Porcupine’s First Birthday Party

As we’re coming up on his second birthday party, I thought I’d finally get around to posting a few pictures from Porcupine’s first birthday party. We had a blast and everything turned out just the way I wanted it to! (Except all the snow on the ground, but what can you do when you have a baby in February in Indiana!)

The theme was kind-of Alphabet-y. Everything I do is Alphabet-y (I still have to post baby shower alphabet things! Another thing to add to the to-do list!) I found inspiration for an Alphabet-y invitation from this blog.

 (Fonts are Century Schoolbook and LaurenScript. I used the “Pencil Sketch” feature on Picasa to make Porcupine’s picture seem schoolbook-y. Then I printed them on cardstock – 2 to a page.)

I’d been pinning all kinds of cute desserts forever, so I just made a bunch! Cupcakes with rainbows, goldfish, teddies, “balloons”, and of course As, Bs, and Cs!

My mother-in-law made Porcupine a giant cupcake to smash in to!

I ordered the “one” plates from BirthdayExpress.com, along with some other things. I couldn’t believe that I couldn’t just find blue “one” plates locally! Oh well…I love internet shopping!

I knew I wanted some kind of cool “backdrop” (again, I owe you a baby shower post, because there, we did balloons, kind of like this.) made of balloons or streamers or something. Then, on the same blog where I found the invitation inspiration, I found a cool “Happy Birthday” sign inspiration.

 I cut the letters out on my Cricut using the font from the “A Child’s Year” cartridge.

Our house was full of family and fun, and I couldn’t have asked for a better party.

I think Porcupine had a great time, too…and he loved his cake!

Hopefully, I’ll post pictures from his second birthday in a more timely manner! And I’ll get to work on a baby shower post, pronto!

FibaFuse Paperless Drywall Tape

I have probably said this before, but I don't love drywall finishing work (and I am certainly not a pro at it!), but I always get stuck doing it because I have more patience than Brian.

I recently found this joint tape and have only mudded with it a few times, but I think I really like it. I can't yet speak to its longevity, but it embeds easily into the mud and seems easy to cover. I don't like that the fiberglass feels like it gets in your hands like insulation does, but if I was using it a lot, I should probably wear gloves. 

 

Has anyone else used it? Does anyone actually like mudding drywall?  

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Kitty Porcupine!

He loves the cats at his grandma’s house so much! Here he is with his costume inspiration:

Ha! Aren’t they cute?
He had an awesome time trick-or-treating for the first time :) (on his second Halloween!)

(He was all about the Dum-Dum suckers!)
Happy Halloween!

Things I Love Tuesday : Audible

Well, after 6 years, I finally gave up my trusty iPod Nano + Creative speaker and joined the ranks of those who use their smartphones for everything, including my always-necessary audiobooks.

I am still a huge fan of my local library, so I use the Overdrive app for free, instantly downloadable audiobooks that you can borrow.

But for things the library doesn't have, I saved my pennies and got myself an annual subscription to Audible.com. (This is actually my 2nd year!) You get 12 credits to use whenever and other audiobooks are discounted. I buy cheaper books/shows and save my credits for more expensive ones.

The app is great, the instant gratification is phenomenal. You can download previously purchased books from the cloud, or get new ones. 

I have a whole homepage on my phone dedicated to various audiobook players.

Now I just need to figure out the perfect bluetooth speaker situation  (one that can rival my little Creative speaker). Any ideas? Anyone else use/love Audible?

Hello, Scentsy!

So I became a Scentsy rep!

I'm going to try not to spam this blog with Scentsy stuff, but they'll be on here a bit because I joined because I really love the products, and I wanted to make it easy for my friends and family to get them (and know when all the sales and deals are going on)! I've always loved online shopping (thank you, Amazon Prime!), but since I've become a mom (and really, there are plenty of other life changes that have this same result), I just find I don't have time to go to the store to shop - but I still love shopping and good deals and nice things.

I think I mentioned that I've been trying to follow Marie Kondo's method of only surrounding yourself with things that spark joy. That's part of what Scentsy is to me!

I discovered I'm kind of picky about scents and smells, but when I find one (or two!) that "spark joy," I just love them and want to be immersed in them. I did shop around for other scent warmers, but I just realized, they didn't spark joy! For whatever reason - so-so quality, not great looks, mediocre functionality...and I realized, I need to get rid of that stuff! (De-hoard! De-hoard!) And only be surrounded with things you love and that make you happy.

So for fun, I joined Scentsy.

Here's (a part of) my Scentsy Starter Kit. The testers are so fun to have around. The warmer that was included is called Thistle. And it's really my first time dealing with their other products.

If you're local to Northwest Indiana, (especially Griffith/Schererville/Highland/Dyer/Crown Point), I'd love to be your Scentsy Consultant. And if you're far away, I can still save you money on shipping when you order directly through me! (Darn it, you'll just have to email me and open up some friendly communication!) :)

For more fun, here's my personal Scentsy page: https://victoriaf.scentsy.us/

How to Make Your Own Decaf Iced Coffee & Vanilla Syrup

Brian and I have tried various methods of making our own delicious iced coffee at home (to save a few dollars each morning!) and we've liked several, but here's what we're doing now.

In an effort to get some better sleep, we're using a lot more decaf. We still get that yummy coffee flavor and smell in the morning, but without the (for us) disastrous caffeine side effects. The Keurig is amazing, but when regular hot coffee hits all that ice, it just gets too watered down. But then I found these extra-bold dark-roast decaf K-cups on Amazon! Woohoo! Now we make fresh, delicious, perfect decaf iced coffee at home.

The other secret to our yummy iced coffee is my DIY vanilla syrup. After being too lazy to run out to GFS to buy another bottle of vanilla coffee syrup, I started Googling for a homemade alternative and found this post. I have tweaked the recipe to make a bottle-filling, countertop-friendly, no-refrigeration-needed version that has been serving us well for months now.

DIY Vanilla Syrup:

Ingredients -

-3 cups white sugar

-1.5 cups water

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine water and sugar in a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup or some other microwave safe container. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes. Remove and stir thoroughly. Add vanilla. Mixture may be cloudy, but as long as the sugar granules have dissolved, it will clear up as it cools.

I have been reusing my old vanilla syrup bottle, but I’ve reused a 750mL liquor bottle as well (for a simple syrup – the above minus the vanilla…great for sweet tea!) I’ve gotten this pump and this pump off of Amazon.

Perfect DIY Iced Coffee:

-1 extra bold, dark roast K-cup (regular or decaf) brewed with 8-10 oz water

-approx. 1/2 cup half and half or coffee creamer, to taste

-approx, 6 pumps vanilla syrup, to taste

Fill large (28 oz.) cup with ice. Add half and half and syrup. Pour in hot coffee and stir vigorously (with reusable straw!) till the whole thing is cool. Enjoy a little bit of morning heaven. :)

 

This isn’t the cheapest way we’ve found to make our own iced coffee, but lately it’s proven to be the easiest and tastiest! Is coffee a part of your morning ritual? Brian drinks his iced, even in the dead of winter!

Things I Love Tuesday: Jag Jeans

I used to do “Things I Love Thursday”…but now the youngin’s do “Throwback Thursday”?? I don’t know, but I don’t want to confuse matters and who knows if I’ll actually remember to keep up these posts on Tuesdays anyhow.

So anyway, Jag Jeans. I’m usually late to the party, so I don’t know if everyone already knows about these amazing jeans, but I love them and I want to spread the love.

THEY HAVE ELASTIC WAISTS!

Let me tell you the best part of being pregnant (besides eating all the cheeseburgers): It was the elastic waist pants. I didn’t want to give up that luxury just because my baby is on the outside now.

And luckily a friend told me I don’t have to.

They look like regular jeans…except they fit better and they stretch. And you don’t have to zip them. (I think Jag makes some zip jeans…who knows why. The “Pull On” is what you’re looking for here.)

You can go get your size and style now at Zappos or Nordstrom and usually Amazon.

Or you can be a cheapy like me and wait for your size and style to come on sale at 6pm.com or Sierra Trading Post. (You can always find coupon codes for Sierra Trading Post, too!) I pay an average of $25 a pair for these babies!

(I got my first pair or 2 on Amazon – free shipping and free returns! Nothing to lose if you don’t like them or don’t like the size. Same with Zappos!)

My favorites are the Paley bootcut (I’ve also got Keller bootcut and like them just fine) and the Nora skinny jean.

You’re welcome.