Friday Favorites: 9-30-11

My sister in law has her engagement party tomorrow, so I've been making bruchetta for 70 people, putting pics in frames to decorate the party, and creating vertical photo banners for the patio.  Needless to say, life is a little busy right now.  So, I figure getting Friday Favorites out late is better than never. 

Oh, and my birthday was a blessing!  Friends and family made me feel very special, and I got many fun gifts.  My hubby scored BIG by preordering a Silhouette Cameo for me.  I am chomping at the bit to do some fun projects!  Speaking of fun projects, enjoy the inspiration today!  Happy Friday!

Add Some Paint made a dry erase board desk.  I have blogged about this paint before, but I haven't tried it yet.  This inspired me.  I think a cute board in the kitchen would be bright and fun for messages, verses, etc. 


Organize and Decorate Everything made pumpkin tp rolls--seriously easy and cute.  Whether you decorate your house with them like the blogger or just have fun tp decor as you store it in the bathroom, this was a cute idea.


I love making baby onesies as gifts for mommies of a new little one.  I thought these were so simple yet sweet.  There are a ton of girl onesies out there (ruffles, etc.), so it was fun to see some boy ideas.
Here is a funny one from Knit, Stitch, Click.

Here is a cute sports theme from A Girl and a Glue Gun.


Sunny Side Up in San Diego shared a Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread recipe.  It looks AMAZING!  This is getting baked this fall for sure!


Erin's Food Files made pumpkin cream cheese truffles.  They look amazing too--so easy to pop into your mouth without feeling too guilty!


Closet Cooking made pumpkin pie french toast with ginger snap crumbles for a topping.  Yes, please.


Finally, let's end with some beautiful fall decor.  Have you decorated your mantle yet?  I haven't, but these ideas have me itching to break out some decorations and also try some new ideas!
Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures


Sweet Something Design


My Blessed Life


B&B's Nest


Our Vintage Home Love


Nesting Place


The At Home Blog in Arkansas


Have a great weekend, everyone!

Friday Favorites: September 23, 2011

Well, it is my birthday today!  I have so many blessings in my life.  I am so thankful to God for my family, my church, my friends, and all my wonderful readers.  I'm quickly approaching 40 (a couple of years still to go), but I notice I am struggling less with wrinkles appearing, gray hair starting and not having the body I had at 22.  My husband always says that God peaks us 1/3 of the way into our lives and we are going downhill physically for 2/3 of our lives.  That is telling of where God wants us to focus and put most of our energy--on eternity, not on this quickly passing, temporal life. 

My wonderful hubby has planned a day out without the kids, so I have to be quick with my Friday Favorites.  I think I'll break the mold today and do a quick picture parade of creative costumes.  Our family celebrates at Fall Fest every Halloween.  Our church has a free community festival every Halloween, and the kids can wear costumes and come get candy and ride on rides without coming across the darker aspects of the holiday.  With my hubby out of work right now, I was trying to find fun, cheap costumes for the boys.  Micah always gets to wear Carter's hand-me down costumes (until he knows better). 

So, enjoy these ideas of my favorites.  Maybe you'll get a fun costume idea for your little one!

Crunchy Peas has a great photo gallery of some easy, fun costumes.  I love this gumball machine idea!


This one is my favorite:  More than words can Describe took the characters from the Up movie and made costumes--SO CUTE!


The Disney Family Fun blog had some cute ideas which would require some cardboard and markers or fabric--easy and unique:

Made created some traffic themed costumes . . .

The Zoo also liked the traffic theme, but they added some humor into the costume . . .


There was a whole thread of comments about doing Curious George costumes on Windsor Peak.  I love getting the siblings to be George and the Man in the Yellow Hat.


Sarah's Party Perfect shared some Mad Scientist costumes.  . .


Happy weekend, everyone!

Women in the Word: Busy Lives and Spiritual Disciplines

I met my accountability partner this morning and begged for accountability for time management, especially in keeping my spiritual disciplines.  Fall routines have begun, and suddenly we are extremely busy.  It is easy to be tempted to put off Bible reading and prayer to get some stuff checked off the "to do" list first, but God has reminded me to fight that temptation.  Though I am stressed and anxious by the to dos, there is no better remedy that a mind that is fixed on His plan, peace and priorities. 

Here is a good reminder from my pastor about being diligent in obedience and spiritual disciplines, even when the flesh is weak and doesn't "feel" like obeying or participating.

Some rationalize their disregard for doing what is right because they say their “hearts are not in it” and they “don’t want to be hypocrites.” They may consider themselves to be off the hook in neglecting prayer, Bible study or church attendance because they don’t “feel it,” but of course they are not. God will not shrug his proverbial shoulders and say, “Well then, if you don’t feel it, don’t bother.” Instead of abandoning our Christian duties because we feel inauthentic, God calls us to adjust our attitude and mindset. The psalmist says of God, “You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently” (Psalm 119:4). The Hebrew word translated “diligently” is the same word we find in Deuteronomy 6:5 where you and I are told to love the Lord “with all of our might.” It involves mental effort, gumption, determination, focus and thoughtfulness. Consider David who seems to be concerned about “going through the motions” of worship, when he turns his exhortation to his own soul and mind: “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name” (Psalm 103:1). The neglectful are correct when they admit inauthenticity is a problem, but their proposed remedy is ruinous. We must never walk away from the Lord’s commands when we feel weak or lethargic, instead, with the Spirit’s help, we must retool and retune our hearts to sincerely and wholeheartedly engage in keeping his precepts.

On Trend: Birthday Party Themes based on Children's Books

Being someone who loves books, who is an ex-teacher and who is an ex-English major, I love to see all the children's birthday party themes based on classic literature and popular kids' books.  I thought I'd share a little inspiration from this trend today.  Maybe you will get your next party idea from this post!  I drew most of my examples from two of my favorite sites:  Pizzazerie and Hostess with the Mostess.  Add them to your blog reading list if they aren't already there--they are great party resources!

Goodnight Moon is one of my son's favorite bedtime books.  This Goodnight Moon party is darling--tables that are set like a bed--so creative! 


Where the Wild Things Are is a children's classic.  This is a modern twist on the book.

Here is another link to the same themed party, but with a different feel.


Peter Rabbit . . .


Little Red Riding Hood . . .


Alice in Wonderland . . .

and this Alice party . . .

and this Alice party too . . .


One of my favorite themes:  The Wizard of Oz . . .


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . . .


Goldilocks and the Three Bears . . .


Curious George . . .


The Very Hungry Catepillar . . .


Now go have fun!  Pick your child's favorite book or story and run with the theme at your next kid's birthday party!

Friday Favorites: September 16, 2011

Well, our big ministry kick off was a success last night!  We had about 240 adults there to enjoy our fun opening night.  I'll do a post this upcoming week with pics of the room and maybe even upload a couple funny videos if I can figure that out!

I spied the first pumpkins at the grocery store this week!  I had fun teaching Micah the word "pumpkin"--he is my little speech articulation delay buddy.  Micah liked the "unkins"  too.  So, because the pumpkins are out and because I LOVE fall, I'll share some fall favorites starting today!

Enjoy this week's fun ideas!

Parents Magazine had a great idea of a Give Thanks calendar leading up to Thanksgiving.  We do a thanks "tree" on leaves each year, but this is a cute idea too.  I love choices!



Serenity Now shared a link to a prayer board idea.  Now those prayer requests you should be remembering are written down and on your mind throughout the day.  We do family prayer requests with the kids once a week and pray for them every day.  This would be a great way to record them.



Simple and Handmade made some beautiful, simple necklaces.  I love the origami inspired ones.





Dress Art Form on Etsy made a beautiful wool jacket dress (I would use it as a jacket!).  It is handmade and customized for only 99 dollars! SO pretty!




Now for some yummy fall inspired food!  Chica and Jo shared a yummy recipe of pumpkin pie stuffed french toast.



Taste of Home made a caramel apple trifle.  YUM!



That's So Michelle made Apple Cider Floats (a recipe from Rachel Rae).  Think hot apple cider with vanilla ice cream, nutmeg and a cinnamon stir stick.



Pennies on a Platter shared pumpkin ice cream/snickerdoodle cookie sandwiches.  I am in serious love with pumpkin ice cream.



Now let's talk about decorated pumpkins.  We don't do "Halloween" at our house, but we do fall and harvest.  I love the monogramed, numbered or written on pumpkins.  Here are some ideas.


Dollar Store Crafts shared a way to monogram a pumpkin with black thumb tacks.



Marsh Madness shared some beautiful fall decorations, but I especially love the address on the pumpkins.  Stacked, they are simply beautiful!




Loving Every Moment shared pumpkin ideas from all over.  The pictures are not linked, so I'm not sure who created the beautifully vinyled "Welcome Friends" pumpkin, but I love it.






Twig and Thistle, in cooperation with Better Homes and Gardens, showed some beautiful gold and black harvest decor.  This spray painted pumpkin is a golden idea for the house address.



Brown Paper Packages used scrapbook paper, mod podge and pumpkins to monogram decorations for the porch.  Fun!  I was thinking even the decorated tape might produce this look!


Enjoy your weekend!