Earth Day 2011

Earth Day is Friday, April 22nd. Here are some ideas to get you ready...

Giant 36" Earth Globe Balloon 

             from Bake it Pretty          

                                                                          

Biodegradable Flower Toppers
Bake it Pretty

Natural Brown Eco Baking Cups

Bake it Pretty

Spring Olive 

reusable favor bags

Love Earth Poster 

{free download} from Nothing But Country

I plan on reading these books to my boys...

Henry Works

by D.B. Johnson

A fantastic Thoreau-inspired picture books features Henry the bear "walking to work" and enjoying his surroundings

Up, Down, and Around

by Katherine Ayres 

 Fun story about planting a garden and watching how things grow

If anyone has anything special planned for Earth Day, please share! I'd love to hear what you are doing!

Jess LC Inspiration Board | Please Vote!

If you have a second, could you vote for my Spring inspiration board over at Jess LC?

All you have to do is visit http://makeundermylife.com/vote-for-your-favorite-design-your-look/, scroll down to the bottom (there were over 100 boards submitted!) and in the comments leave the comment "Bugger Dixon Line" to cast a vote.

Voting ends Friday, April 15th. The top 10 boards & winner will be announced Monday, April 18th.

Thanks SO much!

Hank + Hunt Feature

I can hardly contain my excitement!  My paper straw garland is being featured on one of my {favorite} party blogs today!

The creative force behind Hank + Hunt is also a Jenny.  She is a garland goddess with her own Etsy shop, Contributing Editor for The Sweetest Occasion, and mom of two boys.

Here are a few of the darling goodies in her shop

I need this!

Chair Garland

Clay Table Numbers

Truly stunning!

Gorgeous Fabric Garlands

I hope you get a chance to visit Jenny's blog, Etsy shop, and look for her posts over at The Sweet Occasion!

What's For Breakfast? | Baked Oatmeal Recipe

I am making baked oatmeal this morning. It's perfect for company & brunches and can be altered according to your taste. Some people like to substitute the sugar with applesauce, others add raisins. 


I like it best covered in fresh fruit 
(as you can see my blueberries are frozen) 

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try

Happy Sunday!


Thanks to homemade by Jill 
for the awesome recipe card template!

Paper Straw Garland

I {heart} paper straws. 

So many fun ways to use them for parties.

Source #1
Source #2

 Rainbow straws 
Cloud Straws

What better way to use paper straws than as garland?

I so {heart} paper straws (I buy mine from Sugar Diva).
So glad the garland idea came to me last night,
here's what I whipped up...

Linking to:

Polka Dots on Parade

Thirty Days Handmade

Funky Polka Dot Giraffe

Running With Glitter

Rook No. 17
Mommas Kinda Crafty
Whipperberry
Fingerprints on the Fridge
What Allie's Making Now
Tatertots and Jello
Elements Interiors
Lolly Jane
HOMEmomMADE
Under the Table and Dreaming
Sew Chatty
CraftOMania

Design Your Own Tote

I wanted to make 'lil bugger a special t-shirt for this birthday, but couldn't figure out how to flip my image before printing. I was just about to return my iron on transfer paper when I saw a terrific guest post from Danielle from A Few of My Favorite Things on Thirty Days Handmade. 


BINGO! Just the tutorial I needed to finish the project. Picnik (a free download) has a handy flip image button that I never knew was there!

Image from Thirty Days Handmade

I made a birthday shirt for 'lil bugger and while I was at it I found an old tote to makeover as well. 

You can find Danielle's full tutorial here

{Mail Delivery} Random Acts of Kindness

I had fun participating in the Road To the Final Tchotchke blog hop. My Americana bunting found a wonderful new home with Tina from Patina Marie blog and ironically I ended up with her decorative garden spade! I had mentioned to her that the spade would be cute for lil buggers April Showers birthday party. 

I was blown away when my package arrived from Tina...


It was the most beautiful, thoughtful package that I have ever received. And we have never met. 

seriously, how sweet is Tina?!!!!

She also included major surprises inside...

Victorian Flower Alphabet 

Rubber Stamp Set

I am dying to get stamping!

Look at this umbrella wrapping paper!!!

Adorable flowers, buttons, & seed packet

April spelled out in scrabble tiles-- ADORABLE! 

(What an amazing gift idea!)

Look at all these cute bags!

I am going to find a special place

 for this handsome trio at the party!

Tina, you have completely WOWed me and totally captured the essence of our sweet party in your thoughtful gifts.  


Thank you! 

Promise Me Check In

For those of you new to my blog, promise me is an exciting year long adventure created by Jessica from Pen n' Paperflowers. She has challenged her readers to create some promises to themselves. Every month Jessica updates us on her progress. Her honesty is refreshing and motivating. 

It's a personal journey, 

only I will know if I fail, 

but I choose to share my progress here, 

in the hopes of getting others to make some goals

and some promises as well...

I am so excited to learn today that sweet Jessica is sending all of us "promise peeps" a little gift. Such a fantastic reminder to have around the house of our journey. 

It's check in time. So what have I done this month?

My personal goals for February 2010- February 2011

I promise to...

1. learn more settings on my camera
2. buy a fedora
3. wear a fedora out in public
4. say one meaningful compliment to my husband each day -- I have noticed a huge difference when I do thank him for something he has done or take the time to notice how nice he looks
5. buy clothing in colors outside my comfort zone
6. start wearing heels, I'd like to start with these-- I wore heels to a baby shower Saturday and felt younger and cuter!
7. pamper myself once a month
8. organize and de-clutter my house- one room at a time here. Tackling the kids clothes right now.  
9. create the party blog idea i have been hiding away
10. open an Etsy shop
11. attend Bloggy Bootcamp- Signed up for the May bootcamp in Boston!
12. buy flowers
13. find a church and attend regularly
14. do letter of the day lessons again with the kids
15. redo a server in yellow for the dining room- YES!  I did it, just finishing it up. I loooove it! The hubs was very nervous about the color but I think he likes it more than he thought he would. 

16. add more veggies to our diet

17. be more patient

18. demonstrate random acts of kindness- this has been my favorite one, I sent a little surprise gift and note to a dear friend. It was such a nice way to tell her how much I appreciate her.

19. attend a U2 concert

20. take the kids on an airplane

21. room make over for bugger N

22. buy chandeliers, lots of em (alteast this one and this one)- YES! chandelier is up! Old ones are sold!

23. less eye rolling

24. create and post a weekly dinner menu 

25. be more intentional with meal planning

26. potty train bugger N

27. take time to get my haircut

28. create an exercise regime 

29. make time for an exercise regime

30. try on skinny jeans

31. taste sushi- I tried vege sushi rolls at Seviche. Does that count?

32. make a rainbow cake

So, it's a start. I have a long way to go! 

Did you make any goals throughout the year?  How are you doing with them?

Cake Balls, Taste Test & Tips

I brought the cake balls over to a friend's house last night, verdict? A Hit!  Everyone loved them regardless of their outward appearance.

I felt a little better this morning when I read a post from I am Baker admitting that cake pops aren't for the faint of heart. And she is a real baker who whips up things like this

So  here are some TIPS I have found that might help with the next batch:

1. The Chocolate:  
Megan suggested almond flavored bark for a smoother chocolate, sold in grocery stores
and Bakerella uses Merckens candy coatings

2. Freeze
Nola.com suggests refrigerating the cake/frosting mixture for 2 hours before shaping and then freezing the balls after shaping them for at least 6 hours before dipping (another good tip, undipped balls can be stored  frozen for weeks).

3. Dipping:
Bakerella suggests tapping the spoon against the bowl repeatedly to get rid of extra chocolate before placing the ball on wax paper

4. Excess Chocolate: 
I really like this next tip from The Pioneer Woman-- if you end up with a pool of chocolate around your cake ball after placing it on the wax paper, use a toothpick and score a line around the base of the ball. When the chocolate dries, the ball will separate from the excess chocolate easily. Genius!

The Pioneer Woman

5. Decorating
Wait until the chocolate is no longer wet or glossy, then start decorating with drizzle or sprinkles.


For those of you planning on making cake balls, so please share your pictures and tips with us!
Happy baking and...

Poster Pops Shop

Cake Ball Disaster

I have a new respect for bakers like Bakerella and Terri's Treasures

We tried to make cake balls.

We were doing great 

until we dipped them in chocolate...

FAIL !!!!

I have a whole new level of respect for the professionals that make this look so easy...

by Terri's Treasures via Paper and Cake

Bakerella

Our melted chocolate was full of cake crumbs, 

one bag of Wilton's chocolate was not enough.

Anyone have advice for me?  

Clearly I need help

 and a very detailed tutorial on dipping : )