Movie Club Monday: Leap Year and St. Patrick's Day Inspiration

As a kid, I was always fascinated by the idea of "leap year".  I imagined how funny it would be to say that my birthday was on Leap Day because then when I was 16, I would have only had four "real" birthdays.  (I've celebrated eight leap years myself.)  So while this year may not be a leap year--the next one is in 2020--I thought it would be fun to incorporate it into this month's Movie Club Monday theme which is a romantic comedy.  The movie of choice:  Leap Year, of course.  *wink*

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Dressing Up Your Holidays with Metallic Accesories

"Silver and gold.  Silver and gold.  Everyone wishes for silver and gold..."  (Name that old claymation classic Christmas movie!)  'Tis the season to wear everything sparkly and shiny!  Amiright?  Many of you saw the dress I wore to my husband's work Christmas party last weekend on Instagram and it got me thinking about just how much fun it is to wear things that sparkle and shine.  I've always been a lover of all things silver and that is most of what I wear when it comes to jewelry, but I've slowly started adding more gold to my wardrobe and accessories and I have to say that I'm loving it!  With all the holiday parties and get togethers this time of year, I thought it would be fun to share some of the pieces that I'm drooling over!

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Rustic Paint Stick Snowflakes

When my husband and I got married, we were still in college and so we lived in a handful of apartments before we graduated and settled down into our home.  My decorations were really more of a collection of things that had been given to me or that I'd made or picked up from the dollar store and didn't really have any kind of cohesiveness.  So a few years ago, I started sifting through my Christmas and winter decorations and getting rid of anything that I didn't love, which was actually quite a bit.  I love decorating for different holidays and seasons but it can get a little tiresome to only have pieces up for a month or so before taking them down and starting all over again.  That's why I'm totally in love with these rustic snowflakes I made!  I can keep them up all winter long, plus they match the style of my regular home decor.

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Why Christmas Cards Are Important {Plus Our Family Pictures!}

It wasn't until my husband and I got married that I sent out my first Christmas card.  Even then, it was just a picture of the two of us with the words Merry Christmas and a short note about wishing the receiver the best in the coming year.  It was nothing fancy and I felt a little silly sending it out, but the flood of Christmas cards we got in return honestly filled my heart with happiness.  There is something about going out to your mailbox and opening it up to find mail that isn't an ad, bill or junk mail that can put a smile on your face.

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Gift Guide: Men

If you ask my husband, he thinks that guys are really easy to buy for.  I tend to disagree.  When it comes to trying to figure out what to get him for a gift (whether it's Christmas, birthday, Father's Day, anniversary), it usually takes a lot of thinking on my part to come up with a gift I think he'd really like.  Thinking back on the types of gifts I give him, I realized they generally fall into three categories: practical, interest-based and sentimental.

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DIY Box Frame Sign

Two days ago, I messaged my husband a picture and asked him how hard he thought it would be to make the frame pictured.  "Not hard," he told me.  "Good," I said.  "Can we make 5 of them tonight?"  And that's what's led to me spending pockets of time working on said frames over the last two days in between getting the kids to school, running errands, cleaning up the house and every other thing on my to-do list for the week.  But I absolutely love how they turned out!  Box frames are simple, classic and versatile.  Their clean lines make them perfect for framing both pictures, quotes and images.  They are modern and traditional.  Combine all this together and it's easy to see why they've become so popular in recent years.  With a little help from my husband, I was able to make five of them for less than $1 per frame!  As Christmas approaches, I'm always on the lookout for simple DIY gifts I can give family and friends and these box frame signs definitely fit the bill!

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How To Make A Thankful Tree

On November 1st, the Halloween decorations come down and in their place pop up fall and Thanksgiving decor.  One of my family's favorite decorations is a thankful tree that takes up a good portion of the wall in our family room.  It's giant.  I have to use a stool to reach the highest branches.  It takes a little bit of time to put together.  But we are going on our third year doing it and every year I love it even more.  My kids get excited when I tell them the thankful tree is going up and it warms my heart to see them so happy to share the things they are thankful for each day.  It's become one of our favorite Thanksgiving traditions and today I want to share with you how to make your own.

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Deeds of Gratitude: A New Thanksgiving Tradition

When I was growing up, the dictionary was one of my best friends.  It wasn't because I loved looking up words and their meanings.  No, it was because whenever my mom used a word I didn't know and I said, "What does that mean?" that she would say, "Go look it up."  I had kind of a ridiculous vocabulary for an elementary student as a result and even got questioned by my teachers a few times because they thought my mom had written a paper or done my homework for me.  A desire to understand the meaning of different words has stuck with me throughout the years and as we approach Thanksgiving, I've been considering the difference between two words: thankful and grateful.

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DIY Owlette and Cat Boy Masks (PJ Masks)

"Bedtiiimme...is the right tiiimmme...to fight criiimme!"  If your kids are PJ Masks watchers like mine, you've probably heard this song more times than you can count.  And maybe your kids want to dress up like the characters from the show, complete with masks.  And maybe you don't want to spend $12 on a mask.  I try to keep things pretty simple when it comes to Halloween costumes for my kids and I like to DIY them when possible.  If you have a little time, a desire to save some money and the DIY spirit like I do, then you've come to the right place!

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Halloween Popcorn Box Party 2017 + Marshmallow Popcorn

I will be the first to admit that Halloween is not my favorite holiday.  I could easily do without the stressing about costumes, buying treats for kids I don't know and scary, creepy things that pop up (sometimes literally) this time of year.  Maybe it goes back to the year my dad took me to the neighbor's "spook alley" which completely freaked me out and gave me nightmares and which I still remember to this day over 20 years later, thank you very much.  But give me pumpkins and cute witches and I'll be content to make my way through another Halloween season.  *wink*

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Easy Fall Burlap Sign

As I've walked my daughter out to the bus the last couple of mornings, the weather has definitely taken on a cooler edge.  Fall is coming and while I love summer, I'm excited for a new season.  (Not to mention hoodie weather, amiright?)  I've packed away my summer decor and started pulling out all the fun fall decorations that bring a smile to my face.  A couple years ago I spotted a cute framed burlap sign at a local store and considered buying it until I saw the price.  I knew I could make something similar without spending a lot and I'm happy with how it turned out!

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15 Minute Patriotic Wreath

My husband always groans when I come home with supplies to make a new wreath, but I love how easily they can update a room or brighten our front door.  With Memorial Day just a couple of weeks ago and the 4th of July coming up soon, I decided to pick up a few simple supplies from JoAnn's to make a patriotic wreath that I can use in my decor.  One of my favorite wreath forms to use are grapevine wreaths because the wreath itself is part of the decor and you don't have to do a lot to add a little extra something to it to make it your own.  The best part is that it only took 15 minutes to put together from start to finish!

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7 Creative Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father's Day is coming up in a few weeks and I've had gift ideas on the brain.  While giving my dad or husband a new shirt or tools is nice and useful, sometimes I like to try and be a little more creative and unique.  So I've done some thinking and asking and have put together a list of eight gifts you might not have considered or even known about until this post.  I hope they give you some ideas or at least a jumping off point for a gift for the guys in your life.

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Mother's Day Dinner Menu 2017

Ever since my husband and I got married, we spend at least half of our Sunday evening meals each month at a family member's home.  The family hosting plans the meal and then asks those who are coming to pitch in and bring something to share.  It's been a great way to both save on the cost of food and enjoy time with family.  With Mother's Day coming up, I know many people, including my family, are going to be getting together to celebrate mothers, wives, sisters, aunts, grandmothers and other special women in their life.  This year, my husband and I will be hosting Mother's Day dinner at our house, which means we get to plan the meal. 

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Rainbow String Art Tutorial

When it comes to crafting, I like to try everything.  I have an entire craft room full of all sorts of supplies for everything from vinyl, embroidery, scrapbooking, acrylic paints, a million brads, felt, adhesives...phew!  And that's not even close to everything.  Something I've been wanting to try my hand at is string art.  I've seen it all over and there are so many shops that sell it.  My friend Sarah over at Making Joy and Pretty Things recently did a cute string art heart for her daughter's nursery.  I commented on her post and told her I'd been wanting to try it out myself and she suggested I do one for St. Patrick's Day.  So I did.  *wink*

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St. Patrick's Day Books for Kids (Ages: 3-10)

One year when I was about 9 or 10, I decided not to wear any green on St. Patrick's Day.  The truth is, my eyes are green and I wanted to play a trick on my friends so that when they pinched me for not wearing green, I could turn around and pinch them back 10 times.  (That's the rule, isn't it?)  I remember other years trying to be sneaky about where I placed my item of green: underwear, socks, a hair elastic, a bracelet or earrings.  Now that I'm older, I still think it's fun to celebrate this tradition of wearing green on St. Patrick's Day and my kids have loved it the last couple of years as well now that they are old enough to correlate green with the holiday.  And ever since having kids, I try to find a book or two that goes along with the holiday that we're celebrating, including the one about leprechauns and pots of gold.

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Mermaid/Under the Sea Party

For my daughter's 5th birthday, she wanted a mermaid party.  Originally she had asked for a mermaid beach party but when I reminded her that mermaids live in the ocean, she came up with the idea to change it to a mermaid/under the sea party. *wink*  I had her help me look through Pinterest and pinned any ideas she liked to my party ideas board.  It was fun to have her help me plan it out and be involved but it also made me a little sad because it means she is growing up.

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Valentine's Heart Hair Tutorial

When I posted a few months back about time saving hairstyles for girls, a couple of people commented that they would have liked to see me include a video tutorial or do some hair tutorials in the future.  If you saw my teaser on Monday, I mentioned that I wanted to try and do more videos this year and that I would be posting one later this week.  Well, that day is here my friends!  Today you will get to see my very first video tutorial EVER.  It literally took me all week to put together because I had to learn an entirely new software, as well as just trying not to be overly critical at my beginner (read: nonexistent) skills at filming and video editing.  But I put a lot of heart (pun intended) into this and I hope you love it!

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Conversation Heart Cookies

Growing up, one of my favorite candies to receive during Valentines were those little conversation hearts.  You know the ones.  They have all sorts of silly phrases or words on them and the only color that tastes good is the white.  When I was younger, my mom would buy a big bag of them so we could grab a few and put them in with our Valentine cards for our classes at school.  I was that kid who always had to sort through and find the hearts that matched the person I was giving them to.  My best friends got ones like: U R CUTE or 4EVER.  The cute boys in class or my crush got the ones that said: CALL ME or LOVE U.  (I doubt anyone actually read the hearts before they ate them, but it was still part of the fun to think that maybe they did.)  Now I've got a bigger, and better tasting, treat that I like to make around Valentine's Day: Conversation Heart Cookies.

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The ULTIMATE All Things Valentines Round Up

Less than two weeks ago, an idea popped into my head.  It went something along the lines of, "Holy crap!  Valentine's Day is going to be here in a month!  I need some new ideas, yummy recipes, crafts, printables, beauty... I need all things Valentines!"  I hopped on a few Facebook groups and asked my blogging friends to submit their Valentines posts for what I hoped would be an ultimate Valentines round up.  I didn't just want crafts or recipes.  I wanted something where I could find a ton of different ideas centered around Valentines all in one place.  And that, my friends, is how this post came into being.

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