31 Days {Day 29} Simple Birthday Party

Last night I had a surprise party for Gustavo's birthday.  It was a lot of work trying to do the surprise element but it turned out perfectly!  He was surprised and kind of speechless really. I couldn't have done it without clever friends who found ways to distract him and lots of people who managed to not divulge the secret ahead of time.

He thought we were having a "Dinner for 8" that we often have as a rotating dinner with our group at church.  I could look like I was preparing for a dinner, but not a dinner for 42. Fortunately I had a tag team of two guys who helped me have the afternoon to prepare.  He went shooting with one and had a meeting about some software with the other.  I was worried he would be early but he was actually late!

I decided to order some Texas BBQ so that the main part of the meal was catered.  I bought canned baked beans which I doctored up and a lot of potato salad.  Two friends offered to make homemade macaroni and cheese and rolls which were great additions.  I threw in some hamburger buns and we had our chopped beef BBQ dinner with not a lot of prep time.

I wanted to spend most of my time on the cupcakes because that is what I love making the most.  We had chocolate with buttercream icing and spice cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I use box cake but always make homemade icing.  

I was contemplating my options for decorations because I wanted the house to look festive. I thought about doing those tissue paper pom poms, but decided against it.  I already mentioned that I added some simple fall updates and I also popped to TJ Maxx and got a yellow harvest color tablecloth.  In the end, I decided to make a homemade banner and felt it was sufficient party decor.  I followed this tutorial from Katydid and Kid and it worked out great. It took me about an hour to make and we just can use the happy birthday part over and over for future parties.  I am not the most crafty person so I was really proud of it.

Besides the food and decorations, I'm the most happy about all our friends and G's family that came and made the party a success.  They parked far away so he wouldn't suspect anything, they yelled surprise at just the right time and generally are just a fabulous group of people.  There were lots of children there which makes the party so much more special.  

Who else has pulled off a surprise party?  I loved giving one but I would hate receiving one. Have you stepped out of your comfort zone to do something crafty?  Even as I was picking out the scrapbook paper, I was thinking "This really isn't necessary.", but since I tried my hand at it I'm happy I can add another skill to my arsenal.  

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P.S.  I was so busy that I didn't have time to take many pictures and I was really upset about that.  Also, my camera has continually disappointed me during these last 29 days.  If you have a recommendation for a starter fancy pants camera, please advise.

31 Days {Day 20} Simplicity in Decorating

I am not the type of person who likes to decorate my house for every holiday.  I have three seasonal decor stages.  One is almost all the time and I use my beachy cottage decor.  The second lasts for about a month and is five pumpkins on our mantel where the starfish used to be.  I also have a couple more pumpkins that I place where I take out all the shells and starfish.  I also change out my periwinkle flowers for the goldy-green chrysanthemums.  The third is the Christmas decor which is what I have in the most abundance which is two bins full.


You can find lots of inspiration for decoration on other blogs but this is how I like to keep it simple.  This picture is of my little pumpkins.  It's simple but at least it looks like I made a little effort for the fall season.

What I like to do is try to keep the same basic structure and be able to add seasonal touches.  Those glass hurricane jars can be filled with ornaments for Christmas.  For Halloween or just fall they can be filled with candy corn, leaves or pumpkins.  It is super easy, not expensive and you don't have to store a lot of things that are out of season.

I also like to add natural elements that are free.  Maybe you have pine cones or nuts around your neighorhood that you can gather.  Branches look really cool in tall vases.  A bowl of cinnamon sticks are earthy looking and smell nice.

I realize that I am often alone in my thinking.  I really like holiday decor but storing boxes and boxes of items out of season is not something I want to do.  The other thing is that I don't like spending money on these doodads.  They are often kind of expensive and I never seem to justify the expense.  I would like to learn how to make some things though.  

These pictures have a lot of simple elements that I love.  What do you do for fall decor?  Are you an all out decorator or simple like me?  What are your favorite free ways to decorate?  I'm all ears on that one!

Source: theyellowcapecod.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: pinterest.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: None via Jackie on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

What's In Your Tree?

Christmas decorating for me has always been pulling out all the ornaments and decorations that people have given me over the years. I buy lights and the Christmas tree and the rest is a hodge podge of sentimental things. Every item has a story. I had so much fun and a few tears remembering all the people who gave them to me, and of course my Mother, who several years ago gave me many of them from my childhood.

This year was no different, except that I got ambitious and made my own wreaths. I was only planning to do one but my over-achieving competitive husband wanted to do three. We compromised at two and this is what we ended up with after a long but very fun evening of wreath making.

This beauty is the one that I made. It's not as full as I would have liked but we ran out of branches. If you have never made one, it's pretty easy and very inexpensive. I'm a wanna-be crafty person but my desire to keep things simple sometimes interferes with the final product. If it gets too expensive I start to think that I should just buy one that is already made and professional. I would give you a tutorial but I think you'd be better off finding someone that really knows what they are doing. I can tell you that all you need is a wreath wire, which costs a few dollars, some wire to secure some of the branches and all the stuff you want to decorate it.

I got one clump of berries and cut them off, some cardinals and a bow with a bell. The branches are from the Christmas tree. I grabbed them as they cut them off to trim the trunk for us. Next time I'll grab extra if there is any because you can use it all over the house to decorate. It doesn't need water and lasts a long time. This wreath in total costs less than $10. It's so welcoming and smells wonderful when you come through the door.

The other wreath that G and his brother worked on was bigger and skinnier. G is nothing if not an engineer and their joke was that they must "secure the branches". They were so secure that the wreath ended up super skinny. I stashed some smaller pieces into the wire to add some bushiness. It's our Charlie Brown Christmas Wreath!

We got our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. As soon as I saw it was from the Blue Ridge Mountains, I was sold. It was like a little piece of home. Can you spot all those Williams Sonoma boxes under the tree! I can't wait to see what they are! Did you notice that we also have five stockings this year? That is because G's brother, his wife and 11 year old son that are still living with us. Christmas is going to be a little bigger this year.

I've already decided that the day after Christmas I will be shopping for decorations for next year. Even though I love all my hodge podge things, I felt it was time to step it up to some things more reflective of my style. Target, West Elm and Crate and Barrel are definitely on my to do list for that day of shopping craziness. I'll also be reorganizing all the Christmas ornaments so that they are not only protected but easy to pack and unpack every year. Maybe the Container Store will have something that I can afford for Christmas ornament organization in the after Christmas sale.

What is your Christmas style? Are you a keep it simple person or do you go all out with Santa soap in the bathroom and a full set of Christmas dishes? Do you use sentimental ornaments or a designer tree with matching balls?

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas with all your loved ones in person or in spirit. Remember that the day is a celebration of Jesus coming to this world to eventually die on a cross as a sacrifice for all of us. I hope that this new year brings many blessings as well as clutter-free and organized lives for all of us!

P.S. And for something totally off topic, since I'm showing you a picture of our fireplace, I want to take a little poll. Should we paint the bricks white and as Gustavo warns "lose the brick color forever"? Or, should we leave it as is?