{Invitations} Balloon Thank You Cards

I just finished up my son's thank you cards for the guests at his second birthday party. I purchased a digital print from Karen Carpenter Photography to make the card. I added the verbage at the bottom. Thanks a "bunch"...get it? A bunch of balloons...ha!


I will write a little note to each person on the back of the card. Hopefully I have a little extra time this week to make some cute address labels to dress up the envelopes. Hmmm...time...what exactly is that again?!?

{Home Improvements} Kitchen Message Center

Good Morning! We finally finished our kitchen message center -- phew! A few months ago, we had the built-in desk and single seat bench added to the kitchen. Then, we added the floating black shelves, cushion, and pillow to the bench seat. I recently found the black framed cork board at HomeGoods and snatched it up for above the desk.


I've had my eye on the PB hanging wall organizers for quite a while and finally took the plunge. I caught a sale and ordered away. Big improvement from the messy hanging chalkboard I had there previously, which I junked up with everything imaginable.

Since I am the bill/budget person in our home, I convinced my hubby that I needed the wall organizers to help me keep track of the incoming and outgoing bills. It's the truth -- keeping tabs on all that is like a second job!


I recently added some springy greens to my shelves since I'm craving spring weather in the worst way. Looking forward to getting outside with my little guy for some fresh air, long walks, and playground fun. March is just around the corner, so it shouldn't be long :-}

**Have a GREAT week!
**Home with my boyfriend today. After struggling through the last days with a terrible cough, Mama thought it was best to hang home and nurse this little man back to health. Ironically, we have his 2 year old appointment scheduled for this afternoon anyway. I feel so bad for my baby :-{

{Parties} Balloon Breakfast

My little fella's second birthday is tomorrow, and we celebrated this weekend with a birthday breakfast. It was just family, and we had a great time celebrating a special little boy.

I decided on a simple balloon theme for the party, so I created a backdrop for the buffet table by hanging balloons with ribbon upside down instead of having to deal with helium. I also found a really inexpensive navy and white herringbone fabric from Joanne's that I used throughout the party. I made a bunting for the buffet and covered my mirror, which you can actually still see through the fabric -- ha!

I used my buffet for the breakfast food, which included a broccoli, cheese & tomato strata, bread pudding, sausage links, blueberry muffins and fresh fruit salad. No time for pics of food -- I'm the worst!


I pulled out this shutter at Christmas time to display cards, and now I can't seem to put it away. It continues to come in handy as you can see. I used it to display Dean's invitation, a picture from his session with Karen Carpenter Photography, and a few other things.


The desserts were displayed on my old bookcase that belonged to my grandmother. I made a little Happy Birthday banner to hang on the top of the bookcase and a chalkboard Sweets Menu.


The cake...


...was a red ombre cake from Country Sweets in Woodbury. They did such a great job as they said it was the first ombre cake they ever made!


Vanilla pound cake {my fav} and vanilla buttercream icing....it was good!


I also attempted to make cake pops {and attached twine to make them look like balloons}. Ughh....never again....I'm the worst cake pop maker ever! The pops were easy {I used a cake pop maker my mom bought me for Christmas}, but the melted chocolate was a nightmare, and I just didn't have the time to mess around with them. Oh well.


I ordered these adorable wooden birthday spoons from Shop Sweet Lulu. I had to...they were in Dean's birthday colors ;-}


My friend Jamie made these cute balloon cookies, which I used as favors. There were light blue and red cookies, and they were delicious! I also ordered the red & white striped bags from Shop Sweet Lulu.


My sweet birthday boy opened one of his presents the morning of his party. I'm saving the other two for his actual birthday.


Speaking of presents, I have been loving all the ideas I'm getting on Pinterest for cute gift wrapping. I added his first initial "d" to his packages {because as a boy at two years of age, he'll really appreciate and care about silly details ;-}

**I used my Up Up & Away board on Pinterest for balloon inspiration.

{TGIF} My Friday

Oh yeah ;-] Today is my TGIF since school is closed for a long weekend...yay!

ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY!

**Pic via Pinterest

{Holiday} MUUAH!

Happy Valentine's Day! We are keeping things very low-key this year. I put together a little bin filled with a few inexpensive treats for our little boy. I grabbed an extra pair of lips from his first birthday party {photobooth prop} and stuck them in his gift with a little love note from Mom & Dad. Very appropriate since I basically want to kiss his cute lips off all day long.

My hubby and I are keeping it simple and not exchanging gifts...I have a surprise chocolate fondue dessert planned for all three of us after dinner tonight, but that's it. This working girl is too busy for anything but simple these days...ahhh!



I kicked off this already short week by taking a day off yesterday. My hubby and I headed down to Atlantic City on Sunday evening for the Chef's Ball at The Pier at Caesars {work function}. It was soooo nice....unbelievable setting and food! We stayed the night at the Taj Mahal, got up early, went out for breakfast, and then headed home to grab our little lover boy from his grandparents {Bo's parents got the baby and my poor parents got stuck with our beagle hound ;-}. My hubby had to work, but I enjoyed the rest of the day at home with my little mister, hanging out and getting caught up on making meals for the week among other things.

**I'm feeling refreshed and ready to take on three more days of work, then off for four whole days to spend QT with my boy {and sis & nephew & niece}, throw Dean his 2nd bday party, etc!
**Happy Anniversary to the best couple I know -- my parents! 37 years ago, my mom and dad had a sweet Valentine's night wedding ceremony by candlelight. Their love and devotion to each other, the Lord, and our family is a blessing. Thanks Mom & Dad for being the BEST role models {in every way, shape and form}. Love you both so much!

{TGIF} T.G.I.F

Period.

More ready than ever for the weekend! ENJOY your "break" from reality and live it up this weekend ;-}

{TGIF} Happy Everything

Thank goodness it's Friday, right?! Just like the picture above and the verse below, I should remember that every day deserves a "happy" in front of it, but I often forget and get caught up in the day to day responsibilities of work, etc.

Wishing you & yours a very happy FRIDAY {and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday too!}.

**ENJOY the weekend!
**Remember...."This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

{Holiday} Will You...?

Goodbye January, Helllloooo February! To kick off the month, I figured I'd share the Valentines I made for Dean's friends & family. When I found a box of 20 ring pops in Walmart for $4.95, I threw them in the cart and figured I'd come up with something.


I played up the "ring" theme and the "pop" theme and created a Valentine proposal.


The tags were created digitally, and I added my logo on the back. I already had the clear bags on hand, so for less than $5, I made 20 Valentines for my boy to hand out. Can't beat that!

**Looking for cute Valentines for your little loves? Check out my Be Mine board on Pinterest for lots of fun ideas!

{Dean} #2 Birthday Pics

We had my little man's second birthday pics taken yesterday with Karen Carpenter Photography. It was an amazingly sunny and beautiful winter day. I got a little sneak peek of some of the pics yesterday, and Karen did a GREAT job {as usual}!

Because Dean is having a balloon party, the obvious prop for his photo shoot was balloons. I know I'm slightly biased, but I sure do love this one!


The chalkboard with Dean's stats is an idea I saw on Pinterest. I love the idea of writing down your child's age and some of his/her interests at that time, so it's never forgotten. He wasn't exactly cooperating 100% with these {not wanting to sit in the right spot ;-}, but Karen was able to get a cute one nonetheless!


His party colors are navy, light blue and red, so I dressed him in those colors for the shoot. He was "jumping" here :-}

**Thank you Karen Carpenter Photography for your patience, time & expertise! You are the BEST!