Just another Day

Sooo I decided that trying to Blog everyday was a little ambitious for my schedule. haha. I will tone it down to the more doable once a week. Ok? good. Well again, as you know, the count down is on for the Yo Gabba Gabba party. I came across this little checklist a while back and now when I'm having a party or get together this is always my go to. I always get, "Oh Nicole your house is so nice and clean! .. How do you do it with your kids?" little do they know, it takes a week if not 2 to prepare.  WEEKS PEOPLE!! Drop by unannounced during the week, and my house and I look like the junk lady from Labyrinth.

  So heres my little helper...enjoy...if you enjoy cleaning.............I don't.

How to clean for a party

Frame it

Coming up on Raphael's birthday I've been running around getting my decorations. So I wanted to share with you one of my favorite party investments. Frames. You can do so much with frames. For Roman's 2nd birthday I bought 4 plain black frames to frame these beautiful vintage Mickey posters around the party.

A year later I co-hosted a bridal shower and I used them to frame the bride and groom's initials. I made the "J&E" out of two different wrapping papers.

This year we had a baby shower at my house and again I did the initial thing made out of wrapping paper. The baby's initials are "A E F"

You can do photo collages, character posters, letters so many things and it really brings a unique element to the party decor. A few black frames and I use them over and over.  

Roman & Raphael's great room makeover of 2011 pt.2

Hi guys. You probably already know I didn't post this week at all because on Sunday I had a fierce gallstone attack. It wasn't the worst one I've ever had, but it wins for longevity, starting at 3:36 a.m. Sunday morning and ending somewhere around 10p.m. Sunday night. The pain was up and down but never gone, and of ALL DAYS on the day of the room makeover!!! I was keeled over just pointing Andre and my dad in the right direction. I literally did the reveal to Roman, videotaped it for 5 min (took no pictures) grabbed my purse and zoomed to the E.R. The rest of the week I've been basically bed ridden, feeling like I was in labor for 19hrs. on Sunday. But today I was able to take some pics and really, it turned out just as I imagined it would and couldn't be happier!

Heres a quick before, it was just a Toy Story room with his crib (that he never used) turned toddler bed

annnnd After!! 

Heres the breakdown..

This is the Bedding (Walmart)  and the sheets (Potterybarn)

Somewhere for Roman to put his favorite bedtime books!

above the closet

framed comic pages

The PotteryBarn throw pillow, we already had this storage bench in his room. Its great because its upholstered and I don't have to worry about sharp edges.

I also kept this storage unit, I mean you can't have enough storage

but don't you love the picture?!

New in the closet units

and I labeled em. Roman is very organized...thank god

Andre's favorite part of the room.. the new electronics

Don't mind the yellow stripe, it was shelf.. gonna fix it

Spiderman swinging from above

The new dresser and lamp

Roman was amazed, he pretended to be Spiderman for about 5 min before anyone could communicate with him. But he tells me everyday that he LOVESSSS his new room. All the pain was worth it.

Bite size Pizza heaven

Yesterday I made these amazing pizza puffs for a snack. They were so easy and quick. I made them in my heels with company over holding a baby half of the time, and if I can do it.. SO CAN YOU!! Isn't it baseball or basketball or some kind of sport season. ( as you can guess, I could care less) Wow the people at your next sport watching get together with these, I promise you, you will have to make 2 batches. Enough talk here is your next recipe to conquer...

Welcome to pizza heaven..

Pizza Heaven

Easter Blooms

Easter is this month and its time to decorate. I have some Easter decor that I put out, but I hate spending money on decorations. I'm not saying I don't. I can't help it. It's in my blood. I come from a long line of outrageous holiday decorators. So I'm always trying to make stuff to make the house more festive, and today I'm going to share one of my faves. These tissue flowers can be made big to hang or small to put on a table. The ones I'm making here are perfect for your table setting. So what you'll need..

4 sheets of tissue paper, some wire , scissors, and wire cutters

I picked my tissue paper at the .99 store

Cut the tissue in a 6x6in square and double it so you have 8 squares

Then fold your square like a fan

Tie a piece of wire around the tissue leaving some extra wire out

With scissors cut the tips to make them rounded

Then very gently fan the tissue back out and pull apart layers

You can tie them to your napkin 

make them in different colors, bigger, smaller. Put them on your table or hang them above, the possibilities are endless!! Have fun!

Spring Break

Its that time of year! Time to break out your toes and legs and arms. ha ha I love Spring!! Nothing says feminine like lace, flowers, dresses. So in honor of the start of the season here are some great finds for you that will be gentle on the wallet. You can make 5 outfits from these pieces. 5!

Lets start with the shoes. These are from Payless by Zoe & Zac $24.99 

Pair with jeans or a dress I think they are adorable.

Hang up those skinny jeans this season. Wide leg is IN IN IN! Which is great, they look good on all body types and never go out of style. These are by Lauren Conrad $34.99 at Kohls

This Floral top is also by Lauren Conrad at Kohls $24.99. Pair with a nice boyfriend sweater if you so desire.

These cool and comfy shorts are from Old Navy. They are denim blue but are a bit more sophisticated then denim. $24.50

This shirt is also from Old Navy. Its a lightweight peasant top that is flowy and girly and light. With the shorts or jeans it would look fabulous! $29.94

And you need a new purse.. OF COURSE!! This pop of color yellow cross body bag is from Target goes with EVERYTHING and is $11. Why don't you have this bag yet. GO!!.... GO!!..... RUUUUN!!.....

5 outfits including shoes and a bag for about $150. Enough talk.. go be one with spring.

Fwower Box

  Roman has always been very giving, but nothing makes my heart smile like when he picks me a flower. Its usually from the yard, but he does it anywhere he sees flowers. "I picked you a fwower mommy". Just the other day I pretended to be sad when he said something mean and he quietly crept away, got his shoes and socks on and I caught him trying to unlock the front door so he could pick me some "fwowers to make you fweel better". Scary and adorable right? haha After a stern conversation about how we don't go outside without mommy, I opened the door and let him run into the drizzling afternoon and he picked me a flower. He ran back to the porch with huge smile on his face. "This is for you mommy". It occurred to me that day that he has been doing this for a year now and I haven't saved any of the flowers. So here is my morning project today.

I got this clear acrylic box from Michaels for about $3

I was lucky enough to snap a picture of him doing this back in October

Cut the picture to fit the lid

I stuck in the picture with sticky tabs for scrap booking and put in the flowers I've been saving for the past 2 weeks.

Does your kid collect anything? This is a great way to keep your little collectables and display them!

My name is Raphee, I like to dance!

I've started planning for Raphael's first birthday which will be a Yo Gabba Gabba party!!! Like EVERY child under 5 he is totally mesmerized by this show. Haven't seen it?! Well even if you don't have kids you've had to at least heard of it. With musical acts like MGMT, Weezer, Hot Hot Heat, The Tings Tings and The Roots its got THE BEST music add guests like Elijah Wood, Jack Black, Andy Sandburg and Sarah Silverman .. are you sure this is for kids?? I love singing the songs and hearing Biz Markie's "beat of the day". The lessons it teaches are unlike any other kids show. Themes like, "Don't bite your friends", "Cover your mouth when you sneeze" and "Its not fun to get lost" are just a few. Vans launched a shoe line with the characters, they have a full line of toys, clothes... ANYWAY here is one of everyone's favorite songs

Creepy?? at first.. yes but TRUST ME! This show is AWWEESOMMMEE

So here is some inspiration for my party, Its gonna be colorful, whimsical and just plain FUN!!!

See you next time, Bye Bye!