10 Things That Make Me Happy

We are mid-week, mid-January, just past blue Monday...We can all use a bit of happiness. Event if we were at the weekend, mid-summer, we could still use some happiness. There is rarely a bad time for happy. 

Generally speaking, I am a very happy, optimistic person. I actually had a former supervisor tell me recently that she felt my positive outlook on life naturally happy demeanor has served me well considering everything that I am currently dealing with- but I am Just Done with that situation.

When I am feeling down, here are 10 things I do to pick myself up and feel happy again.

1. Watch Friends. I think is hands down the funniest show ever. This show makes me laugh so much, even after all these years! 
2. Read a book. Getting lost in a book is a great way to forget what's going on. Sometimes I will turn to whatever book I am currently reading. Other times I turn to a favourite book I have read a million times, or a book by Sophie Kinsella who is a hilarious author. 
3. Phone a friend. Curling up and having a conversation with a friend is so great. I don't always tell my friends what's going on- although venting is good- but just chatting and catching up always makes me feel better.
4. Kitchen dance party. Seriously, this is so fun! I ask google to play some music and just sing along and dance away.
5. Watch favourite YouTubers/Instagramers aka people who make you laugh. Simply Nailogical is one of my favourite and funniest YouTubers. On Instagran I love Kathleen aka Carrie Bradshaw Lied Instastories. She is hilarious. Also hilarious? Drunk Astrology aka The 502 Kid.
6. Write. There is nothing like putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and getting it all out of your system. If something is really getting me down and I just can't shake it, writing always helps.
7. Plan a trip. Even if I have nowhere to go, I will research places I want to go- where to stay, what to do. This is fun for me and gives me something to look forward to! And when, I am finally ready to book that trip, I already have a head start on the planning. 
8. Listen to Grownups Read Things They Wrote As Kids. This podcast never fails to make me laugh. I have even been to a live recording, which was so fun and so funny. 
9. Go for a walk/drive. Change of scenery and fresh air are great ways to feel happier. I love walking around downtown and along the river, or driving to the beach and walking along the pier and/or boardwalk. 
10. Sleep. I think we can all agree that naps are amazing. Sometimes all I need is a nap so that I feel well rested and have a fresh perspective. Sometimes I need to sleep for hours, so that I can wake up and just start over. 

Legally Blonde Movie Night Checklist

A few months ago, one of my sorority sisters mentioned she had never seen Legally Blonde. My reaction, was a resounding "WHAT?!". How was it possible that she had never seen this movie?!  I told her that we would have to do a screening of the movie.

Due to busy schedules, our Legally Blonde movie night is on our 'to do list'. If we plan it right, we might be able to do an outdoor screening. I outdoor movies- on the side of your house or on your garage or if you don't have a blank wall, on a sheet- make my list of favourite summer activities. 

I was recently inspired to create my own movie night. I knew right away that I wanted to centre my movie night around Legally Blonde. With some help from Pure Flix, below you will find my list of essentials to help create the ultimate movie night in.

Legally Blonde is a light hearted, fun movie with lots of colour- especially pink! I want  the food and drink for movie night to align with this.

First of all, I want my guests to be comfortable! Whenever I have people over for a girls night, I have a strict pajama/yoga pants/comfy clothes policy. Not only do I want my guests to dress comfy, but I also want them to be comfortable, so I pull out all of the pillows and blankets that I own. My guests are free to use what they would like and sit- or lie- where they want.

What's a movie without popcorn? Sure, you can have regular, old popcorn...or you can have birthday cake batter popcorn! This is super easy to make, really yummy, and the sprinkles add a lot fun to your popcorn! While popcorn is a movie essential, I know that a lot of people like to snack on candy while watching a movie, so I like to set up a candy bar. My go-to movie candy includes peanut butter M&Ms, red licorice, Malt Balls, and Peppermint Pattys. I usually ask my guests to bring their favorutite movie candy to be added to the candy bar.

Whenever I have people over, I like to have a signature drink. The signature is usually a pink flamingo. I like this drink as the signature drink for this movie night because it's pink and fits the feel for this screening, plus it can be made as an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink.

I make sure to have pink paper plates and napkins set out for my guests. I will decorate the food & beverage area with signs related to the movie- Bend and snap, Delta Nu letters, the stylized Harvard 'H'. You can print these out from a computer and either stick them on the wall or fit them into dollar store frames. Just something fun to tie elements of the movie into our night. I'm sure if you search 'Legally Blonde decor' on Pinterest, tons of ideas and how to's will come up.

Finally, I like to have a little gift for my guests so that they can remember the fun night we had. I like to give something practically and that they will use. I tend to gift drinkware to my guests- they can use it during movie night and then bring it home. You can usually pick up cute glasses at a dollar store or on etsy.

There you have it...my must haves for a Legally Blonde movie night!

From The Archives: Bedtime Stories Baby Shower

A number of years ago, I hosted a baby shower for a co-worker/friend. The theme was Bedtime Stories. As an event planner, I get to host, design, consult, plan, etc on tons of events throughout the year. This baby shower was one of my favourite events that I worked on. 

Since it's been so long since this baby shower took place, and because a number of my friends have either just had babies or are pregnant, I thought I would go into the Dreams and Colour Archives and share the posts related to the Bedtime Stories Baby Shower!

 

Theme & Invite Decorations Food & Drink Games Book Recommendations & Gift Ideas A Special Keepsake

This is a really fun, classic, gender neutral baby shower theme...I would love to host another shower with these theme!!

Upcycling Ideas From Personal Creations

I ended 2016 by buying my first home and have spent the first few months of 2017 getting settled. Now that I have my place set up the way I want it and functioning the way I need it, I can focus on decorating and adding personal touches.

My goal for my home is to be organized, functional, and minimal; I want everything to serve a purpose or to bring me joy. A great way to accomplish one or both, is to upcycle!

Image Via

Personalcreations.com has gather 50 ideas for upcylcying items into something new. I personally like the idea of using shopping bags to organize items- finally a use for the Lilly Pulitzer bags that are too pretty to throw away!- and repurposing telephone handsets as bookends. You can find the full list, including links to instructions, here. 

 

Happy Upcycling! 

From The Archives: DIY Sharpie Mug

It's always fun to go back through old blog posts and be reminded of different life events, favourite songs, loved books, recipes, and DIY projects! 

 

 

Back in April of 2015, I shared a DIY sharpie mug. This was a fun project and one I have made a number of times over the years. You can find the original post, including instructions, here.

January Resolution: Paint Nite

I cannot believe that today is the first day of February and that we have the first month of 2016 in the books!! January flew by- it was a really busy, but a really fun month!!

My New Years Resolution for 2015 was to connect with friends- really put in time and effort to work on my friendships. I was actually able to follow through with this resolution- connecting with at least two friends each month, and they were friends that I had gone at least 3 months without seeing. While it was fantastic to build and strengthen my friendships, and I enjoyed the time I spent with friends, I realized that I really missed socializing with a group of friends. So, my resolution for 2016 is to have one social outing a month with a group (3+) of friends.

In January, myself and 10 friends did a Paint Nite!! This was something we planned back in December and I had been looking forward to for weeks! What's Paint Nite? It's a company that hosts a night out at a local bar with an artist. The artist instructs everyone on how to paint a picture.

We started out with a blank canvas, two paint paint brushes, paint, a cup of water and a paper towel.

 

Everyone paints the same pictures with step by step instructions from the artist. He told us what paint colours to blend in order to make a new colour and where to paint on the canvas.

While you are painting, since you`re at a bar, you can also drink and eat. Of course, there is time for socializing. Our group was spread over two side by side tables, so we were all able to talk and interact with each other. There was a lot of laughing going on.

At the end of the night, we all had the same painting and had a fantastic time!! We all agreed that we would love to go back and do another Paint Nite, which I believe we will do. We already have any outing planned for February, which should be a lot of fun too.

The finished painting. It didn't turn out too bad!! It's currently hanging in my dad's office.

If you are looking for something fun to do, I highly recommend a Paint Nite!! There were groups of friends, individuals and even people on dates. Everyone really enjoyed themselves!!

I am 1/1 for this year's resolution and I'm hoping I will be able to stick to it. We already have something planned for February...here's hoping this is something I can stick with for the year!!

Christmas Gift Guide Part 2

Yesterday, I shared Part 1 of my Christmas gift guide and today I am excited to be sharing part 2!

 

For the past couple of years, Kate Spade New York has put out a new book. This year's book, All In Good Taste, is a how-to entertaining guide. This is a great gift for the Kate Spade lover in your life, and what girl doesn't love Kate Spade, but it's also the perfect hostess gift!! 

I LOVE Hudson's Bay stripes. they are so iconic! While I am listing the Hudon's Bay Company Multi Stripe Point Blanket in this gift guide, and it IS a great gift, the truth is anything with the Hudson's Bay stripes- scarves, mugs, jackets, nutcrackers, trinket trays, ties, ornaments, canoes, etc- make a fantastic gift! 

One of my favourite people to shop for is my little cousin. She is the only kid on my Christmas shopping list and I spend weeks searching for her gift. I have been dubbed by her and her parents and everyone who has seen the gifts I have given her as "the best gift giver", which can be challenging to live up too! This year's gift, is Sparkling Hair Accessory Set, which allows her to make her own headbands and hair clips- which she LOVED!! She also got hair chalk (not pictured) and every year I get her a Christmas book. 

Flower Bomb by Viktor & Rolf is one of my favourite perfumes. I get so many compliments when I wear it and it has special memories associated with it for me. This isn't something that I am gifting to anyone this year, but I know that my sister had it on her wish list.

Adult colouring is a huge trend right now. I even incorporated it into a conference I did in November. It is so relaxing! I will be gifting Color Me Calm, along with markers, to a variety of people in my life. 

Yesterday I highlighted a couple of gifts (S'well and Olympic Mitts) where proceeds went toward another organization, which are my favourite types of gifts to give. This Anvil #HeroesWearCamo shirt is one of those gifts, with proceeds going to the True Patriot Love Foundation. Plus, it actually is a great gift for any male in your life.

 

Another great gift for the man in your life? Taft No-Show Socks. These anti-slip socks stay on your feet and are, well, socks, but when you are wearing shoes, you can't seem them-so guys get the no sock look that they love. 

I am done all of my Christmas shopping- which also includes homemade baked goods, specialty teas and food items, mugs, vintage wines, gift certificates, winter gloves, infinity scarves (basically every girl I know is getting one), some of my favourite beauty and skin products, cooking/kitchen gadgets and Christmas ornaments. I just have to wrap everything!!

Christmas Gift Guide Part 1

I can't believe that Christmas is in less than 10 days!! I am in the full swing of the holiday season and I even have my work Christmas party today!! I love the holidays and I love finding the perfect gifts to give to those I love. I am so excited to share my 2016 gift guide, which includes gifts that I am giving to my family and friends.

I am a huge fan of Lush products and their Little Snow Fairy wrapped gift is being given to some of my favourite girls; perfect for friends, sisters and cousins. Mat & Nat is a fantastic Canadian company and their products are vegan!! Their bags are the so beautiful and I know so many people who would love their Clarke bag.

Cufflinks are such a classic gift and are my one of my favourite gifts to give to the man in my life. There are so many different styles- from classic to cartoon- that not only keep this gift interesting, but also allows you to give a gift that fits him. I know these Vintage Toronto Maple Leafs cufflinks are going to be a hit. 

While classic for guys, pearls are classic for girls! Earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces...you can't go wrong. I am not gifting this Freshwater Pearl Drop Necklace to anyone, but it would make a great gift for the special lady in your life (hint, hint).

Every year I ask for, and give, the Olympic Collection Red Mittens. The Olympic mitts were started for the Vancouver 2010 games and each year they come out with a new design. 30% of the proceeds go towards supporting athletes through the Olympic Foundation, with over $27 million given since 2009. I love giving gifts that support an organization. Plus these mitts are so warm and practical, and a great way to show your Canadian pride!!

S'well water bottles are another gift that gives back. S'well partners with UNICEF to provide clean water. They also support American Forests and Drink Up, and they are helping the environment by eliminating plastic water bottles. S'well comes in a variety of colours and sizes, and is something everyone on your list could use. Another cool thing about S'well? They keep drinks cold for up to 24 hours and hot for up to 12 hours. 

Coastal Cocktails 12-Pack Global Cocktail Mixers are perfect for friends who like to travel, entertain or enjoy adult beverages. There are 12 mixers from around the world- like Mai Tai, Sydney Sunrise, and Moscow Mule. All you have to do is add alcohol and shake with ice and you are good to go. These are a popular gift with a lot of my friends. My dad and brother would love this too.

For the stylish man in your life, or the man that needs some style help, this Polo Ralph Lauren Virgin-Wool Blend Pony Scarf is ideal. It will keep him warm and looking good. This scarf is very classic so he will be able to wear it year after year.

Tomorrow I will be sharing Part 2 of my gift guide.

Christmas Party Ideas

There are so many things that I love about the holidays, but on of my favourite things is the social aspect! I love spending time with my family and friends, and connecting with people I haven't seen in awhile; some of them since the previous Christmas!! 

 

When I think of Christmas party's, I think back to the annual party a friend hosted for years, the highlight of our social season. It was held at his parents house, there was a snowman with a drink luge, awards, hourly drink specials, guitar sing a long, ugly sweaters...it was a fantastic time!! As we grew up, got jobs, moved away from home, and started our own families, this annual kick-off to Christmas came to an end.

Luckily, there are a ton of different kinds of parties you can host during the holidays. Here are three of my favourite.

Gingerbread & Champagne Who doesn't love decorating a gingerbread house or gingerbread people?! I have done this with adults, and everyone loves it! You can buy kits that have everything you need, or go the homemade route, set up a round a table, serve champagne (or wine, or hot chocolate, or...really whatever you'd like), and go to town decorating.

Christmas PJ Party Invite your friends, enforce a mandatory dress code of pj's, and put on your favourite Christmas movie (Elf and A Christmas Story are two of my favourites and highly recommended), serve hout chocolate, Christmas cookies and popcorn.

Potluck & Ornament Exchange I used to work for a company where one of the girls would organize a "Girls Christmas Party"; if you were female and worked for our company, you were invited- no boys allowed! This was also separate from our official office party and our official company party. Everyone would bring a dish to share and picked names for our ornaments...it was kind of like Secret Santa, only all gifts were ornaments. 

There are so many great holiday party ideas out there, and I have hosted all kinds of holiday parties...but the above three are some of the most popular, But really, I don't think it matters what kind of party you have, but who you are celebrating with, .

The Young Professional- Interview Prep

May ended up being a bit of a crazy month for me, so I took an unplanned blog hiatus. I've been back blogging for a week or two, but I held off on any new The Young Professional posts; I wanted to start fresh in June. So, here we are. 

Recap: The Young Professional is a weekly (every Monday) blog series here on Dreams and Colour. We have covered job searching, resumes and cover letter writing. All posts can be found under The Young Professional tag.

Today, we are talking about interviews and how to prepare for them. 

 

It's so exciting to get a phone call (or email) asking you to come in and interview for a position. All of your hard work and energy spent looking for and applying to jobs is starting to pay off when people want to meet you. It's motivating to get interviews. Interviews can also be daunting. It can be intimidating to go in and meet someone new and have to sell yourself as to why you are perfect for the position. Being prepared can help calm your nerves when you are in the actual interview. 

What should you do pre-interview to prepare?

• Ask who you are meeting with. Get the name of the person interviewing you and look them up on LinkedIn. See if you can find any common ground; mutual friends, same alma mater or former employer. If you can find a connection with someone, it will make you feel more comfortable. Also, don't be afraid to bring up the connection. A few months ago, I interviewed with someone I met almost 3 years ago at Brock Homecoming. I mentioned this and aspects of our meeting to jog his memory. He went from all business to friendly, which helped me relax.
• Know where you are going. Going somewhere you've never been before can be stressful, add this to the already stressful pending interview situation and things have the potential to not be good. Google map your interview location and, if possible, take a drive to the place. It will give you a chance to figure out where you are going, find parking, etc. You might think you don't need to do this because you have GPS, but do it anyway. The morning of an interview, my GPS turned on and then died when I put the address in. Did I start to panic? Of course. But I knew the general area of where the interview was and I also remembered the google map directions, so I got there ok and on time.
• Get a phone number. You never know what might happen to prevent you from getting to your interview. I had my car break down on the way to an interview for my current job (I called a taxi and got there with 3 minutes to spare). If I was going to be late, I would have called to give them a heads up- which is just the considerate thing to do, FYI. Another time, I knew where the interview was, as I had been on that street many time, but I hadn't been in a while. I'm driving down the street, I could see the building, and the train track you used to be able to drive over is now blocked by a fence. Thank goodness I had a phone number! I was able to call them and explain the situation and they were able to give me directions on how to get to their building.
• Watch Dragons Den or Shark Tank. People on these shows are not only there to sell their products or ideas to investors, but also themselves. Watch a few episodes and study how people sell themselves, take note and apply them to yourself and interview skills. The Dragons/Sharks, also ask interview questions; these are great questions for your to practice answering. (I wish I could take credit for thinking of this tip...but it actually came from a friend I had lunch with the day before I had an interview).
• Visit the website of the company you are interviewing with. This is so important. This is your crash course on the company. Take a look at their history/about page and make note of some key information that you can memorize. In my current job, I was able to mention who founded the organization and why. In a previous interview, I was able to mention that the company I was applying to had been bought out by a different company less than a year ago. Other times, I was able to comment on awards the company had won, charitable work they do, new products they were getting ready to launch and different divisions of the company. There will be a lot of information on the website, look at it all and pick two or three key things you think you will be able to naturally bring up during your interview.
• Review the job posting. Look it over before you go. Be reminded of the position you are applying for, the skills they are looking for, and how you and your experience would be an added benefit to the company.
• Prepare questions. There is always an opportunity at the end of an interview to ask questions...ASK QUESTIONS!! This shows you are interested in learning about the position and organization, and finding out if both are a good fit for you. I like to prepare four or five questions, knowing that I will only ask two or three of the questions. I always prepare more in case my questions get answered during the interview. Next week, I'll be sharing some questions to ask during an interview, so I'm not going to go into them right now.

 

Preparing for the interview will help you feel more confident and calm. It will help you focus and put your best foot forward. Even though interviews can be scary or intimidating, remember they saw something in you that they liked...they WANT to meet you. You are setting out to impress them, but they need to impress you too.

Kentucky Derby- Decor & Entertainment

We are in the final days leading up to one of my all time favourite days of the year- Kentucky Derby!! The Derby is THIS Saturday and I cannot wait!! 

 

Last week, we talked about food & drink, so today I am sharing some Derby decor and entertainment ideas.

 

Image 1 // Image 2 // Image 3

 

Some people go all out with their Derby decor (like this blogger). I would, at least once, love to do that. I'm never organized enough to throw a big party, so I tend to keep my decor on the simple side; flowers, flowers, flowers.

If you want to go all out, think what the Derby is about; horses, Kentucky, the South. Lots of colours, lots of flowers and lots of horse racing paraphernalia. There are so many ideas on Pinterest. You can check out my Kentucky Derby Pinterest Board for more ideas.

Remember, the Derby is also referred to as 'Run for the Roses' so any decor piece that you can incorporate roses into, is a good idea. 

For my parties, I stick to flowers and not much else for decor. I basically just put vases of flowers around the room. Red Roses, Hydrangeas and Lilies are personal favourites. 

As for entertainment...

NBC Sports does a great coverage leading up to the race. It can be tedious to watch all of the coverage, but I usually have it on in the background. If you prefer music, you can find a pretty good playlist here.

If you are going for a BBQ/tailgating vibe, corn hole, slip and slide, and horseshoes are a lot of fun. 

What my family does, is each guest is asked to contribute $2 to the pot when they arrive and they get to pull a number out of a hat. The number they have, is their horse (for example, if I pull #4, my horse is the horse in the 4th post of the race). Whoever has the winning horse, gets the pot. It's just a fun little thing we do. 

Regardless of what you pick as the 'entertainment', the race, the most exciting two minutes in sports, is the central point of your party. So make sure you and your guests watch it!

Kentucky Derby- Food & Drink

I LOVE the Kentucky Derby...not as much as I love hockey (GO RANGERS!!)...but it's a close second. You don't actually have to be at Churchill Downs to enjoy the Derby...you can host your own Kentucky Derby Viewing Party!!

 

Every great party has great food and drink. When it comes to the Kentucky Derby, Mint Juleps are the drink of choice. You can find various recipes for this drink, but I had a wonderful woman (Pat, who stays in the same Florida condo complex as my grandmother) from Kentucky share her recipe with me. The key is that she makes her own syrup.

 

You will need:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• Fresh mint leaves
• Ice
• Bourbon

To make:

• Boil sugar and water for five minutes
• Cool and add mint leaves
• Cover and refrigerate overnight
• Pour 2oz of Bourbon over ice 
• Add 1oz of mint syrup to glass
• Stir
• Garnish with mint, if desired

Notes:

• I usually add 6 or 7 mint leaves to my syrup mix
• While you can use any kind of Bourbon, it's best to use Kentucky Bourbon
• If you don't have time to make your own syrup, you can buy simple syrup or mint julep flavouring

An alternative drink would be sweetened ice tea- made from real tea. I like to add some of the mint syrup to ice tea.

 

Image 1 //  Image 2 // Image 3

 

 

What about food?

 

Stick to the basics and think finger foods; cold seafood, tea sandwiches, salads and dips. Or you can do a southern BBQ; ribs, corn on the cob, biscuits. Whether you go for something a bit fancier or more casual, chocolate bourbon pecan pie makes a great dessert option.

 

In my family, we always serve Lobster Coquille at our Derby Party. Baked brie (or cheese platter), fruit salad and shrimp anything are also popular options.

There are so many options when it comes to Derby food and even drinks- if Mint Juleps are not your thing. I'm sure by searching Google or Pinterest, you'll find tons of ideas. 

 

Next week I'll be sharing decor and entertainment ideas!

Baby Shower Part 6- A Special Keepsake

About a year and a half ago, I hosted a 'Bedtime Stories' Baby Shower for a dear friend of mine. Even though the actual baby shower was so long ago, I still want to share details of the event with everyone. This is a timeless, gender neutral and fun theme.

Today I'm sharing a special keepsake that was made for the baby.

But first...

How pretty is this quilt?! We oversaw a quilt program, where volunteers would make these quilts for our clients. Each piece of fabric has a different texture, making it a sensory piece. Mom-to-be loved these quilt squares. When the finished quilt came back, I took it and saved it to give to her at her shower.

I used the quilt to 'wrap' the keepsake in. So, what was this special keepsake?

Staff and volunteers were given a letter of the alphabet and tasked with creating a picture that represented that letter. For example, I had the letter 'N' so I drew (ok...traced) a Nurse. All the pages were then assembled to create an alphabet book for the baby. As with everything related to this shower, the book fit with the theme.

The book even included a picture drawn by mom. I had her and another co-worker do the 'Pig Personality Test', where you draw a pig (it's a real thing...google it) and I kept her drawing of the pig to include in the book. Mom was so surprised and touched to receive this book and that she was-unknowingly- part of the project too.

It was a little bit of a challenge to get everyone to draw/trace their pictures prior to the shower, but so worth it. I had the original pages colour copied and used the copies for the book, which was bound at Staples (a lot of office supple stores can do this).

What did I do with the originals? I kept them so that they could be copied in the future and made into books for others. 3 people on staff have received copies of this special book for their little ones.


This is the final post for the Bedtime Stories Baby Shower. It's been fun sharing different aspects of this event with everyone.

Over the next 2 weeks, I will be doing a four part series on one of my favourite events of the year!


Looking for more on the Bedtime Stories Baby Shower Series?
Theme & Invite
Decorations
Food & Drink
Games (& Prizes)
Book & Gift Ideas

Baby Shower Part 5- Book Recommendations & Gifts

Almost a year and a half ago, I hosted a 'Bedtime Stories' Baby Shower for a dear friend of mine. Even though the actual baby shower was so long ago, I still want to share details of the event with everyone. This is a timeless, gender neutral and fun theme.

Today I'm sharing gift ideas- including book recommendations! 

 

Each guest was asked to bring a book instead of a card. There were about 20 people invited and I wanted to pick a book that no one else would, so I turned to to one of my favourite bloggers Brittany. Not only is Brittany incredibly inspiring and super talented (she creates custom art work), she is also an advocate of early childhood education...I knew she was the perfect person to ask for book ideas.

Here are some books that Brittany recommended:

• Anything by Leo Leoni or Kevin Henkes
• Chika Chika Boom Boom
• Oh The Places You Will Go
• Are You My Mother?
• Splat the Cat
• Goodnight Moon

While browsing my local bookstore, I was reminded of my favourite author from when I was a child- Robert Munsch! I always loved the artwork in his books and his stories were always so funny and engaging. I loved him as a kid and I wanted to share this love with my friend and her soon-to-be-born child...Something Good (picture 2) was my favourite Robert Munsch book.

I really wanted to get a 'Sophie the Giraffe', as I had heard this was a great gift but couldn't find one anywhere. So I settled for a butterfly (picture 1). This is a sensory toy; the back is black and white, which babies eyes focus, the wings and body are different textures and colours, it has mirrors, buttons that makes sounds, things to grab on to...just a lot going on.

I also bought a 'Sleep Sheep' (not pictured). I had heard great things about this product and that it not only helped baby sleep, but mom and dad too...because they can hear the soothing sounds through the baby monitor.

Finally, I just could not pass on this adorable onesie (picture 3)!! It says 'This is my little black dress'...too cute for words! What baby girl doesn't need headbands?! What I love about this head band is that the pink ribbon/bow is actually a clip on...this means it can be replaced with any other clip or worn as just a headband. Plus, when the baby is older and no longer wearing headbands, she will still have the hair clips that can be worn on their own.

Come back next week for the final installment of this Bedtime Stories Baby Shower Series. I will be sharing a homemade group gift that will, hopefully, be treasured forever.


Looking for more on this series?
Theme & Invite
Decorations
Food & Drink
Games (& Prizes)
 

DIY 'Sharpie' Mug

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a great week...mine has been a 'calm before the storm' type of week. But I'm happy to have some downtime and be able to spend this time in places that I love with people that I love. 

Today, I'm going to share a fun DIY project. There are so many pins and pictures on social media showing 'Sharpie Mugs/Plates/Bowls/Etc' and I really wanted to try this project out. I decided to make a custom mug.

Supplies:

 

• Mug (purchased from the dollar store)
• Permanent markers

Instructions:

• Clean. I took off the sticker price tag from the store and washed my mug with dish soap and water. I would suggest doing this and running it through your dishwasher as well. Your mug needs to be CLEAN. I thought mine was clean, but there was some residue left by the sticker, which ended up being baked on to my mug. 
• Decorate. I love this project because you can be as creative as you want, simple or complex. Since this was a test project, I decided to keep my 'design' simple. On one side I wrote 'Leading a life full of...' and on the other side I wrote 'Dreams and Colour'
• Bake.  With the help of Google, I discovered that the mug should be baked at 350 for half an hour, which I did.

So, how did it turn out?

As you can see from the pictures, what was done in black marker turned out well. The blue, pink and red markers, although super light, are still readable. I made a mug for a friend and used a dark purple marker, which turned out similar to the blue used for 'Dreams'.

I did end up tracing everything and re-baking to see if that would make the colours stand out more, but it didn't.

Couple of things to note:

• Not dishwasher safe. I put the mug in the dishwasher and everything more or less washed off.
• Potentially microwave safe. I did put the mug in the microwave for about 45 seconds and I didn't notice a change to the marker colours. Full disclosure- I only did this once so I'm not sure what would happen if the mug is put in the microwave repeatedly. 
• I know that this is called a 'Sharpie' mug but any type of permanent markers will work; Sharpie is a brand of permanent markers. I used Bic permanent markers.

The verdict?

While this is a super simple project that has the opportunity for tons of creativity and makes a great personalized gift, it really only works with black markers- which is fine, but I am a girl who LOVES colour. I have made a few of mugs for friends and they all loved them!



On the blog tomorrow...Bedtime Stories Baby Shower- Gifts & Book Recommendations.

Baby Shower Part 4- Games

Almost a year and a half ago, I hosted a 'Bedtime Stories' Baby Shower for a dear friend of mine. Even though the actual baby shower was so long ago, I still want to share details of the event with everyone. This is a timeless, gender neutral and fun theme.

Today I'm sharing the games we played! This was an 'over lunch, before a staff meeting' baby shower, so even though there were some games I really wanted to play that would include people getting up and doing activities, I just didn't have the time or space. I also wanted to incorporate games that had to do with the theme- Bedtime Stories!

After some Google-ing (seriously, what did people do before Google?!), I found two games online that I was able to print for everyone to play. They were:

• Nursery Rhyme Game (from here)- This is essentially a nursery rhyme trivia game and included questions like "What couldn't Jack Sprat eat?" and "What did Little Miss Muffet sit on?"
• Can You Finish The Nursery Rhyme? (from here)-This was basically fill in the blank. An example of a question is: Mary had a little lamb, it's [blank] was white as snow.

Both of these games were quick to 'play' and everyone got a good laugh from the answers- you bet I made everyone read what they wrote! It was fun to see how out of practice everyone- including mom-to-be- were with their nursery rhymes.

With the prizes, again, I wanted something that would fit the theme:

How cute are these sleep masks?! I picked them up at the dollar store, so they were inexpensive but the perfect fit for a Bedtime Stories Baby Shower!

Come back next week for gift and book ideas!

Looking for more on this baby shower?

Theme & Invite
Decorations
Food & Drink

Baby Shower Part 3- Food & Drink

Almost a year and a half ago, I hosted a 'Bedtime Stories' Baby Shower for a dear friend of mine. Even though the actual baby shower was so long ago, I still want to share details of the event with everyone. This is a timeless, gender neutral and fun theme.

Today I wanted to share the food & drinks!! It was decided that we would ask everyone to bring their own lunch and that we (the office) would provide a cake or cupcakes. I also wanted to include food and drinks that fit our theme.

What goes with bedtime stories? Cookies and milk, of course!!

Like the gift table, the food table (picture #1) was also turned into a bed (see the decor post on how this was done). We had white and chocolate milk, which I poured from cartoons into reusable plastic containers with lids (purchased from the dollar store) and placed in an ice bucket (also from the dollar store).

The office decided to purchase cupcakes instead of a cake, because it was more cost effective. A friend of mine made the cupcakes (picture #2)...how adorable are they?!?!? They were pretty delicious too.

I am not much of a baker, which my friend knows, so she was extra touched that I baked cookies for her shower. I ended up making two kinds of cookies; Campfire Cookies (picture #4) and Rolo Stuffed Sugar Cookies (pictured #3).

The cookies & milk were a huge hit with everyone in attendance and was a nice way to tie our food and drinks to our theme.

Looking for more on this Baby Shower?
Theme and Invitation
Decorations

Baby Shower Part 2- Decorations

Almost a year and a half ago, I hosted a 'Bedtime Stories' Baby Shower for a dear friend of mine. Even though the actual baby shower was so long ago, I still want to share details of the event with everyone. This is a timeless, gender neutral and fun theme.

Today I wanted to share the decorations!! We had the usual balloons and streamers but I also wanted decorations that were unique to the theme- bedtime stories- and would not take a ton of time to set up; we would be setting up while the guest of honour was out picking up lunch, so about 15 minutes.

I used inspiration from here and here, deciding to turn the gift and refreshment tables into 'beds'. A quick trip the the dollar store and I had everything I needed! In total, I spent less than $20 on decor.

All beds need pillows, which I made (first picture). I bought plastic tablecloths, taped three sides, stuffed it with tissue paper and then taped the fourth side. These were so easy to make and because they weren't real pillows, it didn't matter if they got ruined.

The other items that I bought to make the 'beds' (picture 2) were more plastic tablecloths and books. I bought a white tablecloth to cover the table and then coloured/patterned ones to make the 'bedding'. Again, because these were from the dollar store, it didn't matter if they got ruined. I also picked up a couple of books (from the dollar store) that I incorporated into the decor, plus the mom-to-be was able to keep these books after the shower for baby to enjoy later.

The third picture (gift table) shows the completed 'bed'. You can see the pink tablecloth was placed over the table and folded down to look like bedding, the pillow was placed at the head of the 'bed' and we included a bear (left over from a work event and later sent home with mom-to-be) 'tucked in' and reading a book.

The decoration, although simple, really tied the theme together and added that 'something extra' to our event space- which was our meeting room at work, so not an exciting space to begin with. The decor was cost effective, easy to assemble and super cute!

Looking for more on this baby shower?
Theme & Invitation

From The Archives: Baby Shower Part 1- Theme & Invite

Almost a year and a half ago, I hosted a 'Bedtime Stories' Baby Shower for a dear friend of mine. The shower was so much fun to plan, almost as much fun as the actual party! 

I had every intention on sharing details of the shower on the blog, but never really got around to it. Better late than never, right?

Even though the actual baby shower was so long ago, I still want to share details of the event with everyone. This is a timeless, gender neutral and fun theme.

The day of the Baby Shower, I posted details about the theme and I posted the custom invitations I had made. Please visit the original post here for all of the details!!

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting other elements of the shower, which will include refreshments (with recipes), decorations, games, book suggestions and a one of a kind gift.

Trust me, you don't want to miss these details!!

i & i

i(nspiration)

&

i(dea)

Fall is officially here! I know sooo many people who love Fall. I am not one of them, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the season and the different activities you can do. 

This weeks idea is to make a fall bucket list. We have all hear that studies have shown, if you write things down, you are more likely to do them. Why not make a list of the things you want to do this fall? It doesn't even have to be a long list. It's also a great way to make sure everything you love doing in the fall, gets done. 

Check out this site for some ideas that can be added to your fall bucket list.