On My Radar

I'll be the first to admit that this past week I've been terribly lazy. Between a teething baby who refuses to go to sleep, the gloomy weather, and not feeling the best myself, I've really not felt like doing anything. Instead I've been staying home and napping any chance I get. That means I really haven't accomplished much this week, but that's okay - I plan to turn that around starting Saturday. Sometimes you just need a lazy, carefree week. Well, as carefree as you can be while chasing after a one year old.

ONE // Jaclyn Hill's Snapchat

Really, this could be extended to all things Jaclyn Hill. I live for her snapchat stories. She just announced her new collaboration with BECCA, and hit 3 million subscribers on her Youtube channel. Her snaps in response to hitting 3 million were so inspirational and emotional - I'll admit I shed a tear or two while watching her recall her journey to success. I really just love her, and think everyone should be following her! Her snapchat handle is jaclynrhill - what are you waiting for, go follow her. Now.

TWO // Hart of Dixie

I recently started watching the entire series again on Netflix, and was instantly reminded why I love this show. The entire cast is great. Cress Williams is honestly one of my favorite actors to watch. The small town dynamic is so fun, and the characters all all so lovable. There's really not a single character that I dislike. Jaime King's portrayal of Lemon Breeland is great. Rachel Bilson is so cute as a doctor from New York who moves to Bluebell, Alabama to work in a small practice. There are frequent musical guests. The first episode was filmed here in Wilmington! If you haven't watched the series I highly recommend it.

THREE // Rocksbox

I love jewelry, but I also tend to wear pieces a few times and then forget I have them. Rocksbox solves that problem. For $19/month you are able to add pieces to your wish list, and a stylist then sends you a 3-piece set based on your picks. You're able to keep those sets for as long as you'd like, and when you're done you just ship it back and wait for your next set! You can also keep any pieces you love for a discounted price. It's a win-win for me. If you're interested in trying it, you can sign up here and get a free month by entering code MEMORIEBFF! You can cancel at any time, so there's really nothing to lose!

FOUR // Minnie & Emma for The College Prepster

I've loved Carly's blog The College Prepster for a while now, and was so excited for her a few years back when she partnered with Minnie & Emma to create stylish phone cases. Reese Witherspoon was even seen using one of them! Her most recent collection is blowing me away - I want this one so badly!

FIVE // New Girl Season Finale

The season finale of New Girl aired this week and it was SO GOOD. I'm so excited for the direction they're taking the show, and the humor was really spot on in the last few episodes. This interview with showrunner Liz Meriwether has me so excited to next season - I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for it.

Sawyer's Wild One - Part Two

Sawyer's birthday shirt came from The Blue Envelope - shipping was extremely fast, and the shirt is so well made. I definitely recommend ordering from them!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since we threw Sawyer's party. The planning seemed to take over my life for the few weeks leading up to it. We had a few set backs when dealing with the location. Originally we had planned to use the clubhouse in our complex, but after speaking with the Homeowners Association we learned that since we are renters, we weren't able to reserve it. At first I was upset - how was I supposed to throw a party with no location?! After a little panic, I decided that having it in our condo would actually be perfect.

Now that we knew where the party would be, I had to choose invitations to send out to friends and family. I considered designing my own, but knew that was a project that I didn't really have the time to take on. I headed to Etsy, where I found the perfect shop, OhHappinessCards!

I ended up choosing the digital option, and went to the local Staples to have the invitations printed and cut on cardstock. 

Once I had invited guests, I started planning decorations. I spent most of my time on Pinterest and made daily trips to Hobby Lobby and Target rounding up supplies. I knew that I wanted to make most of the decorations myself, and I also wanted to make things that could be reused after the party. I purchased frames for Sawyer's one year photos, and had one of my favorites printed as an 11x14. I used that as a starting point for the decorations actually. I bought an extra copy of the book to use for decorations as well. I had originally planned to have copies made, but in the end I just chose to cut out the pages directly from the book.

I made the banner after seeing similar on Etsy. I just used acrylic paints that I already owned, and hung using jute twine I found in the dollar section at Target.

Now that the first wall was decorated, I started on the second that would surround the food table.

I hung a "tree" above his highchair, made from green balloons and brown streamers which I taped to the ceiling.

I covered an "S" from Hobby Lobby with characters I cut out from the book. I also painted a burlap covered canvas with a scene from the book. I absolutely loved how both projects turned out! 

I knew I wanted to incorporate the monthly photos, so I used the same jute twine from earlier, and the tiny clothes pins that I had used for his smash cake banner to hang the photos. I happened to have a maternity photo featuring the book, so I started with that, then chose a photo from the day he was born, as well as one from each of the eleven months leading up to his birthday. I finished with one of the photos from his One Year shoot. I accented with Wild Things and Max, which I cut out using an x-acto knife.

We served Cherry Limeade, which is super simple to make. (See recipe below!) We filled mason jars with ice and garnished the rims with a lime wedge. We purchased special glasses for my nieces to use, which also doubled as party favors.

Cherry Limeade

• 2 Liter of Sprite - you could probably use Sierra Mist as well, but I prefer Sprite

• 12 ounce frozen limeade concentrate - I usually choose Minute Maid

• Jar of maraschino cherries - For this I just grabbed the biggest jar I could find, and went with the stemless option. You will be using both the cherries AND the juice

• Bag of ice

• Lime wedges - Completely optional, but I like to add them

For the party I doubled the recipe, since we were serving more people and the dispenser was SO large. Start by added the limeade concentrate to your pitcher. Pour in the Sprite, and stir to combine. Next pour in the entire contents of the jar of cherries. Stir.  Obviously the cherries weren't going to end up in people's glasses using this particular dispenser, but usually I like to have a few cherries in my drink to eat once I'm finished sipping! You could always save a few to throw into the glasses for guests.  I finished up by throwing in lime wedges.

My Dad got crowns from Burger King, and my Mom spray painted them gold to use as decorations. I loved how the crown looked on the drink dispenser.

The print was also purchased from OhHappinessCards' Esty shop, and I found the frame at Target.

The gold boxes on top of the fridge were filled with Pez dispensers, temporary tattoos, gum, and toy snakes for Sawyer's cousins to take home.

Now to everyone's favorite part - the food! After researching local bakeries, I found the most perfect one to use for his smash cake and cupcakes. One Belle Bakery is not only very close to us, but they do incredible work! The owner even competed on TLC's Ultimate Cake Off, which I think is amazing! Check out their Instagram - Seriously, impressive.

We went with cupcakes for the guests, because that meant we could have more flavor options, and they were easy to grab. They decorated the cupcakes with all of the characters from the book - coincidentally, the scene they used was the same scene that I used to decorate around the 11x14 framed photo!

We chose Red Velvet, Banana Fudge (my absolute favorite), and Chocolate-Chocolate Chip with Fudge

The smash cake was so perfect. I told them that I wanted to make sure that there was a crown on top, and I wanted the quote "We'll eat you up, we love you so" incorporated, and they went from there.

I was so blown away by the cake - it exceeded my expectations!

 For the food, we prepared things that were easy to eat while moving around. We had veggies (broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes), Spinach Artichoke Dip, Sandwiches (Chicken Salad and Pimento Cheese), Tortellini Salad, and my favorite - Terrible Teeth! These consisted of apple slices with peanut butter and marshmallows made to look like monster mouths. I had planned to cut the sandwiches into a crown shape, but time didn't allow that!

I had planned to let Sawyer wear his Max costume for some of the party, but after photos it was covered in dirt and other debris, so I removed the crown and let him wear that while he ate his cake.

Everything came together so perfectly, and Sawyer's Wild One was such a success. I enjoyed making all the decorations myself, and they're so much more meaningful knowing that I created them!

Sawyer loved his cake. We had to make him stop eating it - I think he would have finished the entire thing if we would have let him!

I forgot to mention my skirt! I found it at Edge of Urge the week before the party - it was the only item in the store that was Where The Wild Things Are related, and it was my size. I couldn't believe it!

After a quick outfit change, it was time for presents!

Surrounded by blocks and Star Wars Tsum Tsum's

Playing with cousin Bailey and his new blocks

Bailey and Gracie were so excited to help Sawyer open his gifts!

Bailey's face in this picture is so funny! She really wanted those books opened.

I was so thrilled that some of my best friends from college were able to come! Emily surprised me by bringing along Shannon and Stephanie, and having them all here made me so happy!

By the end of the party, Sawyer was definitely ready for a long nap, and so was I!

Sawyer's Wild One - Part One

A few weeks ago, my son turned 1! I still can't believe that my tiny baby is now a toddler who is walking everywhere and getting into everything. I used to laugh at people who said it would fly by, mostly because those first few months seemed like an eternity at the time. But now I'm a believer that is does go by so quickly. Planning his first birthday celebrations snuck up on me pretty quickly, because I kept telling myself that I had a lot of time. Luckily, I already had an idea in my head for both his photos and the party, so it wasn't too hard to get everything together.

I knew that for his one year photos I wanted to have him wear the same costume Max wears in the book. We purchased his from Amazon. It's no longer listed as available, but you can find the same one here. Since we own a nice camera, we decided that we would attempt to take the photos ourselves in order to save a little money. We went to a nearby beach to take the photos, and the scenery couldn't have been more perfect.

Seriously, could he be any cuter?

He wasn't extremely cooperative, but we were still able to get some great photos.

Shout out to my Stitch Fix stylist, Rebecca, for choosing this awesome ensemble. Interested in trying Stitch Fix for yourself? Use this link to sign up now!

Since we already knew that we would be ordering a smash cake from a local bakery for his party, I chose to make the cake we used for his photos myself. I went with chocolate cake and fluffy white icing. I wasn't too concerned with making it look perfect. I made the banner using skewers, twine, mini clothes pins, and mini banner triangles all from Hobby Lobby. I made more trips to Hobby Lobby during the planning of his photos and party than I had in years combined!

Snacking on a teething wafer before digging in to his cake

Once his photos were done it was time to start planning his party. My next post will go into detail on the planning, decorating and event!