It has been one cold winter in SoCal! With a February due date for my dear friend Jessica’s baby, I created a sweetly colorful winter baby shower to celebrate her little girl on the way. Much of my inspiration came from a recent Bundle Up Baby Shower featured on Hostess with the Mostess. I was battling the flu while preparing for her shower which made planning and crafting tough. Lucky for me, I was able to grab HWTM’s party printables which were available for free for a limited time. Since the printable collection consisted of mostly aqua and yellow, gender neutral colors, I added splashes of pink to make it more feminine. I used lots of yarn throughout the decor and manzanita branches to mimic the outdoors. A hot cocoa bar was set-up to warm the guests up. For centerpieces, I crated mini diaper cakes wrapped with yarn and topped with lovebirds in their love nests. The dessert table treats were created by Piece of Cake. Here’s a look at all the shower decor details…

Hot Cocoa Bar

Baby Wish Tree & Centerpieces

 Stay tuned for Part 2 of our winter themed baby shower!

Today, he has perfected his hot wings and is often asked to prepare it for game day. It doesn’t matter what sport it is, just as long as his wings are there! 

Here are a few tips from the Hubby:

1. Make sure your chicken wings are patted dry to ensure maximum crispyness. 
2. He prefers Frank’s Hot Sauce for what else, the hot sauce!

Desserts, check! Menu, check! I think it’s safe to say, we’re game time ready!

Last year, a friend hosting Super Bowl at his home asked for help to create an easy dessert table set-up for his guests. Since this was a last minute request, I searched the web for inspiration and free printables.  Thank goodness there were tons to be found!

A few edible goodies were created by Abby, of Piece of Cake, such as the adorable hamburger cakesters which were completely made out of cake and sweets.  Most of the desserts were store bought and plated nicely on top of a faux grass table cover (also used from our Butterfly Dessert Table) to mimic the football field.

My favorite part of the table was our team bleachers made from 3-tier spice racks. Team helmets and other cupcake toppers were created by 9-5 mom via Catch My Party.  To bring in the football action, I used silhouttes of football players available from HWTM. Guests were kept energized by grabbing sweets in-between plays.  Hoping our easy football inspired dessert table will get you pumped up for Super Bowl XLVII this Sunday!

 For Free Super Bowl 2013 party printables, check here and here.

The Food

We LOVE to eat! The day long festivities started off with my hubby’s famous hot wings and L.A. dirty dogs (not pictured). For dinner, each family brought a dish to share. On the menu: Ceviche & Chips, Spring Salad, Rotisserie Chicken, Beef Tri-tip, Extra Crispy Garlic Chicken and Cajun style pasta with shrimp. We served drinks in mason jars with paper flags to write their names on that way no one would lose their cups. The drink of the day: a mixture of cranberry juice and ginger ale. Yum!

The Fun

When we’re together we enjoy sharing stories and playing games {aside from eating of course}. My brother is definitely the family comedian. He can share the same story every time we see each other and he still makes us laugh until our tummy aches. The game of the day was Blackjack. A few years back I surprised the hubby with a professional set of chips which made the players put on some serious game faces. It was as if we were watching a professional card game on tv. The highlight of our night was watching our family team, the Lakers, win in overtime. It was an extremely close game.

The Sock Exchange

To end the night we finally got down to business. We each picked a card at random to determine who would go first. After many unwrapped gifts, a handful of steals and alliances to lock-in their favorite gift/sock, we each finally had our 2012 Christmas socks. Some socks were festive, others had comic characters, some with fur and others fuzzy, some boys had girl socks, and one had a child’s sock that didn’t fit their foot all the way; all this was part of the fun and captured in our family photo.

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse at our family Christmas tradition. Until next Christmas….

My home decor for the holidays was inspired by this dinnerware set I came across in Home Goods. I love rustic modern design. I’m not a huge fan of the color red but it works perfectly as a subtle pop of color. It certainly gives you the feel of a cold blistering winter day.

To start, I began with the Christmas Tree. The first year we had a tree, we decorated it with white and silver ornaments. To keep the decorating costs down, we select a pop of color to add on our christmas tree. Last year, I added a robin’s egg blue satin ribbon. This year I simply added red ornaments for a little pop of color. We also asked our family to hang a special ornament for an added personal touch. So far, we have a drummer boy (the hubby), nerdy owl (myself), Honda Civic Hatchback, Starbucks Cup and a Ruby Red High Heel. Other areas of the house we decorated were the kitchen and entryway. Garlands were hung above the kitchen cabinets strung in lights with twigs, pine cones, and little yarn pom poms to incorporate our red theme.  The Entryway is my husband’s corner. We usually have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, (if you’re wondering, yes he makes me watch the movie with him every year!), but this year we loaned it to a family member in need of a tree. Existing frames were wrapped in red & white striped Christmas wrapping, a wooden bowl of pine cones and branches topped with a wooden star, and a modern vase with red branches took up most of the entry table. My hubby’s love for Star Wars is on display with 3 main characters dressed as Santa. We’re still on the hunt for the last piece of the collection, R2D2.

My favorite room in the house was the Dining Room. This space encompassed the theme I really wanted to incorporate into our house: A rustic modern Christmas. We recently purchased our first dining table set from West Elm.  Our previous dining table was on loan from my in-laws. It served us well for the past 4 years but finally we were able to infuse our own personal style to the dining room.  The dining table is made of reclaimed wood and the natural colors from the wood truly compliment the existing colors in our home. I wrapped a large frame with wrapping paper and added a red ribbon with a silver ornament as the focal point. Branches from my mom’s backyard were hung and adorned with red birds. I love how the two Eucalyptus branches placed in the corner with a single red bird really captures the look and feel of the dinnerware from Home Goods.

My home was definitely ready for some holiday fun. Check back for a post on my family’s annual Christmas Sock Exchange.

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Dining Set: West Elm Emmerson Dining Table

Party Printables: Hostess with the Mostess

My darling niece is a huge Tangled fan. We recently took her to the “Dare to Dream” Disney on Ice show which featured the Tangled story. She had been waiting to go since October, even picking out her outfit for the night. Unfortunately, on the day of the show she was feeling under the weather but this did not stop her from going!  She came and sat through the entire show without any complaints.  You ask her what part of the show was her favorite and she’ll say all the princesses! What a trooper.

For her birthday, I decided I would try to make her a Tangled Donut Tower. Let me make this clear, I leave all the dessert making to Abby of Piece of Cake. Since this dessert was a no bake dessert I thought why not give it a try. While the construction of the tower was pretty straightforward, the designing portion was the most daunting task.  I got inspiration from these blogs: Supermom Moments & Sweat Peas & Sassafras. After about an hour and a half of work, the tower was complete. As the birthday girl took her first glimpse of the tower, the look on the her face made it all worth it.

Here are the items I used in making the Donut Tower:

• 7 plain cake donuts from my local donut shop
• 1 large cupcake from Ralphs
• 1 Sugar Cone
• Yellow Twizzlers
• 1 bag Lavender Candy Melts
• 1 can of Betty Crocker Decorating Icing w/tip selections
• Rapunzel Pez container
• Paper Flowers from Michaels or Edible Starburst Roses (via Birch & Lily)
• 1 Square Foam from Dollar Tree
• 1-2 Green 12X12 Scrapbook paper
• Cardboard base
• Dowel Rods / BBQ skewers & Toothpicks
• Hot Glue Gun & Double-sided tape

How I made my Tangled Donut Tower:

• Measure and cut Scrapbook paper to wrap around square foam. Using the Glue Gun, wrap the square foam.
• Measure and cut Scrapbook paper and wrap cardboard base. Hot Glue the Foam to your cardboard base.
• Using double-sided tape, attach the cardboard base to your cake stand.
• Stack donuts and insert several dowel rods / bbq skewers for support leaving atleast 2 inches on top for the cupcake. {I had a crumb donut that was large enough to cover most of the base, then I stacked the cake donuts on top}
• Poke holes at the bottom of the cupcake wrapper where the dowel rods/skewers will meet and insert the Cupcake. Insert 2 additional dowel rods / skewers at opposite ends for added support. Leave 1.5 inches on top for the sugar cone.
• Top Cupcake with purple frosting {I had no food coloring so I mixed the cupcake frosting with the candy melt. It was an interesting texture but it did the job!}.
• Coat Sugar cone with lavendar candy melt and set aside to dry.
• Remove Rapunzel from the Pez container and place at the top of the tower.
• Cut yellow twizzlers in half. Wrap around the donut tower using small toothpicks. {I found it easier to poke the toothpick through the twizzler before attaching it to the tower}
• Select the leaf tip and begin icing the donut tower. Remember it’s meant to look like vines on the tower. {I began by covering the base so that the foam was no longer visible.}
• Add paper flowers or starburst roses for embellishment. {I ran out of time to make the starburst roses but they look so pretty and yummy!}
• Add the Sugar Cone on top and it’s finished!

The trickiest part is always transporting any dessert. I held of putting the sugar cone on top until we arrived at the party. I used the dowel rods on top to help me support and keep the tower balanced as we drove to the house. I’m happy to say we made it in one piece! I hope you have as much fun as I did making the donut tower. Please share your own photos in the comments below.

In preparation for medical missions 2013 to Dumaguete and Cebu, our church hosted a benefit dinner and concert. Since my family would not be participating this year, I donated my time and resources to decorate the event.

Since Christmas is around the corner, we decided to simply add on to the existing Christmas decor in the church hall. We went with a traditional color scheme of red, gold, silver, and greenery.  For the table decor, I created a mixture of tall and short centerpieces. The tall centerpieces included a tall glass vase (purchased from Home Goods) filled with ornaments, gold sprays, garland, and poinsettia (all purchased from the Dollar Tree). Low centerpieces consisted of gold horns, poinsettias and small drum & jingle bell ornaments.  All centerpieces were placed on red chargers also purchased from the Dollar Tree.   I wanted to make sure that the theme of music and Christmas permeated throughout the decor. These centerpieces can be easily replicated at less than $10 each.

The Dessert Table consisted of a mixture of store bought and homemade treats donated by church members. Red Velvet and Chocolate Cupcakes were provided by Abby of Piece of Cake, Oreo Truffles handmade by my sister-in-law, and Pecan Tarts made by yours truly (recipe here). The rest of the goodies were bought from Costco. Brownie Bites were topped with peppermint kisses and peppermint bark broken to smaller pieces. For the decor I used a gold backdrop and framed the table with two floral arrangements. Garland adorned the front of the table to pull the whole decor together.

The last element of the room was an information table dedicated to educating our guests about what happens on the medical & dental mission trips. I included a map of the Philippines highlighting all the areas we have served since the we began sending short-term missionaries in 2004. Also a slide show documenting our last two trips played throughout the night.

The night was filled with good food and talented musicians. The best part was knowing that all the proceeds raised would be going to a great cause. Thank you to everyone who attended and for the continued support. I am truly excited to see the Lord work through the missions trip in February 2013. We asked for your prayers as we plan and prepare for the great task at hand.

This year, her theme was Jingle with Joy. She converted the living room and dining room into a little theater. The kids had on adorable costumes, the first act as manger animals and later jingle bells. They serenaded their parents with Christmas carols and played several songs using one instrument - bells! It was certainly a joyous occasion for everyone in attendance. Parents had huge grins on their faces reaching ear-to-ear with cameras and camcorders in hand capturing the entire presentation.

Once the kiddos were done showing off their singing and dancing skills, everyone was escorted to the family room to share in a wonderful meal. I created some simple kid-friendly centerpieces to adorn the tables and helped provide a few decorations for the dessert table. I wanted to incorporate as many bells into the decor scheme as possible. I was not surprised that the kid’s loved the hot cocoa bar! By the end of the night, every belly was filled and hearts full of love and lasting memories.

Counting down the days until next year’s Christmas Party!

Please excuse the blurry shots. All pictures were taken with my handy iphone. With so many options, {some traditional or some just for fun}, the skies the limit!

Winter Twig Wreath by Design Dining + Diapers

This rustic and modern wreath is perfect for my own décor theme this year. I love the bold contrast of colors, the modern lines, and unconventional take on the holiday wreath.

Jingle Bell Wreath by Love, Pomegranate House

“Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!” One of the most popular Christmas songs can be played using this wreath. Grab some wire and a handful of little bells and you get an instrument and a holiday wreath.

Christmas Card Wreath by Freelance Homeschool Mom

Ever wonder how to display your many Christmas & Photo Cards? Simply incorporate it into your wreath and it doubles as a décor piece and Christmas card display.

Ornament Wreath by The Cards We Drew

Do you have a bunch of extra ornaments lying around? They sure do accumulate over the years. This colorful and creative ornament wreath only requires a foam circle and glue gun. Squeeze it in between the letters “J” & “Y” and you’ve got a festive décor piece that will surely bring a smile to your guest’s faces.

Yarn Wreath by Making Home Base

I love the choice of aqua and white for this crafty wreath. Grab some yarn, make a few rosette flowers, and a little bunting banner and you’re all set.

Framed Ornament Wreath by It’s Overflowing

Similar to the Winter Twig Wreath but much easier to assemble. All you need is a frame (what household doesn’t have one) and a few ornaments and string to put it together. Simple and modern, just the way I like it.

Monogrammed Ornament Wreath by C.R.A.F.T.

This wreath is perfect for the family that wants to personalize their Christmas décor. Ensure that your guests have arrived to the right house by placing your Family Monogram on the front door.

Hands Print Wreath by Sweet and Lovely Crafts

A wonderful project for the little ones in your home. Some paint and willing hands are all you in need to make these holiday wreaths. These can be hung in front of your children’s bedroom doors to get them in the holiday mood.

CB2 Wreaths

Recently I was searching through CB2’s idea book and came across an entire post dedicated to DIY Holiday Wreaths. Unfortunately it was recently taken down since their wire wreaths were so popular that they sold out! Thank goodness they have a blog post to showcases a few of their wreath style tips. You’ll also find a very informative history lesson on the origins of the wreath.

Chandelier Wreath by the Novogratz via CB2

I’ve seen several Chandelier Wreaths on the web but none was more inspiring to me than this Novagratz Chandelier Wreath. I practically begged my husband to let me hang one in the dining room but it was a battle I eventually lost. Take a wire wreath, fill it with greenery, add some lights and ornaments and hang! It’s that simple and that gorgeous!

I hope one of these DIY wreath ideas have helped inspire you to get crafty and start decorating your home for the holidays! Nothing like a Christmas Wreath to get you in the holiday mood.