I'm not gonna lie

This week has gotten away from me. 

 Back to school after a week off for Spring Break, baseball practice, PTA meeting, baseball game and all the other 'chores' blah blah blah! 

 I'm looking forward to a little mommy time tonight..hopefully to personalize some water bottles for our 2 birthday parties this weekend.  

And maybe a few extras for some lucky Facebook fans :)

There's still time to enter my giveaway..HERE!

We have a busy weekend.  

Baseball game, birthday party, birthday party, housewarming party.  

What fun things do you have planned?

40th Fiesta & Superbowl

Finally, here are a few pictures of my big 40th Fiesta.  I will apologize now for the lack of pictures.  I tried my best to take some decent pictures...but after a few beer margaritas (which are delicious, btw), I couldn't remember where the camera was :)

So here goes..

A little of the decor.  I used the great Fiesta printable collection from paper & cake and Jo Ann of Oh goodie designs sent me a box of fiesta goodies.

I made a few tissue paper flowers that I put in clean frap bottles  

No pictures of actual food..but we had grilled chicken, black beans, cilantro/lime rice & all the fixin's.  I even made some cute salt & pepper shakers using empty beer bottles.

 Notice my festive 3-tiered stand??  It was used to hold 3 levels of chips -  worked perfectly!

Maria of Love & Sugar Kisses did an OUTSTANDING job with the cupcake toppers.  I got so many compliments about them & they were quite tasty too!!

My mom always makes me a chocolate birthday cake.  Awww :)

 I got a pinata..filled it with tattoos, gum and little maracas for the kids.  

I also made sure they had a few extras to keep busy

I couldn't pass up the chance for a "40 Sucks" display 

(made the holder from a yellow box from Costco)

I also wanted everyone to know that I appreciated them celebrating with me.

I made little fortunes that said

"I'm fortunate to share my birthday with you.  

Thank you for making it special"

Cupcake liners from Hey Yo Yo made cute fortune cookies.

And because I really wanted to help raise a little money for a family in need,

I put out a 'tip jar'...

I collected ~$100 :)

We had lots of food left over & lots of beer too..so the party continues :)

It was a great birthday party/Super Bowl party 

(even though, I didn't care who won)!!

I'm hoping 40 is the best yet!!

a whole new decade..

and I started it with these 2 goofballs!  

I {heart} the lizard & ladybug!

Like my new look?

It's finally here!!  My little blog has a BRAND NEW LOOK. 

Michele from Intrigue Design Studio/Crazy for Design worked her genius 

and created my little piece of heaven. 

I'm in love with ALL of it.  

The colors, the graphics, the 'feel' - it's just perfect for me!

As you can see, there are new pages/tabs. 

I will be adding content to each of them gradually.

Notice the 'advertising' tab?? 

If you'd like to advertise you business/blog with me - 

email me (jbandsam@gmail.com)

for rates and details.

I'm offering a 'sweetheart' of a deal for February :)

Thank you to everyone who visits, reads and comments here.  It is still amazing to me that there are people (other than my relatives) who are interested in my 'stuff'. 

I have lots going on this week..

regular mom stuff, Valentine prep, my birthday party prep

& oh yeah, I'm 40!!! 

TODAY!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

a gift to myself

Some of you may know my birthday is coming up...(in 13 days, to be exact).  

I've been looking around for fun ideas for my 40th Fiesta - here's my Pinterest board. 

I wanted something special to wear, like jewelry.  

I'm not a flashy jewelry person.  I like simple, classic & unique.

  I'm loving hand stamped, washer-style pendants. 

In fact, I made some for Mother's Day a few years ago.* 

While searching online for my own hand stamped cutie, I decided to try making one (again).  

*my first attempt left me frustrated & needing to wash out my mouth with soap.

This time went much better. 

Here's what I started with.

I got my stamp set here.  The washers came from Lowes (~$1.20/3) 

Oh, grab a Sharpie too!

I picked 9/16th size washers because I liked the size 

(and I had lots of letters to add)

 I kind of eyeballed the placement of the letters, that's why they are a little wonky.

After I filled in the letters using the Sharpie..it looked like this

Dampen a paper towel with rubbing alcohol to remove the 'extra' marker 

I plan on trying it again, to see if I can even out the names.  

And to make better impressions of all the letters.  

But you get the idea.  

I'll probably hang it on a simple ribbon 

(maybe with a bead) and give it to myself as a gift :)

Have a great Tuesday!

and don't forget to enter the O.R.E Originals giveaway HERE

my weekend

The weather was gorgeous here this weekend.  Mid 70's and sunny!  Perfect weather to be outside.. I, on the other hand, spent most of Sunday working on my 'craft cave'.  

This is what it's looked like for a while...

 

Last week, Michaels had their storage stuff 50% off and I couldn't pass up the bargains. 

I picked up a few pieces.  

I also snapped up a Martha Stewart cubbie storage for $39 at Home Depot.  

This is what it looks like now...

Slowly, but surely the room is coming together.  It will take a little more time to get the room the way I want it...I need shelves and whatnot..but for now, it's more and more like a craft room!  

The lizard and ladybug call it my 'office'.  

Now if I could just make some moola while I'm in there :)

I hope you all had a productive weekend too!!

looking for inspiration..

I have LOTS of other things going on right now..

but that hasn't stopped me from gathering ideas for my big 4-0 coming up in January.

We're planning to have my party the same day as Superbowl Sunday.

a '40th Football Fiesta'. 

I've even created a Fiesta 40th board on Pinterest to save ideas.  

*if you aren't on Pinterest, let me know & I'll send you an invite*

There are a few things I REALLY REALLY want to have...

1. Mexican Food

2. FAB cake/cupcakes

What fun ideas would you include at YOUR party?

Tardy for the Party

Yes, I realize Thanksgiving is over
but I figured before we hit December 1st, 

I'd share our Little Turkey play date 

(yes, the one that was a week ago - hee hee)

The kids thought these were really funny!

Turkey Toes (free tags from She's{kinda}Crafty)

 Super simple marshmallow pops

Turkey juice boxes turned out so cute!  

I tried to keep the treats really simple :)

One of the moms offered to bring their bouncer.  

Of course, it was a hit!

I managed to get 1 non-jumping shot!

Nothing beats good ol fashioned running around in the yard!

Cookie decorating - and eating.

All the little turkeys had fun!

Maybe I'll make this an annual play date :)

Don't forget to enter the Gloveables giveaway .HERE!

The BBQ

so..if you follow along on Facebook, you know I made cupcakes for a bar-b-q this past Saturday. (if you don't follow on FB..whatcha waiting for??) 

The get together was a bit of a special shin-dig.  

My mom & her friend wanted to share her friend's cabin with all of their friends.  

They didn't call it an 'engagement party'...but they should have :)  

Yep..that's right - I get to help plan my mom's wedding!!!

Anyhoo...the cabin is just that.  A log cabin!  In the middle of the woods!  With animals you'd expect to find in the woods!  

Turkeys and Hogs and Bears - Oh My!

Here are some of the pictures I took - enjoy!

Everything was set up outside...my mom created these simple centerpieces 

(using pinecones, leaves and those spiky things - can't remember what they are called).

Cans with craft paper & twine make cute utensil holders

good eats!

bbq chicken, homemade mac & cheese (to die for) and garlic bread

the cupcakes :)

(displayed on upside down drip pans)

We rode 4 wheelers around the property (lots and lots and lots of acres)...

and it's not a party until there's target practice*

*for the record, I was hesitant to post this picture.  

I hope it doesn't offend anyone.  

There were no kids at the party.  

It was a controlled area (with a trained person supervising).  

I hope you all had a great weekend too!

I'll share my BIG news tomorrow!!

Tip Tuesday: keep em busy

Elmer's Giveaway Reminder!!  

Enter HERE!

With school supplies all over & very affordable, it's the perfect time to stock up on supplies that will keep your kids busy happy!

 total cost $2!! 

Paint (for each of them, of course) & coloring pages from Disney Junior.

I'll be heading back to grab some more of these watercolors -

the lizard and ladybug like to mix all the colors together 

which makes that nice "baby poop green" color!

What art/craft supplies do you like to have around the house??

Tell me what you watch

I like TV!  A LOT!

Lately, I've been obsessed with the Casey Anthony trial.  

I've even considered going to the courthouse 

to see if I can get in to watch some of the testimony 

(yes, I live that close to this circus)

.

I also love me some Real Housewives.  NYC, NJ, OC.  

Extreme Couponing is fascinating to me 

(I coupon..not to the 'extreme' level).  

I do watch 'real' shows too...Parenthood, Castle, Hawaii Five-0  

(that one may just be for the eye candy - haha), 

Sons of Anarchy, Rescue Me.  

And I'm a total "Must See TV" Thursday on NBC.  

Parks and Rec, The Office, 30 Rock etc...all of them.

Sometimes (ok, almost always) I make fun of the husband for knowing every little detail about sports BUT I'm like that with TV shows.  

And I'm not ashamed to admit it.

What shows do you watch? 

Mother's Day Monday

I hope you all had a great weekend & Mother's Day.  

I thought I'd share a little of my Mother's Day get-together.  

I expected a few more people but 

due to uncontrollable circumstances, we had a much smaller celebration.

Here is some of the way too much food for the amount of people we had :)

cookies, of course.

m&m bites (pretzels, candy melts & m&m's)

 

fruit salsa with cinnamon 'chips'

cake, decorated by the lizard & ladybug

My Mother's Day Relaxation Kits.

They included :

A clear mug

Mother's Day blend coffee (my mix of reg and French Vanilla)

A candle

A bookmark (from here)

A HUGE coffee filter flower (here's the tutorial)

The tags are chalkboard tags I made (here's the tutorial)

It was a fun day. 

I'm getting my mani/pedi today...so Mother's Day continues :)

Have a great Monday!

a peek at Mother's Day gifts

As you know, Mother's Day is coming up.  

This year I decided to make 'relaxation kits' as gifts. 

I haven't gotten all the goodies yet - but I have started on some of them.  

Candles!

A simple candle 'fancied' up with twine suddenly becomes more spa-like.  

This is the exact feeling I was hoping for. 

 I need to come up with some clever tags - 

Take a 'MOM'ent for yourself?!  

Too corny?

What fun things would you like to see in your relaxation kit?

tiered stand...2 ways.

If you follow me on Facebook - 

you saw a sneak peek of something I'm working on. 

  

 

My inspiration was this tiered stand I saw at The Purple Pug 

(she has the 'original' Pottery Barn one...but I'm too cheap to buy one)

My version is much less expensive and I'm hoping it will be just as cute!

It's not finished yet..but it's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. 

The next stand I'm working on is more colorful.  

I fell in love with the bright colors of these plates from Target.  

I had a wooden candlestick (from Goodwill) already.  

I've painted the candlestick a glossy, bright red. 

So neither of my stands are finished..

but I wanted to share what I've been working on.  

It feels like forever since I've done an actual project. 

Once they are finished, you guys will be the first to know :)

Have a great Thursday!!