Saturday, December 30, 2017

Cars 3 Birthday Party

This year one of my little guy's asked to have a Cars 3 birthday party. His birthday is in September so we typically have pool parties for him. This was his 5th birthday so we wanted to make all of his dreams come true, which included having a bouncy house, of course! Everything I do is on a tight budget, which forces me to be even more creative. Another special detail of his birthday was making it as healthy as possible. Kids birthday parties can be so tough because of the amount of junk that they consume.  And I honestly think they wouldn't miss the sugar if it wasn't there to begin with. So, for this lunchtime party we served a veggie taco and burrito bar.

I bought all of the food from Trader Joes. We made homemade black beans and 1 full bag of sprouted organic california rice (highly recommend!). The rest of the menu consisted of:
Organic Wheat and Corn Tortillas
Taco Shells
Organic Tortilla Chips
Organic Tomatillo and Roasted Chili Salsa
Organic Sour Cream
Shredded Mexican Cheese
Canned Refried Beans
Organic Romaine, Spinach, Kale, Tomato, Cucumber Salad
Organic Carrots and Hummus
Watermelon and Cantaloupe

Drinks:
Sparkling Water
Ice Water
And a few juices for the kids (They actually didn't drink many of them!)

And Snacks:
Homemade Organic Popcorn (made on the stove in a pan)
Pirates Booty Bags
Goldfish Bags
  



And for dessert:
Homemade Organic Simple Yellow Cupcakes from Martha Stewart, I made them with all organic ingredients.  (I added red sprinkles in the batter to make them "funfetti" like.)  And then i make her fluffy vanilla frosting with organic butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla (But I don't put in all of the sugar). For guests that wanted ice cream I bought a few small pints of Humbolt Organic Vanilla and Mint N Chip Ice Creams.


And here is the simple frosting I used, adapted to my taste: https://www.marthastewart.com/341903/fluffy-vanilla-frosting


I used free printables for a lot of my decorations. Just cut, paste, print and then cut out with scissors.

 Mac was not hard to make and not expensive--No more then $5.
 My son loves to sketch and color. So I decided to make the favors reflect his interests and hopefully the parents appreciated a favor they wouldn't throw in the trash! Just a simple notebook and colored pencils. Colored pencils were $0.50 each. Notebooks were $0.28 each. And I tied on an organic Trader Joes lollipop as a little treat to take home.
 Race Car Flags Made out of scrap materials. I couldn't find checkered material so I used a sharpie and made my own.  I tied the flags to a rope for more of a pool party look.
 I reused a few of my decorations from my previous parties (red and white felt circle garland), and just a couple of other things. We had such a fun time at this party. I couldn't have done it without help from my mom, mother-in-law, and especially my sister helping me in the kitchen, food prepping and cleaning up! And my sister is a Nutritionist and gave me a few ideas for my taco and burrito bar! Check her out and Eat Clean with Sarah! https://www.eatcleanwithsarah.com  She is also on Instagram and gives lots of recipe ideas that will inspire you.

A few of my other favorite party details:

I love Paperless Posts for free party invites. Their website is easy to use and I love their invites.  https://www.paperlesspost.com

I researched many bouncy house companies, and chose Cindy's Jumpers for our bouncy house. I have used them a few times, and they are a little more then other places but i have always had a great experience.
https://cindysjumpers.com

For simple party supplies, always check your local dollar tree or dollar store first. I can't tell you how many times I have visited party stores and walked away empty handed. You can't beat $1 for party supplies.

For party music I borrowed some Cars 1 and 2 soundtracks from our local library. And for the Cars 3 music I just bought a few from iTunes.

And if you are feeling frustrated because you are on a tight budget, be thankful. Its going to force you to be more creative and your party will have a more personal feel.

All of the kids including my sweet birthday boy had such a fun time at our party!  So many wonderful memories were made! And I felt great from the food we ate as well!




Friday, December 29, 2017

School's Out For Summer Pool Party

The last two years, we have had a pool party on the last day of school inviting school and neighborhood friends.  It has made so many wonderful memories for us. The kids dream about it for weeks, and its just been a great way to kick off the summer! We live on a tight budget so I make a lot of the decorations to keep the party expenses low, which means planning early. We have been so blessed in our community with so many wonderful friends and I really wanted to capture that as the heart of the party.  I love this famous maritime quote and it fit perfectly as the party theme:
"Here's to tall ships. Here's to small ships. Here's to all the ships on the sea. But the best ships are friendships. Here's to you and me."
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The red and white circle garland is made from left over felt that I had from other projects. I just used a glass to trace circles on felt, cut them out and then sewed them together. Very inexpensive but adds a lot of character.
IMG_9599We served snacks including homemade organic popcorn and served an ice cream bar for dessert. The ice cream bar was the highlight of the party and it consisted of Breyer's Natural Vanilla with homemade chocolate syrup and a variety of toppings for dessert, including homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Friends also brought snacks to share and toppings for ice cream.
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The goody bags were full of water balloons, a water gun, salt water taffy from Trader Joe's, and side walk chalk. I picked up the stripped bags and "ahoy" tape at Target.

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This party cost less then $100 total and many sweet memories were made.

A New Season


It has been years since I have taken the time to write. For the last couple of years, I have been struggling to be creative. My mind has been void of any inspiration.  Pinterest didn't help. Magazines didn't help. Talking about what to do next with friends didn't help.  But God is constantly teaching me new things, and sometimes He needs us to slow down, listen to Him, follow Him, and then at just the right time...He gives us EXACTLY what we need.  God is in the details and they all matter!! From the big details like our friend and family relationships, to the old refrigerator in our kitchen that drives us crazy or the many people we run into throughout our days...you name it. There is always a lesson to be learned. And when you chose God's will in your life, you can't go wrong. Everyday is a gift--whether it is a hard, frustrating day, or a wonderful and joyous day--He loves us! He is always with us. He has wonderful things planned for us! We just need to humble ourselves and talk to Him. And then realize that every gift, inspiration, love, person...everything is from Him. 

So here is to a new season! A new year! And remembering just how wonderful the God of the universe truly is.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13