

 Look at the banana dolphin coming out of the jello ocean!

I was in charge of the invitations, and this is what I came up with. I tried to make it look like a ticket.

Christmas Ornaments

 Each year I make all of the kids personalized ornaments. This year I was unwell and did not have a chance to accomplish this tradition. Although it is sad, Zoe made ornaments for everyone. She spent so much time on them and they turned out wonderfully.
Shawna got a felt onesie with pink on one side and blue on the other. For Stephen she made a yarn beard with little pieces of dry food glued into it. She came up with it on her own and it is seriously so hilarious!
She also made Liam a wooden robot and Lydia a felt and glitter crown (not pictured).

 Grandpa Sam got a snowman. Grandma Sam got a lovely beaded bracelet. Aunt Laura got a bow for her hair. Aunt Buzz got some handmade earrings. Uncle Richard got an felt ornament in the shape of a gallon of milk, white on one side, chocolate on the other.

 I got a Santa hat with a little description about how I was like Santa. She said that it seems impossible that he can visit every house in one night and fly around the world. Then it went on to say that I did impossible things everyday: taking care of 4 kids, keeping the house clean and feeding everyone. It was the sweetest card EVER! Especially because I was feeling the opposite of what she described. What an angel!

Yarn mustache for Dad, who also got a nice card.

Christmas plates

Each year the siblings make each other gifts. Lydia chose, this year, to make these customized plates for each of the siblings and for the cousins we had for Christmas. I made one for her so she wouldn't be left out.
I looked up several tutorials online and we re-did them several times. We read that you could do it with Sharpie then cook it and it would become permenant. It didn't work. We finally ended up getting a paint pen and it worked a little better, though they aren't for using everyday and are probably better for hand washing.
I was amazed by the "You aAre Special Today" plate that she made for Samuelsons. She did it completely free hand and by herself. It turned out really great!

Best Soup ever!!!

I am madly in love with this soup!!! I have made it twice in the past week and would willingly have it again for dinner tonight, okay lunch, why not.
I found this recipe in my Blendtec recipe book, and while I was not intrigued by the name, thankfully I tried it anyway.

Beans and Greens Soup
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
2 cups broth (or more)
4 cups kale, ribs removed and roughly chopped
2 (15 oz.) cans white beans, drained, rinsed and divided
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Heat some oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add 1 cup broth and kale and cover. Cook until kale is wilted, about 5 minutes. While kale is cooking, add half the beans, remaining broth, and spices to a blender and puree. Pour bean mixture into the pan with the kale, add remaining beans. Simmer for 5 minutes and serve.

You will notice in the picture there are little orange jewels floating around. We had some roasted sweet potatoes that we added in, the first time. The second time we made it we added in some roasted rosemary cauliflower. While certainly not necessary it was fabulous!!!

Make your own fresh evergreen wreath

After cutting the lower branches off our Christmas tree, as always, I decided to make a wreath.
This time I am going to attempt a tutorial. Please excuse the terrible lighting in the pictures.
I started with some old dry cleaning hangers. I used two twisted together at the ends and formed into a crude circle. Don't worry too much about this, it is pretty forgiving.

 Next, cut your branches into little pieces of greenery, like this. Again, they don't need to be perfect, because it is easy to disguise.

 Next, I laid a bunch of these sprigs over the hanger going in the same direction laying the green part over the stick part of the last one. Just to hide as much of the wood as you can.
Next, I got some green florist wire at the dollar store. Start wrapping the wire around the branches, attaching them to the hanger wire. Just keep wrapping around and around. It is okay if the greenery is getting held down. We will make it fluffier later.

 Here, in this terrible picture you can see how it looks skinnier after the wire is wrapped around. After you have gone around the circle once, do it again. Lay more branches on top, overlapping as you go, going the same direction each time.

 After going around the wreath, adding sprigs, three times the wreath should be looking pretty thick. Then, take some sprigs and (in the same direction) start shoving them under the wire. This makes it look fuller and more natural. The above picture shows what it looks like after this step.

 Then, I decided to add a different kind of green to give the wreath some depth and added interest. I cut some sprigs off of a Juniper bush in our yard and added those. I really like the two different kinds of greens in the wreath.

 I really like the natural look, but my girls really wanted some shine in it. So I wired some little plastic red balls (dollar store) and wired them right to the wreath.

 Then I hung it up above my beloved mantle.