Gearing up for BlogHer12 and a Vacation!!

It's that time of year again when all those blogger ladies get together with their techy gadgets in hand and discuss the social media world in depth. Yup..you guessed it!

Last year my dear friend Marci, over at The Phee Family introduced me to the world of BlogHer as she told me to pack a bag, leave the kidlets behind, and share a two hour drive with her down to sunny San Diego. This was a no brainer. I love blogging, I virtually was an amature and yearned to learn more, I could use a little "ME" time, and I wanted some fun with my friend. And..boy was FUN had. In fact, I enjoyed myself so much last year that I planned my trip to BlogHer12 in New York the minute I arrived home.

This year, my friend Marci's place has been taken by my husband. In addition to the conference, the hubster and I will be vacationing in NYC for the first time. We have maps. We have schedules. We have a list of must see's. We are beyond excited to take this much deserved getaway together, and to connect with those other bloggers out there while enjoying some amazing food and spectacular scenery.

Premium Business Cards by Vistaprint

If any of you are attending BlogHer12, make sure you say HI! For those of you who aren't able to make it, I'll be sure to fill you all in!

Tutorial: Turning a pair of 4T shorts into a 9 Month Skirt

My friend Marci over at The Phee Family has her annual summer trip back home to Michigan coming up here in a few short weeks. Every year, her sis-in-law Robin and her dress their kidlets up in matching outfits and enjoy taking pictures of the boys as they run around the yard doing the things that boys do! However, this year it's not just boys attending this mini family reunion. You see, Marci had baby Alice this past Thanksgiving which finalizes the cousin score at 3 boys & 1 girl.

With this big trip right around the corner, the Momma's wheels began turning over exactly what their four should wear, and these super cute shorts pictured below were chosen. But, these are boys shorts, and they do NOT come in Alice's size! What ever should they do? 


My solution...buy an extra pair in a larger size & turn it into an adorable skirt!
And...that's just what I did!



Marci purchased a size 4T shorts from the boys section at Old Navy. She handed me the shorts, and I got to work.






After thorough inspection of these little shorts, I decided to make a straight cut across the shorts just above the cargo pockets leaving me with two pieces.





Next,  I took the bottom part of the shorts and cut the cuffs off of both of the legs.





I cut each cuff circle leaving me with 2 short strips of fabric. Then, I used my serger to combine these two strips into one (sorry I forgot to take a picture), and I placed my one long strip to the side. I picked up my skirt and determined how much fabric needed to be removed in order for it to fit Baby Alice perfectly. After measuring her waist, and taking the front and back pockets of the skirt into consideration, I decided to cut approximately 5 inches diagonally off the waistline. I chose to cut diagonally therefore her little pudgy thighs would fit better and I wanted to give the skirt a more full look, but you could also cut straight if you so desire. 





Once I had cut the skirt, I attached the long cuff strip to the bottom by simply serging the frayed edges of both pieces together. Lastly, I folded the skirt in half inside out, and serged straight up the middle of the backside. I tied off my ends, used some anti-fray glue, and snipped off all my loose threads.





When I was finished, I had one 9 month skirt perfect for Baby Alice to match all the boys during her trip back to Michigan! This skirt was very simple to make, took me only about 20 minutes from beginning to end, and turned out even better then I had expected. I have a feeling Baby Alice and her little skirt will be the talk of her family reunion back in Michigan.

Have you turned any of your older kidlet's clothes into something for your younger one lately? If so...please feel free to link up below!

The 50 Shades of Party Invites

Yes, I too was bitten by the 50 Shades of Grey bug!! Call it fan fiction, call it Mommy Porn, call it whatever you want, but I still loved every single word that made up this trilogy. The romance, suspense, and erotica yielded me many late nights laying on my couch snuggled up with my kindle in hand. I laughed, I cried, I learned new things, and I felt empowered with every single page turned.

Like every other women out there, I shared my love for this trilogy with my other friends who soon became as crazed with the story of Ana & Christian as I did. I received countless amounts of texts, emails, and phone calls from my friends lusting over Mr. Grey. So, I thought what better way to discuss our thoughts of this enticing piece of work, then to have our very own 50 Shades of Grey party.

I wanted the evenings tone to be set before my friends even stepped foot into my house, therefore I knew my invitations had to be perfect. I took a late night trip to my local Joann Fabrics and picked up all the necessities, then set to work.



I planned on making 10 invitations so I purchased: 
-5 sheets of red textured paper
-5 sheets of shiny grey paper
-2 yards of thin silver chain
-2 yards of black leather 


The other supplies used were:
-Hot glue gun & extra sticks
-Scissors
-10 3x4 white card stock printed invitations
-Men's Tie Pattern



I cut each of the red textured papers in half, and cut 10 ties out of the shiny grey papers. I also glued the grey ties with small dabs of the hot glue onto the red textured papers.



Next, I assembled the handcuffs by cutting the black leather into 3 inch strips and the thin silver chain into 2 inch strips.



I hot glued each of the black leather pieces into small circles, and then glued the small silver chain to the two black leather circles.



I completed the invitation by hot glueing the black leather handcuffs and the white printed card stock to the red textured papers. And...there you have it, a fun kinky invitation to a 50 Shades of Grey party!

Do you have any fun 50 Shades of Grey invites you have created? Feel free to link up below!

Bowling for Fun!!

Trying new things with kidlets is like doing something for the first time all over again. A few months back, I look the girls and their friend Abbie to go bowling. It was amazing watching them giggle while trying to knock all the pins down at the end of the alley. Us ladies had such an amazing time in the short time we were there. The best part...multi-colored bowling shoes!

Happy Feet...Dancing

Jump In...Jump Out...Jump In..Jump Out

Those are the words I heard repeated over and over again for months on end! Boy can our sweet girl dance. At her Alice in Wonderland recital her feet moved, her lips smiled, her hands clapped, her body twirled, her lips blew kisses, & her head bobbed to the beat of the music as she danced her heart out.

The Little Details

It's the little things about her that I want to remember most! Especially her...

...hey you looking at me smirk!

...little red hairs blowing in the wind!


...sweet innocent look!


...precious little hands!

THE SLIDE!!

The girls are at the age where all they want to do is climb & slide, climb & slide, and do it again! So, we figured this big beauty would be an awesome investment for water family fun this summer. And, boy were we right! This pool has provided so much joy, giggles, and splashing in just the few short weeks that we have had it. Our girls are surely lucky that Fafa Rick LOVES spoiling them!





eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwweeeee