Birthday Favor Ideas

Birthday parties have always been a fun and memorable event growing up. When we were really young, opening presents and goody/loot bags were the best things ever… I remember getting dot candy on paper strips, the fortune fish you’d hold in your hand that curls up, stickers, tattoos and the plastic trinkets and jewelry that my parents hated so. What a treasure it was to us but was so easily forgotten.

After last year’s Webkinz party at home, we went the other way and hosted a few friends outside and went simple on a take-home gift: One of Abby’s favorite things to eat, dark chocolate. She prefers Scharffen Berger (she’s such a foodie already), but also loves Trader Joe’s dark chocolate. So, we bought a few bars and to dress it up, I took some scrapbook paper and die-cut shapes that coordinated with her favor colors and wrapped the bars. Very simple and cute, just like my kid.

Other thoughtful ideas:

• Giant, decorated sugar cookie that ties into the party theme (i.e. Butterfly cookies from a local bakery for an outdoor or spring themed party or these cookies)
• Small cellophane bag of a favorite candy (M&M’s), tied with curling ribbon
• Thank you cards with a picture of the guest of honor along with friends.
• Picture CD’s of the party
• Small bud vases with seasonal flowers

Tags: birthday, favorite things, gifts, kids, party, party favor, party ideas

Cleaning out the Closet and a Drawer

We have a giant front closet in our foyer, and I’ll admit, it’s long overdue for a little better organization. I think I cleaned it out over one year ago. Before I knew it, the coats had somehow magically multiplied with hand-me-downs and seasonal additions. I was sad that there was hardly any room for guest coats.

So, a little trip to IKEA (we love it there), a few purchases and time to sort…

…and voila! There were so many coats and sweatshirts that weren’t being worn because 1) they’re too small, 2) they’re too big or 3) they don’t belong to us. A few things have since found new homes and other things are being packed away for future use. We’re planning on converting a lot of our clothes hangers to wooden ones, just a little at a time.

Think our dry cleaner will be happy with my little hanger donation? The plastic ones will find a home in the laundry room in the meantime.

Onward to the kitchen where you’d think we might keep our plates in the top cabinets… nope, not us. For accessibility sake, we have our plates in the drawers below where pots and pans are sometimes stored.

I had bought four of these plate holders three years ago, but was short two. I just kept forgetting to buy them over the last few years.

Kiddie plates just stack with everything. I love, love, love these holders. Minimal or no assembly, plates don’t rattle, they all have their places. It’s awesome.

(FYI: I have not been paid, given product by, or asked by IKEA to advertise or “plug” their products. This is simply a post about products we like.)

Tags: favorite things, home, IKEA, life, organizing, shopping

Crafting again at the Chicago Craft Social

This past summer, I attended the second Chicago Craft Social and led a table with this craft, Beaded Book Marks (a.k.a. Book Thongs or Book Wedgies). I had no idea how busy I would be at the table, but it was a great showing. I took no other pictures that evening. I wish I did; it was tons of fun. I really ought to post a tutorial on these, eh?

So, I’m leading a table at this Friday’s Craft Social (Holiday version)! I’m going to tailor my latest obsession, scribble art (or doodling), into something people can learn and take home. From this…

… I started documenting the different patterns I use. Sort of backwards, but that’s okay. Work in progress.

Tonight I took my notes, made a one page dictionary that I can hand out, and I’m planning on demonstrating the more complicated or complex designs on my daughter’s white board. None of them are really that difficult, but they might look incredibly intricate. Makes me feel like I’m brilliant.

From twenty different patterns, you can mix and match (I’m bringing multi-sided dice, more than six sides), do little variations on them, and voila, you too can doodle crazy little things and maybe make a holiday card, gift tags, an iron-on t-shirt applique… the possibilities are endless. I’m working on our family Christmas card in black and white. This picture was a first attempt.

Hope to see you at my table!

Tags: art, cards, chicago, crafting, doodles, doodling, drawing, favorite things, scribble art

David Foster and Friends in Concert in CHICAGO!

The concert… was… sensational! Thank you, Eastman, for watching our sick kids and letting me have three hours of uninterrupted, beautifully written, fabulously performed music blaring in the theater and resonating in my head, filling up my spirit. Wish you were there, too, but I understand your reasoning.

I’m going to get geeky here, talking about, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant music writers and producers of our time. And, you know what, I’m not that sorry for being geeky on a couple of levels.  I’ve LOVED, I mean, LOVED, his songs for maybe a little over 2/3 of my life, and I still love it. I’m 36, now. Two-thirds of my life?! That’s a long time. So, I’ll probably sound like a sappy teenager. And, geeky in a musical sort of way. I want to explain.

I personally know only a few people who listen, really, really listen to music like I do. The first time I hear a song, I’ll listen to lyrics and melody. That’s typical. But if I really love a song, I’ll listen for every instrument I can pick up, listen for every singer, melodies and harmonies sung or played. I will listen for subtle nuances and details that beautiful writing and arranging can bring out in a song. Okay, it’s like tasting a great dish or your favorite recipe in the whole world. You first think, hey, that tastes really good. Then you take another bite and try to figure out what seasonings are in the recipe, and you savor every single bite. Music is like that for me (and maybe why I also like cooking).

What you might not understand is that there will be parts, small details, of a song that will just sound so incredibly rich and harmonious to me, sometimes it sounds longing – it will make my chest feel like its filled up with so much emotion, my heart feels so, happy!  Sometimes it will make my eyes teary… it’s that beautiful to me. The song doesn’t even have to have lyrics. In fact, a lot of David Foster’s pieces that I adore are instrumental. Only a couple other things, aside from my kids and husband, make me feel like that every single time. One example is when I see or walk into amazing architecture and see the details, especially in the fall. I really get a kick out of thinking about the work that has gone into the piece.

So, three hours, 11 artists, 30+ songs… crazy, crazy deal for the 4th row tickets we had. My brother and I were super excited walking to our seats. It couldn’t have been better. It was a sort of cute how excited David was about opening his tour in Chicago. I had no idea. Though, the comment “Did I tell you this is my first tour?” did get a bit old, just a little. There was a slight problem with mic feedback, too. Oops on the tech crew. There were also these two guys sitting at the back of the center section who were dancing their tushes off, and giving standing ovations for almost all the songs… I loved them. Hello to you.

I also found his commentary in between songs interesting, if not educational.  I didn’t know that “You’re the Inspiration” (Chicago hit in the 80s) was originally written for Kenny Rogers. And I didn’t know that Richard Marx was an intern for two years under him. David gives credit to performers and writers where credit is due, and he owns up to his mistakes. I really enjoyed watching him give direction to the band (which was fantastic) and interacting with the singers while they were performing. It’s incredible watching people at work when they really enjoy what they’re doing. We were also able to see young talent perform, and I’m looking forward to hearing more from them: Canadian Tenors, Cody Carey and two young Chicagoans who won an opportunity to tour with David Foster through namedrop.com.

So, I don’t know if I’m going to get in trouble here for posting these pictures, but we wanted to capture a little bit of the evening in print.

Loved Michael Johns, Deborah Cox, Philip Bailey… Richard Marx was a complete surprise guest for us, as was Ruben Studdard (American Idol fame). Seriously, sitting there listening to Richard Marx open with Endless Summer Nights, I was 13-14 again, and I could almost feel and smell the summer breeze on my face, like when I would go to a local beachfront at sundown with friends. The audience sang parts of Right Here Waiting.

And, then Peter Cetera. Om my gosh, I would have never thought I’d see David Foster and Peter Cetera perform together… EVER. It was spectacular to hear their songs live. Funny thing, he started playing one of the songs in a higher key than normal. It looked like Peter Cetera was going to pass out, and David stopped playing, apologized profusely, and started over again. What a relief for Mr. Cetera.

Charice. She is soooooooo little and cute!!! She gave a shout out to the Filipinos in the audience, and believe me, there were a lot! To hear her voice come out of that body, oh my goodness, and she just kept belting it out in her perfectly pure voice, hitting every note, every time. I can’t stand it, she’s so talented. Then there was a really inspiring rendition of “Note to God”, with a young girl, Lisa Smith, who interpreted the song in sign language. So moving.

I’ve added a new playlist under the “Tunes” page that follows most of the evening’s performance. Here it is… some of my life in song from late 70s to early 90s. Thank you, Mr. Foster, for being such an integral part of my life through your music.

Tags: 80s, celebrity, Charice, David Foster, favorite things, music, Peter Cetera, Richard Marx

Random Conversations with My Kids

It’s so hard sometimes to capture all the little snippets of every day conversations that you’d like to remember so that you can tell your kids one day, “You were sooooo cute when you were (insert age)!!” I have these moments all the time, and I’m sure many parents do, too. Whether you’re in the car, doing chores, fixing them a meal, sharing a meal – there are just those fun moments.

——

One night I sent the kids to brush their teeth and I said I’d be right behind them. Ollie is only 2, so he needs helps, usually. Not even 2 minutes later, Ollie comes waltzing into my bedroom.

“Did you brush your teeth, Ollie?”

“YAH!”

“Are you sure?”

“Ahhh-beee say I good, so… I done!”

“Really, Abby said you’re good, so you’re done?”

The answer was a definite YES, and when I checked with Abby, she had a good chuckle. Now she says, “I good, so I done,” anytime she can.

———

Ollie’s ABC’s needed a little work and this is how it went in the car. Please sing along.

Ay – Bee – Tsee – Dee – Eff – Gee – Aych – I – Jay – Kay – Emm – Oooo – Pee – Kew – Ahr – Ess – Tee – You – Vvvv (long pause) Seven – Eight – Nine – Ten

Now he says, “Tee – You – Vee – Duhbuh You – Eck – Why and Szhee”

———

“Ollie, how are you today?”

“Pine.”

“You’re Fffff-ine?”

“Yah. That’s what I say, Pine.”

“Try saying “ffffff-ine”, Ollie.”

“Ffffffff-Pine.”

“What about Fat Cat?”

“Fffff-Pat Cat.”

“Okay, we’ll work on that somemore.”

———

On the way to school one morning I had such the Mom-moment. Mom-nesia, if you will.

“Abby, I should record that new tv show with the show choir-high school show.”

“Yeah, it was cool. What’s it called, Mom?”

“I can’t remember.. uh, you know, we watched it the other night, Geek? Yeah, I think it’s called Geek!”

“Geek? Oh, MOM, don’t you mean GLEE? Bwahahahaha. Mom, you’re funny.”

“Ollie says, Punny mommy.”

———

Ollie: I wuv Unc-kuh Gweg. (our new brother-in-law)

Mom: That’s really nice, Ollie.

Ollie: I big wike Unc-kuh Gweg. I big boy.

Abby: Uh, Ollie, you’re not.

Ollie: Yah, I AM!

Abby: NO, you’re still LITTLE!

Ollie: NOOO, I big boy. Maaaaahm, Ah-bee say I wit-tuh, but I big!”

“Ollie, if you think you’re a big boy, then start using the potty.”

Yeah, that ended that conversation really fast.

—————–

Tags: favorite things, funny, kids, life, talking

The Craft Social

It might be intimidating to some to go all by yourself, not knowing anyone except for maybe through blogging, to a gathering of over 100 women (and one man) to craft for two hours.

It was FABULOUS!  Really, it was. This pic was at the beginning of the evening.  Attendees either brought a donation or food, and a craft project to do on her own.  There were also crafting stations where you could learn how to do a new project: duct tape wallets, decoupage bowls, paper-decorated clothespins, poloroid slide transfers, beading, and other various crafts.

I brought a cross-stitch project to work on, but really, I socialized, made a magnetic bookmark, little paper adornments and a pom-pom flower.

Meeting so many talented people and watching them create these beautiful pieces, made me want to try more things!  Hello to Toni at the refreshment area, Margaret, who was working on her applique, Kathy, who writes Merriment Design, Cindy, an event planner and crafter, Alexandra, who brought a scrumptious tart, Debbie and Rosemary, the stampin’ up ladies, Tripp Hudgins, the nicest husband and only man in the group (so enjoyed talking about paper and ink), Beth Engelman, blogger/writer, and Jess Jones, the social coordinator and blogger.

I can’t wait for the next one!

Tags: crafting, favorite things, Friends and Family, fun, paper, recycled, websites