Changing It Up April 3, 2012

Well I am super excited that soon this little blog will have a major face lift.  I have been working with the ever so sweet & talented Randy Doleman over the past month and I’m thrilled about the changes you will seen so very soon 🙂  Awwwwe, it’s going to be so good…I’m excited…like giveaway excited.  Yes, there will be a cutting of the blog ribbon giveaway…super fun!

Let’s see…having to do nothing with blog design…I have made several Pinterest recipes recently.

The Best Frosted Sugar Cookie was incredibly yummy.  A friend of Courtney’s tasted them and said, “These taste like Christmas.”  They are super soft and just taste pretty doggone good.

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Go ahead and thank me for recommending these Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies.  Eat them hot with icecream…Incredible.  That’s all I’ve got.

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Well we’re batting 1000.  My friend Jess made this Strawberry Shortcake for Courtney’s shower this weekend and it’s UNREAL.  Seriously the best strawberry shortcake I’ve had.  Light and fluffy and cakey and strawberryish covered in homemade whip cream…it was truly delicious.

Jess did say she ditched the vanilla sugar and just used regular sugar.

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Any Chuy’s fans out there?  Me too.  Susan and I discovered Chuy’s together and have since tried to made it a regular occurrence.  One of our favorites is the Jalapeno Ranch Dip.  I found a recipe for it and it rocked.  It did need to sit for a little while to really flavor up.  Makes me want some right now.

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And yesterday for dinner I made Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken.  Perfection wrapped up in a taco.  We topped ours with cheese and lettuce and I just had leftovers for lunch 🙂

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On another note, unrelated to Pinterest recipes…Sol and I had popcorn at 9am this morning at Target…is that too early?  Nope.

He was pumped to try on the Ironman mask as I browsed for Easter goodies.

Superheros are kind of a big deal at our house currently.  I tried on the Captain America mask the other day and all the wee Kelley’s thought I was pretty cool.

The boys are obsessed, and when I use the word obsessed I use it in it’s entirety, with superhero books and comic books.  And what’s one to do with a busted up comic book…make some super bunting.  Huddy asked me a while back to make some “flags” for their room, so that’s just what I did.  I cut up a busted comic book and added a few fabric flags as well.  I have some superhero fabrics that went right along with the theme.  My boys are in love.  It made the perfect combination.

And last, but certainly not the most random of this post, this Thursday night from 7-9 is our Noonday and Matilda Jane trunk show to benefit the sweet kiddos at our Ngugnwane carepoint in Swaziland, Africa.  I would be honored for our house to be filled to the tippy top with ladies.  I’m crossing my fingers that I run out of food 🙂  Can you tell I really want you to come or call in your order?  If you would like to join us in person or by phone, shoot me an email (pitterpatterart at gmail dot com) and I will get you all the details.

Happy Tuesday!

Rainbow Is Her Favorite Color April 2, 2012

Harper asked to have an art party way back in August…yes, August.  She has been planning and thinking about this party for way too long.  And it just so happened I totally lucked up on “back-to-school” and got most of our supplies and favors…thank you 20 cent Crayola crayons and $1 Crayola markers.  Hip, hip, hooray for $1 scissors, 20 cent glue sticks and 50 cent pencil boxes.  That’s what made up all the party favor boxes.

We kept everything colorful and fun with lots of bunting.

Harper requested pizza, chips, fruit, carrots, Sprite and chocolate cupcakes with white icing for her party.  She is a total planner.

Only the girl cousins came to the party.  Harper really wanted to do “real” art, so we kept the party small and rocked the art.  First, they painted with acrylic paint on canvases.

Their canvases were beautiful…they made me smile really big.  And each girl was pretty proud of themselves.

We also did art work on aqua boards.  Each kiddo drew the first letter in their name & some decoration around their letter with oil pastels.  Once they liked the way their letter looked, they then watercolored the entire board.

It was love again.  It was so sweet watching them all work so hard and use their little creative juices.

And lastly they decorated cookies with food writers.  I made colorful blank cookies canvases and let them go to town.

Harper was completely in her element and I think everyone had a really fun time.

My favorite part of the party, which is the same every single year with Harper, was when we sang happy birthday to her.  She LOVES it and smiles as big as day.  I love this kid.

Harper had the best time and I was thrilled that she had such a fun time.  Rainbow is definitely her favorite color.

Resources:

Paper straws from Hey Yo Yo

Colorful polka dot napkins and plates from Target

Colorful Sprite recipe found on Pinterest HERE

Sugar cookies recipe from Sugarbelle

Royal Icing (sort of) Recipe from The Decorated Cookie

Gourmet Writer Food Pens from Amazon

Matilda Jane Winner April 1, 2012

Thanks so much to everyone who entered the Matilda Jane $50 Giveaway.

The winner is…

#29 Lisa Russell.  Super congrats Lisa and check your email for a message from me 🙂

The weekend was crazy.

Soccer was fun, Harper’s party was super fun & Courtney’s shower was fun as well.

More tomorrow.  Happy Sunday!

Barely Enough Time March 30, 2012

Today is crazy…we’re talking, “Hi were the Kelleys.  Welcome to crazy town.”

Tomorrow we have soccer games, a pretty special art birthday party and also a super special wedding shower.

I’m making things like crazy…food, decorations, sweet treats…when people you love are involved it’s fun to make things really meaningful & special.

I did botch an entire batch of cookie dough…I did not have time for that…no way…it was my first time…I left out a really important ingredient…butter…why did I forget the butter?

But the second batch…nailed it.  Lovely colorful explosion.

They are now waiting for some little crafty girls to color them pretty.

That’s it…no more time…that’s all I have for today…now on to making some yummy Funfetti cake jars for a really special bride-to-be.

Happy Friday.

PS:  Matilda Jane $50 Giveaway ends tomorrow.  CLICK HERE to enter.

Where Did Time Go? March 29, 2012

5 years ago today this tiny little, hairy baby girl made me a momma…and WOW, what a 5 years it has been.  Time certainly does fly and at a rapid speed it seems.

It is very easy to let myself go to “that” place…the place of what ifs and just pure sadness about Mom not being with us anymore.  I absolutely hate that she did not call way too early this morning to wish Harper happy birthday or that we aren’t eating birthday lunch with her today on her lunch break, but early this morning I decided to try and steer clear of that place of sadness…to just try and relish in the grace and beauty God has given us with Harper.

So today we are in full Harper celebration mode.  Birthdays are really great days around the Kelley house.  She requested mini-Funfetti cupcakes for breakfast and to take to her class.

The boys so very patiently waited for theirs.  I love the fresh-out-of-bed look on my kids.

Yesterday she received lots of mail…even mail from Susan’s class…

Harper has proclaimed maybe a million times since mail started arriving yesterday that, “This is going to be the best birthday ever.”  She is a mail lover like her mom and maybe had just a touch of bed head this morning.

We decorated her door like a big frame and even drew several blank frames for her color and draw in.  She was beyond thrilled and complimented Josh and I on how well we did 🙂

Her “special watercolors” present was a complete hit.  She is totally my kid and I love it.

Before bed last night she asked if we got her a card.  I hadn’t.  So what’s a mom to do…make one…and she loved it as well.

And if that wasn’t a good enough birthday all by itself…how about waking up to find a big bunch of balloons outside your window?  Yes, I know…completely RAD!  All because of one very special Aunt Susan!  You are too good to us!

We’ll continue celebrating through out the day because that is what birthdays are all about…celebrating.  And Harper Kelley you are for sure, without a doubt, one amazingly, special kid to celebrate.  We love you more than you’ll ever know.  We CAN.NOT wait to see what God has in store for your little life…you are going to change the world.

Happy 5th Birthday sweet girl.

PS:  Matilda Jane $50 Giveaway ends Saturday…To enter CLICK HERE or scroll to the post below.

Matilda Jane Giveaway March 28, 2012

First off…I got some super rockin’ surprises yesterday in the mail.  I don’t know what it is about mail, but I totally love to get it.  When I hear the mail truck coming I get my shoes on to run out and see what came…even if it is nothing but junk mail and bills.  Any mail is better than no mail 🙂

Stuffed in our mailbox yesterday was an uber cool stache on a stick and the most amazing Buzz Lightyear mug you have ever seen.

Huddy was over the moon about his new cup.  He has carried it around and been drinking out of it since I brought it in the house.  The surprises came with 2 sweet little notes.

So THANK YOU whoever you are for blessing us…you made our day 🙂

Now for a sweet giveaway.

Our Noonday Collection & Matilda Jane trunk show is fast approaching…next Thursday to be exact.  I am really excited about this opportunity to have new friends in our home and help raise money for our carepoint, Ngungwane, in Swaziland Africa.

I hope our little house is filled to the brim and did I mention you can phone in orders?  Well, you can.  So if you aren’t local and can’t hang with me for the night, you can totally call your order in and it will go towards Ngungwane as well.  So shoot me an email if you want my digits 🙂

For you locals, I would be honored to have you in our home.  I would love to meet you and chat and eat and shop and maybe eat a little bit more…I think that sounds great!  Shoot me an email if you would like more information…please come…I don’t like to beg, but I totally will.

And for the extra sweet part of today’s post…Brea, a Matilda Jane trunk keeper & my dear friend, is giving away a

$50 gift certificate for Matilda Jane merchandise at the show.

You don’t have to actually come to the party, but you will need to phone in your order sometime that night.  That’s a pretty easy $50.

So here’s how you enter to win:

Please leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

Entry #1 Check out Matilda Jane’s site and tell me some things you would purchase with your $50.

Entry #2 Head over to Matilda Jane’s Facebook page and “like” their page.

Entry #3 Share this giveaway information on your Facebook status

Entry #4 Share this giveaway information on your Twitter status

Again, please leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

Giveaway will end this Saturday, March 31st at midnight and I will announce the winner on Sunday.

Hope you win!

Have a great Wednesday!

Early Start March 27, 2012

Today I got an early start and totally busted it…until now.  I haven’t slept very well in months, so once I finally fall asleep it’s super hard to get up in the morning, but this morning exercise was calling my name and I answered.

Then from there…I got down to business.  Sol isn’t one for running too many errands and I knew he was going to despise today, but it was a must.  We had lots of presents, gift cards, little surprises for others and supplies for Harp’s party and a wedding shower to get…and today was our day to make it all happen.  We went to all of these stores before lunch.

He accepted the challenge and was such a trooper.  Turns out Belk doesn’t open until 10am and we arrived at 9:25…it’s not exactly close to our house, so we decided to wait it out…I needed a very important wedding gift…wink, wink…cough, cough…Courtney 🙂  We decided to take some photos while we waited.

His reward for rockin’ that many errands in a very short amount of time…Sams pizza & a cherry icee.

I present to you the many faces of Sol eating pizza.  I completely dig his expressive eyebrows.

I did find the perfect birthday present for our soon-to-be 5-year-old who requested “special watercolors” for her birthday.  She is going to LOVE these.

I also found all the wonderfully, delightful art party supplies I was seeking out + a few extras.

And may I share with you my new obsession…the free Draw Something app.  BE.STILL.MY.HEART.  It’s ridiculously fun pictionary you play with your friends.  Download it for free, look me up & lets get our draw on 🙂

Happy Tuesday!

Smorgas March 26, 2012

Josh was out of town all weekend in Florida for spring training, so we had a pretty low key weekend with lots of random things.

I did a trial run for one of the art projects we’re going to do at Harper’s art birthday party this weekend.  I am quite pleased & think the girls with love it.

I also worked on some birthday bunting.  An art party = delightfully, fun preparation.

I broke my Aunt Linda’s boat bowl…on Thursday actually…so bummed.

Lots of bubbles were blown.

And lots of snails were held & relocated.  I kind of felt bad for them & one may have met his death in between Huddy’s fingers on accident.  Huddy felt soooo bad.

Buzz Lightyear made a few appearances.  There is just something about this mini Buzz that I adore…maybe it’s the utility belt.

Harper received her first birthday card in the mail this weekend.  She knew it was because she is pretty super & because, yes indeed, she can change the world with her markers 🙂

Susan enjoyed most of the weekend with us.  We even baked peach cobbler in mason jars.  I am happy to report there was no exploding glass in my oven.

Susan brought a super, cool rainbow craft.  I love their rainbowy goodness.

The wee Kelleys enjoyed Photo Booth…like a lot…like a lot, a lot.

I prepared for the baking that will commence for this weeks festivities…birthdays, anniversaries & wedding showers.  Like I said…baked goods could change the world 🙂

Target + mini Pillow Pets + an end cap corner + Huddy’s forehead = really nasty goose egg.

And I may have done a little dance & celebrated just a bit when I got the last bottle of Mr. Sprinkles…the best sprinkles around…trust me on this one…they really are.

And that was our completely random smorgasboard of a weekend.  Happy Monday!

Albino Skunk & Mosaic Flowers March 23, 2012

The most amazing thing happened this morning while running with Susan, well maybe more like semi amazing and walking.  I’ve blogged about albino polar bears before, and I sooo wish I could insert right here that we saw an albino polar bear, but we did run into an albino skunk.  Were you just like “Whoa”, like I was?

Seriously, I have no idea why, but it was as if I saw Santa Clause or the Toothfairy.  Like the albino skunk is some mythical creature 🙂  Very similar to Big Foot.  I was beyond ticked that I didn’t have my camera with me.

Susan played it cool and just kept walking…me, not so much.  I was like…”Seriously, do you see that?” and then proceeded to move closer and closer and point and talk loud and I had no idea I was doing any of it, but I’m so glad I didn’t get sprayed.  Susan said I did everything you’re not suppose to do, so I consider myself lucky 🙂  I was just star struck by that albino skunk.  It was pretty amazing…you’re jealous right?

And now that I have totally awed you with the greatest albino skunk story ever…for this weeks planned craft we made up some mosaic flowers.  Pretty sure warm weather is here to stay in Tennessee…I even went ahead and put up all our long sleeves and jeans.  This craft is…can you guess…Easy…there’s just no other way for me.  Here’s what you need:

Traced flower, traced color flower center, scissors, glue and scrap paper squares (we used squares, but any shapes are good.).

First, the wee Kelleys cut out their flower shape.

They all love to glue and use their own glue stick, so they loved this project.  Next they started covering their flower with paper squares.

They glued and glued and glued until the whole flower was covered.

We then flipped the flowers over and trimmed around the back to show our flower shape again.

They then cut out the center’s for their flowers and glues them on.

And now we have some beautiful, mosaic flowers.  I completely love them.  Maybe they will make the warm weather stay for good.

Have a great Friday & hope your weekend is grand.

PS:  I’m still looking for comment #57 Jami Shull (@jamishull)…you are the winner of our 16 Months Waiting Art Giveaway.  Please email me by Monday…I really don’t want to draw a new winner 🙂

Color March 22, 2012

Today has been a dreary, rainy day.  Thank goodness for color to brighten any drab day.

The wee Kelleys & I received a wonderful, color filled, explosion of Easter goodness in the mail yesterday from my best friend Ashley.  She is beyond good to us…even from Florida.  My favorite part of the package was at the bottom 🙂

Also in the package was this completely awesome trapper keeper.  I told Ashley that I loved my trapper keeper…she laughed…then said she hadn’t heard that word in forever.

Harper’s birthday is next week.  She’s having an art party for her girl cousins and yes, we are doing “real” art on canvases.  She is beyond thrilled.  And I am a bit smitten with fabric covered composition books.  Hopefully, we know a few little ladies that will love them too.

Today was definitely a slushy kind of day.  If I had a million dollars, I would have quickly bet & won, on what flavor/color slushy each kiddo requested.  They are beyond predictable when it comes to color selection.

If I had 2 million dollars, I would have placed the exact same bet & won again, on their color of popcorn bowl selection.  And just like that, I’d be pretty wealthy, pretty fast 🙂

And I tried another new recipe last night.  White Chicken Enchiladas...super yum!  A bit lacking in the color department, but definitely worth the mention 🙂

Picture from Pinterest

And from now until dinner, we’re going to enjoy Toy Story 2…just because it’s Thursday…and it’s raining…and it’s fun to do spontaneous movie days.  I’ve decided to start watching movies like Sol does…seriously chillaxin’.  Or like we’ve changed it to in the Kelley household…Solaxin’…because he takes his chillin’ and relaxing to a whole new level of serious comfy.

Happy Thursday…weekend here we come.

PS:  I’m still looking for comment #57 Jami Shull (@jamishull)…you are the winner of our 16 Months Waiting Art Giveaway.  Please email me by Monday…I really don’t want to draw a new winner 🙂