Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Party Party

OK, so it's probably too late to be posting about NYE. And also too late to play this off like a Golden Globes Party. The Oscars are coming up though! So yeah, these ideas could work for that.

My friends hosted a NYE party at their house, which was a nice change from the bar/restaurant scene. I had a great time! Here are the cute things we did:

First off, I made macarons. These were my first try, and I was quite proud of myself with how they turned out. I used this recipe. I'm guessing the Italian meringue method is fool proof, as I am a fool.


We made lots of garlands! Tassel garlands are now my thing, and the gold dipped feather garland was also super easy and cheap. We just bought white feathers from JoAnne's, and I spray painted the ends. 


We made little swizzle sticks for the champagne toast at midnight and put rock candy in some glasses too!


 
I made champagne jello shots topped with pop rocks. The recipe I used is truly more vodka than champange, and you definitely need the pop rocks to distract you from that. Anyway, the pop rocks were really fun, and I enjoyed forcing people to try them for the first time.


Interestingly enough, the most expensive and time consuming endeavor was making these festive party hats. I have to say, it was worth it though. Each hat was unique! We used this template.


We had a lot of fun prepping and partying. I'm hoping to continue the fun decor and macaron making for all occasions. Superbowl macs, anyone!?

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

2013 Year in Review

Well, 2013 has been a year. A lot of people are reflecting via social media, which is great, but I wanted to reflect a little deeper than "it's had its share of ups and downs" blah blah blah.

The best way for me to reflect personally is by scrolling through my Instagram. It just has so many little tidbits of my life through the year. All in all, 2013 involved getting accustomed to married life and my new job, enjoying my new little nephew, eating lots of macarons, becoming a cyclist (kind of), watching my husband auto-cross his car, and a lot of general merriment!

*****

To kick off 2013, my husband and I had our first real adventures in babysitting! We watched my nephew for the first time in January. He was about 6 months old then. Kamau is great with kids. Me... not so much. However, little Rome was a real angel, and we had a great time!


The Sisterhood took a trip to Minnesnowta. It was awesome as usual - filled with lots of awkward pictures, cheese and Pedialyte. It was topped off by a drive home in a blizzard. Lisa did not drive us off a cliff. Thanks, girl!


2013 marked the year I became absolutely OBSESSED w/ macarons. I dropped some serious dollars on these little sugary treats. This was a cake I made for my mom's birthday/Easter.


I started a new job in 2013. I've felt so blessed to be in a role around creative people. I feel like I've excelled at my new job, which was a 2013 goal. They throw the best showers and parties in visual merchandising!

(Another 2013 goal was to get a library card, which I still have not.)


The Sisterhood took a trip to the Jersey Shore in May. It was a blast, and I'm very grateful to have friends to travel with. Especially friends who are planners!


In the summer, my nephew turned ONE! He had the cutest little party which involved some really cool Korean aspects. It's great to have a family with so many cultures (Korean, Jamaican, rural-Kansan).



The summer also marked our one year wedding anniversary. We took a road trip to Eureka Springs and Hot Springs. It was all too short, and a lot of driving (which I'm thinking the husband didn't mind), but it was great to get out of town together. Hoping we get to travel a lot more in 2014!

Toward the end of the summer my nephew on my husband's side, Christian, got to come to my hometown. It was the most adorable thing seeing both my nephews playing together. "Is he a girl??" Christian asked about Rome.

The Sisterhood took another all-to-short trip to Clear Lake, Iowa. We decided to walk to dinner and ended up walking literally miles IN A CAR SHOW. Like, we were in the parade. I love classic cars, and I don't mind attention, so it was definitely a big win.


My husband acquired a nice bike in the summer, and started getting into cycling. He gets rather involved in a lot of his hobbies, so soon we were taking 20+ mile bike rides. This wouldn't be so bad, except my bike was from 11th birthday... I still rode it 30 miles the day before my birthday, but I'm glad I now ride the Trek, and my husband has a Specialized.


Husband also got into Autocross, which is an event where people drive their cars around an obstacle coarse while timed. I took a few spins with him. One of which I told him to let loose and "hit some cones." He did. He hit plenty.


Then my birthday came! It was a really good one! Lots of festivities at work and home. My family birthday party was Bacon & Bowling themed. Yum! My mother-in-law was hospitalized shortly after from a bowling-induced shoulder injury (seriously). Youch!


The Sisterhood hosted Friendsgiving. I love that a few of the sisters have a Little Yellow House, so they can host, and I can bring cute decor and crap!


For family Thanksgiving we had a several Korean visitors. We made sure and caught the yard on fire so they could see how we roll. 


Then came Christmas! In addition to Christmas Tree Hunting, we had lots of family fun as well. I wrapped my presents using tissue paper tassels and weird things I cut off of a Trader Joe's bag!
And then there was New Year's Eve! I know everyone feels the same, but this holiday is just very hit or miss. This year was a major hit. Our friends hosted at the Little Yellow House, and we provided some decor (more to come)! It was just an awesome time with close friends and much less expensive than past years. There was even a balloon drop at midnight (which we were late for).


2013 was a good one for sure! I hope to continue fun times with friends, family, and the husband in 2014. My main goal for the next year is to read more and be more creative. Wish me luck, and have a great year!

Christmas Tree Hunting Outfits


Finding Christmas Tree Hunting Outfits is becoming ever harder. Each year, we try and outdo the year before. I mean, don't we always want to improve with age? 

I'm saddened to say that I can't even count the hours online shopping and running from store to store and returning this and that spent on our endeavor. Here's a recap of the outfits I liked most (kind of).  

 

Top Left - HM Dress, Target Flats, Bauble Bar Necklace, Silver Polish
Top Right - Old Navy Sweater, Banana Republic Bracelet, J. Crew Factory Skirt, J. Crew Factory Necklace
Bottom Right - ModCloth Sweater, Modcloth Plaid Top, Forever 21 Bracelet, Michael Kors Watch, J. Crew Earrings, Clinique Tons of Tomato Chubby, Sally Hanson Red Nail Polish
Bottom Left - J. Crew Factory Dress, Ebay Necklace, Target Necklace, J. Crew Phone Case, Forever 21 Bow Bracelet, Gold Nail Polish

Friday, December 27, 2013

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt - 2013

2013 was a great year for Christmas Tree Hunting. There were a lot of the primary trees missing, so we had to venture further out into Hallmark to find new trees!



















Merry Christmas!

Monday, November 18, 2013

Friendsgiving Festivities - 2013


My friends and I got together for our first Friendsgiving this weekend. We took some ques from Buzzfeed, and it was really a blast preparing. I felt like we got a chance to practice bringing a meal together (like grownups or something). Props to the hostesses who made it a great night!

Thank goodness there was a cheese platter with JAM. Jams my favorite. And preserves. And marmalade. 



Shrooms!


Crafty Beth made candle holders out of apples. I acquired various supplies from my apartment complex. Yes, this involved me sneaking around in the dark cutting up bushes. The usual.




I made a couple of tassel garlands. They took me a surprising long time, but easy work!


I also made some flower crowns inspired by A Beautiful Mess. They have a lot of cute Friendsgiving tips here & here.




Yes, I managed to incorporate a new bird (Phez). Sorry, Petey.



Not everyone got a crown, but at least everyone got a flower!



Food...




And dessert....


Have a Friendsgiving. It'll be fun!