horse party for kennedy

^^ Cowboy boots from granny to fit the theme!

Another party in the books. Another party that I failed at the theme! Oh well it was still a great time. Our gatherings have been getting smaller and smaller with each invitation that gets sent out and I'm totally fine with it; especially seeing as the next coming years will mean having birthday parties with her class. The thought truly terrifies me. Having her BFF over for the day was enough for me!

This time around Kennedy requested a 'horse party'. So the first thing on my agenda was to find an invitation and I ended up with these.

Next up was getting the cake and menu decided (this is where I do really well I think).

• taco salad
• baked beans
• pasta salad
• hot doggies
• hay bales (rice krispies)
• horse snacks (apples, carrots, celery)

Yeah, again, I didn't get a picture before digging in. On party days I'm usually running around like crazy because with having two gremlins dwelling in the house it's impossible for me to attempt setting up any sooner for fear of destruction.

Decorations are where I falter. I got grassy table coverings and coordinating inflatable balloons. Next year I think I will start doing games and party favors. Typically I feel like a good meal and desert are appropriate forms of 'payment' but with the amount of regulars being on the small side, these things would be manageable.

But as usual, Kennedy had a wonderful time socializing with everyone, opening her gifts, blowing out the candles and of course begging to open all her new things before she was even done unwrapping everything.

 ^^ AWWWW, FRIENDS.

  ^^ Haha, when Kennedy blew out her candles sprinkles went absolutely everywhere.

Also I would like to pat myself on the back for successfully pulling off a naked cake and earning back some street credit with my cake failure from Piper's party. It's safe to say that everyone agreed because all the cake got eaten! I was ecstatic! Cookie cutters make great stencils for decorating.

 When things were finally winding down I let her open some of her things and she immediately began creating a masterpiece with her requested art gifts and Piper thought it fitting to wrangle a helium filled horse.

Yee-haw!
Leia

mid-week meal share: m&m chocolate drizzle pops

Yeah, I might have come up with that name on the fly but I guess you'll never really know.

With it being Kennedy's birthday week we made treats for her to pass out during snack time on her chosen day.

Cheap. Cheap. Cheap.

Simple. Simple. Simple.

I saw this on a Facebook video (likely story) but I forgot to save it. Not really a big deal but in the video I believe they added coconut oil into the melted chocolate and they froze the pops afterwards. Since I wasn't entirely sure, I just used straight chocolate.

1 or 2 bags of your favorite chocolate chips

1 bag of your favorite small size candy or sprinkles

kabob sticks

wax paper

1. Melt your chocolate chips. I put mine in freezer bags and did short bursts in the microwave and cut a hole in the corner.

2. Drizzle onto wax paper. I stuck with a square type pattern.

3. Place sticks into melted chocolate.

4. Drizzle more chocolate.

5. Sprinkle candy on top.

6. Let cool and enjoy!

Easy to place in tupperware for storage and easy to make into something extravagent; depends on your goal or what you have planned. Mine? Getting devoured by ravenous five year olds so I didn't try too hard making them pretty. Piper obviously enjoyed helping and couldn't get the mini M&M's onto that chocolate quick enough. I still think she skimped on the topping.

Happy almost Birthday, Kennedy!
Leia

crafty cousins

Guys, I absolutely LOVE painting interior spaces. Some parts of the job are tedious and annoying but the results are always worth it! Since this is a home improvement task that I enjoy and pull off particularly well, in my own opinion, (some evidence found here) I am always offering my services to friends and family. ALWAYS. Even with just simple little painting jobs.. if you need help, I'm your girl!

Well, someone finally took me up on my offer! My lovely cousin was wanting to spruce up the walls in her bedroom and she asked if I would help her tape.. and I knew she was fully capable of doing so since this is what I asked for, and received, as compensation:

Yeeeaaaaahhhh, a totally crafty gal! She created this pretty little thang herself and she doesn't even sell them on Etsy or anything. Crazy, right?! I told her to get right on it.

Anyhow she did all the hard work, literally. Had the wall sanded and painted and looking great for some tape!

 A nice little geometric tree pattern going on.

Tips for applying tape:

• I totally recommend 3M Advanced for Delicate Surfaces. Tried and true, the only tape I use
• Always wait a full 24 hours after the paint is dry
• Measure, measure, measure and use chalk lines if you desire (if you are going for a pattern that has strict straight lines)
• After tape is on the wall press down again, I've always just used a rubber spatula
• I don't typically seal my tape but if you are looking for a super professional looking project you should try it
• Don't wait too long after the tape is on the wall to start painting
• Remove tape while the paint is tacky; I always fear that waiting longer will cause the paint to crack

The finished project:

Loved the color combo she picked. And I think she was just humoring me with wanting help, but hey! I enjoyed it!



Now what can I paint?
Leia

halloween costumes

This year Kennedy wants to be Batman. 

Typically we pick out a costume pattern and the fabric and my mom and I piece it all together (primarily my mom). Well, we were going to coordinate Piper as Robin and call it a good year! The unfortunate part is that there were no Batman patterns! They had Captain America and Thor but no Batman. They had these:

And while I'm very happy to see them catering to little girls and superheroes it was not conducive to our search for Batman. Kennedy absolutely did not want the skirt version but she also wasn't quite grasping the idea that we could make Captain America into Batman and we started brainstorming other ideas for this years search for candy. I'm happy she was fine with thinking of something else because I didn't really want to buy a chintzy store bought Batman.

Trick or treat!
Leia

kindergarten fun facts: week 6

Bahahahhahaa, this week I can tell you without asking Kennedy what she learned or what she thought was cool.

The Pledge of Allegiance.

Except each time she said it.. each and every countless time she sang it, said it, yelled it.. she forgot the word: indivisible. Each time we would tell her and each time said said she got it; she did in fact.. not have it. I am wondering if they took that word out? I have yet to research but her memory is pretty keen so to have neglected to remember that word. IDK, seems odd for her.

INDIVISIBLE.

Leia

book delivery

After finishing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child I foolishly attempted to start A Game of Thrones. Nope, too much time and focus involved for me to be picking it up randomly. Funny story when my box set arrived (that I scored for $35 after a sale and a coupon) it was not my box set, but a cook book. Yeah, I don't know either. I thought it was going to be a nightmare to return but my local store didn't hassle me at all!

So over the weekend, Barnes and Noble had a friends and family event going on and there was a 20% off coupon that could be used an unlimited amount of times. The only catch was that you could only use it once per order. Well, since I'm a Barnes and Noble member I get free express shipping so making three separate orders to continue The Inspector Gamache series was not a problem in the slightest.

For a horrible count of #19 for the year is the fourth installment: A Rule Against Murder from Louise Penny.

If anyone recalls, my friend Angelique and I started this series as an across state lines book club. Well, after getting my new job it put my reading pace way below average. While I'm starting the fourth book, she's waiting for the twelfth. Yah, look at me spoiling our plans!



One page at a time.
Leia

three cedars farm: a bright af photo series

One thing I love about the cooler weather is being able to go places and not sweat to death! With Fall here, it was time to hit up some pumpkin patches and apple orchards. First on our list was Three Cedars Farm for some pumpkins, cider, and of course DONUTS. Another thing I love about these outings is attempting to get some nice photos of the girls, and it's great when you don't realize the setting on your camera was bumped and all your photos turn out like shite. Did I bother even attempting to enhance them with a filter? Nope, mostly all of them are just a lost cause. Le sigh. That's what happens when you get used to shooting on auto and don't check the images as you go. Womp womp.

^^ GET IT GIRL!

^^ The "corn sandbox", though barely visible through the obvious solar flare that was happening, was their favorite part aside from the donuts.

^^ Piper kept carrying the tractor toy around instead of riding it. Obviously there were many tears to be had when I redirected her back to the 'road'.

A fun day out usually ends with a nice diaper change in the car (pending there were no shitcidents) and a quick wipe bath. Haha, and don't even attempt to pass it off that I'm the only one guilty of that. I'm happy that some of the pictures turned out OK and that I thought to snap some on my phone. The donuts and cider softened the blow when I realized what had happened. Oh well.

The Great Pumpkin.

Leia