my funny [and slightly crabby] valentine

Once B was born, I decided I needed to learn how to bake cookies. It took me until last Valentine's day to feel confident enough to share my baked goods with the masses. This year when I mentioned my plans to do the same, R mentioned how it was now a Valentine's Day tradition. I like traditions. I loved the sound of it.


So on date night when we realized we were all out of butter and couldn't make cookies without it, we had to make a pit stop. And when I realized B's 15 month well baby check would keep me occupied in the morning I had to stay up late to bake the cookies. It was a tradition. :)

I stayed up late baking. I got B up early for his 15 month check. A 15 month check means shots. They also took some blood. B was not so happy about it. Our morning was off to a rough start. And the cookies I stayed up late to bake hadn't frosted themselves.

Enter a genius Heidi idea. (Are you keeping track? That's already the 2nd one this year.)

Time was short. I was bored with frosting cookies. Jars are cute. And anything you put in a jar automatically becomes cute by association.

And that's how the Hickstionary Decorate Your Own Cookies Kit in a jar came to be.

Pour some sprinkles in a jar. Carefully (or in my case, not so carefully) place the cookies on top of the sprinkles. Fill a zip lock bag with Wilton Buttercream Frosting. (Do NOT use any other kind. It just wont work. I promise.) Carefully fold the zip lock bag over so the zipper is hidden. Gently lay the bag on top of the cookies. Stick a clever note in saying it's a cookie decorating kit. (Leave out the part about how you're too lazy to decorate the cookies yourself.) Attach a picture of your funny Valentine. Take a picture of your funny Valentine holding on to the jar and looking cute. (Unless they just had shots then you should probably just save yourself the torture and skip that part.) Be too lazy to actually deliver the jars so hand them out to the neighbor kids as they get off the school bus and eat the rest of the cookies yourself. Okay, that part is optional but the rest of the directions are totally necessary.

Cute, right?

And yes- I did actually frost a few cookies. We took bags/boxes of cookies to every place we visited that day. In total, we delivered (or ate) 77 cookies (at last count). B's favorite stop was daddy's school. He LOVES running in the gym and he LOVES seeing his daddy so it might have been the happiest moment of his day. As soon as he properly greeted his daddy though, he spotted a neighbor girl (he is incredibly gifted at spotting the neighbor girls in a crowd and chasing them down). He ran after her as she was leaving class and made it out the door behind her. I tried to get a shot of him giving her a hug but by the time I grabbed my camera, he was off to check out something else. Probably another Valentine. ;)


Hope you had a happy and funny (not crabby) Valentine's Day!

Date With A Purpose

Do you have Gloo?

It's a handy little app with all kinds of little apps within. Or something like that.

We are just finishing the Date With A Purpose Challenge.

The challenge was to do one date a week for four weeks. Each week the app offers conversation topics. Many of the topics weren't things we would normally talk about and it was great for us to learn even more about each other.

Most of our weekly dates for the challenge were on the couch after B went to bed (hello, Yahtzee tournament) but we ended the challenge with an actual night out (thanks to B's grandma who came to hang out with him!).

Our favorite date night activity? Progressive dinner.

Since we don't get out much we love hitting up as many places as we can while we're out. For progressive dinner we do appetizers, dinner, desserts and often drinks all at different locations.

This date night included High Life bacon wrapped tots, Waterfront Sushi (and double cheeseburger for the mister), and Scratch cupcakes. We had plans of drinks at Chilis but the butter incident took priority and we ran out of time.

What is your favorite date night activity?

Do you have a date coming up? (like oh I don't know... For Valentines Day!)

If you do, check out Gloo for some date ideas and conversation topics.

are you?

I woke up around 3 am. I'm still awake. I cant sleep and one thing keeps playing through my mind.

I messed up last night.



Ugh. I hate that feeling.

I love being given a task and I love the feeling of successfully scratching it off my neat and tidy 'to do' list. (Okay fine. If we're being completely honest tonight, there are multiple to do lists. They are anything but neat and tidy and sometimes I add things I've already done to them just so I have more things to cross off. But I digress.)

I love being given a task, so on Sunday when Pastor Troy gave us a homework assignment, I was up for the challenge.

It seemed easy enough upon first hearing it; ask one person this week if they are going to heaven or hell.

But then he asked us to think of someone rightthereonthespot and write their name down.

I froze.


I wasn't sure.

I ran through the short list of people I would actually have interaction with this week. I was pretty confident all of them were believers and would answer with confidence that they are going to heaven. I know pretty sure isn't completely sure, but I was sure enough that none of them made the list (sorry friends I'm seeing this week- if you aren't sure if you are going to heaven, will you please let me know!?!).


So I prayed. I asked God to put someone in my path this week and make it clear to me that I was supposed to minister to them. I knew it was a long shot because I didn't have a whole lot of plans of leaving the house this week and the act might take God actually sending someone to knock on my door. The thought of Him doing something like that was a long shot. Laughable really. (You see where this is going, right?)




Fast forward to last night. It was date night. R & I set off on our monthly adventure while the little man had adventures of his own with grandma. I had (admittedly) forgotten about the homework assignment and was excited for a basketball free night out with the husband. The night went great (more on that later. ha) and even though we were running late getting back, we decided to make a quick stop at Wal-Mart to grab the last minute missing ingredient for my Valentines treats. I don't know why we chose Wal-Mart. I swore off ever going to the Ankeny Wal-Mart again when I was 9 months pregnant with B. I'm not a Wal-Mart hater, I just don't like that one. So when it was my idea to stop there for butter (when we had plenty of other butter buying options), I should have known something was up.

We bought our butter (and okay, a couple other things) and headed out the door. We had made it in and out of store #892 with no major snags. Success!

And then I saw the cop cars.

They were parked around the front of the store and I just knew one of them was there to talk to us. I did a quick memory scan trying to think of anything or any reason why they might be there for us. Did we mess something up at self-checkout? Had I put my cell phone in my pocket and they thought I was stealing something? (Am I the only one that thinks of this crazy thing!?!) Okay the idea was crazy for even me. I shook it off and got in the car ready to go see our little Valentine at home.

It took forever to get out of the parking spot. We sat there for quite awhile. And sat. and sat. and sat.

Until....

You guessed it.


Someone knocked on the car door.


"Excuse me. I'm not trying to bother you guys but do you have any money? I'm homeless. I live in a tent." 


Uhhhh.... I look at R and wait for him to respond. He looks at me waiting for me to respond.

And we freeze.




Now here's the thing. When we are on vacation we like to explore the city we are visiting. Doing so often leaves us in questionable areas where requests like this are common and frequent. We purposefully carry small bills around so we are prepared to 'pay them off' so they leave us alone and we can be on our way.

But here. In the parking lot of store #892, we're caught off guard.

 I finally respond.


"Well sir, sure. Let's go over to McDonalds and get you a meal."


He replies, "I just really want to go in and get some hamburgers and buns for $8.89."

And R replies, "Sorry, sir we don't have any cash."


Pause.


Right there. That's when I messed up.


I could have suggested we go in and grocery shop with him. We could have used that time to talk to him and get to know him. After talking to him, we could have easily asked him if he was going to heaven. If he knew for sure. How he knew? I could have easily crossed that homework assignment off my neat and tidy to do list.

But I didn't.

I watched as the man walked away.


I wasn't sure what to say.

So I didn't.



Before I realized what was going on, another man was knocking on our door. This time it was a police officer. He was questioning us about the man. They had received complaints about him and wanted to know what our interaction with him entailed.

I should have spoke up. I should have said he was hungry and we didn't feed him. I should have said you know what, we'll take him inside and get him some food so he can leave well fed and not 'bother' anyone else tonight. I should have.

But I didn't.



As we were driving home, R knew I was beating myself up about it. He told me I couldn't do that. We tried to make excuses for our behavior; 'if he was really hungry, he would have taken the offer for a McDonald's meal, right?' 'well he didn't want the meal so he must just have wanted the money for who knows what.' 'if he really lives in a tent what would he need with hamburgers? where would he cook them?' and on and on.

(Oh and for the record- R kindly pointed out to me that he could in fact have a grill for his hamburgers. Doh.)


But in the end our excuses weren't cutting it and the truth remains.


I messed up.


I didn't listen to the Holy Spirit. I didn't act on the opportunity. I didn't complete my homework.



I had prayed for God to put someone in my path. He did so in a very clear way yet I chose to ignore it.


Have you ever prayed for something then when given the opportunity for it, not grasped hold?

If you've ever prayed for patience, maybe you know what I'm talking about. :)


Life isn't a neat and tidy to do list. It's not about completing tasks just to cross them off the list but only if they don't require me to step out of my comfort zone.


Tonight I'm praying for forgiveness. I'm praying for grace. I'm praying for courage. I'm praying for another chance.

And I'm praying that I'll trust God this time around.




Finally, I promise I wont use this as my easy out to crossing off an item on my to do list... but what about you? Are you going to heaven or hell? I'd love to hear your answer and I'd love to hear your 'why.' Come knock on my door so we can chat. Or you know, shoot me an email. :)


Hold Fast, friends!

And Happy Valentine's Day! :)

15 months

Dear Beckett,

You are FIFTEEN months young today! It is hard to believe that it's almost time for another well baby checkup. Your checkup isn't until Thursday but from a recent appointment we know that you are about 26 lbs and at 12 months, you were 35 inches tall. The handy dandy 'be a good mommy' chart says you should be 29-33 inches at 15 months so once again, I'm sure they will tell us what a TALL boy you are tomorrow.

You definitely are tall, little guy. You're also sweet and funny and fierce and loving and ALL boy. You run and jump and climb and holler. You cuddle and snuggle and kiss and hug. You talk and sign and follow directions well. You have favorite books, favorite shows, favorite toys, favorite animals and favorite foods. It's so fun to see the little person you are becoming.


Some fun things about you at 15 months:


Your language. Daddy and I LOVE listening to you talk. You are always saying new words and starting to put words together. You will copy just about everything we ask you to say but more often than not these days, you are saying new words on your own and we are left trying to figure them out. Just this morning daddy brought in a new suitcase that had been in the car and you went to investigate it and said to daddy, "What's this?" Once we answer your questions, you often just say, "OH." When we ask you questions you often answer with, 'dis, dat, es, no' (this, that, yes, no) or a shoulder shrug. You request 'moo moo' when you wake up (it took me awhile to figure out what you wanted when you said it. I tried offering you your book about cows but you motioned for me to follow you to the fridge instead where you pointed to the picture of the cow on the milk carton). You often get compliments from other people about how nice your manners are when you sign 'please' and 'thank you' but what they don't know is that you really only do them when you want food. :) While you are saying a lot of new words these days, my favorite (besides mama, of course) is still 'uh odah' (Dakota).


Food has been a major motivator in getting you to speak and sign and since we spend a LOT of time at the kitchen table, you get to practice those skills often. Typically you want to eat when you wake up then about every two hours after that. You generally eat small amounts at a time but other times you eat just as much as I do. Thankfully you (so far) haven't been too picky in your foods and you'll eat about everything we offer you. You love fruits, veggies, meats, breads and you've recently discovered sweets (yikes). I was trying to sneak an m&m one day and you caught me. You've known where we stash the goods ever since. Now we have to wait until you are in bed before we sneak treats. (Thankfully you wont be old enough to read this for awhile so I don't have to give up my secret just yet).



Your sleep. We can talk about this without jinxing it (I hope) because you are currently in a transition phase. From August-January you slept from 7 pm to 8 am and 11 am to 2 pm 99% of the days we were at home with no visitors. It was quite a nice schedule you gave me for quite a long time and I enjoyed the consistent work hours each afternoon. (Thanks buddy!) However... these days we are transitioning into keeping you up a little later at night and having a little less of a nap during the day. You've always required more sleep than the charts say (just like mama) but since we've been giving you iron supplements, we feel like you are doing better at staying awake longer periods now.
Our bedtime routine consists of reading books (sometimes you request the read alongs on the iPad instead of actual books) and snuggling. You rub mommy's back when you are tired and tell me, 'Shh shhh.' You give Dakota hugs and wave 'nigh nigh' and then usually lay down on the floor and pretend to snore. You sure aren't subtle about letting us know it's bed time. :) I used to hold you as we stood by your crib and sang 'Jesus Loves Me' but these days you've been diving out of my arms and into the crib so I stand near you as we get you tucked in just right and you settle in. You MUST have your blankies just right and as much as we were sure you wouldn't attach to a lovey, it seems that blankie may just be your thing. A week ago, you took it to Sunday school where your favorite teacher said you didn't let go of it the entire time you were there.




Speaking of Sunday school. You love going to play with your church friends. On Sunday morning if someone mentions you get to go see them, you deliver shoes to everyone that's currently in socks then you go sit beside the door. You CANT WAIT to go to church. You're also good at helping to get ready to leave in general. You can say 'boots' and you attempt to put them on (though you are a ways off from being able to). In the radiology waiting room, someone's nice grandma told you she liked your boots. You looked at them and pointed to them and smiled and she couldn't believe what a smart little boy you were to know the word boots. It made your mama happy because most strangers guess your age around 2 and think you should be talking more than what you are. :)
Playtime is always fun. You have quite the imagination and are SO good at playing with other people. You've always been the entertainer and are good at doing things for a laugh.



You enjoy other kids. Most children your own age though prefer parallel play so I asked daddy the other night if he thinks you bug your church friends trying to get them to play with you all morning. :)


Your favorite toys have been changing a lot lately but currently it's your builders you got from Aunt Mal for Christmas. Most mornings you get that tub out first and dump it out all over the floor. You're good at dumping things on the floor and pulling things out.


Thankfully you've been getting better at picking toys up. Just tonight you successfully cleaned up the basement (mostly) on your own. You know that things have a place and that they should be there. Earlier today I was looking for your boots under the couch and asked you to do the same (because I was sure one got kicked under there- I was right) and once I found it, I couldn't find you. I went to your room and you had pushed a chair up to your dresser drawer where we keep your boots. You had the drawer open and had been looking in it for your boots. That story shows two of your qualities- how smart you are and how much you LOVE to climb.




You are a climber! You are definitely all boy. You climb on everything. You think everything can be used as a ball and most things can be used as a hoop. And you like to yell. A lot. :) This morning as I was putting breakfast dishes away you got really quiet and didn't answer when I asked where you were. As I came around the corner, I saw you up on the dining room table where you were using the pinecones as balls and the light fixture as a hoop. When I said, "Oh Beckett we don't climb on chairs and tables, we sit on chairs." You said, "OV!" (That's LOVE! in B talk. Which is short for 'I love you.') Again tonight before bed as I said I love you, you screamed back "OV!" Generally your "OV!" is accompanied by a running jump and hug. A FULL SPEED running jump and hug. Keeping you sitting still at basketball games is a challenge as you would rather be running on the court or smoozing the crowd.


I don't blame you though. :)


Oh, B! It's so fun to be your mom. Life with you is never boring. I still cant believe I get to be your mama. Your daddy and I love you oh so much! Happy 15 months, B-Meister!

What I Want To Wear Wednesday

Confession: I'm currently wearing yoga pants. As I type this (on a Monday), it's cold and windy and I have no plans of leaving the house today so B and I are having a sweat pants kind of day.

 Bigger confession: That has been happening a lot lately.

 I know I said I wouldn't be a 'hang out in sweatpants all day kind of WAHM,' but it's happened. I tried to fight it but getting up and wasting a perfectly cute outfit on a stay home kinda day was getting old. I'm not a wasteful person so I didn't see any reason to continue. And here I sit. In my sweat pants. Which brings me to What I (Want to) Wear Wednesday. Because 'What I (actually) Wore' wouldn't be as pretty.  :)


Here's what I would be wearing today (in anticipation of date night) if I had enough money to buy cute outfits with no worries of wasting cute outfits on stay at home days. :)



As we were running in for a 'quick' Target trip, these shoes spotted me from across the aisle. They looked into my eyes and begged me to buy them. I resisted. (Rather R talked me out of them.) (I'm still trying to resist them but have you ever dreamt about a pair of shoes that needed to come home with you? Uhhhh... yeah, me either. I was just asking for a friend...)


Since I didn't get to bring them home with me, I did what any normal person would do; I built an imaginary outfit around my imaginary shoes. Ahem.


The top. The sweater. The denim. Thee shoes.

I tried to stick to Tar-jay (because it's really the only place I seem to make it to these days) but as much as I love me some Tar-jay deals, I cant bring myself to love the Tar-jay denim. So I headed over to the Gap (online of course) and found these beauties.

And when I hopped over to Gappity Gap and found those beauties, I also found this adorable outfit all ready to go. That would have been much quicker, eh?

Ah well. Happy shopping today (pretend or real)!

splish splash

I'm really good at saying 'more on that later' when I think I'll whip out a post about something. I'm also really good about never getting back to the 'more' once it's 'later.' Good thing you guys are really good at reminding me. :)

By request- the rest of the guest bath. It's the room I spend the least amount of time in. Other than making sure the door is shut each morning (so B doesn't wander in), I pretty much forget this room is even there. Since I'm rarely in this space, it gets majorly neglected. 

When we moved in, we used the same bathroom stuff that we had in our apartment circa 2005. Is it just me or is that a long lifetime for a shower curtain?? Fast forward 8ish years and it was time for the shower curtain to go. (You know it's bad when R throws it out without being asked.) So with a starting budget of $0, I set off to redo the guest (and client) bathroom. 

Knowing we needed a new shower curtain, I knew the $0 budget wouldn't cut it. I thought about turning an old sheet into shower curtain but sitting down and getting anything done at the sewing machine is next to impossible these days. (Have you ever played the 'don't sew the toddler's fingers' game as the 1yo investigates the needle while you sew? It's even less fun than it sounds.) 

So I saved my 'fun money'* and headed out to Target. This bathroom is tiny and there is no natural light so I knew I wanted something light. White wouldn't work since all the fixtures are cream so I was worried my options would be limited. They were- there was only one cream shower curtain in the place. Thankfully, it was (almost, basically) exactly what I was looking for. I liked that it was completely off-white (with no pattern/color) but loved the little detail at the bottom. Shower curtain: Check. 

Next on the list- new towels. I know that doesn't fit the $0 budget either but for the last two years, I've turned the Christmas hand towels around in there and used them year round. Obviously, it was time for a change. I went to the cheapest section of towels and found the perfect color: hot coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker but I think coffee is black whether is it hot or not. These towels are not. They are more like a mix between slate and brown. Hot coffee with cream and sugar maybe? Towels: Check.

Once I put up the new shower curtain and towels, it was obvious our old artwork** and print wouldn't work. I didn't have anymore 'fun money' I was willing to part with for the project and I was too impatient to make anything artsy. I shopped the house instead, searching for off-white anything that might work. I had two major nail holes I wanted to hang something over so two items were on my 'shopping list.' I found the off-white 5x7s in the kitchen and snagged them. However, they were holding pictures of my niece and nephews cooking in the kitchen. Not exactly bathroom art. Fresh off my 'they see me rollin' art, I ran off to the computer to whip out another printable. 'Splish.' 'Splash.' And matching the towels and shower curtain perfectly? Perfect! I also stole another Lollywood Frame from the {cb}h studio. It held a picture of B but with the muted colors in the rest of the space, his bright picture wasn't cutting it. Back to the computer, this time on a hunt for picture of B splishing and splashing. I ran a 'hot coffee' action on it (yep, I just made that up) so it too matched the other colors perfectly and the art cost a total of $0. 

Finally, I wanted to have a few clean wash cloths. As I mentioned, it's the client restroom and I wanted to give clients the option of not having to share my husband's hand towel (which you can see I didn't take the time to fold up nicely again before pictures...oops). With literally no counter space or shelves, the back of the toilet was my next option. My MIL gifted me this cute little drawer at Christmas time so I grabbed it and stuck some wash cloths and lotion in for clients and other guests to use. Ta-da! There's our complete bathroom redo for almost $0 (other than that shower curtain and towels of course). ;) 

*My 'fun money' is not a real part of our budget. It comes from client tips [and my awesome hubby that sells his body (he donates plasma)]. So big shout out to my big tippers last month that helped me finally redo the bathroom! :)

**Our old artwork was a print with Galatians 5:22-23 on it. We've had it as long as the old shower curtain (approximately 8 years) and during that time I noticed at least 3,298 other people I know have that same verse in their bathroom. Is that strange to anyone else besides me?

I wish I had a before picture for you but if you've ever been to our house, you know this is a huge improvement for the little effort it took.  Have you been working on any home projects lately? 

365 Week 6

5 (Tuesday)- Just hanging out at the bank (again). There was recently fraud on my debit card and while it has been a hassle to deal with, I'm thankful for the people that work at my small town bank- they take good care of us!

6 (Wednesday)- Have you ever wondered if news anchors bother with dress pants? Have you ever wondered what B's choice of pants is for Skyping? Well next time you Skype with B, at least one of your questions can be answered. 

7 (Thursday)- Date night on the couch. R showed up wearing his 'lucky shirt' that he's worn every single day of basketball season. I wish I was kidding. 

8 (Friday)- We had special visitors and B didn't want to miss out so he decided to skip nap. Even after they left he wasn't ready to lay down so we had quiet time and 'read books.' He loves the auto play books in tab tales and I'm embarrassed to admit that I let them read to him. A lot. Isn't it crazy to think that over his lifetime he'll likely read way more books digitally than not? 

9 (Saturday)- B got his first Valentine from a little girl today. It was adorable!! I love how he looks a little nervous over the whole deal (look at those thumbs tucked in). So sweet! :)

10 (Sunday)- B had some fun hanging out in the pool for Izzy's birthday party.

11 (Monday)- On Monday morning, the very hungry growing boy ate through ONE piece of toast, TWO banana halves, THREE bites of turkey, FOUR strawberries, FIVE mandarin oranges, & SIX ounces of yogurt. And that was just for breakfast. Yikes.

RAK Week

It's Random Act of Kindness Week.

Here are some suggested ideas from their site:


Monday- Smile at 10 strangers.

Tuesday- Buy something for the person in line behind you.

Wednesday- Reach out to someone you haven't talked to in awhile.

Thursday- Bring a treat to a neighbor or your co-workers.

Friday- Donate your time or money to a local charity.

Saturday- Cook a healthy meal.

Sunday- Let someone go in front of you in line.



Are you RAKing this week?!?

B's First Valentine

Okay so technically, B got his first Valentine last year but Valentines from grandmas don't count do they?
This year, B got his first Valentine from a cute little girl and it was adorable! Neither of them were too sure about the exchange and B was having a 'man's day' with daddy so he was caught with his jammies half off hanging out in a diaper... but it was still super cute. Thank you for the Valentine, sweet M! B devoured those goldfish! :)

Party Time

Who doesn't love a good party? It doesn't take much of an excuse for me to want to throw a party.

B.B. (before Beckett), we felt like we had to be creative with our party reasons since we didn't have the children's birthday party excuse to invite people over. We've hosted game nights, yard games, outdoor movie parties, gender reveals, bridal showers, baby showers, March Madness parties, bowl game parties, Super Bowl parties, craft days, favorite things, and the list goes on and on.

B.B. we had a little (a lotta) bit more expendable income so mixing up the party decor and going overboard on the food was never a big deal. These days, we still love any old excuse for a party but we have to be a lot more thrifty about it.  In the past we may have offered every guests' favorite drink; these days we offer just one or two. Our old parties would end with tons of leftovers; recent parties have had much smaller menus and in several cases have even been potluck.*

And the decor... yep, we pretty much reuse and repurpose it for every. single. party.

We started with some good staple pieces back in the day. And by request, I'm going to share my hints and tips for throwing a party on the cheap. Lucky you. ;)


First off, I'm going to share with you my all time favorite party blog. I cant even believe I'm giving up this awesome resource but in the days of Pinterest, there really aren't any 'best kept internet secrets' anymore are there? (And yep. I too have a Party Time board on Pinterest.)   Hostess With The Mostess is a loverly little blog about all things hostessy.

Pretty much all the party trends that have popped up and exploded on the interwebs, were first featured on HWTM. Those cute little milk bottles you can now buy everywhere? They were featured in this lovely brunch on HWTM before shops even sold them. You had no choice but to go the Starbucks bottle route. Party shops around the web took note and capitalized on the opportunity.

And that's where my party supply essential list starts.

-Milk bottles. As previously mentioned, I first saw them on HWTM. That was nearly two years ago. You couldn't buy them in shops so I set out to the grocery store to buy a pack of the Starbucks frappucine bottles. I bought a pack of 4 and tried to drink them. Tried to pawn them off on every guest that walked through the door. Tried to convince R he liked them. Nothing worked. The cheapskate in me couldn't buy them and dump them down the drain so I put out an all call on Facebook and within minutes had around 50 bottles ready to go. I saved approximately 30 for our party needs and got help cleaning them.**



-Jars, large containers, tubs. Buying the cute little bottles in the grocery aisle got me to thinking... what else could I find there? Sure, you can buy cute jars and tubs in all kinds of craft and party supply stores but you can find it cheaper in the grocery aisle. My favorite find has been an extra large jar previously holding large dill pickles from Sams Club. The thing is HUGE. If you have a connection to a school cook or the person running the concession stands, that's a great hook up for oversized food jars. These are great for displaying cookies, animal crackers, candy & other treats. They are a great place for people to stick cards for a shower. They're a great spot to stick those cute party notes in. You can use them for games. The list goes on.

-Trays, crates, drawers. These are fun finds that can add a lot to your table scape. Turn the crates upside down to add some height. Stick some treats in a drawer to separate it from everything else on the table. And trays? They're a party planning no brainer. They can be used in so many ways. Use it as a drink station, a snack station, etc. etc. My tip here is PAINT. You can find trays, crates, drawers and more super cheap at thrift stores, on curbs, and in the seasonal clearance aisles. They might not be pretty there but the price will be right. My beloved chalkboard paint serving tray started out as a $2 Thanksgiving find at Hobby Lobby. It had a great big ole turkey on it. I covered it in chalkboard paint (or might have convinced the hubby to) and it looks like I paid at least 10 times the original price for it. If you cant find steals in the thrift store and clearance aisles, visit the craft stores and shop the unfinished aisles. You'll find great deals here (and of course never buy from there without a 50% coupon- most will coupon match from their competitors). And of course you can paint it any old color you like.


-Chalkboards, decor, other details. If you've been to a party at the Hicks' ranch, you probably recognize the tiny chalkboard above. You can find details like the mini-chalkboards, wooden clothes pins and scrapbook paper at your favorite craft supply store. Use the wooden clothes pins to pin up pictures of the guest of honor. Use your giant hole punch to make fun confetti with your scrapbook paper. You can also use scrapbook paper for banners, chargers, and more. Washi tape is another craft supply that can add a lot to your party decor. Use it to make little banners for your straws or cupcake toppers. Stick a strip on those cute party pictures you hung up. Add a little color to your favor bags or boxes. The possibilities are endless!

-Speaking of banners. We have a chalkboard (imagine that) pennant banner that we continue to reuse every party. If I'm really feeling festive, I'll write 'Happy Birthday' or another fun message on it. Having staple pieces like this in a neutral that can be reused is always a good idea. You can also easily make your own banner for super cheap. String together cupcake liners or rip up old favorite clothes and tie them to a string (as seen on the Sweet Shop Lulu homepage below). Super easy, instant decor!

-Stripey straws and napkins in a neutral. Again, we got these in grey nearly two years ago. We've reused them for several parties and STILL have some left over. My trick here is that I stick them in the front bottles for picture purposes or just leave a jar of them near the drinks. I found that if you stick one in every drink, some people prefer to not have them and they end up taking them out and tossing them. By just sticking them in a jar nearby, they last a lot longer. I also intermix cute napkins with cheap ones to stretch out the cute ones.

*Can we please come up with a new name for potluck? Puh-lease? Anyone?

**To clean your bottles, jars and other awesome finds from the grocery aisle, start by soaking them in hot sudsy water. Peel away the labels, using goo gone if needed. The stamped on dates can easily be removed by using fingernail polish remover. You can use elbow grease instead if you choose but these two tricks will save you lots of time (and possibly your elbows). WASH the dickens out of the bottles after using the goo gone and polish remover. I recommend the sterilize dishwasher setting.


PS- I started this post after Kelsey asked me for some ideas but it took me a long time to get it posted. As you can see by her super cute party planning post, she's good to go and doesn't need any help but y'all are still welcome to be a cheapskate like me and make your own party super cute for super cheap.

What about the rest of you? Do you have any fun parties coming up? What are your favorite party planning tips?