Fifteen More and Fifteen Less.

Things I should be doing more of:
*Reading books
*Walking
*Eating Healthy
*Saving Money
*Writing Thank you Notes
*Praying
*Journaling
*Painting
*Meeting my neighbors
*Sending handwritten letters in the mail
*Cooking
*Listening
*Vacuuming
*Brushing Dakota
*Loving

Things I should be doing less of:
*Texting while driving
*Drinking Coke
*Judging
*Shopping
*Procrastinating
*Giving up
*Watching TV
*Speeding
*Jam-packing my schedule
*Complaining
*Forgetting my priorities
*Sleeping in
*Eating carbs
*Being sarchastic
*Shutting others out

A Mother/Daughter Tea Party with Derby Flair.

I love my job. I mean, I absolutely love it! Every day, I get the chance to squeeze my creative juices and come up with events that entertain and put a smile on the faces of our members. Selfishly, I love to WOW them! If the jaw drops, I've done a good job.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to start a new tradition at our Club: The Mother/Daughter Derby Tea Party. Living in Louisville, Kentucky, this city is all about the Kentucky Derby. Since it falls very close to Mother's Day every year, this was a perfect chance to combine the Derby with an event for our mothers and daughters. and it didn't disappoint.

The big fun came months in advance of the event. It was time to search for dainty tea cups and saucers. Between the thrift stores, antique & estate sales and flea markets, I had a ball on my treasure hunt. Each little set was better than the next, and after 2-3 months of searching, I finally had enough sets to put on a proper tea party.

We invited our guests, mothers and daughters, to come dressed in their fanciest derby hats and dresses for the party. When they arrived, we had a professional photographer that took outdoor photographs of the families in their Derby garb. They dined on tea sandwiches of pimento cheese and chicken salad, fruit skewers, mini cupcakes, muffins and petit fours. We poured hot water in the cups of the adults and let them choose from a selection of teas in baskets on their tables. As far as the little girls were concerned, I found a recipe for Max and Ruby's Strawberry Tea on Nick Jr.'s website. The girls loved the floating strawberries in the tea, and even those who were not fans of tea loved the concoction.

After tea and snacks, we played two games with our guests. The first game was just for our mothers, but the daughters could help. We gave each of the moms a scorecard for the game, and read the following poem (which I found here and altered a bit). The mom with the most points at the end of the poem won a pretty spring birdhouse.

Poem Game
So this is a rather peculiar game
It really does not have a name
It's simple to play as a game should be
You just do as you're told you see.
So now if you'll please give me your attention
We'll put an end to this suspension
In the end, whoever scores the most
Will receive a prize of which to boast
Now since you're all such fashionable girls
Give yourself 5 points if you're wearing pearls
You may add three if your toes peek out
And earrings will give you 2 more to shout
Score yourself five points if you're wearing any red
Add six more for curls on your head
Now before you think you are going to win
Take away 2 for each safety pin
Give yourself six for pants that are white
Add 1 for a scarf which is just about right
Add 5 more if your shoes are black
And take away 3 for a zipper in back
Now count all the buttons for each you get two
And take away one for each button that's blue
Give yourself 5 if your heels are high
And take away 10 for the green in your eye
Add 10 more for a rose on your clothes
Take away 5 if you're not wearing hose
If your pet you kissed today - add nine
I bet that now you're feeling fine.
This is the end, there is no more.
Who is the lucky lady with the highest score?

The little girls had a great time helping the moms with their score and got so excited when they got points. It was almost difficult to read the poem with a straight face because of all the squeals in the room. The second game was a newlywed type game that helped to find out how well our moms and daughters knew each other. The team with the most points at the end won a scrapbook kit to work on together. Below are some examples of questions we asked:

Questions for Mom

Which do you prefer: (High heels vs. Flip flops, Ice cream vs. Frozen Yogurt, etc.)?
What is your favorite place to vacation?
From which high school did you graduate?
What is your favorite TV show?
In what city were you born?
What is your favorite holiday?
What is the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?
Would your daughter say you are a good driver or a bad driver?
What is the one household task that you dislike the most?
What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Questions for Daughter
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What was the last book you read?
What is your favorite food?
Where is the one place you'd like to go that you've never been?
What is your favorite pizza topping?
What did you touch last: a basketball, a bowling ball, a baseball or a kickball?
If you could meet anybody famous, who would you wan to meet?
What is your favorite cereal?
Where would you rather spend the day: the zoo, the park or the mall?
What scares you the most? (the best answer we got here was when one little girl said her sister!)

After the games were over, our last activity was cookie decorating. I found a cookie cutter shaped like a jockey silk and we baked the sugar cookies in advance and covered them in white royal icing. The moms and daughters could then use food coloring markers and decorative icing to decorate the cookies and take them home in a little clear plastic goody bag.

Overall, it was a great event and the search has already begun for vintage teapots for next year's Mother/Daughter Derby Tea Party. I can't wait!

Easy Peezy Diaper Cake.

This weekend I was honored to attend a baby shower for a dear family friend (who happens to be a genius hair stylist) who is having twins...a boy AND a girl! My mother and sister in law were hosting the shower, and asked me to create a diaper cake for the event. After an always exciting trip to Hobby Lobby for the supplies and Sam's Club for the diapers, I was set to create.

If you've never made a diaper cake, it is INCREDIBLY easy. You will need the following supplies: Newborn or early infant diapers (I bought a case of 96 just to be safe...I used about 80 in the cake above)

A package of variety-sized rubber bands A large bottle of baby lotion for the center of the cake (some people use empty paper towel rolls which work just as well, but the lotion is an extra bonus and surprise for the mother when she unwraps the cake)

Ribbons, bows and such (this will be used to decorate the outside of the cake and hide the rubber bands....as a special touch, try to match the bows to the shower invitation or theme) Toys, gifts and baby items (will be used as extra decoration for the cake and great gifts for the new baby)

Step 1 - Begin rolling individual diapers into tiny rolls and secure each with a small rubber band. Wrap them horizontally around the bottom of the bottle of baby lotion and secure the circle of diapers with a larger rubber band. Keep putting rows of the individual diapers round and round the bottle of baby lotion (and secure each larger layer with a larger rubber band). On the bottom tier of the cake, I like to use 4 circle rows of diapers to give you a solid base.

Step 2 - Repeat the process with the second tier, wrapping around the baby lotion bottle and on top of the first tier, but only use 3 circle rows of diapers.

Step 4 - Repeat the process one last time for the top tier of the cake, and use 2 circle rows of diapers. At this point, the bottle of lotion should be completely hidden, and the cake should be set firmly in place, with one giant rubber band around each tier to hold everything in place.

Step 5 - Begin decorating. This is where you can get creative. Use ribbons, bows, scrap fabric, etc. to wrap around each tier of the cake, hiding the rubber bands. You can make bows at the front, use clip-on flowers like I did above, large buttons....basically wherever your mind takes you.

Step 6 - You can be as creative as you'd like for the cake topper. Because the shower I attended had a "Two Peas in a Pod" theme, I used a ceramic peas in a pod salt and pepper shaker set for the top of the cake. I then found a wooden initial of the babies' last name and painted it to match the cake. I added the feathers at the end to finish it off. Again, you can be as creative as you'd like here. I've seen many diaper cakes with stuffed animals, bottles or basic baby supplies used as the cake topper.

Step 7 - Add your gifts and adornments to the cake. For the cake above, I added two teddy bear rattles (in pink and blue) two sets of baby socks and two bibs which I wrapped around diapers on the bottom layer of the cake. But you can add whatever you'd like.

As a word of caution when creating your cake, try to arrange your decorations, gifts and adorments so that you do not use glue, tape or stick pins in the diapers. Doing so may jeapordize the effectiveness of the diapers when they are used by the new mommy later, and we want the cake to be both pretty and useful.

Good luck and have fun coming up with your own ideas!

Miles to go before I sleep.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep." Indeed I do. This poem, "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening", by Robert Frost, was my grandfather's favorite. I remember when I was in sixth grade we studied this poem intently - digging for its deeper meaning. In my interpretation, life can sometimes be wild and hectic - running from appointment to appointment, making sure the dog has food, making sure you have enough clean laundry for the coming work week, and making sure you don't forget that dentist appointment you scheduled six months ago. Amidst all this, it's important to slow down long enough to appreciate the beauty around you...whether that be the seasons, relationships with friends and family or just the little pleasures of life. And then it's back to the goal at hand and pushing through with as much passion and intent as you can. When I finished college, I steamed full spead ahead in pursuit of a successful career. I dedicated myself to putting in the extra hours, learning as much as I could to better myself professionally, and furthermore, moving all over the country to make that happen. Those years taught me so much: maturity, responsibility and the importance of maintaining good friendships. Those good friendships, along with the love and support of my family, are what finally helped me to reprioritize the things in my life. After achieving enormous professional goals for myself much quicker than I had expected, I was faced with the question, "What now?" I stopped and took some time to take value of what was important to me. The overwhelming answer to that question was that I needed to be close to my friends and family. Five and a half years ago, I came home. I learned that it is possible to create a balance between your personal and professional life. I have a job that I love, wonderful friends and family close to me, and I have found true love. Now, I want to focus on things that will stretch me personally. I just finished a beginning photography class, which is something that I have wanted to do for years. I want to get in touch with my creative side through new projects for my home. I want to try new things and learn new things. It is a new chapter in my life, and I invite you along for the journey.