Last night was a dear friend’s 30th birthday party. The theme was “Saying Goodbye to Her Roaring 20’s,” which meant figuring out a little themey dress-up! I did some hunting around Pinterest for inspiration, and realized quickly that if I wanted to do finger waves, I was going to need a lot of time and practice. And long clips, which I don’t have. So I decided to just use hot rollers and whip together a headband. Easy-peasy!
I did a search on Pinterest for “20s headband,” and these popped up:
It’s been birthdaymania at our house this month. My husband and I celebrate birthdays 3 days apart, then 2 weeks later, we have the kiddo’s big day. In my life, birthdays have always been a Very. Big. Deal. My mom would bring us McDonald’s at school to have a special lunch with us on the day, and she always planned fun parties for us, regardless of our age. In fact, I just found the tape (yes, cassette) of MY 4th birthday party, where our favorite kidertainer, Audrey, brought her guitar and sang to us. Unfortunately, I need to hunt down a cassette player to hear it, but how cool is that?
On top of wanting to make it a special day, we weren’t able to have a 2nd birthday because kiddo came down with some mysterious contagious rash/virus thing that caused a 1 1/2-week quarantine. We still baked cupcakes together and opened presents, but there’s something about having friends over, singing over candles, and just making the birthday girl feel special. So this year, I wanted to incorporate some of her favorite things into the party: the ocean, the color purple, and chocolate cake.
I did a lot of digging around and couldn’t actually find much information on activities for a 3rd birthday party. There’s a ton of inspiration out there (ahem, Pinterest) on setting a pretty snack table, but little kids don’t eat a lot, so putting that much effort into overdone treats didn’t seem worth it. So I’ll share our experience and hope it helps you plan your party for your little one(s).
Continue reading “Makeover Monday: An “Under the Sea” 3rd Birthday Party”
How was indulgence week? I NAILED IT…not. You guys, I couldn’t make it 3 whole days without sugar. I might have overstepped by restricting bread, pretzels, basically all baked goods and sweet sauces. It was misery. And I went overboard and ate candy corn. It felt terrible, not only because of the sugar and insulin spikes and crashes, but the disappointment.
However, failures are the way to success, right? And I learned a valuable lesson: moderation is key, even when talking about restricting something. So I took the cheat day easy, and allowed myself a couple of sugar-sweetened items each day. It staved off the crazy crackhead bingefest, and I actually came out of the week feeling pretty good.
But hold onto your hats, kids, because this week is a mother effer.
(Mark how many you have in a day). 1 drink = 1 beer, 6 oz wine, or 1 oz liquor. Martinis are 3 drinks, y’all!
KILLJOY! WET BLANKET! PARTY POOPER! No, I’m your guardian angel. You’ll thank me when you second-guess that glass of homemade egg nog. Which, by the way, can have 850 calories! EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY! Wouldn’t you rather get a hamburger and small fries? Or you know, a full nutritious meal and then some? No? Well, that’s one drink you need to mark off this week.
A reason for this week’s challenge is I realized several years ago that boy, do I love my tasty adult beverages. I mean LOVE them. And when it comes to the holidays, I tend to enjoy them much much more. And it’s not the calories in the alcohol that are necessarily the problem, it’s the lowered inhibitions that come along with excessive drinking. I’m not talking spring-break-style-flashing-the-family-and-the-neighbors-style-inhibitions, I’m talking about scarfing down on extra food you don’t necessarily want or need.
This challenge is tough. I’m not gonna lie. Especially with the stress of the holidays, standing on your feet all day, cooking all day, snacking all day. But that’s why it’s a challenge. You can take it a step further and pour yourself a glass of water every time you think of reaching for the bubbly (or mulled wine, or spiked hot chocolate…).
I hope you’ll join me this week and try to have a healthier holiday.
So, if you haven’t already, Print out your pdf and keep track of your bevvies for the week.
Feel free to comment here, tweet, or pin your progress!
Cheers!
Please note: I am not a health professional. I am not a trainer or dietician. I am a fitness enthusiast. If you embark on a new fitness or diet regimen, please consult your doctor and pay attention to your body and health. This is a social challenge to encourage health and fitness through the holidays. Your choice to participate is not the responsibility of Committed LLC.
Halloween in our family is a REALLY. BIG. DEAL.
Actually, we take any excuse to dress up in costume. My husband loves the decorating. I love the candy. The kiddo will hopefully love all of the above.
Since we’ll be traveling this year and missing out on the good ol’ American fun, I thought I’d walk down memory lane and share a few of our costume ideas. I’m sad to not do what we had planned, but hey, I’ll take a trip to Spain over a good costume any day!
The Magician, His Rabbit, and the Assistant
I don’t know where the idea came from–I was trying to find something cute for my then-8 month-old that would work in a carrier and that we could integrate as a family. I found the bunny costume at a consignment shop, and the rest was history!
We won 8 pounds of Vermont cheddar for our efforts. I’m not kidding. We ate it all. Also not kidding.
I wish I’d taken pictures of the making of this, but I’ll try to describe it in simple detail.
I know that a mythical bunny leaving candy-filled plastic eggs on your lawn has nothing to do with religion. But it’s a tradition that I love and I love that my daughter is old enough now to get into it. What I don’t want her getting into is a sugar-induced-toddler-frenzy ending in some form of tragedy. So even though I bought 12 different kinds of Easter candy to decorate cupcakes, very little of it is going into those aforementioned eggs. I’m stuffing those plastic vessels with fun non-chokeworthy gifts, including hair ties, stickers, and DIY crayons.
This post is about the crayons I attempted to make. Some were successful. Some were pitiful.
I should have found these tutorials (SheKnows, MakeandTakes, GabrielsGoodTidings) before starting, but as usual, I thought I’d just figure it out and forge ahead.
But here’s what I did:
1) You’ll need: crayons, a silicone mold (for making confections), a ziploc baggie, a cookie sheet, and a blunt object (to smash crayons). Optional: exacto knife to slit crayon peels. And you’re smart people–you know which to give your kids and which to keep away from them.
2) Preheat your oven to 225-250.
3) Follow along:
Basically, I’d recommend filling your molds overfull. Don’t let them melt to liquid because the colors get really muddy. It’s fun when they swirl a bit, but too much and it’s not as pretty. But what toddler really cares? Right? And don’t (like me) try to add more chunks halfway through to make the molds full. Basically, you’ll have a liquid mess at the bottom, and crayon chunks on top.
Overall, this was super easy. It took about 15 minutes altogether and could be fun to do with the kiddos.
We’ll see what mine thinks of the Easter bunny after she opens her eggs!
It’s sadly belated, but I’m finally posting my guide to hosting a successful gingerbread house party for grownups.
As I mentioned in this post, I revived my mother’s holiday tradition of hosting gingerbread house decorating parties for me and my friends by creating a grownups-only version 5 years ago. I don’t know if it’s the nostalgia, the tradition, or the few uninterrupted hours of just-for-fun crafting and hanging out with friends that makes it something I look forward to every year.
There’s quite a bit of prep, however, so I figured I’d share my tips and tricks with you in case YOU lovely readers decide to someday host your own version of this party. Now that I have 5 parties under my belt, I’ve got it down to a pretty efficient science. Continue reading “Gingerbread House Party Guide”
A fond memory of my childhood is the annual gingerbread house decorating parties my mom would throw for me and my closest friends. We’d each get a preconstructed graham cracker house, some frosting, and bowls full of candy for decorations (and snacking.) It was fun to be creative, spend time with friends, and have a festive masterpiece to enjoy for the rest of the season!
5 years ago, I decided to revive the tradition with my grownup friends. Instead of sodas we drink bubbly and the themes range from political to whimsical. But before I share my Gingerbread House Decorating Party Guide, I’ll share some inspiration from Seattle’s Gingerbread Village.
I’ve never seen jelly beans, ice cream cones, licorice, and mini Hershey bars make such a lovely castle.
In case you haven’t noticed, the holidays are HERE. So are the cookies, candy, cheeses, gingerbread lattes, overflowing buffets, and festive cocktails. I struggle with overindulgence during the holidays and have found it necessary to set boundaries and rules for myself to stay healthy. You may have heard that the average American gains 4-12 pounds in the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
Full disclosure: one year, I gained fourteen pounds in twelve days. THAT’S ONE-FOUR. As in, I averaged an intake in excess of 3500 calories above my normal intake Every. Single. Day. Enter the Maintain, Don’t Gain Holiday Challenge.
You can do this with friends, coworkers, family, or just yourself. It’s simple, but not necessarily easy.
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Continue reading “Maintain, Don’t Gain Holiday Challenge 2012”
Seattle is an incredible city in the summer months. Between the long daylight hours (5am-10pm at the longest), gorgeous mild weather, and endless natural beauty, it’s hard to ever leave town.
Compound that with several free outdoor concert series. Free! They’re all kid- and dog-friendly, you can bring or buy food, and best of all, they’re outside.
Here are a few more excuses to stick around and fill your Vitamin D quotient:
Free Concerts at UVillage: Every Wednesday, UVillage ropes off a large section of the parking lot and put on a free concert. This one is pretty cool–kid and dog friendly, food for purchase, beer for purchase, and activities for kids. Last year, I even got a free full-size Aveda lotion!
Free Concerts at City Hall Plaza: Every Thursday at noon, Seattle artists provide lunchtime entertainment in the sun.
Free Concerts at the Mural: Seattle Center puts on several Friday concerts in August. It’s a great location when the weather starts to get really warm. Great shaded area, beer garden, several bands, and you can bring a nice picnic or buy a light dinner. Last year we saw some quality musicians.
So bring your chair, a blanket, a picnic basket, and SPF, and stay in Seattle for the summer!
My husband and I are social folk, and we agreed before our daughter was born that we’d do our best to keep our friends! Parenthood has a reputation for decimating a social life, and that wasn’t an option for us!
While we have playdates, take Stroller Strides classes, and we have a wonderful PEPS group, I have an amazing group of friends who do not have children.
Luckily, they have created a few recurring gatherings over the years that successfully get the 2 (or 3!) of us out of the house. Here are a few of the outings. Most are free or cheap, and a great excuse to get together! Continue reading “Keeping up with the Kidless”
