Pink Birthday Party

Can I start by saying that I am not a fan of the color pink?

But somehow, my precious girl loves it!  All she wanted for her 3rd birthday was pink balloons and pink "ice cleam".  I figured I'd be able to give her at least that, right?! So over the months leading up to her birthday, I kept my eye out for deals and clearance items that could be fun... Hello Target $1 bins!  I bought a roll of pink paper to put on the tables and 2 shades of pink balloons for my idea of a balloon chandelier... and a clearance package of pink cookies.  And this was my party plan.  I really didn't have any energy to pull much else together.

But one day, in my refusal to do real work, I made a Pinterest board.

I took a look at our calendar and realized that La Chula's birhday would fall on our regularly scheduled church College Group night. That made it really easy... we'd invite the students to our house for a game night, feed them pink food, and tell La Chula that it was her party. Done!

It turned out to be the sweetest party and she felt so loved by all the friends that came and wore pink in her honor. 

Here is the pink spread... something I embraced was that it didn't have to be perfect for anyone to enjoy the sugary desserts or for my birthday girl to feel celebrated! These were simple foods that the kids could help with too!

 {Sources: Plates, napkins & pink paper - Target}

 You could call this an Ombre Cake Pinterest fail... or you could call it a successful Dr. Seuss cake. 

Not exactly like it looked here!

Red Jell-O... it's kind of pink, right?  Kids who don't get Jell-O often are really excited by it... so are college students.

Not shots...Just jello ;)

My sister sent me the pin for the dipped wafer cookies.  We ended up using all 3 flavors because I wasn't about to buy 4 packages just to get enough pink ones... leaving the others around my kitchen for weeks.  Side note: these cookies should be prepared on the day of the event.  Even though I made these the night before and kept them in a sealed container, they were stale by the next night. Boo.

Circus Animals and Dipped Wafers

I call the punch in the punchbowl "Church Punch".  I remember it being served at weddings and showers.  The recipe is as follows: Half a container of sherbert (I used berry - of course) and 1.5 bottles of ginger ale (I guess that makes it 3 liters?).  Side note: nobody sells sherbert in cardboard boxes anymore...they will look at you crazy if you ask for it.

{Source: straws and mason jar lids from Pick Your Plum}

This picture (outfit 2 of 3 for the photo shoot, by the way. That's how the birthday girl rolled!) just gets me!  I think it's her crossed feet... they remind me that she is still little.  Also, the Sophia the First "statues" (also known as tattoos).

She climbed right up on the stool and blew out those candles like a pro.  She even was offered an encore performance! Also, college students dressed in pink... did I mention how cool they are?!

Once you look inside the cake, you forget how crazy it looked on the outside... kinda :) Also, pink sprinkles in the Target $1 bin at Valentines Day... Score!

 Ok, so sliced, it was way cool! We also served pink ice cream... it was Red Velvet flavored... FTW! Savvy shopper tip: Lots of junk food is on sale around Super Bowl.  We bought 2 cartons after Super Bowl and kept them in our freezer.  It lead to great anticipation of her birthday every time the freezer was opened.

And just because she's my silly girl... and I love her!

 Happy 3rd birthday my precious Chula girl!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Happy Monday Friends!

Around my house, we opt for natural peanut butter.  They sell it in bulk at our Costco and it simply has WAY less sugar than the regular stuff.  Here's the catch to the natural peanut butter - it never comes in chunky/crunchy at our Costco.  So for years, this crunchy peanut butter lovin' family has been doing without.

Enter The Hubs.

Last week, he willingly took the kids to Costco and did our shopping to give me a break. {Sweet hubs, right?!}  Unfortunately in all my pre-outing, direction-giving my "only buy natural peanut butter, even though it doesn't come in crunchy, and if they are out buy the almond butter" request came across as "if they don't have the natural peanut butter buy crunchy".  Funny how that worked out, huh? :)  Needless to say, he came home with a double-pack of non-natural crunchy peanut butter.  And because I am a sweets addict who can't stand the thought of returning delicious, sugary, crunchy peanut butter to the store once it has already entered my home, we are now using said peanut butter for lunches, etc.

Since I've already mentioned peanut butter 8 times in the last couple of paragraphs {you went back and counted didn't you! I would too} you are probably already thinking about what I am going to share with you right now: Peanut Butter Cookies.  I simply can't think of anything better to do with crunchy peanut butter than to make delicious cookies.  Anyone with me?!

So here's what I did.  I looked up "peanut butter cookies with apple sauce" since things made with apple sauce are usually healthier than the version made without apple sauce.  Plus, I had to make myself feel better for using the sugar-filled variety of peanut butter - redeeming the situation, right?  Chocolate Covered Katie came through for me!

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These are vegan cookies, coming in at a whopping 65 calories each! And they are so seriously good that I had to share them with you!  You need to make them now and at least double the recipe.  They are THAT good!

And since we are on the topic of peanut butter, I just want you to know that I am going to try these from the same blog soon.  Let me know if you get to them before I do!

Easy BBQ Chicken Salad, Tea Party & a Child's Thought

Recently the Hubs has taken on some extra stuff at work.  While I know it is only for a season, it is sometimes hard to remember that it won't last forever when the day seems like it will never end. (I know there are some of you who can really feel me on that one!)  In the last couple of days I've tried some different things to see if I can help our family experience a more peaceful evening.  Here's how it went down:

YESTERDAY - Strategy: give them something productive & calm to look forward to after nap.

I told the kids as they went down for nap that when they woke up we'd have a tea party.  This was actually motivation for them! They slept well and actually woke up well too.  I told them to wait on their beds until I called them upstairs to the balcony for tea. (Bonus points to me for thinking of a cool place to have a tea party on a rainy day!)

I made some caffeine free blueberry tea, put some berries and graham crackers on plastic plates and took it all upstairs on a silver tray.  When the kids saw the tray, they were beside themselves.  We sat and sipped tea and looked at the rain together.  I don't know about you, but my kids are usually starving when they wake up from nap - which makes for a miserable time between nap and dinner.  And who can cook anything under all that stress?! This little tea party made a great transition to play time and gave me some peace and actual quiet to get dinner ready.  Genius, right?!


TODAY - Strategy: get a simple, healthy dinner ready with minimal mess.

I've slacked off at working on my weight and realizing that the baby is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks has reminded me that I really want my body back.  Whatever that means.  Just not what it is now.  So I've been trying to make dishes with a lot more veggies and a lot less carbs.  I want to share with you a dish that I've made twice this week that meets my "healthy choices" standards and requires so little prep and clean up that I can actually enjoy a peaceful meal.  It's my BBQ Chicken Salad!

Not in the picture since it was already in my bowl when I
thought of taking a picture: lettuce, cilantro, avocado. 

Here's what you need:
- Lettuce (I use anywhere from a few leaves to a whole head of romaine - just depends on how many you feed)
- BBQ Sauce (I got my Sweet Baby Ray's for $0.99 a bottle before Super Bowl - stocked up!)
- Chicken (Earlier this week I shredded up Costco rotisserie leftovers, today was Costco canned chicken)
- Can of corn
- Can of black beans
- and whatever else sounds good from veggie drawer or pantry (cilantro, red onion, jicama, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, avocados)


I shred (or open) the chicken into a bowl, squeeze a little bit of BBQ sauce in and mix it up.  I microwave it for about a minute.  I don't know why... something about it being hot before I eat it seems right, but I suppose if it is already cooked, you could just eat it?  Next, I chop/tear and wash the lettuce and throw it in a large bowl.  Rinse and drain the corn and black beans; throw them ontop of the lettuce.  Chop any veggies you might want to place in the salad; throw them on top.  Toss in the chicken and toss the whole thing together.  You can leave out the bottle of sauce for folks to add more to their liking. Just remember that it does contain sugar... so be careful not to indulge too much if you are trying to watch your weight ;)

Simple, right?

Since it was sooooo easy, I decided to make a soothing ambience to see if that would make for a peaceful dinner.  I set the table and made the kids wait in the living room.  I turned off the majority of the lights and lit some floating candles in a bowl for the table.  And I turned on some peaceful worship music.  Can I tell you what a difference that made?!  I don't know if the kids were more calm because it was new or because these things actually worked, but I am willing to find out.  Dinner still had messes and sibling quabbles, but it was far more pleasant than usual.  I even had a pleasant conversation with kids about the candles.  I asked questions about what they looked like, what they did, how they would feel, etc. (Very educational of me!)  Here's where the biggest blessing of the night came in.  D$ said, "Dios hizo todo la luz. Y el nos dio todo la luz que tiene." [Translation: God made all the light. And he gave us all the light that he has.]

I don't think my son realized what he was saying (though I am impressed that looking at a candle made him think about God making light and giving it to us out of his goodness). What really struck a chord with me is the idea of God being creator of all light, all good, all hope and God giving us ALL that he has.  What a profound privilege it is that we are given his light, his goodness and his hope.  And what an awesome responsibility we have to give it to others - as freely as he gives it to us.  We were created for this.

How humbling is it to us that we are the bearers of HIS light?  I don't know about you, but I often feel like I am the worst vessel that God could choose to carry his light.  And what is more humbling is that somehow others can see how amazing his light, his hope, his goodness is - through my facades, through my messiness, through my humanity.  God is so good that his light, his goodness, his hope can be seen, even through someone like me.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
 2 Corinthians 4:7

Antique Mirror Project

On the day I made my daughter's Hair Clip Frame, I went ahead and spray painted a few more things that I had hoped to hang on my daughter's wall one day.  One of those things was a vintage/antique (Note: I still don't know what term to use.  Any help on that would be greatly appreciated!) mirror that I found in my grandparents' garage the last time I was there.  I am sad to say I don't know the story behind it, but figured since it would be hanging in my daughter's room rather than collecting dust in the garage that my Nonnie (Rest her soul) wouldn't mind me taking it and spray painting it.

It is one of those cool mirrors that has the mercury spots starting to show and the frame itself is very ornate.  I did a quick search to see if I was destroying some precious piece by layering on a couple coats of bright paint, but came up empty handed.  So I went with the idea that it was better off being used and bright than "antiquely" original and left to collect dust.

Since it had been professionally framed, I couldn't remove the mirror for the paint process.  I went ahead and slid some paper under the frame in a gap between it and the mirror and taped it down.  I did the process a couple times for good measure.  Then I took it outside and sprayed away.  After a couple of coats, it turned out beautifully!  I am so pleased.

Here is the mirror with tape removed alongside the other projects of the day.  I am only sorry that I didn't snap a before to show you.

I have a few more things I am working on for the wall above my daughter's bed.  When it all comes together I will post a picture.  She will be 2 in a couple of months and has lived in a room with her brother since she was born.  I really wanted to get something in the room that was special for her - something that let her know that she wasn't just an afterthought.  A surprise - YES - but an afterthought - NO!  I bought a reproduction of an art piece when she was just a baby that has kind of inspired this.  It has some words on it that are taken  from this passage of scripture:

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17-19

So I pray that for not only my daughter, but for you today - That you may know the depth of the love of the Savior and be filled to the point of overflowing with this amazing God!

Hair Clip Frame

I've always envied those crafty bloggers who can see an old piece of furniture at a garage sale or a thrift store, snag it for an unheard-of price, slap some spray paint on it and turn it into something beautiful.  I don't have the knack for seeing something for what it could be.  Shoot, I don't even have the knack for finding garage sales that would sell anything I'd be interested in buying!  So you have to understand how big it is that I have a post for you today about something I found at a garage sale, spray painted and turned into something that I actually hung in my daughter's room.

I snagged this frame without glass at a garage sale for a quarter.  I could take you down my thought process... but I know you wouldn't be interested... so I'll spare you the details....let's just say that I came to the realization that this could become a place for me to store the little clips that I put in my daughter's hair to keep her crazy hair at bay.  So I gave in and went to pick up a few bottles of spray paint for projects that I've been wanting do.  Since this is my first tutorial of sorts, you'll have to forgive me for not having a full supplies picture or even getting pictures on my real camera.  Nonetheless, here's how it all went down:

::Supplies::
Frame
Felted Wool (I think? Got it at the White Elephant Sale)
Turquoise Ribbon (Left over from my sister's bridal shower)
Spray Paint
Spray Glue
Heavy Paper (mine was from a  cereal box I got out of the recycling)
Not Pictured: Tape, scissors, brads & a paper piercing tool

So here are some tips for the rookie crafter/spray painter
- When you wisely choose to cover the driveway before you paint, be sure that the cardboard (or whatever you use as a covering) is large enough and doesn't have holes in it.
- Try not to paint on a day where the high temperature is at the lowest in the range of good spray painting temperatures. Oops!

Anyway, after spraying my first coat on the frame, I started on the rest of the project.  I cut a piece of heavy paper to the size of the frame.  This was important to keep the felt from being too flimsy inside the frame.  I then cut the felt to just a bit larger than the paper and attached the felt to the paper with spray glue. (Side note: Spray glue is one of those things that you never really thought to buy, but once you have it, you find ways to use it on everything.  Be warned!)

Next, I measured out where I would want the ribbons to go.  If I had this to do over again, I would have temporarily taped them in place to avoid flipping them back and forth during the next step to make sure the placement was right.

In the end, I did wind up putting more ribbon toward the outer corners, but this is how it started.  Next, I began taping the pieces in place.  It is important to have them well taped because this will help anchor the ribbons once you add the weight of the clips.  I used clear tape, but I suppose you could use anything.  It doesn't look pretty, but really, you won't have to look at it... and honestly, I wasn't really into putting that much time into this project.

I placed the felt-covered board in the frame and was pretty happy with the results.  You can tell by the picture where I did end up adding extra ribbon in the outer corners.  

Now the last step you won't see until the final product picture, and that is the addition of buttons/brads/grommets.  I realized that in order to add anything with weight to the ribbons, they would need to be secured to the board on the front for stability.  I chose to add some of my Stampin' Up! mini brads with my paper piercing tool, because that is what I had.  Feel free to use an ice pick or pen to punch the holes if you want... or to add buttons instead of brads.  The choice is really yours and what you have lying around at the time.  I simply pierced through the ribbon everywhere it made an "X" with another ribbon and then placed a brad through the hole. Done!

Here is the finished project, hanging on the wall with some clips on it.  If you look close enough, you can see why you should spray paint on warmer rather than cooler days... but no biggie here!  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I'm Gonna Read This Year...Maybe

I read. Blogs. Magazines. Facebook statuses.

The Hubs reads.  N.T. Wright.  Open Theology.  Commentaries.

We are just different.  But recently, a good friend of mine gave me a book to read that I have not been able to put down.  The Hubs loves this!  I'm not sure if he loves it because it gives him the freedom to spend our time together reading.  Or maybe it is because reading is just sexy to him.  I mean, this is the man that seatbelts his books into the back seat of the car to protect them from falling.

While out on our most recent date, we each discussed what we had been reading and I have to admit - it made for some really great dinner conversation! (Don't tell him I said that!)  That night got me thinking about what I would like to be reading after my current read is finished.  WAIT!  Did I just say that?  Did I just plan to keep reading after this book is over?  

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not signing up for anyones book club.  And to be honest, I'm not actually committing to reading anything.  But I do want to put it out there that there are actually a couple of books I'm interested in and maybe... just MAYBE... I will work my way through them in 2013.  

Here is my current read:

A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

Up next on my list:

Half The Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

And...

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker

And...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Yeah, I know - 4 books isn't a lot to tackle in a year.  But hey, you have to start somewhere, right?  And I'm gonna start with these.  Here's to hoping that I check back in with you in a year and ALL 4 of these are read!

What is on your reading list for 2013?

Yeah...Nothing too Exciting

Do you ever feel like you are not necessarily "stuck in a rut" but living a day that feels like it belongs in said rut?  Yeah, that's today.  Nothing particularly good nor bad has happened; it just feels blah!  So let's grab a cup of tea (since my hubs is the one who makes the coffee in our house - and he's not home) and chat about life.

I'll start.

Tonight my friend who I met on the first day I moved to Oakland 9 years ago is coming to dinner.  We haven't had a relationship in about 3 years... so I am excited and nervous and a million other emotions.  I really, really, REALLY hope we can have a few moments where we can open up and move in the direction of a friendship again.  I miss her.

Your turn - what are you doing tonight?  Or better yet, what's for dinner?

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My turn - Today I did accomplish something out of the ordinary for the daily schedule - I washed our car.  Do you want to know how impressive this really is?  I don't remember the last time it was actually washed... I think I drove it through at a gas station wash the last time.  But the most disgusting part of all of this is that we went to Yosemite in July and I KNOW we had not yet washed off the Yosemite gunk.  Yeah... gross.  My son kept pointing out the "arco iris" (rainbow) on our back window.  Some of you know what I am talking about... that wiper arch that gets brighter and brighter the more you wash the window with the wipers in order to see out the back without actually cleaning the whole window.  Yeah.  Today, with the "help" of my niños, the car got a bath. HUGE pat on the back to me!

Your turn - what's something big or small that you've been meaning to accomplish? Or maybe you accomplished something today?

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Me again - I've been doing some preschool lessons at home the last two weeks with D$ (D-money).  He's 3 and everyone has been asking me if we are sending him to preschool.  That's not really on our radar right now, but I thought that if we were going to do school, he still needs Spanish school.  We want our kids to be Spanish as a first language (for another post)... so I am taking charge and doing preschool activities with him in Spanish.  Do you know how hard it is to find legit Spanish preschool curriculum and not just "how to teach your kid Spanish" stuff?  Anyway, I've taken to The Pinterest since my good ol' web search has not yielded me much.  And here is something I found to encourage my search.  Oh beautiful, free printable!

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Your turn - What is something absolutely AMAZING that you have found on The Pinterest? You know you've been sucked in to the magic!

Thanks for chatting. My heart feels lighter.  Here's to an "out of the rut" evening to you and yours!