bed time bus roll poster.

I love this. Now to find a place to put it.

lily: paper doll party!

Today's party is my own daughters.. I didn't want to wait any longer to post pictures.

I have to say, I love the way Lily's party turned out. It was everything I hoped it would be, and every guest showed up! I couldn't have been happier. I have received more thank you notes (from Lily) in the last 4 days than I have in my entire life. She was SO happy. It made the whole thing worth it. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I'm happy to give all my sources.

The invite. The back had pink dresses with all the info.

Some of the details and the cute birthday girl. (click to view larger)

The table setting (pre-food)

This banner was a last minute decision. I was going to make a big fancy one and ran out of time. I flattened the cupcake papers, printed the letters for happy birthday on my computer and sized them to fit the center circle. It turned out perfect!

The cupcake tower. I hand-cut paper doll dresses and attached them to toothpicks.

My mom found this paper doll fabric and made an apron for each girl. After their lunch, each girl was outfitted with an apron, glue stick, scissors and all the paper/embellishments they could ever want. We had pre-cut large paper dolls and we put them to work designing their own outfit. The girls LOVED it and spent a good 30-40 minutes cutting and gluing.

Some of the paper doll designs.

Finally the take home (in addition to the apron, scissors and glue). I found these gift card boxes at Michaels. I hand cut paper dolls and their outfits and stuck them to an adhesive magnet sheet. Each girl went home with their own magnetic paper doll and outfits. (tutorial here).

*Next up: Stella's Fairy Extravaganza!

this week for dinner..

*photo credit: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Kalua Pork with Rice and Fresh Fruit

Homemade Pizza and Green Salad

Taco Salad

Szechuan Noodles

Black Beans and Spinach Enchiladas with Mexican Rice

What's on your menu this week?

patch tutorial.

Never before have my girls had holes in their jeans, until now. In the last couple months they have worn holes in nearly every pair of jeans they have. It is hard to want to go out and buy them brand new jeans when the summer is upon us, and by fall they will probably be too short.

My amazing friend (and puj owner/designer) Katie, recently started her own puj blog. There you will find this easy and stylish tutorial to patch jeans. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sewing machine (still in storage in WA) so the girls jeans can last a little longer.

They pretty much look like they were meant to have that patch. No?

downeast swim.

Every year I anxiously await the launch of Downeast swim. This year doesn't disappoint, and if you order any 3 mix-and-match swim pieces by May 2 using code SWIM3 you'll get $15 off your order. Now that's a deal worth shopping for!

bowling/candy party.

My sister in law throws an amazing party. Sadly this is the first one we missed, but she promised me she'd take lots of pictures and she came through!

She asked Sawyer what he wanted to do for his 4th birthday, his answer "a candy bowling party". That may seem tricky, but Kelly did a great job.

The guests first met in their backyard for cake and ice cream, and plenty of candy for the guests to take home.

The bowling pin and ball cake.

The close up details. Every detail was perfect (including the birthday boys matching shirt). After cake, ice cream, candy and presents the guests headed over to the local bowling alley for some bowling fun.

At the end of the day Kelly asked Sawyer what the best part of his day had been, his answer "everything". I think he's right. His mom did a pretty great job.

Someday we'll live next to each other again and start our own party planning business.

Thanks for the pictures Kelly!

girls room.

My girls used to have these really cute rooms, but then we moved, and then we moved again.. and again.. and maybe we moved one more time. I kind of gave up on making their room cute. I had an idea of what I wanted, but never pulled it fully together. I figured why put a bunch of effort into it when we're just going to move again. I know.. lame mom I am!

So this move is feeling a little more permanent, and I'm determined as ever to give the girls the room I've been envisioning. I want their bed to be soft and fluffy and ruffly. They have a pale pink down comforter, an antique cream amazing bed, and the most beautiful white euro shams (made by Ryan's incredible aunt).

I found this fabric over a year ago and loved the green, grey and pink to use as accent colors for their room. It covers the seat on the bench in their room (made out of an antique headboard).

Restoration Hardware recently launched a kids line. My friend is decorating her nursery and came upon this grey ruffled bed skirt. It is the perfect piece to tie the bench and the bedding together. It has totally inspired me. Amazing how one thing can do that. I can't wait to order it.

and tonight I found this hettle pillow that is perfect for their bed. I also can't wait to order this.

I'll post pictures when their room officially comes together. It's so nice to finally have some inspiration and desire. What inspires you and get's your creative juices flowing?

*also, I figure Denver is sunny enough to pull off grey paint in their bedroom. That was not the case in the NW. So if you have a great tried and true grey paint color, I'd love to hear it! Thanks in advance.

I've been busy.

I haven't had anything to do since moving. So I took on the massive project of hand making/cutting these paper doll invites for Lily's birthday. I really love them though, and I'm glad I did. I'm hoping that the invitation will get people to bring their kids even though we're so new. Hopefully it works cause I'll have one very sad little girl if it doesn't.

Stella changed from a rainbow party to a fairy party at the last minute, I had big ideas, but honestly after the time I spent on Lily's I had to come up with something a little easier for her. I still think they turned out cute.



Let's hope I can pull their parties together in the next week!

*suggestions for either party (paper doll theme and fairy theme) encouraged and appreciated.

lemon deliciousness.

I have a thing for lemon. These are good.. like so good I wanted to eat the entire platter at my friends baby shower. Good thing the hostess was willing to pass along the recipe.

Lemon Spritz Cookies

(I didn't spritz, just scooped)

110 grams butter, room temperature

90 grams sugar

3 egg yolks

1/4 tsp lemon extract

zest of one lemon (I used meyer lemons)

180 grams flour

2 grams salt

Cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest and lemon extract together until well combined. Add the yolks and mix until combined. Add the flour and salt and mix.

Scoop tsp size balls onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Lemon Icing

3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 c butter

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cream butter and lemon zest on low setting with paddle attachment until blended. Slowly add powdered sugar until combined. Add lemon juice and mix until well combined.

Frost and stick two cookies together. Enjoy!

game party

I have three boys. While planning our most recent party, I wanted to do something different because we've already done every single super hero party, legos, star wars and all the typical little boy themed parties. My son loves to play games. I took his love for games and turned it into a super easy birthday party.

The invitation.

These tickets went a long way.
I bought these at Zurcher's for about $3.00.
Best three bucks I've ever spent!



I used the tickets to wrap around the party favor bag.
In the bag were games and candy for the kids to take home.



I bought 3 decks of childrens playing cards at Walgreens ($6 total) and stapled them to a white ribbon to make a banner. I also strung some of the tickets above the table.



I used game boards, the party favors and cupcakes as table decorations.



I used scrabble letters to spell out "Happy Birthday, Parker."




I also put each child's initial at a place setting.
The kids loved trying to look for the first letter in their name.



I set out dice, letters and cards from games so that the kids had something to do while they were waiting for cupcakes and ice cream. They loved this and actually thought this was one of the game stations.





We had the boys do a few different game stations.

Video games



Air hockey



Basketball
{they also played saucer scramble and random board games that I had set up in the family room}.



My son absolutely loved the party and so did all his friends!

*Sorry this is up late today. If you have emailed me about one of your birthday parties, be watching for an email this week to set up guest posting!

the help.

Have you read this book? What did you think? I've heard a lot of people that really liked it, and a few who said it wasn't their favorite. Would you recommend reading it? What have you heard?

winner.

congratulations! please email me (tangledandtrue@gmail.com) by Wednesday morning to claim your prize.

clutch.

*pictured: Davie and Chiyo's All About a BOW Clutch

These clutches make my heart sing. Which one speaks to you?

rugs.

Heathered Chenille Jute Rug

The last few days have been spent searching for rugs. The main floor of our new house is entirely hardwood. The floors are beautiful but I am in serious need of rugs. I have searched and shopped, bought and returned and I am striking out.

Andalusia Rug

Ryan brought home a rug from Costco tonight, I don't like it, but it was $100 and it serves it's purpose. I am anxiously awaiting the day Ryan's rug moves to the basement and something fabulous replaces it as I'm still on the hunt for something perfect.

I never knew shopping for rugs could be so frustrating.

*I want a natural fiber rug, but that's not comfortable for the kids to lay on or play games on.

*Spending $$$ for something to lay on your floor and walk on is hard to do.

*If I buy a patterned rug will it clash with the floral chair and look too busy?

*There are a lot of weird sizes. Why aren't there more 8x10's?

*Rugs really are needed to pull the room together.. who knew?

Rug suggestions anyone?

downeast basics {giveaway!}

Do you know how much I love you guys? So much that I am sitting at Starbucks at 9:30 at night to deliver this giveaway as promised. I have been promised internet at home by tomorrow. phew!

One of my favorite things about Downeast Basics is their ever changing inventory. Every time I stop by their site, they have new fresh styles, and I usually want all of them. Here are some of their latest:

Matchmaker Top $27

Top The Charts Top $20

Fresh Flowers Maxi Dress $40

Downeast sent me this very dress and I'm wearing it even as I type. I paired it with a cardigan and ruffle flats and I must say it might be one of the most comfortable outfits I've worn in days and I've received many a compliment. It is sure to be the perfect summer dress!

Today Downeast Basics is giving away an item of your choice to one lucky reader. What will you choose?

Would you love to win? be sure to:
*comment on this post - with your name
*answer question above
*giveaway will be open until Friday 12 am
*winner announced Monday morning (4/12)
*extra entries granted for facebook, twitter, blog posts (just leave a link back)

**there is a new policy with downeast: if you have won a d.e. giveaway in the last 90 days on T+T you are not eligible to win this one.


Good Luck and enjoy browsing!

Reader Question.

First, I apologize for the lack of posts. Moving has wiped us out. Internet is scheduled to be installed today. Woohoo! It's been a long few days with out the world wide web. Giveaway tomorrow (for sure) so check back. Now on to our reader question!


*book from tiny*prints

"I'm trying to put together baby books for my kids. I want to do something digital, where I can upload a picture and type what I want. What is the best company to use?"

We're coming to you T+T readers. I have only seen things online, I have never tried them myself, so if you've done digital scrapbooking, made a baby book of your own, seen a friend or family members that you think is great... let us know! I'm thinking this may be the route I go for Finn.

Thanks for your help!