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Author Archives: erin

Let the grad Party commence!

May 2, 2012 by erin in kids stuff, more is more, Party time, random goodies

Yup, I did this to my kid.

: But he turned out okay. I love photo announcements with baby/senior pics…

Whether you have a middle schooler graduating and you’re just having the fam over for a small celebration or you’re hosting a college grad party with a big crowd, there are easy ways to make it a memorable occasion.

I have a high school senior and I’m teaming up with two other moms to host a grad party so my little brain is overflowing with ideas for a kickass party that my son surely will not appreciate.

Here are some of my ideas:

• Photo invitation instead of the classic school announcement, this way the faraway relatives get a senior portrait and all of the pertinent info in one card

• Photo cake with baby picture/senior portrait

• Slide show or collage showing my son starting out cute and morphing into a horrible teenager

• School colors for linens and decor (duh)

• Yellow & white flowers with a navy ribbon around a vase for centerpieces

• Easy food, i.e., taco stand or heavy appetizers so it doesn’t matter what time guests arrive (this is important- guest might be party hopping)

• If you have a large party, hire someone to work the party – refilling drinks, emptying trash cans, picking up used napkins, etc. so you won’t have a huge mess to clean up after the party. I use college kids, they need the money and can stay up late

• Throw back a shot of the good stuff 15 minutes before the party starts so you can relax, you’ve earned a good time

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gifts for grads…

April 30, 2012 by erin in college life, kids stuff

It's that time of year!

It’s graduation time and I don’t care who you are, you know someone who is graduating from high school, college, kindergarten, or middle school. I’m lucky enough to have a kid graduating from high school on the very same day that I have another kid graduating from middle school. Just kill me.

Needless to say, there will be lots of celebration and fanfare. Here are some ideas for grad gifts:

• Cash is always good for older kids, but a check tucked into a sweatshirt from their new college is even better. Kids love to wear their emblems.

• A gas card is a nice alternative to cash for high school grads, keeps them from spending all their college money on Natty Light and Red Solo Cups.

• Personalized stuff: a phone cover with a photo of the kid with BFFs from Zazzle, personalized school supplies (for the younger set) from Frecklebox.com, monogrammed fleece or towels.

• Emergency kit: sewing stuff, basic tools, first aid supplies and candy.

• A gift card from their college bookstore.

Stay tuned for grad party planning…

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my womancave

April 9, 2012 by erin in home style, inspiration, MILFy Stuff, random goodies

Remember this?

My little “work room” had become a place to put crap so I decided to reorganize. I took all of the furniture out so I could get a fresh perspective on the space. Then I noticed that I hate the carpet that’s been in there for 10 years. So I tore it out. Then I had crappy plywood floors. Then I figured since the carpet was torn out I might as well paint. Now it looks like this.

My new favorite room.

It was important to keep the desk clear of clutter so I have a place to do projects and wrap gifts, hence the industrial shelving with baskets so I can see that I already have a hundred spools of ribbon before I run out and buy another one.

Necessary components of gift wrapping.

I wanted a place on the wall to pin up inspirations and momentos so I made a pushpin board out of cork squares. I layered some burlap with a sheet of gift wrap that was too beautiful to use on a gift. The “wallflowers” are from Target.com, they’re super easy to put up and come in other shapes and colors.

Waiting to be covered with pinups.

Burlap valance. Yeah, I made this.

I didn’t really need a curtain on the window but I wanted a nice finished look. So I ~~glue gunned~~ sewed this valance out of burlap and used some Simon+Kabuki white patterned cotton fabric for the panels.

My effin’ home office project is finally almost done. I still have one blank wall that needs some loving care but I’m taking a little break to give my addled brain a chance to air out and come up with something supercute. And hopefully easy.

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add a little sass to your birthday garden party

April 4, 2012 by erin in holiday fun, kids stuff, Party time, random goodies

Warm weather birthdays are the best. Period. Outdoor parties are my first choice for a wound up group of kids. They have space to expend their energy and messes can be hosed down. And the theme potential is enormous (you know how I love a good theme party): Baby Animals complete with petting zoo, Garden Party– each party goer gets to plant a little flower in a cute little pot that he/she painted, Woodland Fairies with magic wands, or Sports Camp. It’s all good.

If I still had any cute little kids (which I don’t, mine are big and teenager-y now–ack) I would totally rock a Garden Party. Get it? I would rock a Garden Party…

Custom invites are all the rage!

I love this custom invite, it’s adorable and affordable at InvitationBox.com. And for party favors I would pre-order personalized placemats from Frecklebox.com, they double as decorations!

Personalized placemats make a great keepsake!

And because anything with a bird on it is instantly loved by all (watch this hysterical video to see what I mean– Put a Bird On It.) I’d continue the theme from my placemats to little nest cupcakes.

Easy to make, easier to eat.

Every great kid party has great kid activities. Just a couple though, I’ve seen uber-moms overdo the projects and the kids get all loaded on sugar and can’t sit still long enough to participate. Or they really just want to play and said uber-mom is now screaming “Sit down and have fun with your damn project! Now!” So my rockin’ Garden Party would include one game that involves big muscle movement, like a nature lover scavenger hunt. They might have to find a leaf, a bug, a long stick and a rock that looks like a heart. Or if they are older you could hide fun things in the yard for them to find, like an Easter Egg Hunt. For the sitting down activity, I’d have them paint a little terra cotta pot and plant a flower in it. It could take 10 minutes or an hour (for the budding designers) and it doesn’t involve more sugar consumption.

Great party project.

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Eggsellent easter treats

April 2, 2012 by erin in random goodies

I realize that Easter is in actuality, a religious holiday with great significance. But more importantly, it’s a holiday where you get to hunt for eggs and eat candy all day while wearing sassy spring colors and peep-toed wedges (cuz heels sink into the grass). I love hosting Easter at my house, I invite the whole fam damily and all of our peeps who don’t have local family members to ~~suffer through~~ celebrate with. Last year I had a high quotient of teenage boys (like 15 of them) so I cooked bacon, rolled it up and stuffed it into some of the Easter Eggs. I also had a “golden egg” with a $20 bill in it that nobody could find because I did such a great job hiding it. And not only could I not remember where I hid the golden egg –there were over 100 eggs, so cut me some slack– I also lost interest in counting so I didn’t even know whether they had found them all. Whatever. I found the golden egg about 3 months later while helping my son collect bugs for a science project, it was deep under a bush with some nasty ass insects.

Here are some ideas for your Easter goodies this year… This is a cute non-cooking recipe from Hersheys.

Marshmellow nests with candy eggs from Hersheys

Nesting cupcakes, cute and tasty.

And here are my super cute nest cupcakes that I made last year. Don’t forget to add a little sass to your presentation, that way if you’re a crappy cook it won’t be as noticeable. Easter basket grass makes everything look better.

I won’t be home for Easter this year, I’ll be chaperoning a bunch of teenage boys at a water polo tournament in Washington. Oh, there will still be an easter egg hunt and candy cuz you’re never too old for some bunny fun, they’ll just be stuffed with Peeps instead of bacon. But not the phony purple and blue peeps, those are gross. Only the lifelike yellow peeps.

Love my Peeps.

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home improvement or total destruction?

March 20, 2012 by erin in home style, more is more, random goodies

I haven’t even finished my super sassy pink home office project (it’s 90% done, stay tuned!) and I started another really awesome/shitty home improvement project. It’s awesome because when it’s done I will have new floors throughout my house. It’s shitty because my house looks like this right now.

I live in a shithole.

We have been wanting to replace the floors for years but you practically have to move out and we’re doing a large area – all of the living areas, hallways and a bedroom – so my dining room is in my living room right now and there is a bed on top of the pool table. The guestroom is full of the bookcases that used to be in the landing at the top of the stairs. Did I mention there are nails/staples/dust everywhere? Ack.

The project officially started when I asked my husband, ” When would be a good time to tear up our house and spend a buttload of money?” and he replied, “How about when I’m out of town and don’t have to live in it?” I thought that was a brilliant idea so I called the contractor and said that if they could start the following week about 1 hour after I got on a plane for a business trip then they got the job

That plastic really helped keep the dust out of my underwear drawer. Not.

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girl brains and boy brains, my interpretation

March 17, 2012 by erin in MILFy Stuff, musings, random goodies

I got back late last night from a speaking engagement in Sioux Falls, SD. I got to hang out with a bunch of kickass women and talk about what we need to do to get a fair shake in our careers and minimize the mommy guilt all at the same time. The explanation for inequality is really very simple, our biology dictates how we operate and since historically there were more men in the workforce, it’s naturally designed to accommodate their biology. Following me?

my brain, my hubby's brain

I’m not saying that boys are dumb. Okay, I say that all the time but only because I live with a bunch of them and I know this to be true. Even the smart ones are ignorant on occasion. But if you look at my scientific illustration of the brain, you can see that it’s not all their fault.

Take a look at this awesome video about men and women’s brains, A Tale of Two Brains.

So my theory is that we need to maximize the biology that works for us and learn to do a few things more like guys do. I don’t mean scratching your crotch and pee standing up. I mean take credit when you do a good job and don’t sacrifice your principles to make a group happy. That kind of thing. Enough philosophy for today, time to fire up my cordless drill and fix some stuff around the house.

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from crappy to snappy with a can of paint

March 10, 2012 by erin in random goodies

My snappy harlequin floor.

I got the urge to re-design my home office so I emptied it all out and hated the carpet that was left. So I “surprised” my husband while he was at work and tore it out to see what was underneath. The surprise was on me, it was crappy plywood with lots crooked nails. I didn’t want to put more carpet in or spend $1000 on wood flooring so I thought I would try to paint it.

My room is 8 x 12 so I created an 18″ square piece of cardboard to use as my guide. 12″ looked to small and 24″ looked too big so I settled for a middle size that would easily divide into an 8 x 12 room.

I primed the floor, not too perfectly because I wanted the paint to look weathered. Then I used my square to draw in guides with a pencil. After that, I taped off the area that would stay white and painted the tan color inside of the tape. After the paint dried, I applied a coat of oil based sealer so it wouldn’t flake or scratch easily.

Taping sucks but you gotta do it.

This is not rocket science but it takes a lot of hours. I am totally in love with the end result so it was worth every minute.

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