Lucy's First Birthday Party

Turning 1 is big! So the party must be perfect. Well, almost. 

Sweet Lucy's party was months in the making. Mostly because I changed my mind about 42 times. My absolute dream job is party styling. Weddings, birthdays, showers. Oh my! I had so much fun planning and preparing. I told the hubs to remind the girls of how hard I worked on their birthday parties when they're teenagers and hate me.{wink} Above is the invite that I made and sent out. That was her first ice cream cone and she was loving it. I snapped a few{okay a lot}of pictures and added font using PicMonkey. 

I hope you've enjoyed this past weeks party diy posts. I sure did enjoy sharing them with you! And if you missed out, I'll share the links throughout this post.

Look at that sweet belly! I bought a plain white t-shirt at Walmart and then used a little scrap fabric and some heat-n-bond to adhere the 1 to her shirt. The cute little tu-tu's from Target.

Because the party was Sundae themed, I ordered the cute little ice cream truck and it was filled with the cutest cups and wooden spoons. The ice cream cone water guns were given as party favors. I stumbled upon them at Goodwill. They were 50 cents each and were still in the package. Score!

After burgers and cake came the ice cream! We had several toppings for everyone to choose from. Oreos, m&m's, fresh strawberries, chocolate chips, and of course sprinkles! 


All in all, the party was a huge success! Lucy was loving every minute of it. Stuffed full of homemade strawberry cake and ice cream. What the heck...you only turn 1 once!  I will treasure these sweet memories forever and ever. Oh and you're probably wondering about the waterside. Well, believe it or not it was a bit too chilly for the slide but later in the day the hubs went all old school and sprayed the kids with the hose! 

My New Shop!

Yes, I really just did that. But anyway...this change is really long overdue. I've wanted to make the move from etsy to Storenvy for a while now, but honestly I've just been to busy{lazy}to do it. Now that I have a little time on my hands, I figured what the heck! 

If you're new to Storenvy as I am, it's a lot like etsy. You still make purchases the same way and you still pay with PayPal. However, I've made a change in shipping. I've decided to ship everything at one flat rate of $4.50 with an additional $1.50 for each item purchased. Hopefully this will make things easier. 

I also want you to know that I spend a lot of time thinking and formulating my prices. It's not just some random number that looks good. A lot has to be factored in. Materials, time, and profit. Buying handmade is often more expensive. However, I personally would rather pay a little more for something that is made by hand with a lot of love. I'm not saying that I don't still shop at Target, cause I do{a little too often}but I've really grown to love and appreciate the handmade community especially now that I have my own shop and I know first hand just how much time and effort is put in. 

I am excited and I hope to reach a few new goals within my business. I hope that you will stop by and check it out. 

Let me know what you think! What would you like to see more of in the shop? 

XOXO

Homemade Strawberry Icing & A DIY Cake Topper

In continuing the birthday party how-to's this week, I wanted to share the cake I made for my sweet girl. Oh and I should mention that it was FROM SCRATCH. Do whaaa? I know. It was my first time and it was intense. 

I got the recipe from this cookbook...

{Buy Here}

Aren't they adorable. The author's are the owners/bakers of a shop by the same name in Savannah, Georgia which is one of my most favorite places to visit. I hope to go and get a little autograph and a taste of something delicious. 

On with the recipe.


1lb.{that's right} of unsalted butter at room temperature
2 tsp. of fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. of fleur de sel {i just used sea salt}
Two 1 lb. boxes of confectioners sugar
1/2 cup of fresh pureed strawberries


Beat the butter, lemon juice, and fleur de sel on low speed for 2-3 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and then continue beating until light and fluffy.{takes about 2-3 minutes} Add strawberry puree and mix until completely incorporated. 

I must say, it was beautiful and so yummy but it needed a little something special for the top. So I made this. I love me some bunting in all fashions. I used two straws for the poles, bakers twine, fabric scraps, and a little hot glue.

Just cut some triangles from coordinating scrap fabrics and carefully{very carefully. ouch.} hot glue them to the bakers twine. The attach each side of the bunting to the straws with a little more hot glue. Wha-Lah...

Happy Baking and Bunting!

Meet My Newest Sponsors

I have three brand spankin' new sponsors to share with you today! 

I am excited to get to know each of them and share their blogs with you.

I asked each lovely lady these questions:

What did you have for breakfast?

What's your favorite time of the day?

What's in your purse that you absolutely cannot live with out?

How did you blog come about?

Meet Mindi of The Sprouted Root! Here's what she had to say!

What did you have for breakfast?

This morning it was lemon poppyseed pancakes.{Really Mindi, that sounds delish}But it's been known to vary from a hippy/crunchy meal of soaked granola to leftover pizza.

What's your favorite time of the day?

When the boys wake up from a nap and they're sleepy with flushed cheeks and bedhead. I get to snuggle them all I want while they guzzle their water.

What's in your purse that you absolutely cannot live with out?

I've found it necessary to actually remember my wallet in order to use it. I haven't had a purse in almost 4 years-traded it in for a diaper bag. Oh the good ole days of a pretty handbag. I miss you Kate Spade!

How did you blog come about?

I began blogging after I had my first baby. I wanted to have a place where I could keep family and friends updated on our life, and then it evolved into a way to turn all the craziness of 3 babies in 3 years into something fun and memorable. The dirt, the noise, the messes, the tears, the laughs, the sarcasm, the renovating of this old house...there's no way I could keep up on a scrapbook, so this is a way to document life.

Go check out her blog, find her on facebook, and follow her via bloglovin. Oh and you must see her home! Amazing!

Welcome Melissa of Clay's Capsule! Do tell Melissa...

What did you have for breakfast?

Brown sugar oatmeal. {yum}

What's your favorite time of the day?

In the morning when I hear my son talking and playing in bed when he wakes up...I love going in his room to get him out of his crib and then putting him in bed with us to talk and play.

What's in your purse that you absolutely cannot live with out?

My MAC lip-gloss!

How did you blog come about?

When we got pregnant, I decided to start a blog to share the news/updates with family and friends that lived away...Little did I know I would continue for this long, but I love being able to keep memories and look back on!

Go meet Melissa and her sweet family. Also, you can find her here, here, and here! 

Meet Lianne! She blogs over at A Content Housewife. Here's what she shared...

What did you have for breakfast?

Today for breakfast I had Multigrain Cheerieos with 2% milk! I love those multigrain cheerios! Healthy and filling!

What's your favorite time of the day?

My favorite part of the day is when my husband comes home from work and our 8 month old daughter almost can't contain herself because she is so excited to see her daddy walk through the door! And then life shows down for a few minutes and we all hug and kiss and  laugh! Ahhhh, bliss!

What's in your purse that you absolutely cannot live with out?

Chapstick! Please, oh, please don't let me forget my chapstick! I would die! I have chapstick in every corner of the house...by my bed, in the bathroom, in the kitchen...and then I have some in my car too!{Meee too girl}

How did you blog come about?

My blog stared one night while I was bored and waiting on my husband to finish a meeting with the youth pastor intern from our church...who happens to be a friend of mine since I was 15! You can read my first EVER post here. But beware, it's terrible! And the picture of our dog Duke that is supposed to be there has mysteriously gone missing! Oh, the joys of early blogging! It started out as a way to keep my family updated with what was going on in our little family...and it still is today...just with a few more readers than just my mom, dad, sister, and aunt.

You can find out more about Lianne on her blog, follow her on twitter and instagram, and like her facebook page! Oh and you gotta see this!

Three lovely ladies huh?! I think so! u

Mason Jar Sippies {A DIY}

When I saw this while browsing pinterest I knew immediately that they were a must for Lucy's party!

As soon as the hubs got home I put him to work.{wink} I already had the mason jars and lids so all I needed were holes.

So they got to work. We were sure to file the underside of each lid for safety and to ensure no tears at the party. 

While they were working on the lids, I made these cutie little pennants for the straws.

I just typed the names in Word and printed them on card stock. Then I cut each name in the shape of a pennant and used an exacto knife to cut the slits for the straws which I ordered here. Adorbs.

I decided not to paint the lids because I may want to use them again for another get together. The straws were the perfect touch and they were a huge hit with the kiddos! 

Be sure to hang around this week for several more pretty party diy's!

Finding From The Week

A Beautiful Mess via Autumn on Pinterest

This weekend I plan to spend some time with my little family and maybe even sneak in some thrifting! You know this girl loves some yard sales and Goodwill. I've got some fun things planned for the blog next week. I think I'll introduce some new sponsors and share Lucy's first birthday party with you. Including some party DIY's.{Think mason jars and bunting.}

This week has been filled with fun at home with my girls. We are enjoying summer and all of its goodness. Today I just wanted to share some pretty amazing things I found while blog stalking and browsing pinterest this week.  

 //\\  These little plush foxes from A Beautiful Mess are on my stitch it list.


//\\  I also found this amazingly simple diy from MADE for keeping up with the kids cups throughout the day. Seems like we use a bazillion.


//\\  I have big plans for some barn wood that includes a little paint a bunting like this from La Famille.


//\\  Oh and you have to check out this raspberry beer cocktail even if you don't like beer. It's just too pretty to miss.

{source}

You can find me here and here throughout the week if you would like to see what I'm up to take a peek at all of the pretty things I find.

Happy Saturday Y'all!

Still Reading Truth

{source}

For years I have wanted to take some time each day to read my bible and study the word of God. I've tried it all and it's just never stuck. Until now. 

For the past 22 days I have been faithfully spending time just me and Him. I even took my Bible with me on vacation y'all. And read it. I've got to tell you that it feels really good. God is working in me, I can feel it. 

I want to invite you to join in on the amazingness. #SheReadsTruth is really something special. I'm loving being a part of such a strong community of women seeking the Lord. 

If you're just the slightest little bit interested then hop on over check it out. We've started a new plan and I'm more than excited to see what God has in store.

Pretty Paper Garland {DIY}

You're gonna love this!

Isn't it pretty? And simple too.

Follow these simple instructions and you can have pretty paper garland in no time.

::Cut strips of card stock. As many as you like. I used about 40 for the one I made and they measure about 1in. x 5in.  

::Chose any thread and bobbin color and start stitchin. Make sure that you sew slowly so that you can feed the strips through the machine evenly.

Ta-Da!

I hung mine on a mirror above my mantle, but wouldn't it be pretty hanging at a birthday party just twirling in the breeze? I think so.

A Yummy Lemonade Recipe

Ahh. Sweet, sweet summatime! Along with lightning bugs and s'mores, nothing says summer like an ice cold cup of lemonade. I whipped this up at the beach in a flash and it was so yummy.

You're Gonna Need...

:: 1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice{about 6  lemons}

:: 1 cup of sugar

:: 5 cups of high quality h-2-0{aka-water}. 

I used an old fashioned juicer that I scooped up at an antique store but you can use an automatic juicer if you like. One tip is to roll the lemons around on the counter before you juice them. I'm not really sure why, that's just what my Mama does. Maybe it's to get the juices flowing? Whatever. 

Also, I like to mix the sugar with 1 cup of hot water before I add it to the rest. It helps the sugar melt so that your lemonade's not all grainy. Then just mix it all up and pour it into a mason jar{of course}over ice. Add a lemon slice and a cute straw just to pretty it up a bit. 

Like I said, we were at the beach so I was fresh out of pretty straws and mason jars. I should probably keep one or two in my purse at all times.{wink} 

Enjoy!

She did what??

Things are changing for our family. We're taking a leap of faith and I'm going to stay home with our girls. 

I resigned. I quit my job, my career. I won't be bringing home a paycheck. My husband will now be our sole provider. Even as I type this I'm getting little butterflies in my stomach.

I'm scared. I'm nervous. My mind constantly races with thoughts and questions like...How are we going to make it? What can we do without? My stomach churns and then I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and give it to Him. Because that's all I can do. 

I have prayed diligently throughout the past year that the Lord would make a way for me to stay home with the girls and if not, at least give me peace about not being able to. I know that this is what's best for our family. For my sweet girls. 


This also means some changes for my blog and shop. Hopefully for the better! I'm excited to blog more consistently and work towards achieving some goals for my shop. I hope that you will continue to follow along on this journey with me. I am excited to see what the Lord has planned!

via

Da Beach {Insta Style}

This past week my sweet little family vacayed at the beach. And let me just tell you it was fabulous! The weather was wonderful and our girls had the best time. 

Worth every penny.