November 27, 2013

MICKEY MOUSE PARTY SWAG!

Posted by Lori~

More Mickey Mouse party plans!  Next up, the swag!  My inspiration photo is here:

Photo found here.
I picked up red gift bags (3/$1.00), tissue paper, and various stuffers (Mickey Mouse ears, Mickey Mouse tattoos, crayons, and so much more!).  Mur-man helped stuff!



He wasn't feeling too hot that day!  A little under-the-weather!

Now it's time to turn them into Mickey Mouse bags!  SO EASY!  Using a glass, I traced circles onto red and white scrapbook paper (you could use black too--more realistic)  I already had the scrapbook paper, AND IT WAS FREE!
 


I did a quick Google images search to find the perfect oval shape for Mickey's buttons.
 


I created a stencil using an Express advertisement mailer (FREE).  I traced the ovals onto white foam (already in my stash). And cut them out.
 

I used spray glue to attach the black felt (around 25 cents/sheet).  One sheet was enough for two bags.

I also used a super strong glue stick to attach the buttons and ears.  
 
Here's the finished product.  I decided to make some bags with ears and some bags without!
I can't wait to see how this Mickey Mouse party table turns out!  It will be MOUSE-TASTIC! 

Ethne and I will be taking a break from blogging for the holiday.  We will be back on Monday!  Have a wonderful THANKSGIVING!

November 26, 2013

THANKSGIVING ACORN KID CRAFT!

Posted by Lori~

Do you ever hit the end-caps of Target?  If not, you should!  That's where Target always features items that are marked town.  Unfortunately, in my little city ND town--we do not have a Target.  BOO!  So, when I am in big city ND, I always pull out the Red Card and go shopping.  Also, I always make a point to hit the end-caps.

Recently, I came across a thanksgiving kid-craft. Perfect for the thanksgiving table.   


Marked down to ONLY $2.50!
We are not hosting this year, but will bring them with us! 
 

Mur-man did great putting them together.





Cute-huh?

LOVE the up-side down eyes!  I let Mur-man decide where to place the eyes!
Are you gearing up for the holiday?  Ethne is hosting, and we are hitting the road. 

Our new meal plan: gluten-free and paleo are being tested.


Posted by Ethne~

Hey everyone – this is going to be abridged because the post I wrote up somehow got deleted. 

What I wanted to tell you is that I’ve put our family on a diet.  Not a ‘lose weight’ type of diet, since we’re all ok in that aspect, but a ‘let’s eat better’ type of meal plan.  Plus, I’ve heard good things about gluten-free and the paleo diets (GF in particular) as they pertain to ADHD and behavior type issues in kids.

After some research, I do not plan on, probably, doing 100% gluten free because I envision that to be nearly impossible.  I also do not plan to be 100% paleo because that seems too far for me (I get the idea – eat like our cave man ‘hunter-gatherer’ ancestors because that’s what our bodies evolved to handle – and therefore since evolution takes longer than the time since then and now, our bodies haven’t caught up with farming and highly-processed foods, hence the problems people are having with their health today).  Both seem more restrictive than my family needs to be.

But, what the people on these GF and paleo diets are doing right, in my opinion, is 1) eating in a way that suits their own needs and 2) they’re eating really thoughtfully, healthily and minimally-processed.  That, I can get.  For my family, #1 and #2 mean breaking the junk food cycle.  I try my very best to keep it out of their lives and the kids would still eat it as their only sustenance if allowed.

So for us, this means eating really minimal gluten.  I’ve tried to take it out of the house entirely but first of all, that cannot happen overnight because it’s everywhere, and second, figuring out what’s got gluten in it is gonna take a while.  We’re going to eat as minimally processed foods as we can though.  That has got to be good for us!  And then I’m going to utilize a couple of good cookbooks (to get me started) Thrifty Nana found at Costco (one thanks to a recent tip from Carmel at Our Fifth House, who does strict GF and paleo):

Against all Grain by Danielle Walker (she write a nice blog too - the book note is on the right) and


Wish us luck…Shaun says he can’t be 100% GF, what with beer having gluten in it.  But he assures me not to worry, seeing as beer is prehistoric too.  Almost. 

November 24, 2013

MICKEY MOUSE PARTY DECOR...MICKEY STRAWS!

Posted by Lori~

You read about Mur-Man's party invite here and my Pinterest party-planning inspiration here.

I decided to start preparing...first up, Mickey straws.  I wanted them to look something like the photo below.
Photo found here.
I was on the hunt for paper straws at a discount.  Typically they are kind of spendy, but I have been lucky to find paper straws at TJ Max.  I found these beautiful gold chevron patterned straws for ONLY $4.99 for 40!

Next up, I hopped on the computer to find the perfect Mickey Mouse head pattern.  A quick search of Google Images and there were tons.  

I printed off one of the designs to create a pattern (at 25% size).
I traced them onto foam and cut them out...aren't they cute!
Using an X-Acto knife, I cut two slits in the Mickey Mouse. (I believe in the example above she glued two Mickey Mouse heads together).
 I slid it on the straw.  PERFECTION!

I also created a few signs for the party!


More Mickey Mouse party plans coming soon!

November 21, 2013

A'S ROCKIN BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Posted by Lori~

Recently, my girlfriend and WOM-MOM follower Shelley threw her daughter a Rock Star themed 7th birthday party.  It was fun and I got to be the paparazzi for the red (actually pink) carpet.  SO FUN!

Here's some photo highlights!








November 19, 2013

ENGLISH CUCUMBER SALAD

Posted by Lori~

I realize I am a little (a lot) out of the fresh veggie season; however recently my girlfriend and WOM-MOM follower Karla turned me onto English Cucumbers.  I have no idea why I had never tried them.  Maybe it was the plastic wrap or the price, but honestly they are great.


Karla says they have less seeds and the skin is less firm, so you do not need to peel them.  Perfect for an easy cucumber salad.

Literally, this is a child-hood recipe that my mom (crafty G-Ma) whipped up all the time.  It has four ingredients:

Cucumbers (the amount doesn't matter--just make the dressing amount based on the amount of cucumbers)
Equal parts:  Water, Vinegar, and Sugar

My mom always boiled the dressing and cooled it before adding it to the cucumbers, but I have not found that step necessary.  Instead I just mix one cup water, one cup vinegar, and one cup sugar together.  
 

Let is sit in the dressing overnight.  The nice thing is that the dressing will last longer than the cucumbers, and you can add cucumbers to the dressing for the same effect.  DELICIOUS!
 

November 18, 2013

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!

Posted by Lori~

For real, we did it!  It's not even Thanksgiving and we took the plunge.  The Christmas lights are mostly up!  In North Dakota people typically wait until the coldest day of the year to put up their lights and their fingers freeze.  NO JOKE:  -10 degrees (AKA WINDCHILL OF -35 DEGREES).  

But this past weekend, it was beautiful!  It's November and still no snow on the ground.  Mur-man was excited too!


This year, I decided to purchase some new lights...we decided to go with clear net lights and we were not disappointed.  They rocked!  SO SIMPLE!  You just throw them over the tree or bush--all done!

Just under $10.00/set. 

We ended up buying six sets, but did end up going back for 1 more set.

You have to be careful about how you unpack them, they pull apart very nice and were not tangled.  We will see how next year goes!
I am loving the look!




I am not quite done, I have one more purchase to make the exterior light display complete.  I plan to purchase a Moravian Star for my arch.  Something similar to the photo below.

Image found here.
I plan to show the final display when complete.  Most likely you will also see snow!