The Party Chronicles: Episode 3- Pete the Cat

The Party Chronicles 

Episode 3- Pete The Cat

The inspiration for Olivia's birthday party this year came from her absolute favorite book- Pete the Cat. 

If you don't know who Pete the Cat is, stop what you're doing right now and check out this book. It's adorable. It's entertaining. The message behind it is fantastic, and the pictures are hilarious. Livy became attached to it immediately and Pete's motto became our family motto for the year. She had the book memorized after reading it once, and has repeated it over and over again ever since. 

DIY Open Shelving

So. Open shelving.

Who's intimidated by the concept?

I'll confess. 

I used to think it was impractical in the kitchen. I mean--come on. 

The dishes will get dusty. You have to keep it looking "perfect" for it to work...

Ok. Maybe I just thought I was too disorganized to pull it off.

Well... since then I've come around.

I'm a believer!

("And then I saw her face! ... now I'm a believer! not a trace... of doubt in my mind!

I'm in love--Aaaaah--I'm a believer! I couldn't leave her if I tried..." But I digress...)

You may be asking:

Do my dishes get dusty? 

Nope. 

The dishes we keep there are the ones we use EVERY. DAY. so they get circulated regularly.

Those bowls up top are primarily for decoration and to bring color into the space, though. When we use them we give them a quick rinse before putting anything inside. But they are typically used when we're planning on inhaling an entire bag of jalapeno cheetos while watching a movie from redbox. It's just easier--and more fabulous--to do so out of a cute bowl. So. Not an inconvenience. 

Is it a pain keeping it looking organized? 

Nope. 

Everything has its place, and even when there are dishes missing (two of our bowls are in the dishwasher, since this was taken after breakfast time), it doesn't look "messed up". Plus--the white dishes keep everything looking crisp and clean.

Wanna learn how to create this look in your own home?

Or do you just wanna see what my kitchen looked like before we overhauled it? 

Make Your Own Wall Mirrors

It all started when I wanted a mirror by the baby's changing table to give him something to look at during diaper changes. As I shopped around, I couldn't find anything quite like what I wanted:  small, circular, with some sort of frame (preferably orange).  So I decided to make my own mirrors--using plates as the frame!

The Party Chronicles: Episode 2- Despicable Me

The Party Chronicles: Episode 2
DESPICABLE ME BIRTHDAY PARTY

When Olivia was two, her favorite movie was Despicable Me, which she fondly referred to as "FLUFFY DIE!" (Her version of the line "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!")  So for her birthday we had a FLUFFY DIE party! It was such a blast! 

Geeking Out Over These!

Rustoleum Spray Paint.

Or... really spray paint in general. 

Just used it for the first time on a house project this past week! 

I know... I know... what took me so long, right? I don't know. Honestly. Maybe just the fact that I finally have a house so I can really incorporate a color scheme? Who knows. 

I wanted my barstools to really pop in my white kitchen, so I thought maybe a bright sunny yellow...

 Turns out it's a little TOO bright. I love the color and the hubby likes it, but it just doesn't work in my kitchen. So I'm gonna go for "lagoon" next. I'm just gonna wait until the cabinet doors are all done first, per the hubby's request. It will be my third time painting them, so I suppose he has a point. :)

Get the Bad Guys

The Party Chronicles- Episode 1: The Wizard of Oz

I love to throw parties. I'm always looking for an excuse to celebrate! 

So, I'm thinking that every once in a while I will go through my files and pull out some pictures of parties I have thrown in the last little while and do a little bloggity blogging about them. (Please keep in mind these are old pictures... taken before I really knew how to use a camera. ) 

I'll take you step by step through the planning process. If there's something you want me to do a more in-depth tutorial on, let me know and I'd be happy to help.

 I'll also tell you how much money I spent on the party. I don't know about you, but I often find these beautiful extravagant parties online that I'd love to copy, except for one tiny detail- we're college students! We're not exactly rolling in money. Even if I did have an extra thousand sitting in my wallet I can think of at least a thousand places that money needs to go. But I have found that you don't need a lot of money to throw your child a memorable birthday party. It CAN be done! 

So let's begin!

The Party Chronicles- Episode 1

Meet my oldest Daughter Addison. I know. She's adorable right?!

(For the record I did NOT tell her to pose like this. This is what she does EVERY time I pull out the camera.)

For Addison's 3rd birthday she kept telling me she wanted a "yellow birthday". I was like "Okay... sure. Yellow. We can do that."  Then a few weeks before her birthday she said she wanted a "Yellow Brick Road" party... Oh! That makes MUCH more sense! 

I was in party planning heaven! The Wizard of Oz was a childhood favorite of mine. There were three people I always wanted to be growing up- Annie, Shirley Temple, and Dorothy. It makes me smile to see Addie in love with the same timeless movies I loved as a kid.