For the love of creating

If you've had a chance to peruse my blog and Pinterest board a little, you'd probably guessed that I'm a bit of a graphic design nerd.  Well, ok - just "nerd" will suffice.  Anyway, I thought I would take a moment to share with you all some of the work I've done in the past for friends and family.  I had a lot of fun creating these invites for their festivities as I wanted to evoke the personalities of each person!   I hope you like them!

Found!

Since I left my parents' home about 16 years ago, it's been a useful storage space for a lot of my odds and ends:  Yearbooks, homecoming mums, wedding dress, etc.  Where else would I keep these memories, right?  So I moved around a lot and never really stayed in spacious accommodations (we still don't).  Our most ambitious move yet was when we were given two weeks to pack up our lives and move to Connecticut.  With our tight budget, it meant we had to fit our whole lives and two dogs in a 5x8 U-haul trailer hitched up to the back of the car (the dogs got to ride in the car - what kind of mom do you think I am?!).  Needless to say, we made it but it meant a lot had to be left behind.  That is where our dear parents fit in.  We have bins of stuff at my parents' house and my husband's parents.  And given that the move to CT was almost 10 years ago, I must admit, I don't exactly remember what we might have left behind in their care.  We are slowly bringing stuff back to our current place but it's hard both emotionally and spatially.  Our guest room/office space has turned back into the courtesy junk room.  Sorry, future visitors!  Have you met our couch? 

My parents are doing some serious redecorating and the house I grew up in deserves the love it's getting right now.  There was a room in particular that I have many fond memories that is just off my parents' bedroom.  It was meant to be a greenhouse/sitting room but instead it became my playroom (yes, I was THAT spoiled).  My cousins and I would throw open the heavy curtains and pretend we were on stage.  Have I mentioned I  was am also a diva? 

Anyway, back to the subject of my post.  Thankfully, my mom kept a few toys from my childhood in this playroom and my wonderful aunt and cousin found some hidden treasures that I could not WAIT to share with Little Mister.

First off is the original Fisher Price Record Player with all 5 records!   I played with this so much when I was younger and frankly, I'm surprised that I didn't lose any records.  It's not in mint condition by any means so my intent is not to sell it.  Little Mister really likes to play with it and after 30 years, I think it might be able to handle him...hopefully...cross your fingers with me, please!

Second is the Fisher Price Musical Chime Push Toy.  Again, it's been really loved but now that Little Mister is taking off on two feet instead of on hands and knees, this has been quite entertaining for him.

And finally, third is the Tomy Typewriter.  Ooooh, you say?  What's that ancient contraption?  This little guy really paid its dues.

Ok, so I might have just shown you a bunch of junk and you might be thinking,  "Um, Michelle - that probably belongs in the dump" but it's my childhood junk and with supervision (just in case), Little Mister is having fun with them and I'm having fun sharing them with him.  Have you seen Toy Story 3??  (sniff sniff) Yeah, that's what I thought.

Do you have any toys that you still have from your childhood?

Stripes and days of late...

I've mentioned before that I took part in an online blogging class from Decor8 and I must admit to the great wide world that I was pretty shy and timid about blogging.  I knew I wanted to do it but I felt there was no way anyone in their right mind would want to read what I have to say.  And for all I know, no one is - but I'm writing to you all as if you are my new best friends (hello!).  It's been a big leap for me since I'm not one to be too ostentatious.  I'm sure many of my close friends would argue on the contrary but hey, we ARE just getting to know each other.

When I saw this post about the Stripe-Mania blogger roundup, I was at first reluctant but then I thought - HECK yeah.  One of my blog's purposes was to help me come out of my shell a bit and commune with all the bloggers out there who I have admired for so long.  Here is my contribution to the first annual:

like this logo?  I made it!

So days of late have been hot and long (that's what she said) and Little Mister has been teething and turning into Little Mister Cranky Pants.  On normal days, Matt and I get home from work and neither of us feel like cooking and we just want to play with the little man.  But what if Little Mister can't muster a good playtime?  We sit and cuddle.  His only solace from the pain brewing beneath his gums was an ice cube inside in his teether. As luck would have it, I was wearing stripes so I asked Matt to snap a picture.  It's probably not the most glamorous photo that will appear on the Decor8's little roundup but it's the most real thing to me right now.  

 

Update! Check out Holly's pinterest board right here!  Recognize anyone? :) 

Blue

If you guys haven't figured out by now, Matt and I are really big fans of live music.  We are more selective of the shows we see since it's time spent away from Little Mister but when the opportunity to see Weezer perform the "Blue" album at Stubbs BBQ in Austin came up, I couldn't resist.

Blue

  "If you want to destroy my sweater (ohohwaoh) hold this thread as I walk away (as I walk away!)"

I cannot believe that was 17years ago.  As my good friend David says to me, "We is old."

I had a hard time seeing the show in the crowd (I'm a towering 4'-11 3/4" ... don't be jealous) so I relied on other peoples digital cameras and phones to see what was happening on stage.  And I had my trusty Hipstamtic app to capture the mood of the event. 

Fun times.

Little Mister Party Decor

With the Little Mister Party Edibles, you got a "taste" (ha!) of what was to come.  And I'm so excited to show you the fruits of our party planning mayhem.  I started out knowing that I wanted to incorporate the colors orange and turquoise into the festivities and I combed the blogosphere for inspiration.  I was not to come out of it disappointed and hopefully neither would Little Mister!

With big orange balloons to locate the house, my fabulous niece and cousins drew a sidewalk chalk welcome for the guests to the backyard where the party was held.  It blew us away!

Little Mister's tee comes from Rock River Tees

The pinwheels are from Paper Polaroid.

The stripey straws are from Cupcake Social I was inspired by the BABYmania Beatles-themed birthday party and the great tablecloths and balloons!  For the centerpieces, I got some white pots from Ikea and filled them with potted plants and a pinwheel.  I also had some framed pictures of Little Mister from each month scattered about.  It was amazing how much he had changed. 

We couldn't do without shade and the umbrellas were a lifesaver.  Tissue pom poms from Pretty Decor and More added just the right amount of festive flair!

Over the porch hung a fabric garland that I made based off the tutorial found on Purl Soho.  Matt and I meticulously cut each piece of fabric over a few weeks.  I love it.  It's still hanging up today as a reminder of the fun times!

For the kiddos, there were bubbles, ball pit balls, and a photo booth.  The favors were little orange moose (mooses?) from Ikea. 

See that sweet little one in the orange dress in the bottom right corner in the pictures above?  My good friend, Laurie, over at All Things B made the frock!  I love the mix of fabrics she used. 

I made the fabric cake bunting using the same fabric that was on the garland.
The plate for which Little Mister got to enjoy his first slice of cake came from Aedriel Originals.

Everyone migrated to what little shade we had in the yard and watched the kiddos play.  It was sublime chaos.  I loved every minute of it!

 It was a memorable day with gorgeous pictures (thanks again Pixie Dust Photography!)  I'm so glad he'll have this to look back on someday and I can't wait to start planning for next year!  Did someone say petting zoo?