Knitting is the new Nintendo

Recently my lovely friend and her husband had a baby girl! What an exciting time for them (though not without any hardships - that's another story)! I had the pleasure of first being asked to help plan their gender reveal party and most recently the baby shower! I love this kind of stuff - 'showering' people with love, ya know! ;) So this post is dedicated to the basics and ideas of how to throw a successful baby shower!

The basics of any party in my mind are three things: decorations, games/activities, and food. Let's break it down!

Decorations
I am not the most visually capable decorator so I rely heavily on the ideas of others... yay Pinterest! But it doesn't take too much to create a nicely decorated space. The basics are obviously streamers and balloons, easy and simple. You can really make some nice accents with streamers that are unique to the usual.

try to ignore what's outside the window...

I also was able to find some banners and specific baby shower decor at the dollar store, didn't use all of it, but it could be a one-stop-shop for the person who doesn't want to do too much 'DIY'!

The idea I will take credit for :) is the framed quotes. I'm not a graphic designer, but I love to play around and make some fun posters (though I'm limited to Microsoft Word I think they still turned out nice). I looked up some relevant quotes and bible verses online and then printed them as pictures and framed them. Placing them around the room for the shower was cute! And it gave mommy some extras to take home for the nursery! I will work on providing the printouts for these soon!



The must have decor piece at a baby shower these days is a diaper cake. So that I went to the internet for a tutorial and ideas. It was quite simple and fun to put together! Stay tunes for more on this later!


Games/Activities
The mommy is not too much of a games person so I didn't want to overwhelm the shower with game after game. I wanted the feel to be relaxed and a fun time to mingle and see the new baby and just spoil the new parents. Thus I only planed two simple games to do as a group and two activities that could be done while people mingled.

The two games were The Price is Right: Baby Style and What's in Your Purse. Both ideas I snagged from Pinterest :) The first has everyone guessing the actual retail price of typical baby items like bottles, diapers, baby food etc. and the second is un-baby related, but just for women to see if what they have stashed in their purse can win them a prize!


That said, I did have a few prizes for the winners of each game. Nothing extravagant (some colourful socks, bath salts, lip balm, and notepad), but it's always nice to have some treats for the guests as well.

The two activities were Make Mom Laugh and Wishes for Baby. I loved both of these because it meant that Mommy and Daddy would have some fun things to bring home and laugh at/cherish later. Again, both ideas from Pinterest! The idea behind the first is for people to write fun notes on diapers so that when changing the diaper there is a little something to laugh about despite the current situation! The second is a print out for each party attendee to fill out with wishes for the new baby to read when she grows up :) I will work on providing the printouts soon as well!


Food
I have to admit I had nothing to do with the food at this party as it was collaborative effort! And unfortunately though large and has the word 'cake' in it, the diaper cake was not edible haha! Here my co-hostesses had some crunchy nachos, a sweet fruit platter, scrumptious cupcakes, a delicious lemon cake, and a refreshing pink lemonade!


That's it, it's as simple as that! I hope that you found as much inspiration on this page as I had as much fun doing all of this! Now go and plan that party and have fun!

I wrote this several months ago as I had just come out of wedding planning season for my own wedding and felt like I should share some of the things I learned. I originally posted on Facebook, but now I can share it here as well!

Just in time for Valentine's! It's the Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookie!


I love red velvet.

I love white chocolate.

Put the two together and YUM!

Original recipe from Cooking Classy:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp red food coloring
• 3/4 cup white chocolate chips, divided

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together [dry ingredients] flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder and salt, set aside. 
• In a second bowl, use a hand mixer to whip together butter, sugar and vinegar until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Mix in egg. Add in vanilla and red food coloring and mix until blended.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Mix in white chocolate chips (note: press in some extra white chocolate chips into the tops of cookies AFTER baking for a nice look).
• Scoop dough out by the heaping tablespoonfuls and shape into balls. Transfer to Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets and bake in preheated oven 8 - 11 minutes*. 
• Allow to cool on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Store cookies in an airtight container. 

*I found that my cookies didn't flatten the same as the pictures showed and they also took a few min less to bake, so I have yet to do some research on how to adjust temp and time for baking at different altitudes. 

I could eat these by the spoonful...

Enjoy!

I call it the 'happy jar'.


I saw this idea that someone had re-posted on Facebook at the beginning of the new year.

The idea is that whenever you have a memorable moment, something happy happens around you, small or large, you write it on a piece of paper and add it to the jar. Then on New Year's next year you open it up and read about all the good things that happened in your life over the past year.

I love this idea because similar to my cue card calendar, it's a great way to remember the little things that you may not otherwise recall. And especially with this jar you are remembering the blessings and extra positive things that may get lost amidst the busyness and stresses of everyday life!

So far it's only been one month and I haven't added that many, not sure if that's because there haven't been that many good things (let's hope not) or I just need to be more generous in adding even the littlest moments (likely as those are the ones you forget over time...).

What would you put in your happy jar today?

Do you enjoy looking back in time?
Is being crafty a challenge for you?
Do you have a bad memory?
Do you agree with the phrase: "the simpler the better!"
Is your life so exciting that you want to remember everything you do, everyday, forever (or do you just like to be reminicent)?

If you answered yes to any of those questions then this is the project for you! This is the project for you! (did I already say that?)

Discovered on Pinterest, this is the cue card calendar!

All you need:
-a writing utinsel
-366 cue cards (maybe keep the extras in case you need a replacement)
-a small box/tin

All you do:
-Everyday, write down the most memorable or exciting thing that you did/happened.

And that's it!!


I love it because for one I do not have a good memory and so every day as I write down something for the day I can see what happened exactly a year ago and it's really neat! I think it will be a great keepsake in the years to come :)  I started ours on our wedding day and so I'll have a record of most everything through our married years.


*You will have to put the date on each individual cue card, but it's easiest to do that everyday for the first year and then you won't have to after that. 

Slowly over time we tackle different projects around our condo trying to purge, clean, and organize. Today, this one is about or cleaning closet.

Sorry to say I can't find my 'before' picture, so these are the 'afters'.

Essentially, all of the supplies were cram jammed into this little metal stand (seen below) and on the floor. At least we had that, but it just wasn't working for me! I wanted to put in some shelving and a place to hang the brooms. However, because the furnace is also found in this tiny closet we are limited to the number and whereabouts of the shelves so that we have access to the furnace if need be. But all it took is one shelf and one broom clip and I'm satisfied. Check it out!


Basket for rags and cloths

3 rack stand for cleaners and misc items. TIP: Utilize space and the bars by hanging the spray bottles!

Bought a bar to hang the brooms to keep them in place and off the floor.

Added a shelf to make extra storage space!

Most people know that once you're married the 'dating' ends. You've both got rings on, the paper's are signed, and you're living together, what more is there to pursue right?! Wrong!

You've read all the articles, seen and heard people talk about the idea that dating isn't supposed to end once you're married. You have to keep the love alive by proactively and intentionally seeking out ways to connect with your spouse. The person you married yesterday will not be exactly the same person in 10, 30, or 50 years from now. As we age we grow in our opinions, experiences, and appearances and though ideally we remain the same at the core, it should be obvious that we will be different to some extent. Have you had your defining moment yet: "I sound like my mother/father!" Bet you never dreamed that would be you :) That said, when you stop attempting to continually learn what makes your significant other tick, you will get left behind!

One way not to let that happen is DATE NIGHT!

Deniss and I don't have a regular date night set, but for now our schedules are pretty flexible and so we do okay. He's better at planning them for us, but this time I took on the challenge!

I got the idea from Focus on the Family when I Googled 'date night ideas'. Check out that page here, there's tons!

This one is called "Surprise Date Adventures"

1) Consider a few things:
-How much time do you have?
-How much $ do you want to spend?
-How much driving are you up for (this is Calgary after all!)
-Where can you go in that amount of time and for that amount of $?

2) Once you have 3 or more places you'd like to go, write them on cue cards and seal them in individual envelopes to keep them a secret!

3) Let your spouse choose one at a time and go where it tells you.

4) Have a great time!

TIPS:
-I put the address instead of the name so that it made for an extra surprise! I also put a little 'clue' for extra fun!
-I added some cash to each envelope so the cost is covered!
-I tried to be crafty and add some sticker's for fun, but that's about as creative as I get haha :)

For our adventure we ended up at Starbucks (not just any - our first date Starbucks), then Ikea for dinner (an old time favorite where we used to 'meet in the middle'), lastly we went to Petland to look at the fish and kittens (a rare, but fun past time). Clearly nothing fancy, but it doesn't have to be!
We were supposed to do one more (Pies Plus - because Deniss LOVES pie), but to my dismay they closed at 6pm (who does that!?) which I found out in the car on our way to destination #1. TIP: plan more than a day in advance! However, maybe it was for the better as we were pretty full at the end anyways. Should've added a trip to the gym as a destination :)

mmm sweedish meatballs!

So cute!

And that was that! It was a short, full, and fun evening out with my hubby and I think that he enjoyed himself as well. All in all a great date night :)

This little guy was totally smiling at us!

Confession: we have a problem. A big problem... DUST!

Arg! I hate it! It's all over our house and with the amount of windows and light shining in, you can see it everywhere and on everything!

It was a big problem before we had our cat Sherlock, but even more so afterwards with the amount that he sheds. We tried to sweep/vacumm and dust regularly, but it gets tiresome because the majority of our condo is hard floors.

Deniss kept telling me how he wanted one of those robotic vacuums, but I wasn't convinced. However, after Christmas we were out shopping on boxing day and he just couldn't resist :) (Ironically we didn't buy it on sale, but I don't even care!)

The one we bought isn't a vacuum though, it's just a simple robotic sweeper. It's small, rechargeable, basically silent, and operates at the simple push of a button. You attach the included microfibre cloth on the bottom and the pet hair and dust is attracted to it like a magnet. It has three different settings for a quick sweep, thorough sweep (corners and along baseboards), and a wet mopping. It also runs off of a small GPS box that ensures it covers 100% of the room so it's very thourough! The only downside might be that you have to pick the dust and hair off the cloth afterwards (Thank you Deniss for always doing that!!), but you kind of have to do that with a broom anyways so it's all the same.


I LOVE IT! We let Watson run a day and the dust is reduced so significantly it makes me happy.

The brand is Mint, but we call it Watson (because we're dorks like that).

Problem Solved!

If you’re thinking of doing something similar here’s how I did it*: