Quarter of a Century

SO, as of today, I am a quarter of a century old. Besides my 21st birthday (when the hubby proposed), this may be one of my best birthdays. It started off with my sweet (new) friend Sara, Kindergarten Is A Hoot! and Joyful New Rhodes. I got to Starbucks to redeem my birthday free drink. I couldn't find it and she bought me my morning coffee! When we got to work, Sara & I discovered that my long time "mom" and the counselor at our lower school had decorated the lobby for me. Let me explain: I don't have my own office, classroom, space since I am an aide this year and float around between all of the PreK and 2nd grade classes. This is what I found:

Love the creativity! The 5 is just another 2 but upside down!

She hand wrote these letters! No stencils!

I help with morning carpool. I just help get students out of their cars safely and quickly. This is what I received during those few 20 minutes:

As the day went on, the cards that were put on the wall was crazy! This is me & "my wall" at the end of the day:

Then, when the hubby got home, there was more! Look what he walked in with:

Gorgeous bouquet with my fans: Calla Lillies.

& my favorite color (purple) case for my birthday laptop!

He then took me to Chammp's so that we could veg out, talk, and watch the Thunder game. He even got me a new orange case for my iPhone. (Go Pokes!) hehe.

All in all, a wonderful birthday for turning the dreaded quarter century! I hope your day was wonderful as well!

Party: She's About to POP!!

OK...first and foremost, my computer charger refused to work. I have been without a laptop for the past 2 weeks. It died with all of my photos on it. Hence, the no posting for 2 weeks. I don't like blogging from our desktop. There's no TV, no hubby, I feel stuck at a desk.

So how am I posting now? Tomorrow, January 16, is my 25th birthday. I got an early birthday present in the form of a new laptop.

ANYWHO....on to today's post.

One of my nearest and dearest friends is 4 weeks away from her due date. So, I helped co-host a shower for her today. It was beyond what I was hoping, so much fun! I found the Buhl blog with a "She's About to POP" theme. The party was for a boy and so we really had to modify what we found. I bought invitations at Target that we could print on. One of the woman I co-hosted with was amazing to make this on her own.

This is what the set up looked like at the shower:

 Coffee Punch with Ice Cream

 Caramel & Peppermint Popcorn

My mom & I made these Marshmallow Pops. (tutorial here)

Favors:  M&Ms in Pacifiers. "Thanks for POPping by!"

My mom & I made this diaper cake! (tutorial HERE!!)

Printables & Decor: Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

I decorated the ranch & even cooked a few things. I will be cooking one breakfast this weekend and I have two recipes for leftover turkey. I will definitely be sharing later!

I hope you have a wonderful & blessed day today with your families!

Update: (I know this is late but I finally uploaded the pictures from my camera.)

I found a link that had many free Thanksgiving printables. I found 2 banners I liked and couldn't pick which one to use...so I used both. =) 

The first banner was found on the blog At Second Street. I was able to hang one under the mantle with the help of my mom. The mantle is 10 feet long and about 6.5 feet off the ground.

This is to show you how big the fireplace is. =)

All I had to do was print the banner on white cardstock and cut it out on the brown border.

I then cut slit in both upper corners and threaded jute string behind each letter.

 The other was above the buffet table that ends up being a big dessert landing. I will link where this came from if I can find it again. =)

 This banner was printed on white cardstock and cut out on the rectangles drawn.

Then, I poked holes in each upper corner and used jute string again.

These were some of my favorite printables that I had found, printed and framed. The Harvest subway art and the verse were found at Betty Crocker Wannabe.

 In the background, you can see my pumpkin vase. I found 3 cylindrical, over-sized votive vases at Michael's. I filled them with popcorn seeds, having the seeds being at a different level in each vase. Then, I just placed tea lights on top of the popcorn kernels. Next year, I hope to have fall colored candles instead.

The last touch was food labels. I found the blog Flamingo Toes that made "Get Your ______ On" dinner label cards. I thought they were so fun and totally necessary so that everyone at the ranch knew what the food was.

 Get Your Turkey On

Get Your Cranberry On

Get Your Sweet Potatoes On

Get Your Potatoes On

Get Your Veggies On 

Get Your Gravy On

Get Your Rolls On 

 Get Your Stuffing On

This is Green Beans & Macaroni and Cheese (no signs though)

Get Your Drinks On

Happy Thanksgiving from my family and our dogs!

Twenty Dozen....In with the new.

So, I have many projects in the works. I'm helping host a baby shower January 15. I have made a menu board and I'm starting to use it today. Well, tomorrow when I get back home. I'm starting the tutorial and hope to publish by the end of the week. I also made a present for my brother's girlfriend this Christmas. That tutorial will be up this week too, fingers crossed! My resolution is to post on here more frequently. Hopefully, at least once a week. I hope your new year is blessed. God was good to us this year. Even when I lost my job and grandmother within the same week. I was able to get out of a bad sitution, rely on Him fully over the summer, get a job at the elementary school I attended, and fall in love with teaching again. I can't wait to see what this year holds. Jerome going back to school to become a physical therapist (no official news yet), hopefully moving out on our own (again), and celebrating 4 years of marriage. And of course my 25th birthday in 2 weeks!! =)

DIY: BOO!

 This was the inspiration picture off of Pinterest. I had just bought a seasonal pack of scrapbook paper at 50% off for $9.99 and two Halloween themed cricut cartridges.

 I bought these letters at Hobby Lobby for about $2 each. Maybe that's expensive to you but I know these will never fall apart.

With black acrylic paint, I painted all of the outside edges of the letters. Perfection was not a concern because the imperfections would be covered with scrapbook paper.

I set the letters backwards on the white side of the scrapbook paper. I then traced the letters onto the paper and cut them out. Using homemade Modge Podge (half glue, half water), I attached the paper to the letters.

Then, I used my black ribbon to tie the letters together. I tied the ribbon in a bow and used some craft glue to help keep the ribbon in place.

 Hanging on the wall.

After I hung the BOO on the wall, my Halloween Cricut cartridges arrived. I cut out three 2" ghosts and used my Modge Podge to attach them.